There is a god in the sky

Chapter 215 Ghosts or Monsters 8

The two jumped over the fence.

Shen Lan looked back and saw that the academy was no longer visible. This place must be at a higher altitude than the academy.

As you go up, the path becomes overgrown with weeds and is almost invisible.

At this time of year, the grass and trees are withered and yellow, and both of them could see the marks of trampling.

"Be careful." Suiying drew her sword and became alert to her surroundings.

Shen Lan followed the trail for a while and then found a flat observation deck.

This observation deck is man-made and has been reinforced with railings; it was probably used by people in the past to enjoy the view.

But you can tell it's been around for quite a while.

The observation deck was paved with stone slabs, and weeds sprouted from the cracks in the slabs, growing wildly.

Shen Lan walked over and stood on the observation deck, and discovered that from this angle, she could see Yishan Academy perfectly.

She kept wondering how the murderer killed her; there were no obvious wounds on the body, not even ligature marks on the neck.

There are only a few ways to kill someone. If you want to leave no trace on the surface, you'll most likely either poison them or smother them to death.

She examined the deceased's mouth and ruled out poisoning, believing the person died of suffocation.

“Miss Shen, come and see, there is half a footprint here.”

Shen Lan walked over and looked closely. The half footprint was covered by weeds, and it looked like the heel.

The first part must have been deleted.

The murderer was indeed accustomed to cleaning up the crime scene after committing the murder, and was very meticulous.

Although there was only half a footprint, Shen Lan still traced the pattern, intending to take it back for comparison.

"Even if it was hidden by weeds, the fact that these footprints have survived to this day indicates that not much time has passed."

This place is usually deserted; it's probably where the murderer or the victim stayed.

Suiying expressed her agreement.

Those who investigate cases often have a kind of intuition.

This place gave him a creepy feeling.

The two carefully searched the surrounding area and found a faint drop of blood at the base of a small blade of grass.

Was the deceased bleeding?

Shen Lan frowned. Had she not examined the body carefully enough during the autopsy? Or had the mummification of the body damaged the wounds on the skin?

She looked up at the bright sunshine and asked, "When was the last time it rained, three days ago?"

"It rained in the city at night and stopped at dawn. A layer of ice formed on the water. It must have been sleet."

Even if the weather in the city and the mountains are different, it shouldn't be too different.

The bloodstains are still there, so they probably weren't left before the rainy night.

Gao Dounan had asked for leave four days ago. No one saw when he left the academy, and when they saw him again, he had already turned into a dried corpse.

No wonder the group of scholars thought he was killed by a ghost; who would have thought that the murderer would return the body after killing him?

"Assuming this is the primary crime scene, where would the murderer have moved the body after the killing?"

Shen Lan and Sui Ying continued walking forward for a while.

There was no road left, and the area was surrounded by dense forest. Small animals could be seen everywhere. It didn't look like anyone had been there.

Traces of murder are easy to conceal, but if you want to mummify a body, you need to start a fire, right?

"Let's go, let's look at another place."

The two then searched the entire half of the mountain, but found nothing unusual and encountered no one.

With such a large mountain, it would be too easy for someone to hide there.

When I saw the cave earlier, I followed the shadow inside to investigate, almost waking up the hibernating bear.

After running around for most of the day, the two were starving and had no choice but to return to the academy.

A new group of guards appeared in the academy, all dressed in armor and looking very spirited; they were definitely not servants from the Ministry of Justice.

Sui Ying recognized them at a glance: "These are the guards of the Marquis of Pingyang's residence."

Back then, the emperor felt guilty towards the Marquis of Pingyang and allowed him to retain five hundred personal guards as his personal guards.

Therefore, in Bianjing City, Marquis Pingyang was still a figure no one dared to provoke.

“Miss Shen… Suiying…” A figure rushed towards them.

"Why is the young master here?" Shen Lan looked behind him, and Xiao Ji walked over with Sui Feng.

Fu Qingyan leaned closer and whispered, "My cousin sent someone to ask for help, and my father agreed without hesitation."

My mother had originally planned for me to study at Yishan Academy after the New Year, but after this happened, she was worried, so I volunteered to come and help, and she agreed.

Lady Hou probably wanted her son to come and experience it first.

With the assistance of the guards from the Marquis of Pingyang's residence, the safety of Yishan Academy was no longer a concern.

If the murderer dared to kill in such an environment, Shen Lan would have to admire him.

"Let's go eat first. I've saved some food for you." As soon as Xiao Ji finished speaking, Fu Qingyan added, "This meal is food I brought from the manor. My mother was worried that I wouldn't be used to the food at the academy."

Xiao Ji joked, "If you can't get used to the food, you won't come to study?"

Fu Qingyan waved his hand, "What hardships haven't I endured? Food is nothing."

"Hmph, nowadays all the students in the academy are trying to find ways to go down the mountain, but you, on the other hand, are actively coming up here, thinking that investigating cases is fun?"

"It's quite interesting."

Xiao Ji tapped him on the head. "This killer is not only cautious, but also ruthless. Be careful and don't wander around alone."

"Don't worry, I'll stay with my cousin."

Once inside, Shen Lan told Xiao Ji what the two had discovered.

"We can only determine that someone has been there in the past few days, but we are not sure if they are the murderer or the victim. We have not found any other useful clues."

"It's already very good. We've checked the academy area and found two places where people can come and go freely."

Tao Cheng explained that the three of them would enter and exit through the small door used for emptying chamber pots. That door was usually locked, but the lock could be easily pulled open.

“People of status would disdain to enter or exit through this door,” Shen Lan commented.

"Yes, they only went through it once. There was no one guarding the door, and people could go in and out without being detected."

"Do you think the murderer is inside or outside the academy?"

"Yes," Xiao Ji answered decisively.

"Why?" Shen Lan was surprised because she thought the murderer was hiding outside the academy.

Xiao Ji personally served her food, and while she ate, he said to her, "The murderer must have sent a message to them first in order to lure people out of the academy."

If someone is from outside the academy, how do you send a message to them?

If the murderer used someone else's hand, that person would definitely confess by now, unless the murderer had accomplices.

Without a middleman, and assuming the two remained within the academy, the only way for him to deliver a message was within the academy itself.

Shen Lan chewed on her chopsticks and thought, "Come to think of it, there don't seem to be any useful letters or notes in their luggage. The information that led them out must be very important."

“One of them asked for leave because of family matters, and the other because of illness. And neither of them took leave for a full day, which means they knew that they might not be able to come back on the same day after they left.”

“If the murderer was not a student but a teacher, servant, or page, then he would have had enough time to kill and dispose of the body.”

Xiao Ji nodded, "There's one more thing we can confirm: Gao Dounan's body was hidden in his wardrobe. If it were someone from outside, they wouldn't know which room he lived in."

Shen Lan had no rebuttal.