Chapter 42: The Hammer Fiend Case (Part 11)

October 20th, the morning before the cold wave swept southward.

On the urban-rural fringe in the western outskirts of Luocheng, an old, battered bicycle was parked outside a family home. Not far away, a pair of shifty-eyed thieves had been watching for quite some time.

A down-and-out man wearing only a single layer of clothes saw that no one was around, hopped onto the bike, and rode away.

That same night, taking advantage of the cover of darkness, he stole some money and then continued wandering from village to village to sell small general merchandise.

As fate would have it, just as he was crossing Luocheng from west to east, he ran right into a police checkpoint at an intersection.

Because he was riding the bicycle relatively fast, by the time he noticed the blockade, he had already rushed up right in front of the police. It was too late to turn around and skirt past them.

The short man's scalp tightened, and a thought popped into his mind: "I'm finished this time! I'm going to go down right here!"

But on second thought, trying to escape at this moment was out of the question; he might as well boldly step forward. "Anyway, the word 'murderer' isn't written across my forehead. As long as I act natural, the police might not recognize me."

Therefore, putting on the air of an outsider, he proactively got off the bicycle, walked up to the officers, and boldly asked, "Comrades, what are you doing?"

There were two police officers on duty here. One was younger, and the other was slightly older. Having been ordered to set up the checkpoint since 5:00 a.m., their stomachs were already rumbling with hunger.

"Old Li, how much use can this kind of formality-driven checkpoint really be? Where would a murderer be so foolish as to intentionally walk right into the net?"

"Don't mention it. If the bosses weren't driving by to check on us every hour, I'd really love to find some shelter and bowl of hot pepper soup."

Just as the two on-duty police officers were full of complaints, a clumsy, short man came over to meddle in their business. Annoyed by his questioning, the young policeman shoved him far away and barked at him crossly, "Get lost! What we're doing is none of your damn business!"

The short man smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Sorry, sorry!"

With that, he feigned a dejected air, hopped back onto his bicycle, and made to leave.

Before he could even pedal away, the older policeman called out, "Stop right there!"

The short man's heart trembled with terror at the shout. He wanted to pedal away for his life, but then he reasoned: a bicycle could never outpace a police car; trying to force an escape was impossible. If he failed to escape and was hauled back by the police, it would be tantamount to confessing to them that he was the murderer.

Thus, stumbling and scrambling, the short man got off the bicycle again and asked with a ingratiating smile, "Comrade, is something the matter?"

The older policeman said, "Take out your ID card and let me have a look."

The short man breathed an inward sigh of relief, slowly reached his hand into his pocket, fumbled around feignedly for a moment, and finally pulled out his identity card.

The older policeman took the ID card, looked up at the short man, and asked, "What do you do for a living?"

The short man pointed to the balloons fluttering on his bicycle and said, "My family is poor, so I'm out doing small business."

The young policeman also walked over at this moment, flipped through the balloons, nail clippers, and other small commodities packed in the bicycle basket, waved his hand impatiently at the short man, and said, "Get lost! Move along!"

Knowing that they wouldn't detain him since they hadn't found anything suspicious, the short man was in no rush to leave. He deliberately glanced at the older policeman, as if asking: What about you? Do you still want me to leave?

The older policeman waved a hand at him and said, "Scram!"

The short man pushed his bicycle forward, walking crookedly for a dozen paces before finally mounting the bike and riding leisurely toward the outskirts of the city.

At that moment, although he looked calm on the surface, his heart was churning violently. He had already accumulated multiple counts of murder on his hands; if he were really caught this time, it would cost him his life.

Therefore, every step along that stretch of road felt like walking a tightrope across an abyss thousands of feet deep. The slightest lapse in concentration could plunge him into an eternal, inescapable abyss.

Those dozen paces were a performance of his own life with every single step.

Yet, he still had to maintain his composure and act as if nothing were wrong. Any hint of panic at any step might reveal a flaw to the police and send him straight through the gates of hell.

Only at the exact moment he pedaled away did he quietly let out a breath. "I've slipped past the ghost gate once more."

Once he was far beyond the police's line of sight, the short man fled like a fish that had slipped through the net and a stray dog in terror, pedaling away on his bicycle at top speed.

He felt a lingering fear mixed with a profound sense of fortune, marveling at how he could possess such daring and courage, remaining so calm and collected in the face of police interrogation.

