I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 185: Chapter 183: Saw the Scene in No One’s Eyes

There were just too many people at the scene. Everyone was a suspect.

The venue had been rented for several days, and they had been filming here for a while. A few of the staff and crew members from the previous days weren’t here today.

They were all suspects too.

Zhuang Yanzheng had someone gather detailed information on everyone, including their addresses.

Everyone needed to be placed under close surveillance.

Once that work was done, they were allowed to return to their residences for the time being.

Cheng Jue returned to his hotel.

It wasn’t just him. Everyone’s movements would be completely transparent for the foreseeable future.

Physical surveillance, digital surveillance.

And with surveillance came the need to ensure their safety.

Before he left, Su Miaoyi spoke with him for a moment.

”Are you in love with Xu Jinlan?” Su Miaoyi asked bluntly.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Qi Feng were listening from the side, and they both thought Cheng Jue nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard that.

”Sis, don’t talk nonsense,” Cheng Jue said in a low but very agitated voice. ”I’m not.”

Su Miaoyi looked at him. ”If you’re not, then what’s there to get so worked up about?”

”How can I not get worked up when you ask a question like that?” Cheng Jue retorted.

Su Miaoyi studied him again.

She had a feeling he was blushing, but his foundation was too thick to tell.

”What’s so agitating about a question like that,” Su Miaoyi said.

Cheng Jue fell silent.

”Then why were you covering for her?” Su Miaoyi was still a bit confused.

”We got along really well when we were training together. I just felt sorry for her, and I thought Liu Namo deserved to die,” Cheng Jue said.

”Loyalty to a friend,” Zhuang Yanzheng commented lightly from the side.

Su Miaoyi glanced at him before turning her gaze back to Cheng Jue.

Cheng Jue didn’t say anything.

”Do you realize you’re a major suspect right now?” Su Miaoyi asked.

Cheng Jue nodded. ”I didn’t kill him.”

Of course, Su Miaoyi believed he didn’t kill anyone. But with the murderer still at large, her belief alone couldn’t clear his name. ”Just cooperate with the investigation for now.”

Cheng Jue nodded.

”If you think of anything, tell the police immediately,” Su Miaoyi said.

”Can’t I just tell you directly?” Cheng Jue asked.

”I’ll most likely have to recuse myself,” Su Miaoyi said. ”If you hadn’t been withholding the truth, I wouldn’t have even been able to question you today.”

Cheng Jue glanced at Zhuang Yanzheng and the others, then back at Su Miaoyi. ”Sis, I’m sorry.”

Su Miaoyi snorted. ”Do you think you did something incredibly righteous? That you’re so cool? That you protected a poor, helpless friend?”

Cheng Jue lowered his head.

”That’s just what you saw,” Su Miaoyi sighed. ”Of course, what you saw might be the truth. But what if it isn’t? Because you concealed information, the police might miss a crucial clue. Because you concealed information, the real killer might get away.”

”You’re young, you’re hot-blooded, and you want to protect your friend. You couldn’t stand him hitting a woman, but you have to go about things the right way.” Su Miaoyi frowned. ”Your aunt always says you’re so mature, but I see it’s all an act. You’re just a blockhead.”

Cheng Jue glanced at Zhuang Yanzheng and Qi Feng. ”Sis, we have company.”

”Now you’re worried about company? I’ve already lost so much face today it’s probably been buried six feet under,” Su Miaoyi said. ”Can’t you hear it wailing from the grave about how indignant it is?”

Cheng Jue looked around.

It was already past midnight.

A light fog had settled into the darkness. Red silk ribbons and red lanterns swayed gently in the night breeze.

Even with the floodlights on, there was still an eerie feeling in the air.

”Sis, it’s really creepy when you say things like that out here.”

Su Miaoyi glanced around as well. ”Go on, head back.”

Cheng Jue nodded.

Qi Feng and two other officers escorted the few people who were staying at the same hotel back.

