Since the suspicion on the hostess has been cleared, how could soone die at ho for no reason? If it was a murder, the hostess should also be implicated, right? Luo Zheng was bewildered by this bizarre situation and couldn't help but ponder. The hostess beside him said with a pained expression, "Director Shi, please make sure to solve the case quickly. Now, my husband's family is saying I had sothing to do with it. I need the truth, I'm begging you."
"I will do my best," Shi Feng said solemnly, involuntarily glancing at Luo Zheng. Seeing Luo Zheng frowning in deep thought with no new discoveries, he smiled bitterly and continued to comfort the hostess.
Luo Zheng carefully observed the master bedroom, missing no detail, constantly speculating about various possibilities. A person couldn't die for no reason. If it wasn't suicide, natural death, or accidental death, then there's only one possibility left, a murder. The killer's thods were simply sophisticated enough not to be uncovered.
If it were a murder, how would the perpetrator carry it out? Luo Zheng's gaze gradually fell upon the doorway. The killer must enter the room to commit murder, perhaps using sothing like a tranquilizer to faint those inside, then co in to kill. The hostess would also be unconscious, making it impossible for the killer to be exposed. They could either be too lazy to kill more or have set up a mystery deliberately to divert the police's attention, then withdraw completely. This possibility cannot be ruled out.
A masterful killer would certainly not leave any clues, but what thod did they use to kill the deceased? The person must have struggled before death; why was there no struggle at the scene, no trace? If the possibility of a physical altercation is ruled out, then poison remains the only path. However, Shi Feng said no poison was used, so how did the victim die?
A person can't die for no reason; Luo Zheng firmly believed this. If the killer entered to commit murder, they would certainly not leave any clues in the room, but it's not certain outside. Luo Zheng glanced out the window. Outside was a small garden, and Luo Zheng walked to the window, closely observing the surroundings.
Luo Zheng's actions attracted Shi Feng's attention and aroused the hostess's curiosity. Just as she was about to ask, Shi Feng quickly gestured for silence, making the hostess realize that Luo Zheng was not simple and swallowed her words, waiting patiently, her eyes filled with expectation.
At this mont, Luo Zheng opened the window, stuck his head out to observe the surroundings, missing no detail, and his expression grew more solemn. Shi Feng couldn't help but look at Ghost Hand curiously. Ghost Hand understood Luo Zheng and knew he must have thought of sothing, but it was a crucial mont and couldn't be disturbed, so he quickly made a calming gesture.
At that mont, Luo Zheng fixed his eyes firmly on the wall above, observing. After a mont, he suddenly said, "I need to take a look at the roof. Is that okay?"
Shi Feng looked at the hostess, who was montarily stunned and inexplicably more hopeful. "Let get a ladder for you, please wait," she quickly said.
"No need." After gaining the hostess's permission, Luo Zheng grabbed the window fra with both hands, leaped out, and, with a powerful jump, shot upward, grabbing onto the eaves with both hands, spun his body 180 degrees, and flipped onto the roof, squatting down for a careful inspection.
With anticipation written all over his face, Shi Feng looked at Ghost Hand. They had surveyed the whole building, except for the roof. So he ca to the window, leaned out, wanting to inquire, but was afraid to disturb Luo Zheng's thought process, growing anxious. Ghost Hand approached and patted Shi Feng's shoulder, saying, "Don't hurry, there's bound to be a discovery."
"Really? That's great!" the hostess exclaid in surprise.
Ghost Hand could tell that the hostess's joy was genuine, indicating she had nothing to do with the case. He also looked outside and heard Luo Zheng call from the roof, "Brother, co up for a mont."
"Okay," Ghost Hand replied, grabbing the window fra and flipping up, much like Luo Zheng, to see Luo Zheng squatting on the roof examining things. The villa's roof had so slopes covered with sturdy, heavy glazed tiles, which could safely support a person. Ghost Hand approached, looking at Luo Zheng in astonishnt.
Luo Zheng pointed at a piece of glazed tile, "Look closely at this."
Ghost Hand crouched down to examine the glazed tile. Besides dust, there was nothing else, and in surprise, he carefully observed, only then noticing traces of sothing having been there. Astonished, he looked at Luo Zheng and asked, "It seems sothing has been here. I can't make sense of it, what's going on?"
"Take a look at this," Luo Zheng said, opening his palm. In his hand was a scale the size of a little finger's nail. Luo Zheng said solemnly, "Found beneath the glazed tile. I checked it, and this is the only one, with no other traces. What do you make of it?"
The glazed tiles overlap to ensure rainwater flows down the grooves, preventing any seepage into the roof. Ghost Hand examined the scale with curiosity, brought it under his nose to sniff it, finding no scent, and said, "It looks like a scale, but there's no fishy sll, so it shouldn't be a fish scale. I don't know what it is."
"It's a snake scale, from a rare Scale Snake. I saw one when I was a child, about thumb-sized; it killed a strong wild boar with one bite. Think about the thickness of a boar's hide? Shows its extre toxicity. I never saw one again. Old folks say this snake is sighted perhaps once in a hundred years, living in deep mountain forests, feeding on the most poisonous creatures. Wherever it goes, all beasts avoid it, even wolves would detour. It's known as the king of snakes. I'm not sure if that's true, but I recognize this scale." Luo Zheng said gravely.
"Hiss?" Ghost Hand was shocked, his face becoming solemn as well. After thinking for a mont, he said seriously, "Brother, there are four doubts. First, many snakes with scales live in primitive forests. I've seen quite a few. How can you be sure this scale belongs to the Scale Snake and not sothing else? Second, you just said these Scale Snakes live in deep forests, so how did it end up here? Third, if the Scale Snake really attacked, why did it only kill the victim and not harm the hostess? Fourth, why were there no signs of poisoning on the victim, when you said the Scale Snake is extrely toxic?"
"Those are the questions I'm perplexed by, too. I can't answer the last three, but I can tell you about the first one. All snake scales have either crescent or plate-like shapes. Look at this." Luo Zheng said in a deep voice.
Ghost Hand was taken aback, and upon careful examination of the scale armor, found it to be triangular, his expression drastically changing as he looked at Luo Zheng. Luo Zheng nodded, "I've also seen many kinds, but only Scale Snakes have triangular scales. Perhaps I'm ignorant, but that's not important. What is important is that a highly poisonous snake appeared here and lingered on the glazed tile. If it were just passing through, you would see traces of movent, but look at the marks on the glazed tile; they're clearly coiled, showing the snake stayed here for a while. Why is that?"
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