Chapter 321: A So-Called Understanding

Knock, knock! Xiao Yu lightly tapped on the door.

“Who is it?” a woman’s voice came from inside.

“Hello, I’m with the police.”

Silence fell behind the door.

After a moment, the door opened. An elderly woman stood there, her expression dark, eyes wary. “What do you want?”

“Two things.” Keeping his expression as gentle as possible, Xiao Yu said, “First, why didn’t you report it? Second, don’t you want to catch that beast?”

The woman’s expression changed instantly.

Panic. Anger. Pain.

She was a mother. When she saw what had happened to her daughter, it tore her apart. But her daughter had stopped them from calling the police, even threatening to take her own life if they did. In the end, she and her husband had chosen silence.

After a few days in the hospital, at their daughter’s insistence, they brought her home.

Panic—because she didn’t know how the police had learned about it.

Anger—because of the monster who had harmed her daughter.

Pain—because of what her daughter had gone through and what she had become.

“Leave.”

The elderly woman shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes.

“My daughter won’t see you. Her mental state is terrible. She’s afraid of everyone except me and her father. She can’t even look at strangers.”

Did she suffer from psychological trauma?

Xiao Yu sighed inwardly.

It was inevitable. The psychological damage must have been severe.

According to the medical report Guo Qiang obtained from the hospital, she had suffered a torn lower body, multiple severe soft tissue injuries, partial skin loss on the back.

The hospital could only conduct a basic examination and then proceed with treatment. Without a professional forensic examiner, it was impossible to conduct a specialized post-crime injury assessment.

But one thing was certain. The perpetrator had forcibly cut away the missing skin on the victim’s back, carving a cross into the bloody.

This detail was directly linked to the serial rape and assault cases from five years ago. The modus operandi was identical.

But without seeing the victim, the case couldn’t move forward.

“I have a friend who’s a professional psychologist.” Xiao Yu’s thoughts shifted as he smiled at the elderly woman. “She’s highly skilled. She should be able to assess your daughter’s psychological condition. If she continues like this and develops a more severe mental illness, things could get dangerous.”

This wasn’t a scare tactic. It was a fact.

The shift in the elderly woman’s expression made it clear. The victim had likely already harmed herself in some way.

“This…” The elderly woman hesitated briefly before nodding.

“Please wait. I’ll call my friend over.”

Xiao Yu went downstairs, took out his phone, and dialed a number. It was the forensic pathologist He Li.

“What? You want me to pretend to be a psychologist?” a confused voice came from the phone. “Don’t joke around, I’m a forensic expert, not a psychiatrist.”

“Big Sister He, it’s fine. Just pretend to be a psychologist, I’ll handle the rest.” Xiao Yu chuckled. “I need you here to help me examine the victim’s injuries.”

“You saying that makes it clear to me now.” He Li understood immediately. “But what if I get exposed? I really don’t know anything about psychology.”

“That’s fine, I do.” Xiao Yu said with a grin.

He Li, “…”

‘Does this little brother actually know psychology?’

With that question lingering in her mind, He Li arrived in front of Xiao Yu half an hour later and immediately asked, “You know psychology?”

She was genuinely curious.

She knew well that Xiao Yu wasn’t just skilled in investigations—he was also highly proficient in forensic science.

He Li had been quite proud of her expertise in autopsies. But ever since she met Xiao Yu, that pride had been thoroughly crushed. More than once, she had been completely outshone by this little brother.

And now, he was claiming to know psychology too?

Was he serious?

Was he here just to make people feel inferior?

Xiao Yu had no intention of making He Li feel bad, but he couldn’t help himself. With the utmost humility, he said, “I know a little.”

‘Know a little…’

He Li’s expression turned odd. She assumed he had only picked up some basics. But if she knew that a renowned psychology expert had once been utterly crushed by Xiao Yu, she would probably have lost her mind and exploded into curses: A little, my ass!

***

Back at the victim’s home.

When the elderly woman saw He Li in a white coat, she truly believed she was a skilled psychologist.

The group walked up to a bedroom door.

The elderly woman knocked.

“AnAn, open the door. Mom brought a friend to see you.”

“I don’t want to see anyone! I don’t want to see anyone! Leave, all of you! Go away!”

A sudden hoarse scream erupted from the previously silent bedroom.

‘Huh? Something was off.’

Why did her voice sound so weak?

Xiao Yu frowned.

Monarch Butterfly’s Nose, Wax Moth’s Ears, Python’s Senses. Activated.

In an instant, Xiao Yu’s expression changed drastically.

He smelled blood.

Kodiak Bear’s Strength. Activated.

Xiao Yu sprang backward. He lowered into a half-crouch. He charged forward under the elderly woman and He Li’s stunned gazes.

Xiao Yu violently kicked the door open, shattering it on impact. Fragments flew in all directions. He rushed into the room, his eyes locked onto the bed.

A woman with a wrist dripping fresh blood.

‘Shit!’

Xiao Yu snapped his head around and shouted, “Sister He, save her!”

He Li snapped back to her senses and rushed in.

The moment she saw the woman’s slashed wrists, her expression darkened. She dashed forward, immediately pressing down hard to stop the bleeding.

“What are you doing?! Get away! All of you, get away—!”

The weakened woman screamed and thrashed wildly.

Xiao Yu’s palm struck a precise spot between her jawline and behind her ear. With just one hit, the woman passed out.

He Li gently pinched her skin, then bent down to listen closely to her heartbeat. With her other hand, she checked the woman’s pulse.

A few seconds later, she looked up and said, “She’s lost too much blood. We need to get her to a hospital.”

“Got it.”

Xiao Yu gripped her bleeding wrist and, with his other hand, swiftly lifted her onto his back.

Glancing at the elderly woman beside him, who was too terrified to do anything but cry, he reassured her, “It’s okay. Let’s get to the hospital first.”

With that, he burst out of the room, sprinting down the stairs at full speed.