At 11 o'clock in the middle of the night before October 5th, a large truck stopped at the fork in front of the south archway of Gushu Town, a man wearing a black top hat, a beige windbreaker, and a scar on his left jaw gave the driver five banknotes to jump from the car, he pulled down the brim of the hat and hid his whole face under the brim, and quietly walked into the town with light steps. The old man pedaled the tricycle and said impatiently: The last yard in the tight lane is Xiuxiu's house. The black top hat thanked him and walked quickly inside, he walked to a small courtyard close inside, stopped, and listened carefully to the movement in the small courtyard outside the low wall.

The autumn breeze is slightly cool, and the leaves sway from side to side in the moonlight. The black top hat listened to it for a few minutes and didn't see any movement in the yard, so he grabbed the eaves of the wall with both hands and jumped on the wall, he squatted on the wall and peeked into the yard, this is an ancient town house, sitting on three tile houses facing north and south, the middle is a hall house, both sides are living rooms, there is a stone mill in the middle of the yard, there is a pair of women's white sneakers on the stone mill, the black top hat is sure that these shoes are Shen Xiuxiu's.

Shen Xiuxiu quit her job at the "Kexin Sweat Steam Hall" on October 3 and returned to her hometown Gushu Town in fear, and the thought of the strange things that happened on the night of the 2nd made her tremble. That night, she played with Sun Guangtang and threw the dice, pushed and yelled and accidentally scratched Sun Guangtang's shoulder, she ran out of the private room to the lounge to find a band-aid, and came back in the aisle to meet Sun Guangtang to go to the toilet, she was waiting for Sun Guangtang at the door of the private room, and inadvertently saw a figure in the window along the street in the private room from the crack in the door, a plastic straw was enough for the wine bottle, she was a little dizzy at the time, and she didn't care if she was dazzled. A few minutes after Sun Guangtang came back, she carried him into the private room, first put a band-aid on Sun Guangtang's shoulder, and then poured two glasses of wine for Sun Guangtang, Sun Guangtang also forced her to drink, she only drank less than half a glass, Sun Guangtang fell on the sofa and snored after a few minutes of two glasses of wine. Shen Xiuxiu also felt dizzy, she didn't dare to leave, for fear that Sun Guangtang would not be angry if she didn't see her figure when she woke up, so she lay on the edge of the sofa and took a nap.

Soon after lying down, I saw the window of the private room being pushed open, and a person jumped in from the window, who picked up Sun Guangtang's clothes and grabbed the car keys on the coffee table, and removed the band-aid on Sun Guangtang's shoulder, and strangely poured the wine in the wine bottle out of the window. Shen Xiuxiu, who was half-asleep, knew that person in a trance, and was still thinking in her heart: Why is he still a thief? She wanted to call him by name but couldn't make a sound, so she subconsciously reached out to grab his foot and neck, and the man was stunned for a moment, then quickly jumped out of the window and disappeared.

Later, Shen Xiuxiu was also so sleepy that she fell asleep, the noise woke her up, she glanced at her watch is more than 1 o'clock in the second half of the night, Sun Guangtang was taken away by the "security brigade" Zhao Yong, she said nothing she couldn't sleep, recalling what happened in the first half of the night, it didn't feel like a hallucination but a real thing, she seemed to remember the appearance of that person, but no matter how she thought about it, it was difficult to connect him with the thief, she ran to the proprietress Yu Kexin's lounge and told her intermittently what had just happened, Yu Kexin had already slept for a while, I couldn't open my eyes, I didn't understand what she was saying, and I impatiently urged her to go to sleep. Early the next morning, Shen Xiuxiu heard that there was a homicide on the west bank of the Luanhe River, and the person who was killed was Ji Yu, a reporter from the evening newspaper, thinking of the strange incident that happened in the private room last night and Sun Guangtang was arrested, she was very scared, how did she think that these two things were related, and she also caught the thief, in case the thief thought that she recognized him, could she still let herself go? So Shen Xiuxiu quickly quit her job and ran back to her hometown. In this way, Shen Xiuxiu returned to Gushu Town with many doubts and fears, and after she came back, she stayed at home and did not dare to go out.

