Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 231 The Corpse with its Throat Slit
It started when the two entered the classroom.

Yi Wenna kept her eyes glued to Ai Liang and Ye Qing.

That's what it's like to like someone.

Even if he or she is just getting closer to someone else, you feel like your heart is being scratched by a hundred claws.

Various ideas grew wildly like weeds.

Fortunately, the two didn't exchange any words after entering the room.

He quietly returned to his seat and continued studying, flipping through his books.

This relieved Ivanna.

Soon, it was past eleven o'clock.

As the bell rang for the last class.

In order to avoid crowding the cafeteria with students from other grades, many students in the class have already started taking action.

Fang Xinlei, the girl with a limp, was the first to stand up.

She hobbled out of the classroom, leaning on her crutches.

"Silly girl, isn't Fang Xinlei your roommate?"

Ye Qing glanced at Fang Xinlei, who was walking slowly down the corridor, and turned to ask, "Aren't you going to eat together?"

Yesterday after school, Ye Qing and Yi Wenna chatted until midnight.

It was around that time that she learned that Fang Xinlei and Yi Wenna were roommates.

"Don't even mention it, I don't want to eat with that guy."

Yi Wenna said irritably, "I kindly helped her carry her books this morning, and she actually said I was meddling in her business. It's infuriating!"

Ye Qing awkwardly tried to smooth things over: "Haha...maybe she's just too proud. Next time, it's better to ask her first before helping her."

"There won't be a next one!"

Yi Wenna said angrily, "If I weren't renting a place outside, my dad would have arranged a nanny for me. I don't want to live in the same dormitory as her!"

Ye Qing shrugged and didn't say anything.

When it comes to private matters like interpersonal relationships, it's best not to interfere if possible.

Just like when Yi Wenna complained about her strict father, she always chimed in to smooth things over or changed the subject.

If you side with one side and speak ill of the other, wait until their relationship is repaired.

Your situation will become very awkward.

Ye Qing casually patted Ai Liang on the back: "A Liang, want to go eat?"

Ai Liang didn't rush to say anything, but first checked whether all the dishes at the cafeteria window had been served.

After confirming that 80% of the food service windows were open, he turned around and said, "You go ahead."

Just like in junior high school.

Ai Liang has no intention of eating in the cafeteria with a man in public.

Who knows if there are any brain-dead guys here who just want to show off in front of pretty girls.

Yi Wenna's eyes lit up, and she seized the opportunity to say, "Oh dear, Ai Liang might not be hungry yet, let's go to the cafeteria first!"

After Yi Wenna finished speaking, she immediately closed the tutoring book, stood up, and was about to pull Ye Qing away from the classroom.

"Hey, don't pull me!"

Ye Qing struggled for a moment, then looked behind her with slight dissatisfaction.

At this moment, her gaze froze slightly.

“I didn’t say I was going to eat in the cafeteria, let go.”

Yi Wenna was no match for Ye Qing's strength, and was easily overpowered.

Ye Qing rubbed her arm, which had been pinched red: "Just eat, stop touching me like that."

"Hehe, I was just afraid you'd run away."

Yi Wenna let out a silly, dazed laugh.

Ye Qing looked at Ai Liang and asked, "Do you want me to bring you some food?"

"No need, I'll go to the cafeteria."

"Row."

Ye Qing took her phone out of her desk and walked straight out of the classroom.

Yi Wenna quickly caught up with Ye Qing: "I've checked out all the restaurants outside the school, these few have big portions and you can eat your fill..."

The two walked and talked as they left the classroom.

Just as Ai Liang was about to get up and leave her seat, Jin Ping'an's voice came from behind her.

"Ai Liang, want to go eat?"

Ai Liang turned around expressionlessly.

Jin Ping'an raised his hand with a grin to greet him.

Does this guy already acknowledge that I'm in the same circle as him?
Ai Liang thought to herself.

But he did not refuse; instead, he nodded almost imperceptibly.

Since you've made up your mind to change yourself, you need to show the attitude to do so.

Otherwise, what's the difference between staying at school alone reading novels and being at home?

Ai Liang's nod filled Jin Ping'an with a mixture of surprise and delight.

Jin Ping'an originally thought that, given Ai Liang's aloof personality, he would have to make three visits to Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage and stand in the snow outside Cheng Yi's door before he could become friends with him.

To my surprise, Ai Liang accepted my invitation so easily, which was quite unexpected.

"Lunch is on me. Order whatever you want, even if you order every single dish."

Jin Ping'an grinned and laughed, "I haven't even had a chance to properly thank you for finding me a messenger!"

