Chapter 120: Song Yang’s Arrest

Before long, Huang Xiaotao arrived with a squad of police officers, securing the scene. Just as they were about to move the body, I shouted, "Wait a moment!"

This was the primary crime scene. Conducting the autopsy right here would yield the most clues. I called Wang Dali over. When he saw the chaos unfolding on the stage, he gasped in shock, "Zhang Yan is dead? Who killed her?!"

With all the commotion outside, he'd been stuck with Teacher Li. I asked, "Where's Teacher Li?"

"Left a few minutes ago," Wang Dali replied.

Something about Teacher Li didn't feel right. But for now, the autopsy was the priority. I sent Wang Dali back to the dorm to fetch my autopsy tools.

Huang Xiaotao asked which Teacher Li I meant. I briefly explained, and her expression turned sharp. "She tried to hypnotize you earlier. That woman definitely has something to hide!"

She immediately dispatched a cop to investigate the faculty dormitory.

Soon, Wang Dali returned with the tools. Using the "bone listener" device, I examined the victim. Her internal organs were severely damaged—the cause of death was a penetrating wound to the heart, nothing suspicious.

Using the "autopsy umbrella" to detect the Yang imprint, I found numerous messy handprints and fingerprints on her costume. After all, she was in the middle of a performance and had been touched by many people. I told Xiao Zhou to photograph everything for evidence.

...

I inserted a soft wooden stick soaked in lye into the victim's throat. No signs of poisoning.

Her eyes were wide open, frozen in shock at the moment of death. I gently closed her eyelids and sighed deeply. Such a vibrant life—gone just like that.

I told Huang Xiaotao the autopsy results: an ordinary sharp weapon caused death, with no suspicious details. Since I was present at the scene, the time of death could be precisely determined.

But no matter how the police questioned Ye Shiwen, he just cried uncontrollably, shaking his head in denial.

Huang Xiaotao asked me, "Song Yang, what do you think the motive could be?"

"How could there be a motive? They just started dating—stuck to each other like glue. Unless he went crazy and killed her in broad daylight..." I paused, then asked her, "Can hypnosis cause someone to kill?"

"Are you suspecting that female teacher? Generally, hypnosis can't make someone commit murder. If the hypnotist orders something against the subject's moral code—like making them undress—the subject snaps out of it immediately," Huang Xiaotao explained thoughtfully.

"Generally? Are there exceptions?" I pressed.

Huang Xiaotao's eyes darted. "Wait, I need to ask him a few questions first."

We approached Ye Shiwen. Huang Xiaotao said, "Stop crying. Tell me, who did you talk to before the incident?"

He choked out, "Several people, including Song Yang—just casual conversation."

"Where did the knife come from?" she asked.

"Song Yang gave it to me!" Ye Shiwen sobbed.

Several cops looked at me at once. I explained, "It's a prop knife given by Teacher Li. Huang Xiaotao and I have seen it before—it's supposed to be blunt."

Xiao Zhou checked the knife and said, "No, it's definitely sharpened and very sharp."

I replied, "Must have been freshly sharpened."

"Didn't you check it then?" Huang Xiaotao asked.

"In the heat of the moment, there was no time!" I smiled bitterly.

Huang Xiaotao nodded and asked Ye Shiwen, "At the moment of killing, what was going through your mind?"

He said he didn't know. She urged him to think carefully, reassuring him the police were there to help. Then she asked everyone else to step aside and handed Ye Shiwen a bottle of water.

After drinking, he calmed down and tried to recall. Suddenly, he trembled in panic. "I was cutting a watermelon!"

We were stunned. "What?"

"I was so thirsty. I saw a big watermelon and went to cut it. Suddenly it moved—tentacles crawling out. I was terrified and stabbed it repeatedly with the knife, then suddenly snapped back to reality..." Ye Shiwen buried his head in his hands, crying, "I killed her—I actually killed her!"

Huang Xiaotao pulled me aside. "I know what's going on."

"What?" I asked.

"I consulted a psychologist. Hypnosis can never force someone to murder. But if someone wanted to use hypnosis to command murder, how do you think they'd do it?"

I thought for a moment. "They'd make the victim see the target as an object."

"Exactly," Huang Xiaotao confirmed.

"How do you know so much about this?" I asked, curious.

"Because I once..."

Suddenly, Xiao Zhou called Huang Xiaotao over. Two cops stood beside him—one was the officer sent to check on Teacher Li. They spoke in hushed tones. Huang Xiaotao's reaction grew intense, repeating, "Are you sure? This can't be!" The officers glanced repeatedly at me. A bad feeling crept over me.

I moved closer to listen, but Huang Xiaotao suddenly pointed at me. "Arrest him!"

I was stunned, thinking she meant someone else. But two cops quickly grabbed my shoulders and handcuffed me from behind. Shocked, I said, "Are you joking?"

Huang Xiaotao snarled, "Song Yang, I really misjudged you!"

Xiao Zhou told me the knife had only two sets of fingerprints—mine and the killer's. Surveillance footage showed me handing the knife directly to Ye Shiwen. Teacher Li also claimed she stayed in the back chatting with Wang Dali, never left, and never touched the knife.

A cold wave swept through my mind. The knife was clearly handed to me by Teacher Li. I realized she had glued her fingerprints off. She knew the corridor had no cameras, but the backstage did.

I shouted, "Listen, this is a setup! Wang Dali, you know she left halfway, right?"

Biting his lip, Wang Dali said, "Sorry, Yangzi. Even if we're friends, I can't lie. I stayed with Teacher Li in the lounge the whole time."

My eyes widened. The room spun. I felt betrayed. Then it hit me: "Wang Dali, you were hypnotized by that woman!"

Xiao Zhou said, "Song Ge, sorry, that's just your guess. All evidence points to you."

Huang Xiaotao waved dismissively. "Enough. Take him to the station."

I never expected Huang Xiaotao to betray me like this. Wang Dali awkwardly said, "Xiao Tao, this is too much. No matter what, you and Song Yang—"

"Don't talk nonsense! I have nothing to do with him!" Huang Xiaotao snapped.

Clenching my fists, her words stabbed me like a knife in the chest. I shouted, "Huang Xiaotao, think carefully. Why would I kill? Even if I had ill intent, do you think I'm stupid enough to leave such obvious clues?"

She snapped impatiently, "Take him away!"

Two cops tried to drag me off. I broke free and rushed to persuade Huang Xiaotao. Suddenly, someone tackled me from the side—it was Wang Yuanchao. A sharp pressure crushed my chest like my ribs would snap.

Weakly, I said, "Yuanchao, listen! There's been a mistake!"

He ignored me, cold-faced, hoisting me up like a chicken.

So this was how cops really were—cold and heartless. All friendships were lies. Grandpa was right: they valued us only for Song family's secret skills. They used us to solve cases, then discarded us the moment trouble appeared.

Pushed and shoved, I was forced into a police car, drowning in regret and fury.

At the station, Wang Yuanchao personally guarded me. Huang Xiaotao and the others wore blank expressions. Passing through the hallway, officers were stunned—some laughed, calling their colleagues over to gawk. "Isn't that so-and-so?"

My phone was confiscated, and I was locked in a holding cell. I shouted after Huang Xiaotao's retreating back, "Let me call Old Sun!"

"Except your lawyer, you can't contact anyone. Do you have a lawyer?" she answered coldly.

I lost control, yelling, "Fine if others believe it, but why you? We were supposed to be life-and-death comrades!"

Huang Xiaotao ignored me, her cold back the only reply. She never considered me a friend. Everything was a lie.