Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 452 The Grand Case - Closed

During the dinner on the evening of April 30th, Chen Gengyun confirmed two things.

First, the last phone call Ni Jianrong received forced him to drink a penalty drink and leave early, making him realize that body parts had been discovered.

This happened much earlier than he had expected.

However, without a headshot, it would be impossible for the police to identify the deceased as Xu Liu in a short period of time.

However, trouble will follow. Once a bag of body parts is discovered, the police will immediately launch a large-scale search for the remaining body parts.

This greatly hinders their efforts to deal with Lu Xiaoshuang, so they cannot act rashly. They must observe the situation first before making any plans tomorrow morning.

Secondly, Zhou Yi is no pushover.

It was his first time meeting Ni Jianrong, but after a few rounds of drinks, he could tell that Ni Jianrong was a typical bureaucrat with little experience and lacked the demeanor of a veteran detective.

Although he talked eloquently about his "great achievements" after being praised, in Chen Gengyun's eyes, he was just a paper tiger.

Chen Gengyun deliberately brought up Zhou Yi, who had appeared on the show with Ni Jianrong. He only slightly praised Zhou Yi, but Ni Jianrong immediately frowned and said that Zhou Yi was just a pretty face in the bureau, used to set an example for young people and inspire them.

Actually, he's nothing special; he's just somewhat presentable in appearance.

Chen Gengyun knew then that the young policeman he had just passed by must have something real.

The fact that the head of the criminal investigation team is jealous of a junior police officer under him indicates that the junior officer's presence makes him feel pressured and threatened.

In addition, Lu Xiaoshuang went to Zhou Yi's house after leaving school this afternoon. It's possible that Zhou Yi found out about this from the neighbors when he got home. After all, he and Fan Tianyou didn't dare to follow her into the No. 2 Steel dormitory. Of course, neither of them knew that Zhou Yi was away on a business trip.

Thinking about this, even a seasoned veteran like him felt a slight fear of Zhou Yi, this young man.

It was this fear that made him decide to muddy the waters even further.

By anonymously reporting Lu Xiaoshuang's internship, Zhou Yi was removed from the case investigation by taking advantage of the police's recusal principle.

He was unaware that Zhou Yi and Lu Xiaoshuang had not established a real romantic relationship, because all his information came from Fan Tianyou and Xu Liu.

He knew the most effective way was to report it to the supervisory department, but regular mail was too slow, and personally delivering the report would easily expose him.

After much thought, he decided to send the whistleblower letter to the municipal party committee building. He figured the municipal party committee would definitely take notice of such a heinous dismemberment case, and that would allow the case to be handled from the top down.

So on the morning of May 2nd, he made up an excuse to go to the municipal party committee building. In order to avoid registration, he called a friend inside before he arrived. The friend came out to meet him and he successfully avoided registration.

Then, while I was in the restroom, I randomly found an empty office and threw the letter inside.

He knew that just the words "anonymous whistleblower letter" would make everyone feel like they were facing a major threat.

Even if the source is investigated, no one will trace it back to him.

The whistleblower letter did indeed have an effect, keeping Zhou Yi out of the special investigation team.

If Zhou Yi hadn't returned to the task force, they wouldn't have discovered the loopholes in the two-life alibi, thus failing to pinpoint Fan Tianyou.

He thought he had planned everything perfectly, but he never expected that Wu Yongcheng would actually use a deception to take the bullet for Zhou Yi.

After all, an extreme pragmatist like him doesn't know what belief is.

On the morning of May 1st, Chen Gengyun took a stroll outside and noticed that there were a large number of police officers on the streets. However, he also noticed that the police were mainly looking at trash cans and garbage dumps and did not pay much attention to the onlookers nearby.

He knew the opportunity had come.

Police are now focused on finding the remaining body parts. If all the body parts are found, but the head and bones are not, the search area will be expanded immediately.

Therefore, we must seize this opportunity and quickly throw the heads of Lu Xiaoshuang and Xu Liu from the villa into the mine to complete everything.

At the same time, they also need to create an alibi for May Day.

However, since it was a holiday, it was already difficult for single people living alone to prove their identity, so there was no need to be as rigorous as the previous two days. After all, the police cannot use a single piece of evidence to suspect someone.

Moreover, Chen Gengyun felt that since Lu Xiaoshuang disappeared on the afternoon of the 30th, even if the police found out Lu Xiaoshuang's whereabouts before her disappearance, they would not think that she was disposed of a day later. The police would only focus on the alibi for the afternoon of the 30th. Although there were some minor oversights, he and Fan Tianyou took remedial measures, especially Fan Tianyou's alibi. He left Lu Xiaoshuang at the villa and went back to school, then went to the library to borrow books and used the alibi.

Chen Gengyun felt it wasn't safe enough, so he later found an excuse to get the key to the student affairs office from Liu Baoguo. In the middle of the night, he had Fan Tianyou sneak into the student affairs office, sign the registration form for the day, and make up a plausible story.

On May Day, at 2 p.m., the two of them swiped their alibis in different public places and then immediately drove to the villa.

Lu Xiaoshuang was already showing signs of waking up, so after giving her some more water, they were lifted into the car and headed straight for Xinbei Town.

At that time, the area from Kaiping District to Xinbei Town was essentially a blind spot for the search, as the main police force was concentrated in the urban area searching for body parts.

While Chen Gengyun was out scouting the situation in the morning, he also bought a pair of pliers to remove the nails from the wooden planks at the hole later, which is why Shi Tao discovered the traces.

After arriving in Xinbei Town, Chen Gengyun found a secluded spot based on his memory. He then worked with Fan Tianyou to dismantle the wooden planks, put on masks, and carried Lu Xiaoshuang into the mine, where they dumped her.

