I discovered a world bug.

abnormal?

"no."

Lin Shu shook her head decisively.

He wasn't pretending to be ignorant; he genuinely didn't notice anything unusual about Xu Changshun.

Of course, aside from the part where he said he "might be punished by heaven."

However, this judgment aligns with his own worldview and cannot be categorized as an anomaly.

Hearing Lin Shu's answer, Chen Zhu continued to ask:

Did he mention the possibility of retaliation against him, or that he had any enemies?

"no."

Lin Shu shook her head again.

"...If he had any enemies, his biggest enemies would probably be those three on foot..."

He shrugged.

"After all, Xu Changshun injured people, yet he wasn't convicted but instead ended up in jail. It's understandable that the families of those people can't swallow this insult, right?"

"We are also paying attention to this."

Chen Zhu didn't say much—she couldn't possibly reveal any specific details about the case to Lin Shu.

"Did he leave you anything? After he died, you went to Shuangxi Village for his funeral, right?"

"What motivated you to attend his funeral?"

After Chen Zhu finished speaking, Lin Shu's expression changed.

If the police are fully aware of my whereabouts, it means they have completed their preliminary investigation.

It seems there's no way to avoid this problem.

Or should we pull Xie Yuchi to take the fall for us?

No.

If you lie in this situation, you'll be exposed as soon as you cross-reference the information with what others have told you.

Once they discover they've been lying, the police will definitely consider them a prime suspect.

That would be quite troublesome...

After a moment's thought, Lin Shu replied:

He left me a letter.

"letter?"

Chen Zhu's eyes lit up instantly.

"What did the letter say? Can I see it?"

"It was burned."

Lin Shu answered half-jokingly:

"It was burned at his grave."

"But I remember what the letter said, and I can repeat it to you."

"The letter mainly talks about his life experience, how he got into university, and how he gave up his job opportunity in the capital to return to his hometown to become a shaman."

"In my opinion, there isn't much special content in it; it's just a simple recollection of the past."

"He wrote to me hoping to find someone to take over his mantle, because he felt that he would definitely spend the rest of his life in a mental hospital, and that someone should inherit his skills."

"clear."

Chen Zhu unconsciously ran her hand through her hair and continued to ask:

"Could you repeat it? In as much detail as possible?"

Lin Shu did not hesitate or give a perfunctory answer, but began to recite Xu Changshun's letter from beginning to end.

Of course, he made changes to the content of the letter.

He completely omitted the part about the "ritual".

So what came out of his mouth was a completely ordinary story.

The story of a college student from the last century who, because of his fascination with traditional Meishan culture, gave up a readily available job opportunity and returned to his hometown to work in metaphysics.

Chen Zhu listened attentively, occasionally taking notes in his notebook.

After Lin Shu finished speaking, she nodded calmly and said:

"Very detailed - thank you for your cooperation."

"I have a few more questions, and I'd like to trouble you with them..."

Next, Chen Zhu asked some fairly standard questions.

This includes who Lin Shu met after arriving in Shuangxi Village, what she did, what she took away, and whether she truly accepted Xu Changshun's mantle.

Lin Shu answered each question one by one—he answered the question about "inheritance" very frankly.

I didn't accept it, and I didn't intend to become his master, but I did keep what he gave me.

Because his son said that if he didn't want them, those things would be burned.

I couldn't bear to see so much cultural heritage destroyed, so I agreed.

Chen Zhu naturally couldn't find fault with his answer. After exchanging a few more words, he took his leave.

Before leaving, she gave Lin Shu her phone number.

"This is my phone number—if anything else comes up, I might contact you directly using this number. Don't mistake me for a scammer."

"In addition, Xu Changshun's case is quite complicated. I suggest you don't discuss it with others to avoid causing trouble for yourself."

"I will keep you updated on any developments. If you need help, you can call the police or call me."

"it is good."

Lin Shu gave her a grateful look, and just as she was about to close the door, as if suddenly remembering something, Lin Shu asked, feigning confusion:

"So he was really murdered? That's what I've heard people say."

"Didn't he suffer cardiac arrest? Why is it murder?"

Chen Zhu was clearly taken aback.

Lin Shu keenly noticed that the other person also had the same doubt in their eyes as she did.

This is bad.

Even the frontline police officers didn't know why!

That means the power to determine the nature of a case... comes from higher up!

At this moment, although Chen Zhu did not answer, Lin Shu already had the answer.

Therefore, he completely disregarded Chen Zhu's statement that "he has no right to disclose details related to the case".

You certainly have no right to tell us.

In fact, you don't even have the right to know... Your authority is insufficient!

Lin Shu watched Chen Zhu walk into the elevator, then turned around and closed the door.

Unbeknownst to him, after entering the elevator, Chen Zhu had already secretly made a note in her notebook...

......

In the conference room of the Criminal Investigation Department of Linchuan City Police Station.

The people working overtime made the whole office a mess, and the disposable paper cups on the desks were full of cigarette butts. If any careless person came up and took a sip, they might have to go to the hospital to have their stomach pumped right away.

He Cheng, sitting at the table, looked at the materials and picked up a water glass. He only realized he was drinking when he brought the glass to his lips, and then put it down in disgust.

He let out a heavy sigh, rubbed his eyes, and asked:

"You said there's something wrong with Lin Shu, but what exactly is wrong with her?"

"It's hard to describe."

Chen Zhu frowned and replied:

"You said there was anything unusual about his behavior... Actually, there wasn't. He just behaved normally when being questioned."

"But I could sense that he was hiding something."

"Xu Changshun must have left him a letter; he's lying when he says he burned it."

"He didn't want me to see the contents of the letter."

"Didn't he just repeat it to you?"

He Cheng took a crumpled cigarette out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.

"I reviewed the recording; there were no problems with his retelling, it didn't seem like he was making it up."

"There's no problem. He didn't make it up; he just deliberately omitted a part."

Chen Zhu replied:

"Xu Changshun's letter to him describes Xu Changshun's own life story, there is absolutely no doubt about that, Lin Shu is telling the truth."

"However, in his retelling of his 'life story,' a very crucial part was missing."

"That is, the motivation for this transition from college student to master."

"He said it was because of his 'love for traditional culture,' but that reason is too weak and doesn't deserve to appear in Xu Changshun's own memoir."

"A turning point must be an 'event'; it has to be an event. This is a habit, even an instinct, that everyone has when recalling things."

"Lin Shu revised this part, which created a narrative gap."

"Um....."

He Cheng nodded in agreement—he was the old-school kind of policeman who didn't understand these new, sophisticated analytical techniques.

However, he is not opposed to it either.

Especially when Chen Zhu presented his arguments logically and with evidence, he immediately realized that Chen Zhu was right.

"So you think Lin Shu is a suspect?"

"It's not just a suspicion, it's a problem."

Chen Zhu tilted her head subconsciously.

"He couldn't possibly be a suspect. His social connections are too clean, and he has no connection with Xu Changshun whatsoever."

"He had no motive and certainly no way to harm Xu Changshun."

"But his behavior in front of me was indeed confrontational, which actually fits a certain profile."

"Portraits of the Coerced"

"So I suspect he might be a potential victim..."