"Fingerprints? What do you need those for?" Prince Nolan looked at Serena, puzzled.
Serena handed the box containing the murder weapon to Prince Nolan. "The killer wouldn’t risk exposing themselves by using any kind of device—that would be too easy to trace. This silver bead was flicked out by hand, and I saw a fingerprint on it. I’ll lift the print and compare it to those people later. Since we’ve sealed the city, the culprit is definitely still inside. They can’t escape."
The moment the incident happened, the scene was locked down—nobody could get away. Of course... even if someone did slip out, it wouldn’t matter; they might escape this spot, but they couldn’t get out of the city.
With such a huge case, officials didn’t need Prince Nolan’s orders; they immediately sealed off the city and blocked the news.
"You can identify the killer just from a fingerprint?" Prince Nolan’s eyes lit up, clearly intrigued.
When the authorities take signatures, they also record handprints—but those prints are clear, and even if there’s a mark on the silver bead, it’ll be hard to distinguish.
"You know this kind of thing doesn’t stump me." Serena pointed at the Smart Med-Pack on her wrist. Prince Nolan nodded in understanding and immediately summoned his men to handle it. As for interrogations?
Better to spend that time tracking down whoever was truly behind this. Even if we can’t find the real mastermind, we need to figure out who can take the fall.
Prince Nolan and Serena headed to the post station together, discussing the case along the way and sharing their perspectives.
This was no time for either of them to throw a tantrum. Even if Serena was still unhappy inside, she had to set it aside for now—everything had to be about the bigger picture.
Back at the post station, the two split up. Serena first went to check on Yana Zhan, and after confirming Yana was simply overwhelmed by grief, she returned to her room to prepare to lift the fingerprint from the silver bead.
Prince Nolan summoned his dark guards, ordering them to investigate everything that happened today, all suspicious identities in the city, and—
"Check if anyone in House Zhan had a grudge against Master Wenyuan."
"Investigate every Deputy Palace Master at Jixia Academy. I want to know everyone they’ve interacted with over the years, and any changes around them. Don’t miss a single detail."
"Have Vincent Su send intelligence from Southlyn, Northlyn, and Westlyn immediately."
......
Once everything was assigned, Prince Nolan sent the dark guards out. His advisers followed, coming in to report: "Your Highness, the news has been locked down. Master Wenyuan’s death hasn’t leaked yet."
"We’ve checked all fifty-six students present—thirty are from Eastlyn, ten from Southlyn, eight from Westlyn, two from Northlyn, and the remaining six from the Nine Cities. Every background is confirmed, and several are noble-born young masters."
"Master Wenyuan’s body has been examined by the coroners. Aside from the fatal wound to the heart, there are no other injuries."
"Everyone is being held under guard, one person per room to prevent collusion or suicide."
"We’ve got people watching all the vendors and locals nearby too, making sure no one leaves."
"Here are the students’ handprints—both hands, fifty-six sets in total. When we took the prints, we checked each person’s hands; none of them had calluses from training, and there wasn’t a single martial artist among them." The adviser stepped forward and placed the papers covered in prints before Prince Nolan, then stepped back.
Fifty-six sheets in all, each with two bright red handprints and the corresponding identity details. Every record was thorough. Prince Nolan skimmed through them, then took the stack to Serena.
Just as Serena finished enlarging the fingerprint from the silver bead, the two of them began matching the prints one by one.
Serena was a surgeon, not a forensic expert; she didn’t have any fingerprint system and could only compare by eye. It was tedious, boring work, but she and Prince Nolan were meticulous, going through each sheet without blinking.
"No match."
"Not it."
One by one, the fingerprints were ruled out. Both of their expressions grew more grim. When the last print was eliminated, Serena looked even more frustrated.
It took them a full hour to check all fifty-six prints, but they didn’t find a single clue.
"Not a single match. All that work for nothing." Serena clutched the papers, sounding defeated.
Now she understood how her senior used to feel every time she checked the evidence and couldn’t find a suspect.
Damn, it was suffocating.
"How is it for nothing? At least now we know the killer isn’t among these students—it’s someone else." Prince Nolan took Serena’s hand, gently squeezing to comfort her silently.
"Huh... You’ve got a point." Serena exhaled and forced herself to rally. "If the culprit isn’t one of these fifty-six, then it has to be someone else. Find everyone who was present at the scene, get their handprints, and I’ll compare them one by one."
"Alright. But let’s have the others handle it—staring at prints this long will ruin your eyes." After focusing on fingerprints for so long, anyone’s vision would blur.
There were hundreds of people at the scene. That wasn’t something that could be done in just a couple hours.
"This is too important—I want to do it myself. Once Miss Zhan wakes up, she can help me. I think she’ll be eager to find her father’s killer with her own hands." Of everyone, Yana Zhan was most devastated by Master Wenyuan’s death. Giving her something to do would keep her from spiraling.
"Alright, I’ll have my people handle it. It’s getting late—let’s eat first." They’d been busy all day and hadn’t had lunch. Prince Nolan worried Serena would wear herself out.
"I want to pay my respects to Master Wenyuan first." Serena hadn’t had time to grieve while chasing the culprit, but now that she stopped, sorrow crept in.
"Go ahead, just don’t stay too long." Serena was both cold and tender. As a doctor, she understood life and death, but she couldn’t see through the deaths of those close to her. Was that a blessing or a curse?
Serena ran into Princess Mingwei and Yana Zhan on her way to the morgue.
Serena comforted Yana again, and the three of them went to the morgue together, tidying Master Wenyuan’s remains and making sure he was clean and dignified even in death.
On the way back, Serena sent Princess Mingwei away and spoke to Yana about the fingerprint investigation, inviting her to help find Master Wenyuan’s killer.
Yana was upset with Prince Nolan and Serena. She knew they weren’t at fault, but still couldn’t help blaming Prince Nolan for failing to protect her father. Despite this, she didn’t refuse Serena’s kindness.
"I will never let my father’s killer go unpunished." Yana’s pale face was full of hatred.
Serena knew how deeply Master Wenyuan’s death had hurt Yana, but she didn’t want hatred to cloud her judgment, so she kept the complex political truth behind his death to herself.
If Yana ever learned that Master Wenyuan died because of a power struggle, she might break down—just like when she learned the real reason for her own parents’ deaths.