Chapter 460: Lao Ding Has a Problem

The police officers turned the Mental Hospital upside down yet still couldn't locate the remaining large half of the corpse.

However, they did find quite a few suspected murder weapons.

Things like hammers, wrenches, mallets and other blunt instruments—a pile of them was in the junk room.

Of course, no one knows whether the blunt weapons found in the junk room are actually the murder weapons in this case.

They toiled all day, and the case still made no progress.

This time even Xu Mo, who is usually full of ideas, had nothing useful to suggest.

During that time, Han Fei asked Xu Mo many times, "Any ideas?" but Xu Mo's answer was always the same: "Nothing for now."

9 p. m.

The sky had turned completely dark; Han Fei glanced at the time and then said to the officers.

"Everyone, stop for now. Let's call it a day, go back to the Police Station to sort out our thoughts, then each go home, get a good night's rest, and continue tomorrow."

Han Fei planned to lead everyone away from here and head home.

After spending a whole day at the crime scene with no gain, a night's rest wasn't a loss.

After a day of high‑intensity work, the officers' moods were drained; they needed to relax, rest, and tidy their thoughts so they could investigate better tomorrow.

"Okay." The officers were somewhat listless—not from fatigue but because a full day of searching yielded no useful clues, leaving them very frustrated.

The group walked out the main gate.

A line of police cars was parked on the open ground at the Mental Hospital's entrance.

Everyone went to their own vehicle, ready to drive away and first return to the Police Station.

Xu Mo's car was at the front.

After about five minutes driving along the slightly narrow two‑lane road outside the Mental Hospital, Xu Mo, who was in front, suddenly stopped his car, opened the door, and got out.

"Han Team, step out a moment." After parking, Xu Mo called out to Han Fei and waved at the cars behind, signaling them to stop as well.

Though a bit puzzled, Han Fei still got out.

The other officers whose cars were behind Xu Mo's also stopped and got out at that moment.

"What's up?" Han Fei asked, approaching Xu Mo with a hint of doubt.

The officers also turned to look at Xu Mo.

They, like Han Fei, were full of confusion and had no idea what Xu Mo was up to.

"The guard has a problem," Xu Mo said succinctly.

"Guard has a problem?" Han Fei frowned slightly. "You mean Lao Ding?"

Xu Mo nodded. "Yes."

"What kind of problem? Why didn't you mention it when you were there earlier?"

"It was hard to explain in a sentence or two then, and it's the same now," Xu Mo smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, Lao Ding is actually a mental patient as well."

Hearing this, the officers' puzzled expressions deepened as they looked at Xu Mo, waiting for him to continue.

Xu Mo didn't hold back and immediately went on.

"When we were searching the Mental Hospital separately earlier, I found a book in the Gate Guard Duty Room; its corners were frayed, a sign of frequent reading."

"Lao Ding's? Isn't he illiterate? Whose book is that?" Han Fei asked, confused.

"I asked, and the book is Lao Ding's—that's the issue. He can't read, yet there's a book with frayed corners by his bedside. According to Lao Ding, he has Somnambulism; he picked up the book while sleepwalking and would get up to flip through it."

"I verified with the hospital's medical staff; they all know Lao Ding flips books while sleepwalking, and many have seen it themselves. The staff also told Lao Ding that he sleepwalks at night."

Han Fei was still puzzled: does Lao Ding's habit of getting up to read while sleepwalking relate to the case? Isn't it normal for a sleepwalker to act oddly?

Xu Mo seemed to read Han Fei's mind, shook his head at him, and said, "Lao Ding isn't sleepwalking; in psychology, this is called Split Personality."

"Usually the Primary Personality is unaware of the other personalities, while the others can clearly perceive the Primary Personality. Lao Ding is the murderer; his Alternate Personality did the killing, so the Primary Personality knows nothing about it, which is why he appears completely natural, as if he knows nothing."

After finishing, Xu Mo fell silent, giving the officers time to digest.

Split Personality? The Alternate Personality did the killing? The Primary Personality doesn't know he's killed someone? The officers felt their brain cells were running out.

"What about the note? What's the situation? Lao Ding can't write, he can't even write his own name properly. The handwriting on the note left at the scene is completely different from Lao Ding's," a officer said after a brief thought.

Xu Mo glanced at the officer and spoke.

"Lao Ding is illiterate, but his Alternate Personality knows how to read and write, self‑taught—didn't I say that? He claimed he reads while sleepwalking, but actually it's his Alternate Personality controlling his body that reads… Also, Lao Ding has old calluses on the left side of his middle finger and the pad of his thumb, which only someone who has been holding a pen for years would have."

"That's why I concluded Lao Ding isn't merely sleepwalking but has Split Personality; sleepwalking can explain flipping through books, but learning to write on one's own and developing calluses doesn't fit. A sleepwalker may act oddly, but there are limits—sleepwalking to practice writing clearly exceeds those limits."

"Lao Ding can't write; he only draws his own name. He never learned to write, so his strokes are reversed. The Alternate Personality knows the Primary Personality's existence and also inherits some of its habits, so the Alternate Personality's writing also has reversed strokes. The note left at the scene was left by Lao Ding's Alternate Personality."

"The reason he dared to leave a provocatively worded note is that we can't catch him at all; even if we did, Lao Ding wouldn't confess, because the Primary Personality has no memory of the killing. He lacks the Alternate Personality's memories and doesn't even know the Alternate Personality exists."

"I also found an old‑style aluminum flashlight on Lao Ding's bedside. It's heavy, feeling like a metal rod in the hand, and the tail end has dents from being dropped. If I'm not mistaken, those dents are from striking the victim's skull, making the flashlight the murder weapon."

"I didn't tell you my discovery earlier on purpose, so that Lao Ding would see us leave with his own eyes. The Alternate Personality knows the Primary Personality's existence, and their memories are shared; only when he sees us leave will his Alternate Personality emerge to read. We'll wait a bit longer; once Lao Ding's Alternate Personality appears, we'll go back and catch him in the act."