09 Devil Mountain
"This is where the wealthy businessman usually drinks. In winter, Hong Kong Island is cold, and he often lights a fire to keep warm," Fang Chengjin said, turning and leaving.
Zhou Yun swallowed hard and immediately followed.
The two returned to the stairs and walked to the oil painting. Fang Chengjin stopped and looked up at the painting. The warm light from above illuminated his face, giving him a hazy and mysterious air.
Zhou Yun frowned, looking at the oil painting, a bad thought flashing through her mind. The next second, Fang Chengjin was still using his calm voice to narrate the terrifying things that had happened in the villa.
"At the time, Inspector Lin and Xiao Hei searched the entire villa. Xiao Hei reacted particularly strongly to this oil painting, barking incessantly."
Zhou Yun asked in confusion, "Who is Xiao Hei?"
"The bureau's beloved dog," Fang Cheng replied cautiously.
Fang Cheng continued, "This oil painting is magnificent and grand. Every touch of red here is made from a mixture of blood. The wealthy merchant specially hired a painter to paint it, gave him a bucket of red liquid, and lied that it was paint."
Looking at the oil painting in front of her, Zhou Yun felt a chill run down her spine.
Although she had seen many corpses and solved many cases, she was still shocked by extremely brutal murderers.
"You...you..." Zhou Yun was shocked. She wanted to ask him why he didn't change it, but she was too shocked to speak. Had he also become a pervert? Zhou Yun couldn't imagine what kind of perverse taste it was to have another picture of human blood hanging in the house.
Seeing her startled, Fang Cheng twitched his lips. "Of course, evidence needs to be taken back to the police station. This painting is naturally not criminal evidence. I bought it separately, and it just so happens to be red."
After saying that, Fang Chengjin turned and left, continuing up the stairs to the second floor. Zhou Yun breathed a sigh of relief and immediately followed.
**
The two returned to the living room, where the sunlight was bright and dispelled much of the chill.
Fang Chengjin continued, "The rent here used to be extremely high. Even if I didn't eat or drink for thirty years, I still couldn't afford it. Because of the murder case, this building was sold cheaply. I happened to be involved in the case at the time, so I bought it."
Zhou Yun was still shaken; she finally understood why Fang Chengjin was able to live here.
Fang Chengjin walked to the rectangular wooden table. "Alright, take a look at these three books first. They contain my records of some cases. Read the cases once, then read my notes a second time, and a third time I want you to write down your thoughts, insights, or any new discoveries or questions for me."
After saying that, Fang Chengjin turned to look at Zhou Yun, "Understand?"
Zhou Yun paused for a moment, then quickly regained her composure after a few seconds of stunned silence. "No problem."
After assigning Zhou Yun her tasks, Fang Chengjin returned to the sofa, sat down, picked up his laptop, and began typing.
Zhou Yun turned around and looked at the three books on the table: "Criminal Profiling," "Serial Killer Files," and "Criminal Psychology." Surprisingly, all three books were written by Fang Chengjin.
“Study hard. I’ll probably publish another book this year, and you’ll be my assistant. Help me organize the manuscript, and your name will be listed in the publication as part of your graduation project.” Fang Chengjin’s voice echoed in the air, cold and devoid of any emotion.
Zhou Yun responded with an "oh," indicating her agreement. She sat down at the rectangular wooden table, took out her notebook and five-colored ballpoint pens from her canvas bag, and prepared to read.
Zhou Yun thought to herself that Professor Fang probably wanted her to familiarize herself with his writing style and thought process, which would make it easier for her to organize the manuscript later.
"The following year, similar cases were discovered, but the perpetrators were quite different from the previous ones. Criminal profiling can be analyzed from another perspective..." Zhou Yun read the words in the book word by word, silently reciting them in her mind, afraid of missing any important information.
The living room fell silent, with a gentle breeze rustling in from the balcony outside the window, carrying a touch of fresh air every now and then.
The comforting fragrance in the air appeared and disappeared intermittently. Fang Chengjin picked up his notebook, silently got up from the sofa, walked to the rectangular wooden table, and sat down opposite Zhou Yun.
Zhou Yun tensed up for a moment, looked up at Fang Chengjin, and the two were very close.
Fang Cheng remained calm and continued working on his laptop.
Now the fragrance lingers around my nose, which is wonderful.
Zhou Yun was unaware of Fang Chengjin's thoughts, but she wondered if Professor Fang was going to supervise her. With that in mind, Zhou Yun became even more focused on her reading.
