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墨書 Inktalez
One night passed in silence. The next morning, before Zhao Mingkun could call me, I woke up early. The weight of a hidden truth kept me restless throughout the night. After a simple breakfast, I called Gu Chen and instructed him to report to the police immediately after receiving my message, asking them to lead a team to capture the Murderer. Gu Chen agreed without asking many questions.
This was the third time Zhao Mingkun and I had come to this place. Indeed, the Murderer was none other than Jiang Xiaochun, who was married to Hu Pei. She was the only one among more than twenty people who had survived, having cleared her own suspicion right from the beginning of the case.
Jiang Xiaochun was a woman in her thirties with delicate features.
When we arrived at the house again, Hu's Mother opened the door for us, looking even more haggard than before. Upon seeing us, a flicker of light appeared on her otherwise dull face.
I spoke up, "We have found the Murderer, but I need to talk to your daughter-in-law Jiang Xiaochun first."
"Alright! Alright!" Hu's Mother nodded eagerly and said, "As long as it can bring justice for my son and granddaughter, you can do whatever you need to do. You must catch the Murderer!"
I nodded in response, but inside I felt a mix of emotions. Should I really tell this elderly woman that her son had been scared to death and that her granddaughter had gouged out her own eyes? And that it was all done by her seemingly meek daughter-in-law? I wondered if she could bear such a truth.
Hu's Mother welcomed us into the house. Jiang Xiaochun remained wrapped in a blanket, avoiding our gaze.
Hu's Mother brought over some stools so we could sit across from Jiang Xiaochun before leaving the room.
I looked at Jiang Xiaochun and slowly said, "Jiang Xiaochun, you must know that all your classmates have died recently. I'm referring to those twenty or so classmates who interned with you at the construction site seven years ago—you're the only one left alive. This is the biggest flaw left by the Murderer; however, the Murderer couldn't kill herself. She had to do this because only then could she eliminate herself from suspicion in future actions and make it easier for herself to act. To create this illusion from the start of the case, the Murderer sacrificed an innocent girl's life."
I paused and stared at Jiang Xiaochun.
She kept her head down, not looking at me, burying her face deep in the blanket. I could guess what she was feeling; during my last visit, I had picked up on some clues from her ring that shocked her deeply—a reaction I had clearly witnessed. Now, she didn't want me to read anything from her expression.
But some people just don't understand that hiding their expressions doesn't conceal the truth.
I smiled lightly and shrugged my shoulders as I continued, "Actually, I've been making a big mistake all along, one that has been interfering with my investigation. But suddenly, I realized where I went wrong. That doctor once told me that any diligent high school student could achieve this. However, I focused on the wrong aspect. I thought that as a girl from the Biology Department, it would be easy for me to handle this, so I assumed the murderer must be well-versed in chemistry."
I raised a finger and shook it. "I was completely off base. I should have broadened my focus instead of narrowing it down. The biggest taboo in criminal investigation is jumping to conclusions without thorough consideration; this can lead one into a passive position. The murderer exploited this tendency in people to mislead the direction of the investigation. Most people would follow the clues set by the murderer, leading them to a woman from the Biology Department who had the time, capability, and motive to commit the crime but then vanished. At this point, most would conclude the case, as it seemed like a solid conclusion backed by undeniable evidence."
Although I couldn't see Jiang Xiaochun's expression, I noticed the blanket covering her was trembling slightly—a sign of tension or fear.
I couldn't help but sigh, "Anyone who gets into Dongxing University isn't lacking in intelligence. Many of these individuals will become pillars of the nation after entering society. But if these pillars resort to elaborate schemes to commit murder, they would leave very few traces behind; there certainly wouldn't be fingerprints or shoe prints at the scene. They might even leave behind numerous distractions to confuse the police."
"Are you?" I continued to look at Jiang Xiaochun.
At that moment, she curled up under the blanket, tucking her head into her knees. Her eyes seemed closed, but I knew she was listening intently to every word I said. As long as she could hear me, I believed I could handle this high-IQ former student from Dongxing University who was pretending to be mad.
I went on, "So when I figured this out, my understanding of the murderer expanded. By correlating the clues I'd gathered, an image of the murderer began to take shape in my mind. Unfortunately, the murderer played this trick so skillfully that by the time we realized what was happening, they had already accomplished their goal."