The black top hat squatted on the wall and stared at the house carefully, and found that there was a glimmer of light on the window of the east house, he secretly wondered that Shen Xiuxiu had not slept or got up at night, so he gently jumped into the courtyard and approached the window of the east house like a cat, his steps were as light as walking on the clouds, which showed that his martial arts were by no means superior.

The black top hat leaned close to the window of the east room and closed one eye to peek into the room through the gap in the curtain, but the light suddenly went out. He put his ear close to the window to listen, and could vaguely hear the slightest noise in the house, he guessed that Shen Xiuxiu heard movement in the yard and turned off the lights, then turned around and moved to the door of the hall and knocked lightly twice, there was no echo in the house, he tentatively pushed the door, the door was not plugged in, he flashed into the house, and the black hole in the house could not see the five fingers.

Suddenly, a cold air blew through his ears, and he felt a coolness sweeping under his ears, and he realized that it was a sharp dagger, so he dodged to the left, and the blade grabbed the wrist of the person holding the dagger and shook it vigorously, and the hand turned over, and the dagger fell to the ground with a "clang". The man with the dagger was not a good man, and he carried his chest on his shoulder, and he was carried out more than two steps away and hit a warm object, and when he was panicking, he saw a black shadow flash out of the doorway.

I still want to run! The black top hat said that he picked up the dagger from the ground and chased out of the door, as soon as he got out of the house, he found that there was a bald head who was holding the courtyard wall with both hands to run up, the black top hat didn't have time to think about it and waved the dagger in his hand, the dagger spun and flew to the bald head who was about to run up the courtyard wall, and heard a scream of "Mom" The bald head fell under the wall "poof", the black top hat ran over and stepped on the bald head's neck, bent down and pulled out the dagger from his thigh, and asked fiercely: Who sent you?

The bald head obviously hurt badly, and at the same time was scared stupidly, like a pig, he snorted twice, and the black top hat realized that he stepped on his neck, he couldn't make a sound, raised his foot slightly, and asked: Who sent you?

The bald head didn't squeak and wanted to stand up, but the black top hat stepped on it again and said: If you are captured according to the rules of the rivers and lakes, you have to admit it, and say, who sent you?

The bald head lost the ability to fight and said discouragedly: I admit it when you catch me, but the rules on the road can't be broken, and you can't say it even if you kill me.

The black top hat said: What kind of rules on the road, bullshit, what can I do if I kill you. After saying that, he plunged the dagger into the bald man's other thigh with a "poof". The bald head screamed again in pain: Mom! Stop, I said.

The black top hat poked deep again and said, "Don't say I'll kill you."

The bald head couldn't bear it and begged: Please don't plug it, I said.

The Black Tophat asked: Who sent you?

The bald head said: The work in the "killer group".

The black top hat asks: "Killer swarm"? Let's be honest.

The bald head said: It's the truth, I often play in this group, and the group hires stalking, fighting and hurting people, and the two sides negotiate the price, I was hired by a person called "Brother Biao" in the group, and the price is very appropriate, 100,000.

The black top hat asked: "Brother Biao" real name? Don't say I'll gouge out your eyeballs. The black top hat pulled out a dagger and approached the bald head's eyes, the bald head was so sore that his legs trembled, he said: I really don't know my real name, the group is all pseudonyms, but I feel like I know who he is.

Black Tophat asks: Who is he? Say it.

The bald head said: It seems to be Duan Biao, they all call him Da Biaozi, I don't dare to confirm it.

