To put our minds at ease, Jiang Yongguang made a point of briefing us on the public security bureau's interrogation techniques.

At the time, I didn't know how they interrogated people. I imagined they'd be like the interrogations in TV dramas, using all sorts of torture devices on the suspects.

Jiang Yongguang told us that they never used torture to extract confessions. They wouldn't even resort to things like slamming the table or glaring.

They would start by chatting with the suspect, sometimes for hours, until the suspect gradually relaxed their guard. Only then would the real interrogation begin.

The most effective tactic was a war of attrition, depriving the suspect of sleep and questioning them continuously, twenty-four hours a day.

Throughout the interrogation, a bright light would be shone on the suspect, preventing them from dozing off or losing focus, forcing them to concentrate fully.

In a state of extreme exhaustion, the suspect would lack the energy to fabricate lies. Any response they gave would be a subconscious reflex, revealing the truth.

Jiang Yongguang assured us that they would investigate thoroughly, find the murderer of Aunt Mei, and discover Little Mei's whereabouts.

Having been through so much together, we trusted Jiang Yongguang's character.

Uncle Mei wanted to keep him for a simple meal, but he didn't have time. After reporting the situation to us, he hurried back to continue interrogating Little Wang.

I personally saw him off when he left. Jiang Yongguang glanced at my bruised and swollen face and said with a smile, "Alright, I appreciate the thought. You're a mess yourself. Don't bother seeing me off, just go back and recover."

But I followed him all the way to the door and said, "Wait, there's something I want to tell you."

Jiang Yongguang immediately turned serious and asked in a deep voice, "What is it?"

"There was someone locked up in a room on the second floor of the villa, the one facing the river, but after the arrest, that person vanished into thin air," I said euphemistically.

I deliberately didn't describe what the "person" looked like because I didn't want Jiang Yongguang to think I'd suffered brain damage and was talking nonsense, like Uncle Mei and Little Liang.

Jiang Yongguang, with his more detailed information, immediately countered, "Are you talking about the room directly opposite Little Wang's bedroom?"

"That's right!" I nodded emphatically.

Jiang Yongguang said, "There were indeed signs that someone had been living in that room, but how are you so sure that person disappeared into thin air? We arrested a total of seventeen criminal suspects in that villa. Maybe one of them was the occupant of that room?"

That's when I revealed the truth: "Impossible. I saw that person. He doesn't look like a normal person."

"How so?" Jiang Yongguang asked patiently.

I said, "His back was covered in black scales, and his eyes were green."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yongguang predictably looked skeptical, pursing his lips and saying, "Are you talking about Ben Bo'er Ba and Ba Bo'er Ben from *Journey to the West*?"

"I'm not joking," I said seriously. "Uncle Mei and Little Liang don't believe me, but I'm telling the truth! I saw it with my own eyes."

Having had previous experiences, I didn't expect Jiang Yongguang to believe me, but after I told him, he didn't laugh at me or doubt me.

Instead, he began to think seriously, clearly connecting the dots.

I quickly asked him, "Did you find something?"

Sure enough!

Jiang Yongguang stroked his chin and said, "Now that you mention it, we did find some strange things in that room when we searched the villa later..."

"What strange things?" I pressed again.

Jiang Yongguang didn't hide anything from me and said directly, "Medicine."

"Medicine?" I was a bit confused.

"That's right, medicine."

Jiang Yongguang said,

"All kinds of medicine, both oral and topical, mainly anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs, and ointments for skin diseases... The bed was piled with them."

The more I listened, the more confused I became, completely baffled.

Jiang Yongguang continued, "Besides a large amount of medicine, we also found some... skin tissue on the bed."

"Skin tissue? Human?" I asked.

"It's hard to say for now, but the skin tissue is black and quite rough. It doesn't look like human skin. It looks more like... fish scales, or rather, snake skin," Jiang Yongguang replied.

Hearing this, I was even more convinced that I hadn't seen it wrong!

"It's that monster! The one locked in the room must be the monster that came out of the coffin that day!" I said in a deep voice.

Now it was Jiang Yongguang's turn to be bewildered.

"What are you talking about? How did we get back to the person who came out of the coffin that day? Didn't we all agree that it was a rat hiding in the coffin to escape the tomb?"

But I shook my head and said, "No, I don't think so. Even hiding in a coffin, it's a long way from the ancient Shu tomb back to the river. A normal person would drown without an oxygen tank, no matter how good a swimmer they are. The thing that came out of the coffin is unlikely to be a rat."

Jiang Yongguang scratched the back of his head, his face blank.

He asked me, "Then what do you think it is? A thousand-year-old coffin spirit that cultivated into a black-scaled fish demon in the ancient tomb?"

I shook my head and said, "I don't know what the truth is."

Jiang Yongguang smiled, patted me on the shoulder, and said, "Alright, stop overthinking it and go back to recover. As for the coffin spirit, I'll interrogate Little Wang properly tonight. Maybe the kid can't take it and will confess everything."

"That's all we can do," I said softly, and watched Jiang Yongguang drive away.

That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep soundly.

As soon as I closed my eyes, the green-eyed monster with black scales on its back would appear in my mind.

Who exactly was he?

What was his relationship to Aunt Mei's death and Little Mei's disappearance?

Where did Old Wang go?

Where exactly was Little Mei?

These questions kept bothering me, making my head explode.

I finally made it through the night. As the sky turned pale in the east, I leaned against the window on the bed, pricking up my ears, waiting for Jiang Yongguang to bring news.

Around seven o'clock in the morning, I heard the sound of a car in the distance.

I quickly got out of bed and went outside. Sure enough, Jiang Yongguang had arrived.

Uncle Mei and Hu Wazi also ran out wearing their clothes, and asked Jiang Yongguang as soon as they saw him, "How was it? Did you get any information?"

Jiang Yongguang, with dark circles under his eyes and a tired expression, said in a cheerful tone, "I got it all out. I knew Little Wang wasn't a tough nut to crack. He confessed everything around three o'clock in the morning."