[Unexpectedly, a few days later she started smelling bad.]
Xia Zhining was speechless.
It wasn't a body dumping or a conspiracy after all; it was just a group of monkeys... trying to protect the body from the rain by "carrying" it into the culvert?!
The tension she felt while solving the case suddenly deflated, but this unexpectedly warm reason softened her heart.
Ji Shuyun, who was standing to the side, had a very interesting expression when she learned of the result.
He paused for a few seconds before speaking: "No wonder... the forensic doctor determined that the scratches and drag marks on the autopsy report were caused by an animal."
"We thought it was a scavenger or a bird..."
Ji Shuyun said in a complicated tone, "Who would have thought that it was a group of enthusiastic people who were protecting the body?"
With one question answered, Xia Zhining immediately seized the opportunity to ask, "Grey, on the day this female biped fell off the cliff, did you hear anything unusual?"
"Or... were there any other small animals that witnessed her falling off the cliff?"
The flying squirrel's ears suddenly perked up, its little paws pressed against its chin, as if it were seriously trying to remember something.
[There's movement...!]
It suddenly opened its eyes wide, and its tone became tense:
[First came a muffled thud, like something heavy hitting the ground! Then... came a scream from a female bipedal creature—]
It paused here, tilting its head and trying to imitate a human tone of voice:
[She seemed to call out...was she calling out the name of the fallen two-legged creature? The tone was shrill and urgent.]
"Is it Zhong Manqing?" Xia Zhining's heart tightened.
[Yes! That's the tune!] The flying squirrel nodded vigorously. [I can remember sounds very accurately, especially the sounds that scare me!]
Xia Zhining's pupils suddenly contracted.
“Another woman…”
She quickly turned to Ji Shuyun beside her and lowered her voice: "Brother, pull up the recording of Su Jianxue being questioned—play the part where she calls Zhong Manqing's name."
Ji Shuyun understood and immediately retrieved the file from the tablet.
In the silent culvert, the recording was played amplified: "I did not kill Zhong Manqing!"
—In the recording, Su Jianxue's voice rose in pitch due to excitement, and the last note trembled, faintly echoing between the cave walls.
Almost simultaneously, the multi-toothed flying squirrel leaped up, its tiny paws pointing at the tablet playing the sound:
[Yes! That's the voice, that tune! Exactly the same as the one I heard on the cliff that day!]
After Xia Zhining translated the flying squirrel's testimony for Ji Shuyun, Ji Shuyun immediately frowned.
“In the file, Su Jianxue clearly stated that she did not approach the cliff area at all that day, claiming that she had been sketching on another hillside and had never seen Zhong Manqing. There were simply no eyewitnesses.”
Ji Shuyun flipped through the notebook in her hand, her tone turning somber. "But now, Hui Zai has confirmed that Su Jianxue was at the scene before Zhong Manqing fell off the cliff and even called her name."
He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp: "She's lying. Why?"
Xia Zhining's heart skipped a beat.
If Su Jianxue even concealed the fact that they met, then her suspicions are probably far more than just that of an "accidental witness".
"It's too early to draw conclusions," Xia Zhining said, calming herself down and looking at the little flying squirrel that was tilting its head to listen to them.
"Grey, we need your help again. Could you take us to find the group of monkeys who moved the corpses back then?"
"We want to ask them if they noticed any unusual marks on the body when they moved it?"
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