The black top hat has heard of this big biao, and he is also the number one among the people in the society, and it is said that he is the cousin of Millie, the female owner of the "Lan Kwai Fong Gallery", it seems that this Duan Biao has nothing to do with Ji Yu's murder, so what about Millie in the "Lan Kwai Fong Gallery"? The top hat thought to himself: This trip was not in vain, and I finally found some clues. What to do with this bald head? If Duan Biao is really the murderer of Ji Yu, once he hears that the bald head is caught, he will definitely take corresponding measures, if he runs away and wants to catch him, it will not be easy. The news must not be leaked in advance, and the only way is to make the bald head half-dead to block the news. Thinking of this black top hat, I searched my bald head all over my body, and found a mobile phone and 3,000 yuan. The bald head slanted at this time had to let it go, no longer resisted but just looked at the black top hat with his peripheral vision, and saw a scar under his left sideburns in a trance, feeling that this person was very familiar but he couldn't say where he had seen it, but this person's eyes were so sharp that he was afraid, and the bald head asked in a trembling voice: Big, big brother, you won't kill me, right?

The black top hat sneered and asked: What's your name?

The bald head said: Deng Yan, they all made me stare at me.

The top hat asked again: Where is your house, to be honest.

The bald head replied: I am from Luancheng.

The black top hat suddenly felt that something was wrong, why was there no movement in the house for a long time, if Shen Xiuxiu couldn't hear the movement in the yard in the house, she couldn't have stared at her... The top hat felt bad in his heart, and he gritted his teeth and stabbed the dagger again, this time into the soft underbelly of the star, and the glare let out a dull scream, and his body trembled for a while before he stopped moving.

The black top hat was sure that this knife would not kill immediately, but it would be difficult to live, he pulled out his dagger and walked into the house quickly, only to find that the soft thing he bumped into just now was actually a person hanging from the beam, and turned on the hall lamp to see that it was Shen Xiuxiu, that is to say, Deng Yan had killed Shen Xiuxiu and hung her on the beam of the house before he arrived. The black top hat secretly thought: Shen Xiuxiu is dead, and the truth that happened in the "Kexin Sweat Steam Hall" on October 2 will disappear immediately.

The black top hat didn't dare to stay, quickly went out of the house and looked around the yard, saw a pile of corn stalks in the corner, took out a lighter and lit the straw stack, and then jumped out of the courtyard from the low wall, stood on tiptoe and fled the scene quickly.

A few minutes later, the small courtyard was on fire, and the neighbors were awakened by the fire, and they ran out to put out the fire with various utensils, and someone reported the fire, and the fire had been extinguished when the fire truck arrived. Ten minutes later, Director Zhang of the "Security Office" of Gushu Town rushed to the scene with people, someone lifted out the dying Deng Yan from the smoke, several security guards rushed into the room and found Shen Xiuxiu hanging on the beam, someone called an ambulance to prepare to send Deng Yan to the hospital.

The fire truck drove out of Yangliu Street with red and blue lights flashing in white, just in front of an Audi car, Liang Hao and Zhao Yong knew that something was wrong, and when they came to the courtyard of Shen Xiuxiu's house, they were still blinded when they saw this scene, and then showed their identities to the people of the security center of Gushu Town, and the people of the "security station" led them into the yard, and the two of them were cool and cool. Several people in white coats were carrying the dying Deng Yan on a stretcher, and Liang Hao stopped and glanced at him and grinned and said: I can't live.

The two of them entered the house and looked at Shen Xiuxiu who came down from the beams of the house, the forensic doctor of Gushu Town was conducting an autopsy, Liang Hao shook his head again and said: It's still a step late, this girl has taken away all the secrets.

Gushu Town "Security Office" Director Zhang is Liang Hao's old subordinate, plus the town "Security Office" is under the jurisdiction of the Luancheng Security Brigade, Director Zhang is very enthusiastic about Liang Hao and the two, he said: This family is such a girl, the 3rd came back, previously worked in Luancheng, this girl died at 13 o'clock, she grew up with her grandmother, after her grandmother died last year, she went out to work alone, rarely came back, neighbors said that she came back on the morning of the 3rd and stayed at home and never went out.

