Natural Will

A serious incident of assaulting and killing a police officer occurred, leaving one officer severely injured and another dead.

By the time numerous police cars and ambulances arrived, it was too late. The perpetrator had escaped, and Ma Xiang was declared dead at the scene.

The police officer who was stabbed at the alley entrance, however, survived. Although critically wounded, he held on until he reached the hospital for emergency treatment.

As for Ma Xiang, his body was placed in the morgue, largely ignored.

The special investigation team from the bureau rushed to the hospital, heading straight for the emergency room to await the outcome of the injured officer's rescue.

The only ones who came to see Ma Xiang were his aging father, the station chief, and a female officer, Tang Jing.

Seeing the station chief's aged and weary appearance, Lan Mu stood with his head bowed heavily, silent.

Upon seeing Lan Mu, Tang Jing had trouble recognizing him. Disregarding his effeminate appearance, she took his hand and asked softly, "Were you at the scene?"

Lan Mu nodded slowly.

Tang Jing said, "How dare he rush to the front? How dare he go after the killer alone?"

Hearing this, Lan Mu's heart ached even more.

Without him, Ma Xiang might not have dared to apprehend the suspect alone.

If he hadn't displayed his speed, if he hadn't blocked the killer's escape route, if he hadn't easily taken the opponent down, perhaps the killer wouldn't have been cornered and forced to attack Ma Xiang in a desperate attempt to flee.

This was all due to his carelessness. No one could have predicted such ruthlessness.

At this point, Lan Mu realized that the person was likely not a reporter at all but a skilled, cold-blooded murderer, possibly connected to the Corpse Dismemberment Case.

Seeing his somber silence, Tang Jing sighed and didn't press further.

Soon, Cheng Ming also arrived at the hospital. He rushed over, demanding, "What happened? Damn it, what happened?"

His loud voice shattered the somber atmosphere.

If Ma Xiang were the one undergoing resuscitation, Ma Xiang's father might have reprimanded Cheng Ming. But now that he was dead, his father had no energy for scolding.

Cheng Ming approached the crowd. Seeing Tang Jing, a woman, he instead charged at Ma Xiang's father, who was in uniform, grabbed his collar, and roared, "What are you police doing? Have you caught the killer? Damn it, I'll kill him!"

Lan Mu rushed forward, shoved Cheng Ming away, and pinned him onto a chair, saying, "Calm down! This is Ma Xiang's father!"

Cheng Ming froze, extremely embarrassed, and quickly apologized to the station chief, whom he didn't recognize.

Ma Xiang's father let out a long sigh and forced himself to pull himself together. Cheng Ming's words reminded him that the killer was still at large. Though old, he wasn't ready to give up!

"You're Ma Xiang's classmate, right? Lan Mu?" Ma Xiang's father knew Lan Mu; it was clear Ma Xiang often mentioned him.

Lan Mu replied respectfully, "Yes. Please accept my condolences."

Ma Xiang's father nodded and waved his hand, saying, "Come with me!"

Lan Mu followed Ma Xiang's father, leaving Cheng Ming standing dumbfounded. He still had no idea what was going on and could only listen as Tang Jing slowly explained.

Ma Xiang's father took Lan Mu directly to the police station and, once inside the station chief's office, began questioning Lan Mu privately about the events.

Facing Ma Xiang's father, Lan Mu didn't hold back, recounting the entire situation, including how Ma Xiang had brought him along to secretly film.

Since Ma Xiang was his son and had died in the line of duty, letting a friend secretly film was no longer a matter worth pursuing.

Instead, he focused on the events of that day.

"You're saying Ma Xiang thought he was a reporter, so he dared to go alone to apprehend the suspect?"

Lan Mu nodded. "That's right. It's all my fault. If I had helped too..."

Ma Xiang's father waved his hand and said with a bitter smile, "It has nothing to do with you. I know this child well. He's very independent; he always wants to rely on his own abilities. I..."

He trailed off after a few sentences, composing himself slightly before stating resolutely, "The killer won't get away with this. He can't escape!"

"Lan Mu, I need you to immediately help us sketch the killer's likeness. Since he showed his face, we'll definitely catch him!"

Lan Mu had been waiting for the bureau to summon him. This case should have been handled by the bureau with the station providing assistance, but now, Ma Xiang's father, as the station chief, seemed intent on solving the case himself, not immediately notifying the bureau.

After some thought, he handed over the secretly filmed footage to Ma Xiang's father, telling him that the killer's likeness was in it.

Ma Xiang's father's eyes gleamed. "Good! Good! Lan Mu, the bureau will send people to find you shortly. Don't mention the secret filming; don't hide anything else. Cooperate fully."

Lan Mu smiled without replying, not giving a direct answer.

While Ma Xiang's father intended to investigate privately, Lan Mu wouldn't stand idly by. He was determined to see this case through.

As expected, not long after, people from the bureau arrived and asked for his cooperation.

Lan Mu said nothing and went with them.

What followed was an interrogation that lasted the entire day. To these officers, Lan Mu only stated that he was passing by, saw his good brother Ma Xiang, then noticed a person who looked like a reporter. The suspect then fled, and they pursued him until he suddenly attacked and killed.

No matter how many times the police asked, Lan Mu gave the same answer.

However, regarding the killer's appearance, Lan Mu described it in detail. He also wanted the police to find the person.

It was evening when Lan Mu finally returned home.

During the interrogation, Cheng Ming had called him countless times. Lan Mu finally called him back now.

"Brother Mu! Where did you go? Why the disguise?"

"Cheng Ming, it's nothing. I was at the scene, and the police just needed to ask me a few questions. Also, could you help out more with Ma Xiang's funeral arrangements..."

