Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Jiang Li’s eyes immediately reddened. "Don’t say that. You won’t. Just rest up for a few days, and you’ll be fine."

Hearing he wasn’t going to die, Yu Huannian let out an instant sigh of relief. He took out his phone to look up what a concussion was. ’Sounds pretty dangerous,’ he thought. ’I’ll be more careful next time.’

"Stop playing on your phone. You need to be resting. I’m going to get some food. You all wait here for me."

Jiang Li turned and headed outside. Lu Xingye didn’t follow, choosing to stay and keep watch.

Miao Anji looked at his little snake. ’Getting hit on the head causes a concussion... so is its brain broken? No wonder it seems so dumb.’

Miao Anji took out a jar and put the little snake inside. He didn’t like stupid creatures. ’Time to make it smarter.’

Yu Huannian opened his eyes and stared at Lu Xingye. "What are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you all, so I came to check. Nothing more." Lu Xingye looked at Yu Huannian, his heart filled with a little guilt. He still remembered what Yu Huannian had said that day as clear as ever.

’If it hadn’t been for the human traffickers, he and Aunt Yu would never have ended up like that, and he wouldn’t be so unfamiliar with the world outside.’

"What’s with that look? Do you think I’m an idiot?" Yu Huannian demanded, frowning at Lu Xingye.

Lu Xingye quickly explained, "No, not at all. I was just thinking of someone else, not you. Please don’t misunderstand."

Yu Huannian snorted and ignored him. ’Just because I’m not familiar with the city doesn’t mean I’m an idiot.’

Hearing a noise at the door, Miao Anji quickly put the small jar away.

Jiang Li came in carrying food. She had bought something bland for Yu Huannian. He looked at the plain congee before him, then glanced at the fast food in everyone else’s hands. His mouth watered with envy, but he still picked up the bowl and started to eat.

’Mom said that when you’re sick, you have to get treated and cooperate.’

Not long after he finished eating, Yu Huannian fell asleep again.

Jiang Li looked at Miao Anji. "Xiao Ji, can you get home by yourself?"

Miao Anji shook his head. ’I don’t want to go back.’

The three of them had no choice but to sit down in the corridor outside. Jiang Li suddenly thought of the police department. "Who’s the chief now?"

Lu Xingye didn’t yet know the full story about Xu Yongkang and the others, so he just answered her question. "Zhou Fuhai. Why?"

Jiang Li was taken aback. She never thought that neither Xu Yongkang nor Wang Xiangming would get the position.

"A while back, the department was investigated because of the Zhaozi Village case. Then, the whole thing with Wang Xiangming and Xu Yongkang’s private dealings came to light. Wang Xiangming was arrested. Xu Yongkang got off lighter—he was transferred to a local precinct to serve as its director."

Lu Xingye filled Jiang Li in on what had happened while she was gone. "Qiao Siyuan went to the Southern Ocean. After that crew heard you had died, they pulled back. Also, Captain Zhou and Sister Qinghe are engaged.

As for the corpse wall, all the deceased have been laid to rest. Those with families were returned to their hometowns for burial.

But the developer from that time died two years ago, and the rest of his people have been arrested.

But there are still some suspicious things about this case. I suspect there has to be a connection between it and that earlier car accident."

Jiang Li listened as Lu Xingye recounted everything that had happened. "You’ve done an incredible job, given the circumstances."

Lu Xingye’s voice came to an abrupt halt. A few seconds later, he felt a weight on his shoulder. He turned his head to see that Jiang Li had leaned against him and fallen asleep.

Miao Anji, who had been dozing next to them, woke up instantly. He quickly pulled Jiang Li’s head onto his own shoulder, then shot Lu Xingye a warning glare.

The little snake, which had reappeared at some point, was also on his shoulder, hissing at Lu Xingye. HISS. HISS. HISS.

Lu Xingye looked at Miao Anji. ’There’s still so much I want to ask her,’ he thought. ’I told her everything that’s happened in the last three months, but she hasn’t said a word about her own experience.’

In her dream, Jiang Li felt herself enveloped by flowing water. Her head was BUZZING, water shot up her nose, and a wave of wretchedness washed over her.

The next second, she broke the surface. Wiping the water from her face, she felt alive again.

Then, she grabbed a fistful of hair in front of her and shoved the person’s head down into the water, holding them there. The short hair belonged to a man, and he struggled violently.

She forced him under again and again, until the man beneath her hands no longer had the strength to struggle...

After taking a few gasping breaths, she looked at the body floating in the middle of the pool. The person was face down, their features hidden.

"Tch. You want to fight *me*? In your next life!"

Jiang Li grabbed a nearby blanket to wipe herself down. She then hauled the body out of the water and dragged it outside. It had rained; the road was slick and wet. The night air was so cold it made her shiver.

She sneezed several times in a row before tossing the body into the trunk. Then she drove off. The fog was thick, obscuring the road signs.

When the car finally stopped, she got out, dragged a bag from the trunk, and walked into the distance. It looked like the ocean. A yacht was moored nearby.

She tossed the bag onto the yacht and motored out to what seemed like the middle of the water. The next second, she picked up rocks from inside the yacht and started smashing them against the bag. THUD! THUD! THUD!

Then she took out a machete. WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

Finally satisfied, she lifted the bag, stood at the edge of the boat, and shook its contents into the sea with a great SPLASH.

A severed head tumbled out, landing at her feet. It was a mangled, bloody mess, facing right at her.

"AHH!"

Jiang Li jolted awake in terror.