Chapter 305: Chapter 303: The Murderer’s Cunning

After returning to town, Lu Zhishen didn’t look well.

"Are you okay?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"I’m fine." Lu Zhishen could barely be bothered to speak. "I’ll be fine after some sleep. I’m heading back to my room."

"Okay."

After he returned to his room, Chu Xingrou and Su Miaoyi quickly washed up.

This was Su Miaoyi’s first time in this place, so she looked around a bit.

Then she and Chu Xingrou went back to their room.

"Get some sleep. Investigations take energy, and staying up all night will make your brain freeze up," Su Miaoyi said. "And don’t take what they said to heart."

"When I was in college, a professor once told me something," Chu Xingrou said.

"What was it?"

"She said that when you can’t catch a criminal, the person trying to catch the criminal becomes the sinner at some point," Chu Xingrou said. "I didn’t understand it before, but I’m starting to get it now. It’s not just the blame from others; in this moment, you even feel that your own incompetence is a sin."

Su Miaoyi stared at the dark ceiling without a word.

"Honestly, it’s not that bad. It’s just... we can’t catch the killer, and I’m getting anxious," Chu Xingrou said. "The villagers aren’t wrong, either. We showed up, and a new murder still happened on our watch."

"Get a good rest. We’re not leaving until we catch this killer," Su Miaoyi said. "We’re staying right here."

"Yeah!" Chu Xingrou agreed. "We have to catch him."

"Sleep now."

"Sister Miaomiao, good night."

"Good night."

Chu Xingrou fell asleep quickly.

Su Miaoyi had slept for a good part of the afternoon, so she wasn’t sleepy now. Her mind was constantly turning over the details of the case.

’Tian Ming’s killer and Gao Hui’s killer are one and the same.’

’So why didn’t he use the legend of the Sheep Horn God three years ago? Why use it now?’

’Inciting the masses...’

’If the purpose of using the Sheep Horn God is to incite the masses, then... the chant about the Sheep Horn God appeared on the night we arrived.’

’Is it aimed primarily at us?’

’Wan Shuang died the morning we arrived. At that time, the villagers of Yanjing Village—or to be more direct, the killer—probably didn’t know people from Jinghai were coming to investigate the three-year-old case.’

’He just happened to be targeting Wan Shuang right when we arrived.’

’So the very night we arrived, the killer came up with a counter-plan.’

’Use the Sheep Horn God to incite the masses and obstruct the investigation.’

’Even Duan Wenrui and Zhao Yongliang would be stonewalled.’

’Driving us investigators away isn’t very realistic.’

’But by causing a commotion like this, he can obstruct the investigation and buy time. An unsolved case... the longer it drags on, the lower the chances of ever solving it.’

Su Miaoyi mentally linked all the cases, her mind racing through the details.

She didn’t fall asleep until it was nearly dawn.

When Chu Xingrou got up in the morning, Su Miaoyi heard her and got up as well.

The two of them went out to find Lu Zhishen already up. He had even gone out to buy breakfast.

"You’re awake?" Lu Zhishen said. "Just in time. Wash up and let’s eat."

Su Miaoyi looked at him and saw that he looked refreshed.

It was a little cold that morning, so she hopped in place a couple of times. "Feeling better?"

"There was nothing really wrong with me. It was just too noisy, and my head felt overwhelmed. A little rest was all I needed," Lu Zhishen said. "I’ve contacted Captain Duan. The situation on his end isn’t great, either. They met with obstruction and resistance while investigating last night."

"How did they handle it?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"Captain Duan stood his ground. He tried to lecture them, and when that didn’t work, he got tough. The villagers tried to run them off, but they refused to leave and just stayed put," Lu Zhishen said. "As for what exactly happened, Captain Duan didn’t go into detail. Anyway, it was a huge ruckus that lasted most of the night, but it seems to have quieted down now."

"The local team has their own way of handling things," Su Miaoyi said. "It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to be there, or to ask too many questions."

Lu Zhishen nodded.

"With all this commotion, the killer’s long gone," Chu Xingrou said.

"That’s what’s so clever on the killer’s part. People here have worshiped the Sheep Horn God for generations; the god holds too much sway in their hearts," Lu Zhishen said. "He’s using the Sheep Horn God to cause ’unrest.’ The law doesn’t punish the masses, especially since most of them are elderly."

"How’s the canvassing in the other villages going?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"We haven’t finished the canvass yet, but so far, we haven’t found any suspicious persons," Lu Zhishen said.

"Can we enter the village now?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"We can." Lu Zhishen paused, then added, "We might just get a few more dirty looks."

"As long as we can get in, that’s all that matters. I can just pretend I don’t see the glares," Chu Xingrou said.

After breakfast, the three of them went to Yanjing Village.

They were no longer blocked outside the village, and they didn’t run into anyone as they entered.

Perhaps the villagers hadn’t slept much last night and were catching up during the day.

First, they went to the village committee office to see Duan Wenrui.

As soon as they saw him, the first thing they noticed was the gauze wrapped around his head.

"Captain Duan, what happened?"

"It’s nothing." Duan Wenrui waved his hand. "I just bumped it accidentally. It’s not a big deal."

"You should get it checked out. Get a CT scan or something," Chu Xingrou said.

"It’s not a big deal," Duan Wenrui said. "I notified Tian Ming’s two sons last night. They should both be able to make it back today."

"Alright," Lu Zhishen said. "You should go back and get some rest. You were up all night, and you’re injured."

"Okay," Duan Wenrui said. "I’ll sort some things out and then go get some sleep."

With that, he left.

The three of them watched him go, then exchanged a look. None of them said a word.

The evidence recovered from the cornfield yesterday, aside from the items taken for forensic analysis, was all being stored at the village committee office.

The three of them took a look.

First, they looked at the mahjong tiles.

Then they looked at the mask.

"Isn’t this the one the killer was wearing?" Lu Zhishen said.

"No," Su Miaoyi said. "The one the killer was wearing wasn’t this vibrant red, nor was it this new."

She held it, examining it. "The craftsmanship is quite detailed."

She sniffed it as she spoke, then sniffed it again. "What is this made of?"

Lu Zhishen took it and knocked on it. "Seems like cardboard."

"It can be made to look like this out of cardboard?" Su Miaoyi asked in surprise.

"You glue thinner pieces of cardboard together, carve it into shape with a craft knife, fill the seams with adhesive, and once the shape is right, you seal it and then spray-paint it," Lu Zhishen explained.

"Handmade? Could someone really make two that are completely identical?" Chu Xingrou said.

"They wouldn’t be perfectly identical. Same size, same general shape, so they look the same visually. But a close comparison would likely reveal differences," Lu Zhishen said. "Besides, what she saw in her vision was at night. There’s bound to be some margin for error."

Su Miaoyi nodded and handed Lu Zhishen a pair of scissors.

Lu Zhishen glanced at the scissors, then back at her, before using them to cut open a piece of the mask.

"It really is cardboard." Su Miaoyi took it back and examined the glued-together layers, silent for a moment...

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