Wu Longshan.

The mountain is tall and vast, with a wide area.

Coming off the highway of Liyuan City and bypassing the city for dozens of kilometers, you can see the huge Wu Longshan lying across the horizon, so long that you can't see its edge.

In fact, it really can't be seen. The broad Wu Longshan spans multiple cities and even provincial borders. The central part is the structure of the original forest, which has been designated as a natural reserve.

On the contrary, the main peak of Wu Longshan is a 5A scenic spot in Liyuan City, with a temple built on the top and a holiday resort built at the foot of the mountain. There are also farmhouse restaurants near the suburbs.

Most of the human activity area stops here.

Liu Jinghui drove his beaten-up Great Wall Cannon directly to a village at the foot of the mountain, and then parked the car in the yard of a farmhouse restaurant.

Jiang Yuan felt dizzy in the car and felt that Liu Jinghui was unreliable as they went on.

But it was already evening, and there was no way to leave.

The farmhouse restaurant Liu Jinghui chose was in a remote corner of the village. When it was dark, it was really like a chessboard in the sky, with the moon like a hook. Looking around, where the light could reach, there were red bricks and green tiles, fresh and pleasant. Looking far away, it was as black as ink, with dead people hanging on the walls invisible.

There were no other guests in the farmhouse restaurant, and the boss and the landlady waited to arrange a room for each of them and then went to rest.

"Go to bed first, we'll talk about anything tomorrow." Liu Jinghui's eyes were so tired after driving for a year.

Jiang Yuan only had time to whisper, "Do you have a gun?"

"No, even if I did, I wouldn't use it." Liu Jinghui took out something from behind and handed it to Jiang Yuan, saying, "Take this for self-defense."

"This...spray? Why don't you give me a wolf repellent?" Jiang Yuan took the thing that Liu Jinghui gave him, took a look, and almost laughed. It was a small black can with "tear gas sprayer" written on it, which was a police spray.

"You have to buy your own wolf repellent. This one is powerful." Liu Jinghui showed Jiang Yuan his own spray and said, "We are going into the mountains tomorrow. What use is our police pistol? Even if we have police batons, we can't use them. This one is useful. If you encounter a bear, spray it in the face. It might work."

"If a bear comes up to my face, and I take out a can of pepper spray, I'm really..." Jiang Yuan sighed, feeling tired, waved his hand, and went back to his room to sleep.

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At this point, it was unnecessary to talk about weapons and equipment.

The next day.

Just as the sky was getting light, the crowing of a rooster woke up Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan dressed neatly and went out to see a big rooster with red feathers standing on the red brick roof of the chicken coop, proudly crowing to the sky, "Brother Dog, Brother Dog..."

The boss of the farmhouse restaurant also got up and stood in the yard, punching towards the direction where the sun was rising.Jiang Yuan looked at the boss and then at the chicken, and asked, "Can roosters be eaten?"

The boss slowly put down his fists, hesitated for a few seconds, and said, "They are raised for eating, but this chicken is over two years old and too big. The two of you can't finish it..."

"That's fine. Let's eat it together." Jiang Yuan didn't ask about the price, gestured and said, "Let's prepare it now, or we won't have time to leave later."

"Okay, I'll ask my wife to cook." The boss spoke while walking, deliberately taking a turn and arriving at the chicken coop. He didn't look in the direction of the big rooster, but with one hand, he caught the flapping wings of the panicked rooster.

The big rooster struggled frantically, while the boss clasped his hands together and muttered, "Little chicken, little chicken, don't blame me. You are a farmer's dish..."

By the time Liu Jinghui woke up, the chicken had already been stewed.

"Hey, we're having chicken for breakfast. It's a bit tough." Liu Jinghui, who had just woken up, smelled the aroma of the stewed chicken and felt good.

Jiang Yuan sat at the small table, looking at the pot of stewed chicken as if he was alone and hadn't heard Liu Jinghui's words.

The boss carefully glanced at Jiang Yuan and felt that he was full of killing intent. He whispered to Liu Jinghui, "This was the rooster that crowed this morning. When your friend saw it, he asked me to kill it and cook it."

Liu Jinghui was a little stunned by what he heard, and suddenly understood the boss's feelings.

...

After the meal, the two of them tidied up a bit and waited for two guides to arrive before entering the mountains.

Seeing the locals leading the way and helping to carry their luggage, Jiang Yuan felt a little relieved and said, "I thought the provincial department would call the local county bureau or at least the police station. Is it really just our own investigation?"

"Wu Longye's case has been activated three times." Liu Jinghui said as they walked, "The last time was initiated by me. More than 20 people went into the mountains, but the efficiency was very low, and irreversible damage was done to the scene. In addition, there are both local police stations and forest police outside the mountains, making it more complicated."