Before carrying her inside, they untied the ropes and other bindings on Lu Xiaoshuang, in order to create the illusion that she went in on her own.

They also brought in the pre-prepared severed head and "murder weapon," which they left near Lu Xiaoshuang.

But that's not enough, because all traces of the two of them also need to be removed.

Chen Gengyun said he didn't know if it was the air quality in the cave or his age, but he felt like he couldn't hold on much longer while he was in the cave, so the two of them had to go out and catch their breath in the car.

It was at this time that something happened.

Fan Tianyou wanted to offer him some water, but found that the only thing in the car was water laced with drugs. So he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and said he'd have a smoke to calm down, then lit one for himself first.

Chen Gengyun said he used to smoke, but he quit after he turned fifty.

I didn't think much of it at the time, and seeing that Fan Tianyou had already started smoking, I took the cigarette that was offered to me.

The father and son were smoking and catching their breath when Fan Tianyou suddenly held up the cigarette pack in his hand and said, "Dad, do you still remember this pack of cigarettes?"
Chen Gengyun looked at the old panda cigarette case in his hand and shook his head in confusion.

Fan Tianyou said: "I stole this from the table when you first took me to a dinner party. I've never seen such good cigarettes before, and I've been reluctant to take them out to smoke all these years."

Chen Gengyun replied with a hint of disdain: "It's not like it's a good cigarette, it's not that bad."

He said that looking back now, he realized that he had been negligent at the time. Fan Tianyou clearly did not smoke, but he happened to bring a pack of cigarettes with him that day.

After finishing his cigarette, Chen Gengyun stubbed it out and was about to throw it in the car.

Fan Tianyou suddenly stretched out a hand, holding a handkerchief with the cigarette butt he had just smoked inside.

He told Chen Gengyun not to litter cigarette butts, because if you accidentally leave evidence, you should take them back and deal with them later.

Chen Gengyun looked at the cigarette butt in his hand, nodded, and threw his own cigarette butt in.

After putting the handkerchief away, Fan Tianyou said that he would handle the rest, and that Dad, you just need to keep watch outside.

Chen Gengyun instructed him to make sure to remove all traces.

Then Fan Tianyou took a flashlight and went into the cave, while Chen Gengyun waited at the entrance for him to come out.

Hearing this, Zhou Yi asked, "Chen Gengyun, when you were standing at the entrance of the cave, did you ever think about simply nailing the wooden planks at the entrance shut?"

This question caught Chen Gengyun off guard, and he answered somewhat blankly, "No... I don't think so."

But Zhou Yi felt that, given the father-son relationship and their filial piety, it might not be true.

Moreover, there is a big flaw in their actions: they won't leave any trace of Lu Xiaoshuang on the way in, which would easily arouse suspicion.

In fact, when things got to this point, they were already starting to get out of control because the case was so complex that it was bound to leave more traces.

If the major case had stopped at the disposal of Xu Liu's body, it would have been very different for Chen Gengyun; at least his crime wouldn't have been so serious.

But he was too suspicious, and he drove himself to this point.

He said that after Fan Tianyou came out, they sealed the entrance to the cave, wiped away the footprints left outside, and drove away. After arriving in the city, they each went to complete their own alibis.

And then the most interesting thing happened.

Before Fan Tianyou got out of the car, Chen Gengyun asked him for the handkerchief containing the cigarette butt, saying he would dispose of it himself.

Without hesitation, Fan Tianyou took the item out of his pocket and gave it to Chen Gengyun.

Chen Gengyun opened it and looked inside; there were two cigarette butts.

Then he stepped on the gas and sped away, throwing his cigarette butt and handkerchief out the window on the way, letting them drift away with the wind.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but reveal a gloating smile. Chen Gengyun had schemed and plotted, but in the end, he was outsmarted by his own son.

Clearly, Fan Tianyou had planned this all along, so he prepared a cigarette butt in advance and used it to switch the cigarette butt with the cigarette butt in the mine.

The two cigarette butts that Chen Gengyun threw away both belonged to Fan Tianyou. The cigarette butt that Chen Gengyun had smoked was left in the mine.

Zhou Yi wasn't sure if Fan Tianyou knew anything about DNA testing, but in his previous life he had indeed seen cases where the DNA from cigarette butts that had been preserved for ten years was used to identify the murderer. So he deliberately left this bombshell, planning to one day plunge Chen Gengyun into utter ruin.

It's clear that he harbored deep-seated hatred for this father!
Chen Gengyun said that on May 3rd, he received news from Liu Baoguo that the province had established a special task force to investigate Hongda.

Only then did he realize that Xu Liu's head had been found.

He felt a little panicked because the mine shaft had been exposed much faster than he had expected.

This made it impossible for him to even confirm whether Lu Xiaoshuang was dead or not.

He immediately found a car repair shop and replaced all the tires on the college car, and also had a car wash do a deep cleaning.

After learning that the principal had assigned Liu Baoguo to cooperate with the special task force, he volunteered to help Liu Baoguo with the liaison work. In reality, he wanted to take the opportunity to find out more about the case so he could prepare a response.

But Liang Wei is too shrewd and difficult to deal with. He only makes requests without giving any information. If you ask for more details, he uses all sorts of rhetoric to evade and dodge the question.

As for Ni Jianrong, he was constrained by two other people above him, so he didn't dare to say anything more.

On May 12th, because of Dong Lu's matter, Liang Wei went to confront Liu Baoguo and Chen Gengyun.

After Liu Baoguo called Chen Gengyun and asked him to come over, Chen Gengyun felt something was wrong halfway there, so he tried calling Ni Jianrong, but Ni Jianrong hung up on him both times.

He realized that the task force might have found something, but he didn't expect that Ni Jianrong hadn't gone at all.

