The car continued to hurtle down the highway, speeding towards Miaocun. It was still another six or seven hours away, but I pushed the accelerator to the floor, exceeding the speed limit at a blistering ninety miles per hour. If we ran into no trouble, we could shave a third of the travel time off.

Even though Xiao Shu had won the debate, I remained unconvinced. After all, Miaocun was a thousand miles away. Even if a murderer used it as a hideout, it was unlikely they could have fled that far in such a short time. Wasn't switching our focus from the outskirts of Xiangcheng to Miaocun a case of chasing shadows?

So, I challenged him: "How many days would it take Wang Jue alone to reach Miaocun? Murderers usually cover their tracks and go into hiding. Miaocun is so far; it seems unlikely Wang Jue would use it as his current hideout, doesn't it? Can we truly grasp his whereabouts based on such a baseless guess?"

"Perhaps he never intended to hide at all? If he needed to hide, he wouldn't have rushed into the guardhouse with a knife in broad daylight to kill someone," Xiao Shu explained calmly. He leaned over from the passenger seat, twisted the radio knob, and tuned the broadcast to the news channel.

A melodious song drifted from the radio—a duet sung by Xunxun and Feifei titled "It's Just Love." On such a tense night, listening to such a gentle, pleasing tune felt strangely unsettling. It seemed more suited for another time, so I suggested, "Let's change the channel. Listening to this song right now gives me the chills."

"Wait a minute, the hourly news bulletin is in one minute," Xiao Shu said, placing his hand over mine as I reached for the dial, signaling that it wasn't the music he wanted to hear. I had no choice but to withdraw my hand, gripping the steering wheel, and continue driving.

Sure enough, a minute later, the introductory music for the hourly news played on the radio. Then, the anchor’s powerful voice began announcing the various news events that had occurred in Xiangcheng today, which, of course, included the major story about Wang Jue.

"This is reporter Xiangxiang reporting. This afternoon at 2 PM, a homicide occurred at Qing Shan Community, No. 5 Qing Shan Road in this city. The suspect, Wang Jue, responsible for the deaths of two security guards and injuries to two others, has been officially put on the wanted list by the police. According to police surveillance, after committing the atrocity in the community guardhouse, the suspect fled to a taxi repair point in the city, forcibly commandeered a yellow XX brand taxi, and headed toward the West Expressway. Currently, the police are mobilizing forces to set up checkpoints on all major traffic arteries heading west out of Xiangcheng toward other provinces and municipalities. We ask all drivers traveling on the West Expressway to cooperate with the police investigation. If you spot the taxi with license plate Xiang A42134, please call the police hotline immediately. A reward of fifty thousand RMB will be given to informants who provide clues or to any unit or individual who assists in the apprehension."

After the news concluded, my admiration for Xiao Shu swelled like an unstoppable river. How could he have calculated everything so accurately? Was he somehow reading Wang Jue's mind?

"You calculated perfectly; he is indeed heading to Miaocun," I said with a smile.

"It’s useless. The police are too slow. Wang Jue got the car around three o'clock and drove toward Miaocun; he should have arrived long ago. Blocking traffic will only delay us in saving the person; it won't help the investigation at all," Xiao Shu stated seriously, without a hint of jest.

"Saving the person?" I was stunned. Did Wang Jue plan to kill again? Two deaths weren't enough for him?

"I said from the start that his visit to kill those four guards was premeditated. A ghost who has already died once wouldn't have any thought of hiding, concealing, or fleeing. For Wang Jue, Hua Jinlan was merely clothing—once used, she would naturally be discarded. And Hua Jinlan's mind is focused only on achieving her own objective. Given the current situation, this objective undoubtedly requires a sacrifice of life."

I had to admit that Xiao Shu's analysis was spot-on. The current Wang Jue was merely a manipulated puppet; the true wielder of the butcher's knife was Hua Jinlan.