Tang Dynasty detective

Chapter 2 Murderer Characteristics
About half an hour later, Di Huai and the village chief came out of the mountain temple.

The yamen servant brought a chair and placed it in front of Li Canghai, and Di Huai sat down with his face sinking like water.

Suddenly patting the seat, Di Huai's eyes suddenly froze, and he said coldly: "What is your surname? Where is your name? Why did you stay overnight in Xiaoyang Village? And why did you kill someone?"

"My lord, Li Canghai, a native of Yanzhou, came to Xiaoyang Village to rest only because I was in a hurry and missed the inn. But I didn't kill anyone, I hope your lord will find out!"

"You said you didn't kill anyone, but do you have evidence to prove it?" Di Huai stared and shouted very majesticly.

"This...not at all." Li Canghai frowned, and he said with some headache: "Although I hid in the temple, I was always sleeping. I didn't know that someone was killed until I was caught by them."

The village elder on the side stood angrily with his cane, and tremblingly said: "My lord, don't listen to his nonsense. This mountain temple has been locked from the outside since I sent Jing girl in last night. Besides, there are still people watching the night outside the temple. , didn't see anything unusual. But when we went to the temple this morning, the lock was still locked outside the door, and there was only one key. If it wasn't for the people in the temple who suddenly killed the killer, how could Jing girl Will it be a catastrophe?"

Di Huai nodded, and pondered: "Yes, I have seen that the windows in the temple are tightly closed, and there is no sign of prying. Unless the lock is broken, others cannot enter."

Li Canghai was in a bad mood, he had just found out that the situation was like this, and everything the old man said was not good for him.

Sure enough, after pondering for a while, Di Huai frowned, pointed at Li Canghai and said angrily: "Bold thief, you are already rude to stay overnight in the temple. I hate you for not being grateful, and killing someone's life. It's really abominable. Left and right, Take it back to the county government with me, and the official will choose a day to pass the sentence!"

sentencing?Li Canghai panicked when he heard the verdict.

"Wait a minute, my lord!" It was a matter of his own life and death, Li Canghai realized that only he could save his life.

"My lord, when I first came to Xiaoyang Village, I didn't know the villagers, and I had no enmity with the deceased. Why did I take her life? I had no motive to kill her!"

The so-called "relying on the mountain, relying on everyone to run" puts his life in the hands of a county magistrate he doesn't even know. This in itself is unreliable. Li Canghai decided to use the criminal investigation knowledge he learned in his previous life to prove his innocence. .

This sentence made Di Huai hesitate, there must be a motive for killing people, not to mention that he is gentle and gentle, and he doesn't look like a vicious person.

Li Canghai let out a long sigh of relief, and he had a way in his heart.

He calmed down, and then said: "If I killed someone, why should I still hide in the temple, why don't I escape at night?"

Di Huai seemed to feel that what he said made sense, and his face gradually softened a lot, motioning for him to continue.

After being recognized, Li Canghai's confidence increased greatly, and his thinking changed rapidly.

"There is one last thing. You said that I killed someone, so where is the murder weapon? Where is the victim's head?" Li Canghai listed out the suspects in an orderly manner. He looked at the village elder and said, "Did you find anything when you entered the temple?" The murder weapon and the head of the dead?"

The village elder was stunned for a moment, then he shook his head and said, "I really haven't found this one. Maybe it was hidden by you."

Li Canghai sighed, and then said: "The mountain temple is only about the size of a palm. Except for the altar, there are only some sundries left. The whole temple is clear at a glance. Where can I hide?"

The village elder thought about it for a while, and indeed, as he said, the mountain temple can't hide anything at all, let alone a striking head.

"Sophistry, it's all sophistry! If Jing girl was not killed by you, could it be that she was killed by a mandrill demon?" The old man seemed to believe that he was the murderer, trembling with anger.

Li Canghai shook his head, this is obviously a stubborn old man, arguing with him is tantamount to wasting time, so he simply looked at Di Huai.

Di Huai pondered for a long time, and finally said: "The village elder calm down for the time being, what he said is not unreasonable. The investigation of the case is based on factual evidence. Without evidence, the county cannot convict him."

Di Huai paused, and then he continued: "What's more, there is a lot of blood around the deceased, but there is no blood on his feet, which means that he was not by the deceased's side before he died."

This sentence made Li Canghai look at Di Huai with admiration, thinking, this person is also meticulous in observation.

When the head of the deceased was beheaded, a large amount of blood would have spewed out of his neck, but there was no trace of blood on his body.

When Di Huaineng said that, it basically ruled out the possibility that he was the murderer.

"My lord, it's clear! I've been sleeping behind the statue, and it's impossible to kill without blood on my clothes." Li Canghai finally relaxed and said excitedly.

Di Huai's face eased a lot, but his brows were twisted into Sichuan characters.