So he hurriedly ran back to the office and found the confirmation letter and withdrawal certificate from that year.

That's why his glasses were fogged up when he arrived at Liu Baoguo's office that day.

That day was also the first time Chen Gengyun met Zhou Yi in person.

After their exchange, he realized he might have been overthinking things. This Zhou Yi was a bit stronger than his peers, but without Liang Wei, he was no match for him at all.

He didn't know that this young man was the unseen force that had come to take his life!
"Two last questions," Zhou Yi said. "Why did you kill Xiao Bing? And where did you hide Xu Liu's bones?"

Upon hearing these two questions, Chen Gengyun stretched and leaned back in his chair, replying, "Xiao Bing's death has absolutely nothing to do with me."

"It's all that little bastard Fan Tianyou's fault! If he hadn't done those stupid things again and again, how could I have ended up in this state!" Chen Gengyun said through gritted teeth.

After Task Force No. 3 moved into Hongda, Task Force No. 4 began investigating Xu Liu's social relationships on campus, including Fan Tianyou.

Chen Gengyun required that Fan Tianyou call him after each questioning to report the entire process, in order to prevent any oversights and to promptly identify and rectify any omissions.

Fan Tianyou was questioned a total of three times, and he answered all the questions according to the prepared script he had prepared with Chen Gengyun.

Chen Gengyun felt that this was enough. The police should no longer suspect him. On the contrary, he needed to be careful in the future because the police would definitely expand the investigation, since the school leaders should set an example.

On the evening of the 9th, he secretly went to the talent apartment where Fan Tianyou lived.

He did not inform Fan Tianyou in advance, so Fan Tianyou was surprised by his arrival.

The reason he did this was to conduct a surprise inspection to see if Fan Tianyou had left any evidence of his crimes, such as photos of Lu Xiaoshuang.

He felt that the only thing he didn't trust in this whole affair was the very person he had created.

Eight years ago, he almost burned Dong Lu to death in a fire. Eight years later, he ruined his originally perfect murder plan.

After this incident, he had made up his mind that once things calmed down, he would send Fan Tianyou abroad and let him fend for himself!
I'm only in my fifties. I can find a young and beautiful woman, have another child, raise it well, and it might inherit everything from me in the future.

Sure enough, he found many secretly taken photos of Lu Xiaoshuang in Fan Tianyou's apartment, with a lot of French writing on the back.

Enraged, he cursed Fan Tianyou, saying that now that Lu Xiaoshuang was dead, if these photos were discovered, he would be the prime suspect.

Chen Gengyun immediately took the photos to the toilet to burn them, but his phone rang, interrupting his actions.

He said the call came from the real estate company, who said that the police had contacted them to inquire about the situation at Jianghai Mansion.

When Chen Gengyun recounted this part, he spoke somewhat vaguely, but in summary, it was essentially that Jiang Biao's people investigated Jianghai Haoting, became suspicious, and then went to the real estate company behind it to find out more.

But the real estate company insisted that the property had never been put on sale and that no one lived there, and they even produced relevant proof.

In large-scale investigations, such cases are usually overlooked unless other clues point to them.

Then, Jiang Zhengdao's men tipped off the "owners" of these villas, warning them to be careful recently.

After receiving the call, Chen Gengyun didn't bother burning the photos anymore. He had Fan Tianyou go with him to the villa to dispose of everything used for dismembering the body and cleaning up the scene, as well as Xu Liu's clothes and backpack.

He said he wasn't afraid the police would connect this place with the crime scene, but rather that he might be implicated by the "owners" of other villas.

That makes sense. If one villa in this area is exposed for corruption, then probably no one will dare to go to the other villas.

That villa had blood-stained items, and there were human bones in the refrigerator; it was a ticking time bomb.

Given his personality, he would be constantly restless and unable to eat or sleep.

So that night, they went there and cleaned up the scene again, packing up and taking away everything he thought might arouse suspicion, including the bones in the refrigerator.

The bed sheets and blankets had been used to wipe away bloodstains, so they found a field in Kaiping District and set it on fire, burning Xu Liu's belongings along with them.

As for the tools used to dismember and cook the corpse, since they couldn't be burned, they had to be thrown away, into the nearby river and wasteland along the way.

I learned yesterday that the pot used to cook the corpse was found by a scavenger and sold to a recycling station. The recycling station owner saw that the pot contained excellent materials and kept it for himself.

When the police found it, the pot was being used to stir-fry twice-cooked pork.

The only thing that was difficult to deal with was Xu Liu's bones.

So the bones weren't touched that night; instead, they were placed in the trunk of the car and sealed with layers of cling film.

Chen Gengyun felt that the safest way to deal with it was either to crush it or burn it to ashes.

Until he found a safe way to handle the situation, he decided to remain still and even parked the car in an alley a kilometer away to keep it out of the police's sight.

As a result, because he didn't explain things clearly to Fan Tianyou, the next night Fan Tianyou, in his arrogance, did something foolish that led to their self-destruction.

On the 10th, Chen Gengyun did not contact or meet with Fan Tianyou.

On the afternoon of the 11th, he discovered that his car, which was parked in the alley, was missing. He was shocked and tried calling Fan Tianyou, but no one answered. He also went to the office but couldn't find him.

So he immediately rushed to the talent apartment. When Fan Tianyou opened the door, his face was very ugly, which made him realize that something was wrong.

Upon entering the room, he found an emergency medical kit spread out on the table, which the school had issued to its faculty and staff, and some blood-stained gauze in the trash can next to it.

Chen Gengyun sternly questioned Fan Tianyou about what he had done, and Fan Tianyou tremblingly lifted the sleeve of his right hand to show him the wound on his arm.

Chen Gengyun was completely dumbfounded and angrily asked him what he had done.

