I never expected that Chief Stone was also born in Dragonhill County, more than 500 kilometers away from H City.
Ethan Zhang hadn’t seen Chief Stone for a long time. The two were classmates for three years in high school. After university, Ethan returned to his hometown to open an art training studio, while Chief Stone joined the police force.
Back in their university days, Ethan would often invite Chief Stone out for fun—their relationship was good. Back then, Chief Stone had told Ethan about many unsolved cases. But this time, what happened wasn’t just mysterious—it was downright eerie.
Cynthia Mu, who had already been sent to Northview Psychiatric Hospital, would mumble to herself every day, saying the killer was Victor Xiang, and that the person he killed was the culprit behind the serial murders.
At the class reunion, many people hadn’t seen each other for years and were cheerful. Ethan waited for the right moment, and after the event, pulled Chief Stone aside to a quiet café, where they sat down.
Chief Stone seemed to notice Ethan was troubled. As soon as they sat down, he spoke up.
Ethan felt deeply oppressed inside; the hope he had placed in Cynthia Mu was nearly shattered. He poured out everything, bit by bit, to Chief Stone.
It was late by the time Ethan finished telling the story. Chief Stone just listened silently, smoking his cigarette.
"I can't really help you with this."
Chief Stone spoke, and Ethan Zhang looked deeply disappointed. His last hope seemed to have vanished. Disheartened, Ethan returned to Dragonhill County and once again visited Cynthia Mu in the special isolation ward of Northview Psychiatric Hospital.
At this moment, Cynthia Mu looked pale and dazed. Ethan’s heart ached—his student of over ten years had become like this.
Just then, Ethan noticed something strange—Cynthia Mu’s lips were constantly murmuring. He leaned closer, and after a long while, he finally understood: she was muttering the word 'dragon.'
The only thing Ethan could think of was that painting—three years ago, Cynthia Mu had painted a dragon. He’d heard that the painting had mysteriously disappeared. He’d asked Cynthia about it before, but she’d been evasive; he still remembered her hesitation.
Thinking back now, it was strange. Ever since that painting vanished, Cynthia Mu seemed lost and aimless every time he saw her that week, as if she no longer cared about art.
To get to the bottom of it all, Ethan kept investigating, especially the serial murder case from years ago.
The murderer was a man named Victor Xiang, a local businessman and owner of a sand quarry. His business was thriving.
Everything seemed fine, until one day, a friend of Victor Xiang returned from out of town and proposed a partnership.
Victor Xiang gladly accepted his friend's proposal and invested a large sum of money into the joint venture.
At first, things went well, but soon losses began to mount. Victor Xiang hesitated, wanting to withdraw his investment, but his friend persuaded him to take out a high-interest loan instead.