Chapter 173: The Killer Who Writes Stories

2022-05-20

Xiao Lu slept deeply last night and woke up early today. After a quick wash she began eating breakfast while opening the window. She glanced at her glasses on the bedside table but chose not to wear them.

The moment she pushed the window open she was greeted by a world of white. It had snowed during the night. Even before falling asleep she’d heard faint creaking outside, probably the sound of snow-laden branches breaking. Barefoot on the floor, the gentle warmth of the underfloor heating seeped through her, making her feel utterly comfortable.

“What’s that?”

Looking down, Xiao Lu saw a woman lying on the ground. The woman’s face was turned toward her, a red rope knotted around her neck. She wore a long, red-and-white dress, with red petals scattered around her. She lay motionless on the snowy ground, like some striking flower both bewitching and pure blooming between heaven and earth.

“Maybe she’s taking art photos? The scene is quite beautiful, after all.”

Xiao Lu had run into plenty of people like that—groups of young folks dressed in flashy, unique clothes, posing for photos in disregard of anyone watching. Not long ago, she even got to chat with some of them. There was a man in a black cloak, looking both handsome and mysterious, busy taking photos in the back garden when she met him.

“It looks like she’s fallen asleep.”

Xiao Lu took another look and found herself a bit envious of these carefree souls. She, in contrast, was a hard-working office worker. Despite having a typical nine-to-five, she often had to work late into the night.

“But there’s only one line of footprints. So where’s the photographer?”

That made her curious. Xiao Lu glanced around, but all the opposite windows were shut. Through the blurry glass, she barely caught the outline of a shadow—a person in black. She knew it took a lot of effort to capture a good photo, and the photographer must be putting in the work.

She waved to the photographer, unsure if the person saw her.

Her alarm blared—it was already 7:30.

Xiao Lu frowned. It was time for work again. She lingered for a last look at the apartment complex’s rear garden. That woman was still lying there. Who knew how much longer the shoot would last? Grabbing her bag, Xiao Lu hurried off.

That day, her boss scolded her—again. She’d made another mistake, all because she forgot to wear her glasses. Truthfully, Xiao Lu rather enjoyed this blurry world. She didn’t like seeing everything clear as crystal, so she had little love for her glasses.

By the time she got home, it was already late. To make up for her mistake, Xiao Lu had worked overtime until deep into the night.

The whole apartment complex was dark, everyone lost in their dreams.

Xiao Lu was afraid of the dark, but thankfully the night shift security guard walked her home.

“A girl working this late, your boss doesn’t pity you?” The security guard accompanied her, chatting as they walked. “Be careful walking home at night. You know, someone died in our complex today—a young woman, just like you. They only moved the body away this afternoon.”

A chill shot through Xiao Lu as she suddenly recalled the woman she’d seen that morning.

“What happened?” she asked, a mix of fear and curiosity.

The guard was a talker: “They say she was taking a shortcut home when someone followed her all the way. She was killed right there in our rear garden. Blood everywhere. But the strange thing is, there was only one set of footprints.”

Xiao Lu’s nerves tightened even more.

Seeing her get scared the guard added, “Turns out, the killer stepped right in her prints, and after finishing, walked out the same way, covering their own tracks.”

“Did they catch the killer?” Xiao Lu asked, tense.

The guard shook his head. “Still under investigation. They think the person checked out the area many times before, maybe even broke into the victim’s apartment.”

The more she heard, the more frightened Xiao Lu became.

“That woman—she wasn’t wearing a red-and-white dress, was she?” Xiao Lu asked, voice trembling.

The security guard waved it off. “Who would wear a dress in winter? She had on a white down jacket and jeans.”

By then, they’d arrived at Xiao Lu’s building.

“You live here?” the guard asked abruptly.

She looked at him and nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“You go up yourself. I’ll head back.” With that, he turned and left.

As she got closer to home, Xiao Lu’s nerves calmed. She realized she’d only scared herself this morning. The woman she’d seen couldn’t have been a corpse. Opening the door, closing it, turning on the lights—it was all one smooth motion.

“So here they are…”

Xiao Lu found her glasses sitting quietly on the shoe cabinet and started feeling annoyed with herself. She’d already forgotten to wear them a few times this month, but she was used to viewing the world through blurry eyes by now.