He ordered everyone to let Li Canghai go, and said: "I will not imprison you for the time being, but you are still suspected. Before this case is solved, you are not allowed to leave Xiaoyang Village."

Li Canghai also looked solemn, he nodded, and said in a deep thought: "My lord, this case is not only about my innocence, but also my life. If your lord does not give up, can you let me cooperate with your lord to investigate this case?"

Di Huai gave him a surprised look. From the previous words, it can be seen that he is a thoughtful person, and his assistance and case should be helpful.

Di Huai thought for a while, nodded and said, "You are a suspect in this case, so you can't take part in the case. However, the county's website is lenient and allows you to investigate this case. I hope you can wholeheartedly assist the county and find the real case as soon as possible. It’s fierce, I’d better give you justice.”

Li Canghai nodded heavily, and after thinking for a while, he said, "My lord, may I enter the scene to have a look?"

Di Huai hesitated for a while, feeling that since he was allowed to participate in the investigation, he should be trusted, so he nodded and said, "Come with me."

The scene was inside the mountain temple, but fortunately, the village head had some experience and knew how to protect the scene, so except for the first few people who entered the mountain temple, no one else was allowed to enter, and the scene did not cause much damage.

The headless corpse had been lifted from the altar and handed over to Wu for autopsy. Only then did Li Canghai understand why the corpse would 'stand' on the altar.

The mountain deity straddles a ferocious tiger on its left foot, and holds a steel fork horizontally in its right hand, making it look like a tiger crouching.The reason why the corpse 'stands' on the altar is because the steel fork happened to insert the corpse into the chest, propping up the corpse.

Li Canghai carefully avoided the blood on the ground, went to the window and checked.

This small temple has two windows, a gate, and a skylight.

The skylight is only about a foot in size, let alone an adult, even a child may not be able to climb down, obviously the murderer did not enter from here.

In addition, there is only one door and two windows for access.

However, according to the villagers, the doors and windows were closed from the inside, and there was no one else in the house except him.

"I checked the doors and windows. It is true that the doors and windows are locked from the inside as the villagers said. Except for the gate that the villagers broke through, there are no signs of damage to the two windows." Seeing Li Canghai inspecting the windows, Di Huai said.

Li Canghai didn't speak, but picked up the door bolt that was broken in two on the ground, and looked at it carefully.

"I remember that the dead man didn't close the door when he came in last night, so why was the door bolted from the inside this morning?" Li Canghai muttered to himself.

"Huh? If it's as you said, could it be the bolt that was fastened by the murderer?" But soon Di Huai shook his head and said, "That's impossible. If the murderer himself fastened the bolt, how could he leave? here?"

Di Huai frowned, and his gaze gradually shifted to Li Canghai. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that he was the murderer. Otherwise, who else would have bolted the door from the inside?

Li Canghai carefully observed everything in the temple, and did not expect that Di Huai was deepening his suspicion of him.

He came to the statue, looked at the blood remaining on the steel fork of the statue, and fell into deep thought.

The dead man was five feet tall, and the steel fork in the god's hand was four feet six inches high, which just inserted into the dead man's chest, and it was just right to prop up the dead body.

There is not much blood around the statue, but there is a big puddle of blood on the altar. From the blood left on the tiger statue on the left foot of the altar, it can be seen that there is a star on the ground at the lower left of the altar. Spots of blood.

"What did you find?" Di Huai felt a little curious when he saw Li Canghai staring at the stone statue and at the ground.

Li Canghai didn't intend to keep his discovery, so he pondered: "There are two things that are certain at the moment. First, the murderer's method of killing. Second, the characteristics of the murderer."

Di Huai was a little surprised at the moment, he had been observing for a long time, but he didn't find anything, and the suspect in his eyes could find something in such a short period of time?

"Tell me."

"First of all, the murderer placed the deceased on the altar, and then cut off the neck of the deceased. The knife used by the murderer was extremely sharp, similar to a hatchet, but much sharper than a hatchet. The blade was wide and thick, suitable for Slash." Li Canghai said.

"How did you determine this?" Although Di Huai was a little surprised, he still didn't believe what Li Canghai said. After all, what he said might just be his nonsense.

"My lord, please look here." Li Canghai pointed to the bloodstains scattered on the tiger statue, and said, "From the spraying of the bloodstains, it can be seen that the deceased was lying on the altar with his head in this direction, so the murderer was cutting off the blood. The blood in the cranial cavity will be sprayed to the left when the head of the deceased is turned. By doing this, the murderer can save energy and avoid being sprayed all over by the blood."

Di Huai hurriedly looked in the direction he said, and the blood was indeed sprayed out as he said, and he was a little stunned.

"Then how do you know that the murder weapon used by the murderer is a thick-backed machete?"

Li Canghai stretched out his right hand and wiped the congealed blood on the altar, and a deep mark immediately appeared in front of Di Huai's eyes.

"What is this?" Di Huai looked at the trace and asked a little puzzled.

