Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

"Tian Xuewen? The village party secretary of Zhangjiagang Village?" Lu Chuan took the test report, quickly flipping through it. His gaze fell on the DNA comparison results, and after confirming that it was correct, his expression instantly became serious. "How could it be him? Zhangjiagang Village is less than 2 kilometers away from Qinjiagou Village. Villagers from the two villages usually travel frequently between them. As the village party secretary, Tian Xuewen has a special status. How could he be assassinated and his body dumped in the farmland of Qinjiagou?"

Yang Lin quickly added, "Captain Lu, we also compared the fibers under the victim's fingernails with the fibers extracted from the scene. Both fibers came from Tian Xuewen's black long-sleeved T-shirt, confirming they were Tian Xuewen's own clothing fibers. In addition, several hairs extracted from the scene were tested for DNA. One belonged to Tian Xuewen, and the other two belonged to an unknown male. We speculate that these two hairs from the unknown male were left by the murderer. We will focus on comparing the DNA information of these two hairs to find the suspect."

"Furthermore, the laboratory analyzed the wound characteristics of the single-edged weapon and deduced that the murder weapon was a single-edged dagger, about 15 to 20 centimeters long, with a sharp blade and a short handle. This type of dagger can be bought in local hardware stores and convenience stores, making the investigation more difficult. However, we have extracted trace amounts of residue around the wound and are conducting further tests to see if we can find the murderer's fingerprints or other traces," Yang Lin continued, his tone tinged with excitement. "In addition, the footprints of a size 42 men's athletic shoe extracted from the scene, after analysis, have led us to conclude that the owner of the footprints was between 175 and 180 centimeters tall, weighed about 75 kilograms, and had a stocky build, providing important evidence for the subsequent investigation of suspects."

Lu Chuan nodded, a weight lifted from his heart—with the victim's identity confirmed, the investigation had a clear direction. He immediately picked up the phone and dialed Wang Shuai's number, saying firmly, "Wang Shuai, immediately stop the investigation at the dental clinic and take a team to Zhangjiagang Village as fast as possible. I'm coming right now. You'll be in charge of leading a comprehensive investigation into Tian Xuewen's interpersonal relationships, focusing on those with whom Tian Xuewen has had conflicts, especially those with whom he's had intense clashes recently. Also, find out Tian Xuewen's recent activity patterns, his whereabouts three days ago, whether there were any witnesses, and whether he has any enemies."

"Understood, Captain Lu! I'll take my men to Zhangjiagang Village immediately and prepare for the investigation!" Wang Shuai's tone became excited on the other end of the phone. After hanging up, he immediately led his investigation team to Zhangjiagang Village. Lu Chuan then gathered the relevant materials and, along with Zhang Kai, Yang Lin, and others, drove to Zhangjiagang Village. A comprehensive investigation into Tian Xuewen's interpersonal relationships officially began.

Zhangjiagang Village, located east of Qinjiagou Village and less than 2 kilometers away, is slightly larger than Qinjiagou Village, with nearly 200 households. Most villagers make a living through farming and animal husbandry. Tian Xuewen, the village party secretary, has served for eight years and enjoys considerable prestige in the village, but conflicts with villagers over village affairs and land disputes are inevitable. Half an hour later, Lu Chuan and his team arrived at the Zhangjiagang Village Committee. Wang Shuai, leading his investigation team, had already arrived and was communicating with Zhang Jianjun, the deputy director of Zhangjiagang Village.

Zhang Jianjun, 50 years old, is Tian Xuewen's deputy. Having served for many years, he is calm and easygoing. Upon seeing Lu Chuan and the others arrive, he quickly stood up to greet them, his face showing a hint of worry and confusion: "Captain Lu, what brings you here? Is something the matter? Yesterday I contacted Xuewen to discuss the village's land transfer with him, but I couldn't reach him by phone, and no one was home. I thought he had gone to the city on business, but I didn't expect..."

Lu Chuan looked at Zhang Jianjun and said in a serious tone, "Deputy Director Zhang, we are here today to tell you something important, and we also need your cooperation in carrying out some investigations." Then, he slowly began to tell Zhang Jianjun the truth: "Yesterday, we found an unidentified male corpse in the farmland at the east end of Qinjiagou Village. After DNA comparison, we confirmed that the deceased was Tian Xuewen. He was stabbed to death and his body was dumped there. The time of death was about three days ago."

"What?! Xuewen...he's dead?" Upon hearing the news, Zhang Jianjun's face turned deathly pale. He swayed violently, almost falling, but Wang Shuai quickly rushed forward to support him. Zhang Jianjun's lips trembled, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Xuewen was always in good health and an upright man. How could he be assassinated? And have his body dumped in Qinjiagou? Captain Lu, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

“Deputy Director Zhang, we have no mistake. The DNA comparison results are completely consistent. Here is the test report, you can take a look,” Lu Chuan handed the DNA comparison report to Zhang Jianjun and said in a heavy tone, “We understand your feelings. As the village party secretary, Tian Xuewen’s sudden death is heartbreaking for everyone. But right now, our most important task is to find the murderer as soon as possible and bring justice to Tian Xuewen. Therefore, we need your full cooperation in our investigation and to tell us about Tian Xuewen’s situation.”

Zhang Jianjun took the test report, his hands trembling as he quickly flipped through it. When he saw the DNA comparison results, tears welled up in his eyes. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and slowly said, "Captain Lu, I will cooperate with you. As long as we can find the murderer who killed Xuewen, I will tell you everything I know."

"First, we'd like to know about Tian Xuewen's recent work situation. Has he had any conflicts with villagers, especially heated ones, regarding village management, land transfer, poverty alleviation subsidies, or other related matters?" Lu Chuan asked, his gaze fixed on Zhang Jianjun, observing his expression. Zhang Jianjun wiped away his tears, pondered for a moment, and slowly said, "Xuewen has served for eight years and has always been conscientious and diligent, doing a lot of practical things for the village, such as building roads, constructing water conservancy projects, and introducing new crop varieties. Most villagers respect him, but he has indeed had some conflicts with a few villagers due to certain work-related issues."

"The most prominent issue is the recent land transfer work in the village," Zhang Jianjun continued, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Our village has a piece of idle farmland, about 50 mu (approximately 3.3 hectares). Xuewen wants to take the lead in transferring this farmland to an agricultural enterprise to develop large-scale planting. This would not only improve the utilization rate of the farmland but also bring some rental income to the villagers and solve the employment problem for some of the village's idle labor force. However, this work has been opposed by a few villagers, among whom the most vehement opposition comes from villager Zhang Feng." (End of Chapter)