Chapter 164

Time passed quickly, and in an instant, the horizon had turned a fish-belly white, and the faint morning light spilled onto the earth through the clouds. Gu Changzheng slowly lowered his head, his movements so gentle as if he were afraid of waking the sleeping Master Lu Haoxuan. He pressed his lips gently onto his master's wrinkled forehead. This kiss was filled with endless attachment and reluctance, like a filial son about to bid farewell to his elderly father.

"Farewell... Master..." Gu Changzheng's voice was low and hoarse, like a sob squeezed from the depths of his throat. Tears swirled in his eyes, but he forcibly held them back, because he knew now was not the time to cry. He had to pull himself together, put away the surging grief deep in his heart, seek the truth, and bring the murderer who cruelly killed his beloved master, as well as the devil manipulating everything behind the scenes, to justice.

After a bumpy journey, the car finally drove into Mangdang Village. Luo Fei stared at the familiar village before him, a surge of uncontrollable excitement and eagerness to try welling up in his heart. Last time he came here, he had failed his mission. If it weren't for that veteran investigator, Old Yin, he would not only have failed to complete the mission, but might have stayed here forever... And this time, he swore to reclaim his own glory!

At this moment, Gu Changzheng, who had been sleeping soundly in the car the whole way, slowly opened his eyes. Over these days, due to Lu Haoxuan's sudden passing, Gu Changzheng had been immersed in grief, looking incredibly haggard and exhausted. However, at this moment, when he saw the familiar scenery outside the car window, a change that was hard to detect flashed in his eyes. That grief and fatigue seemed to vanish in an instant, replaced by the steady, wise light that used to shine in his eyes.

Luo Fei noticed Gu Changzheng's transformation and couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief. That strong, courageous, and reliable Captain Gu had finally returned!!

The scene where Lu Haoxuan was murdered was by the side of the only road entering Mangdang Village. Further in was the dirt road connecting to the village. As soon as they got out of the car, they saw a place not far away surrounded by a cordon line. A semi-old Wuling van was parked nearby, painted in the blue and white colors of a police car. Two police officers were standing by the car smoking. Seeing Long Gang's car approaching, one of the black-faced police officers in his fifties gestured and shouted: "Long, park the car here!"

Long Gang had just parked the car when Gu Changzheng jumped out first. Seeing Gu Changzheng, the black-faced police officer immediately greeted him: "Captain Gu!"

Gu Changzheng was stunned. Had this person met him before? He had no impression! At this time, Long Gang had also gotten out of the car and shouted loudly: "Old Peng! How long have you been here?"

The black-faced police officer was Peng Weibing, the director of the police station in the town, and also the "Peng Donkey" in Liang Yongjun's words. It was said that this person had an extremely stubborn temper and had been in the position of director for more than 20 years, but had never been promoted because of his temper. The Long Gang before them had also been a soldier under his command in the past, but that quiet Old Yin got along very well with Peng Donkey, perhaps because their temperaments were compatible!

Peng Weibing said: "Didn't they say someone was coming from Zizhen? So I came over early. The scene has been under guard since the body was found. Hey! I say, Captain, when is that guy Old Yin coming back? I only have a few people here, and I'm almost too busy to handle it!"

Long Gang ignored him. This person wasn't a donkey; he just didn't know the occasion! Long Gang sighed in his heart!

He took a pair of gloves and handed them to Gu Changzheng: "Fortunately, it hasn't rained these past few days. This area is where Master Lu's body was found. The residents of this village live relatively scattered, and there are few people usually, so when it was discovered, the scene was basically not destroyed. This is the position where Master Lu was lying when he was discovered." Long Gang pointed to a human-shaped pattern outlined in white lime on the ground.

Gu Changzheng squatted on the ground, trying to calm his heart. He saw patches of dark red in the soil where his master had fallen, which were formed after blood seeped into the soil. On the ground nearby, one could still see traces left by the struggle and a pile of dense footprints... Among them, multiple digging marks were left at the position where Lu Haoxuan fell. Clearly, those were left by Lu Haoxuan's heels during his final struggle!

Although there were many footprints at the scene, it was clearly visible that they only belonged to two people. A blood-stained wooden stick found at the scene had been confirmed to have only Lu Haoxuan's fingerprints on it; it should have been something he accidentally grabbed from the ground to attack the murderer. Nothing else was left at the scene.

However, regarding the identity of the murderer, the forensic doctor had already extracted human skin tissue from under Lu Haoxuan's fingernails for DNA testing, and it should be confirmed very soon that the person who killed Lu Haoxuan was that Xiang Feng who was with him.

Long Gang had already explained these situations to Gu Changzheng, and the reason he accompanied them to the crime scene again, in Long Gang's view, was mostly out of care for his emotions. So after introducing the investigation results again at the scene, Long Gang retreated to the side silently, leaving only Gu Changzheng and Luo Fei at the scene.

Gu Changzheng squatted on the ground for a long time without getting up. Everyone, including Luo Fei, thought he was mourning his master. At this moment, Gu Changzheng, who had been staring at the ground for a long time, suddenly stood up and walked to a patch of grass, looking carefully. It was a piece of yellow land growing unknown wild grass. The wild grass was pressed down, showing that it had been crushed by some heavy object not long ago. Gu Changzheng saw this cluster of wild grass, and one patch was obviously a bit wilted. He hurriedly squatted down, bent over, and touched it with his hand, finding that this patch of wild grass was wilted because its roots had been pulled up. He gently lifted the wild grass, and sure enough, these grasses had been pulled away from the soil. Below was a small, not-so-large pit, and a white paper ball the size of a broad bean was buried under the grass roots!

Learning of this situation, Long Gang and Peng Weibing looked at each other, only then realizing that this Gu Changzheng was truly not simple, and his observation ability was truly meticulous. No wonder he could solve many sensational cases that shocked the whole country!

Seeing the paper ball in the small pit, Gu Changzheng's heart couldn't help but beat "thump! thump!" wildly! He had always remembered what his master told them when they first joined the police force: "Bold assumptions, rigorous reasoning, cautious evidence collection." His master had always been rigorous and meticulous, and he would definitely leave some useful clues at the scene! This was the most important reason he insisted on going to the scene in person.

He carefully picked up the paper ball. At this time, the police officer brought by Peng Weibing also took out a camera to take pictures of the small pit. Gu Changzheng held his breath, his fingers trembling slightly as he slowly opened the paper ball...