Chapter 18

Diamond Tongue 3, At the Top of the Bell Tower

"Don't worry," Oss shrugged, "Both the big and small snakes are dead, though it's unclear how they died."

"Dead?" An Ge'er seemed somewhat regretful as he entered the room. He first looked around, noticing some cracks on the walls that didn't seem very new, and frowned slightly. Stepping over the mass of snakes, An Ge'er approached the bed and stared at the dead boa constrictor, asking Oss, "Can I touch it?"

Oss nodded, "The scene has already been photographed. If you don't mind its weight, feel free to hold it."

An Ge'er turned back, reached out to touch the boa’s skin, and beckoned to Mo Fei, "Mo Fei, come and see, she’s really beautiful!"

Mo Fei struggled to see the beauty in the creature, but since An Ge'er called him, he stepped over the dead snakes to join him. Up close, the boa felt even more enormous and sinister.

"It’s a pity she’s dead," An Ge'er said with a tinge of regret, lifting the snake’s head and examining it closely, admiringly, "This is a white boa from the Amazon jungle in South America, very rare. It’s not easy for it to grow this big. Judging by its size, it must have lived at least thirty years."

"Only thirty years?" Both Oss and Mo Fei were surprised, "It’s so big, I thought it had lived for several hundred years."

An Ge'er walked to the window, looked down at the window frame, then out at the yard’s grass, saying, "In this world, aside from snake demons, normal snakes don’t live long. Species like viper and silver ring snake only live about five to six years. Pythons have a longer lifespan, living up to about thirty years."

"How did this snake die?" Mo Fei asked Oss.

Oss shrugged, "Don’t know, there’s not a single mark on its body."

"This python must weigh a few hundred pounds, right?" Mo Fei asked Oss, "How could it be moved here without leaving any trace?"

Oss spread his hands, "That's why we called you. We don’t know either. People in the village say it’s the work of a snake demon."

"Hmm," An Ge'er stood up, stepped outside with Mo Fei, and looked around, "The air here is really nice."

"And then?" Oss followed and asked An Ge'er, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

An Ge'er looked at him, puzzled, "What?"

"Uh..." Oss glanced at Mo Fei, then back at An Ge'er, "Aren’t you supposed to spin around three times right here, then take me to meet someone, and casually say that they’re the culprit?"

An Ge'er seriously patted Oss on the shoulder, saying, "Oss, life is always a bit imperfect."

"What do you mean?" Oss looked at An Ge'er, "Are you saying you have no leads?"

An Ge'er nodded, "No leads at all."

"Ah?" Oss was taken aback, checking his watch, "So, there’s no chance of returning to the city before dark?"

An Ge'er nodded again, "Seems like it." After a moment's thought, he added, "I suggest you start putting these snakes into cages. Snakes are quite adept at playing dead." After saying this, he beckoned to Mo Fei, "It's rare to visit the countryside, let’s explore around."

Oss, resigned, mobilized his spoiled officers to first catch the snakes and put them into cages, and then began to investigate, dividing into teams: some to gather evidence at the scene and others to interview neighbors.

An Ge'er and Mo Fei left Zhao Ou's house, walking down the rural path towards the church not far away.

"No clues this time?" Mo Fei asked An Ge'er, "It’s not like your usual style."

An Ge'er smiled and said, "If Oss and his team don’t start using their brains, I'll have to be the one maintaining social security."

"So, you do have a clue?" Mo Fei was surprised.

Anger pondered for a moment and said, "I've noticed some rather unusual aspects."

"What unusual aspects?" Mo Fei asked curiously.

"Well... the snakes and the murder case might not be related," Anger spoke as he walked. "If it weren’t for these snakes, this case would just be a simple homicide. In other words, the snakes did not partake in the murder. They were placed at the scene post-crime for some purpose."

"It's quite a coincidence that we just received a snake-shaped jewel," Mo Fei thought aloud. "Do you mean that this murder was originally a straightforward home invasion, but someone deliberately added the snakes to draw your attention?"

"Most people are sound asleep at three or four in the morning," Anger commented. "But the old lady got up early to bake cookies in the kitchen, preparing for today's activities. She might have been returning to her room to rest after placing the cookies in the oven, and upon opening her bedroom door and turning on the light, she saw someone inside. To prevent her from screaming, the intruder stabbed her and then fled in panic."

"Now that you mention it, it does seem like a typical home invasion murder," Mo Fei nodded.

"Oss was just misled by those snakes. I think once we remove the snakes, we can easily find clues to solve the case. Such a burglary is likely committed by an outsider, as most villagers are elderly. It would be difficult for an elderly person to climb to the second floor and enter through a window. Also, a local would know about the old lady's early rising habit and wouldn't choose this time to break in," Anger explained casually. "In such a small village, where would be the easiest place to hide an outsider without being noticed?"

"A hotel?" Mo Fei guessed.

Anger nodded. "The moment Oss and his team saw the snakes everywhere, they instinctively thought it was a bizarre case, so they called me in," he said. Just then, they heard the wail of sirens as police cars sped by on the nearby road, heading towards a hotel in the center of the village.