An hour later, Fang Chengjin suddenly got up from the stool, walked to the front, and came to the wall. There was no projected television in the entire living room, only one wall, and on this wall was a large whiteboard, with a box of colorful water-based pens and a chalk eraser underneath.
Fang Chengjin suddenly picked up a black pen and started writing and drawing on the whiteboard.
Zhou Yun was quite engrossed in her book, but because it was so quiet around her, even the slightest noise could attract attention. With Fang Chengjin writing and drawing on the whiteboard, it was hard for Zhou Yun not to look up and glance at him.
When these three words are put together, it's hard not to think of a murder case.
Besides these three characters, there are also some personal names.
Zhou Yun's attention was drawn to the scene, and her brows furrowed slightly. Suddenly, Fang Chengjin turned his head and immediately noticed that Zhou Yun was daydreaming.
Their eyes met, but there was a certain distance between them. Zhou Yun lowered her head a little guiltily and immediately looked at the book in her hand.
Fang Chengjin didn't come over or scold Zhou Yun; he just glanced at her and turned away. Just then, his phone vibrated—an incoming call.
Fang Chengjin turned around and went back to the sofa. He picked up his phone and saw that the caller ID showed Lin Long. He swiped to answer and a voice immediately came through.
Fang Chengjin turned around and continued walking towards the whiteboard. He stood in front of the whiteboard, staring at it, while answering a phone call.
Fang Cheng remained silent, offering no response. Worry is the most useless emotion; only calmness can save more lives.
Lin Long only sighed, but quickly changed his mood.
**
Fang Chengjin hung up the phone, turned around, and looked at Zhou Yun, who had been pretending to read at her desk but was actually eavesdropping.
Zhou Yun's guilty conscience was also very obvious.
For example, the sound of no page turning for a long time, not pressing the pen, the head lowered even further, almost as if trying to bury itself in the book...
"Zhou Yun," Fang Chengjin suddenly called out to her.
Zhou Yun dropped the ballpoint pen from her hand. She gasped, looked up, and her eyes showed a bewildered and helpless expression.
"Do you have hiking clothes?" Fang Cheng asked, taking a few steps closer.
Zhou Yun regained her composure and nodded. "There are many parks and mountains on Hong Kong Island. I like running, so I brought my sports and hiking clothes."
Fang Cheng looked at her intently and said, word by word, "The weather has been great these past few days. Come with me for a hike in three days. Consider it your physical fitness test, and it'll count towards your credits."
Zhou Yun looked at the whiteboard behind Fang Chengjin, where the words on it were very eye-catching.
She wondered to herself: Is it really just a physical fitness test...?
**
Devil Mountain.
Although Hong Kong Island is located by the harbor, it is also surrounded by more than a dozen mountains, large and small. Modern life is stressful, and exercise relieves stress; going out to see greenery is good for the eyes and mind. Therefore, the parks and small mountains are always crowded on weekends and holidays. Among these mountains, there are famous ones and lesser-known, less-known ones.
Devil's Mountain is one of those less-visited peaks. It's not high, and the climb takes about two hours. However, due to its remote location and proximity to the sea, and its past as a pirate colony, it's said to be haunted by ghosts and strange occurrences, so locals rarely venture up. But there are always those fearless individuals, naturally daring and adventurous, who enjoy exploring these secluded mountains.
At the summit of Devil Mountain stands a giant rock resembling five fingers, its bizarre shape resembling a hand, much like the Buddha's palm in the Journey to the West. Adventurers who come here to take photos and check in jokingly refer to themselves as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, suppressed by the Buddha. This phenomenon spread through the media, creating a buzz and quickly making it a popular hiking spot among niche mountain enthusiasts. Many people come to this mountain out of curiosity.
Before setting off, Zhou Yun specifically searched for this mountain on social media platforms. The most upvoted post was published last March by Gris, a mountaineering enthusiast. Clicking into her profile, she found that it was all mountaineering-related content. Each post had a large number of likes and comments, with many people asking for equipment and climbing methods. It seemed that Gris was a minor internet celebrity, and her IP address showed that she was located overseas.
In his post, Gris said he climbed Devil's Mountain on the recommendation of a friend in China. He found the scenery at the summit to be breathtaking, especially the Five Fingers Rock, which he described as a true gem...
Zhou Yun couldn't help but zoom in on the photo of the poster and the Five Fingers Giant Rock.
In the photo, the poster, Gris, is a dark-skinned middle-aged man wearing hiking gear. He's flashing a tired but bright smile, making a peace sign, with a vast, clear sky behind him. Next to him is a five-fingered boulder, its black, rough surface smoothed by wind and rain, reflecting sunlight. The boulder resembles five outstretched fingers, making it quite unique.
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