Fan Tianyou then revealed what happened on the night of the 10th.

He planned to throw Xu Liu's bones into the mine in Xinbei Town because he believed that the most dangerous place was the safest place. He was certain that the police would not investigate a place that had already been investigated, so he wanted to launch a surprise attack.

This result truly shows that even the wisest person's best efforts are no match for a fool's "self-righteousness."

When Chen Gengyun mentioned this incident during the interrogation, he still hated Fan Tianyou so much that he cursed him as a little beast.

But Zhou Yi felt that something was amiss. Even if Fan Tianyou was stupid, he couldn't be this stupid, but he wouldn't know the answer unless he woke up.

That very night, Fan Tianyou nearly bumped into Xiao Bing, who suddenly darted out from the roadside.

In her panic, Xiao Bing recognized him and immediately rushed into the car, begging him to drive her away because the police were chasing her.

Fan Tianyou said he was caught off guard by the sudden situation. He originally wanted to kick the other party out, but when he heard the word "police," he panicked and immediately drove away.

After all, apart from the police, no one else knew what had happened to Xiao Bing.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi initially thought that Xiao Bing's discovery of the bones in the car had triggered Fan Tianyou's murderous intent.

But the truth is heartbreaking.

Xiao Bing didn't notice anything unusual at all. The reason Fan Tianyou wanted to kill him was simply because Xiao Bing asked, "Professor Fan, how do you know me?"

Because when Fan Tianyou got off the bus earlier, he instinctively called out "Teacher Xiao".

Fan Tianyou told Chen Gengyun that he felt he had been exposed because, in fact, he and Xiao Bing had no interaction on the surface.

Another reason is that Xiao Bing knows he can drive and owns a car, and if others find out about this, he won't be able to explain it.

So he handed Xiao Bing a bottle of water. Xiao Bing, who had been hiding for two days, was probably extremely thirsty and drank more than half of the bottle in one go.

Fan Tianyou lied and said he would drop him off at a deserted spot ahead, but actually drove off to a secluded place.

Because the imported drug takes effect quickly and is metabolized rapidly, and Xiao Bing's physical strength was probably already exhausted, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Fan Tianyou drove the car to a bridge over the Nansha River, dragged Xiao Bing out of the car, and prepared to throw her off.

Just as Xiao Bing was about to fall, he suddenly woke up and grabbed Fan Tianyou's right hand tightly.

At that moment, Xiao Bing, hanging in mid-air, seemed to suddenly understand something, and roared at Fan Tianyou with eyes blazing with fury: "It's you! You're the one who hurt Lulu!"

Looking at the bloody wound, Chen Gengyun asked Fan Tianyou, "Was this Xiao Bing bitten before she died?"

Fan Tianyou nodded.

Chen Gengyun asked him, "Are you sure the person is dead?"

Fan Tianyou said he saw him fall in with his own eyes. The Nansha River is so deep, and he had taken medicine. No matter how good a swimmer he is, he couldn't have survived.

"Chen Gengyun, was it your idea to scald Fan Tianyou's wound with boiling water?" Zhou Yi asked.

The other person nodded: "In his condition, he can't go to a big hospital, and a small clinic won't be able to treat him well, so this is the only way to stop the bleeding for now."

"Stopping the bleeding isn't the goal, is it? Disrupting the shape of the wound is, isn't it?"

"It's a combination of both."

"That bottle of antibiotics, you gave it to him too, didn't you?"

Chen Gengyun simply nodded without saying a word.

"At that time, you had already decided to kill him to silence him, hadn't you?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Gengyun shook his head firmly and said, "No, I didn't kill him to silence him. At most... at most, I just let him die."

"You seem to know a lot about the law, right? Well, let me tell you, if a person knows that their actions will result in the victim's death, and desires or allows this result to occur, then that is intentional homicide!"

Chen Gengyun was stunned. After a long while, he suddenly shouted excitedly, "What can I do! He could have just listened to me and done nothing! But he insisted on doing something so stupid. He's trying to kill me!"

"His condition can't be hidden forever; you'll find out sooner or later, and then everything will be over!"

Chen Gengyun gritted his teeth and said, "Now that things have come to this, if he doesn't die, then I will! This bastard, can't he just keep his mouth shut like his mother did back then, and not say or do anything?"

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! That bastard, how come he's so tough? His mother was tortured like that and he still didn't miscarry!"

"If he hadn't been born, I wouldn't be in this situation today! It's all that bastard's fault, and that bitch's fault!"

Chen Gengyun, veins bulging, launched into a frenzied tirade, spewing out every filthy word, utterly abandoning all decorum.

If Jiang Biao hadn't been holding him down from behind, he would have already spewed out a rage.

Zhou Yi knew that only now had this hypocrite truly broken down.

He schemed his whole life, only to be ruined by his own son.

His only bloodline in the world destroyed everything he had carefully built, bringing him to utter defeat.

There is nothing more devastating than this.

“Chen Gengyun,” Zhou Yi said, looking at him with a gloating expression, “the bastard you’re talking about is the son of a beast and Fan Chunyu.”

Chen Gengyun was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened in anger, and he roared as he stood up and lunged at Zhou Yi.

But Jiang Biao reached out and pressed the man firmly onto the table, shouting sternly, "Behave yourself."

Just then, someone clapped their hands in the darkness, and the lights suddenly came on. Xie Guoqiang stood up and said, "I think that's enough. Chen Gengyun, where are Xu Liu's bones?"

Unable to move while being held down, Chen Gengyun saw Xie Guoqiang's gaze and slowly calmed down, breathing heavily. Then he said, "Please... let me go, I'm not agitated now."

Xie Guoqiang gave Jiang Biao a wink, and Jiang Biao then let go, but his palm remained very close to Chen Gengyun's, ready to react at any moment.

