False evidence

Chapter 254 The Unsettled Old Building
"Child, tell Auntie, what's wrong?" Lin Dan asked Xiao Hanning anxiously.

Of course, in her, Gao He's, and Jiang Banxia's eyes, the person in front of them was a boy, Xiao Shen San.

Xiao Han Ning stared at her blankly for a while, her lips moved a few times, then suddenly turned to me and quickly began using sign language.
—She's dying! She's a good person! Can you save her?
Recalling the images that had just flashed through my mind, my heart sank even further.

Because, in the footage, I did see Lin Dan die a violent death.

"Who did he say was going to die? Xiao Dan?" Jiang Banxia actually knew sign language.

Gao He squinted at me for a moment, then asked, "Why?"

I shook my head, looked at Han Ning, and asked, "How did Han Ning die?"

Gao He stared at me and said, "The child is very sensible. Her grandmother has no income, so every day after school she goes to collect beverage bottles and cardboard to exchange for money to supplement the family income."

She died at a garbage dump near the neighborhood. Xiao Jiang performed the autopsy; she had frozen to death. Besides some cardboard, there was...and a bag of steamed buns, which she had bought for her grandmother.

Jiang Banxia wiped her eyes. "The examination ruled out homicide. The child was likely suffering from long-term malnutrition. He collapsed in a corner of the garbage station on his way home, dragging cardboard, and no one found him. He froze to death during the night."

Gao He walked over to me and whispered, "Is Xiao Dan really in trouble? Also, how do you know Han Ning?"

I shook my head in annoyance, and just as I was about to speak, I heard a loud thud from upstairs.

Xiao Hanning tugged at me and gestured urgently.

I haven't formally studied sign language, so I didn't fully understand her meaning at first: "Save whom?"

Xiao Hanning took out a branch from the grave, squatted down, and wrote...
—Upstairs, save Aunt Su!

Remembering my purpose for coming here, I hurriedly headed outside.

As soon as I opened the door, I felt a blur before my eyes.

I turned my head and glanced at the mirror hanging on the opposite door, then looked at the closed security door. Suddenly, I had a strong feeling that there was an eye behind the door, peeking through the peephole.

"This is fucking awful!" Gao He was clearly also dazzled by the reflection in the mirror.

I ignored the other side and followed Xiao Hanning up to the eighth floor.

Upon arriving outside room 803, two more noises came from inside, along with what sounded like a woman's suppressed moans.

A sudden surge of inexplicable anger welled up inside me, and I pounded on the security door.

After a long while, the door opened a crack.

A man asked in a gloomy tone, "What are you doing?"

I smelled a strong odor of alcohol, which made me even more unable to suppress my lust, so I kicked the door open.

The layout was the same upstairs and downstairs. As soon as the door opened, you could see a woman scrambling to her feet in a panic in the small hall.

I suppressed my anger and stepped aside.

Once Gao He saw the situation inside the room, he immediately understood what had happened.

This is clearly a case of a man hitting a woman while drunk.

"Who are you?" The man backed away in terror. "I'm calling the police..."

"Okay! I'll take the call!"

Gao showed his identification and went straight inside.

Lin Dan, Jiang Banxia, ​​and I followed her in, while at the same time pulling back Xiao Hanning, who wanted to go to the woman who had been beaten, and shaking our heads slightly at her.

Gao He was also somewhat annoyed and directly asked the other party for their ID card.

I was taken aback when I saw the name on the ID card.

This man's name is Liang Yuan.

I immediately thought of Liang Kaiyuan.

That impulsiveness just now is not my style.

Gao He handed Liang Yuan's ID card to Lin Dan, saying, "Make a note of this!"

He then said to Liang Yuan in a deep voice, "You still know to call the police, so you weren't drunk! What? You're just bored on Sunday, so you're at home beating your wife for fun?"

Liang Yuan stammered, his head bowed, unable to speak. The more I looked at his expression, the more bewildered I became.

The woman who was beaten had several bruises on her face, but her life was not in danger.

On the contrary, the man who did the beating had a dark cloud over his head, his face was ashen, and he looked like he was about to die.

After entering Liang Yuan's ID card information, Lin Dan frowned and glared at him: "The records show that the neighbors called the police twice! Both times it was because of domestic violence!"

Liang Yuan's lips twitched, then he suddenly pointed at the woman, his neck stiffening, and said:
"Why did I hit her? She...she's been having an affair! She cheated on me!"

"Then you can't hit people!" Gao He retorted.

At this point, the woman who had been beaten began to plead for Liang Yuan.

"Officer, it's my fault, please don't arrest him."

As soon as she opened her mouth, Gao He turned his head away and sighed.

Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes. Since the woman herself, as the victim, has stated this, it means that even taking Liang Yuan back for a minor punishment is no longer an option.

After questioning Liang Yuan, the result was somewhat melodramatic.

He's in a relationship with a woman. He suspects he's being cheated on by someone who lives in the same building—specifically, the family across from apartment 703 downstairs.

The woman claimed that she had indeed gone downstairs, but that it wasn't because she had an affair with the man.

The crucial point is that she couldn't explain why she went downstairs that time, or even how she ended up downstairs.

And it was summer, so they were wearing casual clothes.

At this point, neither Gao He nor Lin Dan knew what to say.

In the end, all that could be done was for Gao He to give Liang Yuan a few stern reprimands and warnings.

I sighed as soon as I closed the security door.

Gao He sighed as well: "Once this kind of thing starts, it's bound to happen again. I hope the woman wakes up soon and breaks up with him."

Back on the seventh floor, an old lady was knocking on the door opposite 703.

Upon seeing strangers, the old woman asked somewhat warily, "What do you do?"

Lin Dan quickly said that he had just bought apartment 703 and revealed that he was a policeman.

The old lady was relieved and said that she was also a neighbor in the community, but not in the same building.

I took the opportunity to ask the old lady, "Who lives in the house across the street?"

"Oh, this is Master Lü's house. It seems he went out today."

"Taoist priest?"

The old lady nodded and spoke of Master Lü with great respect: "Master Lü is very efficacious. If the young girl lives next to him, she won't have to be afraid of any demons or evil spirits."

I noticed then that the mirror above the door had been removed.

After the old lady left, Gao He let Lin Dan and Jiang Banxia go inside first, while the two of us went outside for a smoke.

Gao He lit a cigarette and asked me in a low voice, "What's going on with Lin Dan? And Han Ning, how do you know that kid?"

"You know there are some things I can't say, but Lin Dan might really be in trouble. It seems... it's related to this house."

I took a drag of my cigarette, thought for a moment, and said, "Could Lin Dan give me the key? I'll stay here for a couple of days."

Gao He nodded and asked again, "Are you sure Xiao Dan will be alright for now?"

"Probably not. Just to be on the safe side, it's best to give her some company these next few days."

Gao asked Lin Dan for the key and then privately gave Jiang Banxia a few instructions.

The group went out for a meal together, and then only Gao He and Fang Ling stayed behind.

Fang Ling followed them upstairs this time.

Gao He exclaimed "Huh?" as he entered, "Where did the little guy's writing go?"

(End of this chapter)