Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 302 First Crime Scene
As Zhou Zhao spoke, she looked the two of them over carefully. Finally, she frowned, squatted down, and looked at the soles of An Ning's shoes.

"Her shoes looked clean, but her white cloth socks looked dirty..."

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then took off the embroidered low-cut shoes the woman was wearing. "It's been very cold in Chang'an these past two days. First, there was a strong wind, then it snowed. No one would wear these kinds of low-cut embroidered shoes out. So the crime scene in Anning is very likely in Anning's home, or..."

Zhou Zhao paused as he spoke, "The soles of the socks are stained with some rouge, some crumbs of pastry, and most importantly, blood."

The murderer most likely killed Song Ran first. When An Ning, frightened, escaped from the house, she accidentally dropped her embroidered shoes. Her cloth socks touched the ground and stained it with blood. However, she was quickly murdered.

After Anning died, the murderer put her shoes back on for her. Isn't that a strange act?

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he stood up. "First, transport the body to the Court of Justice for further examination. Chen Yin, do you know where An Ning lives?"

Chen Yin snapped out of his fear, and his eyes no longer dared to wander, much less look at Ah Huang.

"I know... he lives right next to the Song family mansion, just a wall away. Many people envy him, saying that his wife and mistress live on the same wall, and if they make a lot of noise at night..."

Chen Yin realized he had said something offensive, so he slapped himself across the face. "I know, I can lead the way."

As he spoke, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if the young Marquis of Lu beside Zhou Zhao might draw his sword at any moment.

Zhou Zhao rolled his eyes at Chen Yin, instructed Ah Huang to take the body back, then got back into the carriage and followed Chen Yin toward the peaceful mansion.

Located in the south of the city, the residence is not far from here; it will take only a short walk to reach it.

The courtyard was small, and the gate was ajar.

Standing in front of the door, Zhou Zhao could see a long trail of footprints on the ground. Looking at the footprints, he thought, "Someone came here and then hurriedly fled. If this is a crime scene, then when they died, it hadn't snowed in Chang'an yet."

The footprints were in the snow, and there was a layer of snow covering them. This indicates that the person arrived after the snowfall, by which time the murder had already occurred.

Strangely, he didn't report it to the Court of Justice. The footprint was large and wide, suggesting it belonged to a man.

Does An Ning have no one to serve her? Doesn't Song Ran either?

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he frowned.

This doesn't make sense. Although Song Ran's family background isn't as prestigious as Chen Yin's, he's still the son of an official, and should at least have a personal attendant by his side. Why hasn't anyone gone to look for him after he's been missing for two days?

As Zhou Zhao spoke, she looked at the courtyard wall beside her. With a light step, she gently floated down to the side of the house's corridor.

The door to the house, like the gate to the courtyard, was ajar, and even just standing at the doorway, one could smell the strong stench of blood.

Chen Yin saw Zhou Zhao float past like a female ghost, his mouth wide open. When he heard Zhou Zhao's question, he quickly came to his senses and said, "An Ning has no one to serve her. She lives alone. I heard Song Ran boast that An Ning's father was a wandering knight-errant, and she has been traveling all over the country with her father since she was a child."

It wasn't until her father passed away that she finally settled down in Chang'an and opened a small tavern. She never needed anyone to serve her; she was an extraordinary woman who could do everything well, unlike those pampered young ladies from noble families.

Song Ran had a personal attendant named Guan Lin. After Song Ran disappeared, Guan Lin also vanished without a trace, and I have no idea where he is.

Zhou Zhao listened and pushed open the door.

Seeing this, Su Changying grabbed Min Cangzhi with one hand and flew directly to Zhou Zhao's side. Chen Yin, seeing this, skillfully jumped onto Huo Ting's back, "Brother Huo, hurry!"

Huo Ting chuckled softly, then flew over with Chen Yin on his back. With his light-footed skill, he stomped his feet on the snow, leaving two half-footprints.

As soon as Chen Yin landed, he craned his neck to look into the house. Sure enough, he saw that the house was covered in crimson, and the floor was covered in blood.

Chen Yin's eyes widened. "Sister Zhao is truly amazing! Just from a pair of socks, she can guess where the crime scene is?"

Zhou Zhao ignored Chen Yin.

"There was blood at the door, which dripped onto the ground. It can be inferred that after Song Ran opened the door after hearing the knock, he was stabbed in the abdomen several times with a knife. After the murderer pulled out the knife, he ran inside and accidentally bumped into this bronze incense burner and fell to the ground."

There was also a pool of blood next to the incense burner, followed by drag marks. It is very likely that the murderer caught up, grabbed Song Ran's ankle, and assaulted him again.

After Song Ran rolled over, he used his arms to defend himself, but he had been stabbed first and was no match for the murderer... The murderer stabbed him in the abdomen a second time here, and when he pulled out the knife, there were some splattered bloodstains.

Song Ran died next to the incense burner.

Upon closer inspection, there were still fragments of bone and flesh near the incense burner, indicating that the murderer likely did not move Song Ran but dismembered her body right there.

However, judging from the dismemberment, there wasn't as much blood as expected. This suggests the murderer dismembered the body some time after death.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he avoided the bloodstains on the ground.

The main house was divided into two parts by a screen. The front hall had a table and a small couch, which should be a place for receiving guests. Looking through the screen, one could see Anning's boudoir.

"An Ning heard the noise and Song Ran's shouts, and ran out of the inner room to check the situation. She witnessed the murderer committing the crime. Since the murderer was outside, she had no way to escape, so she could only run back into the house."

The killer gave chase, blood dripping from the tip of the knife all the way…

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he pointed to the bloodstains on the ground, "There was a short sword hanging by Anning's bed. She probably ran over to draw the sword, but in her panic, she not only lost her embroidered shoes, but also knocked over the rouge on the small table by the window..."

She didn't have time to draw her sword; she collapsed beside the bed. The murderer had stabbed her repeatedly right there… When the weapon was pulled out, blood splattered onto the bed curtains… Anning died here.

Zhou Zhao kept looking at it, and images of the murderer committing the crime flashed through his mind.

As she was thinking, she heard Su Changying say, "Lord Zhou, the murder weapon, the axe used to dismember the body, has been found."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao looked at Su Changying. He lifted the lid of the bronze incense burner and saw a bloodstained axe standing inside, with debris still stuck to it, which looked terrifying.

Standing in front of the door, Chen Yin finally couldn't hold back any longer. He jumped off Huo Ting's back, turned around, and lay down on the edge of the corridor to vomit.

Zhou Zhao frowned. "The murderer made quite a commotion and stayed at the crime scene for a long time."

The people on the other side of the wall should have been able to hear it.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he looked towards the courtyard wall. Suddenly, he heard a child's clear laughter from that direction, "Snowman! Mother! Snowman!"