"Why didn't you tell Oss just now?" Mo Fei wondered.

"I needed more time to think things through," Anger replied calmly. "And as I see it, even if Oss goes now, all he'll find is the corpse of the murderer."

"Are you saying the killer was killed by the person who released the snakes?" Mo Fei was surprised. "So, the snake releaser is Black JK? Was his only goal to draw you here?"

Anger smiled slightly. "I suppose so."

"Where do we go now?" Mo Fei asked.

"It's not about where we go," Anger replied, changing the subject. He pointed towards a distant church. "Shall we take a walk there? It seems to be built a long time ago."

"True, it’s rare these days to see buildings with bells on top," Mo Fei agreed, looking up at the distant structure. Soon, they entered the church, finding it deserted and eerily quiet.

"But how did Black JK manage to bring so many snakes, especially that huge Python, into Zhao Ou's house?" Mo Fei wondered. "And all of those snakes were dead."

Anger chuckled. "A snake becomes rigid after death. Do you think someone could arrange a dead snake in that pose and stuff it inside Zhao Ou's stomach?"

"So, you mean the snakes were alive when they were arranged like that?" Mo Fei asked, puzzled. "But wouldn’t they bite?"

Climbing the church stairs, Anger explained, "I just noticed an 'S' shaped trail in the grass of Zhao Ou’s yard from her bedroom window. The grass was flattened, and some soil was disturbed.

"The snake entered from her yard?" Mo Fei exclaimed in surprise. "It climbed up on its own!"

Anger nodded.

"Then what caused them to suddenly die?" Mo Fei asked.

"I've said it before," Anger shrugged. "Snakes are extremely good at playing dead, especially when they are extremely cold."

"Extremely cold?" Mo Fei furrowed his brows.

"Do you know about the woolly mammoths?" Anger asked.

"You mean those big elephants with long hair and tusks from the Ice Age?" Mo Fei inquired.

"Yes," Anger nodded. "In the frozen soils of Siberia, there are many woolly mammoths. They were almost instantly frozen, like being put in a deep freeze. It's said that the Earth's surface temperature dropped by 45 degrees suddenly. Not just the mammoths, but the surrounding vegetation was also frozen."

"So, in Zhao Ou's house..."

"I just saw water stains on the window when I was by it..."

"Caused by the temperature difference inside and out?" Mo Fei widened his eyes. "So, let the snakes enter Zhao Ou's room first, then rapidly decrease the temperature?"

"Rapidly cooling such a small room is easy to achieve. A tank of liquid nitrogen would do the job. Open the valve, and the temperature drops instantly, putting the snakes into a state of torpor... That's why there are some cracks on the furniture and walls, they're from freezing."

"Then... if it gets warm, those snakes?" Mo Fei sighed in relief. "Is that why you told Oss to put the snakes in cages?"

"Not exactly," Anger said nonchalantly. "The small snakes are not the issue. The key is that Python. Given its size, it could easily crush a car, let alone a metal cage."

"Why didn't you say that earlier!" Mo Fei was shocked.

Anger glanced at his watch and said, "By my estimate, that snake will wake up in about half an hour. You have time to run back and tell the officers to point twelve guns at it, ready to shoot its head if it moves, or find an expert to swap it into a more secure cage."

"You..." Mo Fei was somewhat angry. "Anger, you're playing too much!"

Anger shrugged, looked up at the top of the church above the stairs, and smiled at Mo Fei. "That's how you'll let me go up alone, right? Hurry up." He said this while urging Mo Fei on.

"You... what's up there?" Mo Fei asked nervously. "Anger, do you know if someone is up there? Is it Black JK?"

"Zhao Ou's bedroom window directly faces the church's bell tower," Anger patted Mo Fei. "You go, it's okay."

Biting his teeth, Mo Fei nodded and stared at Anger for a long while. "You know, you're a willful and reckless kid! Always playing tricks on others."

Anger raised an eyebrow. "I'm smarter than you, so naturally, I can outwit you."

"Fine, you trick me, then I'll tell you, you're the real fool!" Mo Fei retorted and pulled out a phone from his pocket, dialing Oss…

Anger frowned. "When did you buy a phone?"

Mo Fei smirked. "Aren’t you a genius? How come you didn't notice?"

"That's cheating!" Anger got angry and reached to snatch the phone. "You're not allowed to use it!"

"The first one to cheat was you!" Mo Fei hugged Anger with one arm and connected the call to Oss with the other, telling him to hurry back as the snakes would revive.

"What are you doing!" Anger struggled.

"What am I doing?" Mo Fei raised his eyebrows. "Either you take me with you upstairs, or I'll drag you down with me!"

Anger was no match for Mofei in terms of strength and finally relented when Mofei was about to carry him downstairs...

Mo Fei set him down, and Anger glared resentfully at the cell phone in his hand, mumbling discontentedly, "It's not that you're smarter than me, it's because you used a communication tool!"

"Fine, you're the smartest, okay?" Mo Fei shook his head helplessly, and Anger felt somewhat appeased, glaring at Mo Fei, "Don't you dare speak later!"

Mo Fei sighed, "Let's go upstairs."