Chapter 85: The Train Station Stabber
The next day at noon, Jiang Li received a call from Ji Qinghe.
"Jiang Li, we have news about Wang Zifeng. If you’re not busy, come down to the station."
"Okay." Jiang Li looked at Yu Huannian, who was sitting across from her. "Xiao Nian, don’t just send things out randomly from now on. If you want to find a job, don’t panic. I’ll help you look."
Hearing Jiang Li’s words, Yu Huannian’s expression turned a little awkward. "Got it."
Only then did Jiang Li feel relieved enough to leave.
When she arrived at the police station, Ji Qinghe was already waiting for her. After she sat down, Ji Qinghe spread out the information they had found.
"The Wang Changfeng you mentioned is from P City. His parents owned a factory and later moved to C City, but the factory caught fire four years ago. They died. Not a single one survived."
Jiang Li picked up a photo and glanced at it. It was a picture of the Wang family, a family of three, taken in front of their factory. The people in the photo looked just like the ones from her dream.
"It’s him." As Jiang Li stared, she suddenly felt he looked familiar. ’Where have I seen him before?’
"Did he have any close friends?"
Ji Qinghe pointed to an elementary school graduation photo. "Yes. This one next to him. His name is Li Ergou. He’s an orphan."
Jiang Li’s hand tightened, and she gasped. "So, Li Ergou is the real Wang Changfeng. Officer Ji, can you help me look into this Li Ergou?"
Ji Qinghe smiled at her. "No need. You probably heard about the stabbing incident at the train station a while ago."
Jiang Li looked up in shock. "You mean he... he’s Li Ergou... no, Wang Changfeng!"
’Thinking back... that day, the man kept shouting ’why’ over and over, completely breaking down. Now that I think about it, he really did have a hideous scar on his face.’
Ji Qinghe sighed and nodded. "Here’s the official report. The P City police have already contacted Wang Changfeng’s relatives. Once they do a DNA comparison, they’ll be able to confirm whether he’s really Wang Changfeng."
Jiang Li took her phone and looked. Li Ergou, no parents, twenty-two years old, suffered from a severe mental illness...
’Twenty-two... Zhou Zihang was also twenty-two.’
’Then the real Li Ergou should be that age, too.’
"What about Zhou Zihang’s background?"
"Zhou Zihang and his grandmother depended on each other to survive. They’ve managed all these years thanks to financial help from Gu Zisheng. We’ve also questioned those thugs about that night at the KTV, and we have the surveillance footage."
Ji Qinghe looked at Jiang Li. ’If these two cases are connected, it’s highly likely to be a case of stolen identity.’
’But who is the other person?’
"Sister Qinghe, Jiang Li, what are you looking at?" Lu Xingye, who had spent the night at the station, woke up to see them looking worried.
"Jiang Li suspects that Zhou Zihang’s killer is the *real* Zhou Zihang. Or possibly Li Ergou," Ji Qinghe said, pointing to the files on the table.
Lu Xingye sat down and picked up the files one by one to look them over.
"Zhou Zihang contacted Gu Zisheng, but Gu Zisheng didn’t make the meeting because he had a cold. A nurse came to change his IV drip during that time, which provides his alibi.
Zhang San and Li Si are well-known thugs from Tiger’s Mouth Alley. They dropped out of middle school and weren’t on good terms with Zhou Zihang.
The suspicious part is Gu Zisheng. He never left his hospital room after entering, right up until he checked out the next day at noon."
Lu Xingye paused after speaking. "But talk is cheap. Zhao Shuo has taken some men to check the hospital’s surveillance footage.
The yacht has been found. Captain Zhou sent someone to have the dealership check for the buyer’s information today.
Now we need to go check the swimming pool for clues."
Jiang Li stood up. "I’ll go with you."
Lu Xingye nodded and took her to two swimming pools. Upon entering and seeing the layout, Jiang Li was momentarily dumbfounded. ’These pools all look pretty much the same.’
Lu Xingye had someone drain the pool and began carefully examining the surrounding area.
Jiang Li instantly understood. ’In my dream, the killer must have struggled with Zhou Zihang. There are bound to be traces left in the pool.’
"It should be near the edge. He climbed out quickly and then repeatedly forced Zhou Zihang’s head under the water."
Jiang Li added, looking around the area.
Lu Xingye examined the marks by the side of the pool. Finding nothing conclusive, they moved on to the second location. At the second pool, they finally discovered some scratch marks and photographed them for evidence.
Jiang Li watched them. "Wouldn’t it be much simpler if you could do a DNA comparison?"
Lu Xingye froze for a moment, then looked up at her. "It would be a lot simpler, but also a lot more dangerous. What if it’s not Gu Zisheng?"
Lu Xingye sighed. "Most importantly, we’re talking about the Gu Family. They have a lot of influence behind them. If we make a move without being absolutely certain, we’re all done for."
’If the higher-ups decide to lay blame, he, Captain Zhou, Sister Qinghe, Zhao Shuo... the entire police department could be in jeopardy.’
Jiang Li pursed her lips. "Then what about finding him at his school?"
"After Gu Zisheng went home from the station, the Gu Family assigned bodyguards to him. People from the Gu Family also came by this morning to make their position clear.
They said Gu Zisheng only helped Zhou Zihang out of pity, and that the Gu Family wouldn’t tarnish its reputation over someone like him.
They’re certain their son had nothing to do with Zhou Zihang’s death."
As he spoke, Lu Xingye climbed out of the pool and sat down beside her. His phone buzzed. He picked it up, and his expression changed instantly.
"The Gu Family has already produced a kinship test."
Lu Xingye enlarged the report Zhou Tiancheng had sent him and showed it to her.
Jiang Li looked at Lu Xingye in surprise.
’The Gu Family wouldn’t go so far as to fake a kinship test for an imposter.’
’So is this person really Gu Zisheng?’
"What about the hospital?"
Lu Xingye shook his head. "Zhou Zihang’s grandmother isn’t very lucid. Whenever we ask, she just says he’s her grandson."
’All they could do now was wait. Wait for the results of Wang Zifeng’s test, and wait for progress from Zhao Shuo and Captain Zhou’s side.’
A flash of inspiration struck Jiang Li. "I know who to ask!"
"Who?"
"Miss Huang! She should be able to help us get close to Gu Zisheng and get his fingerprints."
Hearing her words, an idea also formed in Lu Xingye’s mind. "We could also do this..."
Jiang Li nodded in agreement. "We can do both at the same time. Let’s split up."
Lu Xingye looked at her skeptically. "Can you even find the Huang Family?"
"Don’t worry." ’It’s a huge corporation, how could I not find it?’ Jiang Li got up, hailed a taxi, and headed for the Huang Family’s company.
Lu Xingye contacted the others to discuss the next step of their plan. ’If you can’t find the person you’re looking for, then you make them come to you.’
Jiang Li arrived at the Huang Family Group’s building. "Hello, my name is Jiang Li. I’m looking for your Miss Huang."
A few minutes later, a man in a sharp suit walked over.
"You must be Miss Jiang. This way, please. My father must be getting old and senile, he didn’t even give you a phone number. I’m so sorry to make you come all this way in person."
"It’s no problem."
Jiang Li followed the man into the elevator. When the doors opened on the top floor, she was greeted by an atmosphere of classical elegance and the faint scent of sandalwood.
"Miss Jiang, this way, please."
Jiang Li followed him to a set of latticework doors, through which she could faintly see a slender, graceful figure.
"Miss, Miss Jiang is here."
Jiang Li stared, her eyes fixed on the silhouette as it slowly turned around.
"My savior, you’ve come~"