"It's getting late, Chen Gengyun. Now that we've explained where the bones are, let's wrap this up for now. We can discuss any remaining details another day."

Chen Gengyun stood there, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, as if making a final, death-defying struggle.

The moment he opened his eyes, he met Xie Guoqiang's chilling gaze, and his last shred of resistance crumbled instantly.

Xie Guoqiang's eyes were like those of an executioner before an execution.

That wasn't the look a cunning scoundrel like him could possess; it was the look of someone who had truly killed on the battlefield.

Chen Gengyun's legs went weak, and he slumped into a chair, revealing where Xu Liu's bones were.

Wu Yongcheng immediately sent Chen Yan and the others to search for it.

Xie Guoqiang gave Qiao Jiali a wink, and Qiao Jiali immediately tidied up the transcript and went through the signing process.

Chen Gengyun wrote down the confirmation statement with trembling hands, then signed and pressed his fingerprint.

Looking at the crooked characters coming out of the pen, Zhou Yi complained, "These characters are really ugly."

Chen Gengyun shuddered, straining his hand to try and make the characters look better, but the result was only that they became uglier.

After signing the document, Jiang Biao lifted the man up like a chick and escorted him back to the station. He needed to take the man to identify several crime scenes, reconstruct the crime process, and conduct further interrogations to confirm the authenticity of the confession and supplement the details.

Once the police have a final say and the case can be closed, the next "drinking party" will officially begin. As for what kind of drinks the Discipline Inspection Commission will invite him to, Zhou Yi has no idea.

"Chen Gengyun, do you still want to know how we found Lu Xiaoshuang?" Zhou Yi suddenly asked.

Chen Gengyun turned around and said, "It's not important anymore."

In fact, he would naturally find out later that Lu Xiaoshuang was not dead, because the prosecutor's office and the court would further clarify the case information during the handling of the case.

Suddenly, Chen Gengyun asked, "I...can I ask how you came to suspect Fan Tianyou? Was it because of the wound on his hand that it came to light?"

Zhou Yi replied, "It doesn't matter anymore." Chen Gengyun smiled dejectedly and staggered out of the studio.

Xie Guoqiang said "Let's wrap up," and the studio dispersed as if a program had finally finished recording.

Zhou Yi was the last to leave the studio.

He stood at the doorway; the lights were off, and the huge studio was pitch black.

Only the two words hanging above shone faintly.

Ask the heart.

I have no regrets.

"Zhou Yi, aren't you leaving yet?" Wu Yongcheng shouted from not far away.

"Coming!" Zhou Yi quickly ran over.

……

On the way back, Zhou Yi did not get into the escort vehicle, but was instead taken to a van by Wu Yongcheng.

Xie Guoqiang and Liang Wei were in the car.

As soon as he got in the car, Xie Guoqiang said, "Zhou Yi, you've worked hard today."

"It's not hard work, it's my duty," Zhou Yi replied before sitting down next to Wu Yongcheng.

Xie Guoqiang then said to Wu Yongcheng, "Wu Yongcheng, although Chen Gengyun has basically confessed everything today, there are still some details that need to be verified. You need to get on this matter in the next couple of days."

Wu Yongcheng had just lit a cigarette when he immediately nodded and said, "I understand. There are indeed some issues he hasn't explained clearly. For example, the clue about Xu Liu's cousin Feng Qiang provided by An Yuan. Xu Liu said at the end of March that she would be going abroad soon, but that old guy Chen Gengyun said that Xu Liu used her pregnancy to force him to commit murder on April 27th. Clearly, he's hiding something."

"And then there's that water laced with sleeping pills. Wasn't it supposed to be prepared to kill Xu Liu? How come they drank bottle after bottle? On the night of the 10th, Fan Tianyou even gave it to Xiao Bing. The old guy didn't explain this clearly either; there's definitely something fishy going on."

Liang Wei said, "You're right. I think this water might have been prepared specifically for drugging and raping women. We can investigate further to see if he has committed such crimes, especially against some of the female students at Hongda University."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yongcheng's eyes widened in anger: "Damn it... that old beast."

At this moment, Xie Guoqiang spoke up: "This Chen Gengyun has committed numerous crimes. You and Zhou Yi should work hard for the next two days and give him a good talking to. Liang and I are going to the provincial department to report the case to Director Xu first thing tomorrow morning."

Zhou Yi was taken aback and looked at Liang Wei, asking, "Captain Liang, are you going back already?"

Liang Wei smiled and said, "Yes. Once you've finished your work, I'll invite you to visit the Provincial Department's Major Crimes Division so we can exchange experiences on handling cases."

Wu Yongcheng nodded quickly: "Definitely, definitely."

Liang Wei sincerely said to Zhou Yi, "Zhou Yi, through thick and thin, I look forward to meeting you in the provincial capital one day."

Just as Zhou Yi was about to thank him for his affirmation, Xie Guoqiang said slowly, "Detachment Leader Liang is trying to steal my talent."

Liang Wei laughed heartily: "How could that be? Aren't they all talents of the country and the people?"

Everyone looked at each other and smiled.

The night is dark, but soon the dawn on the horizon will illuminate the earth.

……

According to Chen Gengyun's confession, Xu Liu's bones were hidden in a locker in the Hongda staff public bathhouse.

It's called a staff bathhouse, but it's actually just a section of the public bathhouse that's been separated out. The only difference is that the staff area on the left has slightly newer equipment.

Police had previously found a set of keys in Chen Gengyun's office, and the key to the bathhouse locker was hidden among them.

After Chen Gengyun gave his instructions, Chen Yan immediately led his men to the locker, which had a gray iron padlock hanging on it.

