False evidence

Chapter 376 Bus Route 9
Cigarette Butt whispered, "Now that someone knows they're dead, they can send them off."

"Knowing they're dead..." I smiled bitterly.

What's the use of knowing this?

Even if the truth can be revealed and the murderer brought to justice, what practical significance does it have for the deceased?
To comfort their souls in heaven?

I suddenly recalled a famous quote from a well-known, albeit chubby, TV host, who was famous for his "high emotional intelligence"—"I don't believe it..."

As I left the factory and approached the car, I suddenly smelled a pleasant fragrance again.

Seeing a layer of white on the car roof, I picked up a flower and looked at it, then looked up and realized what it meant.

The car was parked under an old locust tree, where the wind and rain had knocked down many of the newly blossoming locust flowers.

The scent of these locust flowers seems to be the same as before...

I looked at the cigarette butt.

Erpang was still 'sleeping' with his eyes open, so I didn't dare to delay any longer and navigated to the No. 9 bus stop again.

The rain had stopped, but halfway there, a thick fog suddenly rolled in.

I thought to myself, "Damn it, how can there be fog after the rain!"
The fog grew thicker, and even with the high beams on, I still couldn't see the road.

Cigarette Butt whispered, "Just keep driving forward."

"What? You want me to see this through to the end? You want me to go down and keep you company?"

He glanced at the three strange passengers in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

The man with the "meat-filled face" kept his head down from the moment he appeared in the car.

Thank goodness that's how it is, otherwise I might have been so scared that I had a heart attack and died.

I said that to the cigarette butt just to vent my frustration.

Actually, I had already sensed something was amiss. The moment the thick fog rolled in, it was as if the whole world had entered a state of ethereal tranquility, extremely quiet.

I can't even hear the engine.

I mustered my courage and tried to accelerate.

The car sped through the fog.

Suddenly, two lights appeared ahead.

I quickly slowed down, and when I got closer, I realized it was actually a bus.

The indicator light on the front of the car only has one Chinese numeral – nine!

Cigarette butt said to 'Meatball Face' and Feng Li, "Feng Gu, Feng Li, let's go."

"Thank you."

Meat-filled face and Feng Li both nodded at me.

A cold wind blew up, and the two of them were already on the platform, queuing up with the other 'people' to board the train.

I instinctively looked into the bus and saw the driver waving at me.

I squinted and took a closer look, and I was taken aback.

The driver was none other than Erpang!

How did he become a bus driver?

I wanted to go over and pull him off the bus, but before I could get off, the bus doors had already closed.

Erpang waved to me again and started the No. 9 bus.

I hurriedly stepped on the gas, but when I swerved to turn around, the No. 9 bus, full of ghosts, had already disappeared into the fog!
"The timing is perfect, your friend will be fine."

That's when I realized that the cigarette butt was still in my car.

Look at the time displayed on the dashboard—11:11!
I asked Cigarette Butt, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

"I cannot leave until a new guide arrives."

"The guide?"

He nodded and offered me another cigarette.

This time it wasn't just one, but a whole package that had already been opened.

It seems... only one is missing.

I took the cigarette in a daze, and in that instant, I smelled the fragrance of locust blossoms again... "Clang clang clang!"

I was awakened by a knocking sound on the window. When I opened my eyes, it was already daylight.

Rolling down the car window, Gao He frowned and glared at me, asking, "You didn't leave? You stayed here all night?"

I rubbed my eyes hard and saw two police cars parked in front of me. I suddenly woke up and hurriedly looked at the passenger seat.

"Ah ha ha ha ha..."

Erpang yawned, stretched, and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, as if having a fit of hysteria, he jolted awake, grabbed my arm, and cried out urgently:

"Sanzi, let me tell you, I had a really strange dream. I dreamt that I became a bus driver and was driving a bus full of dead people..."

"Shut up!"

I gave him a light slap.

I met Gao's suspicious gaze, rubbed my face vigorously, and through my fingers, I suddenly caught a glimpse of the cigarette pack on the dashboard.

This made me realize that everything last night wasn't a dream. And that I'm not entirely powerless in some matters.

"Can you still collect DNA from a cigarette butt from ten years ago?" I opened the ashtray.

Gao He stared at me for a while, then beckoned over a forensic officer.

I took the opportunity to put the two-yuan pack of Pegasus cigarettes into my bag, got off the bus, and took out my own cigarettes to light one.

Gao He asked, "Is there anything you can say to me?"

"What you're looking for is in the pond behind the factory."

Gao He frowned: "Where is the pond?"

I said, "It used to be there, but it was filled in."

Gao He put his hands on his hips and spun around in place: "That patch of wasteland behind us used to be a pond? Do you know how big of a project it would be to dig that out?"

I took a deep drag of my cigarette, met his gaze, and asked, "Three lives, is it worth digging them up?"

Gao He's expression hardened, and without saying anything more, he dialed the number on his phone.

"Captain Gao!"

A police officer strode over and reported to Gao He: "In a room in the basement, we found signs that someone had recently lived there, and we also found this."

He showed Gao He the two transparent evidence bags.

Inside were a wig and a pink dress.

Seeing that the police had brought in excavation equipment, I asked Gao He, "Is Jiang Yazhen's father named Jiang Youzheng? And her mother named Qin Suihong?"

"Yes."

Gao He stared at me and said, "When we learned that Jiang Yazhen had jumped off the building, Qin Suihong suffered a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. Last night, our people were planning to bring Jiang Yazhen's younger brother, Jiang Dahai, and his girlfriend, Zeng Yuwen, to the station. On the way, they received a critical condition notice from the hospital. Not long after they arrived at the hospital, Qin Suihong died despite all efforts to save her."

I clapped my hands. "Good riddance."

"Just because you stood up for the Lu family?"

"No, I don't have that kind of chivalrous heart." I shook my head and said in a low voice, "You'd better go ask Jiang Youzheng now if he knows Feng Gu and Feng Li."

Gao He nodded. "Your car or mine?"

"Tsk, what does that have to do with me?"

"Cut the nonsense!"

Gao and his companion pushed me into the car and climbed into the driver's seat themselves.

In the funeral home lobby, Zhai Yutian, hands in his pockets, raised an eyebrow at me: "You're Da Bao, huh? I see you every day, right? Want to pursue me? Just say so if you want to. I don't want a dowry, I'll even give you a haunted house on Meiling Road."

"Really, don't get me wrong. My girlfriend and I have a great relationship and we're about to get our marriage certificate."

"Tch, look how pleased you are. You actually believe it."

Zhai Yutian casually grabbed a tall, thin young man, took his arm, and said sullenly, "I have plenty of men chasing after me, this is my new boyfriend!"

Then, pointing at me, she said to the young man, "This is my ex-boyfriend, a veterinarian who drives for ride-hailing services. I dumped him because I thought he had no future."

Then he pointed to Gao He and said, "This one is really something. You didn't see him yesterday. This is Captain Gao from our Municipal Public Security Bureau!"

The young man, who had initially looked completely bewildered, suddenly had a twitch at the corner of his mouth as she introduced Gao He…

(End of this chapter)