Animal Detective

Chapter 366: Chapter 302: The Murderer Has Been Identified

Tian Kui didn’t have much of a reaction to Hou Yaxin’s arrival.

He didn’t even bother putting on a show, just lay lazily on the bed, fast asleep.

Guo Jin looked like he wanted to cuddle Tian Kui to sleep. As soon as he entered the room, he lowered his voice considerably.

Shen Xin couldn’t stand it and was about to get Tian Kui off the bed, but Hou Yaxin stopped him.

"It’s fine. I’ll just take a look."

A smile appeared on Hou Yaxin’s face. He stepped back out and asked Guo Jin for the details of what happened last night.

After Guo Jin finished, he turned to Zhao Helin and said, "In that case, she really wouldn’t have been easy to find."

Zhao Helin nodded in agreement. "Think about it. She was missing for several hours, with people coming and going. For Tian Kui to still be able to pick up the scent... that’s incredibly difficult."

"And Zhou Er’feng wandered around town for a long time, leaving her scent everywhere. To find the right path amidst a jumble of smells and a chaotic trail is even harder."

"This police dog is amazing."

He gave Shen Xin a thumbs-up.

He also mentioned a previous case in the county where a suspect fled into the mountains. They had requested K-9 support, but the dog failed to find him. In the end, the suspect couldn’t take it anymore and came down the mountain on his own.

Hou Yaxin’s interest in police dogs was now thoroughly piqued.

Arriving at the office, he asked in detail about Tian Kui’s abilities, wanting to know what kinds of tasks Tian Kui could complete under what circumstances.

Shen Xin gave him direct examples.

For instance, the search for Fan Lei, and Tian Kui’s performance in the big competition.

Finally, he concluded, "Director Hou, Tian Kui can do many things. After all, when he was being trained, the goal was to make him a multi-talented specialist."

Hou Yaxin’s heart burned with excitement as he listened. He smiled and said, "That’s practically miraculous."

He can search for drugs, track suspects, handle all sorts of environments from mountains to cities, and even coordinate with SWAT teams. A single police dog is more capable than a professional police officer.

"Thank you."

Hou Yaxin thanked him again.

He said that a place like Shiyao County wasn’t like a big city such as Nanjiang. It was a large area with limited surveillance. After a crime occurred, it wasn’t like in the big cities where they could just check the Skynet system and solve the case immediately.

Under these circumstances, having a police dog to assist in investigations would be a huge help.

Shen Xin understood his unspoken meaning.

’He probably won’t be requesting K-9 support from the city bureau for future cases. He’ll be requesting it from the Ma Chang Town Police Station instead.’

They held a brief donation ceremony, took some photos, and had lunch together before Hou Yaxin took his leave.

Shen Xin planned to stay for two more days to help Guo Jin get better acquainted with Tian Kui.

Tian Kui was actually very adaptable.

Most importantly, he could sense Guo Jin’s kindness.

Guo Jin’s care for him was truly meticulous.

「Early in the morning on April 10th.」

Shen Xin had arrived in Ma Chang Town on the 7th and was preparing to leave today.

At the police station, Shen Xin said his final goodbyes to Tian Kui.

"Work hard. After a few years, once you’ve earned your merits and retired, I’ll bring you back home and take care of you."

Shen Xin ruffled Tian Kui’s head.

The dog licked Shen Xin’s hand, then turned his head away.

’Go on, go on.’

Over the past two days, Guo Jin had occasionally taken Tian Kui on runs in the mountains, and the dog seemed to have grown fond of the place.

It was vast and sparsely populated, allowing him to run wild as he pleased.

"Sun Suo, everyone, goodbye." Shen Xin bid farewell to the group and got into the pickup truck.

In the truck, Guo Jin thanked him profusely again, giving Shen Xin all sorts of assurances that he would take good care of Tian Kui.

Shen Xin believed him on that point.

He had seen for himself how well Guo Jin took care of Tian Kui these past two days.

Director Hou from the county had even specially approved some funds to ensure Tian Kui enjoyed the same high-standard diet here as he did in Nanjiang.

He was the only police dog in the entire county; they treasured him.

As the truck drove out of town, Shen Xin took out his phone, planning to take a few last photos of the sprawling mountains as a memento.

But they hadn’t gone two kilometers when Guo Jin received a call.

"What!"

He slammed on the brakes, and the pickup truck screeched to a halt in the middle of the road.

Luckily, there were no cars behind them.

Shen Xin didn’t know what was said on the phone, but Guo Jin’s expression was more serious than ever before.

"The scene... hurry up and call Old Fu! Tell him he must secure the scene and wait for us to get there."

He barked out the instruction and quickly hung up.

Only then did Shen Xin have a chance to ask what was wrong.

Guo Jin’s eyebrows knitted together. While dialing another number, he said, "That guy... Zhang Kaiyong from Baijia Post... he’s dead."

Shen Xin’s heart skipped a beat.

’Baijia Post... I was just there two days ago.’