After breaking the lock, they found a black travel bag inside the locker.

Upon opening it, I found two packages sealed with layers of plastic wrap inside the travel bag.

The large package, once opened, contained a large number of bones neatly stacked.

The smaller bag contained approximately 400,000 yuan in cash, Chen Gengyun's passport and other documents, and a black notebook with its contents clearly encrypted, filled with densely packed notes.

When Zhou Yi saw this little notebook, he thought that this was probably the real reason why Xu Liu lost his life.

She wanted to find this thing hidden in the villa.

She thought it was a rein to tame the tiger, but little did she know it was her own noose to hang herself.

……

When Zhou Yi and Wu Yongcheng interrogated Chen Gengyun again the next day, they were taken aback.

Just one night later, Chen Gengyun's hair had turned mostly white, which showed how desperate he was after he truly broke down yesterday.

The stains on his body are like the grime on a homeless person who hasn't bathed in years; you can rub them off and more will come off.

But Zhou Yi had actually lost interest in him later on, because the other person couldn't answer the other person's other question that he cared about most.

What exactly happened in the previous life?
The major case in the previous life occurred several days later than in this life, and the person who died was Lu Xiaoshuang.

If it weren't for the fact that the bags used to hold the body parts in both lifetimes were the same two, Zhou Yi would almost have suspected there was another murderer.

The truth of the previous life has probably been completely buried in the cracks of time and space.

Zhou Yi only had one thing on his mind from then on.

The question is whether Fan Tianyou will be able to wake up.

First, once he wakes up, regardless of whether he's paralyzed or not, as long as he can speak, he can testify against Chen Gengyun. Also, some details of the major case still need to be supplemented by him.

Secondly, there are a few questions that only he can answer. Although they do not affect the nature of the case, if he does not answer them, they will probably remain unsolved mysteries forever.

……

Two days later, He Bin, who had been watching over Fan Tianyou at the hospital, brought news that Fan Tianyou had woken up.

Wu Yongcheng and Zhou Yi immediately drove there, and He Bin relayed the doctor's words to them: complete injury, with complete loss of sensation and motor function below the level of cervical spinal cord injury.

This is commonly known as high-level paraplegia, where the body is completely paralyzed from the neck down.

At the ward door, He Bin cursed, "He's still alive? That bastard got off easy."

Wu Yong glanced inside and said, "It's good that he's not dead, but paralysis is better than being in a vegetative state. A person in a vegetative state doesn't know anything when they close their eyes. Maybe this is what's tormenting him."

Zhou Yi stood at the door of the ward, looking at Fan Tianyou lying inside, and said, "Life is worse than death."

When Wu Yongcheng and Zhou Yi entered the ward and came to the bedside, Fan Tianyou on the bed did not respond.

But his eyes were open, staring blankly at the empty ceiling.

“Fan Tianyou, now that you’re awake, you should confess your crimes,” Wu Yongcheng said.

But Fan Tianyou seemed not to hear him at all, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Wu Yongcheng called out twice more, but there was still no response; he didn't even blink.

Wu Yongcheng reached out and waved his hand in front of his eyes, but there was still no reaction.

He turned to Zhou Yi and asked, "Didn't you not become a vegetable?"

Zhou Yi nodded: "Since his eyes are open, he can't be in a vegetative state."

"Why isn't there any reaction at all? Why don't you go and call the doctor to take a look?"

Zhou Yi said, "I'll give it a try."

He leaned closer and whispered in Fan Tianyou's ear, "Fan Tianyou, Chen Gengyun has been arrested by us."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Tianyou's dead-fish-like eyes suddenly moved, and he looked at Zhou Yi.

A dry, hoarse voice, reeking of decay, came from his throat: "Will you shoot him?"

"That depends on how much you're willing to tell us."

Fan Tianyou took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said, "Ask away."

The interrogation of Fan Tianyou largely overlapped with that of Chen Gengyun, which indeed corroborated Chen Gengyun's confession. However, some points were also found where Chen Gengyun's confession was vague or evasive.

Clearly, this old fellow is the kind of person who won't give up even when he's at the Yellow River, and won't shed a tear even when he sees his coffin.

Even if this lie only reduces his sentence by one day, he would lie without hesitation.

In his previous statements, Chen Gengyun had always said that Fan Tianyou was his only bloodline and that he was determined to raise Fan Tianyou as his successor to inherit everything from him.

However, from Fan Tianyou's perspective, that's not the case at all.

Chen Gengyun was just using the pretense of nurturing him and letting him inherit everything as a way to use him as a free tool, to run errands for him, deliver things, and serve tea and water to his friends.

He takes pleasure in bossing him around and verbally abusing him in front of his connections.

He said this was an associate professor he had trained himself.

Fan Tianyou said that Chen Gengyun cared about no one but himself.

"So you want to kill Chen Gengyun because of long-suppressed dissatisfaction and anger?" Zhou Yi asked.

From this perspective, compared to Fan Chunyu's physical harm, Chen Gengyun's mental harm is indeed another extreme.

“No,” Fan Tianyou replied.

His answer surprised the two of them.

"I want to avenge my mother."

Then, Fan Tianyou revealed the truth about Fan Chunyu's death.

Although Fan Chunyu did suffer from mental problems due to endless waiting and disappointment, his upbringing was filled with scolding and beatings.

But he still loved his mother, because she was his only relative in the world, and the only person in the world who truly loved him.

He knew it wasn't Fan Chunyu's fault, but the fault of that man named Chen Yimin.

His mother was just too stupid and foolish to believe that man's lies, which led to their current predicament.

This is also why he felt that coming into this world was a mistake. Sometimes when he saw his mother in so much pain, he felt that it was all his fault. If he hadn't been born, perhaps Fan Chunyu's life would have been better.

