With the departure of the uninvited guest, the room became strangely quiet.
Smiling ruefully, Hong Wen apologised, "please don't mind, Envoy Chu. She…..she came here on special recommendations. Even I can't really do anything about her."
Oh, a person who came through the backdoor. Nodding in understanding, Chu Nuan dismissed the event with a wave of her hand. "Let's continue."
Pointing again to the second location photos, she began, "As I've said, the killer isn't meticulous enough, leaving a finger behind. Also, there is a reason for me to believe that scene two and three is linked together." Chu Nuan stated as she pointed at the third crime scene photo. " See here? The first thing you might notice is the large slice wound on the neck of the two victims. Notice anything strange?"
"According to your speculations, the wound on the neck is deep, but not much blood is found on the scene." Hong Wen answered.
"What else?"
Lei Lin, who was silent for the most part suddenly spoke. "I think it's strange that, other than the head of the two bodies, everywhere else is clean."
Surprised by Lei Lin's observation, Hong Wen and Xie Luochen reviewed the photos again, one by one.
"It's true." Xie Luochen muttered. "Normally, the blood should run down the neck, not upwards."
Continuing to observe the photos, he pondered. "The thing that could cause this…..could it be?" He said as his finger tapped on the factory photo.
Immediately, understanding his thoughts, Hong Wen supported, "I see, the hooks in the factory. An area where meat is usually hooked on, can be used to hook on the victims. By hanging them upside down, the blood will flow down their heads when their neck is cut."
"That means, the victims from the third location came from the second crime scene!" Lei Lin added. "But why did the criminal place those bodies in the alleyway when they could just grind them together?" He asked, perplexed. "And the energy found at the scenes, could the murderer be possessed by the escaped spirit?"
"There is a high possibility," Chu Nuan answered. " The bodies were discarded there perhaps to cause public unrest and as a provoking message to the police." Moving to sit more comfortably, she continued, "but what perplexes me is the disappearance of the blood. What could the killer be using the blood for?"
The room settled into another round of silence as each one of them contemplated on their own.
Suddenly, Hong Wen's phone rang, shattering the stillness in the air.
"Hello?" He answered, listening silently to the voice from the other side.
At the same time, Blackie appeared out of Chu Nuan's shadow. Bowing to her first, he then reported, "Your Honor, he has awakened and wishes to speak to you.
Simultaneously, Hong Wen ended his call, looking up at everyone around the table, he furrowed his brows as he spoke. "Another body was found just now, not too far from the other locations. We should go take a look."
Standing up herself, Chu Nuan rejected the offer, "I have something to do. I will meet up with you later if I have time." Saying so, with a snap of her hand, Chu Nuan disappeared with Blackie.
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Opening her eyes to the familiar decor of her room, Chu Nuan took a seat with her eyes closed. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sat silently for a while, seeming to be thinking about the past. Before long, she sighed tiredly as her eyes slowly opened to stare at the kneeling figure in front of her.
"Your Honor….." The figure whispers, afraid of shattering the stillness in the air.
She studies the figure in front soundlessly, old wrinkled skin, short white hair, and trembling limbs. A moment passed before she gave a light smile, "It's been a while, fox."
"I am honored to be remembered by you." The old man said. This was the elderly man Chu Nuan brought back from the shopping district.
"The wife you were looking for, I assume it's her?" Chu Nuan asked curiously.
"That is correct. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have the opportunity to see her again." The old man expressed sincerely, eyes slightly red as he remembered the past.
What was the story of this old man?
This was a story about a cruel fox and a woman who saved his heart. A piece of history that happened to entangle the two together on a snowy day...