Chapter 163

Luo Fei walked over with heavy and slow steps, each step seeming to carry a weight of a thousand pounds. He came to the white cloth covering Lu Haoxuan's body, his trembling right hand slowly reaching out, tightly grasping a corner of the white cloth.

On ordinary days, this seemingly light white cloth now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in his hand, like an immovable mountain pressing down on his hand. Fine beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead, and his breathing gradually became rapid.

Luo Fei took a deep breath, as if to gather all the courage in his body. Then, he gritted his teeth and suddenly turned his head, "Whoosh!" A corner of the white cloth was lifted fiercely!

At the very moment Lu Haoxuan's head was revealed, Gu Changzheng, who was standing to the side, suddenly stumbled, his body leaning forward involuntarily. Fortunately, Long Gang behind him reacted quickly, grabbing his arm with sharp eyes and quick hands, preventing him from falling to the ground.

In fact, Long Gang had already seen Lu Haoxuan's body once before, but the scene at that time was too bloody and terrifying, leaving him with lingering fears to this day. Moreover, in order not to let Gu Changzheng be too stimulated, Long Gang had never shown him the horrific photos taken at the scene where Lu Haoxuan's body was found, but had specifically instructed the forensic doctor to restore Lu Haoxuan's face to its original appearance as much as possible.

However, even after careful treatment by the forensic doctors, when that cold head, which could no longer be recognized, appeared before Gu Changzheng without warning, he still felt an indescribable fear surge into his heart. In an instant, he felt as if the bones had been pulled out of his legs, leaving them soft and unable to exert any strength; immediately after, his heart, liver, stomach, lungs... the internal organs in his body felt as if they were being wantonly kneaded and ravaged by countless ruthless hands, sending waves of piercing pain.

Gu Changzheng opened his mouth, wanting to vomit, trying to relieve the extreme discomfort and pain in his heart through this method. However, because he had not eaten anything for more than 10 hours, his empty stomach could vomit nothing but some sour gastric juice...

The completely deformed face was covered with countless ugly centipede-like stitches, and there was a clear collapse in the chest, which was clearly caused by a broken sternum after a heavy blow. There was a thin cut on the neck, which had now been stitched up, and the hands and forearms were covered with small, long scars.

"Captain Long!" Gu Changzheng seemed to have returned to normal, and he said in a low voice: "Has the cause of my master's death been determined?"

Long Gang said: "According to the forensic appraisal, the fatal cause was multiple heavy blows to the head, chest, and abdomen, and the murderer very likely beat Master Lu with their bare hands!"

"What?" Gu Changzheng exclaimed: "Bare hands!" He knew that although his master was over 60 years old, because he had always kept exercising and had been a criminal investigator for many years, his grappling and fighting skills had not fallen behind. An ordinary strong young man might not necessarily be his opponent one-on-one, and this murderer actually managed to beat a professionally trained, physically strong person to death with just a pair of bare fists, which really surprised him.

"Yes." Long Gang continued: "The thin, long wounds on Master Lu's neck and arms should have been left by a weapon like thin steel wire. We initially judged that the murderer originally wanted to strangle Master Lu with this wire, but I don't know what happened during the fight between the two sides. In the end, the murderer gave up using the wire and changed to beating the deceased with their fists, eventually causing multiple fractures to the deceased's face and chest, leading to death."

"Alright, I understand." Gu Changzheng said faintly that he understood. Seeing the stitches on Lu Haoxuan's body, he asked: "Were there any other discoveries after the autopsy?"

Long Gang looked at him and said: "No other abnormalities. It can be confirmed that he was beaten to death." Long Gang knew that Gu Changzheng wanted to ask if Lu Haoxuan had been drugged before his death, so he replied affirmatively.

"Captain Long, where did you find my master, his body?" Gu Changzheng had an urge to go to the scene of his master's murder immediately.

Long Gang looked at his watch and said in a low voice: "Captain Gu, it's very inconvenient to go there at this time. I suggest we go there early tomorrow morning. You all have been in the car for a day today, so you should take a rest." He was worried that Gu Changzheng wanted to go to the scene now, and the road from the city to there was all mountain roads, so it would be troublesome if something happened in the middle of the night, so he advised him.

Hearing this, Gu Changzheng's mouth corners lifted with difficulty, squeezing out a forced smile that was uglier than crying, and said: "Thank you, Captain Long. Since that's the case, let's set a time to leave early tomorrow morning! By the way, how far is the crime scene from here?"

Seeing that Gu Changzheng was not stubborn and didn't insist on setting off immediately, Long Gang breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and hurriedly replied: "The crime scene is over at Mangdang Village. If you drive there, it's estimated to take more than three hours. Let's do this: I'll arrange a place for you two to stay first, so you can rest as soon as possible and recharge your batteries."

Gu Changzheng nodded slightly, indicating his agreement, and then pointed his hand at Luo Fei beside him, instructing: "Luo Fei, you go and rest with Captain Long. I want to stay here and accompany my master for a while longer. Anyway, there's still a full three hours on the road tomorrow, enough for me to have a good sleep to replenish my energy!"

Luo Fei's mouth opened slightly, as if wanting to say something, but Gu Changzheng waved his hand at him without hesitation and continued: "I just want to accompany the old man alone for a while. After all, I'm afraid there won't be such an opportunity in the future..." Speaking to the end, Gu Changzheng's voice was slightly choked up.

Hearing this, Luo Fei's eyes instantly moistened, and tears swirled in his eyes. He bit his lip, nodded forcefully, and then turned away silently, not wanting others to see him crying. Seeing this, Long Gang walked up and patted Gu Changzheng on the shoulder gently to show comfort.

Seeing the two walk away, the long-suppressed emotions in Gu Changzheng's heart surged out like a broken dam, instantly drowning him. His knees went soft, and with a "thud," he knelt heavily before Lu Haoxuan's cold body, as if all the strength in his body had been drained at this moment.

Tears the size of beans rolled uncontrollably from his eyes, one after another, quickly wetting the ground in front of him. The tears were like broken pearls, flowing continuously, unable to stop. Extreme grief made his body tremble involuntarily, especially his back, which shook violently, like a withered leaf shivering in the wind.

At the same time, a low and hoarse howl came from the depths of his throat. This sound did not resemble a human cry, but rather like an injured wild beast roaring in pain, filled with despair and sorrow.

The bits and pieces of his past time with Lu Haoxuan began to flash in his mind, just like playing an old but incredibly precious movie. Those scenes of laughter, arguments, or warmth flashed by one by one, each scene so clear, so profound, as if it had happened yesterday...