Chapter 240: Chapter 178: If it was me, you wouldn't see the victim_3
Lin Chuan glanced back at Shen Qianqian, casting an inquisitive look.
Shen Qianqian blinked, her face breaking into a radiant smile.
Lin Chuan understood.
This was Shen Qianqian doing ideological work for He Zhi, clearing his own name of suspicion.
At least, it cleared away a good portion of the suspicion.
Moreover, He Zhi would now need something from him; otherwise, his attitude wouldn't have changed so drastically.
It turned out to be true.
Lin Chuan's guess was entirely correct.
"Officer He, I am just cooperating with the investigation," Lin Chuan said as he saw He Zhi extend an olive branch, not pushing him away.
He Zhi chuckled, "Comrade Lin Chuan, I won't lie to you, the tomb robbing and the murder case at the Seven Stars Lu King Palace have weighed on me for quite some time, attracting attention from all sectors of society. So, I might have been a bit impatient."
"I can understand. Officer Shen also often encounters such situations," Lin Chuan said with a smile, glancing sideways at Shen Qianqian.
Shen Qianqian turned away, pursing her lips slightly.
This guy, still holding a grudge.
He Zhi laughed heartily and immediately led Lin Chuan out of the interrogation room and into the reception room.
He Zhi walked ahead.
Lin Chuan and Shen Qianqian followed behind.
"Officer Shen, thank you," Lin Chuan said quietly with gratitude.
"Thank what? I just told the truth, and it's all backed by evidence," Shen Qianqian replied with a slight pout and a blink of her charming eyes.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the reception room.
The environment of the reception room was much nicer than that of the interrogation room.
"Comrade Lin Chuan, Officer Shen, please have some tea first,"
He Zhi, not very familiar with the place, fumbled around before finally preparing the tea.
"Officer He, if there's anything you want to say, please feel free,"
Lin Chuan said with a smile.
Policeman He Zhi took a deep breath.
A moment ago,
he saw Lin Chuan as a suspect, and now he was asking for his help in solving a case.
For He Zhi, such a reversal was a bit unsettling at first.
But the case of the Seven Stars Lu King Palace was, thus far, utterly baffling.
However!
Due to the enormous impact of the incident,
the Seven Stars Lu King Palace had not yet disclosed details of the archaeological findings to the public, and once those details were released, their pressure would only increase.
The tomb robbing and the murder case, two closely related incidents, were making no progress.
Not to mention performance,
just the public opinion alone could cause the police station a lot of troubles.
This was one of the reasons why He Zhi flew directly from Linyi to Anling.
"The thing is, Comrade Lin Chuan, do you have any unique perspectives on this case?" He Zhi asked tentatively.
Lin Chuan shook his head, "No."
He Zhi was taken aback: "No?"
Lin Chuan nodded earnestly, "Don't misunderstand, Officer He. It's not that I'm holding a grudge about the earlier interrogation. I truly have no different view. This is a simple murder case."
"I was too hasty,"
He Zhi said with an embarrassed chuckle, feeling a bit urgent.
"But looking at the desiccated state of the two mummies, combined with the subterranean environment of the Seven Stars Lu King Palace, they must have been dead for about five or six months, right?" Lin Chuan inquired.
"Our estimation from Linyi police is six months,"
He Zhi raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that this kid really had some skills to deduce the time of death from just a photo!
Lin Chuan then asked, "Aside from that one photo, are there any other photos?"
In the reception room, He Zhi glanced at Shen Qianqian beside him and then took out the files, handing over more scene photos to Lin Chuan.
"These are photos of the side chamber at the crime scene," He Zhi explained.
Lin Chuan's gaze fell upon the photos.
In the side chamber, one sarcophagus was opened, empty inside.
Lin Chuan flipped through other photos.
After a while, he said, "We can preliminarily deduce that both the victims and the murderer are likely people from the Northern Sect of tomb raiders."
He Zhi was shocked. Not well-versed in tomb robbing, he quickly asked, "I've heard that tomb raiding is divided into Northern and Southern Sects, but how can you tell that they are from the Northern Sect?"
Lin Chuan smiled and started to explain to He Zhi and Shen Qianqian the differences between the Northern and Southern Sect tomb raiders.
Northern Sect tomb raiders have many taboos and thus cause less damage to ancient tombs, usually just taking what they want and leaving.
The Southern Sect is different.
They usually have no scruples, and upon entering an ancient tomb, they often wreak major destruction, plundering its treasures.
"Officer He, look at these seven stone coffins, if it had been the Southern Sect, they would definitely smash them open to take a look inside," Lin Chuan said with a chuckle.
The majority of the chambers inside the Seven Stars Lu King Palace remained well-preserved and had not been destroyed extensively.
The dug hole was also squarish in shape.
That's a distinctive mark of the Northern Sect tomb raiders.
He Zhi nodded and probed, "Comrade Lin Chuan, if it's convenient for you, would you be willing to come with me to the site for an inspection?"
Lin Chuan sipped his tea and pondered for a moment, "The case doesn't seem very complicated; should it really be necessary to visit the site?"
He Zhi was immediately taken aback, looking at Lin Chuan in bewilderment.
'Not very complicated,' 'no need to visit the site'; these words... made him feel somewhat at a loss for words.
Shen Qianqian was also astonished, "Lin Chuan, you can't possibly tell who the murderer is just by looking at the photos, can you?"