At three forty in the morning, Jian Jing and Ji Feng knocked on Chai Reporter's door.
Chai Reporter was very calm. With a tired look on his face, he asked, "What is so urgent that it can't wait until morning?"
Jian Jing got straight to the point: "I'm tired of analyzing the case over and over. Hand over the stockings and confess your crime."
Chai Reporter was caught off guard by her bluntness. Fortunately, he kept his cool and feigned shock, "What nonsense are you talking about? The victim wasn't strangled. Do you take me for a fool?" He showed a hint of anger on his face, "Falsely accusing someone like this is going too far. Be careful or I'll file a complaint against you."
Jian Jing said, "Starch."
Chai Reporter was shocked again. His heart was no longer as calm as before. Myriad thoughts raced through his mind: Did they really know? Was she bluffing? If he revealed anything, it would be falling into their trap. But with things coming to this point, it didn't seem like a wild guess. Should he take a desperate gamble and destroy the evidence?
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, he caught a glimpse of a shadow reflected on the hallway wall outside the door, like a wisp of ghost.
There was no time for hesitation. She immediately made a decision, turned around and rushed to the window, tearing down the stockings that were hung up to dry. At the same time, she grabbed the lighter from the table and lit it with a "click."
"Stop! It's dangerous!" Ji Feng dashed up in one step and snatched away the lighter.
Chai Reporter immediately let go. She lunged forward and hugged his waist, "Run!"
A shadow flashed swiftly outside the door. It moved with agile strides at great speed. It was Zhu Yong who had been hiding outside.
He was a teacher, but a gym teacher. Years of exercise had honed not only his ability to beat someone to death with a weapon, but also the leg muscles that allowed him to burst forward with great speed and power. In the blink of an eye he had already rushed downstairs.
Ji Feng was hindered by Chai Reporter and had no way to catch up. He said helplessly, "Where can you run to in the middle of the night... Jian Jing?! Don't!"
He was shocked by Jian Jing.
She had opened the window and jumped out in one swift movement.
Although it was only the second floor, trained people would not get hurt. Even untrained people would at most fracture some bones. But there had been unlucky ones who broke their necks directly.
Especially in the middle of the night without lights, and with rain coming down, jumping was no joke.
His heart truly skipped a beat.
But Jian Jing's situation was not nearly as bad as he imagined.
Seeing Zhu Yong escape, she had hesitated over whether to chase him. But considering he was a trained adult male with great explosive power and speed, if it turned into a chase, and they went into the mountains, accidents could easily happen.
So she boldly activated the special reward from the "Secret of Pudding" mission – "White Kitten Mode."
What could happen to a cat jumping down from the second floor?
What obstacles could hinder a cat moving in the night?
No fear whatsoever.
She felt as if she was carried by a gentle breeze, landing nimbly on the ground. Her dim vision became clear, and she could clearly see the vibration of the front gate, as well as sounds of the restaurant's window being opened.
The man with the fracture climbed out the window.
Jian Jing stood outside the window watching him, with wolf repellent spray in hand. Then..."Psst!"
The stimulating gas shot out like a jet of water.
Zhu Yong's eyes and nasal cavity were irritated. Tears streamed out as he coughed uncontrollably.
Ji Feng came pounding down the stairs. He first glanced at Jian Jing lying in ambush. Only then did he put handcuffs on Zhu Yong. With an impatient tone he asked, "Teacher Jian, I have to criticize you. Don't scare people for no reason. You almost scared me to death."
"Do I look like the reckless type?" She rolled her eyes dramatically.
Ji Feng mulled it over and felt the question was unanswerable. He simply ignored it and pulled Zhu Yong along, "Let's go. Don't make the same mistake as those you resent. Go turn yourself in honestly."
Zhu Yong remained silent.
"Who was she to you?" Jian Jing couldn't help but ask.
He answered, "My sister."
The final missing piece of the puzzle was thus filled in by the perpetrator himself.
A few days ago, he and his sister, along with his sister's friend Chai Reporter, had returned to their hometown. The siblings were planning to go home for a wedding, while Chai Reporter wanted to experience the local wedding customs.
However, fate had other plans. That evening two days ago, after his sister had stepped out, she never returned.
He and Chai Reporter looked everywhere for her. In the end they found the icy body by the roadside.
The place was remote with few outsiders. They asked around and soon learned that a group of students had passed by. The owner of the gas station also said he saw a new dent on the front of their car.
The accident had occurred on a rural road without surveillance cameras, making it difficult to assign blame. Zhu Yong thus decided to investigate himself, and Chai Reporter agreed they could not let the perpetrator get away after hearing about it.
The two asked around and finally tracked down the students to this hotel.
Originally, the two had not intended murder. But Jia Yue had repeatedly claimed to have hit a zombie, even telling others about it as if it were an incredible rumor, inciting their anger and hatred.
They decided to take an eye for an eye.
Chai Reporter planned the entire process. She created smokescreens to draw attention to herself, while the decisive blow was delivered quietly by Zhu Yong.
They were fortunate. The heavy rain hindered travel, and the sleeping pills in the dumplings incapacitated the victim, knocking him out with one strike before the police arrived. All evidence had also been taken care of.
But they had not expected two other unlucky souls to arrive that night.
A policeman and a mystery novelist.
No matter how clever the scheme, the truth would ultimately come to light.
The next morning, as with the conclusion of all murder cases, when the culprit was caught, the sky cleared up as well.
The local police took away all the hotel guests.
