Mortal Dawn and Dusk, My Eternal Life - Chapter 40

In the reception room of the Tianjin Police Bureau, Su Mingyue still calmly sipped her tea, as if she wasn’t a “suspect” in custody, but rather leisurely spending her day in her own backyard.

Opposite her, Gu Mingxuan had a headache. He had interrogated Su Mingyue for half the day already. Apart from knowing her name was Su Mingyue and that she was a physician from out of town, he hadn’t elicited any other useful information. This woman was like a fog, seemingly delicate and harmless, yet unfathomable, making it impossible for him to get a handle on her.

And his damned body was still occasionally exhibiting some infuriating “cat-like behaviors.” For example, just now, he uncontrollably rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand and almost let out that “purring” sound! This made him feel an unprecedented embarrassment and… frustration under Su Mingyue’s half-smiling, clear gaze.

Just as Gu Mingxuan racked his brains, pondering how to “interrogate” this difficult woman next, a police officer rushed in from outside.

“Report, Captain Gu! The Du family has reported a case!” the police officer said breathlessly.

“The Du family?” Gu Mingxuan raised an eyebrow. “Which Du family?”

“It’s Old Master Du’s mansion in the south of the city, the charitable one!” the police officer quickly replied. “The complainant said… said the Du mansion was robbed last night, and one of their concubines… unfortunately died!”

“What?!” Gu Mingxuan’s face also changed slightly upon hearing this. Old Master Du was a prominent figure in Tianjin, and his relations with the authorities were quite good. Such a major incident in his mansion was no small matter. And… a concubine murdered? This made him recall the recent bizarre “drained of life force” murders in Tianjin. Could it be… that culprit had struck again? And this time, he had targeted the Du family?

“What are the specific circumstances?” Gu Mingxuan asked gravely.

“The complainant said the victim was Old Master Du’s second concubine, and the manner of death… the manner of death was somewhat similar to the previous murder cases; she was also… also looked like all her vital essence had been drained!” The police officer’s voice was trembling slightly. “Old Master Du is heartbroken and implores our police to solve the case as soon as possible and apprehend the culprit!”

Gu Mingxuan’s face grew even more serious after hearing this. Drained of life force again! It seemed that culprit was indeed still active in Tianjin! And getting more audacious! He glanced at Su Mingyue, who sat opposite him, still calm. The slight odd emotion caused by the “meow” instantly vanished, replaced by the urgency of the case.

“Miss Su,” Gu Mingxuan stood up, his tone returning to its previous cold and professional demeanor, “Since a murder has occurred at the Du mansion, and the manner of death is similar to previous cases, we currently have no evidence to prove your involvement in this case. You may leave.” He now had to rush to the Du mansion immediately to investigate the scene; he couldn’t waste any more time on this woman of unknown origin.

Su Mingyue raised an eyebrow, a playful smile appearing on her face: “Oh? General Gu… intends to let me go?”

“As it stands, yes,” Gu Mingxuan nodded, his tone still brusque. Although he still harbored doubts about this woman, solving the case was paramount right now.

However, Su Mingyue did not immediately get up and leave as he expected. Instead, she leisurely picked up her teacup, took a light sip, then slowly said: “General Gu, your Tianjin Police Bureau certainly has a grand air. You arrest people at will, release people at will, and you don’t even offer an apology?” Her words were light, yet carried an undeniable… “shameless” implication.

Gu Mingxuan was choked by her words and then became somewhat annoyed: “Miss Su, we are merely acting according to regulations! Your appearance at the crime scene last night was inherently suspicious! Our bringing you back to assist in the investigation was not improper!”

“Oh? Assist in the investigation?” Su Mingyue put down her teacup, stood up, and walked to Gu Mingxuan’s front. Her clear eyes looked directly at him, a cunning arc on her lips. “Then, General Gu, have you ‘assisted’ any useful clues from me? Or do you just think that I, a weak woman, am easy to bully?” She intentionally emphasized the words “weak woman,” her eyes filled with playful mockery.

Gu Mingxuan felt a little uneasy under her gaze, and subconsciously took half a step back, avoiding her overly close gaze. He could feel a faint, imperceptible pressure emanating from this woman, making his non-human “heart” feel somewhat… agitated and restless.

“Miss Su, I hope you are not being unreasonable!” Gu Mingxuan said, forcing himself to be calm. “This is an extraordinary time; I don’t have time to waste on you here!”

“Unreasonable?” Su Mingyue chuckled. “General Gu, you arrest a perfectly innocent reputable physician like a murderer and interrogate her for half the day. Now you want to dismiss me with a simple ‘you may leave’? There’s no such cheap thing in the world!” She folded her arms across her chest, watching Gu Mingxuan at her leisure, adopting an attitude of “if you don’t give me an explanation today, I’m not leaving.”

Gu Mingxuan looked at Su Mingyue’s “rogue” demeanor and felt a double headache. Among the suspects he had encountered before, which one wasn’t respectful and submissive towards him? It was unheard of for someone like this woman to not only fear him but also dare to bargain with him! And, for some reason, he always felt that in front of this woman, he somehow… never gained an advantage. Especially… when he saw her clear eyes, tinged with a hint of mockery, he uncontrollably recalled that damned “meow” from earlier, and his embarrassing “cat-like behaviors,” which made him feel even more… guilty and short of breath.

“Then… what does Miss Su want?” Gu Mingxuan took a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound calm. He just wanted to quickly send this “trouble” away and then deal with the Du family’s case.

“I don’t want anything,” Su Mingyue shrugged, and said leisurely, “I just think the tea in General Gu’s police station tastes quite good. Since General Gu is so earnestly inviting me to stay, if I didn’t stay a little longer, wouldn’t I be ungrateful for Captain Gu’s ‘kindness’?” As she spoke, she gracefully walked back to the grand armchair, sat down again, and even solemnly poured herself another cup of tea.

“You…!” Gu Mingxuan was so infuriated by Su Mingyue’s actions that he almost couldn’t catch his breath! This woman was simply… incorrigible! She actually… actually intended to stay here and not leave?!