That is all I know.

Du Ruo reached out and pressed gently on the deceased's neck. There was no more bleeding, and the wound, just as Xing Anming had described, lacked the clean and smooth cut of a blade.

Seeing such a wound, Du Ruo's first thought was of his own Dragon-Coiling Silk, because the cut looked strikingly similar.

Back in the Philippines, Du Ruo hadn't had the time to inspect the victim's wounds, but when a mad bull had died in the village, Du Ruo had gone to retrieve the steel wire stuck in the bull's neck and noticed it then. The wound back then was remarkably similar to this one.

However, when using the Dragon-Coiling Silk, one typically formed a steel wire loop around the neck and pulled it tight with immense force, which would result in the entire neck being completely severed.

Yet, this corpse only bore this kind of mark on one-third of its circumference.

Du Ruo pondered in his mind what could possibly cause such an injury. Slowly, a hazy hypothesis began to form, though this alone was not quite enough.

"What about the other wounds on the body? Can you tell anything from them?"

Du Ruo spoke, hoping to glean some more useful information.

"The other areas aren't anything special. Right here on the left leg, in the hollow behind the knee, there is a knife mark. The stab went in from behind, very deep. It looks like it was caused by a dagger. Aside from that, there are no other wounds. The bloodstains on the body were just smeared on, and the torn clothing was caused by being snagged in the woods."

Xing Anming wanted to roll the corpse over, but used a bit too little strength and failed to move it, so he simply gestured instead.

Du Ruo said nothing, just looked along with him, but in his heart, he already had a basic grasp of the situation.

"Well? Master Du, can you determine what kind of weapon caused this? We suspect it was done by poachers, but poachers usually carry guns, and a case like this is happening for the first time. Coupled with the fact that the scene was carefully scrubbed clean, we've been unable to lock down any suspects."

Xing Anming looked at Du Ruo with considerable anticipation. To be honest, inviting Du Ruo hadn't filled him with high hopes; after all, even the most formidable criminal investigation experts in their bureau hadn't been able to figure out how such a wound was inflicted.

It was only because the information they received from Du Ruo noted that he was a master proficient in various traditional martial arts, and that his bare-handed threat level was no less than that of a firearm, that Xing Anming had entertained the idea. He had thought of inviting him over to take a look and try his luck—if clues could be found, all the better; if not, it would at least help confirm Du Ruo's true purpose for coming here.

"I can only provide some clues; you'll have to verify whether they're correct. First of all, this wound doesn't make sense."

As Du Ruo spoke, he pointed to the knee area Xing Anming had indicated just moments ago.

"A knife wound right here doesn't make sense, especially one this deep. If the intent was to stop someone from escaping, cutting the leg tendons would be far more logical. Furthermore, since a knife wound was left behind, why didn't the assailant simply slit the throat with the blade? This suggests that a knife was neither the assailant's primary nor most practiced weapon.

"No matter how you look at it, there shouldn't be a knife wound in this spot. Therefore, it must have been used to cover up the real injury."

With these words, Du Ruo had essentially identified the murder weapon in his mind.

"Cover up what injury?"

Xing Anming hurriedly pressed for answers. Come to think of it, they hadn't devoted much thought to this wound since it wasn't fatal, and frankly, their understanding of how knives or daggers were used was rather limited.

"This brings us back to the wound on the neck."

Instead of answering directly, Du Ruo raised a finger toward the deceased's neck, and before Xing Anming could ask, he stated bluntly:

"This wound was caused by something resembling a very thin cord, and it required immense force to inflict such an injury with something so slender. I can only think of one thing that fits."

"A very thin cord? Immense force? What kind of thing fits those conditions? A fishing rod and line?"

Xing Anming remained silent, but a police officer standing nearby chimed in. Judging by his dark complexion—evidently from frequent exposure to the sun—and his specific question, there was no doubt he must be an avid angler.

"How could there be a fishing rod and line in the woods? Besides, using a fishing rod and line would only wrap around the entire neck in a full circle before being pulled with great force, and the scars don't match. It's a bow—to be precise, a bow."

Du Ruo smiled, dismissing the other man's guess before clearly stating his own hypothesis.

"A bow? Master Du, how could a bow cause a scar like this?"

Upon hearing Du Ruo's explanation, Xing Anming pondered it for a moment. It seemed as though he was starting to understand something, yet many points remained unclear. They were certainly familiar enough with bows; this wound did indeed match what a bow could potentially cause, but he still couldn't fathom how it was done.

"If we only looked at this mark, I wouldn't dare be certain either. But once I connect everything together, it will make sense.

"The victim likely spotted the assailant from a distance and tried to flee. The assailant drew a bow and loosed an arrow, which struck the victim behind the knee.

"Then, the assailant gave chase and, moving with extreme speed, hooked the bow against the victim's neck."

As he spoke, Du Ruo gestured with his hands—a simple motion of looping the bow against the neck, followed by spreading his hands apart to mimic drawing a bow, adding an explanation on the side:

"Without an arrow notched—just drawing an empty bow, then releasing the bowstring with a sharp *snap*, the string strikes the throat, and death follows!"

