Chapter 10: He Lacked That Aura!

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Shen Ting uploaded the information to the case-solving group and opened it directly.

In the video, Ye Guofeng appeared robust, with good skin and a neat appearance, even wearing makeup.

Perhaps it was the result of attending a training course!

But as a man, Shen Ting felt it was a bit affected.

Officer: "Ye Guofeng, do you know why we called you in?"

"Yes! Xiao Qian... Xiao Qian is dead! Why? Why would someone want to kill her? She was clearly such a good person!"

Ye Guofeng’s face was filled with sorrow.

"Do you know if she had recently made enemies? Especially because of money or property?"

"Not really... Xiao Qian's family is quite wealthy; she never quarreled over small money. Whether something was cheaper or more expensive, she didn’t care much. If there was trouble with big money, maybe it was business-related—her family’s business was quite large, so conflicts were normal."

Ye Guofeng tried hard to recall.

"Where were you at eleven last night?"

"At home, sleeping!"

"Your relationship with Song Xiao Qian has been strained recently, hasn’t it? You wanted to work at Huihuang Wood Industry; did this cause frequent arguments?"

Ye Guofeng, not the sharpest, suddenly realized something was wrong and his eyes widened:

"Wait, are you suspecting me? That I killed Xiao Qian? What a joke! Even if her own parents wanted to kill her, I wouldn’t! The person who least wants her dead is me. Do you know how much effort I put into winning her over? How much energy I spent? I finally got her, how could I kill her? Where else would I find such a good girl? Beautiful, wealthy, with a good personality and kindness! If we weren’t classmates from middle school, I wouldn’t have a chance with her. Besides, last night on the phone, she was already thinking about getting me into Huihuang Wood Industry. Why would I kill her now? What would I gain?"

...

"This Ye Guofeng’s behavior doesn’t seem problematic."

Shen Ting exhaled deeply, feeling even more conflicted.

Ye Guofeng seemed genuinely sincere toward Song Xiao Qian.

But it was hard to tell how much of what he said was true.

The investigation team had already drawn his blood for DNA testing; results were pending.

Shen Ting opened the case group chat to read the comments.

At first glance, he was stunned!

Saw: "Ye Guofeng probably isn’t the culprit! He just doesn’t have that... vibe."

Hannibal: "Exactly! Ye Guofeng looks more like a gigolo clinging to a rich woman, very different from a killer’s aura. For example, the culprit might have attacked Song Xiao Qian’s mouth out of rage from her insults. If Ye Guofeng were insulted, he’d probably not retaliate but try everything to please her and make her happy."

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Two top experts in criminal investigations both doubted Ye Guofeng?

Shen Ting scratched his head, truly at a loss now.

He had previously been very "optimistic" about Ye Guofeng.

"His suspicion can’t be completely ruled out. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Maybe Ye Guofeng is a master actor, just pretending to be weak."

"Whether he’s the killer or not, we need more evidence!"

Shen Ting instructed the group to continue checking the data while he started his electric scooter and headed toward the suspected crime scene.

The cool breeze brushed his face, easing some of the anxiety in his heart.

Huihuang Wood Industry was located in a rather remote area—the easternmost timber processing and distribution center of Chaoyang!

Behind the distribution center lay wild mountains.

Withered trees and fallen leaves cloaked the continuous mountain ranges in black and yellow.

Occasionally, the cries of unknown birds and beasts echoed from deep within the wilderness.

It wasn’t much during the day.

But at night, it would be truly eerie!

"So brave! Going alone to a place like this at night!"

Shen Ting twisted the throttle, and the scooter sped up.

Soon, after winding through mountain roads, he reached the last surveillance spot where Song Xiao Qian appeared.

But the police had already set up a cordon there!

Inside the tape, many officers with police dogs were busy.

Shen Ting shared the investigation bureau’s data and found no significant new progress.

Only some bloodstains were discovered, suggesting this was likely the primary crime scene.

He pretended to be a passerby and rode through, observing carefully.

"It will be difficult to identify the suspect from the nearby surveillance footage."

Between two cameras, there were two small paths.

Cars couldn’t pass.

But three-wheeled electric vehicles could.

These two paths intertwined and branched off many times, leading to nearby villages.

The key point: these small paths had no surveillance.

Shen Ting casually took one and soon received worse news—

The DNA test results from the investigation team had come back.

Ye Guofeng’s DNA did not match the hair found on Song Xiao Qian.

"This guy’s suspicion just got lower.

However, he has no alibi.

So gang involvement or hiring someone to kill isn’t impossible."

But both scenarios required external contact.

Even if Ye Guofeng was smart enough not to use his current phone to contact the killer or gang, he’d still need to buy other phones, SIM cards, and so forth.

In any case, he would leave traces and suspicious movements!

But the group members had already scrutinized Ye Guofeng’s movements over the past week and found nothing suspicious.

kikO: "This guy seems obsessed with success studies. No job, just home idle, so he takes online success courses. Watching for a whole day, that’s impressive!"

Qin Feng: "I also found no clue linking Ye Guofeng to the case."

Qin Ming: "I reviewed Song Xiao Qian’s chat records and the evaluations from classmates, friends, and teachers. No suspects found, but we got a relatively complete impression of her. She was a very good girl with a strong sense of morality! Cheerful, enthusiastic, generous, and helpful! Her university roommate was in financial difficulty, and Song Xiao Qian not only helped her but also thought of other struggling students! She even established a foundation at school that has now helped over a hundred students. Some have already set out to pay their respects upon hearing about her death."

Guan Hongfeng: "Same here! Other than Ye Guofeng, no one else with a major financial dispute with Song Xiao Qian."

So, no new suspects?

Shen Ting bit into the roasted sweet potato he bought by the roadside but burned his mouth badly.

Then an idea struck him, and he commented:

"Do you think it’s possible the killer didn’t have an economic dispute with Song Xiao Qian, but with her parents? Or perhaps with Huihuang Wood Industry?"

Hannibal: "That’s possible. Especially since no suspect has been found yet, this is a strong possibility. However! Huihuang Wood Industry is quite large. Over the years, they must have offended many dealers, partners, and competitors. Even employees may have been scolded and unhappy. Investigating this won’t be easy!"

Saw: "I have a thought! Do you remember how the killer deliberately attacked Song Xiao Qian’s mouth? Even if he had no direct financial conflict with her, since he vented his anger in such a specific way, they must have had some connection. If we cross-check the call records of Song Xiao Qian, her parents, and Huihuang Wood Industry, the overlapping contacts might be suspects!"

Makes sense!

With many minds, there are many ideas!

Shen Ting immediately shared the call logs of Song Xiao Qian’s parents and the company.

But after comparison, they were surprised to find the overlaps were not few but many.

At least eighty, if not a hundred!

Most were business contacts.

Checking each one would be an enormous task.

"Is there any other more direct, simpler method?"

Shen Ting dreaded the hassle.

He didn’t want to waste time sifting through data unless absolutely necessary.

Qin Ming: "Re-examining the existing physical evidence is also an option."

Physical evidence?

Shen Ting thought back.

There wasn’t much physical evidence at this stage.

The most important was hair containing hair follicles and showing signs of trichorrhexis nodosa.

Next,

There were some crystal particles possibly from the axe used as a murder weapon!

"Right, those particles—the technicians have been analyzing them but haven’t reached a conclusion yet. I wonder how it’s going now?"

Shen Ting immediately shared all the technicians' files.

The technicians had completed the identification of all suspicious particles.

But the analysis was not yet fully finished...