Chapter 167 - 165: He Found Me
Jiang Li’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden scene unfolding before her. In the previous cases, the killer had never struck so quickly.
Blood splattered onto her face and hands, its warmth still lingering. The person beneath her twitched twice, then went still.
Jiang Li fought to calm herself, her composure on the verge of shattering.
She tossed the body aside like a piece of trash. When she looked over, she was horrified to see a pile of bodies.
She turned and began to walk away slowly. She saw she was wearing a black raincoat and could feel the object in her hand.
She stopped halfway and looked up. In the cold, desolate night, a girl stood bundled up under a bus stop sign, waiting for a bus.
Jiang Li’s breath hitched. ’The killer isn’t planning to strike again, is he?’
The thought of that pile of bodies sent a wave of panic through Jiang Li.
She drew closer and closer to the girl. The moment she reached the bus stop, the girl looked up, her face filled with terror, then she turned and ran.
"Tsk!"
She clicked her tongue in annoyance and broke into a run, chasing after the girl.
Jiang Li watched the chase in horror, praying the girl would run faster, faster.
She was getting closer. One step, two steps...
She lunged forward, grabbed the hood of the girl’s padded jacket, and violently yanked her backward.
"Ah!" The girl’s terrified scream pierced the air, startling birds from the nearby trees.
"No, please don’t come any closer! I’m begging you! M-my mom is waiting for me to come home... Please..."
The girl dropped to her knees in a panic, bowing her head to the ground and pleading for her life.
She watched the girl dispassionately, then picked up a brick from the edge of a nearby landscaping strip.
"No, please don’t! You can do anything you want, just don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me..."
The girl scrambled backward in terror, scraping her hand on the gravel. But she pressed forward, step by menacing step.
She grabbed the girl’s hair, tightened her grip on the brick, and stared at her head, ready to bring it down.
Just as she was about to strike, she froze. A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes.
Seeing her chance, the girl scrambled to her feet and fled without a second glance.
She stood rooted to the spot, staring at the place where the girl had been. After a long silence, a laugh rumbled in her throat.
Jiang Li watched, her heart pounding. Her sixth sense was screaming at her. ’He sensed me. In that single moment, he sensed my presence!’
A profound sense of danger washed over her, and Jiang Li jolted awake from the dream, drenched in a cold sweat. She whipped her head toward the window. It was still dark outside.
Jiang Li’s heart hammered against her ribs, THUMP-THUMP-THUMPING against her senses.
’The killer in the dream was different. He was powerful, and incredibly sharp.’
Jiang Li fumbled for her phone. ’I have to find him first. Otherwise, I’ll be the one to die.’
In her panic, Jiang Li grabbed her phone and frantically dialed a number.
A few seconds later, the call connected. Lu Xingye’s hoarse, sleepy voice came through the line. "Hello?"
"Officer Ji... Lu... Lu Xingye?"
Jiang Li clutched her phone. The lights in her room were off; only the screen’s faint glow illuminated her pale face.
Lu Xingye detected the tremor in her voice and reached over to flip on his light. "What’s wrong? Take your time, there’s no rush."
Lu Xingye put the call on speaker and started getting dressed.
Jiang Li’s ragged breathing came through the phone, and Lu Xingye paused in the middle of getting dressed.
’She’s never like this.’
Jiang Li’s mind was in turmoil. The killer’s laugh echoed endlessly in her head, a constant, chilling warning.
When Lu Xingye asked what was wrong, she suddenly had no idea where to begin.
Lu Xingye finished putting on his jacket, grabbed his keys and phone, and headed out the door.
The roar of a motorcycle engine sounded, and only then did Jiang Li realize she had been silent for quite some time.
Jiang Li remained silent, sitting in a daze. As her panic subsided slightly, she began to sort through her thoughts.
A few minutes later, his voice came through the phone. "Jiang Li, open the door."
Jiang Li looked up toward her front door.
Lu Xingye didn’t rush her, just waited quietly. A moment later, the door opened.
Jiang Li stood in the doorway, wearing a set of cartoon pajamas Little Li had picked out for her. Their eyes met for a moment before Jiang Li turned, walked inside, and switched on a small lamp in the living room.
Seeing her scribbling something down, Lu Xingye went to get her a cup of hot water. He placed it in front of her, then sat on the sofa nearby, waiting quietly.
Jiang Li wrote furiously in her notebook, crossing things out and rewriting them, until she finally managed to get her thoughts down.
She picked up the hot water and drank it all, her numb mind slowly returning to normal.
Seeing Jiang Li begin to relax, Lu Xingye sat up straighter, waiting.
Jiang Li pushed the paper she’d been writing on toward him.
Lu Xingye took it and glanced over the page. Through the many crossed-out lines, he could still make out a few words: *He found me. He found me...*
By now, Lu Xingye was wide awake. Jiang Li’s writing was chaotic.
It started as a stream of consciousness, but she had eventually tried to put things in order.
Jiang Li had dreamed of a cold-blooded, brutal killer. As the killer was chasing a girl, Jiang Li’s own intense emotions had somehow affected him.
Because of that interference, the killer might have guessed someone was watching.
This was why she had repeatedly written, *He found me*.
Jiang Li looked at the messy words on the paper, a bit embarrassed. She had calmed down enough to speak now.
"I understand," Lu Xingye said. "If you dream about this again, you have to stay calm. I’ll go to the bureau tomorrow and tell Sister Qinghe and the others. We’ll take over the search for him."
Lu Xingye folded the paper and put it in his pocket as he instructed her. The suspect was sharp and composed, which wasn’t good news for Jiang Li or for them.
"Okay, but..."
"No buts. Jiang Li, you’ve said it yourself—people only have so much energy.
When you’re helping others, you have to put your own safety first. Okay?"
Lu Xingye couldn’t resist gripping her shoulders, making her look at him. He didn’t want her to keep torturing herself over this.
’She isn’t a savior. She doesn’t have to carry this burden. She’s already done so much.’
"Okay," Jiang Li said, looking at Lu Xingye.
Lu Xingye quickly pulled his hands back and looked down at his shoes. "It’s still early. Do you want to try and get some more sleep? If not, maybe you could sleep in Wu Ming’s room?"
"There’s a guest room. I’m sorry for bothering you so late." Jiang Li stood up and looked at Lu Xingye apologetically, gesturing toward a spare room.
Lu Xingye smiled. "Don’t mention it. You should go get some rest."
After watching Jiang Li go into her room, Lu Xingye went to the guest room himself. He switched on the light, pulled the paper from his pocket, and read it again.
He took out his phone and sent a message to the station, telling them to send a team out to search.
Then he started listing the key information: Male suspect. Abandoned river channel. Foul smell. A pile of bodies. Bus stop sign. Girl who escaped.
Lu Xingye’s eyes focused on the words ’girl who escaped.’ ’She’s the most direct witness,’ he thought. ’From that close, she must have seen the killer’s face.’
’An abandoned river channel, no car mentioned... it must be in a very remote area.’
Lu Xingye made a note of it and started reviewing the details from the beginning. Suddenly, he realized something was wrong.