False evidence

Chapter 18 The Secret of the Photo Studio (Part 1)
Yang Wudao's expression was very focused, completely different from how he appeared when I first met him. If it weren't for his shocking attire, I would have definitely thought he was an old intellectual or a pedant.

After a long while, Yang Wudao raised his head, his brows furrowed, as if he had some questions he couldn't figure out.

I was extremely confused and tried to speak, but I couldn't make a sound at all.

However, Yang Wudao suddenly spoke up.

"Is this okay?"

"No, it's still not safe enough."

"Then what should we do?"

He muttered to himself, then shook his head, picked up a pen and paper, and began to write and draw something, but was still asking and answering himself.

"How much longer can I hold on?"

Three years? Five years?

"No, man cannot fight against fate."

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, his eyes lit up, he crumpled the paper into a ball, threw it aside, and quickly began to write and draw on the book he was looking at.

The study was not large to begin with. Apart from the furniture, there was only a small space. I lay sprawled on the floor. I could not see his face clearly, but I could see his every move.

His method of painting was strange, which made me even more suspicious.

What exactly is he writing?
He finally put down his pen, looking as if he had just accomplished a great feat, a smile on his lips, appearing very relaxed and satisfied.

"It's done! This time it's definitely going to work! Hmm... But this child, what about the future... Hah, never mind, what's the use of thinking so much? Let fate decide!"

As he spoke, he closed the book and suddenly stood up.

When he turned around, I was so scared I almost jumped out of my skin.

From the beginning, I could only see his left profile. When he turned around, I finally saw his whole face.

His left face was exactly like the Yang Wudao I knew, but his right face was pitch black and withered, and his eyes were even red... It was clearly half a ghost face!

I was really scared, but then I saw him walking towards me.

Just as I was panicking, I suddenly heard a pleasant cell phone ringtone.

The sound was like a signal to break the spell; as soon as it rang out, I sat up abruptly. However, when I looked again, sunlight streamed in through the window, but Yang Wudao was nowhere to be seen.

I didn't grab my phone right away. Instead, I sat on the floor, staring blankly at the wall above the daybed.

The eight incense sticks had burned out, but the room was still filled with fragrance, just like when I first entered the study.

The wall above the daybed, which was originally blank, now had a vividly painted portrait appear on it, thanks to the lingering fragrance of incense.

The man was dressed in ancient robes, with a lion's nose and a wide mouth. Most peculiarly, he had four fleshy bumps on his forehead.

If I saw this portrait as soon as I entered, I might not have been able to recognize the person in it immediately.

However, upon recognizing the eight wooden figures, and then seeing the extraordinary appearance of the person in the painting, I immediately knew who he was.

The eight important figures, including Xu Fu, were all disciples of the person in the painting.

This person not only understood medicine and pharmacology and was proficient in strategy and military tactics, but was also revered as the patriarch of the esoteric schools of mathematics and astrology—Guiguzi!

My phone was still ringing. I snapped out of my daze, took out my phone, and saw that it was Lin Dan calling. I quickly answered it.

"Hey."

"Sanqi, I've called you so many times, why don't you answer the phone?"

"You called me?" I suddenly remembered that when I went upstairs, it was pouring rain outside, but now when I looked out the window, the sun was shining brightly.

"Could it be like last time, that it was lost for three days without me noticing?"

Hearing me mutter to myself, Lin Dan couldn't help but ask, "Lost? You lost something?"

I quickly said, "No, is there something you need?"

Lin Dan said, "Our people have already left. Pei Xiaofan and her mother have been taken to the police station to give statements."

I was jolted awake: "The murderer has been caught?"

Lin Dan's voice was very low: "Found her, but she's dead."

The next second, Gao He's voice came through the phone: "Hey, I'm here right now. If it's convenient for you, just come over."

"Why should I go there?"

To be honest, I don't have a good impression of Gao He anymore. He's certainly capable, but he's a bit scheming. He should have given me the certificate a long time ago, but he kept delaying it.

Gao He suddenly chuckled: "Everyone has curiosity. Don't you want to know the truth?"

"Okay! Okay! I'll be right there." I smiled wryly. This Gao He is too good at understanding people's psychology.

Following the address given by Gao, we drove to a commercial district in the city.

As soon as I got out of the car, I saw Lin Dan walking over. He led me inside and said:

"Because of the seriousness and special nature of the case, the scene has not yet been cleared. Captain Gao asked you to come here because he wants to hear your thoughts."

"You think too highly of me."

I arrived at a photo studio and saw models in white wedding dresses in the glass window, and then I looked at the male models in sharp suits. I couldn't help but think of Pidan and the photos we took together.

Lin Dan made me put on shoe covers and gloves, and instructed me that I could only look, not touch anything inside. He then reminded me:
"The suspect committed suicide by hanging. The scene may be disturbing, so you'd better be prepared."

I glanced at her: "Can I not go in?" "No."

Just like Lin Dan said before, this is a photography studio that mainly specializes in wedding photography. Looking at the first floor alone, it doesn't seem much different from a typical photography studio.

But for some reason, I felt particularly uncomfortable as soon as I came in, though I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was that felt wrong.

Lin Dan led me to the second floor, and as soon as I saw the situation, I couldn't help but gag.

Like most photo studios, the second floor is the indoor shooting area.

