Original Suspense Novel: "ℬ𝓁𝒾𝓏𝓏𝒶𝓇𝒹 ℳ𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓇" EP15

It was right above the wrist artery. Those weren't marks from carrying firewood. They were indentations left by the rope repeatedly rubbing against the skin during practice tying knots. "Your knot-tying technique is skilled," Chen Mo stood up, looking down at Xu Ziqian. "But you forgot to wear gloves while practicing. The skin on your left wrist is more sensitive than your right because you're left-handed. The nerve endings in your dominant hand are more concentrated, so the friction marks will be more obvious." Xu Ziqian looked up, the firelight dancing in his pupils. He was silent for a long time, then chuckled softly. "Chen Mo," he said, "you're only half right." "Which half?" "The left-handed half." Xu Ziqian slowly stood up, half a head taller than Chen Mo. "But I didn't tie the knot. I just..." He extended his right hand, turning his palm over. There was a fresh, deep cut on the inside of his right index finger, the blood already clotted into a dark red. "I only cut myself when I found the body and tried to untie the knot. I didn't tell anyone because I knew—" his eyes changed, "—once someone found the wound, I'd become the prime suspect. And all your deductions just now are overturned by one fact." "What fact?" Xu Ziqian walked to the coffee table, picked up Chen Mo's phone, and zoomed in on the knot photo. "Look closely at the final finish of the noose knot," he said. "The knot is loose. Zhang Zhenyu wasn't strangled." Chen Mo zoomed in on the photo. (To be continued)