Chapter 19 Did You See Anything Suspicious That Day…

Chapter 19 Did you see anything suspicious that day...

Pang Le was rarely flustered or uneasy. Guan Xia knew exactly why but couldn’t voice it. After a moment’s thought, she agreed to Pang Le’s suggestion.

"Let’s go then," Guan Xia said. "But I don’t know which temples in Yongquan City are particularly efficacious. You do the planning, and I’ll just bring someone and go with you."

Pang Le’s voice brightened immediately. "Alright, I’ll look it up right now and ask around among my friends. Wait to hear from me."

Pang Le had always been a man of action. Guan Xia had barely said "okay" when the call had already ended.

After eating a meal and brewing a cup of isatis root tea to ward off a cold, Guan Xia had planned to get some extra sleep. But after tossing and turning in bed for half an hour without success, she curled up on the sofa instead, pulled a thin blanket over herself, and started watching a show.

With her mind preoccupied, it was hard to focus. Guan Xia found herself checking the time again and again.

When the clock neared 6 p.m. and the sky outside had begun to darken, the phone on her coffee table finally rang.

Guan Xia practically shot up to grab her phone. A glance at the screen confirmed it was Pang Le.

The call she had been waiting for had finally come, yet Guan Xia suddenly felt a wave of nervousness, afraid of hearing the answer she had been dreading.

After taking a few deep breaths, she answered.

There was a brief silence on the other end, filled only by the sound of heavy breathing. After a moment, Pang Le spoke. "That child... didn’t make it."

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, Guan Xia felt her chest tighten at the confirmation of her fears.

Though the child was a stranger, the memory of the video she had seen—the small figure in red—made it impossible for her not to feel a wave of sadness.

"Time of death," Guan Xia paused before continuing, "was it around noon yesterday?"

Last night, she had prayed for a miracle for the little boy. Now, she could only hope his passing had been quick and without much suffering.

Pang Le was silent for a moment before replying, "Time of death was approximately 14 to 15 hours ago."

Guan Xia fell silent too. Based on that timing, it would have been around 3 or 4 in the morning. She wondered if the rain had still been falling then. If it hadn’t, perhaps the little boy could have held on a little longer.

She couldn’t help but imagine the scene but quickly shook her head to dispel the thought. There was only one question on her mind now: "That man, the murderer—will he get the death penalty?"

Pang Le replied solemnly, "I asked Lawyer Shi. He said it’s possible, but there’s a high chance it’ll be a death with reprieve."

Guan Xia let out a cold laugh. "A case this heinous, and he might only get a death with reprieve? So he could end up serving just ten-plus years in prison before being released?"

"Possibly," Pang Le sighed deeply. "Lawyer Shi doesn’t specialize in this type of case, but he consulted with colleagues. This is the most likely outcome."

Guan Xia didn’t want to talk anymore.

Pang Le’s mood was equally complicated. After urging Guan Xia to stay home lately and be sure to call her if going out, she ended the call.

It took Guan Xia a few seconds to pick up on what Pang Le really meant. It seemed she had heard something—another major case in Yongquan City, still unsolved—which explained the serious warning.

Guan Xia’s first thought was of Qi Bai and Xu Nian. They had originally planned to go hiking together on Saturday, but Qi Bai had canceled last minute on Friday. Remembering his earlier mention of their unit handling major cases, Guan Xia wondered if this was one of them.

Though the four of them had shared a meal and swapped contact info, Guan Xia considered them acquaintances at best, just people she knew. So, while curious, she kept her thoughts to herself and didn’t reach out.

Thus, when Xu Nian’s call came through the next afternoon, Guan Xia was both surprised and filled with a bad feeling.

As she mentally reviewed the events of the past few days, she answered the call.

Before she could even utter "Captain Xu," Xu Nian cut to the chase. "I heard from Qi Bai that you went camping on Saturday on an unnamed mountain opposite Niujiao Peak on Cuiping Mountain?"

Guan Xia’s stomach dropped. "Yes, we climbed a small, unnamed mountain opposite Niujiao Peak."

Xu Nian’s voice immediately rose in pitch. "I’ve sent you a photo. Have you been to this location?"

Guan Xia acknowledged, switched to speakerphone, and quickly opened the photo Xu Nian had sent.

With just one glance, she recognized it—the flat area used as a parking lot by campers visiting that small wild mountain. The cars she had seen parked there on Saturday, some looking like they’d been there for ages, were still in the photo.

Her sense of foreboding grew stronger. "Yes, we’ve been there. We parked our car there on Saturday when we went hiking."

Xu Nian immediately followed up, "Did you see anyone suspicious that day?"

The moment he asked, Guan Xia’s heart, which had been in her throat, suddenly dropped.