Su Miaoyi, Zhuang Yanzheng, and Lu Zhishen walked another lap around the perimeter of the entire courtyard house.

They didn’t find anything unusual. The remaining officers at the scene questioned the film crew that had been shooting nearby.

Then Zhuang Yanzheng received a call. ”Liu Namo’s parents have arrived at the city bureau.”

Once things were wrapped up there, they headed back.

In the car, Su Miaoyi said, ”I’ve looked at everyone. I didn’t see the murder.”

Seeing the murder through the killer’s eyes probably required a specific trigger; it wasn’t something she could see right away every time.

Chu Xingrou, sitting in the car, looked at Su Miaoyi, not understanding what she was talking about.

Then she glanced at Zhuang Yanzheng and Lu Zhishen.

Seeing that neither of them reacted, it seemed they had understood.

She started to wonder, ’Is there something wrong with my head? Why can’t I understand what they’re saying?’

’See the murder?’

’Why would they see the murder?’

Chu Xingrou stared at them.

She suddenly had a thought. ’Could there really be something wrong with that film set?’

’Are they still... them?’

Chu Xingrou’s eyes widened, and she froze, not daring to move a muscle.

”We also need to investigate everyone’s social connections,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

They sorted through the clues as they drove back.

”That mechanism... how did it pierce the heart so precisely?” Su Miaoyi wondered aloud. ”Even if the props team had their height data, when two people lie down inside, there are bound to be discrepancies. A little too high, too low, too far left, or too far right.”

”That knife,” Zhuang Yanzheng said. ”A blade that long... we can check for custom orders.”

”We heard back from the tech department. The device was also personally assembled. Many of the parts were scavenged from other items. It’s crude but extremely powerful,” Zhuang Yanzheng continued. ”The tech department tested it. It pierced right through a wooden table in their office.”

Yan Cheng and his assistant had already taken the body and some of the evidence back to the city bureau.

”That paper effigy...” Lu Zhishen said. ”The one placed under the floorboards probably wasn’t made by the same person as the others at the scene.”

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at him.

Su Miaoyi asked, ”How can you tell?”

”The other effigies at the scene are all exquisitely crafted,” Lu Zhishen explained. ”But the one under the floorboards is very crude, like it was pasted together by a complete novice. Moreover, it had a full set of facial features, including painted-on eyes.”

”Is there some significance to that?” Su Miaoyi asked. ”The other effigies didn’t have facial features, it’s true.”

”There’s a belief that dotting the eyes on a paper effigy summons a soul,” Lu Zhishen said. ”It’s a taboo in their line of work.”

Su Miaoyi nodded. ”And the remote was still in the effigy’s hand...”

As she spoke, she reached out and patted Chu Xingrou’s leg.

Chu Xingrou flinched so hard she almost shot to her feet.

Her reaction startled Su Miaoyi.

Lu Zhishen turned to look at the two of them, then glanced at the car roof. ”Trying to turn this into a convertible?”

”Did I scare you?” Su Miaoyi asked Chu Xingrou.

”N-no,” Chu Xingrou stammered, wiping the sweat that had trickled down her face.

Su Miaoyi placed a hand on her head. ”There, there.”

Chu Xingrou looked at her, feeling a bit ridiculous, and gave a dry laugh.

Su Miaoyi smiled back at her.

Zhuang Yanzheng watched the two of them in the rearview mirror, then said, ”My inquiries revealed that the effigies by the wall had been placed there early on but hadn’t been used yet.”

”The props team inventories everything on set daily,” Su Miaoyi said. ”The killer was worried about being discovered, so they pasted one together themselves, hoping to create a panic about a killer effigy.”

”In that case... the props team becomes slightly less suspicious,” Su Miaoyi mused. ”After all, buying an extra effigy would have been a simple move. But we can’t rule out that this was done deliberately to mislead us.”

...