She climbed into bed and felt warm and cozy.

Again, she heard the creaking—it sounded even louder than the night before. Yet there hadn’t been any snowfall while she was out. As she thought about it, tiredness swept in and she soon drifted off.

“Slept like a log,”

Xiao Lu pushed open the window again. Outside, it was still a field of white.

“Another day full of energy. I’ve got to give it my all!”

She hyped herself up.

Sitting across from me was an elderly man with a head of white hair, and Team Leader Shao was right beside him. The old man’s presence radiated authority—he clearly wasn’t ordinary. Team Leader Shao, for his part, leaned back casually, suggesting the two were long-time friends.

“If my guess is right, you’re Old Bai, aren’t you?” I spoke up.

The old man glanced at Team Leader Shao, nodded, and after a moment said, “You’re a sharp one.”

I shook my head. “But I still can’t guess your reason for telling this story.”

“That’s something you should ask your Team Leader Shao.”

With that, the old man walked out, leaving just me and Team Leader Shao in the room.

Team Leader Shao began, “A few days ago, I went back to Dongxing City and found Old Bai. He handed us a case. If we solve it, we can transfer back.”

“Is it related to that story?” My eyes lit up.

“You got it,” Team Leader Shao said.

An hour later, we were back in Dongxing City.

Team Leader Shao continued, “A few days ago, someone posted that story online. The next day, a girl named Xiao Lu discovered a body in the rear garden. A few days later, Xiao Lu herself was found dead. The reason we’ve been called back is because, after all this time, Team Leader Li still hasn’t made any progress.”

This Team Leader Li was the one who pushed Team Leader Shao out of Dongxing City. Xiao Liu also followed Li’s team now. Returning meant we might meet again.

Team Leader Shao said, “Old Bai called us back so both teams could work separately and find the killer as fast as possible. Whether we get to stay depends on it.”

“A killer who writes stories?” I muttered.

Team Leader Shao overheard and said, “Exactly. The article only came to light after both women died. The chilling thing is, it was written before either of them was murdered. If someone had linked the story with reality back then, maybe they’d still be alive.”

“A death story?” Gu Chen spoke up.

“Analyze it,” Team Leader Shao said, looking at us. “If the killer wrote it beforehand, they planned every detail. There has to be something useful in that story.”

Guan Zengbin asked, “Mary, did you track down who posted it?”

Team Leader Shao gave a wry smile. “Team Leader Li would’ve tried that—and if it worked, I wouldn’t be here. The IP address was traced overseas, but the killer can’t really be abroad. That means our culprit knows their way around computers.”

I spoke up, “The killer’s already told us what kind of person he is.”

“Hm?” Everyone looked at me.

Tugging at my hair, I explained, “The story seems random, but it’s loaded with clues. The killer uses first-person point of view to describe a single woman finding a corpse. But this Xiao Lu is nearsighted, so she thought someone was taking photos instead.”

I went on, “There was blood on the white down jacket, and once it was stripped off, Xiao Lu thought the victim wore a red-and-white skirt. The ‘red rope’ around her neck was a wound. That man in black who Xiao Lu saw taking photos days before? He was really the killer scoping out the place.”

“Then what?” Gu Chen asked.

I pressed my temples. “That creaking noise? Not from tree branches snapping under snow, but someone walking on wooden floorboards. The glasses that started on the bedside ended up on the shoe cabinet. Someone else had been in Xiao Lu’s home.”

Everyone’s faces grew serious.

I spoke quietly, “Like I said, the killer has already told us who he is. Through the story, he made it clear Xiao Lu was doomed. The security guard was hesitant to go upstairs because the last victim also lived in that building. The creaking Xiao Lu heard last night came from the floor above.”

Team Leader Shao nodded gravely. “Now you see why Old Bai wanted us back—the killer’s hobby is disturbingly unusual.”

“But did the story really come first?” Guan Zengbin asked, not quite believing it. “A killer who writes in advance and follows the story step by step? What if Xiao Lu hadn’t opened her window, wouldn’t that have messed everything up?”

Staring out the window, I said softly, “The killer might be mentally ill. In other words, he could have a split personality.”