During a previous case analysis meeting, Hou Yaxin had theorized that if Duan Dongqiang were the killer, his ability to seize an opportunity, decide to kill on the spot, and then calmly choose to report it to the police meant he possessed incredible composure. He had asked Li Xiaowen to thoroughly investigate the man.
So Zhu Qiuwei had someone go through the old files, and they actually found something.
In 2009, Duan Dongqiang and a fellow villager, Zhang Lehui, had gone into the mountains together to pick Litsea cubeba, but Zhang Lehui had an accident, falling from the mountain to his death.
It was Duan Dongqiang who came back and reported the incident, and the police station organized a search party that found the body.
Duan Dongqiang stated that the two had split up and that he didn't know what had happened to Zhang Lehui.
In the end, it was ruled an accident.
But looking back now, in light of the current situation, who knew what had really happened in those vast mountains.
