In addition to the photos of these four people, there were pictures of some others in the room. Officer Sun judged that they must be the Northern Killer Blade’s next targets!
However, after waiting for a long time, the two policemen and landlord sent out did not come back. Calling them yielded no response either. Officer Sun realized something was wrong and immediately led a contingent of police to the location.
He discovered the bodies of the two policemen in a parking lot, and then found the landlord's corpse in his home, which had also been ransacked. This time, the killer did not use his ‘magical’ killing methods. The two sacrificed police officers had their throats slit from behind, while the landlord was stabbed to death.
This showed that the Northern Killer Blade was panicking and hastily covering up the truth. My grandpa had discovered the right clues!
But losing Jingzhou due to negligence, Officer Sun still felt very regretful. After my grandpa arrived, he asked everyone to leave. He closed all the doors and windows for an hour before letting everyone back in. As soon as the door opened, the room was filled with smoke and smelled of Chinese medicine. Blood footprints and even a blood handprint appeared in places where there were no traces before.
With the footprints and handprint, there were now many clues to investigate - the killer's height, weight, fingerprints, palm prints, habits, and shoes.
Officer Sun mobilized all the police forces to investigate day and night. They finally found a video recording of the killer in a department store’s surveillance footage. Although the killer wore a hat that obscured his face, there was also a woman with him, and the two were clearly intimate.
The police tracked her down according to the visuals. She was a female worker at a textile factory, likely the killer's wife or girlfriend.
But when Officer Sun brought people over, they discovered the woman had already been murdered in the characteristic way of the Northern Killer Blade. To eliminate clues, the killer did not hesitate to kill his own lover!
My grandpa had driven the killer into desperate straits twice, but the police still did not catch him. It could be said to be an invisible contest, with both sides having wins and losses.
Through this contest, the police proved one thing - the Northern Killer Blade was not a god. He had weaknesses and soft spots. He could be defeated!
Every member of the task force was fired up to continue the investigation.
At this point, the task force members were killed one after another. Five policemen died in total, all in the same way - their hearts cut out while still alive. And then at this critical juncture, my grandpa announced his withdrawal. Officer Sun was very angry at the time and even had an argument with him.
Without my grandpa's help, the case could no longer be investigated and had to be left unsolved, becoming a pending case.
After saying all this, the ashtray in front of Officer Sun was already piled high with ashes. I suddenly remembered something chilling.
One night ten years ago, the Northern Killer Blade had come looking for my grandpa!
Back then, I was only seven years old. I remember someone visited my grandpa late at night. I was very curious and asked my grandpa through the window who it was. My usually very kind grandpa scolded me to go back to bed immediately.
That person stayed in the room for two hours before leaving. I didn't know what he and my grandpa talked about.
Why did the Northern Killer Blade come back ten years later? Why did he kill my grandpa? Was he the original killer, or the descendant of the killer?
The case was shrouded in layers of mystery, like fog, and I couldn't see the truth clearly.
I asked Officer Sun, "The fat guy who died last night was Zhang Bao, who escaped a decade ago, right?"
Officer Sun nodded. "Yes, it was him."
"I think I understand now. The Northern Killer Blade has once again put this conundrum in front of my grandpa..." I said.
"Oh, is that so? Then what do you think, did your grandpa see through the Northern Killer Blade's modus operandi before he died?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
Officer Sun sighed and stood up, putting a big hand on my shoulder. "Xiao Yang, your grandpa's death is my irrevocable responsibility. If I hadn't asked him to come down the mountain back then, he wouldn't have gotten involved with the Northern Killer Blade. Now that he's gone, I hope you can go to school well and forget about this. But I will keep investigating the Northern Killer Blade's case until I can give you an explanation someday!"
"Officer Sun, I have a request," I said as I stood up.
"What is it?"
"Please be sure to tell me if the Northern Killer Blade commits another murder someday. I want to catch him with my own hands!"
Officer Sun hesitated. "But..."
"Back then my grandpa was able to drive him to desperation. This proves the Song family’s secret arts are the nemesis of the Northern Killer Blade. My grandpa has taught me everything he knew, so I must bring him to justice with my own hands!"
"Boy, don't you believe in us police?" Officer Sun asked.
I kept silent. Officer Sun suddenly burst out laughing. "You're as stubborn as your grandpa! Fine, I know. If he commits another murder someday, I'll let you know."
I clenched my teeth and silently recited to myself, Northern Killer Blade, the next time we meet, I will make you know how powerful I am!