Cheng Lejia, who had been standing to the side with a smile, broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this mindless remark.

Ai Liang's face darkened.

Do you just like to bring up things that are hard to talk about?
So you just said yesterday not to mention the messenger, and you've already forgotten about it today?
"That Ping An guy..."

Cheng Lejia tugged at Jin Ping'an's clothes.

Only then did the latter belatedly realize that Ai Liang's expression was not good.

Jin Ping'an scratched his head guiltily, "Ah, sorry..."

This thing is like a husky, always jumping around and making people's blood pressure rise.

Ai Liang took a deep breath: "It's okay."

Jin Ping'an laughed it off: "Let's go, let's not talk about this anymore, let's eat."

He wanted to put his arm around Ai Liang's shoulder while walking, but Ai Liang avoided him in disgust.

The canteen where we ate was still Zhiweixuan.

It mainly consists of Jin Pingan and Cheng Lejia, both of whom are boarding students.

Yesterday I was busy tidying up my dorm, so I just bought some steamed buns for dinner and didn't know the quality of the food at the other cafeteria.

What if the lunch there is full of terrible food?

In comparison, Zhiweixuan, where I had dined before, was much more reassuring, and it was also relatively close to the teaching building.

According to Cheng Lejia, the lunch here was pretty good.

Since Ai Liang wasn't a boarding student and had to go back to the classroom after meals, she didn't take a detour to Shengyuan.

"Is this all you ate for lunch?"

Jin Ping'an looked at Ai Liang's plate and asked.

There wasn't much food on the plate: a few florets of broccoli, a small portion of beef, a small portion of fried mushrooms, and half a steamed bun.

This is not the amount of food a male high school student in his developmental stage should eat.

"Don't say I eat little when you're just drinking rice porridge."

Ai Liang retorted.

Jin Ping'an couldn't help but argue, "I have a stomach problem and can't eat! With my appetite, I could eat at least three servings of this amount!"
"You need to eat more to stay healthy."

If you're so good at arguing, why don't you go work on a construction site?

Ai Liang put down her plate: "Can't I have a small appetite? Eating a lot doesn't mean you're healthy... Who was it that ran a few thousand meters and was too tired to walk?"

Jin Ping'an was immediately embarrassed: "Well... wasn't he knocked unconscious by the anesthesia back then? It's understandable that he couldn't run..."

"Didn't the kidnappers use ether on me?"

"……I was wrong."

Unable to find an excuse, Jin Ping'an obediently bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

Fortunately, Jin Ping'an isn't the type to argue mindlessly; he simply enjoys bantering with people.

He has no ill intentions.

Pure trolls are truly disgusting; they love to act like they have brain damage and raise your blood pressure.

If you argue with this kind of person, you'll lose.

One meal down.

Jin Pingan kept trying to find topics to talk about, since his lunch was just a bag of rice porridge.

You can eat it anytime.

Now that the mouth is free, it's natural to say something.

Jin Pingan recounted one anecdote after another, but Ai Liang rarely uttered a word.

It's always Cheng Lejia; it's so pitiful to see him talking all by himself.

She would occasionally chat briefly to keep him from feeling too awkward.

I don't know if it's true, but even God couldn't stand seeing Jin Ping'an keep awkwardly chatting like that.

A sudden ringing of his cell phone saved him from an awkward conversation.

Jin Pingan took out his phone, which was almost out of battery, and glanced at the caller ID.

Tian Hao's name came into view.

Jin Ping'an didn't hold back and answered the phone right in front of the two of them.

"Hey, Lao Tian, ​​what's up?"

"The police have found a body and need you to come and take a look."

Tian Hao's call also had another meaning: he wanted Jin Ping'an to come over and review the body.

Jin Pingan and Tian Hao have been partners for more than two years.

Only when you encounter cases where you have absolutely no clues or where the negative social impact is extremely great.

That's why Tian Hao called Jin Ping'an, this "tool," to the criminal investigation team.

It can be said that any case in which Jin Ping'an is present must be a major case.

Because it's a small case, Tian Hao alone can solve it.

This is also the main reason why Jin Ping'an is extremely famous in Qianhua City.

"Didn't you say you'd try not to bother me for the next two years?"

Jin Pingan said smugly, "You called me so early in the semester. The police force really can't do without you..."

"Ping An, this body is a little different from the others."

Tian Hao's tone was more serious than ever before: "According to the preliminary on-site examination, the fatal wound on the deceased's body was caused by a sharp blade severing his carotid artery."

Jin Ping'an frowned: "Murder?"

“If it were just a simple murder, I wouldn’t have called you over.”

