The sudden lead left Shen Xin incredibly energized.

Chen Chao arrived with reinforcements.

Wang Linhong went with Zhang Nanhai to create a composite sketch, while Chen Chao listened intently to Shen Xin’s report on his investigation over the last few days, as well as his analysis and theories about the case.

He wasn’t in charge of the case.

So after he finished listening, he glanced at Zhou Zhongyi beside him and asked for his thoughts.

Zhou Zhongyi gave a wry smile. "Believe it or not, I also considered the possibility of an accidental death back then," he said.

Shen Xin believed he wasn’t just trying to save face, so he nodded.

Zhou Zhongyi continued, "I’ve been a detective for many years. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert at reading people, but I could tell back then that even though the couple argued frequently, Yang Huixia loved her husband."

"But there were too many suspicious things about her. No matter how you looked at it, she was the primary suspect."

"And when I suspected it might have been an accident and wanted to investigate, I had no leads. For example, take what Xiaoshen mentioned about them often coming to the summit to relax—I never heard her say a word about that."

With the benefit of hindsight, knowing they liked to sit at the summit could lead to the subsequent deductions.

But no one knew that at the time. Who would have guessed the couple had such a habit?

"We still have to pay attention to the details."

As the leader, Chen Chao couldn’t resist summarizing. "Now that we have a lead, that’s the best possible outcome," he said. "In my opinion, the suspect most likely committed the murder near Lotus Peak."

"So after the murder, dragging a heavy body, he probably didn’t go very far."

"And the shovel... he probably wasn’t carrying it with him on his first trip up the mountain. Could it be that he came back a second time to bury the body after the murder?"

"So for now, let’s search a hundred-meter radius around Lotus Peak. We’ll look for any traces and go from there."

The suspect’s identity was still unknown.

It was a two-year-old case. Even if there had been security cameras nearby, the footage would have been long overwritten. There was no way to check.

The only eyewitness was Wang Linhong, but he had only exchanged a couple of glances with the person as they passed. After two years, it was uncertain whether he could produce a sufficiently clear composite sketch.

So they still had to find the body first.

But this was not an easy matter.

The seasons had changed, and the grass and trees on the mountain had grown and died back time and again. Even if there had been signs of digging, the rain would have long since washed them away, making them impossible to see.

Forensic Doctor Du Xin Kai also arrived on scene to assist. He explained to the group what features might indicate a potential burial site.

"Some people say that grass and trees grow more lushly over a burial site, but that’s not an absolute rule. Besides, it’s been over two years; you wouldn’t be able to tell by now."

"Instead, areas that are unusually sparse or where growth is slower than the surroundings are actually more promising. That’s because when the suspect turned over the soil, it could have caused the local vegetation to die off."

"Also, after more than two years, the body will have decomposed and skeletonized, so the soil in that spot might have sunk. That’s another feature to look for."

"In any case, just do your best to find it."

He waved his hand, telling everyone to get to work.

The first pass was to mark out the areas.

Chen Chao had said a hundred-meter radius, so they centered their search on Lotus Peak and expanded outward.

First, they had to identify spots where a body could even be buried.

Some parts of the mountain were exposed rock, unsuitable for a burial.

They would first locate and clearly divide these suitable areas, then assign one person to each section to search with steel probes.

To be honest, the efficiency of this method was abysmal. It was truly like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Forensic Doctor Du, I saw on the news on my phone that there’s something called ground-penetrating radar that can find buried bodies. Do we have that?" Shen Xin asked.

Du Xin Kai replied, "We do have it, or at least I’ve heard of it. But that thing’s not accurate."

He counted the shortcomings on his fingers.

"It needs relatively dry soil; sandy soil is best. If the soil is damp and composed of clay-like sediment, the attenuation of the electromagnetic waves is severe."

"Underground rock formations also interfere with the results."

"On a mountain like this one, it’s nearly impossible to get an accurate reading."

"Most importantly, the bureau doesn’t have the equipment. So you’d better just get back to searching the old-fashioned way."

He waved his hand, gesturing for Shen Xin to stop thinking about taking shortcuts.