He said that when he was in his senior year of high school, his mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. He didn't know the specifics, but her stomach was very swollen. They saw a barefoot doctor who said that she had a tumor in her stomach and that they had to go to a big city to see a doctor.

But they simply don't have the money to leave the mountains.

By the summer after the college entrance exam, Fan Chunyu's illness had become very serious. She screamed in pain all night long, curling up in a ball with her spine joints creaking.

But Fan Chunyu gritted her teeth and endured it day after day, because she was waiting for Fan Tianyou's admission notice.

Finally, on that day in August, he received a huge acceptance letter, and the mother and son wept with joy.

That night, Fan Tianyou was woken up by his mother. Fan Chunyu was holding a dirty nylon rope and said in great pain that she could not take it anymore and begged him to help her get out of this predicament.

Fan Tianyou didn't recount the specific details of that night, but Zhou Yi saw tears welling up in his empty eyes.

That evening, Fan Chunyu hanged herself.

A few days later, Fan Tianyou left Changfengling with a large acceptance letter, his mother's portrait, and ashes in a jar, and boarded a train to Hongcheng.

In the 1960s, a man, filled with discontent, took a train into the mountains.

Twenty years later, another man, filled with grief and indignation, boarded a train and emerged from the mountains.

Although Fan Tianyou's words could no longer be verified, Zhou Yi chose to believe him because when he suspected Fan Tianyou of murdering his mother, the police did not know that he had kept Fan Chunyu's portrait and ashes in his dormitory during his graduate studies.

This is not something a matricide would do.

What happened next was basically the same as what Chen Gengyun had described.

In fact, when he was looking for Chen Gengyun to acknowledge his kinship, he had already been following Chen Gengyun for some time.

So that sudden visit to the Chen family's old residence was intentional on his part.

"Did you kill Li Aiping and Chen Lin?" Wu Yongcheng asked.

Fan Tianyou calmly replied, "Yes."

"why?"

"Because Chen Lin found me and warned me never to go to her house again. She said she overheard my parents talking and found out that I am a bastard."

"But Li Aiping was good to you, why did you have to kill her too?" Zhou Yi asked.

Fan Tianyou replied expressionlessly, "So what?"

Subsequently, Fan Tianyou confessed to another matter.

Before Chen Gengyun sent him abroad, he did something.

He sneaked into Xishan Cemetery in the middle of the night, dug up the graves of Li Aiping and Chen Lin, poured out their ashes, and put his mother Fan Chunyu's ashes and photos into Li Aiping's urn.

As for Chen Lin's urn, he defecated in it.

He realized from the impact of Li Aiping and Chen Lin's deaths on Chen Gengyun that killing him directly was far less exciting than taking away everything he cared about.

So on the night of April 28th, when he saw the pregnancy test in Xu Liu's bag, he thought the old man really wanted to have a child with Xu Liu, so he killed Xu Liu without hesitation because he wanted to see how much pain the old man would suffer.

However, Chen Gengyun's angry outburst surprised him, and he then realized that Chen Gengyun had originally intended to kill Xu Liu.

This unexpected turn of events led them into a desperate situation. Fortunately, Chen Gengyun was too cautious and unwilling to take any risks, so he chose to dispose of the body with him.

Later, on the afternoon of the 30th, a phone call from Liu Baoguo caused the plan to be delayed, giving him time to calmly think things through. He decided to leave some evidence at the scene.

Then they pulled a trick to switch the prince with a cat.

As for the day he planned to throw Xu Liu's bones into the mine in Xinbei Town on May 10th, just like the sense of incongruity that Zhou Yi had noticed at the time, it wasn't a sudden whim; it was merely an excuse he gave Chen Gengyun.

He felt the police were useless; they hadn't even managed to catch a glimpse of Chen Gengyun yet.

So he wanted to provoke the police and leave some traces, such as tire tracks and witnesses who saw the black car.

He wanted to provoke the police into suspecting Chen Gengyun as soon as possible.

"Aren't you afraid of being exposed too?" Wu Yongcheng asked.

Fan Tianyou turned his head and said indifferently, "I have a mental illness, paranoid personality disorder. I haven't taken my medication for a long time. I won't die."

These words made Wu Yongcheng and Zhou Yi gasp. This was clearly a suicide mission all along. Killing a thousand enemies would result in eight hundred casualties on their own. No wonder he was so emotionally unstable.

Suddenly, Zhou Yi burst into laughter, leaving Wu Yongcheng and Fan Tianyou completely bewildered.

Fan Tianyou couldn't help but ask, "What are you laughing at?"

Zhou Yi stopped laughing and said, "Fan Tianyou, did studying abroad ruin your brain? You're using that foreigner's logic. Let me tell you, firstly, my country does not recognize mental evaluations or diagnoses issued by foreign institutions or doctors; secondly, in my country's judicial system, personality disorders are not considered mental illnesses. Associate Professor, haha, Chen Gengyun wasn't wrong, you really are a complete idiot."

Zhou Yi's words were like a knife, stabbing straight into Fan Tianyou's forehead.

He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"One last question: why was it Dong Lu, and why Lu Xiaoshuang?" Zhou Yi asked.

As for why it was Lu Xiaoshuang, there was actually no suspense. Fan Tianyou's answer was the same as Zhou Yi's guess: Lu Xiaoshuang and Dong Lu were too similar in appearance, kindness, poverty, and loneliness.

He felt that Lu Xiaoshuang's appearance was like God making up for his regret about Dong Lu, because Lu Xiaoshuang was cleaner and purer than Dong Lu.

As for why it was Dong Lu, his answer was quite fatalistic.

Fan Tianyou said that when he was eight years old, they were still in Changfeng Forest Farm.

