Memory Lost (Mei Ren Wei Xian / 美人为馅)

Let's suppose that...

this whole case was actually carried out by a team of two people.

Then all of this makes sense.

The footprints left behind at the crime scene also confirmed this.

Two people?

So that means aside from Zeng Fang Ping, there's one more person?

I have to say

the semen found on the victim's body in the first case

and the connection to the circus in the second case

have given me a funny feeling.

Funny feeling?

Boss, you can't just think that things are strange

because we easily found clues and evidence supporting our speculation.

Yes, that's the feeling.

It's as if there is someone who has been

steering the direction of our investigation.

If Zeng Fang Ping took part in this crime

then at most, he participated in the preparatory work, like scouting

and is merely an accomplice.

The true, main culprit

must be someone else.

Subtitles by DramaFever

[Based on the novel of the same name. This is a work of fiction.]

[Any resemblances are purely coincidental.]

You're making me more confused.

Let's suppose Zeng Fang Ping isn't the main culprit.

Then after information on our monitoring activity of him was leaked

the real culprit should've used it to his advantage

and pinned everything on Zeng Fang Ping.

Why would he follow up with Zhao Man Man's incident?

Good question.

In the beginning, I couldn't understand either.

But think about it from another perspective.

Say the criminal had planned from the start

to pin all the blame on Zeng Fang Ping

beginning with the semen seemingly unintentionally left behind at the scene

then with the flyers later on.

It's just that he never imagined

no matter how perfect his plans, accidents could still happen.

According to the shift schedule that day

Zeng Fang Ping was supposed to be resting at home.

Hence, he wouldn't have an alibi.

So, the criminal chose to take action during that time.

However, Zeng Fang Ping unexpectedly got drunk and not only didn't return home

but even fell asleep in the prop room.

Thus, not only did the criminal fail to pass on the blame

he even exposed himself.

If that's the case

this person must be hiding close to Zeng Fang Ping.

Who could it be?

- Chen Li Jiang. - Chen Li Jiang.

Chen Li Jiang?

Chen Li Jiang works as a clown at Fiesta.

He also organizes some of the park's equipment.

He's also one of the suspects we identified

as matching the criminal profiling.

Anyhow, I know Boss understands criminal psychology

but God Han, how did you make this inference?

What is criminal psychology? I've never heard of that before.

The footprints tell me the culprit's foot length should be 26 centimeters

and his pace length is 76 centimeters.

The footprints were on rather loose soil.

The depth of the footprints is 0.3 centimeters.

From these, I can deduce that...

the culprit should be about 1.78 meters tall

and weigh between 70 to 72 kilograms.

The people in the circus crew either don't match the height or the weight.

Of these remaining three people

only Chen Li Jiang meets every requirement.

Dang! I idolize you so very much!

This is the legendary... footstep tracking technique, right?

Boss, Boss!

I've only seen this before once at the Municipal Bureau.

It was done by some talent Captain Ning hired.

Likewise, back then, all the data was collected

and a conclusion was drawn after several long hours of calculation.

God Han, you're so amazing!

You just saw the footprints this morning and already have the conclusion.

Listen, this analysis is super impressive and...

Since our verdicts are in agreement

then all that's left is finding evidence.

It has to be fast.

We all know we have to act fast.

Chen Li Jiang knows he's been exposed.

If he is determined to pin the crime on Zeng Fang Ping

then he'll make Zeng Fang Ping strongly believe himself to be the culprit.

Enough, stop walking around. I'm dizzy enough as it is.

Ping.

Are you aware?

You have committed a tremendous crime.

In hindsight, the time of the crime in these three cases

was on nights that Zeng Fang Ping did not have performances.

That indicates Chen Li Jiang had decided from the start

to make Zeng Fang Ping his scapegoat.

But how did he accomplish that?

Xiao Zhuan, what else do we know about Chen Li Jiang?

Chen Li Jiang?

He is known as a nice guy at Fiesta.

Five years ago, he was a magician there.