A person was hanging prominently from the enormous chandelier in the very center.

This is a woman wearing a bright red dress and matching bright red leather shoes.

It appeared that the person had hanged themselves, but beneath the body, on the ground, lay a shocking pool of blood.

Gao He said a few words to the people around him, then came over and grinned at me. "It seems that after what happened last time, your hemophobia has been cured without any medicine. Isn't that a good thing?"

I pressed my hand to my chest, fighting off the urge to vomit. I stared at the corpse for a while, then looked around. The indescribable feeling I had just experienced was even stronger now.

Seeing my grim expression, Lin Dan sighed and said to Gao He, "He's never seen anything like this before... let him go down."

Gao He was about to speak when I instinctively waved my hand, "Did she really commit suicide?"

Gao He's eyes darted around. "What are you trying to say?"

"She was already like this when you came here?"

"Yes, when you deduced those things at Pei Xiaofan's house, Tong Xiangnan, who is also the brother of the deceased Tong Liru, confessed everything. We split into two groups, one went to Tong Liru's house, and the other came here. When we arrived at the scene, she was already like this."

"Heh...hehe."

"What are you laughing at?" Lin Dan looked at me like I was crazy.

I shook my head. "I think I slept for a long time. I'm sorry, I was probably fast asleep and didn't hear you on the phone."

Gao He gestured and said, "Putting aside idle talk, what are your thoughts on this case alone?"

I frowned: "I'm just a student, why do you keep asking me what my opinion is?"

Gao He immediately said, “I’ve said before that I’m a thorough materialist. But the first time I saw you, I felt that your eyes were particularly bright. To use an imperfect analogy, there are some things that even adults can’t see, but a five or six-year-old child can see. Do you understand what I mean? I’m saying that you’re not in our line of work, but you might be able to see some details that we can’t see from a third-party perspective.”

I chuckled awkwardly, "I'm increasingly impressed by your speaking skills."

Gao smiled and said, "Tell me, how do you feel?"

I had no choice but to ask, "When exactly did you say you arrived at the scene as soon as possible?"

Gao He said, "Yesterday afternoon at 18:24 PM."

"In other words, after she left Bailing Road (the small street next to my house, where Pidan lived), in just one and a half hours... or even less, she not only returned to the photo studio, but also changed her clothes and shoes, and then hanged herself."

Gao He nodded: "On the surface, that's how it seems."

I said, "She seems to really enjoy cutting people's Achilles tendons. She even cut her own Achilles tendon because she wanted to die."

I could see clearly that the woman's eyes were not bandaged, and there was indeed a wound at the corner of her eye, but she was trying to cover it up with heavy makeup.

However, wounds that have already shown signs of healing will never bleed. The large pool of blood on the ground was because the deceased had two extremely deep wounds on his ankles.

A white coat waved from a short distance away from Gao and Chong. The white coat came over and waved a transparent sealed bag at us.

Lin Dan said, "This is the knife that severed the victim's Achilles tendon; it only has her fingerprints on it."

I pursed my lips and turned to Gao He: "Do I have to take responsibility for my words?"

Gao He shook his head: "Say whatever you want, I'm deaf."

I was speechless for a moment, then gritted my teeth and pointed at Lin Dan: "Do me a favor."

Lin Dan was slightly taken aback. "What do you want to do?"

I looked around and pointed to a corner on the opposite side of the stairs. "The scenery pole there is only slightly taller than the chandelier. You're about the same height and weight as the deceased. Now go find a rope, move a chair, first cut your Achilles tendon, then climb up and hang yourself."

Lin Dan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Is that even human language you're talking about?"

Gao He suddenly laughed, "I really can't take it as a fart."

Gao He familiarly put his arm around my shoulder. "If you ask me, if someone is determined to die, they could cut their Achilles tendon and still climb onto the stool. But our forensic team is cunning. Apart from the bloodstains under the chandelier and the knife the deceased was still clutching in his hand, there was no blood anywhere else. Tsk, this is not scientific, not scientific."

"You saw through my scheme a long time ago, so why did you call me here?"

My tone was already quite impolite, but my gaze fell on the corner I had just pointed out to Lin Dan, telling her to do the 'hanging experiment'.

Gao He still had his arm around my shoulder, tilted his head and followed my gaze for a while, then whispered to me:

"It's very European, very modern, very luxurious, and has a very unique setting. I'd love to decorate my house like that. Unfortunately, my house is only about the same size as the living room in this painting."

I pushed him away, looked back at the stairs I had come up, glanced around again, and then my gaze returned to the European-style living room-themed decoration in the corner.

"Unscientific, absolutely unscientific."

"What do you mean? Are you mimicking my speech?" Gao He said jokingly.

I said, "I have a classmate who is a local, and a relative of his owns a photo studio. I've been there and talked to his relative who is passionate about photography."

I walked up to the set, spread my arms wide, and said:
"It's too narrow here. Even if we could barely fit a reflector and a fill light... there's a stair railing blocking the way. Unless the photographer is suspended on the stairs, there's no way to capture the entire background in the shot, so it won't achieve the desired effect. If we could capture the entire background from across the stairs, the photo would mainly focus on the people, and the disproportionate people and background would also fail to achieve the desired effect. So what's the point of this set?"

(End of this chapter)