One day, he went to the mountains with his mother to pick fruit. As a result, he was playing around and chased a squirrel. He accidentally fell off a slope.

Fortunately, he managed to grab a tree branch and didn't fall. To save him, Fan Chunyu climbed down the slope, pulling him along while telling him not to be afraid and that her mother would protect him.

Finally, he was pulled up. As Fan Chunyu climbed up, the stone under his feet loosened, and he fell down.

That's why I broke my leg.

It was only because the person in charge of the forest farm took pity on her and wanted to take care of her that they said it was a work injury, which allowed them to leave the forest farm.

However, Fan Chunyu was left with a limp from then on.

Fan Tianyou said that it was when Dong Lu saved him that her childhood memories were awakened, and he fell madly in love with Dong Lu in an instant.

However, when he heard those people making vulgar remarks about Dong Lu at the drinking party, he felt that Dong Lu had deceived him, which is why he had the idea of ​​revenge.

The last straw that broke him was when Chen Gengyun came to his dormitory that night and smashed Fan Chunyu's portrait and ashes.

So that night, it was destined that either Chen Gengyun or Dong Lu would perish in the flames.

After Zhou Yi finished interrogating Fan Tianyou, just as he was about to leave, Fan Tianyou suddenly asked, "Is Lu Xiaoshuang... alright?"

"You don't deserve to know." Zhou Yi said this and left without looking back.

After leaving the ward, Wu Yongcheng and Zhou Yi discussed what kind of outcome Fan Tianyou would face next.

Wu Yongcheng's final opinion is that, given the circumstances of this case, Fan Tianyou should be executed, and his paralysis after the incident does not affect his criminal prosecution.

Moreover, Chen Gengyun's situation is special, and he will most likely be sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. Given his personality, he will most likely treat the contents of that notebook as a bargaining chip to prolong his life, squeezing it out slowly like toothpaste.

After leaving the hospital, Wu Yongcheng stood at the bustling entrance, took out his cigarette case, and said, "You go first, I'm going to have a smoke. I was feeling really suffocated inside because they wouldn't let me smoke."

"Then Captain Wu, I'll smoke with you, and we can go back to the station after we're done."

Seeing Zhou Yi reach for the cigarette, Wu Yongcheng dodged to the side and said, "Smoking is harmful to your health. Young people should smoke less."

Zhou Yi had no idea what he was up to.

But Wu Yongcheng said disdainfully, "You go first, go where you should go."

“I should go…” Zhou Yi was taken aback, then suddenly realized and immediately smiled, “Thank you, Captain Wu.”

He then rushed into the car and drove off.

Wu Yongcheng squatted on the flower bed like an old farmer, smoking a Daqianmen cigarette, and squinted as he smiled, "It's so good to be young. I wish I could go back to when I was young."

……

At the main gate of Hongcheng Baodi, a security guard standing ramrod straight saluted and shouted loudly, "Welcome home, esteemed residents!"

Zhou Yi rolled down the car window and asked with a smile, "Do you know me?"

The security guard answered loudly and earnestly, "I know you. The manager said you're a police officer!"

Zhou Yi smiled and thanked him before driving into the villa area.

Compared to Jianghai Mansion, this is the real affluent area because it is inhabited by real, living people.

Qian Hongxing was not home. Yao Yuling told Zhou Yi that Lu Xiaoshuang had taken Qian Lailai to play in the square.

Zhou Yi immediately ran towards the square and saw two figures playing shuttlecock in the Roman-style square.

The shuttlecock flew up and down as Lu Xiaoshuang jumped lightly and nimbly, her face beaming with that familiar smile.

Qian Lailai, standing to the side, kept counting money and clapping his hands.

Suddenly, he saw Zhou Yi, called out "Uncle Zhou," and ran over.

Lu Xiaoshuang then turned around and saw Zhou Yi, her smile becoming even brighter.

Qian Lailai rushed over, and Zhou Yi picked him up and spun him around.

Lu Xiaoshuang also walked towards Zhou Yi.

Suddenly, Zhou Yi whispered something in Qian Lailai's ear. Qian Lailai covered her mouth, smiled, and nodded. Then, she slid off Zhou Yi and ran towards Yao Yuling, who was further away.

Zhou Yi looked at Lu Xiaoshuang and opened his arms.

Lu Xiaoshuang paused slightly, but the next second, she rushed towards Zhou Yi and threw herself into his arms.

Zhou Yi hugged her tightly, stroking her hair with his chin, and said, "Xiao Shuang, I've come to pick you up."

Lu Xiaoshuang looked up, her eyes as gentle as autumn water, and asked, "Brother Zhou, has everything calmed down now?"

Zhou Yi nodded: "Yes, things have calmed down."

Lu Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "Then when will you take me to see the sunrise?"

Standing in front of Yao Yuling, Qian Lailai suddenly said, "Mom, this is just like in the TV series!"

Yao Yuling was taken aback, then quickly covered her son's eyes: "You're just a child, don't look at everything, don't you know that? Aren't you ashamed?"

……

Wuguang City, Yunxia Mountain.

A red sun pierced through the clouds, its first rays like molten gold breaking free of its cocoon, churning above the sea of ​​clouds.

"The sunrise at Yunxia Mountain is truly beautiful."

A man and a woman nestled together, watching the magnificent sunrise.

"We'll never be apart again, right?"

"Yes, we'll never be apart again."

The man lowered his head and kissed the woman's forehead tenderly.

The next second, the man suddenly pushed the woman's back hard with his right hand. The woman had no time to react and fell directly down the hillside, leaving only a scream before her figure disappeared completely into the deep valley.

Then, the golden light of the rising sun shone into the man's eyes.

"Yes, the sunrise at Yunxia Mountain is truly beautiful."

(End of this chapter)