Chapter 384 - 282: His Lair (Second Update)

Chapter 384: Chapter 282: His Lair (Second Update)

Although they had roughly determined the location where the murderer acted, if such a large group of people suddenly went over, it might alarm the suspect. Therefore, Deng Youwei stopped when they reached the vicinity of that area and selected a few agile government officials to go ahead and scout the situation.

Those left behind couldn’t help but start discussing.

"What places in the woods can hide people? It can only be a cave or a house built by a hunter in the mountains."

"Speaking of hunter’s houses in the mountains, we saw several when we were searching for body parts today. But if the murderer is a hunter, that makes a lot of sense since hunters have to slaughter prey regularly. They have the experience and the tools for dismemberment."

Hunters often go on hunts that last several days; it is almost impossible for them to go home daily, so they usually build a simple abode in the woods.

One of the officials said, "However, even if we find the crime scene, the murderer is probably not inside. A few days after the crime is when the government is most stringent in their investigations, so he would be lying low for a while."

"Not necessarily."

Xu Jing glanced at him and said, "I just mentioned that the first feature of a dismemberment case is often that the place where the crime occurs is closely connected to the murderer, possibly even his home. Would you easily leave your home?

Moreover, the place where he dismembered the body must be quite hidden, not so easy for us to find.

After scattering the body parts far away, inexperienced murderers often have a false sense that everything is safe."

Everyone couldn’t help but admire Xu Jing, feeling a fresh perspective every time Miss Xu spoke.

Chen Hu couldn’t help but exclaim, "How does Miss Xu know so much? Someone who hasn’t met Miss Xu and only heard of her deeds might think she’s a seasoned investigator with decades of experience."

No one would have thought these words came from such a young lady.

Xu Jing only smiled faintly.

She was merely standing on the shoulders of giants.

At this moment, footsteps came from ahead, and two of the officials Deng Youwei had sent out returned. They saluted Deng Youwei and Xu Jing, "County Magistrate Deng, Miss Xu, we thoroughly searched the area Miss Xu outlined. The only suspicious spot is a small wooden house built by a hunter.

However, the cabin is locked. We peeked through the window gaps and saw half-eaten bread on the table inside, indicating that the occupant might have just stepped out temporarily.

But the cabin is very small; one can see everything inside from the outside. We took a quick look and found nothing unusual, so we came back to ask County Magistrate Deng and Miss Xu what to do next."

An official who had just heard Xu Jing’s words couldn’t help but say, "Just like Miss Xu said, even if the murderer dismembers in his own house, it wouldn’t be right at the front door. I think we should go inside and take a closer look."

Deng Youwei pondered for a moment, nodded, and said, "Come on, everyone, let’s thoroughly search this cabin!"

Generally, for government officials to search private homes, a formal warrant is required, but this small cabin doesn’t strictly qualify as a home.

Besides, the search warrant for Anping County is issued by Deng Youwei; he can issue another one later to correct any oversight.

The group quickly arrived at the cabin. The lock was an iron one, hard to break, so Chen Hu and his team decided to dismantle the entire door and went inside.

As the officials said, this wooden house is very small with a simple kang (heatable bed), a table, and two broken chairs. In the corner, there’s a water tank, a complete tiger skin hangs on the wall, along with a rusty axe.

Indeed, a half-eaten piece of bread was casually placed on the table.

Xu Jing walked over, looking at the bread, with a slight frown on her forehead.

Strange, if someone had been here just now, why did they leave when the bread was only half-eaten?

If the resident is indeed the murderer, and he is in the mood to eat, it shows he was at least calm while eating.

Then, what occurred later that made him abandon his half-eaten bread?

Of course, it’s also possible that this bread wasn’t eaten just now but has been here for a long time.

Xu Jing stepped forward and picked up the bread for a closer look, and found that the bite mark was still a little moist, indicating that its owner started eating it not long ago.

She was pondering, when suddenly a voice filled with surprise came from the side, "Everyone, come look! I’ve discovered a floorboard here that sounds strange when knocked; there must be a hollow space beneath!"

Xu Jing was startled and temporarily let go of the bread matter, walking over.

Through moving some stuff, the official who discovered the anomaly was bent over the ground, carefully studying how to pry open the floorboard, while narrating, "This spot was hard to locate, with a dirty animal skin covering it beneath the water tank. Had I not moved the tank specifically to check, I might not have noticed..."

As he spoke, his face lit up with joy; he found the opening, prying the floorboard upward.

Beneath, indeed, it was hollow!

And the moment the wooden board was lifted, a strong smell of blood wafted up from beneath, causing the group of officials to exchange excited glances.

They had found the right place!

The official immediately asked his companion for a lamp and cautiously looked inside. Instantly, his face changed slightly.

Below was a scene straight out of hell!

This basement was equally small, allowing at most four or five people inside, nearly empty except for some animal bones and storage jars stacked in the corner.

At this time, the ground and walls were stained red, with numerous nauseating pieces of human flesh and hair scattered about. A blood-stained long knife was carelessly thrown on the ground, and a barrel filled with bloody water was nearby.

One glance was enough to induce nightmares for a month.

There’s no doubt this was the place the murderer used to kill and dismember bodies!

One of the officials frowned and said, "But we don’t know where the person from this room went. Perhaps they fled out of fear, but we can’t be sure how far they’ve gotten; if we chase them now, it might be too late."

Another official surveyed the cabin and said, "This is his hideout; there must be something indicating his identity. Even if not, we can ask the hunters or villagers living nearby; they probably interact with each other."

Xu Jing, however, continued to have a furrowed brow.

No, if this murderer had been eating not long ago, he must be quite confident that they wouldn’t trace it back to him so quickly, or to him at all.

Such a person wouldn’t flee in fear; even if he truly escaped, it should have been just recently...

A sudden spark of insight hit Xu Jing, and she sternly asked the official beside her, "When you were searching for the body parts, did you come near here?"