Animal Detective

Chapter 378: Chapter 312: The Great Mountain of Despair

Shen Xin stepped outside. The night was dark.

The sky was still full of brilliant stars. It looked to be another clear day tomorrow.

The case analysis meeting was over. Li Xiaowen had decided to temporarily hold off on searching Duan Dongqiang’s home. First, they would track the murder weapon while secretly investigating Duan Dongqiang.

Shen Xin ran to get Tian Kui.

The dog was fast asleep.

Guo Jin had even laid out a cooling mat for him and turned on the air conditioning. He was sprawled out on his back, the very picture of comfort.

After getting in the car, Li Xiaowen asked worriedly if Tian Kui was too tired, considering he’d done quite a bit of work today.

He’d run so far tracking Li Xingping in the morning and then searched the entire village in the afternoon. That was no small workload.

"It’s fine, he’s doing great." Shen Xin patted Tian Kui’s head.

The dog woofed once.

’Good.’

His inner voice proved he was full of energy.

Li Xiaowen was finally relieved. He told everyone to set off, discussing the case with Shen Xin the whole way.

After the case analysis meeting, he had discovered that Shen Xin’s logical abilities were very strong.

Plus, his handling of various things at the crime scene earlier was enough to prove Shen Xin’s professional skills were top-notch.

Along the way, Shen Xin was also thinking.

’If Tian Kui can successfully track the murder weapon, that would be the best-case scenario. We’d be able to lock onto Duan Dongqiang immediately.’

’But if he can’t, and we don’t find the crucial murder weapon, then this case really could turn into a half-baked investigation.’

’It’s not like it used to be.’

’These days, the chain of evidence has to be complete and solid, or the case will just get sent back even if we transfer it.’

Under these circumstances, Shen Xin thought of the donkey.

He’d thought about it before. It was right next to the crime scene, and at night, it probably wasn’t tied up.

Donkeys sleep standing up during the day, but at night, they should be lying down.

’But with people arguing and committing murder just a wall away, could it really have had no reaction at all? Wouldn’t it have been startled and gotten up to see what the commotion was about?’

Especially since its owner might have also been disturbed.

’So it’s entirely possible it witnessed the crime. It’s an eyewitness donkey.’

’Drawing from Liu Laibin’s case, I could use my ability to try and reconstruct the scene.’

At this thought, Shen Xin took out his phone and did an online search for how high a donkey’s IQ is.

The first search result said that a donkey’s IQ is the highest among all domestic animals, comparable to dogs and dolphins, two famously intelligent animals.

It also said their cognitive abilities are outstanding. For example, when looking for food in complex terrain, a donkey will first observe and analyze the optimal path, whereas other livestock will search blindly.

Donkeys also possess the ability to make independent judgments.

The saying "stubborn as a mule" comes from their tendency to refuse to follow a command if they find it unreasonable.

Then there was their crucial memory.

It said that donkeys have extremely strong memories. They can find their way home, remember water sources in the wild, and even recognize their owner’s face.

So the term "stupid ass" wasn’t fitting at all. They weren’t stupid; they were actually very smart.

With these qualities, it was possible to replicate the situation from Liu Laibin’s case.

But on second thought, Shen Xin realized the current situation was different from Liu Laibin’s case and the other cases he’d worked on before.

’In Liu Laibin’s case, we didn’t know who the killer was, so we used the parrot to reconstruct the scene to find him.’

’But in this case, we’ve already inferred the suspect from some physical evidence.’

’Since we already have a suspect, what’s the point of using an animal’s memory to reconstruct the scene?’

’Even if I heard the donkey’s thoughts, it would be useless.’

’The key is still finding evidence.’

’And to find evidence, Tian Kui is enough. I don’t need the donkey.’

Lost in his thoughts, the group arrived at Baijia Post.

It was just past ten at night, but many lights were still on in the village.

A crowd of villagers had gathered, especially at the village entrance.

They were probably discussing the case that had happened during the day.

In the distance, they could see that Zhang Kaiyong’s house was brightly lit, with many people gathered there.

Zhang Kaiyong was the village chief, and Zhang Kaisheng was a contractor. The two brothers had a strong network of connections.

At this hour, many people would likely be there to offer their condolences.

Shen Xin’s thoughts turned to Tan Gui Zhi.

’That woman is so unconcerned. Her husband doesn’t come home all night, and she doesn’t even bother to go look for him.’

They had asked her about it, and she’d said Zhang Kaiyong often stayed out all night, so she didn’t think anything of it.

If she had gone out to look for Zhang Kaiyong, perhaps the case wouldn’t have turned out this way.

Seeing the police car appear, the villagers decisively swarmed it.

They didn’t park the police car in front of Duan Dongqiang’s house, but near the village entrance.

Then everyone got out and continued the work they’d been doing during the day.

The forensics team continued to look for physical evidence, while Zhu Qiuwei and the others continued their interviews.

They were still doing the same jobs as during the day.

But their objectives were different. The forensics team was trying to find donkey dung and the possible murder weapon.

Zhu Qiuwei’s group, on the other hand, would be indirectly asking if there was any conflict between Duan Dongqiang and Zhang Kaiyong.

"You all sure work hard. It’s already so late, don’t you get off work?" a villager asked.

Li Xiaowen wasn’t a man of many words, and as his partner, it wouldn’t be appropriate to have another quiet type.

So Zhu Qiuwei was a very sociable and personable guy. He smiled at the old man who asked the question and said, "Uncle, this is a murder case, not some trivial matter. We have to work fast to get to the bottom of it."

"So if you’ve seen anything or thought of anything, don’t hold back. Tell us everything you can. Take pity on us and let us get off work a little earlier."

Everyone nodded.

Just then, a middle-aged woman in the crowd said, "Didn’t they say Li Xingping was the killer? Why are you still investigating?"

This was the village entrance, the information hub.

Another villager immediately asked, "Officer, is it true that Li Xingping is dead?"

Once Li Xingping was mentioned, everyone started asking questions.

"They said he deliberately crashed into a car. Does that count as committing suicide to escape punishment?"