Chapter 230

The crude, childish painting had nothing special about it—just an ordinary portrait—but among the few figures in the scene, he made a chilling discovery: in the distance, a figure with its head hidden beneath a hooded sweatshirt!

Gu Changzheng swallowed hard, his throat working: “Old Zheng! Is that the killer? He came to the Fuli Academy!”

Old Zheng said: “Probably. Ask the child who painted this—maybe we’ll get an unexpected lead.”

Xiao Fang, the director standing nearby, had overheard their conversation. She walked over and glanced at the lower right corner of the painting: “Oh, this was drawn by Xu Xiaojia. I’ll go get him right away!”

“Wait!” Gu Changzheng called out, stopping Xiao Fang: “Luo Fei, go with Director Xiao. Remember—not to scare the child!”

A flicker of something strange passed through Xiao Fang’s eyes, but her expression didn’t change. She nodded: “Yes, it’s best for Officer Luo to come with me—I’m still terrified.”

Gu Changzheng smiled but said nothing, only looked at her. Luo Fei then went with Xiao Fang to find the boy named Xu Xiaojia.

“Old Zheng, do you think this killer will strike again?” Gu Changzheng asked.

“Normally, no. His reckless murders are a direct challenge to the police! If we don’t catch him, nearly ten thousand officers in this city won’t stand for it!”

“But this killer doesn’t seem normal,” Gu Changzheng sighed with concern.

Xu Xiaojia was a short boy with sharp, alert eyes. He stood behind Xiao Fang, looking both fearful and curious.

“Xiaojia, this is Officer Uncle. He has some questions for you—please answer carefully,” Xiao Fang bent down and spoke gently.

Gu Changzheng gave him a small smile, then turned to Luo Fei: “Luo Fei, go with Director Xiao to her office. First, find out everything you can about Chen Mengyao. I’ll join you shortly.” Then he waved to Xu Xiaojia: “Xiaojia, come here, Uncle has a few questions to discuss with you.”

Xiao Fang understood Gu Changzheng didn’t want her present, but had no reason to refuse. She followed Luo Fei out.

Seeing Xiao Fang leave, Xu Xiaojia seemed to relax completely. He slowly walked up to Gu Changzheng, his thin face lit by wide, blinking eyes: “Officer Uncle, are you investigating Sister Chen’s case?” His bright eyes clouded over, his eyelids reddened, and big tears welled up, ready to fall!

Gu Changzheng thought: This child looks no older than ten—but he’s incredibly sharp!

He gently stroked Xu Xiaojia’s head and whispered: “Xiaojia, did you draw this picture?” He pointed to the painting.

“Yes! Sister Chen taught us to draw! All of these!”

“Oh? Were all these paintings done in one day?”

“No. Some were from before, some were drawn recently.”

“Hmm. When was this one drawn? Were the people in it imagined by you, or were they all there that day?”

“Hmm…” Xiaojia tilted his head, clearly recalling that day. “Ah! I remember—it was a week ago. It wasn’t raining, so Sister Chen had us draw in the courtyard. Then I drew the people I saw. Look, this is Sister Chen, this is Xiao You, this is Fatty…” He pointed to the faintly recognizable colored figures one by one. When he reached the gray shadow at the far end of the painting, he stopped: “Who… who is this? I don’t know him!”

He grew anxious.

Seeing this, Gu Changzheng quickly soothed him: “Don’t rush, Xiaojia. Uncle knows your memory is excellent—you just can’t recall his name right now, right? It’s fine. Was this person there that day, or did you just make him up?”

Xiaojia thought carefully: “Yes! Sister Chen said our drawings must capture true beauty—no fictional people allowed.”

Gu Changzheng nodded: “Then how about you and Uncle go back to where you drew that day? Maybe seeing the place will help you remember.”

Xiaojia nodded. They left the dormitory (of course, by the time Xiaojia returned, the forensic team had already cleared the scene—he saw nothing of the horrific aftermath) and stepped onto the outdoor playground. Xiaojia pointed to the empty ground in the rain, describing how Chen Mengyao had taught them to draw that day. Gu Changzheng surveyed the roughly 100-square-meter playground: its white plastic fence, the green belt beyond, and several camphor trees whose thick canopies formed a natural barrier.

“Xiaojia, why didn’t you draw those big trees in your picture?” Gu Changzheng asked.

Xiaojia blinked: “That day, our exercise was to draw people, so I didn’t draw trees. But other kids did draw trees!”

Gu Changzheng paused, then realized—he was right. Several of the other drawings did depict flowers, grass, and trees!

Then Xiaojia said: “Officer Uncle, I remember now—the gray one (he meant the gray shadow in the painting) was standing under the big tree outside!”

“You’re sure!” Gu Changzheng thought: So it’s true! Chen Mengyao wasn’t randomly chosen—this was planned! According to Xiaojia’s memory, the hooded figure had been watching Chen Mengyao for a week already—and during that time, he’d also killed Xia Fei and Su Yuqing!

It’s likely those two girls were also stalked for a long time before they were killed.

What connection did these three girls share? What drove the killer to choose them? Was there some link between him and the girls?

Outside the Fuli Academy, the trees swayed and rustled in the wind and rain, like an omen of doom.

Gu Changzheng clenched his teeth, a surge of battle-lust rising in his chest. He knew this battle against the demon had reached its most critical moment. And worse—he felt the killer was right beside him, watching everything...