After the forensic examination of the body, the forensic doctor said to Director Zhang: The deceased is female, 24 years old, named Shen Xiuxiu, the cause of death is not suicide, she was strangled and hung on the beam, the injured man in the yard, in his 30s, 1.70 meters tall, has a knife wound on each of his thighs, and a liver injury under his ribs, the perpetrator is either a doctor or a person who has been a scout or other profession, and it is not certain which of them killed this Shen girl.

Director Zhang said to Liang Hao: Team Liang, in my judgment, the one who killed Miss Shen must be the man in the yard, he was chasing Shen Xiuxiu, it is estimated that it is you Luancheng people, as for who stabbed him, he dare not deduce, the neighbors put out the fire and made a mess of the scene, and it is estimated that all traces have been destroyed, this fire is definitely not set by the bald head, it was put by the guy who stabbed the bald head, the purpose is to let the neighbors put out the fire and destroy the scene, this guy is a master.

Liang Hao nodded and said: Lao Zhang, I'm sorry for your trouble, can you retrieve the surveillance video of various intersections in Gushu Town from the evening to the present?

Director Zhang said: Team Liang, you are too polite, I will send someone to the traffic management office in the morning to test the surveillance video of the three intersections, you can take it back and see it.

Director Zhang arranged a hotel for Liang Hao and Zhao Yong, and they didn't stay in politely, they were so sleepy that they washed and slept, and when they woke up, it was already more than 8 o'clock the next morning, and the two were going to go out to find a stall to eat, and when they went downstairs, they saw Director Zhang waiting for them in the lobby. The three of them finished eating a bowl of tofu brain oil cakes and then came to the "security station" in Gushu Town. The security guards had already prepared the surveillance video, and Director Zhang put a USB flash drive on the table and said: They just came back from the "traffic control office", and there are only three intersections before and after our "Gushu Town", and monitoring probes have been installed, and the video from 5 pm to 3 pm yesterday has been copied down.

Liang Hao said: Let's take a look at the heart first.

Director Zhang plugged the USB flash drive into the computer to play the monitoring content. From 5 p.m. on October 5 to 11 o'clock in the afternoon, there was no doubt until 11:40 that a figure appeared in the lower right corner of the surveillance screen at the intersection of the South Archway in Gushu Town, this figure wore a top hat and a windbreaker and flashed with his head down, Liang Hao was taken aback, and immediately asked Director Zhang to pause the picture, pointing to the figure on the screen and asking Zhao Yong: Who do you look like?

Zhao Yong looked at it for a long time and said: Wo Xi, isn't this Ji Yu?

Liang Hao motioned to Director Zhang to play down, and the time showed that at 12:28, another figure appeared in the upper left corner of the surveillance screen at the east exit of Gushu Town, Zhao Yong pointed to the picture and said: Here, it is the person wearing a windbreaker and a top hat just now, this time it is out. The three of them stared at each other, this time the figure walked on the screen for a little longer and slightly clearer, no matter how you look at it, this figure is the "evening newspaper" reporter Ji Yu.

Zhao Yong looked at Liang Hao with frightened eyes and asked: Brother Liang, are we the hell?

Liang Hao glared at him and said: What nonsense, how can there be a ghost now, but it's really a little weird, let's go back and send the video to the "Criminal Investigation Second Division" for technical comparison.

The two of them said goodbye to Director Zhang and drove away from Gushu Town. Zhao Yong drove the car and asked: Brother Liang, how did this ghost Ji Yu come here and how did he leave the town? If we stop in the middle of the night, we might be able to intercept this guy.

Liang Hao said: Since he can come, he can still let us intercept him, and we have met someone who has the ability.

Zhao Yong asked again: Brother Liang, why didn't you find that bald head in the video? He is definitely not in the same group as the dead ghost, did he really kill Shen Xiuxiu?

Liang Hao replied: Anyway, one of these two people is the murderer, go back and carefully check the video, you will definitely be able to find clues, okay, don't think about it, drive well.

Liang Hao remembered that the gun was snatched by the fake Ji Yu in the "Kexin Sweat Steam Hall", and he pondered repeatedly in his mind: Is there really two people who look so similar? Even the scars are the same, or is the person who died not Ji Yu?