But after this perfectly normal sentence, Liu Xiangdong suddenly went berserk.

He took a step to the side, forcefully snapped off a tree branch, and smashed it down on Peng Yuanyuan without saying a word.

The nurse, who had disappeared off-camera, rushed over upon hearing the commotion; the whole process took only a minute or two.

Unfortunately, it was too late. In less than two minutes, Liu Xiangdong had already swung the branch 17 times.

By the time the nurses stopped Liu Xiangdong, Peng Yuanyuan was already lying in a pool of blood, barely breathing.

By the time the specialist doctor from the front hospital arrived, Peng Yuanyuan had already lost vital signs.

"What exactly did you say to Peng Yuanyuan at that time?"

In the interrogation room, Li Nan and her colleague tried every possible method to ask Liu Xiangdong this question countless times, but Liu Xiangdong's answer was always straightforward.

"I think I'm mentally ill, so killing people isn't illegal. I'm mentally ill, so killing people isn't illegal!"

While roaring angrily, Liu Xiangdong repeatedly carved a line of words on the restraint table with his finger:

[When the plum blossoms bloom, the bitter cold follows; are you Peng Yuanyuan?]

These words were engraved by the gods deep within their souls; mortals are not worthy to know them!

It's illegal for mentally ill people to commit murder, but they don't have to die!

A mentally ill person who kills another mentally ill person who commits murder is also breaking the law, but they also don't have to die!

...

The interrogation of Liu Xiangdong yielded no results, but the autopsy of Qin Wen revealed something extraordinary.

This time, under Qin Wen's "coercion," Li Nan finally entered the Anding Division laboratory again.

Upon arriving at the autopsy room, on the gleaming metallic examination platform, Peng Yuanyuan's body lay turned over and flat.

The lower body was covered with a white cloth, only revealing the smooth but already livid back.

Li Nan approached to take a closer look and saw that behind Peng Yuanyuan was a long, narrow grove of plum blossoms.

The seven plum trees were all covered with bright plum blossoms.

However, no matter how beautiful the scenery was, Li Nan still saw through the mystery at a glance.

"The background color of this painting is abnormal, and there seem to be some words underneath?"

Qin Wen nodded, "Indeed, it's seven characters. After the reconstruction, I already know what it is!"

Qin Wen kept him in suspense, and Li Nan quickly pressed, "What is it?"

"These are the words you've been looking for!"

"No way!"

Li Nan instantly realized what was going on and casually replied, "The plum blossoms bloom when the bitter cold comes, could it be those seven words?"

Qin Wen glanced at Li Nan and said, "Li the Fool, you're getting smarter and smarter lately!"

"No way, no way!"

Li Nan examined the tattoo again carefully, noting the branches of the plum grove, the direction of the leaves, and the location of the blooming plum blossoms.

Putting them all together, it really does come down to seven characters: "When the plum blossoms bloom, the bitter cold arrives."

The first line of poetry in "Plum Blossom Academy"!

When the plum blossoms bloom, the bitter cold has arrived.

The fallen apricot leaves are yellow, but she is no longer here.

The sea of ​​knowledge is boundless, and there is no boat to cross it.

Orioles and sparrows sing of spring at the entrance to the hall.

Since the Meiluo Academy case was filed on November 17, 4221, the first case that Li Nan and the special task force had painstakingly investigated has unexpectedly appeared before Li Nan.

"So, Peng Yuanyuan was the victim in the first case! But why didn't she die?"

The discovery of this clue is quite crucial!

Peng Yuanyuan, as the victim of the first case in the Meiluo Academy case, directly pushed back the timeline of this series of cases by at least four years!

The fourth case at Meiluo Academy occurred on November 17, 4221.

The third case at Meiluo Academy occurred on November 17, 4217.

The second case at Meiluo Academy occurred on November 17, 4213.

Therefore, can we reasonably speculate that Peng Yuanyuan, as the victim in the first case, was persecuted by the murderer on November 17, 4209?

Not long after, Peng Yuanyuan went abroad alone!

After that, Peng Yuanyuan's parents died unexpectedly, and Peng Yuanyuan did not return!

Li Nan's mind raced. It seemed that some of her previous deductions had been wrong.

Peng Yuanyuan was not violated in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but rather in Huaren! Just before she left the country!

What exactly happened to Peng Yuanyuan on November 17, 2009?

She encountered the real culprit of the Plum Blossom Academy case in the plum grove. The culprit only carved a line of words on her back but did not kill her.

But why didn't Peng Yuanyuan call the police at the time? Why did she choose to remain silent until now?

Every four years thereafter, the killer would use the same method to murder a girl in the plum grove.

Twenty-one years later, the murderer "reappeared," but this time he was Liu Xiangdong.

When the fourth case occurred, Liu Xiangdong was only 20 years old. The first case was 12 years ago, when Liu Xiangdong was only 8 years old.

Is that possible?

How could an 8-year-old boy possibly be a match for Peng Yuanyuan, a 21-year-old adult?

There must be someone else who is the murderer?

No, no!

Li Nan then shifted his focus: why not Liu Xiangdong?

If it wasn't him, why would the two meet again in a mental hospital 15 years later? Would the real culprit in the fourth case of Meiluo Academy kill Peng Yuanyuan?

Could it be—

An unbelievable idea took shape in Li Nan's mind: When Liu Xiangdong was 8 years old, he committed his first crime in the plum grove of the Normal University. At that time, he was too young and powerless, so he only carved a poem on Peng Yuanyuan's back and did not dare to kill her directly.

Faced with an attack by an 8-year-old child, Peng Yuanyuan, as a woman, would very likely have chosen to forgive him!

Therefore, this explains why Peng Yuanyuan did not call the police!

It was Peng Yuanyuan's forgiveness back then that led to the subsequent case!

As time went by, in 2013, 2017 and 2021, Liu Xiangdong grew up, his body matured, and his courage increased. So, he not only carved poems on his back, but also killed his victims.

That seems plausible, doesn't it?

As for the handwriting issue, with four years of dedicated practice and by changing one's writing habits, there is absolutely no problem!

This idea may be a bit extreme, but it's not just a wild guess. Could this really be the truth behind the Plum Blossom Academy case?

There are no other unbelievable superpowers; it's just the dark path of a mentally unstable little boy's growth.

So why did Liu Xiangdong choose to use the words of a college student who was rejected in his confession?

Is it just a coincidence?

When the boy grew up, he was admitted to the Tanhua City Normal University and joined the Honghu Society. Was all of this just a coincidence?

Or perhaps, more than a decade ago, Liu Xiangdong knew Gao Siming, learned about the Honghu Society, and saw this poem, "Plum Blossoms in the School."

What a coincidence! It's unbelievable!