Animal Detective

Chapter 391: Chapter 321: Rainstorm (2)

Shen Xin picked his way forward, holding a flashlight in one hand and Tian Kui’s leash in the other. When it became clear this wasn’t working, he simply let Tian Kui off the leash to search the area on his own.

He remembered the scents of Zhang Kaiyong and Duan Dongqiang.

From the foot of the mountain, scattered flashlight beams dotted the mountainside.

Numerous police cars were parked nearby, and a crowd of villagers had gathered to watch the commotion.

Duan Dongqiang hadn’t left yet. He leaned on his electric scooter, craning his neck to watch.

A colleague stood watch beside him.

His face was taut and his eyes flickered nervously. Suddenly, he got on his scooter, ready to leave.

The colleague there quickly stopped him.

Duan Dongqiang glared. "What do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to arrest me?!"

There was a hint of panic in his eyes.

The colleague quickly contacted Li Xiaowen to ask for instructions.

Li Xiaowen replied at once, "Follow him."

Shen Xin asked him what was going on.

Li Xiaowen shook his head. "Not sure. Duan Dongqiang wants to leave. He might be trying to make a run for it."

Shen Xin didn’t press the matter. ’He’s a grown man; it’s not like he can just disappear.’

The crucial part was what was happening up here.

The area was massive. A careless toss could have sent the evidence rolling down a slope or snagged it on a tree branch.

Up ahead, Tian Kui darted back and forth, working hard to find the scent.

The thunder overhead grew louder and louder.

It was almost five o’clock when Tian Kui, who was up ahead, suddenly let out two sharp barks. He ran forward a few steps, then stopped and turned, barking insistently at Shen Xin.

"Did he find it?" Li Xiaowen asked eagerly from beside him.

Shen Xin nodded and quickened his pace.

He saw Tian Kui circling a black plastic bag on the ground. The dog had been trained not to approach evidence directly.

Seeing the plastic bag, Shen Xin felt a profound sense of relief wash over him.

’My guess was right after all. Duan Dongqiang used a bag to carry the murder weapon.’

"Old Xu, get over here quick! Everyone, we’ve found it!" Li Xiaowen shouted excitedly into his walkie-talkie.

Old Xu was the forensics expert.

After he finished speaking, Li Xiaowen pumped his arms in excitement, then suddenly spun around and pulled Shen Xin into a tight hug.

"We found it!"

he yelled, overcome with emotion.

It was just as Shen Xin had said—they hadn’t given up just because it was hard, and in the end, their efforts had paid off.

Soon, everyone else had hurried over to gather around.

The slightly chubby Old Xu squeezed his way through the crowd.

With flashlights trained on the object, Old Xu put on a pair of gloves after photos were taken and carefully picked up the package.

It was bulky and lumpy. Shen Xin figured the bloody clothes must be inside.

Old Xu examined the plastic bag carefully under the light, had a colleague with him take photos from every angle, and then showed it to Li Xiaowen.

"Captain Li, look. This bag is pretty thick, so it didn’t tear when it was tossed. It’s also tied very tightly. It’s only been four days, so I think the conditions for preservation are good."

Li Xiaowen nodded and asked if they could open it on the spot, at least to confirm it contained the brick and the bloody clothes.

Old Xu thought for a moment and agreed.

Then, in front of everyone, he carefully untied the plastic bag.

The stench of decay mixed with blood immediately wafted out.

And there it was: a blood-stained gray shirt.

"That’s enough."

Li Xiaowen held up a hand to stop him. The bloody clothes and the heavy weight—it had to be the brick wrapped in the shirt.

"Old Xu, let’s move."

Old Xu nodded, immediately placed the evidence into a larger bag, sealed it, and prepared to take it away.

It was only at this moment that everyone around them erupted in excited cheers.

They had spent the last two days combing through the woods, and everyone had suffered for it. Finally, their hard work had paid off.

Li Xiaowen was thrilled, too. He hugged Tian Kui and kissed him enthusiastically before calming everyone down. "Alright everyone, let’s not celebrate too early," he said. "We still need to analyze the evidence on the weapon and the clothes. In short, the case isn’t over yet."

