315: Chapter 315 Gradually Becoming Clear

"Surname Lü?"

"Yes, surname Lü. In our area, there's only one family with this surname."

"What was the surname of the daughter-in-law who left home all those years ago?"

"Also Lü. It's the same surname, so if it really is that child, and they haven't changed their surname, it must be Lü."

Han Jingyang felt a sudden surge of excitement upon hearing this.

The surname Lü isn't exactly rare, but it's definitely not a common one you see everywhere.

If we assume the killer is indeed the posthumous child left behind by the Lü family daughter-in-law who fled all those years ago, it might be possible to piece together a complete trail of clues.

The Lü family's posthumous child was born and learned a set of skills, but their character became twisted, leading them to take revenge on society while also targeting the Zhou family and the Sun family.

The story is simple.

The details are rich.

If this hypothesis holds true, we have a rough profile of the killer. By distilling and combining the key information from several clues, the killer's profile becomes quite fleshed out.

Surname Lü.

Born around 1970.

Their early work was likely related to photography; it's highly probable they ran a photo studio.

Skilled in art, especially oil painting, with a very high level of proficiency.

Their financial situation is quite good.

Around 2010, they ran an art studio with "Ya" in its name, teaching middle school students how to paint in oils.

Active in Quancheng.

Quite ugly.

Not very tall.

Thinking of it this way, Han Jingyang's train of thought suddenly cleared up.

But he quickly calmed down.

First, this is just a hypothesis.

Second, although this profile is fairly complete, it still lacks some key information.

Third, to catch this person, he would still need external help, such as the official power of Zhang Zhiyang or Shen Yuhai.

In other words, it's too early to celebrate.

If the hypothesis is wrong, everything is for nothing.

But regardless, this is a very reliable direction.

Han Jingyang saw the short, stout village chief off and called Zhou Changzhu in: "Old Zhou, are you and Xu Xin from the same school?"

Zhou Changzhu scratched his head: "In name, yes. But we split up three or four generations ago. It's just that we're both in Quancheng and share the same founding master. We've known each other for a long time, so we tell outsiders we're from the same school."

"Have you been in touch with Old Xu recently?"

"No, everyone is busy looking for that tripod. But I heard Brother Xu has done many big things following Mr. Han."

Han Jingyang smiled and looked Zhou Changzhu up and down for a moment: "Your kung fu isn't weak. Where are you working now?"

"I used to hang out with Brother Kai, watching over venues. After something happened to Brother Kai last year, I didn't look for another job and have been helping my parents in the village."

"With your skills, it would be great to compete in matches."

"I don't have the connections."

"Does this line of work require connections too?"

"Of course. When I was practicing martial arts, I stuck with it because I wanted to become a fighting star. It was only after I entered the industry that I realized how deep the waters are."

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Han, let me tell you, this circle is incredibly dark. First of all, if you want to participate in matches, you have to sign with the organizers, a gym, or an agency. Before you become famous, the contract terms are extremely harsh. Once you sign, you're basically working for cheap for them during your ten-year prime, and there's no guarantee of anything. Even if you sign a contract, you aren't guaranteed a chance to compete. Especially in big tournaments, where you get paid a lot just for showing up, even if you lose. So the competition is fierce, and the infighting between fighters is terrifying. Furthermore..."

"Furthermore, what?"

"Furthermore, the main source of income for most matches isn't sponsors, ticket sales, or broadcasting fees, but gambling."

"I see. Fixed matches. It's chaotic enough."

"I couldn't handle all that mess, so I gave up voluntarily after training at a gym for a while when I was younger."

Han Jingyang nodded and suddenly asked: "Have you been out of town these past few days?"

"Out of town?"

"Anything outside the village counts."

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. For the past half month, I've been helping my parents fix the fields. It rained a while ago and washed out the edge of the field. My parents and I have been busy for half a month fixing it."

"Then have you seen any suspicious strangers in the village?"

"No," Zhou Changzhu smiled naively: "Mr. Han, I know what you want to ask. I practice traditional martial arts, so my daily vigilance is very high. If someone were harming me, I would likely sense something unusual. But this time, I really didn't know anything before I fell for it. There was no warning at all. One second I was just watching the excitement in the crowd, and the next second, I had the urge to kill Zhigang."

Han Jingyang smiled and took out his phone: "Let's add each other. If you discover anything, send me a message or call me."

"Oh, okay, okay."

Zhou Changzhu added Han Jingyang as a friend and left, beaming with joy.

Clearly, in Zhou Changzhu's eyes, Han Jingyang was a formidable big shot, and he felt honored to have Han Jingyang's contact information.

Only Han Jingyang and Shi Xiaoya were left in the room.

Shi Xiaoya stood behind Han Jingyang, placing her slender, fair hands on his neck and gently kneading it, asking as she did so: "Hubby, did you find anything?"

Han Jingyang briefly explained his hypothesis.

Shi Xiaoya was stunned: "How can you be sure the killer runs a photo studio?"

"It's simple. A significant portion of the victims are brides who have been married for no more than two years. Being newly married is the only commonality among these brides. So, who has the conditions to come into contact with so many brides? In the early years, the wedding process was relatively simple, without all the fancy, flashy ceremonies. Going to a photo studio to take wedding photos was the trendiest thing."

"What about the oil painting part?"

"I've had a suspicion about this for a long time. Doudou originally just treated oil painting as a hobby, but ever since she was targeted by the killer, her level of oil painting creation has made rapid progress in a very short time. This is very abnormal because artistic creation, especially oil painting, requires rich experience and a large amount of training in addition to talent to reach a certain level. Doudou's rapid progress is because the killer had her undergo higher-level training in her dreams, or was teaching Doudou in some magical way, similar to mental infusion. Anyway, Doudou's progress must be due to the influence of someone more powerful."

Shi Xiaoya also got excited: "In that case, hasn't the killer's identity become very clear?"

Han Jingyang nodded: "It's indeed clearer than before, but the difficulty lies in how to find and lock onto the killer. This person's abilities are too bizarre; they can kill invisibly and, even more, directly manipulate others. A slight carelessness could alert the enemy, or even provoke him, causing innocent casualties."

"Then what should we do? How about we ask Zhang Zhiyang or Shen Yuhai?"

"No, we'll find him ourselves, by mobilizing our own network."

"What network do we have?"

"We do."

"We do?"

"Yes, we do."

Han Jingyang nodded heavily.

Excluding official connections, he also had quite a few connections among ordinary people, knowing many local toughs in Quancheng. Not to mention Wang Zhiwei, the social butterfly of Quancheng.

In addition, Zhou Yucheng and Sun Fuchang were also old Quancheng residents with very wide social circles.

Even Han Jingyang's parents and grandparents were native Quancheng people. The connections accumulated over two or three generations, while not high-end, were not to be underestimated in terms of coverage, especially his father, who had worked at Jinan Iron and Steel for his whole life and really knew a lot of people.

Just then, Han Jingyang's phone rang; it was a call from Zhou Changzhu.

Seeing Zhou Changzhu's number, Han Jingyang's expression changed slightly, and he felt a sense of foreboding.

He answered, and heard Zhou Changzhu threaten in a gloomy voice: "Han Jingyang, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. Otherwise, Zhou Changzhu's today will be your tomorrow."

As the words fell, a shrill, miserable scream came from the other end of the phone.