Tian Hao recalled Shi Hongfang's solemn expression when he saw the body: "According to the observation at the scene, the deceased was precisely cut in the carotid artery while resisting with all his might."

"Aside from this fatal wound, no other defensive wounds were found on the deceased's body. It was possible to kill the victim with a single blow while the victim was resisting, without accidentally injuring other parts of the body..."

If Jin Ping'an still didn't make any connections after being given such a clear hint, he really wouldn't even be as stupid as a pig.

He recalled the files Shi Hongfang had shown him a long time ago: "The throat-slitting maniac of Nevada?"

Every year, Shi Hongfang would send people to Nevada to inquire about the hermit.

This is common knowledge within the police force.

When Jin Ping'an first became a consultant for the criminal investigation team, Shi Hongfang brought him a pile of documents and asked if he could analyze them to find traces of the hermit.

It was at that time that Jin Ping'an came into contact with the hermit's information.

In the police force, besides Tian Hao.

No one knew about Jin Ping'an's ability to rewind time.

Everyone assumed that he solved the case through keen observation and criminal profiling.

It's understandable that Shih Hung-fang would approach this clueless idiot.

Although a long time has passed, I've forgotten most of the details in the documents.

But he could still remember the hermit's unique methods of killing.

Hermit.

A deranged serial killer who enjoys severing carotid arteries.

A private judge hailed as an unsung hero.

A demon in the eyes of some, a messenger of justice in the eyes of others.

Whether the hermit was a good person or a bad person remains inconclusive.

The only thing we can agree on is that he's a lawless outlaw...

“Although the wounds are almost identical, we cannot conclude that the Hermit committed the murder, which is why we asked you to come here.”

Tian Hao's voice was full of worry: "This time, Captain Shi even specially invited Old Han, who was on vacation, back..."

Hopefully, it's just a copycat.

"I wonder what the hermit did back then that made Captain Shi investigate him for so many years."

Tian Hao comforted himself by saying that this case was just a copycat crime, but deep down he knew very well what was going on.

Even if the culprit is not the hermit himself, he must have some connection with the hermit.

A person's height, the force and angle of their swing, the sharpness of the knife, the material of the knife, and so on.

Many factors can affect wounds to varying degrees.

Information about the hermit has been blocked by the police.

Apart from the Nevada police and Shih Hung-fang, who returned from Nevada.

Absolutely no outsiders know this.

However, the fatal wounds on the deceased were exactly the same as those of those who died at the hands of the hermit.

To achieve this, either the hermit himself must do it.

Or they have an extremely deep understanding of hermits.

It's impossible for an ordinary person to imitate even the swinging motion and force of a knife.

It's hard to say whether the appearance of such a person in Qianhua is a good thing or a bad thing.

"Send me the location of the crime, I'll be there right away!"

Jin Ping'an hurriedly hung up the phone: "Le Jia, please ask the homeroom teacher for two days!"

Cheng Lejia nodded: "Go quickly, I've already spoken to the teacher."

"Thanks!"

Jin Ping'an stuffed his phone into his pocket and threw the packaging bag in his hand into the trash can.

Then he rushed out of the cafeteria and ran towards the school gate.

After Jin Pingan left, Cheng Lejia turned to Ai Liang, who was calmly eating fried mushrooms: "Ai Liang, I need to go back to my dorm. What are you planning to do next..."

"I'm going back to the classroom now."

Ai Liang picked up her plate and said.

"Alright then, see you later."

Cheng Lejia smiled and waved, watching Ai Liang leave.

After putting the tableware into the recycling cart, Ai Liang leisurely returned to the classroom.

He did hear what Jin Ping'an said on the phone.

There's no need to rush to the scene like Jin Ping'an just because someone is imitating the Hermit's murders.

This is a very immature behavior.

It's just that someone died.

There's no need to make a fuss about this.

So what if someone commits a crime under the guise of a hermit?

Anyway, it didn't affect the people around me like it did last time.

Does the identity of the culprit have anything to do with Ai Liang?
In the past, Nevada had its share of copycats of the Hermit.

They do good deeds under the guise of hermits, but Ai Liang will not thank them.

Ai Liang wouldn't have any complaints about those who used the guise of hermits to swindle and cheat.

The hermit is merely an identity used for venting.

Reputation and such are completely unimportant.

Besides, it wouldn't be right for Ai Liang to take leave immediately after Jin Ping'an left.

What's the difference between that and openly saying, "I have a problem, come and investigate me"?

The messenger can only appear at night.

Because only at night will it not conflict with Ai Liang's identity.

(End of this chapter)