Chai Reporter, Zhu Yong, and the crew cut were suspected of murder, while the plates and Huangmao had to be questioned about the hit-and-run. Gao MaWei also had to go to the hospital for an examination. Jian Jing and Ji Feng had to go to the police station to give statements.
It was truly an overturned pot.
After the police station, it was already noon.
Jian Jing and Ji Feng randomly found a small restaurant for lunch. Luckily the food was decent. Only then did they continue on to their destination as originally planned.
On the road, Jian Jing was rather paranoid, "What if when we get there, the person is gone?"
Ji Feng replied, "...Reality can't be that dramatic. We decided to visit on a whim. Just in case, I didn't even tell you the location. How could anyone have such insider news?"
"I've seen someone like that before," Jian Jing recalled Zong Ye. She still felt uneasy, "Appearing and disappearing mysteriously, seeming to know everything."
Ji Feng said, "Rest assured, even that kind of person would not be bribed by a murderer."
He was right.
At three in the afternoon, they arrived at the location of the 2009 case, a medium-sized city.
More than ten years later, the neighborhood where the incident occurred had been demolished. The neighbors had dispersed to various places. Ji Feng spent some effort before finding out the address of the other party.
To recap, in the Zeng family murder case, there was an insurance salesman who had repeatedly visited the Zengs. A neighbor living across from the Zengs had seen him.
The person they wanted to meet was this neighbor across the hall, surnamed Wang, now fifty-six years old and retired. Her son had brought her to live with his family.
When they arrived, Aunt Wang was home alone watching TV. She was very lonely and was delighted to have guests, enthusiastically pouring tea and chatting, "Have a seat, don't stand on ceremony. Let me pour some water for you."
Ji Feng declined a couple times without success. He had no choice but to go to the kitchen to help, lest the elderly lady scald herself.
Taking the opportunity, Jian Jing observed the house. There were signs of four people living here - the elderly lady, a couple, and a granddaughter. There was a family photo of the four on the cabinet by the door.
Elderly people with grandchildren tend to share a common trait.
"Are you married yet? Not yet? Young man, you must seize the opportunity," Aunt Wang nagged nonstop in the kitchen, imparting life wisdom.
Ji Feng had honed the skill of playing along: "Yes, yes, you're right, you're right."
His attitude was extremely sincere and respectful.
Aunt Wang was delighted and more willing to cooperate with their work. As soon as she sat down, she brought it up voluntarily, "Has the murderer in the Zeng family case still not been found? They were so unfortunate. A perfectly happy family, how could they suffer such misfortune?"
Ordinary people rarely encounter such horrific cases in their lifetime. Hence it had left a deep impression on her, and she could vividly recall the details when speaking of the Zengs.
"It was such a pity for their family," Aunt Wang lamented. "The grandson was very smart and scored full marks on exams. If he were still alive, he would be going to college this year. Alas..."
Jian Jing listened very carefully, chiming in from time to time.
Only when Aunt Wang said she was tired did he pass her a glass of water and slowly say, "I'd like to ask you to think back to the days before, or say in the month before this happened, did any strangers appear?"
Aunt Wang wasn't very old yet, and her memory was decent. She immediately said, "Yes, I told the police about this too, there was a guy selling insurance who came by."
"Did he make any deep impressions on you?" Ji Feng asked.
Aunt Wang slowly sunk into her memories: "The feeling this young man gave...it's hard to describe, he was just different. That day when I got off work and went home, I happened to run into him, and he helped carry my things. Let me tell you, he was very good with words. I wasn't feeling great that day, chatted with him a couple sentences, and surprisingly felt much better. So I had a particularly good impression of him. Later when I saw him, I even wanted to buy some insurance, just to help him out a bit."
"What happened next?"
"I wanted to buy my son accident insurance, but he said..." Aunt Wang's eyes revealed a strange, complex expression. "I should buy it for my husband instead."
Jian Jing's tranquil eyes flickered slightly.
Before coming, worrying about dramatic effect, she had specifically asked Ji Feng about Aunt Wang's circumstances. The answer was beyond expectations.
Despite Aunt Wang looking very happy now, ten years ago she suffered tremendous misfortune.
Her husband was an alcoholic who beat her.
Logically, Aunt Wang should've left this man as quickly as possible and gotten a divorce. However, everyone has their own difficulties in life, and various concerns made it hard for her to do so. She could only endure.
Of course a family like this wasn't the scarred man's target.
But the scarred man's words were very interesting, revealing a trace of clues.
"May I ask you to repeat the conversation from back then?" Jian Jing requested sincerely, and subtly turned on her charm.
With her temperament strengthened, Aunt Wang's gaze towards her grew gentle, her defenses lowered, and she hesitated, "I guess it doesn't hurt to tell you, he didn't say much."
Twelve years ago, in the stairwell of an old residential complex, a young man in a suit said: "Sister, you're still young. As long as your health is decent, you don't need insurance. But your husband on the other hand..."
His expression was meaningful: "Perhaps you should buy him an accident policy."
Aunt Wang's heart quivered at the time, obscure thoughts of wickedness quietly sprouting. She didn't dare think too much about it, only casually brushed it off: "My husband is very healthy."
"Yes, but accidents always happen." The corners of his lips rose, his words seeming to be the devil's murmurs. "If, hypothetically, something were to happen, the payout would be enough for you and your child...to live a different life."
Her eyelids twitched: "Is...is that so?"
"That's the use of insurance, isn't it." The young man bowed slightly. "Of course, I'm just speaking hypothetically. I wish you and your husband good health."
His tone became normal and earnest again, seemingly just an enthusiastic salesman.
But Aunt Wang never forgot about him.
