Pristine Darkness

Chapter 47

Our Scooby team works on the Animation Murder case on different fronts! Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao are looking for Ke Ai/ Ke Qian's body but seem to have come up short. On the other hand, working separately, Fang Qing and An Yan (with the help of Gu Fangfang) may both have experienced an 'eureka' moment. Read on to find out more . . .

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Translator: shl

Editor/ Proofreader: Anks

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They were back once again at the old Ke family residence.

Gazing at the dark yet clear and crystalline waters of the lake, Jiang Yao asked, "Why are we here?"

Bo Jinyan replied, "Ke Ai and Ke Qian were both approximately 175 cm in height, so it would not be easy to dispose of the body. However, Ke Ai had a second-hand car while in China, which would be convenient for transportation. Since Ke Qian was scheduled to leave China next week, the body must have been taken care of already. He had such a deep connection with his older sister, he would not have carelessly discarded it, but he also couldn't bury it in a public place. Cremation would have been hard to bear. Ke Qian places such great value on appearance, would he have been willing to burn his sister's body beyond recognition, to reduce it to a pile of ash? He would not have been able to stomach that course of action.

Then, what would be a good place to hide the body? On looking at his life, the memories he shared with his sister, apart from recent period, would be from the time when they were young, and their parents were both around. However, their childhood home has been demolished, and only this lake remains unchanged.

What better way to remember her than to let her sink into the lake, so that she can gaze upon their home forever?"

An icy cold gripped Jian Yao's heart upon hearing these words. She turned her head to look at Bo Jinyan. In the darkness, his profile was cold and stern, and his eyes were serenely fixed upon the lake in front of him.

"I can't believe you actually understand him so well," Jian Yao could not help but say. "It's really like . . . like you are him."

Bo Jinyan smiled slightly. "I will take that as a compliment. Dearest, to become a first-class criminal psychologist and expert profiler, I and the criminal mind must be as one."

Jian Yao was somewhat taken aback.

Looking out over the lake, the local auxiliary police force had already started dredging operations. Fortunately, the lake was not very big, about a thousand square metres or so; they should be able to search the entire area thoroughly in one night. If Ke Ai was really there, after half a year, she should already have become nothing but bones.

It was still a long time before dawn. The two of them stood beside the lake for a while, and Jian Yao yawned. Bo Jinyan's arm was across her shoulders, and he rubbed her neck gently. "Go and sleep."

"What about you?" she asked.

"I should stay here and watch."

"Ok, then I'll sleep for a while and change places with you."

Jian Yao crawled into the car, lay down on the back seat and pulled his coat over her. Watching her through the window, Bo Jinyan saw her curl up into a ball, and suddenly laughed.

Jian Yao asked softly, "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," he replied.

Very quickly, Jian Yao fell asleep.

Bo Jinyan leaned against the car door and quietly looked into the distance.

On the horizon, a strip of white slowly appeared.