He suddenly stood up and looked out the window. A heavy snow was already beginning to fall.
It was almost midnight and the rooftop was completely empty. This was what Fang Mu wanted.
Already covered with a thick layer of snow, it shined with a bright, cold light. It was a beautiful sight. After hesitating for a long time, he could wait no longer and finally stepped out.
The sound of his feet crunching against the snow was so familiar it made his heart ache.
A slight breeze was blowing and frequently great quantities of snowflakes would float onto his burning face, melting instantly. The water would then drip down his cheeks, turning from cold to warm.
Looking up, he saw a faint light in the formerly pitch-black sky. The snow fell all around him, as far as the eye could see, making only the slightest sound as it floated gracefully into every corner of the world. Was it sighing with sadness at leaving the sky, or rather rejoicing at returning to earth?
The snow gradually covered Fang Mu's body, so lightly that he neither felt its weight nor its cold. He looked back. His footsteps were deep, clearly showing the way he had come.
He looked ahead. Everything was obscured by a boundless curtain of snow. He couldn't make out a thing.
Midnight. Heavy snow. Faint wind.
It swirled around Fang Mu like a spirit, caressing his skin and whispering faintly. The feeling was warm and sincere.
Like his old friends were surrounding him, speaking to him.
All of you, wherever you are, I know that you're looking out for me…
Fang Mu slowly knelt in the snow.
Please give me a little more time.
Please give me a little more help.
Please give me a little more courage.
The dining hall.
Fang Mu was stuffing food in his mouth as he closely read Legends of the Hulan River. He frequently used his pen to mark various parts of the book and now the pages were covered with all kinds of lines and notes. He knew that he would get yelled at when he returned it to the library, but by now he no longer cared.
Someone placed a tray on the table in front of the seat opposite him. Looking up, his eyes met those of Zhao Yonggui's haggard face.
"You're a hardworking guy, huh?" he said mockingly. Still, there was a trace of friendliness in his voice.
Having no desire to talk to him, Fang Mu was about to stand up and leave, but when he thought of how Zhao Yonggui was leading the case, he asked, "Any progress recently?"
Scooping some rice into his mouth, Zhao Yonggui shook his head tiredly.
Fang Mu said nothing, just buried his face in his food and ate, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.
Zhao Yonggui, on the other hand, wasn't hurried at all, and he watched Fang Mu as he slowly chewed his food. After a while, he spoke. "Tai Wei came to talk to me a few days ago. He said you have a different opinion about this case."
Fang Mu looked up at him. Zhao Yonggui was frowning and closely watching him, sizing him up.
Fang Mu didn't see a hint of trust in his eyes. Annoyed, he dropped his head and continued wolfing down his food.
Seeing that Fang Mu wasn't going to say a thing, Zhao Yonggui continued. "Do you still think we handled that last case incorrectly?"
Fang Mu said nothing.
"Do you still believe we treated that homicidal maniac unjustly?"
Fang Mu threw his spoon onto his tray with a sharp clatter, causing food to splatter across the table. Several grains of rice stuck Zhao Yonggui's shirt.
Suppressing his anger, Fang Mu did his best to speak in an even tone. "Officer Zhao, if you don't believe me, then there's nothing I can do about that. However, my opinion will not change; Meng Fanzhe was innocent, and the killer is someone else. You have your ideas, and I have my methods — "
"Your methods?" Zhao Yonggui said, breaking in. "Still those same old tricks? Baseless criminal profiles?" He lifted up Legends of the Hulan River with his thumb and forefinger like it was a dirty object. "This is what you're relying on? You think you can catch a killer by reading a novel?"
Fang Mu snatched the book back from him and slammed it onto the table. "Whether or not you believe me, the clue to the seventh crime is in here!"
"There's a serial killer in Legends of the Hulan River? Ha!" Zhao Yonggui leaned back and laughed loudly at him. His laugh was almost immediately cut short, as if he had suddenly realized something. A slight change of visage came over him.
Fang Mu no longer wanted to say anything else to him. If he did, he was afraid that he'd curse him out. He stuck his pen in his pocket and put the book beneath his armpit, and then grabbed his tray and started to leave. Before he could take two steps, Zhao Yonggui snatched his arm and pulled him back.
"Get the hell off of me!" he yelled at the officer, no longer able to control himself.
But just as the words left his mouth, he was shocked to discover that Zhao Yonggui now seemed a completely different person than he had been only moments before. He was frowning deeply, a look of astonishment on his face, as if he was thinking about something that he didn't dare believe.
"Sit!" He pointed at the chair opposite, his tone of voice making it clear that Fang Mu had no choice in the matter. At the same time, he pulled Legends of the Hulan River from Fang Mu's arm and began scrutinizing it.
Fang Mu sat down.
"HulanRiver…HulanRiver…" Zhao Yonggui muttered himself, his frown deepening. "Just now you said this book had something to do with a serial killer?"
Puzzled by the officer's behavior, Fang Mu couldn't help but nod.
For several seconds Zhao Yonggui appeared lost in thought. Then with what seemed a great deal of determination, he looked up and asked, "Have you ever heard of the Great Knight of Hulan?"
"The Great Knight of Hulan? Never heard of him. Why?" Fang Mu asked impatiently. "Who was he?"
"This was back in the eighties, in Hulan County, Heilongjiang. He was a fierce bandit who committed a number of terrible murder cases."
"Then why do I feel like I've never heard of him before?"
"Of course you've never heard of him, because at the time they were never able to crack the case, so they sealed away all information about it. Only us old-timers know about this one."
"So what kind of crimes did the Great Knight of Hulan commit exactly? And why is he called the great knight?"
"Great Knight? That was just the title he gave himself," Zhao Yonggui said. "The guy was a savage criminal, nothing at all like a great knight. Because he was dissatisfied with the social system that was in place back then, he shot a number of people to death. There was also a common characteristic to many of his crimes: he made a point of specifically attacking the police…"
Before Zhao Yonggui had even finished speaking, he saw Fang Mu begin frantically searching his pockets. Not finding what he needed, Fang Mu's hand shot out to the officer.
"Your cell phone, now!"
Startled, Zhao Yonggui unconsciously pulled out his phone.
Fang Mu practically tore it out of his hands, and then punched in a number as fast as he could.
Several seconds later, a faint voice from the phone relayed: "The phone you are dialing is powered off."
Swearing under his breath, Fang Mu redialed the number. He got the same message. He tossed the phone back to Zhao Yonggui. "We need to go find Tai Wei now!"
He leapt to his feet and ran out of the dining hall.
Fang Mu ran as fast as he could to the northeastern end of campus.
He needed to find Tai Wei immediately.
The next victim was none other than him!