"How could that be? Why didn't you say so earlier?" Xie Chuchu complained.
"I only just found out. Don't talk, hurry up to the fourth floor!" Liu Yuning sounded a bit impatient.
Xie Chuchu and I didn't dawdle and headed straight for the fourth floor.
On the balcony of the villa's fourth floor, we discovered a strange female corpse kneeling on the ground, hands clasped together, head tilted upwards!
This female corpse was also completely naked, and remarkably, she was still in a posture of prayer even in death.
I saw an aunt talking to several police officers in the corridor and learned that it was this aunt who had discovered the body.
She told us she was a cleaner and hadn't known about the corpse inside. Today, someone had called her to clean the place, so she came. To her surprise, upon arrival, she encountered such a tragic scene.
The cleaner said the call came from a man.
Could this fellow be the killer?
But was he insane? After committing murder, he deliberately invited someone to be a witness. Wasn't that asking to be caught?
Logically, murderers would want to avoid being discovered, as it's detrimental to them. Yet, this killer acted in reverse, actively seeking someone out. What was he trying to achieve?
As I pondered, my attention returned to the corpse.
Xie Chuchu, the forensic doctor Xiao Dong, and I carefully touched the praying female corpse. First, I noticed she was roughly the same age as the one found downstairs, and her appearance was similar. The only difference was that this corpse's head wasn't trapped, and there was no blood on her face.
As we laid her down, we noticed her lips were upturned. She was smiling!
Seeing this, Liu Yuning asked in confusion, "How can she still be smiling?"
"It's not a smile; it's likely an expression of extreme pain!" one of the officers speculated.
"No! This is a smile. To perform the action of smiling, one has to engage over ten muscles. Causing this phenomenon isn't difficult; we can test the blood. If I'm not mistaken, the deceased should have a component called laughing gas in her system!"
"You mean nitrous oxide?" Liu Yuning inquired.
"Huh? You know nitrous oxide too?"
"Of course, I've handled quite a few cases. Nitrous oxide is commonly known as laughing gas, it's..." Liu Yuning trailed off.
I continued, "Nitrous oxide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula N₂O. It is a dangerous chemical, a colorless gas with a sweetish odor. It is an oxidizing agent and can support combustion under certain conditions, but it is stable at room temperature, has a slight anesthetic effect, and can induce laughter."
"Right! Right! Exactly," Liu Yuning replied.
I continued to examine the female deceased's wrist and immediately discovered the same needle marks. Combining this with the condition of both corpses, I quickly reached a conclusion: "It seems the killer is intentionally prolonging the victims' lives! Did he harm someone before?"
"What do you mean?" Gao Mingqiang asked.
"Haven't you noticed? The methods used on these two victims are very specific, interesting, and skillful. It's impossible for him to achieve this on his first attempt. Therefore, I suspect someone was harmed previously!"
"Consultant He, don't just guess wildly!" Gao Mingqiang said angrily.
"I'm not guessing wildly. By the way, this female corpse's internal organs are intact, and there are no tattoos. Clearly, the killer treated each female corpse differently. If it were his first crime, how could he have such a versatile mind?" I retorted.
Everyone was somewhat stunned. Liu Yuning said, "Alright then! Let's proceed with the autopsies! Everyone present at the scene, get thoroughly screened!"
Many forensic technicians picked up various precision instruments and meticulously re-examined the scene, but they couldn't find any fingerprints, hairs, or shoe prints.
We had no choice but to return.
Once Xie Chuchu and Xiao Dong confirmed the time of death for the first victim, Liu Yuning approached me apologetically, "Consultant He, you were right. The time of death has been determined."
"Hm? If I'm not mistaken, you want to investigate the victim's personal relationships now?"
"What else?"
"Don't rush. I examined the house earlier; there were signs of a pried-open window, and all the surveillance was jammed. However, the killer cleverly managed to find a way to escape the recorded footage. This proves the killer was prepared and familiar with the interior, but it wasn't an inside job! Investigating their personal relationships will be largely useless!"
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Find the first victim!" I said earnestly.
"Fine! But you handle this one yourself!"
Liu Yuning turned and left in a huff. This woman really seemed to be addicted to bickering with me. I noticed she'd been like this ever since my relationship with Xie Chuchu improved slightly. I sighed. Without Liu Yuning's help, the only police officer I could rely on was Gao Mingqiang.
After all, I was just a consultant. While I had some reputation, what use was fame without an official position?
I approached Gao Mingqiang, but for a moment, I didn't know where to find the first victim.
Unlike Liu Yuning, who would investigate personal connections, I focused my attention on the image of the XieZhi.
Seeing me staring blankly at the back of the female corpse, Gao Mingqiang asked curiously, "Consultant He, why are you so interested in the female corpse? Don't tell me you have a thing for... necrophilia?"
"I'm into your head! I'm trying to figure out how to find the first victim from this XieZhi pattern."
"Ah, can you do that? Senior?" Xie Chuchu nearby also looked confused.
"XieZhi, XieZhi, besides representing justice, what else do you signify?"
As I mumbled, Gao Mingqiang said, "Isn't that an ancient mythical beast? Perhaps it has something to do with the Eight Trigrams, like Qian and Kun?"
"Qian and Kun Eight Trigrams!!"
Suddenly, inspiration struck me. I immediately searched for information. The more I looked, the more I discovered that XieZhi was associated with water and, like Xuanwu, was located in the Kan position of the Eight Trigrams, in the North.
And the villa complex where the victim's family lived was located in the northernmost part of Fuming City!
What did this signify?
Was it merely a coincidence??
I looked again at the south, east, and west, but couldn't seem to find the location of the killer's first crime. Fuming City's south was developed, the east and west were also decent, only the north was relatively underdeveloped. The killer had probably chosen this area beforehand. His first crime went undiscovered, leading to his second attempt in the same manner. I suddenly looked towards Fuming City's north again and picked up my phone to call He Xin, "Check if there are any special buildings in the north of Fuming City!"
"Okay!"
A moment later, He Xin informed me that there was a mountain in the north of Fuming City called XieZhi Mountain!
XieZhi Mountain? Could the first victim be on this mountain??
I slammed my hand on the table and said angrily, "Gao Mingqiang, do you trust me?"
"What's wrong?"
"Will you accompany me to XieZhi Mountain?"
"Ah, that mountain, it's rumored to be quite eerie. Why would we go there?" Gao Mingqiang's jaw dropped in surprise.