SFTD -Chapter 347 Rooftop Human Skin (Part 6)

Xu Biao walked over carrying a case, glanced at the young man standing toward the bedroom, then turned slightly to block the boy’s line of sight. He shook a few evidence bags in his hand.

With a knowing look, he said, “There are a few strands of hair—don’t know if they belong to the deceased. The entire balcony is covered in signs of struggling and trampling. If my judgment is correct, someone has been frequently locked on that balcony.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes and immediately locked onto Xu Biao.

“Locked on the balcony?”

Xu Biao nodded.

Zhou Hai turned back to glance at the boy. Wang Man had also clearly heard him. The three of them all looked at the boy. Wang Man waved him over.

“Kid, come here for a moment.”

The boy glanced at the room door—inside seemed to have finally quieted down—then walked toward them with a guarded expression. He only approached after scanning them briefly, stopping more than an arm’s length away.

Wang Man asked, “What’s your name?”

“Peng Chunlei.”

“How old are you? Where do you study?”

“Sixteen. No. 9 Middle School in Changhe District.”

“How long has your sister Peng Chunling not been home?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why are you home today?”

“High school gets off every other Friday afternoon. We return on Sunday afternoon. I just got back.”

“You don’t have summer break?”

“We do, but we have to start studying Grade 11 courses early during the vacation.”

“All summer you’re still in class?”

“There are still two weeks left.”

Peng Chunlei answered without adding a single extra word. Wang Man and the others exchanged a few more glances.

He stood there with his head lowered, detached, as if it had nothing to do with him—an indifference that was hard to understand.

Zhou Hai looked at Peng Chunlei and checked the time. It was 4:00 p.m., August 7th. If his school really got out at that time, the timeline made sense.

“When you came home two weeks ago, was your sister at home?”

Peng Chunlei shook his head. Wang Man grew anxious.

He raised his voice and suddenly shouted, “What are you shaking your head for? Answer properly! Did you see her or not?”

Peng Chunlei wasn’t startled. He merely lifted his eyelids and glanced at Wang Man and Zhou Hai.

“I don’t know. I stayed in my room after I got back and rarely came out. She’s usually locked in the north room anyway. But when I left last weekend, I didn’t see her.”

Zhou Hai stopped Wang Man, who was about to speak again.

“Do your sister and mother not eat with you?”

Peng Chunlei shook his head. “I eat alone. They eat in the dining room. I stay in my room most of the time. I only come out occasionally. If I’m hungry, I cook something myself. I don’t care about the others.”

Zhou Hai tilted his chin toward the bedroom.

“Are you saying you don’t let your mother come out?”

Peng Chunlei bit his lip. After a few seconds, he glanced subtly at the door behind him.

“She’s usually fine, but she can’t handle shock. If she’s startled, she’ll have an episode. So I don’t want her to come out and see so many strangers—otherwise no one can control her.”

This explanation left Zhou Hai and Wang Man with little to refute.

With someone so emotionally detached, this way of handling things was simply… the easiest for him.

Zhou Hai pointed toward the balcony.

“Has your sister or your mother been locked here often?”

Peng Chunlei didn’t expect the question. He froze for a moment, staring at Zhou Hai, unsure how to respond.

Wang Man patted his arm sharply.

“Don’t try to hide anything. You can’t hide it anyway. Answer truthfully, understand?”

Peng Chunlei nodded again. “Got it. When my father isn’t home, he often locks them both on the balcony. They can see outside so they won’t be bored, and they don’t make a mess in the house.”

The group exchanged looks.

This kind of confinement felt less like treating human beings and more like keeping pets—locking people on a balcony under sun and wind all day was something difficult to comprehend.

At that moment, the door Peng Chunlei had been guarding suddenly opened from inside.

A disheveled woman poked her head out and smiled at them. The moment she opened her mouth, Zhou Hai saw that she had no teeth at all.

Peng Chunlei tried to stop her from coming out, but Wang Man noticed Zhou Hai stepping forward and stopped him.

Zhou Hai walked to the door and extended his hand.

“Come out and sit with us for a moment.”

The woman looked at him cautiously, scanning the area outside. She didn’t seem to find anything frightening. Seeing that her son was also outside, she suddenly rushed out and stood beside Peng Chunlei.

She grabbed his arm. He pushed her away in disgust. She grabbed him again. After repeating it twice, he stopped resisting and let her hold on, though his expression grew even more disgusted.

Zhou Hai looked at her.

“This is your son, right?”

She tightened her grip, looked up at Zhou Hai, blinked, then nodded slightly and made a soft “mm” sound.

Her eyes were clear—no confusion, no haze. Zhou Hai felt that this so-called “mental illness” might be questionable.

“Where is your daughter?”

The woman looked at him in confusion and pointed at herself.

Zhou Hai nodded, still watching her closely.

“Don’t be nervous. I’m just asking—where is your daughter?”

Peng Chunlei rolled his eyes, clearly thinking Zhou Hai was ridiculous for questioning a mentally ill woman.

The woman frowned, fiddling with her clothes and hair, as if the question was too difficult to understand. But Zhou Hai didn’t give up.

Under his steady gaze—something she seemed to have never experienced before—the woman hesitated.

Then she pointed toward the balcony.

“She flew away?”

That single sentence made everyone freeze.

All eyes turned toward her. She stepped back in fear but still clutched Peng Chunlei.

Peng Chunlei snapped, shaking her off.

“You crazy woman! What nonsense are you talking about? What did you even see? Go back to your room!”

Wang Man stepped forward, blocking Peng Chunlei’s view, staring at him warningly.

The woman became frightened and tried to retreat, but worried about her son, she hesitated in place.

Zhou Hai patted her shoulder.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s fine. Tell us—did you see it, or did you hear it?”

The woman tugged at her clothes, looked at Peng Chunlei. Seeing he wasn’t stopping her, she walked toward the balcony and sat down, hugging her knees, waving Zhou Hai over.

Zhou Hai sat beside her without hesitation.

She pointed at the balcony door and spoke in broken fragments:

“His father… locks the door… hits me… hits Ling’er… Ling’er holds me… he hits me… Ling’er here… I in room… I come out… Ling’er gone… I ask father… he cooks… ignores… flew away… flew away…”

The disjointed words were hard for others to understand, but Zhou Hai seemed to grasp something. He stood up slightly, looking at her.

“You’re saying… you and Ling’er were both locked on this balcony. When your husband came back, he beat you and Ling’er. But he couldn’t handle both of you, so he locked Ling’er on the balcony and dragged you back into the house to beat you. But when you came out later, Ling’er was gone. You thought she had ‘flown away.’ You went to ask your husband, but he didn’t believe you. Is that what happened?”