Chapter 286 - 167: Monkey Tamer? The Monkey Kills!?

"So the killer in this case *wanted* the bodies to be discovered?"

"Why?"

Li Jianye fired off one question after another, leaving everyone utterly confused.

Xu Huo shook his head.

"There’s too little information to give an answer."

They had only just arrived at the crime scene. They hadn’t even finished the preliminary investigation; there wasn’t a single clue to go on.

All they could do was observe the superficial aspects of the case...

...which was far from accurate or reliable.

If Xu Huo had been here last night... he wouldn’t even have needed to do anything. Just by watching, he probably could have picked up on some major clues.

But unfortunately, he wasn’t here last night.

Of course, it was only half a shame, because his absence didn’t mean that *everyone* was absent...

"Tsk, how awful. These people had it rough, every last one of them dead..."

"These wounds... that must have hurt so much..."

"Why didn’t anyone put clothes on them... oh, wait, the police covered them up."

"Where did these people come from!?"

"Ghosts! There were ghosts! I saw them last night, a bunch of little demons, dragging them along. They were crawling on the ground like dogs, with chains around their necks..."

"Why didn’t you call the police?"

"I thought I was dreaming! Who knew it was real... Tsk, you should have seen them. It was terrifying..."

"..."

By now, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered around the crime scene.

A clamor of noisy discussion buzzed in the air.

They were all residents from the buildings lining the road. Even from inside their homes, they could get a clear view of the scene just by going up to their rooftops.

This left the police feeling helpless; they wracked their brains but couldn’t think of a way to disperse the crowd.

However, Xu Huo’s ears twitched, and he sighed internally.

’A shame the killer didn’t return to the scene to admire their handiwork.’

’But there are at least a few witnesses. The police can start canvassing the area...’

This was... [Ears of the Wind]!

Within a thirty-meter radius, his ears captured every discussion.

Unfortunately, the killer’s voice wasn’t among them.

In criminal investigation, there’s a counterintuitive theory: ’The killer often returns to the scene of the crime!’

That’s right. Even if the place is surrounded by police, they’ll still come back!

There are usually two reasons for this.

First, to admire their handiwork, look for any traces they might have left, and then derive an unparalleled sense of satisfaction from watching the police struggle.

Second, out of fear and anxiety!

When people fear something they can’t get away from, they tend to get closer to it to monitor the situation.

Applied to a case like this, it means they want to observe the investigation’s progress to see if they’re about to be caught.

But the killer in this case didn’t follow that pattern, which Xu Huo found to be a pity.

"Send a few men out to canvass the area and interview the bystanders."

"Find some eyewitnesses and get some information."

Xu Huo said in a low voice, looking at Li Jianye.

Li Jianye nodded and immediately told Zhao Shui to take some people and get to it.

Once that was arranged, Xu Huo looked up at Wang Chao, a speechless expression crossing his face.

"Please, don’t look at me like that. I’m innocent too..."

Wang Chao was on the verge of a breakdown, desperate to explain himself.

"Forget it. Just cooperate with the police and tell them what you know."

Xu Huo waved a hand, cutting him off.

Wang Chao had tried to call the police last night, but unfortunately, a monkey had appeared before him and incapacitated him with a knockout drug.

He had slept through the entire rainy night.

It wasn’t until the next morning that someone found him, and after being shaken awake, he immediately called the police.

"What did you see last night?"

Xu Huo asked with a frown.

Judging from the emergency call, Wang Chao was different from the other eyewitnesses. They might have only seen a blurry shadow.

But Wang Chao had seen them clearly!

"Last night..."

Wang Chao trailed off, lost in thought.

The sound of a xiao flute, iron chains, crawling people, a monkey, walking...

"I saw... something that didn’t look quite human."

Wang Chao frowned and said strangely, "There were gorillas, monkeys, and dogs."

"But there were some people, too."

As he spoke, Wang Chao reached out and pointed at the iron chains suspending the dead bodies.

"These chains, at first they were all held by another person who was leading them along."

"The gorillas and dogs and stuff were on either side."

Wang Chao thought for a moment, then added:

"Right, there was also the sound of a xiao flute."

"A xiao flute?" Li Jianye asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"You know, the instrument. A xiao. It looks a lot like a regular flute."

"I heard it. The person in the lead was playing it as they walked. After they killed those people, they just kept on walking..."

The sound of the xiao is very hollow. From a distance, you might mistake it for the sound of the wind.

But Wang Chao had seen it.

He had the clearest view of anyone. A low rumble of thunder had illuminated their rough silhouettes!

"What the hell is this?"

"Gorillas and monkeys..."

Li Jianye was baffled. "And a xiao flute..."

"Could it be a snake charmer?"

A snake charmer—as the name implies, someone who plays with snakes.

It’s a practice from Lizard Country, or over where Ah San is from.

Snake charmers use a flute, and the snake in the basket will slowly sway its body to the music.

It’s remarkably similar to what Wang Chao described.

"I think it’s more likely a monkey tamer," Chu Linhai, who had been silent until now, suddenly said.

He finished his observation of the scene and turned his head to look at Wang Chao.

"Are you sure it was really a monkey that knocked you out?"

"A monkey did it? Not a person?"

Wang Chao thought hard for a moment, then nodded. "I’m sure!"

"It was a monkey. It was hanging from the eaves right above my head. Something that agile couldn’t have been a person."