Chapter 249 - 243: Her Mom Is Still Alive
"Yes, Officer. We were just following orders."
BANG!
Lu Xingye burst in, fuming, his eyes burning with fury as he stared at Jia Sheng.
"So it was you."
Lu Xingye rushed forward, grabbed Jia Sheng by the collar, and landed several punches.
"Xingye, stop! That’s enough! Watch yourself!"
Zhou Tiancheng stepped forward to restrain Lu Xingye, but he hadn’t expected him to be so furious. He was shoved aside and, as luck would have it, crashed right on top of Jia Sheng.
The impact tore open all of Jia Sheng’s freshly stitched wounds.
"AHHHH!" Jia Sheng screamed in agony.
Hearing the commotion, officers from outside rushed in, helping Zhou Tiancheng to his feet and pulling Lu Xingye away.
Jia Sheng, on the floor, had already passed out.
"He’s one of Kun Sha’s men. He might have some unexpected leads."
"Here are the medical reports for Jia Sheng and the others from the hospital." Zhao Shuo said, walking over with the reports.
Meeting his gaze, Zhou Tiancheng took the reports from his hand just as Qin Shu’s voice sounded from the doorway.
"The marks on Jia Sheng’s hands and the wounds on his body match the ones found on Zhao Qinghe. Furthermore, the locations of the cuts are consistent with the method used to dismember Zhao Qinghe.
"And those criminals from the car crash—their deaths were horrific. Their murders basically combined the M.O.s from the Zhao Qinghe, Luo Anan, and Ji Yan cases."
Zhou Tiancheng frowned, looking at the reports in his hands.
Lu Xingye snatched them and tore them all up.
The others stared at him in shock.
"Are you insane!" Zhou Tiancheng stared at him, stunned. ’What happened to his self-control? Did a dog eat it?’
Lu Xingye’s chest heaved as he glared at them. "That’s right, I’m insane! So what are you going to do? Arrest Jiang Li? Don’t those people deserve to die?!"
"But we can’t resort to such extreme measures," Zhou Tiancheng sighed, turning to Qin Shu. "Do you know any good psychologists?
"If Jiang Li continues like this, I’m afraid she’ll stray down the wrong path sooner or later."
If this kept up, he was truly worried that one day, the person they would be confronting would be Jiang Li herself.
"You’re overthinking it. She’s more clear-headed than anyone. She doesn’t need a psychologist. If you really care about her, then just act like you don’t know anything."
Lu Xingye turned and walked out. ’If they were truly competent, Jiang Li would never have been pushed this far.’
Outside, Lu Xingye pulled a cigarette from his pocket and leaned dejectedly against the wall. The tech department was still trying to track Kun Sha and had even started generating facial predictions for his post-op appearance.
In the past few days, they had investigated countless forty-something men with crew cuts, thumb rings, and Buddhist prayer beads on their wrists. They were all either nouveau riche or property developers.
Of course, this line of inquiry had also led them to incidentally crack down on a few criminal organizations.
Now that Cai Yue was dead and Jia Sheng had turned himself in, Kun Sha would only become more cautious. It would make their job that much harder.
"Uncle, a few days ago I saw Aunt Jing from the photo, but she said I had the wrong person.
"But she looked exactly the same as in the photo."
Hearing Li Xiaoru’s voice, Lu Xingye quickly turned his back and stubbed out his cigarette. "Xiao Ru, a photo? What photo are you talking about? And when did you see this Aunt Jing?"
Lu Xingye crouched down to look at her.
"It was that auntie who came the other day, the one who was talking to you, Uncle. The photo... it’s a photo with lots and lots of people."
’The one who was talking to me? Could it be Jiang Li!’
"Xiao Ru, this photo with lots of people you mentioned, do you know where it is?"
Li Xiaoru looked at him, took off the small backpack she always wore, then pulled out a photograph and handed it to him.
"This is it. See, this one on the side, the fair and pretty one, that’s her. That auntie gave me all my dolls."
Lu Xingye took the photo, rubbed his eyes, and stared at the woman who bore a strong resemblance to Jiang Li. He looked at Li Xiaoru excitedly.
"Xiao Ru, can you give this photo to Uncle?"
Li Xiaoru looked at him and shook her head. "No, this is the only thing Grandpa left me."
"Then can Uncle just borrow it for a few days?"
"Okay, but you have to give it back, Uncle."
"Uncle promises." Lu Xingye led Li Xiaoru inside and sat her down at his workstation.
’A few days ago... Did that mean Jiang Li had figured this out already, but just hadn’t said anything?’
"Xiao Ru, is the Aunt Jing you mentioned still alive?"
"She’s alive. Grandpa and I went to see her. Grandpa said Aunt Jing went crazy, but every time we visited, she would give me a doll. They’re so pretty."
Lu Xingye scanned the faces in the photo one by one, then pointed to a man with a distinctive air about him. "Xiao Ru, do you remember this person?"
Li Xiaoru glanced at the photo, a fearful expression crossing her face. She looked at Lu Xingye and nodded. "Yes. He was very scary. My mommy and daddy knelt on the ground and begged him, and then... Mommy and Daddy disappeared."
Lu Xingye took the photo and walked toward the tech department, comparing the man in the picture to the facial composites they had generated. ’If this is true...’
’Then Kun Sha’s plastic surgery happened even earlier than we thought. Maybe the surgery we knew about wasn’t his first.’
"Brother Jiang, sorry to bother you. Could you take a look at this person and run a new prediction based on him?"
Jiang Wang took the photo, then looked at the composite image he had just rendered. After so many days, he had been on the verge of doubting his own skills.
"Okay, leave it to me."
Lu Xingye saw the image on the screen and felt a surge of excitement. They were getting closer.
"I’ll leave you to it then, Brother Jiang. That photo is the only memento Uncle Li left for Li Xiaoru, so please don’t damage it." Lu Xingye quickly backed out of the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
He returned to Li Xiaoru’s side. "Xiao Ru, would you like to go see Aunt Jing?"
Li Xiaoru nodded. "Yes, but I don’t know how to get there. I just know it’s a hospital, and it has a lot of grumpy patients.
"Every time we went, Grandpa told me to stay far away from them."
Lu Xingye nodded. ’From the description, it sounds like a mental hospital.’
He quickly searched for mental hospitals near Li Xiaoru’s home. There was only one in the area, and he found the information in moments.
He glanced at the time, then led Li Xiaoru toward the exit.
「One hour later. The mental hospital.」
"Xiao Ru, is this the place?"
"This is it. I’ll take you." Li Xiaoru took Lu Xingye’s hand and led him inside.
The moment they entered, the eyes of every patient turned to them. Some even started to approach, and Li Xiaoru shrank closer to him in fear.
Lu Xingye bent down, picked her up, and followed her directions to a patient’s room.
"Sleep, sleep, my dear baby, Mama’s hands are gently rocking you..."
He heard the singing as soon as they reached the door. Peeking inside, he saw a disheveled woman in the corner, clutching a pillow and singing the lullaby.