And Zhang Kaiyong... Shen Xin immediately recalled the name. He should be the village director of Baijia Post.

Basically the village chief.

’Dead? How did he die?’

Just then, Guo Jin’s call connected. The moment he mentioned Captain Li, Shen Xin knew it wasn’t a natural death.

Why else would he contact the criminal investigation team?

Sure enough, when Shen Xin asked after Guo Jin hung up, he learned the man had been beaten to death and was just discovered early this morning.

Guo Jin’s face was a mask of anxiety.

Shen Xin knew what he was thinking and quickly said, "Guo Suo, you should go. My trip isn’t urgent."

Guo Jin apologized and quickly made a U-turn.

Shen Xin glanced at his phone: 6:42 AM.

"Guo Suo, when was he found?" Shen Xin asked.

In early April, the sky would already be light by six o’clock.

Besides, rural areas have many elderly people who tend to wake up even earlier.

’It can’t be that they only just found the body and called the police now, right?’

Guo Jin slapped his forehead, saying he had been in too much of a hurry to ask.

He thought about calling back, then decided against it. ’Getting to the scene first is what matters.’

Then he said embarrassedly that he was a bit flustered, explaining that the last murder case in Ma Chang Town was a year ago.

Stomping on the gas, Guo Jin sped back to the police station. He grabbed Sun Yongjie, left two officers on duty, and had the rest of the force move out.

In truth, that wasn’t many people.

Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then suggested that Guo Jin take Tian Kui along.

Shen Xin had been to Baijia Post. It was surrounded by mountains with few outsiders, making it a relatively closed environment.

A murder in a place like this meant the killer was most likely a local villager.

Bringing Tian Kui might be helpful.

For example, just like during the Huang Weili investigation, they could identify scents at the scene and then track Fan Lei’s escape route.

"Alright." Guo Jin nodded. After a moment’s thought, he asked if it would be convenient for Shen Xin to come along as well.

"I’m worried I won’t be able to handle Tian Kui properly."

Shen Xin was a criminal investigator, after all. His instinct was to rush toward a case, so he didn’t stand on ceremony and immediately got in the car.

Including Shen Xin, a total of eight people went.

They also took Sun Yongjie’s old Elantra, which was enough to fit everyone.

The emergency call had gone to Sun Yongjie, and Shen Xin was riding in his car, so he took the opportunity to ask for more details on the way.

According to Sun Yongjie, the first person to discover Zhang Kaiyong’s body was a villager named Duan Dongqiang.

And the body was found right at his doorstep.

Sun Yongjie described the specific location, and Shen Xin quickly recalled the layout of Baijia Post.

A concrete road entered the village from the east, forking near the entrance. The houses were staggered, built on ascending terraces like rice paddies.

They were arranged in rough east-west rows, facing south.

Between these rows of houses were small paths, like alleyways, running in front of each home.

Duan Dongqiang’s house was on the second row up from the bottom.

The deceased, Zhang Kaiyong, also lived on roughly the second row.

This meant Zhang Kaiyong was likely killed on his way home.

A little after six in the morning, Duan Dongqiang opened his door and immediately saw Zhang Kaiyong lying on the ground. He quickly called for help, found the village party secretary, Fu Lianghui, and only then did they call the police.

Zhang Kaiyong had been bludgeoned to death.

His head was covered in blood.

As they talked, Sun Yongjie also asked if Tian Kui could find the suspect in a situation like this.

He was usually in charge of any criminal cases in town.

Only for violent cases would they contact the county’s criminal investigation division.

Shen Xin said, "He can. If the murder weapon is found at the scene, that’s the best-case scenario. We can track the suspect directly."

"If it’s not found, we have other ways to track him."

Shen Xin mentioned the Fan Lei case.

Although Odin was the one who did the tracking back then, the well-trained Tian Kui was just as capable.

Sun Yongjie clicked his tongue in amazement, repeatedly saying how great that was.

As they spoke, the group arrived at Baijia Post.

From a distance, they could see a crowd gathered around one of the houses on the second row.

That must be the crime scene.

Someone had already spotted the police car, and a person came running to meet them.

At the village entrance, the pickup truck in front stopped, and Guo Jin got out quickly.

Shen Xin also got out, holding Tian Kui’s leash.

"What!"

Just as he got out of the car, he heard Guo Jin shout from ahead.

Shen Xin hurried over and learned that Zhang Kaisheng, Zhang Kaiyong’s younger brother, had taken a group of people up the mountain.

They had already identified the killer: Li Xingping.

Shen Xin suddenly realized that Li Xingping actually had a motive.

He was seriously ill and needed surgery, but Zhang Kaiyong had made a mistake and failed to pay his medical insurance premiums.

When they visited his home last time, he had cursed Zhang Kaiyong endlessly and even asked Guo Jin for help.

Guo Jin had clearly thought of this as well. He called for He Xiangcai and the others to secure the scene, then hurriedly got back in the car and headed for the mountain.