Chapter 220: Record-breaking Detective Work (1/2)

Since it was the weekend, there was a crowd of people in the park. ”It’s busier in the mornings,” remarked Xiaotao.

”Let’s buy a kite and have some fun,” I said.

”Are you serious?!” blurted Xiaotao in surprise.

”I’ve never flown a kite. Let’s get one!” I urged.

We went to a kite stall and I picked out a butterfly kite while Xiaotao picked a centipede one that made a buzzing sound. Dali, on the other hand, couldn’t decide. I happened to notice a peculiar kite in the back of the stall. It was an ugly kite printed with a still of Xiao Yanzi from the TV series, My Fair Princess. That’s not to say that Zhao Wei was unappealing but rather the kite was. The kite was awash with a reddish hue that dyed Xiao Yanzi’s face with two large red blotches, making her look like a village girl. The kite was extremely huge and covered with dust. At a glance, it was obvious the seller was stuck with it.

I pointed at the kite and said, ”Dali, get that one.”

Without even thinking, Dali refused. ”There’s no way I’m getting that. It’s hideous! How embarrassing would it be to fly that kite!”

”It’s either that or nothing!” I insisted.

”I never thought you’d be such a controlling man. I do pity your future girlfriend,” muttered Dali almost imperceptibly.

Xiaotao covered her mouth so her laughter wouldn’t spill out.

”Cut the bullshit and hurry up dude!” I said.

Left with little choice, Dali reluctantly bought the kite. Along the way, people pointed at him in laughter, mocking his special aesthetic sense. Xiaotao smiled quizzically, “Why are you punishing him?”

”We’re doing a reconstruction of the crime,” I explained. “Dali, can you fly a kite?”

Dali patted his chest proudly. ”Of course! I'll teach you guys how.”

Dali proceeded to do as he said but ironically, it was he who had trouble with his kite. Because his kite was too big, it shook from side to side, swaying with the wind. On the contrary, our little kites fared much better.

After some time, Dali's kite finally rose into the sky, standing out among a bunch of colorful kites.

”Song Yang, I think I understand your intentions now...” said Xiaotao as she stared at Dali’s conspicuous kite.

”What do you mean?” Dali turned to us, his expression vacuous.

”Isn’t this kite special? A lot of people were watching throughout the entire process of getting it to fly.” I prompted, “Now, think about the human skin kite that’s even bigger than this. How did the murderer get it to fly? Someone would’ve called the police before the murderer could even get that far so the kite was most likely dropped from a height.”

I looked around and instructed, ”Dali, reel the kite in. Let's do an experiment!”

After Xiaotao and I gave our kites to two children, we headed to a nearby building and climbed up to the roof. Then, I got Dali to throw the kite down.

The kite slowly fluttered down with the wind and fell into a tree. “From which direction did the kite drift?” I asked.

Xiaotao shook her head. ”I'm not quite sure but I’ll check!”

”You might as well ask the bureau of meteorology what the wind was like this morning,” I suggested.

Two quick phone calls later, Xiaotao informed me that the human skin kite had flown into the park square from the southeast direction coinciding with the direction of the wind this morning.

Armed with that information, I declared, ”Let's conduct a few more experiments to zoom in on where the murderer was.”

We tested across several buildings, throwing the kite many times until it finally turned into a torn mess. Eventually, I managed to isolate what I thought was the most suitable position. It was a balcony on the sixth floor of one of the buildings where the kite could float down to the park square without any deviations.

I noticed a mouthful of yellow-green phlegm in the corner–a sign of excess heat caused by yin deficiency. There were also wisps of blood visible, indicating the presence of respiratory diseases.

Dali grimaced as he watched me swab some samples and secure them in an evidence bag. ”Oh my God,” he exclaimed. “That’s fucking gross!”