"Killing someone isn't like a long run or riding a bicycle; there's no such thing as conserving energy. Unless the murderer is a seasoned professional assassin who's killed countless people, someone who can perfectly control the force of their attacks and is fully prepared for all sorts of reactions from the target… otherwise, the perpetrator would definitely go all out, using maximum force to tighten the wire around the target's neck until the victim completely loses the ability to resist." Feng Bujue explained, "In that case, the murderer's hands would inevitably have some cuts or bruises." He gestured with his own hand, "The injuries would be roughly on the edge of the palm, below the base of the little finger. Even if the steel wire was wrapped around the hand a few times beforehand to increase the surface area, most of the force would still be borne by this area when actually committing the crime."

"Doesn't that mean the case is practically solved?" Schofield exclaimed excitedly. "Forget about the locked room! Dumpty, go gather everyone in the villa immediately and check their hands…"

"Hold on, Detective," Feng Bujue interrupted in a weak voice. "Don't forget the premise I mentioned… 'if they didn't take protective measures'." He shrugged. "As long as the murderer wore a slightly thick pair of gloves, that would solve the problem. Moreover, if the gloves were long enough, the probability of their hands and forearms being scratched by the victim would also be greatly reduced."

This bucket of cold water instantly extinguished the excited gleam in Schofield and Dumpty's eyes.

"But your idea is correct," Feng Bujue said. "The investigation still needs to be done, but we need to be clear that even if someone doesn't have any injuries on their hands, it doesn't necessarily prove that they aren't the murderer." He added, "Also, as you've seen, the deceased bled a lot, and his own hands were covered in blood. If the murderer wasn't wearing gloves, their hands would very likely be stained with a lot of blood, and they would leave bloody fingerprints everywhere when they escaped. Of course… although I think it's unlikely… we can't rule out the possibility that the murderer went to the bathroom to wash their hands before fleeing."

Schofield nodded. "Okay… so, in addition to the murder weapon, we also need to look out for a pair of bloodstained gloves."

"You won't be able to find them," Feng Bujue delivered another piece of bad news.

"Huh? What did you say?" Schofield asked doubtfully.

Feng Bujue replied directly, "After the murderer killed the person and set up the locked room, they were outside the window… that is, outside the villa. As long as they walked a short distance and threw the murder weapon and gloves into the valley… who could find them?"

"Uh…" Schofield didn't dare to respond. As soon as this great detective opened his mouth, he could point out a clue, but before he could say two sentences, he would cut off the clue again.

Feng Bujue had already turned and walked towards the door. "When I investigated the crime scene earlier, I checked very carefully… besides the area around the body, the only place where I could find blood was a very faint bloodstain on the windowsill. Therefore… my deduction is as follows…" As he said this, he reached the door of the guest room, locked it, and continued, "After the murderer killed the person, they first wiped the murder weapon, cleaning off as much blood as possible from the wire, and placed it aside for later use. Then, they took off their gloves, turned them inside out, crumpled them into a ball, and also set them aside for the time being. Next, the murderer went to lock the door. Of course, I think there's a 70% or higher chance that the door was already locked when the murderer killed the person."

As Brother Jue spoke, he turned back and walked towards the window. "After confirming that the door was locked from the inside, the murderer picked up the gloves and went to the window to tie the steel wire to it."

Suddenly, Feng Bujue stopped in front of the window, looking troubled. "Uh… officers, does either of you know how to tie a slipknot?"

This guy's weakness for not being good at weaving was exposed again… although it didn't really matter.

"Well… what kind of slipknot do you need to tie?" Dumpty walked over and asked.

"What… there are actually many ways to do it…" Feng Bujue's expression was more wooden than ever before, because the conversation had entered a domain that was like a blind spot to him…

"Yeah," Dumpty lifted his police cap and scratched his head. "My uncle is a sailor, and he taught me a lot of different kinds when I was little, like a clove hitch, fisherman's knot, sheepshank, sheet bend, figure-eight knot…"

At this moment, Brother Jue looked at him as if he were saying—"So, you're the legendary super high school level knotter who has already broken through the art of tying shoelaces."

"Anyway…" Feng Bujue simply changed the subject. "Listen to me, and you should know what kind of knot it is."

The window of this guest room was a traditional casement window. In the middle of the left and right window leaves, there was a rake-shaped window latch. Feng Bujue pointed to the handle of one of the window latches and said, "The murderer tied one end of the steel wire to this handle. Then, they climbed out of the room, first closed the other window, and latched it properly. Next, they kept the latch of this window in a horizontal position and slowly closed it from the outside."

"Oh! I understand," Dumpty had already understood Feng Bujue's meaning when he heard this. He took the piano wire from Brother Jue's hand, quickly tied it to the handle of the window latch, then quickly climbed out of the window, holding the other end of the steel wire in one hand and slowly closing the window with the other. Then, he pulled the steel wire outward from the window gap.

"Yes, that's it…" Feng Bujue said to Schofield beside him, "You see, the position of the wire must be stuck in the gap at the bottom edge of the window, so that the window latch will turn downward and latch properly when the murderer pulls the wire."

Schofield also understood when he saw this. "When the window latch is latched, it is in a vertical position. If you continue to pull, the loop of the steel wire will fall off the end of the latch handle. At this time, the slipknot will come undone, so in the end, you just need to pull the wire out." He pointed to the windowsill. "During this process, due to friction, the wire left a bloodstain on the windowsill."

"Yes, although the murderer wiped off the blood on the murder weapon to avoid revealing this design, it is still difficult to leave no trace at all," Feng Bujue continued. "Usually, after killing someone, people will want to leave the scene as soon as possible." As Brother Jue spoke, he opened the window, pulled Dumpty, and helped him climb back into the room. "Although the murderer in this case had a plan in advance, their mentality will not be too different from ordinary people when it comes to implementing it."

Feng Bujue left the window and paced around the room, saying, "If they had prepared another steel wire specifically for setting up the scene, or if they had carefully washed the murder weapon with water in the bathroom after committing the crime… then our difficulty in solving this locked room mystery might be even higher."

"Usually, no one would go to such lengths, right…" Schofield replied.

"Heh…" Feng Bujue smiled, a meaningful laugh that sent chills down the spines of the two police officers.

"Alright, the basic murder technique is clear." Brother Jue stretched and winked towards the door. "Next… let's go talk to the suspects in this case."