I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 92 Tearing Open
Qingchang University was founded a century ago and has been renamed twice. I heard that it will be renamed again in the next few years, with the words "Qingchang" being removed and the prefix "Huaxia" being added. The names of the university's key disciplines may also be added in the middle.

It will sound much more sophisticated then.

Getting into a "Double First-Class" university is quite difficult.

Han Ling and Tong Feng entered the campus at 10 a.m. Although it was during class time, there were many students on the road, with people coming and going, which showed the scale of more than 40,000 students.

Han Ling thought of Sun Qing, who had previously said that her goal was Jiangyuan University of Science and Technology.

Jiangsu University of Science and Technology is also a Double First-Class University. It and Qingchang University each have their own advantages and disadvantages and there is no distinction between them. Both schools are ranked among the top 100 in the country. If we really have to compare them, Qingchang University's overall strength may be slightly higher.

"What are you looking for at the university?" Tong Feng asked.

Han Ling shook his head: "I don't know, let's just take a look and see Zhu Yuntang again."

The problem is unlikely to lie with Qingchang University, but we can gather clues from other angles.

Tong Feng nodded in agreement. The other party's thinking was sound, after all, Qingchang University had occupied most of Cao Kexuan's life in recent years.

After wandering around for a while, Han Ling called Zhu Yuntang, but no one answered, probably because she was in class.

Without calling a second time, the two went directly to the girls' dormitory building and waited nearby.

Twenty minutes later, the phone rang, and Zhu Yuntang answered.

After a brief exchange, the two agreed to meet at a small square not far from the girls' dormitory.

Zhu Yuntang soon appeared, and the two found a place nearby to sit down and start talking.

"You don't have any classes later, right?" Han Ling asked casually.

Zhu Yuntang was probably thinking about her boyfriend's death again, and there was no smile on her face: "There is only one class in the morning, and another class at 3:30 in the afternoon."

With two classes a day, university life is quite comfortable.

If your only goal is to graduate, you can simply relax and not fail any courses.

"You've all found out about my senior. Is it because there's something wrong with Ke Xuan's death?" Zhu Yuntang asked proactively.

Han Ling didn't answer: "You already know how he died, right?"

Zhu Yuntang nodded gently: "I know, he drowned while fishing. He really loved fishing, and when he watched TV, he basically only watched fishing programs."

Since the whole village is lying, there must be something fishy about Xuan's death, right?

Her logic was simple and direct: why lie when there's no problem? It makes no sense at all.

Han Ling: "We are still investigating."

The truth is uncertain, and investigators often have to smooth things over with the victim's family and friends during the investigation.

"Sigh." Zhu Yuntang sighed and fell silent.

Han Ling formally began her inquiry: "Let's talk about Cao Kexuan. Was there anything unusual about him in the period before his death?"

Zhu Yuntang answered quickly: "No, I've thought about it carefully during this time. If I had, I would have gone to the police station to tell you already."

Han Ling patiently guided, "Let's not rush, let's talk slowly."

An abnormality isn't always obvious; it could be a subtle change, such as a sudden bad mood or a sudden feeling of being preoccupied.

“I…” Zhu Yuntang lowered her head and frowned.

Han Ling: "Don't feel pressured. It's okay if you can't remember. Everyone's life is not static; there will always be ups and downs. What I want to know is, when did Cao Kexuan's ups and downs occur? And what were their outward manifestations?"

Zhu Yuntang recalled carefully, and after a long while, she said, "A week before Kexuan passed away, he did seem a little unhappy after returning from his hometown. I asked him about it, and he said that he fell into the water while fishing."

This was the second time Han Ling had heard that Cao Kexuan had fallen into the water; Cao's mother had mentioned it just yesterday.

"How long did the low mood last?" he asked.

Zhu Yuntang: "It'll take a day or two, then it'll return to normal, but..."

Han Ling: "But what?"

Zhu Yuntang hesitated: "But I always feel that he is still unhappy. He seems happy on the surface, but he often gets distracted when we eat together. When I talk to him, he returns to normal."

Is this considered unusual?

Han Ling: "Okay, what about the others? Besides being in a bad mood, what other behaviors did he exhibit during that period?"
You can talk about anything that's different from before.

Zhu Yuntang: "We chatted less on QQ. He used to take the initiative to chat with me in the dorm at night, but he stopped taking the initiative in those few days and was slower to reply to messages."

And also... um... the library. Going to the library more often has made me love studying.

Han Ling: "Did he used to go to the library?"

Zhu Yuntang: "Go, go when you take the CET-4 exam or get the certificate, but there are no important exams at school during that time."

Han Ling: "Didn't you ask?"

Zhu Yuntang: "No, going to the library is normal."

Han Ling: "There are records of you borrowing books from the library, right?"

Zhu Yuntang nodded: "Yes, you need a library card. The library will record the student's name, borrowing time, and book title."

Han Ling felt that he might have found a clue, so he didn't talk to Zhu Yuntang for long and left in a hurry in less than half an hour, heading to the Qingchang University Library.

