Chapter 140

Lu Weibing dragged his weary body back home. These past few days had been incredibly busy due to the homicide case.

There were leads, but Kang Hong, being too young, couldn’t recall some things from memory and often couldn’t answer questions precisely.

Now, the known information was that the man was tall, dressed in black clothes, with big eyes? Long fingers?

But such descriptions were too vague.

Auntie Lu sighed as she looked at her son, tapping his head with chopsticks, “Eat properly during meals, only when you’re full can you work with strength.”

Lu Weibing shrank his neck, sighing, “This case is hanging over me. It’s frustrating knowing someone saw the culprit but can’t remember their appearance.”

“Let that child recognize people in the brigade?” Aunt Lu couldn’t help but ask.

Lu Weibing paused in his meal, sighed again, “In the afternoon, he had already gone to recognize people, but after looking at this one and that one, they didn’t seem right, so he sent them back first.”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Lu also felt worried, “If only someone could see the images in that child’s mind.”

At this moment, Uncle Lu who was listening nearby suddenly spoke up, “I remember Weiguo’s wife knows how to paint, right? I heard she caught bad guys by painting. Why don’t you go and ask her to see if she can draw the people based on what the child says?”

This news was spread by Lu Weiguo. Wei Jian was caught, so his superiors didn’t know that some spies were caught because someone drew their portraits. They also didn’t know that Shi Tingyu was the person who drew the portraits and caught the spies. When he told his family, he only said that his wife could help draw portraits to catch bad guys, without mentioning the spies.

His family knew his temperament well, and due to someone’s military connections, they handled confidentiality very effectively.

Moreover, judging by his wife’s capabilities, she would definitely not be confined to just domestic duties in the future. She was a woman who would have her own career. In the realm of painting, Shi Tingyu was exceptionally talented. There might be more such incidents in the future, so he disclosed what he could.

Lu Weibing’s spirits lifted momentarily, but then he grew despondent again. None of the witnesses could provide a concrete description—could they really create a portrait?

However, following the principle of not missing any opportunity, after dinner, he still went next door to find Shi Tingyu.

Shi Tingyu was surprised that there were eyewitnesses to the suspect. After listening to Lu Weibing’s request, she agreed to give it a try.

The next day, after consulting with the police station leaders, Lu Weibing obtained approval and prepared drawing paper, pencils, erasers, and other tools.

After lunch at home, Lu Weibing took Lu Weiguo and Shi Tingyu to the police station.

Kang Hong and Teacher Kang were also there.

Because of this case, the women comrades in Wanghe Squad were all on edge. The brigade leader hoped the case would be solved soon and the culprit would be caught to reassure everyone.

Teacher Kang and Kang Hong cooperated with the police station’s investigation, so their absence from work wasn’t counted against them; instead, they were given work points.

Otherwise, these two might not even have enough to eat.

Shi Tingyu had striking looks, and her appearance at the police station caused quite a stir.

Some young police officers even came over specifically to see her.

In the end, Lu Weibing had to kick them out, saying, “Go, go, go, she’s my sister-in-law, you don’t stand a chance.”

The young police officer who got kicked out wasn’t offended and continued to smile warmly.

At this moment, Shen Cuicui brought a cup of water over. “Sister-in-law, have some hot water to warm up.”

Shi Tingyu suddenly remembered that Lu Weibing’s wife worked here in logistics.

Lu Weiguo glanced at his empty desk. Did he not deserve a cup of hot water?

Kang Hong was seeing such a beautiful person for the first time and was a bit stunned.

Shi Tingyu smiled and talked to him, which helped Kang Hong regain his senses. His demeanor became more relaxed than before.

Shi Tingyu carefully parsed the limited information from Kang Hong’s words.

Finally, the initial draft seemed like a demon had descended into the world.

Kang Hong nodded in agreement.

Everyone else: …

Shi Tingyu furrowed her brows slightly, feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

She asked Kang Hong more about the time and surroundings when he encountered the suspect that day.

It was early morning, almost dawn, and foggy, at the foot of the mountain.

Considering all these factors, Shi Tingyu felt that Kang Hong’s perception might have been skewed.

At that time of day, with fog and the child’s nervousness, dark colors might have been mistaken for black. Based on common clothing colors, the suspect should have been wearing navy blue or dark blue.

She reviewed the information extracted earlier from Kang Hong’s statements by the police.

Seeing the height marked there, Shi Tingyu doubted this information. Kang Hong was only seven years old and possibly shorter than children his age due to poor nutrition. His impression of someone being “tall” might not necessarily mean they were actually tall.

And the suspect’s eyes were described as large.

Considering Kang Hong’s perspective, he would have been looking up, which meant…

With this thought, Shi Tingyu picked up a pen and started drawing again on the paper.

A moment later, beside the demonic-like portrait, a pair of eyes appeared alone. These eyes looked down, as if peering through the paper at the people below.

Kang Hong glanced at them quietly. When he saw those eyes, he instinctively took a step back.

His reaction didn’t escape the notice of the others, and they all felt a surge of hope—it seemed this time might be it.

Shi Tingyu called Kang Hong over to take a look.

Kang Hong hesitated.

“Don’t be afraid. When the bad guy gets caught, they won’t be able to bully anyone anymore,” Shi Tingyu reassured him.

Kang Hong nodded and bravely looked at the portrait.

After a while, he spoke up, “Aunt Shi, his eyes don’t seem that big. They looked pale and really scary.”

Shi Tingyu nodded and drew another pair of eyes. This time, Kang Hong exclaimed in surprise, “This is it!”

This time, he sounded more certain than ever before.

On the paper, a pair of eyes looking down were smaller than the previous ones, with more white showing, giving a disturbingly sinister look.

Shi Tingyu asked Kang Hong some more questions that could provide useful information.

She tried to imagine it from a child’s perspective and roughly sketched a portrait.

Lu Weibing looked at the portrait and felt it looked familiar, like he had seen it somewhere, but couldn’t quite place it.

Seeing his frustration, Shi Tingyu spoke up, “Don’t rush. This is just a first draft. If you can’t remember, maybe it’s because some details aren’t quite right yet.”

Mistakes in the features of the portrait could also mislead.

Lu Weibing stopped dwelling on it.

Having the eyes gave them a direction at least.

There were no further developments with Shi Tingyu’s portrait for now, and as it grew dark, she and Lu Weiguo headed back.

When the case first broke, the male comrades of Wanghe Village were all questioned, focusing on those tall men with big eyes.

Shi Tingyu’s drawing provided the police station comrades with a new lead.

They were preparing to revisit the area.

Early in the morning, Lu Weibing took the Lijian out again, at Shi Tingyu’s request. Their Lijian had been quite dull these past few days.

Recalling how the Lijian worked when it was first used, she felt that the Lijian might not have failed to detect anything, but the scent might have been too faint for it to be sure.

Taking it along might lead to a pleasant surprise.

Seeing the police come again, the members of Wanghe Squad cooperated well.

No one around could rest easy knowing a murderer might be lurking, especially those with daughters or sisters.

Meanwhile, Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo went back to the police station. After a nap, Shi Tingyu felt her head was much clearer.

She was ready to modify the portrait again.

Thinking of what Kang Hong had said, he mentioned the suspect’s mouth was large, like a monster that eats children.

Outside, the laughter of children echoed in the courtyard. Shi Tingyu looked over. They were the children of the police officers on winter vacation.

Looking at their smiling faces, she suddenly had an inspiration.

Shi Tingyu picked up the brush and drew a smiling mouth on the paper—wide open with slightly uneven teeth, prominently featuring sharp canine teeth beside it.