...

Although the cold wave had not yet retreated, the morning sun was exceptionally bright.

Dijiakun Village awoke to the crowing of roosters. The partially thawed stream murmured as it flowed, with cattle and sheep grazing leisurely along the banks. Children laughed nearby, and the bare persimmon trees swayed gently in the breeze, as if whispering of the tenderness of passing years.

In the faint morning light, Li Rui and Wen Rou were jogging along the rugged mountain path. In the thin mist, their breath condensed into white frost in the chilly air.

"Hey, you really something else. You won't take a car when you have one, yet you insisted on running and dragged me along against my will," Wen Rou said, panting heavily as she looked at Li Rui ahead of her.

"I'm doing this for your own good. It's about time you got some exercise," Li Rui replied.

"Hah! Doing it for my good. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Isn't it just carsickness? It's not like I'm going to laugh at you," Wen Rou sneered.

Li Rui's running shoes crunched softly against the frosted blades of grass, reminding him of morning runs on the medical school playground many years ago.

"Remember?" Wen Rou suddenly asked, her ponytail cutting a graceful arc in the morning light. "The very first time you asked me out for a run, you threw up halfway through."

The corners of Li Rui's mouth curled up slightly. "That was because the night before, during anatomy class, I stared at specimens soaked in formalin for a full four hours."

His gaze swept over the persimmon trees by the roadside, their bare branches swaying gently in the wind. "I still remember the taste of the bottle of water you handed me back then."

Wen Rou chuckled softly. "It was lemon-flavored electrolyte water."

Her pace suddenly slowed down. "Just like now—you still get carsick!"

Turning a corner, the farmhouse that served as the crime scene came into view. The police cordon fluttered gently in the morning breeze like an unhealed scar.

"Forensic Doctor Li, Director Wen, why are you here?" The on-duty policeman was startled.

"Oh, we're here to re-examine the scene," Wen Rou explained with a smile.

Wen Rou was wearing tight yoga pants, her curves as smooth and picturesque as a painting, instantly drawing the on-duty policeman's gaze.

Her perfect figure could easily be described as flawless. The yoga pants accentuated her alluring curves to perfection. Her firm, rounded hips displayed a vigorous tension of life. Especially the lines of her legs, which gave off a natural sex appeal—a beauty devoid of vulgarity, pure and unadulterated.

Her legs were slender and straight, resembling two meticulously carved works of art, with every inch of skin radiating a healthy glow in the morning light. Her waist was slender yet possessed a sense of strength, and her abdominal muscle lines were faintly visible, showcasing bodily control that made one marvel at the exquisite craftsmanship of nature.

She had gathered her long hair loosely, revealing the graceful curve of her neck. A few stray strands drifted gently in the breeze, adding a soft, tender touch to her presence, while her every gesture exuded calm and self-assurance.

That confidence radiated from the inside out, making her look both mature and vibrant, as if time had paused for her.

"You... just came like this?" Seeing that both of them were wearing athletic gear, the policeman asked in surprise.

"Oh, we were working out along the way," Wen Rou immediately explained. "Our clothes are in the bag."

As she spoke, Li Rui handed over the backpack.

Wen Rou took the white lab coat from the pack and put it on with swift, efficient movements. The pure white fabric outlined her upright posture, instantly transforming her from an athletic goddess into a professional forensic pathologist.

Li Rui watched her skillfully button up the coat, momentarily feeling as if he had been transported back to the anatomy lab when they first met.

"Hey, what are you daydreaming for? Get to work!" Wen Rou said.

Li Rui put on his gloves and pushed open the creaking wooden door.

"Wait," his gaze suddenly fixed on a dark mark on the floor. "There's blood."

Wen Rou wide-eyed in surprise. "How did we miss that earlier?"

"Our attention was entirely focused on the victim, and we overlooked other areas." Li Rui crouched down, a cotton swab gently brushing across the cracks in the floorboards. "It's drip-pattern blood, extending all the way from the doorway to the back courtyard."

Wen Rou switched on the ultraviolet lamp. Under the pale purple glow, a trail of blurred footprints emerged.

"Left by the killer," Li Rui stated with certainty.

Wen Rou furrowed her brows. "There's something wrong with the footprints. The edges of the shoe prints have faint fabric textures; the killer most likely wore socks over their shoes."