He ended up having some accident, disfiguring his face

and could no longer perform on stage, so he switched to being a clown.

That was when his ex-wife, Xu Ying, divorced him.

Have we spoken with Xu Ying?

Xu Ying is a tour guide, mainly in charge of tours within the province.

She's away from home most of the time.

After she divorced Chen Li Jiang, she moved home to Hongyu County.

Why don't I arrange for someone to speak with Xu Ying?

I think Chen Li Jiang and Xu Ying's failed marriage

was very likely a trigger for Chen Li Jiang

and one of the major reasons he committed the crimes.

We need to know what happened between them.

Okay, I'll go right away.

Continue.

- Continue with what? - Reading the materials.

Why should I read the materials?

I've looked at this information hundreds of times already.

The eye perceives words too readily

causing you to overlook a lot of information.

Reading is different.

It can give your brain sufficient time to react

and stimulate your auditory senses.

There are many sounds, scents, and images

that cannot be directly perceived just by looking.

But reading and listening can allow you to make even more connections

and thereby discover more clues.

That sounds quite reasonable.

Where did you learn that?

In the past, there was someone...

What Xiao Zhuan said made me remember

the commonalities between the first and second cases

as well as what Chen Li Jiang didn't have time to do in the third case.

Take photographs.

Keep going.

I remember the query you had at the time.

Based on a survey of the crime scene

the criminal did not leave behind any footprints, fingerprints, or hair.

That shows he is extremely meticulous.

Yet, such a person left behind semen and photos?

It can only be because he wanted the police to find them.

So what is his motive?

Do you still remember

you said the culprit wanted the police to find

the bodily fluids and photos he left at the scene?

Why would he do that?

First, because he doesn't have a criminal record.

He's highly confident his bodily fluids

won't match with the ones left at the scene.

If we follow the assumption that

Chen Li Jiang had decided from the start to make Zeng Fang Ping his scapegoat

then those bodily fluids must certainly be Zeng Fang Ping's.

We can wait for the test results before taking a closer look into this.

Secondly...

The photos must have their own purpose and commemorative significance.

This is the second motive behind his crimes.

Why do you say that?

Whether it is the setting or props at the crime scene

they seem to be arranged in accordance with a past lifestyle.

There is a certain ritualistic sense to it.

I believe the culprit wanted to return to a certain past through this ritual.

The victim was also thought of as a certain person in the culprit's past.

He fantasizes about returning to a life he had in the past

and for time to stand still at that moment.

Boss, God Han, guess what?

Chen Li Jiang mailed a lot of photos from the past to Xu Ying.

When I called her

she was in the middle of reporting it at the county station.

- Photos from the past? - Yes.

According to what Xu Ying said, when she led a tour to Fiesta four years ago

she met Chen Li Jiang, who was still a magician at the time.

Back then, he was confident, outgoing, and quite good looking.

The two very quickly became a couple.

Xu Ying is a photography enthusiast

and she took many photos relating to magic for Chen Li Jiang.

He sometimes had her act as the magician's assistant for photos.

He even liked to take their photos to a photography studio to be displayed.

But good times were short-lived.

It proves PDA kills a relationship.

Two years ago, Chen Li Jiang had an accident during a performance

and became disfigured.

He hasn't performed on stage ever since.

Around the same time, Xu Ying also increased the number of tours she led

so the two spent more time apart than together.

According to Xu Ying, that was around this time that Chen started to change.

He became increasingly somber.

Xu Ying hasn't contacted Chen Li Jiang since the divorce.

By the way, she also said he once mentioned

the one who took over his magician act at Fiesta

was his fellow apprentice of magic.

Fellow apprentice?

Is it Zeng Fang Ping?

That works out.

You just said they liked to display their photos?

Yes.

After a photo shoot, some studio owners

like to display the photos in a window.

Chen Li Jiang liked to give his couple photos

to the studio to be displayed.

I wonder if he still likes to do that.

He certainly won't be as conspicuous as before.

But he'll definitely still do so within the parameters of his control.