Captain Lu was aloof again today.

Chapter 87 Murder Case
Tangzhou Normal University is located in the northern part of the University Town. It takes an hour and a half by subway to get to the University Town from the city center. If you drive, you need to pay attention to the road conditions, as the roads in the University Town are congested.

Before setting off, Wei Qingsong and Lu Jingming received many instructions from Director Wang, which is why they arrived late.

Before dawn, shrouded in a hazy mist, the scene was already cordoned off.

Outside the police cordon, students who had heard the news had gathered and formed a dense crowd. Several criminal police officers were negotiating with the troublemakers, urging them to leave immediately.

Wei Qingsong frowned and said softly, "With so many people, the scene has probably already been sabotaged."

"Don't worry," Lu Jingming said in a deep, resonant voice.

He put on his gloves, set up the cordon, and walked over to Xiao Song, who was writing furiously, and asked, "What's going on?"

"Captain Lu, the deceased was a third-year graduate student in the School of Humanities named Sun Hao, male, 24 years old. The person who discovered the body was a cleaning lady. She came to clean the toilets as usual just after 5 o'clock. As soon as she entered the women's restroom, she saw the deceased at first glance. The deceased was kneeling on the ground, head down, in the toilet full of water, with his hands tied behind his back. The cleaning lady was in a panic and didn't think much. She pulled him out and found that he was already dead."

As Xiao Song spoke, he pointed to the middle-aged woman standing to the side, dressed simply and shivering.

In many cases, the first person to discover a crime scene will unintentionally damage the scene without their knowledge. This is unavoidable and beyond reproach.

Lu Jingming glanced at the forensic doctor who was still examining the body and asked, "What did Lao Zhang say?"

Xiao Song immediately read aloud from his notebook: "The cause of death was asphyxiation due to airway obstruction caused by drowning. The time of death was between 3 and 4 a.m. today. In addition, the deceased had a laceration on his scalp, indicating that he was pulled down into the water by his hair multiple times. There were also friction injuries on his body caused by struggling. There were no other obvious external injuries."

Forensic pathologist Lao Zhang zipped up the body bag, stood up, and casually added, "By the way, based on the distribution of livor mortis, we can conclude that this is the primary crime scene, and there are no signs of body disposal or relocation."

"Thank you for your hard work." Lu Jingming nodded slightly to him, then asked Xiao Song, "Have you checked the surveillance footage?"

Before Xiao Song could answer, Wei Qingsong said, "The Lovers' Grove area doesn't have the conditions to install surveillance cameras, but there are surveillance cameras at the two intersections coming from the library and the third teaching building. Maybe those two cameras will find something."

The so-called Lovers' Grove, as the name suggests, is the best place for young couples to go on dates and take walks, and it can be considered one of the famous "attractions" of Tangshi University.

In reality, it's just a small hill, with a pavilion built on top, where students often study in the morning.

There are three paths leading to the pavilion. Besides the library and the third teaching building that Wei Qingsong just mentioned, there is another path that comes up from a fork in Xuecheng Avenue.

The hillside is planted with all kinds of flowers for every season, and it is always fragrant no matter spring, summer, autumn or winter. Therefore, it has become a favorite strolling paradise for young couples.

With the fragrance of flowers, the chirping of birds, the gentle breeze, and the company of a beautiful woman, one can imagine how wonderful it would be.

Sun Hao's body was found in the public toilet next to the pavilion.

Having studied here for two years, Wei Qingsong had a fairly good understanding of Tangshi University. Moreover, a century-old school like this wouldn't easily undergo major changes.

She glanced around and said slowly, "This pavilion is called Bosi Pavilion. Every morning at seven o'clock, students from the reading club organize morning reading activities. There are more students and passersby who come here to play during the day, but the lighting here is dim, and the streetlights are often not repaired even when they are broken. So by the time the sun sets in the evening, there are hardly any people in Lover's Grove."

Lu Jingming pondered for a moment, then immediately instructed Xiao Song: "Go check the surveillance footage at the intersection of the library and the Third Teaching Building to see if you can find any images of the deceased before his death."

"Okay." Xiao Song immediately closed his notebook and walked out eagerly.

At this moment, Chen Jin also led a few people over: "Captain Lu, Sister Wei, these are teachers and leaders from the School of Literature."

The leader was a gentle and refined middle-aged man who immediately adopted an official tone: "Greetings, officers. We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic news of the murder of our student. We immediately notified the student's family and reported the incident to the police. In order to avoid causing panic among the students, we hope that you officers can handle this case properly and discreetly."

In fact, before coming here, Director Wang's instructions were pretty much correct.

After all, Tangshi University is one of the top universities in Tangzhou, and the social impact of such a heinous incident is enormous.

Moreover, the students had only been in school for a short time, and a murder on campus would have a negative impact on them.

Therefore, Director Wang attached great importance to this case and ordered them to solve it as soon as possible to prevent the situation from escalating.

Lu Jingming did not respond to his correct but pointless question. Instead, he asked, "What kind of person was the deceased, Sun Hao?"

The middle-aged man immediately turned off the engine and couldn't answer. However, a dark-skinned, thin young man hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Officer, my name is Tan Lin. I am the graduate secretary of the School of Literature. Although I don't usually have close contact with the students, I remember this Sun Hao. I have an important clue to provide to the police."

"Please speak," Lu Jingming said calmly.

"Our school has a strict rule that all students, whether undergraduates or graduate students, must live in student dormitories and are not allowed to rent rooms outside the school without permission."

Tan Lin said seriously, "But just last week, Sun Hao came to me several times, saying that he had a conflict with his roommate and strongly requested to change dorms. At the time, I thought it was better to avoid trouble, so I advised him to get along well with his roommate. Although I don't know if these two things are related, I think this is an important clue."

Lu Jingming seemed thoughtful, then asked, "Who is Sun Hao's roommate? What kind of conflict do they have?"

“He wouldn’t say what the specific conflict was, which is why I didn’t agree. The graduate dorms at our school are all double rooms. I have a pretty good impression of his roommate. He seemed quite well-behaved, fair-skinned and thin, a very handsome person…” Tan Lin was halfway through her sentence when she spotted the thin man behind the police tape.

He immediately raised his arm and shouted, "Hey, Xu Yuan, come here!"

Wei Qingsong: "..."

When she arrived, there was already a large crowd gathered here, so she didn't see Xu Yuan right away.

She really didn't expect that Xu Yuan would be involved in a murder case again.

Xu Yuan walked over obediently with her head down, and bowed slightly to Lu Jingming and Wei Qingsong: "Officer Lu, Advisor Wei."

Tan Lin glanced at him suspiciously.

Before he could say anything more, Wei Qingsong said, "I really didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Xu Yuan could only manage a bitter smile.

Wei Qingsong's voice was gentle, with a hint of reassurance: "It's alright. Just tell me the truth about what's going on between you. It's just a routine inquiry, so there's no need to be nervous."

Good morning.

Thank you to Natsume is a Cat and smile for the donations, and thank you to Smiling Face for the monthly ticket.

Thank you to "Do Not Disturb" for the donation and monthly pass!
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(End of this chapter)