Chapter 1: Who is the Murderer?

January 1, 1995, New Year's Day, at midnight.

Yuncheng University, Faculty Dormitory Area, Building 21.

"Ugh..."

Di Ye stood before a filthy squat toilet, his left hand bracing his knee, his right index finger stuck into his mouth, forcing himself to vomit. After purging all the foul-smelling, alcohol-mixed contents of his stomach, he walked to the laundry sink in the outer room, turned on a faucet, leaned over, and cupped water in both hands to rinse his mouth and wash his face.

"Hiss, it's freezing!"

It was currently winter, and the nighttime temperature was near zero. The bone-chilling tap water made Di Ye feel much more alert. He wiped his face haphazardly with the slippery sleeve of his down jacket, walked out of the Tongzi Building's public restroom, passed through the narrow corridor piled with various daily necessities under the dim light, and arrived at Room 303, located to the right of the stairwell.

Room 303 was a little over ten square meters. The interior was furnished very simply, with only four pieces of furniture and one electrical appliance: a wardrobe, a chair, a desk, a single bed, and a heater. Additionally, a promotional poster for the 1994 Hollywood blockbuster *The Fugitive*, which had been released in mainland China, was pasted on the wall by the bed.

"Ha! To paste a poster with such an ominous title at the head of your bed, you really got what you asked for. Although you didn't become a fugitive, you've become a fugitive of time and space."

Di Ye glanced at the movie poster, muttered something inexplicable, then closed the door, walked to the desk, picked up the Electronic Watch placed on it, and pressed the button on the top right.

This Electronic Watch was a classic Casio 5600. The top-right button was originally for the backlight, but after Di Ye pressed it, the backlight did not light up. Instead, it emitted a beam of ghostly blue light, which transformed into a translucent Light Screen. A man wearing glasses appeared in the Light Screen and asked, "How is it? Are you sober yet?"

Di Ye lay down on the single bed, rubbed his forehead, and complained, "Sober my foot! My head is spinning and I feel terrible. Was the liquor you drank fake?"

The bespectacled man looked a bit embarrassed and explained, "I had never drunk white liquor before; tonight was my first time, so..."

Di Ye waved his hand, interrupting his explanation, and urged, "Stop talking about that useless stuff. It's 10:43 now, and the murder is going to happen in 17 minutes. Hurry up and tell me what I should do next."

"No need to rush. The police determined that Xia Fangfei died between 11:00 and 12:00; it doesn't necessarily happen exactly at 11:00..."

"Can you stop with the nonsense! If I go late and end up wrongly accused and executed like you, my time travel will have been for nothing."

The bespectacled man was very well-mannered; he didn't get angry even after being interrupted repeatedly. He said unhurriedly, "The murder happens in the small woods west of the library. The streetlights there are broken. There is a flashlight in the drawer on the right side of my desk, and a badminton racket in the wardrobe. Take these two things and go. If you run into Xia Fangfei, tell her to run immediately. If you run into the murderer, use the badminton racket to defend yourself."

Di Ye stood up, took two badminton rackets from the wardrobe in the corner, swung them hard a few times, and felt they were too light to serve as defensive weapons. He asked, "Do you have anything longer and heavier here?"

"Let me think... The old gentleman in Room 306 has a dragon-head cane. He leaves it by the shoe cabinet at his door at night. Go see if that's suitable."

Di Ye went out to check and actually found a dragon-head cane at the door of Room 306. It was long, hard, and very handy, so he carried it back into the room and asked the bespectacled man in the Light Screen, "Is there anything else? If so, say it quickly; if not, I'm going now."

The bespectacled man hesitated for a moment and said, "To be safe, you should call someone to go with you. Not only can they help, but they can also act as a witness."

"If I call someone else to go, the commotion will be too big. The murderer definitely won't commit the crime, and it will be hard to catch him in the act and convict him."

"Saving a life is the priority. As long as I know who the murderer is, I can deal with him later."

"That works too. Who should I call to go with me?"

"My good friends all live over at the student dorms; it's too late to go call them now. In this building, I've only chatted twice with Teacher Feng in Room 105, but we aren't close. It's so late now, I don't know if he'd be willing to accompany you."

Di Ye felt the bespectacled man was too hesitant and fussy. He said disdainfully, "If we aren't close, just pay him. You have money, right?"

"Yes, the wallet is in the inner pocket of the down jacket. There's over 180 yuan inside."

"That's enough. What's this Feng guy's name?"

"I don't know. I hear others call him Teacher Feng; he seems to be a counselor for the Mechanical College."

Di Ye had no choice. He took the flashlight from the desk drawer, tested the switch, and seeing it worked properly, stuffed it into his pocket. He asked again, "Do you have anything else to entrust to me?"

"Don't be impulsive or act recklessly. Remember, the primary task is to save Xia Fangfei, and the secondary task is to figure out exactly who the murderer framing me is."

"Don't worry, I'm not as weak as you."

"Then good luck."

After the bespectacled man finished his well-wishes, he disappeared, and the Light Screen turned back into a beam of light, returning into the Electronic Watch.