"The knife mark, this is the knife mark left by the murderer when he cut off the head of the deceased." Li Canghai touched the knife mark with his fingers, and said in a deep voice: "It takes nothing but generosity to leave this mark on such a hard stone." Except for a sharp machete, it is difficult for ordinary knives to do it."

Speaking of this, he seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly said: "The murderer must be strong and strong. Judging from the strength of swinging the knife, the murderer must have a very special feeling for the deceased. Hate? Or love? ?”

Li Canghai said a few words to himself, and suddenly fell into deep thought again.

Looking at the knife marks on the altar, Di Huai had a rough guess in his mind. It is true that, as Li Canghai said, the weapon used to leave such clear knife marks on the stone platform must be unusual. Perhaps this would be a great leads.

"What are the characteristics of the murderer?" Di Huai suddenly felt unable to restrain his heart, and asked curiously.

Li Canghai stood in place like a statue, staring intently at the ferocious mountain god statue. Di Huai asked him several times in a row, but he didn't respond.

Just when Di Huai was a little angry, Li Canghai suddenly said a sentence: "Male, six feet tall, strong build, engaged in strenuous labor, good at using knives, has special feelings or friendship with the dead, aged sixteen Between the ages of 26 and [-]."

"What did you say?" Di Huai didn't understand what Li Canghai said.

"The characteristics of the murderer." Li Canghai paused, and said, "Sir, you can send people to secretly investigate people with the above characteristics in the whole village. They are very likely to be the murderer."

Di Huai looked at him in astonishment, and said in disbelief, "Where did you get these characteristics?"

Di Huai suddenly became very interested in Li Canghai. From his point of view, the young man in front of him seemed to have some kind of magical power, able to see everything, which surprised him very much.

Li Canghai didn't answer him, but left the mountain temple directly and came to a temporary hut.

The thatched shed was a temporary autopsy shed, and a group of villagers in the distance gathered together and whispered.

"How is the autopsy?" Di Huai asked after following Li Canghai.

Wu Zuo hurriedly said: "My lord, the deceased was killed by someone cutting off his neck with a sharp weapon. The wound was smooth and neat, and the murder weapon should be very sharp. Judging from the traces of the wound, it was cut with a knife, which shows that the murderer is used to using knives. Other than that Apart from that, there were no other wounds on the body of the deceased."

Di Huai secretly exclaimed, Li Canghai had never seen the corpse, but his guess was very similar to the autopsy, and he couldn't help thinking in his heart, if this person is not the murderer, he must be a genius in solving crimes!

"Besides these, are there other discoveries?" Li Canghai who had been silent all this time suddenly asked.

Wu Zuo was stunned for a moment, and seeing Di Huai nodding, he said, "Yes, the deceased showed signs of consummating the house that night."

Di Huai frowned suddenly, and he glanced at the villagers gathered in the distance. The village elder was comforting a woman, and that woman was the mother of the deceased.

"One more thing, the subordinates find it very strange." Wu Zuo hesitated.

"There is something strange, but it's okay to say." Di Huai said.

"During the autopsy, the subordinates found that although the deceased was humiliated, his clothes were neatly dressed. Even the clothes worn by the deceased were not in any mess. It seems... the murderer dressed the deceased again after the insult." Wu Zuo recalled.

"This is really weird. Since the murderer has insulted the woman, why does he dress him neatly?" Di Huai rubbed his temples. This case is really getting weirder and weirder.

Li Canghai thought for a while, squatted down, and carefully examined the corpse.

As Wu Zuo said, there were no other wounds on the body except for the broken mark on the neck.

After checking three times in a row, and the result was still the same, Li Canghai put down the right hand of the deceased that he was holding.

Suddenly, Li Canghai's eyes were fixed on the wrist of the deceased's right hand. He hurriedly grabbed the right hand that had just been put down, and put it in front of his eyes for careful observation.

There was no scar on the right wrist of the deceased, but a faint black line around it.

Di Huai leaned over, stared at the circle of black lines, and said, "Is there something wrong with this circle of black lines?"

Li Canghai shook his head, put down the dead man's wrist, and said in a deep voice: "Maybe I was too worried, but what is certain is that the murderer really has an inseparable affection for the dead man, you might as well follow what I said first." features to find."

Di Huai nodded, and now he can still believe what Li Canghai said.

Just as he was about to send someone to investigate, Li Canghai grabbed him again. "My lord, I want to ask the person who watched the night last night, but I am the body of the scapegoat. I am afraid that the villagers will not accept it. Can you use me as a messenger to seize the battle?"

Di Huai was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood Li Canghai's concerns. He laughed and said, "It's okay, I'll let Di Feng follow you. With him around, the villagers won't embarrass you."

Di Huai said hello, and a young servant in Tsing Yi hurried over.

After explaining a few words to Di Feng, Di Huai took a few yamen servants to investigate people with corresponding characteristics.

(End of this chapter)