She didn’t bother trying to remember. Just as she expected, seconds after Xu Nian finished speaking, the system interface abruptly popped up, lines of text rapidly appearing.

You have been questioned by the police. You suddenly recall that at 08:37 on May 4, before ascending the mountain, you encountered a fisherman who seemed nervous in the parking lot. As you passed his vehicle, you caught a faint smell of blood and noticed what appeared to be bloodstains near the corner of the trunk. You decide to inform the police.

After quickly reading the text, Guan Xia’s face went blank. Questions uncontrollably bubbled up into her mind.

Was this system being a bit too abstract? That fisherman had been wearing a hat and sunglasses, with his jacket zipped all the way up to his chin. She had only seen a third of his face—not even enough to tell if his chin was pointed or round. How could she possibly have seen that he looked nervous?

And throughout her entire time walking to meet the others, she hadn’t smelled any blood or seen any stains resembling blood.

One doubt after another arose in Guan Xia’s mind. She waited patiently for a few seconds, and sure enough, the system interface flickered, once again playing a video of her encounter with the fisherman. It paused and zoomed in just as she passed his vehicle. Familiar red boxes highlighted three areas: directly above the license plate, the trunk’s hinge, and near the headlight. The blood traces were faint but elongated, as if accidentally smeared. Combined with the car’s gray color and what looked like layers of grime from not being washed in ages, without the system pointing it out, they would have been impossible to spot.

Guan Xia couldn’t help but sigh to herself. This was even more out there than the bloodstain on the maintenance worker’s sleeve from last time. If she mentioned this, Xu Nian and the others would probably think she had super-vision.

Rubbing her forehead, Guan Xia responded honestly after Xu Nian called her name again. "I did come across one person."

Guan Xia said, "But that person was all bundled up—wearing a fisherman’s hat, sunglasses, and had his zipper pulled all the way up. I only saw a third of his facial outline. If he changed clothes and showed his face in front of me, I definitely wouldn’t recognize him. But I did see his license plate number, and when I passed his car, I got a faint whiff of blood. There were also a few drops of what looked like bloodstains near the trunk. I’ll send you a sketch of him later. The license plate number is 9Q337. Oh, and he should be not very tall—I’m not sure exactly how tall because there was nothing to compare him to, but I’d estimate around five-seven to five-nine. Medium build. The clothes and shoes he wore didn’t have any obvious brands, so I don’t know what they were."

After Guan Xia finished, there was a brief silence on the other end before Xu Nian’s voice came through again.

Xu Nian sounded both surprised and excited. "Thank you, Guan Xia. If you remember anything else, contact me anytime."

This time, Xu Nian was even more impatient than Pang Le. Before Guan Xia could even say "okay," the call had already ended.

Staring at her phone in disbelief for a couple of seconds, Guan Xia tossed it aside. After a moment’s thought, she picked it up again and called Pang Le.

As soon as the call connected, Guan Xia blurted out, "Pang Le, guess who just called me?"

Pang Le’s curiosity was piqued. "Who? Dong Yuncheng? Qi Bai? Or Xu Nian?"

Guan Xia pursed her lips. Was that even a guess? It was more like listing everyone she knew at this stage.

"It was Xu Nian," Guan Xia didn’t keep her in suspense. "He asked me if I’d seen anyone suspicious while hiking."

Pang Le immediately understood. "What? Another case happened that day besides the little boy?"

Guan Xia sighed. "I’m starting to think we’re even bigger murder magnets than Conan. We go to one place, and more than one person dies. You’re better connected—do you know what case Xu Nian and his team are working on?"

"I’ve heard a bit," Pang Le said, her voice lowering as if she’d moved to a quieter spot. "It’s a dismemberment murder. In our Pingjiang District, Friday night, bags of body parts were found in a residential trash bin. Not sure how many victims yet, but this killer is so much more brutal than the last one."

Guan Xia got chills, her hair standing on end. Her mind instantly flashed to the fisherman she’d encountered that day. He’d been carrying a large bucket—could he have used it to transport body parts into the wild mountains?

But if he dared to dump them in a residential trash bin, why would he suddenly make the trip out to the mountains?

Were the body parts he disposed of that day from the same victim as Friday’s, or was it someone else?

Guan Xia's head was spinning a little, and she slowly sat down on the sofa.

Pang Le finished telling what he'd heard in one breath and then asked, "How did you answer Xu Nian? Did you really see someone suspicious?"

His tone was skeptical. "But that can’t be right. We were together the whole time that day—we even went to the bathroom together. I didn’t see anyone suspicious."

Guan Xia spoke with some difficulty, "You did see him... it was that... that fisherman."

Pang Le was even more shocked, his voice rising sharply, "What do you mean? That fisherman is the murderer?"