Chapter 383: The Crime Scene
Chapter 383: Chapter 383: The Crime Scene
The corpse leaning against the corner of the cave wall had clearly been dead for many days. Ghastly white bone was exposed in several places, and a nauseating, putrid stench filled the air.
But the stench wasn’t the most terrifying part. It was the gruesome state of the corpse.
Its arms and legs were bent at odd angles, clearly having been snapped. The neck was also twisted unnaturally, with the head lolling onto the chest, obscuring the face. The exposed palms and soles of the feet were mangled beyond recognition, as if they had been smashed to a pulp. The body was crisscrossed with deep gashes that looked like knife wounds, and organs were even spilling from the chest and abdomen.
Dark red bloodstains covered the body and the ground. The cave walls were even splattered with them. It wasn’t hard to imagine the horror that had unfolded.
Who could possibly stomach such a brutal and bloody scene, aside from someone like Su Qing, who was accustomed to the apocalypse?
Huo Tao fought the churning in his stomach and quickly said to Su Qing, "Su Qing, you... you should get out of here... It’s too... too... BLECH!"
Halfway through his sentence, Huo Tao couldn’t hold it in and threw up.
Su Qing said, "Go down the mountain and report this to the police. I’ll help the others out of the cave."
As she spoke, Su Qing stepped forward and helped both Xie Lei and Fang Xin toward the entrance, handing them over to Li Huan and the others. "Take care of them."
Just then, Huo Tao emerged with the other boys, the color drained from all of their faces.
"What happened to you guys?" Liu Juan asked curiously. "Why does everyone look so pale?"
"Don’t even ask." One of the boys started to dry-heave at the memory of the scene. ’That sight... it’s going to haunt my nightmares,’ he thought. "It was horrible. Quick... call the police."
"Call the police!" Hearing the boy’s words, Li Huan’s eyes widened. She connected it to Su Qing telling them not to go inside, and the realization hit her. Her face instantly went pale.
Su Qing gently steadied Li Huan by the shoulder. "Let’s all get out of here for now."
The group left the cave with heavy hearts. Huo Tao immediately took another boy and hurried down the mountain to call the police. Ye Qingqing, also looking a little pale, asked Su Qing, "Su Qing, inside... was there... a murder?"
"Yes." Su Qing didn’t want to elaborate. "Anyway, the police will be here soon. Don’t worry about it. Let’s leave the rest to them."
"Oh."
The girls all nodded. Seeing the boys’ pale faces and the still-unconscious Fang Xin, their hearts grew heavy.
Su Qing pressed a pressure point under Fang Xin’s nose, and a moment later, he woke up. The first thing he shouted was, "Aah! A dead body!"
His shout sent a shiver through everyone nearby.
Su Qing quickly said, "Fang Xin, it’s okay. You’re out of the cave now."
Fang Xin finally came to his senses. After a long moment, he swallowed hard. "That... that..."
Xie Lei said weakly, "The class president already went to call the police."
Fang Xin nodded shakily, not saying a word. For a moment, everyone fell silent.
The police arrived quickly. There was a station right next to the Yunshan Scenic Area. After receiving the report from Huo Tao and the others, officers immediately came up the mountain to cordon off the area. It was a murder scene, after all, and they had to prevent it from being contaminated to facilitate the investigation and evidence collection.
Since Su Qing and the others were considered eyewitnesses, they didn’t leave. They had to wait to give their statements.
Before the officers who went into the cave had come out, another group of police arrived.
"Su Qing!" The officer leading the second group was none other than Zou Ming. He was surprised to see her. "You’re the ones who found the scene?"
"Captain Zou!" Su Qing was just as surprised to see him.
"I’m going in to take a look. We’ll talk later." Zou Ming exchanged a few words with Su Qing before leading his men into the cave.
"Su Qing, you know that police officer?" Ye Qingqing asked curiously.
"Yeah, we met during the Xu Xianhui case, so we know each other," Su Qing nodded.
Almost everyone at Beijing University knew about the Xu Xianhui case, so hearing Su Qing’s explanation, they all understood.
About half an hour later, an officer came to take their statements. Captain Zou seemed very busy, so Su Qing didn’t bother him. She went down the mountain with her classmates. After what had happened, no one was in the mood to stay on the mountain any longer.
The next day, Su Qing and Li Huan went home. They spent the National Day holiday with their families before returning to school. No one brought up the case on the mountain again.
Su Qing had assumed that would be the end of her involvement in the case. After all, they had only stumbled upon the crime scene by accident and had already given their statements. However, a little over ten days later, Zou Ming showed up at Beijing University in plain clothes.
"Captain Zou, is something wrong?" Su Qing led Zou Ming to her courtyard, a quiet place where they could talk privately.
"Yes, it’s about the case from the National Day holiday," Zou Ming said with a nod.
"We already gave our statements for that case. Are there more questions?" Su Qing was confused. ’Solving crimes isn’t my forte.’
"To be precise, this is about you," Zou Ming said.
"Me?" Su Qing was even more bewildered. "Captain Zou, what does the person murdered in the cave have to do with me?"