Chapter 143 - 141: Human Painting
Jiang Li looked at the image she had searched for. An overwhelming sense of eeriness washed over her. Amidst deep, heavy colors, a woman lay in the center, her body bent, her head tilted back, featureless. Her outstretched hand seemed to be reaching for the light above, but a spiderweb lay in her way.
What struck her as bizarre was the woman’s posture. If it were just a painting, her body wouldn’t be folded like that.
It was as if... she were a person who had been snapped in half, alive.
Jiang Li put her phone away and went home to rest. Perhaps influenced by the painting’s atmosphere, her mind was filled with the image as soon as she fell asleep.
It was as if the painting had come to life. She was inside it, in a place that resembled a cave, surrounded by dense spiderwebs.
The woman in the painting stared up at the light-leaking opening of the cave, her eyes filled with a desperate will to live, her hand straining toward the light source.
Just when she thought she was losing her mind, her perspective shifted!
Only then did she feel something in her hand—a steel rod. The rod made a piercing sound as it scraped against the stone wall.
Jiang Li’s gaze shifted, and she saw a pile of items on a nearby table: a hammer, a traditional hand saw, and even nine-centimeter screws.
She picked up the hammer and a screwdriver from the table and walked toward the center. Placing a nail against the bent torso, she struck it with the hammer.
There was resistance. She struck hard, and the DANG DANG DANG sound echoed through the cave.
"Almost done. It’s almost finished—my greatest masterpiece! HAHAHAHAHAHA..."
A raspy laugh echoed in the dim cave, making one’s chest tighten with dread.
Jiang Li’s heart pounded—THUMP THUMP THUMP. She watched as the nail secured the body in front of her. A satisfied laugh escaped her lips as she walked over to the easel, dipped a brush in paint, and resumed painting.
Jiang Li saw that the painting before her was identical to the one she’d seen on her phone. The woman in the chair, her hand dangling limply, was no longer breathing.
After Jiang Li woke up, she immediately went to the police station to file a report. If they could find the owner of the painting, they would know who the killer was.
After hearing her story, the team immediately looked up the agency’s location and went to apprehend the person.
To be safe, Jiang Li went with them to the agency. They soon arrived at the studio. After questioning from Zhao Shuo and Lu Xingye, the person in charge immediately led them to the artist.
The moment she saw the man, Jiang Li determined he wasn’t the one. The man before her had slightly chubby hands, whereas the man in her dream had well-defined knuckles, visible blue veins, and a scar on his ring finger.
Jiang Li shared her thoughts with the two of them.
Zhao Shuo turned to the man. "Who gave you this painting?"
Hu Lai immediately retorted, "What do you mean, ’who gave it to me’? I painted this myself! It’s an original!"
Zhao Shuo snorted. ’Stubborn till the end, are we?’ "Mr. Hu Lai, if this painting is yours, then you are suspected of being involved in a homicide. Please come with us."
Hu Lai was instantly dumbfounded. He quickly shook his head and waved his hands. "No, no, no, the painting isn’t mine. I—I bought it."
"You can save that for a proper chat back at the station." Zhao Shuo led the man away.
Back at the station, a pensive Lu Xingye set aside the files in front of him. He found a photo of He Ming and his wife and handed it to her.
"Jiang Li, do these two look familiar?"
Jiang Li stared at the photo, her mouth agape in surprise. She nodded, her gaze shifting back and forth between the couple before pointing at the man.
"But the face I saw... was his."
Jiang Li said, turning to Lu Xingye, "But in the dream, the person looked like a woman. They had long, flowing hair, though their other feminine features weren’t very pronounced."
Lu Xingye suddenly smiled. "He Ming was an artist, after all. It’s not unusual for some artists to grow their hair long."
As Lu Xingye spoke, he compared the painting with the photo. The figure in the painting was featureless, but it was wearing a dress, so her surprise was understandable.
Jiang Li nodded, stroking her chin. "The hands I saw belonged to a man. So where is He Ming’s wife?"
"If what you say is true, then I’m afraid Kong Zhen has met with foul play as well," Lu Xingye continued.
"The place you described is a cave with only a small opening for light, which could make it very difficult to find. For now, we can only see if Hu Lai has any key clues.
Both of them are painters. The killer must have had a very close relationship with He Ming."
Jiang Li nodded in agreement. Then, a thought occurred to her and she looked at Lu Xingye, beginning to speak with some embarrassment.
"I sensed that the killer has very strong feelings of love for He Ming."
The pen in Lu Xingye’s hand fell onto the table with a CLATTER. He quickly picked it up and coughed awkwardly twice.
"Ahem, ahem. So, the relationship between the killer and He Ming... unrequited love." Lu Xingye wrote it down on the side.
Jiang Li looked at Kong Zhen’s photo. "Kong Zhen might not be dead."
Jiang Li looked up at Lu Xingye. "The killer has a twisted, obsessive love for He Ming. They might not have had time to go after Kong Zhen yet."
Lu Xingye nodded. "In any case, we have to find the cave’s location as soon as possible."
Zhao Shuo and Zhou Tiancheng came out and sat down in the empty seats. Zhao Shuo pushed the new clues to the center of the table.
"Hu Lai said he bought it on the dark web from an anonymous seller. After he paid, he woke up the next day to find the painting at his doorstep.
This is the surveillance footage from his front door. We also checked the messages on his phone. It’s all here.
Hu Lai’s previous works were all purchased as well."
Lu Xingye relayed what Jiang Li had just told him. A brief flash of surprise appeared on their faces, but they quickly returned to normal.
"Have He Ming’s parents arrived?" Ji Qinghe asked Zhao Shuo.
Zhao Shuo nodded and pulled out a list. "He Ming’s parents listed all of his close friends.
After questioning, their statements were all pretty much the same. After He Ming and Kong Zhen got married, they said they were going on their honeymoon.
No one has seen them since. The honeymoon destination was D City, and the terrain there matches Jiang Li’s description."
"But there are a lot of mountains. Going there without a precise location would be like finding a needle in a haystack."
Lu Xingye looked at the information provided by He Ming’s parents and quickly zeroed in on a target.
"Qin Hao. He Ming’s childhood friend. He’s known him the longest."
Hearing Lu Xingye, Zhao Shuo found another file. "He Ming’s parents said that Qin Hao went abroad after graduating from college. He flew in for the wedding, had lunch, and then had to rush back for his return flight that same afternoon."
Zhou Tiancheng looked at Xu Yong. "Check the airport records for that day. Also, contact the D City police department and ask them to give us a hand."
Xu Yong turned to contact the airport authorities.
Jiang Li looked at Zhao Shuo. "Officer Zhao, can I see a photo of Qin Hao?"
Zhao Shuo found a photo. "We only have a picture of Qin Hao from his college days."
Jiang Li took it and looked. Unfortunately, it was just one photo, and there wasn’t much to see.
Jiang Li examined the photo carefully, then picked up Qin Hao’s information sheet and studied it as well.
Jiang Li went through the documents one by one until she suddenly saw a photo of Qin Hao writing. A flash of inspiration struck her, and she looked up at Zhao Shuo excitedly.