HH Chapter 2

“Look at the deceased’s hand here.” Yan Ya raised the corpse’s right hand. “There are marks here from being pressed by a circular object, possibly a watch.”

“Robbery?” Cheng Ye asked.

Yan Ya shook her head, indicating uncertainty. “It could have fallen off. Also, the deceased’s clothes don’t look cheap, but his palms have a lot of calluses.”

Cheng Ye pinched the clothes, flipped through them briefly, and said nothing.

Yan Ya tidied the deceased’s clothing. “This probably isn’t the primary crime scene.”

She said, “There is very little sand in the deceased’s nasal cavity. Given the rain last night, the sand content should be higher. But it’s not. Also, I found this.”

She raised an evidence bag containing a gray-green substance and handed it to Cheng Ye.

“What is this?” Cheng Ye asked.

“It’s algae, and it usually doesn’t grow downstream,” she replied.

Cheng Ye’s eyes narrowed as he looked at it and then looked down. “Let me know if you find any clues.”

He turned and shouted, “Chen Xiaonuan, Fang Yuan, go check upstream!”

Cheng Ye was about to leave but was called back. “Cheng Ye.”

He turned to see Yan Ya standing up. “I heard from the director that they’re assigning you a partner.”

“A partner?” Cheng Ye was taken aback. “Who?”

Yan Ya had the body packed up and sent back to the station. She removed her mask and said, “Apparently, it’s someone who teaches psychology. Sounds quite impressive.”

Cheng Ye found it somewhat amusing, waved his hand, and walked away with a foul temper. “The director’s choices are getting worse and worse.”

Before Yan Ya could stop Cheng Ye, he was already gone, muttering, “This guy… so stubborn.”

Moving further up, the intertwining branches and twigs blocked the way. The three of them carefully observed the surroundings. The upstream terrain was quite complex, and few people came here.

“Team Leader Cheng!” From a distance, Chen Xiaonuan called out, crouching down.

Hearing the call, the two others stopped what they were doing and turned towards Chen Xiaonuan. When they arrived, she picked up a broken twig from the ground. “This one seems to have broken recently. When I found it, it was buried underneath.”

She showed the cross-section of the twig to the others. “Look here.”

Inside the cross-section, a brownish-red stain caught their attention. Due to the leaves’ coverage, only a small part of the twig was wet, and the stain wasn’t washed away.

“Call the forensics team up here,” Cheng Ye said to Chen Xiaonuan, taking the twig and putting it in an evidence bag.

“Yes,” Chen Xiaonuan responded.

Seeing Chen Xiaonuan’s unsteady steps, Cheng Ye paused and looked around. “There are no signs of a struggle or dragging here.” He stepped back a few paces and squinted, looking at Fang Yuan. “What do you think?”

Fang Yuan blinked. “One possibility is that the person was already dead at the foot of the mountain.”

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow and asked, “If it were you, how would you transport a dead person from the foot of the mountain to the top without being noticed?”

Fang Yuan walked up to Cheng Ye, pondering for a few seconds. “First, based on the terrain, using tools to transport the body is nearly impossible. Also, I would need to be very strong…” He paused, his eyes lighting up. “The perpetrator could be an adult male with fitness experience.”

Cheng Ye, hands in his pockets, retorted, “How did you ever graduate from the police academy?”