I kept my gaze on Jiang Xiaochun as I spoke: "What the murderer wanted was simple—they aimed to find out who killed Lu Zhiqiu seven years ago. However, back then, Lu Zhiqiu's case was too complicated; there wasn't complete coverage online seven years ago, and there were very few cameras around to identify suspects."
Jiang Xiaochun's trembling intensified; she seemed to grasp this point and began twisting side to side while mumbling strange words in an attempt to convince us she was insane. I shook my head helplessly while sitting on the stool.
After a moment, I continued, "Without surveillance footage, we could only investigate based on the scene itself. But those workers who first discovered the body had compromised the scene; there were footprints everywhere—at least fifty pairs—making it exceptionally difficult to gather evidence. After leaving, the murderer took away the murder weapon..."
At this point, a sudden realization struck me; it felt like a crucial piece had fallen into place.
But now wasn't the time for further analysis. I continued speaking: "Thus, there were basically no useful clues at the scene. More importantly, there was no evidence of sexual assault on the body, which made the motive for murder increasingly elusive. And there's one critical point: the person who dismembered the body is not necessarily the same person who committed the murder."
I snapped my fingers and said, "If we assume that both the murderer and dismemberer are one and the same person, then we will never uncover who killed Lu Zhiqiu all those years ago. Because dismemberment serves two purposes: one is simply for easier transport of the body for disposal; two is driven by deep-seated hatred."
"The first point is obviously not true." I extended a finger and shook it. "There are no signs at the scene indicating that the body was moved."
I raised a second finger and continued, "So we only have the second point: the Murderer and Lu Zhiqiu have a deep-seated hatred. However, the body was dismembered by Liang Mei. She did it out of anger, but she didn't kill the person. The police believe this could lead to murder, but not necessarily to dismemberment. In reality, Liang Mei was too afraid to commit murder; it was only after seeing the body that she resorted to dismemberment. The police have reversed the cause and effect."
I shrugged my shoulders. "Thus, this case is filled with mysteries. Lu Zhiqiu's relationships are complex, and the evidence at the scene has been severely compromised, making it impossible to identify who the Murderer is. The police cannot arrest someone based solely on suspicion, but the Murderer operates differently; they don't need to care about such rules."
I continued, "The Murderer only needs to identify their suspects and doesn't necessarily require absolute evidence to seek revenge. At that time, the person most suspected by the Murderer was Hu Pei, due to Hu Pei's unusual behavior that night. To clarify this matter, the Murderer went so far as to marry Hu Pei just to investigate."
I paused for a moment, but Jiang Xiaochun didn’t stop; it seemed she wasn’t really listening to me.
Yet I pressed on. "The Murderer got completely drunk that night. She feared graduation and didn't want to face it, but time is an unrelenting blade that cuts away at those who cannot cope. Little did she know that just one night without being by Lu Zhiqiu's side would lead to such a catastrophe for Lu Zhiqiu."
I gently pointed at Jiang Xiaochun. "Thus, the Murderer hated herself, thinking that if she had been with Lu Zhiqiu at that time, things wouldn't have turned out this way. She planned from then on to find the Murderer and kill them in the most brutal way possible. But this vigil lasted many years; although Hu Pei's actions were strange, he seemingly did not kill Lu Zhiqiu."
"Right." I looked at Jiang Xiaochun and said slowly, "In this process, it became clear that investigating that case from years ago was incredibly difficult; otherwise, the police wouldn’t be so helpless. So the Murderer began her investigation and found that many people from back then were suspicious—they all had motives and opportunities for murder."
"Thus, this Murderer started investigating one person after another. Eventually, she realized that the workload was simply too vast for her to handle alone. As time passed year after year, she clearly recognized one thing: with each passing moment, she was getting further away from the truth. The Murderer finally understood that if she didn't act quickly, those involved back then would soon be impossible to find."
I glanced at Zhao Mingkun and spoke up again: "Moreover, an incident served as a catalyst that forced the Murderer out of hiding. At this point, she acquired an old phone which contained a photo—a photo of Lu Zhiqiu. Upon seeing this old picture, the Murderer knew she could wait no longer."
I shrugged again. "Killing everyone is much simpler than finding out who the Murderer was back then..."
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