I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 293: Chapter 291: A Peaceful Night

As dusk approached, Su Miaoyi and Zhuang Yanzheng requested photos of Lu Xian, Mia, and Mia’s subordinates who had been arrested.

They gave the photos to Duan Wenrui, Zhao Yongliang, and the others.

Before nightfall, they planned to split into two groups to go door-to-door, reminding everyone to be careful. They would also take another look at each house and use the opportunity to show the photos to the villagers.

While they led their teams out, Su Miaoyi also went for a walk on her own.

Zhao Yongliang had given them a rough tour of the village that morning, so she knew her way around.

As it grew dark, the village gradually fell silent.

As Su Miaoyi walked, she only saw a few scattered people standing outside their homes.

Most had already closed their doors.

The wind began to pick up again. Su Miaoyi was walking down the street, and just as she reached the end and was about to turn onto another, she suddenly heard the sound of knocking.

The sound came from the street she was about to enter, just three doors down from where she stood.

"Open up! Open up!" a man’s voice shouted as he knocked on the door.

Most of the doors here were wooden, but the knocking was loud.

Su Miaoyi rounded the corner and continued walking.

Soon, another voice rang out. "Is that you, Tian Ming? We’re not playing tonight. Go on home!"

"Why not?" the man called Tian Ming shouted back.

"Keep it down, stop yelling," the other person said.

Tian Ming didn’t answer.

The other man might have said something, but Tian Ming couldn’t hear him. "Speak up, I can’t hear you."

"There are police in the village! They’re patrolling tonight. You want to get arrested?!" the other man said, his voice a little louder.

Hearing this, Su Miaoyi stopped walking.

She was only a single doorway away from them now.

The doorway where the man called Tian Ming was standing was recessed. From Su Miaoyi’s angle, she couldn’t see him, and he likely couldn’t see her either. In any case, she hadn’t been spotted.

"What’s there to be afraid of? We played last night and they didn’t find us. We’ll just be a little quieter today," Tian Ming said.

"We’re not playing. Not for a while. With something this serious happening in the village, how can you still be in the mood to play? You got a death wish or something?"

"What? You have a guilty conscience? Why so scared? Afraid the Sheep Horn God is going to kill you?" Tian Ming said.

"Hmph. You’d better be careful. We’re not playing for the next few days. Hurry up and go home, it’s about to get dark."

"Tch." Tian Ming clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Scaredy-cat."

After saying that, he turned around, took a few steps, and suddenly saw Su Miaoyi.

Su Miaoyi watched as he jumped back in fright—a genuine, physical leap.

"Who are you?" Tian Ming asked, watching her with a mix of fear and vigilance as he took another two steps back.

Su Miaoyi looked at him without speaking.

Tian Ming retreated two more steps. "What are you doing? I’m telling you, this village is full of police right now. If I shout, someone will be here in a second."

"Police," Su Miaoyi said, taking out her badge.

Tian Ming was still a little scared and didn’t dare to approach.

"What were you going to his house to play?" Su Miaoyi asked, putting her badge away.

"You’re really a cop?" Tian Ming said.

"Yes."

Tian Ming relaxed a little, but not completely. He straightened up and said, "What are you doing just standing there? It’s creepy."

"What were you going to his house for?" Su Miaoyi asked again.

"To play."

"Play what?"

Tian Ming didn’t answer.

Su Miaoyi said in a low voice, "I need your cooperation."

Her voice was already cold, and when she lowered it, it became even more intimidating.

"Nothing. Just chatting at night. Is that a problem?" Tian Ming said.

Su Miaoyi walked closer to him and smelled alcohol on his breath. "If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll take you down to the station right now, and we can talk there."

Just then, Duan Wenrui and his group came over from the other street. "What’s going on?"

"He was going to this house to play." Su Miaoyi pointed at the doorway. "I was asking him what he was going to play, but he won’t say."

Duan Wenrui walked over. "This house?"

"Yes."

Duan Wenrui went to knock on the door. "Police."

The door opened a moment later. Duan Wenrui first gave the man a few instructions, then showed him the photos.

The man hadn’t seen them. Duan Wenrui followed him inside, saying he needed to check the doors and windows.

He came out almost ten minutes later.

Duan Wenrui said, "That guy, Tian Ming, comes over every night to play cards. Last night, when that nursery rhyme was heard, there were nine of them playing cards right here."

After that, Duan Wenrui added in a low voice to Su Miaoyi, "He’s Tian Min’s father."

Su Miaoyi glanced at Tian Ming again and said to Duan Wenrui, "Does it count as gambling?"

"No. They’re just playing together, for very small amounts of money," Duan Wenrui said quietly. "We didn’t catch them in the act, so we can only take their word for it. The family said they just played a bit late last night, and they don’t play every day. Usually, they break up early. All we can do is give a verbal warning and a lecture."

Su Miaoyi nodded and said no more.

Whether it was gambling or just for entertainment, the monetary threshold differed from place to place.

Duan Wenrui gave Tian Ming a verbal warning and then said, "Hurry on home now. Don’t come out at night, it’s not safe outside."

"Okay, okay, okay." Tian Ming nodded and quickly left.

Su Miaoyi watched Tian Ming’s retreating back. "You guys carry on. I’m just going to wander around a bit more."

"I’ll have someone go with you," Duan Wenrui said.

"No need." Su Miaoyi continued walking.

Duan Wenrui and his team continued with their work.

By the time they had questioned every household in the village, it was already quite late.

Patrols were scheduled for every street and every time slot.

Duan Wenrui had also contacted his superiors. Someone would be coming tomorrow to install security cameras on the streets.

Su Miaoyi and her team didn’t return to town either, instead making do for the night at the village committee office.

The night passed without incident.

The nursery rhyme wasn’t heard, and no new case occurred.

Everyone’s tense nerves were temporarily eased.

They ate breakfast the next morning.

Wan Shuang’s autopsy report came in.

Su Miaoyi gave it a quick look.

Time of death was approximately thirteen hours ago.

Cause of death: Oral cyanide poisoning.

Hyoid bone fractured, caused by post-mortem ligature strangulation.

There were also signs of ante-mortem strangulation on the neck.

The body was moved after death.

The deduction was that she was first strangled, then force-fed cyanide. After she died, her body was dragged by the neck, which caused the hyoid bone to fracture. It’s also possible the fracture was caused by the body being hung from a tree.

Grass sap was extracted from Wan Shuang’s hands and fingernails, confirming she was cutting grass before she died.

Wan Shuang’s fingerprints were lifted from the sickle, along with those of her husband, Tian Wu.

Only their two sets of fingerprints were found, no one else’s.

"It’s a family sickle. If they both used it, it’s normal for both their fingerprints to be on it," Chu Xingrou said.

"Tian Wu has been listed as a suspect," Duan Wenrui said. "His movements are being monitored."

"Cyanide poisoning," Chu Xingrou said. "Another type of poison. So far, we’ve seen narcotics, Blood-sealing Throat, and cyanide."

"Cyanide kills quickly, in two to three minutes," Lu Zhishen said.

Su Miaoyi lowered her head and looked at the autopsy report again.

’There’s no information about the killer on the victim’s body...’