Cheng Ming said with a sigh, "How could this happen? What am I going to tell Xiao Ling!"

"Xiao Ling?"

"Brother Mu, you forgot? She's Ma Xiang's fiancée! They were already engaged!"

Hearing this, Lan Mu stammered for a long time, completely at a loss.

He finally said, "We still have to tell her..."

"But I'm busy with something these days, so you'll have to handle it for now!"

Cheng Ming said angrily, "What could possibly be more important than Ma Xiang's funeral arrangements?"

Lan Mu was silent for a while, then said, "Yes! Ma Xiang can't have died for nothing."

After hanging up the phone, Lan Mu took a deep breath and hurried home.

He had already decided. He would personally avenge Ma Xiang!

Not only the murderer of Ma Xiang, but whoever was behind it, he would find all the criminals involved in the Corpse Dismemberment Case one by one.

He would bring them to justice himself!

Ma Xiang was one of his best brothers. He was about to get married, but he died in the line of duty.

Lan Mu couldn't stand by and do nothing. He had to pay back the blood debt.

He had never really trusted the efficiency of the police. Instead of passively waiting for the killer to be caught, he would find them himself.

Moreover, he didn't want the killer to be brought to justice; he wanted revenge!

When Lan Mu returned home, he first spent some normal time with Su Yue. After Su Yue went into her room, he began to search for clothes.

He found a black hooded sweatshirt he had worn a few years ago, pulled the hood over his head, zipped it up high, put on a pair of jeans, and then left.

He didn't return until the next day. Throughout that entire night, he had walked through a third of Modu, transforming all the roadside trees with Natural Power.

He also showed them the appearance of the killer. If they encountered this person, the transformed trees would remember and notify him if he was nearby.

Trees already had a strong affinity with elves, and after being transformed, they gained the ability to communicate with elves.

He wanted to turn all the trees in Modu into his eyes and ears, so that no evil could escape the will of nature.

For three consecutive days, Lan Mu worked day and night, finally transforming all the trees in Modu.

Not only was he not tired, but he felt refreshed.

The conversion of life energy between him and the trees seemed to have a slight benefit for him.

During these three days, he not only didn't feel hungry, but his Natural Power even increased slightly.

Wherever there were trees, his natural will extended.

However, there was still no clue about the killer.

Lan Mu was a little disappointed. This was a rather clumsy method. Although he had eyes and ears all over the city, it was useless if the killer didn't go out.

"Where is he hiding?"

On the fifth day of Lan Mu's transformation into an elf, he didn't look for the killer.

Because today was the day of Ma Xiang's funeral.

Ma Xiang's family, classmates, friends, and colleagues from the police station all came.

Lan Mu also saw a woman crying heartbrokenly. Just like in the photo on Ma Xiang's phone, it was his fiancée, Xiao Ling.

Cheng Ming and Lan Mu had been helping at the funeral. In the past few days, Cheng Ming had mainly been assisting Ma Xiang's family with the arrangements.

Ma Xiang had already been cremated. His mother carried his ashes all the way, and he was finally buried in Mingjia Mountain.

By evening, most people had left, and only some close individuals remained.

The police officers from the station were still there. After all, their station chief was Ma Xiang's father. Whether it was genuine or feigned, they at least stayed until the end.

The funeral ended, and the meal was finished.

Lan Mu spoke with Ma Xiang's father alone, inquiring about the progress of the police investigation.

Ma Xiang's father shook his head and said, "The video you provided did capture the killer's appearance. I investigated, and his name is Yu Hetu. He's 23 years old and from Shandong. He graduated from a technical school and came to Modu to work. He was fired last month after being accused of harassment for pursuing a female manager at his company."

"Could it be..." Lan Mu was stunned.

"That's right. He's the prime suspect in the Corpse Dismemberment Case. That female manager was the first victim in the case, so he had a motive."

"It's so obvious, why did the police take so long to investigate? They should have suspected him as soon as the female manager died!" Lan Mu exclaimed.

Ma Xiang's father shook his head again, "It's not that simple. The bureau had investigated him before, and he had an absolute alibi."

"What alibi?"

"He was detained at the police station shortly before and after the female manager's time of death, so he couldn't have committed the crime."

"What?"

"He was just arrested for indecent assault on a woman."

Lan Mu thought for a moment and said, "He must have had an accomplice! That accomplice took revenge on the female manager for him because he was definitely the prime suspect. So they intentionally had him commit indecent assault to get him detained and create an alibi."

Ma Xiang's father nodded and said, "That's right, I know that now. Unfortunately, it's too late. When we went to arrest him, we couldn't find him anywhere. He didn't even pack anything from his rented room. It's clear that after he killed... Ma Xiang that day, he never returned to the rented room and went straight into hiding."

"We've been searching black market hotels, internet cafes, and even entertainment venues for the past few days, but we haven't found him. There's a high probability that he's hiding in someone's home, possibly the accomplice's home. But we don't know who it is, and we can't search everyone's house."

"We can only stake out various locations and review surveillance footage, hoping to find him."

Lan Mu pressed further, "What about the surveillance?"

"The surveillance shows that after he escaped that day, the last place he disappeared was Pinghu Pedestrian Street. There's no surveillance there, so we haven't found out where he went in the end."

Ma Xiang's father added, "But he can't escape! As long as he's still in Modu, I will catch him! I don't believe he'll never show up again!"

"Even if he keeps hiding in residential areas, we'll search house by house until we find him!"

Lan Mu nodded. He knew the police would eventually find him. The entire city's police force was looking for Yu Hetu, and he could hide for a while, but not forever.

However, Lan Mu wasn't planning to wait slowly for the police to find him. Once he confirmed Yu Hetu's last known location, Lan Mu left.