Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie arrived at the scene around noon.
As it was the third body discovered in the southern suburbs, the people of Yongcheng began to grow restless, and the entire southern forest area was cordoned off tightly.
"This is the second body found this month."
"Isn't it? Has Yongcheng perhaps fallen prey to some murderous demon? One that specifically targets young girls?"
"I don't know, but you'd best be careful these few days, especially your A Lv. Keep a close eye on her."
"What is to be done? If it continues like this, who will dare to stay in Yongcheng?"
...
Zhong Li, sitting in the carriage, was arranging the items in her case. She inadvertently overheard two women chatting outside the carriage, and the movements of her hands paused slightly.
It seemed that the consecutive discoveries of bodies had already caused the people of Yongcheng to worry, and solving the case was imperative.
She took a deep breath, secured her small case, and jumped out of the carriage, walking towards the bushes not far away.
"It's here." Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie, following Dong Qing, walked directly towards a secluded spot on a small path. After less than half a cup of tea's time, they arrived near a cluster of bushes where tender buds had just emerged.
Zhong Li squatted down, her fingertips gently probing the loose soil on the ground, her gaze fixed on the humanoid-shaped pit in front of her. "Was the body buried?"
"Yes!" Dong Qing nodded and said.
"Since it was buried, how was it discovered?" she asked.
Dong Qing turned to look at the young bailiffs following behind him.
The young bailiff understood and quickly ran towards a spot not far away. When he returned, he was followed by three to five children.
Zhong Li's gaze fell upon these children.
They must have been quite frightened, as all the children except the slightly older ones had red eyes and were trembling.
"Did you discover the body?" Zhong Li sighed, looking at the relatively brave little boy in front of her. Although she did not wish for him to recall the terrifying scene again, for the sake of the case, she had to steel herself and ask.
The slightly braver little boy nodded, pouting as he replied, "To answer your honor, I was playing with my friends near here and wanted to dig up some berry bushes to plant, so we could eat the fruit. Who knew, as soon as we dug up a few berry bushes, we... saw a meatball buried in the dirt."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li's gaze fell upon the bushes. Indeed, they were several berry bushes. This child wasn't lying. As for the meatball he mentioned.
She looked at the stretcher covered with a white sheet not far away. Based on the outline, she could roughly guess that the body was missing its head and limbs, which was why the child described it as a meatball.
"Do you come here every year to dig for berry bushes?" she asked.
The little boy nodded. "Yes, we come every year. Although this path is secluded, the berry bushes here are the most abundant."
After he finished speaking, the children behind him nodded in agreement.
"Since that is the case, did you see any meatballs here when you dug last year?" Zhong Li asked again.
The little boy thought for a moment and shook his head.
"Very good!" Zhong Li's lips curved into a smile. She took out a few copper coins from her waist and placed them in the little boy's hand. "This is a reward for your honesty. Go buy some candied hawthorns."
Upon hearing this, the little boy clutched the copper coins tightly and, with his companions behind him, ran off skipping.
Zhong Li watched until the children disappeared from sight before standing up and walking to the body. She pulled away the sheet and examined it.
"How is it?" Lu Wuxie inquired.
Zhong Li looked at the almost skeletal remains in front of her. "Based on Yongcheng's environment and climate, and the soil conditions near this path, the deceased should have died more than half a year ago."
"Half a year?" Lu Wuxie mused for a moment. "So that would be after Zhu Yin, but before Qi Shui Shui?"
Zhong Li nodded, put on her gloves and mask, and began a meticulous examination.
As the body was mostly decomposed, her examination proceeded relatively quickly. "The deceased is still female, about five feet five inches tall, with no history of childbirth. Furthermore, based on the wounds, the same person killed Zhu Yin, the unnamed corpse, and Qi Shui Shui."
As she spoke, she stood up, removed her gloves, and walked dozens of steps along the path. After stopping, she looked into the distance, and as she had expected, Yongcheng's South Lake was not far from here.
"Any findings?"
"Has Your Highness heard of the saying 'throw far, bury near'?" Zhong Li turned and asked.
Lu Wuxie shook his head.
"In psychology, there is an analysis of murderers. Generally, when a murderer kills someone, if the location is far away, they will find a place to casually discard the body and flee. If the place where the killer committed the act is relatively close, they will find a place to bury the body," Zhong Li explained.
Although Lu Wuxie did not understand what her mention of psychology meant, he grasped the implication of her words. "You mean the killer is in this vicinity?"
Zhong Li neither confirmed nor denied.
"But, that body just now was buried. What about the one in the lake?" Lu Wuxie asked.
"The killer might have been under the delusion that submersion in water also counted as burial. In reality, as the body decomposes, in summer it will float to the surface in about two days, and in winter, in about ten days. This is why Qi Shui Shui was not discovered when she died, and it was only by chance that she floated up when I happened to be taking a stroll by the lake," Zhong Li analyzed.
"Then... what about Zhu Yin's body?" Lu Wuxie asked.
"Although I'm not entirely sure, I can roughly guess that the killer was acting out of a slim hope," Zhong Li said.
Lu Wuxie raised his eyebrows, awaiting her next words.
"The case files for Zhu Yin's case from the Yongcheng Prefectural Governor's office are too brief, and Magistrate Dong has not focused on this case. I can only surmise that after the killer dumped Zhu Yin's body into the water, it took a long time for the body to float up and be discovered. Therefore, when he dumped Qi Shui Shui's body this time, he probably thought that Zhu Yin's body floating up last time was a mere coincidence."
"There are people like that?" Lu Wuxie asked with a surprised laugh.
Zhong Li shrugged. What kind of people are not there in this world? Sometimes, what everyone considers common sense, others simply do not know and will repeatedly test. Then someone will say, 'There are people like that?' And the person testing will say, 'Yes, aren't I one?'
"The killer is a deranged murderer, but that doesn't mean he is someone with strong anti-detection abilities. However..." she said, suddenly pausing.
Lu Wuxie turned to look at her.
"What perplexes me is that after killing Zhu Yin, the killer dumped the body into the water, and the same for Qi Shui Shui. But why did he bury this body? It seems to contradict my analysis somewhat, as if..." She bit her lip, pondering for a long time before saying, "it wasn't done by the same person."