Thirty minutes later, the three of them drove to the school where Li Rui was before her death—Hexi Bilingual Middle School.
After they identified themselves, the security guard did not pose any obstacle, and the car quickly drove into the campus.
However, as they approached the spot where the body was found, from a distance, they saw three people standing by a tree, holding logging tools in their hands.
At the critical moment, Jiang An stepped on the accelerator hard, and the vehicle rushed over quickly.
"Stop!"
"You're destroying the crime scene!"
The vehicle drifted to a stop about 10 meters away from the willow tree.
The loud voice made the three lumberjacks quickly stop their chainsaws.
The three looked blankly in the direction of the voice.
In a split second, Jiang An and Wu You swiftly got out of the car.
Wu You showed the police badge in his hand.
"We're police officers, and we're on a case!"
One of the men holding a chainsaw said, "Brother, we're not logging illegally!"
"The school arranged for this willow tree to be cut down!"
Wu You glanced at the willow tree; only a part of the bark had been cut, without much impact.
He said solemnly, "This is the site of the death, please leave!"
Upon hearing the word "death," the three people's faces went pale instantly, and their gazes focused on the willow tree.
This was just a willow tree, how could it be the site of a death?
The three wanted to ask something, but upon seeing the serious expressions on Wu You's and Jiang An's faces, the words that had reached their throats were swallowed again.
Then, the three packed their logging tools and left sheepishly!
Zhang Yean said, "Fortunately, we arrived in time, otherwise this willow tree might have been cut down and taken away!"
Jiang An walked up to the willow tree, looking it up and down, noting a large stone directly beneath it.
Then he asked, "Was the victim hanging from above this stone?"
Wu You nodded and replied, "Yes, above this stone, the victim's feet left the ground."
Wu You continued, "After seeing this scenario, we deduced that the victim hanged herself by stepping on this stone!"
"The location and height are very suitable!"
Jiang An nodded, took a step, and stood on the stone.
With a height of 183 cm, he could clearly see the imprint on the bark where the black rope was hung.
"Just like the images we saw in the meeting room, there are no obvious friction marks.
This further confirms the conclusion.
When the victim was hanging from this willow tree, there were no signs of life activity.
Zhang Yean looked at the willow tree and said, "If this was only the location where the body was hung, where is the first death site?"
Wu You circled around the willow tree, looking left and right.
Jiang An said, "This tree shouldn't be the place where the victim died because I didn't find any obvious friction marks in the visible area."
Then, Jiang An jumped down and said, "Since the killer hung the body here, I estimate two reasons!"
"This can be inferred?"
Zhang Yean was surprised.
Jiang An said, "First, the first site is not far away, very likely within this row of willow trees."
"After all, the victim weighs nearly 100 pounds, so transporting such a heavy body is inconvenient."
"Furthermore, it's even harder to move someone after they've died."
"Secondly, because this willow tree has a very significant difference from the others!"
"What difference?"
Zhang Yean asked curiously again.
She had never found crime investigation so interesting.
At the moment, she even had the illusion of accompanying Sherlock Holmes on an investigation.
Jiang An raised his hand to point to the stone in front of them.
"There is a stone here that can conveniently serve as a stepping stone for hanging."
"Wow! You are so cool!"
Upon hearing Jiang An's analysis, Zhang Yean looked at Jiang An with admiration.
Wu You also nodded, highly approving of Jiang An's analysis.
After a brief pause, Jiang An said, "Since the killer chose this place temporarily, then the killer's motive should not be premeditated murder."
Upon throwing out this conclusion, Wu You raised an eyebrow.
Suddenly, he realized Jiang An's analysis was not simple.
This reasoning had no loopholes or flaws.
Since the stone here wasn't prepared by the killer, it suggests a strong element of randomness.
Recalling that the rope used to hang the victim was from the waistband of a pair of black sweatpants.
Wu You fully understood.
That's the reason; many coincidences contributed to the hanging result.
As Wu You delved deeper into thought, Jiang An started to walk away.
"Are we leaving, Leader?"
Zhang Yean asked, puzzled.
"Where are we going? I'm going to find the first death site!"
"Can you find it that way?"
"I think there's no problem!"
Zhang Yean continued to ask, "Then what's our basis for finding the first death site?"
Jiang An said, "Look for a willow tree, and there are many fallen leaves underneath it."
Upon hearing this, Wu You instantly understood.
But Zhang Yean remained puzzled.
As a police academy graduate, was she really lagging behind in solving this case?
She knew that she had taken first place individually in the mock cases investigation at the police academy back then.
She desperately asked, "Brother, can you tell me the reason?"
Jiang An glanced at her, a slight smile on his lips, and reminded, "Under this willow tree, we didn't see many fallen leaves because when the victim was hung, she was already dead, without any struggle."
"But if the victim was alive when forcibly hung upside down on a willow tree, do you think she wouldn't struggle?"
Moments later, Zhang Yean suddenly understood.
"Got it!"
"Now I understand!"
"There must be a lot of leaves under the tree!"
Zhang Yean danced with joy, feeling a sense of accomplishment, just like a student figuring out a math problem with a hint from the teacher.
However, when she looked up, she saw Jiang An and Wu You were already searching along the riverside for the willow tree.
"Wait for me!"
Ten minutes later, Jiang An stopped by a willow tree.
The three of them focused their gaze on the tree roots.
There were many scattered willow leaves on the ground.
"This is the spot!"
Jiang An looked up, observing that the willow branches before him were severely deformed, and its green bark was peeling distinctly.
Zhang Yean was surprised and then attempted to analyze, "Some of the willow branches have been stripped bare; the struggle here was intense!"
Wu You said, "With so many leaves on the ground, the struggle likely lasted for a while."
The three of them stood there, gazing at the ground for a long time.
Having found the first death site, Jiang An didn't get overly excited.
Because there still were important things to do.
Jiang An looked at the willow tree in front of him and said, "To hang a living person upside down on this willow tree."
"Was the killer alone?"