If we take Cao Kexuan's fall into the water as a crucial starting point, then the subsequent development of events should be as follows:
After falling into the water while fishing, Cao Kexuan became depressed, and this continued even after returning to school. He also started frequenting the library.

This situation continued until the second weekend, when Cao Kexuan went home to fish and drowned in the lake.

Assuming it was a homicide, and assuming there is a causal relationship between these events, then the library becomes the focus of the investigation.

Upon arriving at the library, Han Ling showed her identification to the staff and requested to check the students' borrowing information.

The school library has certain confidentiality measures for students' borrowing information, and without police identification, the other party would not allow it.

The librarian was very cooperative, showing the information on the computer and making room for the library, as Qingchang University Library stores borrowing information electronically. "It's all here, please take a look."

"Thank you."

Han Ling sat down and filtered through the time points and names, eventually finding Cao Kexuan.

Cao Kexuan borrowed a lot of books, almost all of which were in the week before his death. He read a lot every day, which seemed very abrupt to Han Ling.

It's like suddenly becoming interested in something without any warning.

Han Ling browsed the book titles.

General Introduction to Archaeology

Ancient cultural relics protection and restoration.

Historical Atlas

Huaiyan Chronicle ([2006] edition).

Research on the Structure of Tomb Buildings

Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering.

A History of Tomb Raiding in China.

The Book of Burial.

Ancient Feng Shui Theory and Practice.

……

The dozens of books in total are all related to archaeology, cultural relics, and feng shui, and have absolutely nothing to do with Cao Kexuan's major in college.

Purely a personal interest.

Why did you suddenly become interested? That's the key point.

"Finally, we've found something," Han Ling murmured to himself.
Tong Feng, who was watching from the side, spoke up at this moment: "Why is he suddenly reading so many books on archaeology and feng shui? What, is he going to do archaeology? Or is he going to rob tombs?"

Han Ling didn't answer, but turned to the administrator: "Hello, I'd like to see this Huaiyan Gazetteer. Where is it located?"

"Wait a moment, I'll go get it," the administrator said.

Han Ling: "Thank you."

After waiting a while, the administrator returned and handed Han Ling the "Huaiyan Chronicle ([2006] Edition)".

This book is relatively new, and not many people read it normally.

Local chronicles are encyclopedias of a province, city, county, or township. They have a very detailed content framework and include a wealth of information such as natural geography, administrative history, population, economy, and culture.

As the name suggests, Huaiyan Zhi is definitely related to Huaiyan Town.

Han Ling did not open the book immediately. Instead, he tilted the book to the side to examine the edges closely, found the traces of pages being turned, and then jumped to the corresponding page.

This is a scroll about tombs and historical sites, recording the burial regulations of kings, generals, famous scholars and gentry, as well as the repairs made in various dynasties. Whether the information is accurate is impossible to verify.

This includes Tiezhu Mountain.

After a quick glance, Han Ling gently closed the Huaiyan Chronicle and let out a soft sigh.

This case has forcibly opened a breach, requiring verification.

The two left the library and departed from Qingchang University.

At the university gate, Han Ling stopped at a trash can where cigarettes could be extinguished, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

"Did you think of anything?" Tong Feng asked.

Han Ling took a few puffs of his cigarette and said, "Let's not talk about Cao Kexuan for now. Normally speaking, how many motives are there for murder?"

Tong Feng replied, "There are many: emotional disputes, profit-driven motives, revenge and venting anger, impulsive passion, antisocial psychology, excessive self-defense... and so on."

Han Ling: "If we narrow down the scope, there was no enmity between them, nor any emotional or interest-related disputes. They were all psychologically normal, but suddenly a deliberate murder occurred. What could the motive be?"

Tong Feng pondered.

There was no enmity, so suddenly?
"You mean, no grudge, mentally normal, but suddenly had murderous intent..." Tong Feng's mind raced, his eyes narrowing, "The person must die, so you're silencing them?"

Han Ling slowly exhaled a puff of smoke: "Therefore, our investigation may have gone seriously astray. Investigating Cao Kexuan is useless, investigating Cao Kexuan's relatives and friends is also useless. The motive for the murder is very secretive and cannot be found on the surface."

"Let's go back to the branch office first, then go to Huaiyan Town to verify something. We'll stay there for the next few days."

A few weeks ago, Cao Kexuan fell into the water. There must have been some unknown incidents that happened to him, which caused him to have emotional problems and spend all his time in the library after returning to school.

Tong Feng followed Han Ling's footsteps: "Should we report this?"

Han Ling: "Don't report it yet. Let's find solid clues first."

It's still in the speculation stage, but... Han Ling thinks the possibility of this speculation is already very high.

Cao Kexuan was probably murdered, and there was more than one killer.

It's even possible that the guy who sent Zhu Yuntang the text message on the day of Cao Kexuan's funeral might be someone who knew the truth.

The probability of being an accomplice is very low; the probability of being aware of it is the highest.

Han Ling's mind flashed with the image of Wei Tianyong, all the images overlapping rapidly. This person was quite suspicious.

If the judgment is correct, then Weijiazhuang Village is no ordinary village; the severity of the case is immeasurable.

Perhaps, in the future, we will face a siege by special police.

(End of this chapter)