This scene, which only existed in science fiction movies, was very magical, but due to the time pressure, Di Ye didn't have time to study it. He wore the Electronic Watch on his left wrist, picked up the dragon-head cane, endured the headache and dizziness brought on by the alcohol, walked from the third floor to the first, found Room 105, knocked on the door with his knuckles, and called out softly, "Teacher Feng, Teacher Feng."

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Di Ye from 303."

"It's the middle of the night, why aren't you sleeping? What do you want?"

"I had dinner with some friends tonight and drank too much. I lost my BB Pager on the way back. Could you accompany me to look for it? Whether I find it or not, I'll give you 100 yuan."

"Wait for me to put on my clothes. You're too careless; how could you lose something as valuable as a BB Pager?"

A rustling sound came from inside the room. Ten-odd seconds later, a short man wrapped in a military overcoat opened the door and asked, "Do you remember which road you came back on?"

"I remember. I came in through Beimen, took a leak in the woods west of the library, and then came back along the small path behind the Materials College."

"Then it probably dropped in the woods. Let's go check quickly, otherwise, someone might have picked it up by tomorrow morning."

"That's what I thought too."

Teacher Feng went back into his room to get an old-fashioned flashlight, then closed the door and walked with Di Ye toward the library in the northwest. He asked, "Why are you carrying a cane?"

"I drank too much alcohol and I'm very dizzy. I'm afraid I'll fall while walking."

Di Ye made up a random excuse and changed the subject: "Teacher Feng, what is your name? I'll make a note of it so it's easier to contact you later."

"My name is Feng Shijie. 'Shi' as in world, 'Jie' as in outstanding. What are the characters for your name?"

"'Di' as in Di Renjie, 'Tao'... uh, 'Ye' as in wild."

"Which college are you a counselor for?"

"I'm not a counselor; I'm a senior in the Computer Science Department. I rent 303 to study for the postgraduate entrance exam; it's too noisy in the dorms."

The campus of Yuncheng University was very orderly. The teaching area was to the north, the residential area to the south, and the library was situated exactly on the central axis, only five or six hundred meters away from the Faculty Dormitory Area's Building 21. The two chatted as they walked, arriving in just a few minutes.

There was a small woods west of the library, shaped like an irregular quadrilateral. There was a north-south gravel path inside, but there was only one streetlight, and it was broken. It was the first day of the twelfth lunar month, there was no moon, and the woods were pitch black, with very poor visibility.

Feng Shijie shone his flashlight around, feeling a bit troubled, and asked, "Where exactly did you take a leak?"

Di Ye looked at the Electronic Watch and found it was only 10:54, so he stalled for time: "I don't remember clearly. Now I can only search the entire woods."

"Are you sure the BB Pager dropped in the woods and not at the restaurant?"

"I used the BB Pager to return a call when I left the restaurant after 8 o'clock, so it must have been lost in these woods. Teacher Feng, you go search the left side of the gravel path, and I'll search the right. If you find it, give a shout."

"That's the only way."

Feng Shijie didn't suspect anything and went to the woods on the left. Di Ye walked north along the gravel path for a few meters, found a magnolia tree on the right-hand side, and next to the magnolia tree was a rockery built from several large stones. He walked over, turned off the flashlight, gripped the cane, and hid behind the rockery to wait for the rabbit.

Time quickly reached 11:00 at night. The student dormitories had all turned off their lights, the campus was quiet, and everything was silent. The woods seemed exceptionally eerie, but Di Ye didn't feel afraid at all; instead, he felt the excitement of a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. He muttered, "If only I could have brought a smartphone to 1995. When the murderer appears, I'd play some fitting thriller music and scare him to death directly."

After about three or four minutes, a figure appeared on the gravel path, sneaking toward the magnolia tree. Because the person wasn't carrying any lighting tools, Di Ye could only vaguely see the person's silhouette, but couldn't see their facial features. He placed his finger on the flashlight switch, preparing to launch a surprise attack once the person got closer.

It was a pity that man proposes but heaven disposes; just at this moment, Feng Shijie shouted from far away across the pebble path: "Di Ye, have you found anything on your side?"

The figure was like a startled bird; upon hearing the shout, they turned and ran. Di Ye hurriedly flipped the switch on his flashlight, jumped out from behind the rockery, and shone it toward the figure. Because the pebble path was winding and the figure was running extremely fast, they vanished in the blink of an eye. In his haste, he only saw that they were wearing a black outfit and carrying a black crossbody bag.

"Damn it!"

Di Ye chased for a dozen meters or so, only to discover that his body was in a drunken state; he was dizzy, lightheaded, and short of breath, making it impossible to run or catch up, so he had to stop and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Teacher Feng, I haven't found anything on my side yet."

After shouting, Di Ye walked quickly along the pebble path to the outside of the woods and stood on the main road north of the library to wait for a few minutes. Seeing a girl wearing a knit cap and a red down jacket riding a bicycle toward him from the intersection to the east, he hurriedly asked in a loud voice: "Xia Fangfei, is that you?"

"It's me."