Jiang Yuan didn't say anything. He had just been to the provincial department and knew that it was rare for the provincial department to send a single person out. Most of the time, if the provincial department wants to show concern, they will send two or so police officers to the local area, just like what Liu Jinghui did last time with Tan Yong'an. When necessary, they can directly take over the local criminal investigation team.

Liu Jinghui had found Jiang Yuan this time, saying that it was the two of them, but in the eyes of the provincial department, it was as if he was going out to investigate Wu Longye alone.

With his sharp mind, Liu Jinghui knew Jiang Yuan's thoughts in an instant and said, "This case is famous because both the deceased and the discoverer have a certain social influence. The deceased was a columnist, pen name Li Sanqiu, specializing in writing about life in the deep mountains, exploration, and seclusion."Not recognizing Jiang Yuan, Liu Jinghui continued, "The hiker who found his body is a camping intermediary or outdoor equipment store owner in Changyang City. He often organizes outdoor activities and has joined many groups. After accidentally discovering the body, he posted many threads and photos under the name 'Wu Long Wildman,' attracting attention nationwide."

"That means there will be people coming to watch, right?" Jiang Yuan immediately thought that the situation on the scene was not good.

"Yeah," Liu Jinghui sighed. "The body and the preservation conditions were already poor in the wilderness. After people came to watch, the conditions worsened during the second and third on-site investigations. Unfortunately, the first on-site investigation was done by the local police station, and they did a very rough job."

Jiang Yuan's mouth twitched inexplicably, and he admitted, "I thought you didn't care about evidence."

"Reasoning still needs a foundation," Liu Jinghui guessed Jiang Yuan's evaluation of him and continued, "Anyway, after the incident fermented, it attracted the attention of the provincial department. Later, a more efficient team was organized and confirmed that the deceased was Li Sanqiu, who had nothing to do with the wild man. But by then, the hikers and wild man fans no longer believed the announcement. Instead, it aroused the attention of Li Sanqiu's readers and cultural media."

Jiang Yuan struggled to walk on the narrow path, gasping for breath, and asked, "So, are you counting on me to find something?"

"Fingerprints would be best," Liu Jinghui smiled and said, "I know you're good at on-site investigations. You once solved a case through re-investigation. If you can find any clues through re-investigation, that would be great. Failing that, see if there are any trace materials that can be used."

"Um... when I get there, I'll give it a try." Jiang Yuan agreed. What Liu Jinghui mentioned were his current skills, and frankly speaking, Jiang Yuan didn't mind using these skills to solve the case.

Liu Jinghui also nodded and stopped talking to save energy.

200 meters above the village, they had entered the deep mountain forest in the true sense. Here, the trees were tall and dense, with vines entangled and interlaced. Deep grass or other unknown plants tried to fill all the remaining space. The only path was also submerged by half, forcing the guide to wield a machete to clear the way.

Mosquitoes, snakes, and other small things that humans dislike were everywhere, but they soon became immune to them.

Even though the road conditions were so difficult, the location where they walked was still not a primitive forest. It was a secondary forest that had grown again after being cut down decades ago. This could be seen from the obvious dominant tree species around them.

Jiang Yuan observed and silently pondered.Investigating a crime scene in the wilderness is completely different from investigating one in the city. In the city, a pool of blood can be easily detected even ten years after the crime. However, in the wilderness, bloodstains can disappear cleanly within just ten days to half a month.

Earthworms, ants, and microorganisms, all kinds of creatures familiar or unfamiliar to humans, will emerge and then vanish without a trace.

Similarly, techniques like DNA analysis have limited use in the wilderness. Semen stains, for example, won't last much longer than their expiration date. Only traditional items like cigarette butts and syringes, which are commonly used by clumsy criminals, hold some value here.

Bodies that are difficult to deal with in the city also cannot be preserved for long in the wilderness. Wild boars, bears, and microorganisms can easily devour a corpse, leaving nothing behind. Burying a body in the wilderness, on the other hand, can actually help preserve it.

It can be said that in the wilderness, once a person is lost, their recovery depends entirely on luck.

Even the discovery of a body relies on luck. Just like with the case of Wu Long's wild corpse, if it weren't for a hiker who happened to climb the mountain, ventured deep into Li Sanqiu's hidden dwelling, and chose to rest there for two days, the body might never have been found.

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but glance at Liu Jinghui in front of him. This guy probably had similar suspicions and might even be thinking about searching for more bodies.

Just like a tiger that easily eats a human will add humans to its menu and try to eat more of them; a shark that easily eats a human will do the same; a person who easily kills another and goes unpunished will also add humans to their list, no longer fearing any taboos.

Wu Long Mountain was indeed a good place for murder.