With that, Du Ruo mimicked the gesture of releasing a bowstring during an archer's shot. As his hands released, his eyes involuntarily squinted, as if dreading the spray of blood from the deceased's neck getting into his eyes.

"But that doesn't make sense. Why go to all that trouble? Wouldn't it be better to just put an arrow straight through the heart or the neck? One strike for a fatal kill."

Xing Anming raised a doubt. This wasn't being argumentative; it was strict rigor. Solving a case required rooting out inconsistencies, and raising questions on the spot was always best.

"It seems the assailant didn't want people to know the victim was killed by a bow and arrow. The purpose of using the bowstring was to conceal the murder weapon, or perhaps simply to mislead you all. This is also why the assailant left that knife wound behind the knee. After confirming the victim was dead and pulling out the arrow, the assailant presumably gave a casual stab with the dagger. That spot is neither conspicuous nor fatal, making it easy to overlook."

Du Ruo's explanation sounded entirely reasonable. Even so, after finishing, he shook his head:

"I don't know the specific motives; perhaps only the killer truly knows. But judging solely by the wounds, I can think of nothing else besides a bowstring. Furthermore, archery includes a discipline known as bow-fighting, which is specially designed for close-quarters combat using a bow, and it features moves just like this one.

"Here is a piece of advice for you: while the knife wound behind the knee can mask the arrow wound, the damage inflicted on the bone definitely won't match a dagger's wound. Perhaps this is why the assailant didn't shoot directly at the neck or heart, because a fatal wound there would be thoroughly scrutinized by you, and a dagger would find it hard to completely conceal the truth.

"That's all I know. I hope it helps you out."

The wound caused by an arrowhead and the wound caused by a dagger are difficult to tell apart on muscle tissue alone, because muscle possesses elasticity. Bones, however, are different; bone is inelastic. Due to the forces involved, the puncture mark of a dagger tip would look completely different from an arrowhead.

"Understood. Xiao Zhang, contact the forensic team immediately and have them come over to check whether there's an arrow wound beneath the injury behind the knee."

Hearing this, Xing Anming felt a sense of clarity settle in his mind. He hastily issued instructions to the police officer beside him before turning his attention back to Du Ruo:

"Master Du, thank you for your hard work and these clues. With this, we finally have some direction. Come, let's head back for some tea. I happen to have a few more details I'd like to ask you about, assuming I'm not taking up too much of your time."

"I'm quite alright. Since I'm new here and unfamiliar with the place, I wouldn't mind asking you folks a few questions myself."

Du Ruo removed his gloves and followed Xing Anming toward the municipal bureau. Having the assistance of locals like them was certainly a benefit to him.

"By the way, I haven't asked yet—what brings Master Du here? I wonder if there's anything we can do to help."

Hearing this, Xing Anming couldn't resist asking, seizing the opportunity to probe for Du Ruo's true intentions.

"I've hit a bit of a bottleneck in my martial arts practice recently, and I'd like to observe some wild animals up close."

"What kind of animals, might I ask?"

"Wild bears and tigers. Do you know where I might stand a chance of running into them nearby? Don't worry, I'm quite fond of these animals and won't harm them; I just want to observe them up close."

"Bears and tigers? Well, I do know a thing or two about that. Let's head to the office and talk."

Hearing Du Ruo's request, Xing Anming couldn't help but frown. He wanted to offer an explanation, but after glancing around—they were still inside the hospital—he realized it wasn't the most convenient place for such a conversation.

Du Ruo nodded and followed close behind toward the municipal bureau.

"Here, have some tea."

Barely a few minutes later, back in the bureau office, Xing Anming poured a cup of tea for Du Ruo before taking a seat across from him.

"We do have tigers and bears reported here in the Lesser Khingan Mountains, but the Forestry Bureau issued a five-year hunting ban last year. Since then, even hunters haven't dared go up the mountain to hunt.

"Even the herb-gatherers and foragers don't dare venture too deep, and there haven't been any recent rumors of anyone spotting tigers or bears. So it's impossible to tell you their exact whereabouts.

"If you go into the mountains blindly like this without any luck, I'm afraid you might not find anything even after a year or two, or perhaps even longer."

"Is there any way around that?"

The moment Du Ruo heard this, he knew he had asked the right person. If he were to wander around aimlessly on his own, he doubted he would ever find them.

"Hold on a second, let me make a call and ask around."

Xing Anming thought for a moment and took out his phone. Du Ruo had just done the municipal bureau a huge favor, and he wanted to return the gesture, so he decided to make inquiries.

"Hello, Lao Lin? Do you know where bears and tigers have been spotted recently? ... No, I can't discuss the case with you right now, just help me check. I'll treat you to dinner once I have some free time... Alright, send me a message later. I'm hanging up now, do it as soon as you can."

Xing Anming didn't bother dodging Du Ruo; he made the call right there across the table and hung up shortly after.

"I just reached out to someone from the Forestry Bureau. When it comes to matters concerning the mountains, they know best, and if bears and tigers are showing up anywhere, they're bound to be the first to hear about it."

Xing Anming offered an explanation to Du Ruo, then shifted to another topic:

"There's one more issue, though. If you're heading deep into the mountains, you need to keep something in mind..."