Chapter 66: The Flaying Abomination

　　"Tianlong Auction House is a business of the Shangguan family, and the manager is called Wan Chunhui," Brother Liang replied succinctly, as per the information he provided.

　　"Thank you."

　　Lu Fei kept the name in mind and carefully put away the few thin pages of information. This was the only clue his grandfather had left behind in the last three years.

　　"How much is the investigation fee?"

　　"Well..."

　　Before Liang Ge could speak, Xie Yao interjected, "No need, I've already paid. I said I would help Manager Lu find the old man, and I should keep my promise."

　　Lu Fei said, "This is my own matter. How can I let Miss Xie spend money on it?"

　　"It's something I should do! I was wrong to hide the news about my grandfather's passing. You have to give me a chance to make it up!"

　　Xie Yao's fair face was full of determination.

　　"Besides, Liang Ge is one of us. A little money is nothing at all!"

　　"Sure enough, when a girl grows up, she turns her back on her own people," Liang Ge said with a helpless smile. "No need to pay, Manager Lu, just do me a favor."

　　"What kind of help?" Lu Fei was very curious, not knowing how he could assist a private detective.

　　"Not long ago, there was a tragic case in the antique street. The owner of an antique shop suddenly went mad and killed his wife and children. Sinisterium Pawnshop is located on the antique street, you should know about this case." Liang said.

　　"I do know it," Lu Fei nodded.

　　"According to the police investigation, the owner of the antique shop had no conflicts with his wife, and they were usually very loving. Moreover, his financial situation was good, so there was no reason for him to kill his wife for insurance money."

　　"Furthermore, he killed his wife in such an obvious and cruel manner, without any signs of trying to cover up the crime."

　　"The strangest thing is, despite all the solid evidence, he claimed that his wife and children didn't die by his hand, but by their own suicide."

　　"Was he making up such a ridiculous excuse to shirk responsibility, or is there something more to the deaths of his wife and children?"

　　Lu Fei knew the truth of the case, but he didn't understand why Liang was asking him these questions.

　　"But a few days ago, he suddenly confessed and asked to be executed quickly, as if he had suddenly come to a realization."

　　"Such a drastic change makes it hard not to suspect that something is fishy. I learned that two people visited him during this period."

　　After speaking, Liang looked at Lu Fei with eyes that seemed half-asleep, his gaze filled with scrutiny.

　　Lu Fei and Hu Zi exchanged a glance, and said, "Yes, it's us. Hu Zi used to be one of Boss Liang's workers; it's only natural and reasonable for him to visit when the boss is in trouble."

　　Could it be that he was the one secretly investigating Boss Liang's case, and thus learned about their knife collection, leading to the leak of information?

　　"Liang, what do you mean by this? You can't possibly suspect that Manager Lu is involved in this case! Manager Lu isn't that kind of person!" Xie Yao glared at her cousin, clearly dissatisfied.

　　"Yao, don't misunderstand."

　　Seeing his sister defend the other party so fiercely, Liang looked helpless and explained, "I brought this up to Manager Lu because I once encountered an equally baffling case, the truth of which has yet to be uncovered."

　　He took a deep drag on his cigarette, a conflicted expression appearing on his face.

　　"I was originally a staunch atheist, but because of this case, my beliefs started to waver."

　　"That case also happened on the Antique Street."

　　Lu Fei couldn't help but ask, "What case?"

　　"Seven years ago, a shop owner on Antiques Street was skinned alive and bled to death in his home," Liang said, narrowing his eyes.

　　"Back then, I had not yet left the police force. I was in charge of this case. The level of blood at the scene is still vivid in my memory even now.",

　　"Such a heinous case was taken very seriously by the team. But in the end, we were all stunned, as all the evidence indicated that the killer was the victim himself.",

　　"In other words, he had skinned himself with his own hands.",

　　"All the weapons, traces, and even the autopsy report at the scene proved this point.",

　　"But the strange thing was, we couldn't find his skin at the scene.",

　　"We investigated for a long time but found no leads, and in the end, the case could only be concluded as a suicide.",

　　"I often wonder, what is the limit of human endurance? What kind of person could strip every inch of their skin from their body while they were still alive?",

　　"The autopsy report confirmed that no anesthetic drugs were used.",

　　Liang let out a deep breath.

　　Even after seven years, even though he had left the police force, he still couldn't forget the impact this case had on him.

　　Lu Fei and Hu Zi gasped in shock.

　　An ordinary person would wince for a long time from just a cut on their finger, let alone peeling off their own skin.

　　Xie Yao's face turned pale, she rubbed her slender, jade-like arms, and moved closer to Lu Fei.

　　Lu Fei suddenly remembered that when something happened at Boss Liang's house, someone on the antique street also mentioned this case involving skinning.

　　He asked, "Liang Ge, do you think there is something suspicious about this case?"

　　"Although all the evidence shows that the deceased took his own life, he wrote the word 'save' on the ground before he died, which might mean 'help me,' a contradiction to his act of suicide."

　　Liang Ge lit another cigarette, using it to calm himself.

　　"Moreover, the skin he removed has vanished without a trace, with many points of suspicion. I always feel that he did not willingly take his own life but was forced to do so."

　　"But I can't find any evidence, and everyone says I'm overthinking it."

　　"Perhaps the deceased had a severe mental illness, which led to such extreme self-harm behavior."

　　He smiled sardonically.

　　"I don't know if it was because I was thinking about it at night, but after the case was closed, I often dreamed of a bloody, skinless person."

　　"So, I looked into many old cases, and to my surprise, I found two similar cases of self-inflicted skinning."

　　"Although the locations and times of death were different, and there was no connection between the victims, the manner of death was the same: they all peeled off their own skin while alive."

　　"Moreover, the peeled-off skin vanished without a trace."

　　"And the most important point, each case occurred seven years apart!"

　　In his messy hair, his seemingly sleepy eyes became particularly sharp.

　　"The same method of death, such a regular interval, it can't be a coincidence! I suspect there is an unseen and extraordinarily unreasonable culprit behind these acts!"

　　Hearing about such a gory and bizarre case, everyone present felt a chill run down their spine.

　　If his speculation is true, then this 'killer' is too terrifying!

　　Lu Fei said, "Are you worried that the skinning case will happen again?"

　　"That's right, this year happens to be the seventh year!"

　　Liang Ge took a deep breath.

　　"If we don't catch this killer, there will definitely be another victim!"

　　Lu Fei swallowed and asked, "What exactly is this killer?"