However, a thought struck him, and he called out to Shen Xin again. "I did read a news article once about police dogs overseas that are specially trained to find skeletal remains. They’re supposedly very sensitive to the scent of bone lipids and the byproducts of amino acid decomposition in human bones."

"Do you want to bring Dou Dou over and give it a try? I can get you a piece of human bone for it to get a scent."

Shen Xin nodded.

’Searching like this, who knows how long it’ll take.’

"I’ll go."

Zhao Tianxing threw down his steel probe and ran off.

Speaking of Dou Dou, Shen Xin actually had another idea.

’Monkey Bubu!’

Yesterday, the monkey had followed Yang Huixia up the mountain. When she left, Yang Huixia said he would find his own way back down. This suggested Bubu was very familiar with the mountain environment.

Yang Huixia had also said that Zhu Guishen raised Bubu by hand and often played with him.

’So, at the time of the incident, could Bubu have also followed Zhu Guishen up the mountain?’

’He might have witnessed the crime. Or, like Lele, he might have seen the killer burying the body and knows where it is.’

’If I can jog his memory of Zhu Guishen, maybe he’ll lead us to the last place he saw him.’

’The burial site.’

Thinking of this, Shen Xin found Chen Chao and explained his idea.

It was a bit of a far-fetched idea.

But having experienced the Wu Jiawang case and the Liu Laibin case, Chen Chao was no longer surprised by Shen Xin’s ability to get close to animals. After a moment of contemplation, he agreed.

Shen Xin didn’t rush down to Cute Pet Paradise. He waited for Zhang Nanhai to finish the composite sketch.

"He’s old and doesn’t remember very clearly. The main thing is there are no obvious features. Just the hair—it was dyed," Zhang Nanhai said.

Shen Xin leaned over to look at the sketch.

A normal young man with medium-length choppy hair, an oval face, and monolids.

Just as Zhang Nanhai had said, his physical features were not distinct.

A face like this would be hard to identify.

But Chen Chao had an idea. He had Ding Yuwei go to the Dingshan Police Station to ask the veteran police officers there.

It wasn’t that dyed hair automatically made someone a punk. But combining that with the nerve to commit murder—a crime of passion, no less—and the possibility that he was carrying a weapon, it was reasonable to theorize that the suspect was a local ne’er-do-well.

And the local precinct officers would be familiar with the troublemakers in their jurisdiction.

Having the veteran officers at the station take a look might yield a lead.

Ding Yuwei left, and Shen Xin didn’t hesitate either, taking a path down the mountain towards Cute Pet Paradise.

They had chatted idly yesterday, but seeing Shen Xin again, Yang Huixia was still a little impatient. She asked why Shen Xin was here again, saying she had already told him everything she knew.

The investigation on the mountain was still ongoing, so Shen Xin naturally wouldn’t carelessly reveal its progress.

"Sister Yang, you may not know this, but I quite like small animals. Yesterday, I heard you say that Brother Zhu and Bubu had a very special relationship, so I just wanted to ask, if Brother Zhu usually went up the mountain, would Bubu follow him?"

"Oh, and where is Bubu? I even bought him an apple."

Shen Xin shook the plastic bag.

Yang Huixia sighed. She probably still found Shen Xin a bit annoying. "That’s right," she said. "Sometimes when Old Zhu went up the mountain, Bubu would follow him."

"Old Zhu also often played with Bubu, teaching him to do somersaults and ride a small bicycle. He even said that once Bubu learned, they would put on a circus performance."

As she spoke, she looked around, then pointed to the pony enclosure in the distance. "Isn’t that him over there? Go on, I have work to do."

She pulled a flatbed cart loaded with several bags of feed and walked away.

Shen Xin walked over to the enclosure.

Bubu was sitting on the fence, accepting treats from the children.

When he saw Shen Xin, he must have remembered being tricked the day before. He immediately started jumping up and down on the spot, SQUEAKING AND SQUAWKING excitedly.

Without a second word, Shen Xin offered him an apple.

He snatched it and finally settled down.

He glanced at Shen Xin a couple of times, and the affinity bar above his head immediately went up a notch.