Someone spoke up, "Captain Li, we managed to find evidence that was this difficult to locate. You shouldn’t be so pessimistic."

Li Xiaowen chuckled and agreed with a smile.

Finding evidence that had been so difficult to locate really did give them reason to be hopeful about the case.

Just then, a flash of lightning cut across the sky, illuminating the entire mountain forest. An instant later, a deafening roll of thunder followed.

The color drained from Li Xiaowen’s face. He hurriedly ordered everyone to leave.

It was too dangerous to be on the mountain during a heavy downpour.

But before they had even climbed back up the slope, raindrops began to fall.

By the time they climbed to the top of the slope, the rain was coming down in buckets, ROARING as it fell.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared. The raindrops seemed to merge into a solid curtain of water, dumping straight down on them.

In an instant, Shen Xin was soaked through, chilled to the bone.

"Let’s move!"

Li Xiaowen yelled for everyone to hurry up.

With the constant lightning, it was too dangerous to be on the mountain.

Shen Xin handed Tian Kui to Li Xiaowen and told Zhu Qiuwei to watch Li Shi, then went to get Yi Wan himself.

The torrential rain and endless thunder had spooked Yi Wan, who was braying and fidgeting restlessly.

Shen Xin quickly calmed him, untied his reins, and began leading him down the mountain.

’It was a good thing they had built such a strong bond.’ Shen Xin felt that otherwise, he would never have been able to control the panicked animal.

It was a true deluge. In an instant, the mountain path had turned into a muddy track.

Shen Xin led Yi Wan down the winding mountain path.

Up ahead, Li Xiaowen was constantly shouting reminders for everyone to be careful.

He handed Tian Kui off to someone else, waited for Shen Xin, and then helped him lead Yi Wan.

"Damn, this rain is insane," Li Xiaowen cursed.

Shen Xin didn’t even have the energy to curse.

In just that short while, the rainwater had formed rivulets that streamed down the mountain path, making the ground incredibly slippery.

As they were walking, Shen Xin suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet give way.

A patch of earth, eroded by the rain, had suddenly collapsed.

Shen Xin’s feet slipped out from under him, and he started to fall.

Yi Wan, who was behind him, suddenly snapped his head up.

Shen Xin clutched the reins, and it was only because Yi Wan held his head high, pulling back, that he didn’t hit the ground.

Li Xiaowen quickly hauled Shen Xin to his feet.

Shen Xin regained his footing, a wave of delayed fear washing over him.

The narrow mountain trail had switchbacks like a real road. ’If I hadn’t been holding on to something when I slipped just now, I could have gone right off the edge.’

’With a drop like that, I would’ve been seriously injured.’

"Good boy, Yi Wan."

Shen Xin had no time for further praise. The top priority was getting down the mountain.

After that, they proceeded with extra caution and finally made it down the mountain without further incident.

Old Xu and his team had already left.

Li Xiaowen called Shen Xin over to a car.

"What about Yi Wan?" Shen Xin hesitated, looking at the still-agitated donkey.

’He can’t get in the car.’

Li Xiaowen pointed toward the village and suggested leaving Yi Wan there for now. They could come back for him once the rain stopped.

Shen Xin nodded. "I’ll stay behind and watch him."

Li Xiaowwen offered to have someone stay behind to help, but Shen Xin refused.

’I’m just watching a donkey, what kind of help do I need? Besides, I can take shelter from the rain myself.’

He then pointed to Li Shi, who was in one of the cars, and told Li Xiaowen to keep a close eye on the kid and not let him wander off.

Li Xiaowen hesitated for a moment, then turned and got into a vehicle. The convoy of cars, headlights cutting through the rain, sped away.

Shen Xin quickly led Yi Wan to a nearby villager’s house that had an awning, seeking shelter from the rain.

Raindrops hammered against the awning with a loud RAT-A-TAT-TAT.

But at least they were out of the rain.

The woman of the house, an older lady, even brought him a towel and urged him to dry off.

As Shen Xin dried himself, he was dismayed to find that his phone had gotten soaked and shut itself off.

Meanwhile, the downpour showed no sign of letting up. Instead, with a roar, it seemed to be coming down even harder.