Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

In the hospital, Jiang Li watched Hu Ping’an, who had fallen fast asleep, and laid him on a vacant bed nearby.

"Xiao Ji, go ahead and sleep if you’re tired," Jiang Li said, looking at Miao Anji, who was nodding off beside her.

Miao Anji groggily forced her eyes open to glance at her, then nodded, laid her head down on the edge of the bed, and fell asleep.

Jiang Li looked at the message from Lu Xingye on her phone. Luo Binglin had already taken his men to Zhang Kaicheng’s hometown to apprehend Wang Qiao.

Jiang Li sent a message to Lu Xingye: "Are Tang Xiaomei’s remains in the flower pots that were found?"

The moment she sent it, a call came from Lu Xingye.

"How are things on your end?" Lu Xingye asked. He looked at the forensic report in front of him, glanced at his phone, then picked up a paper cup and took a sip of water.

"Hu Yuanyi’s condition isn’t good. I was wondering how much longer this will take. I’m afraid he won’t be able to hold on."

Jiang Li thought of what the doctor had said. ’Hu Yuanyi’s body was already in a very poor state. Now that he knows there’s news about Tang Xiaomei, the tension that kept him going has suddenly snapped. He probably can’t last more than a few days.’

"We’ve already contacted police stations in various regions to help us recover the flower pots that Zhang Qiang sold."

"According to the buyers, Zhang Qiang was running a buy-one-get-one-free special on that batch of pots, so they sold out fast. We just have to hope we can find them all."

Lu Xingye looked at the list. The ones that had been recovered were already crossed off.

"Judging from the few bone fragments we’ve found, Zhang Qiang and his wife chopped the skeleton into small pieces and mixed them into the soil. In some pots, there’s nothing but ash."

"Okay." Jiang Li glanced into the hospital room, her brow furrowed.

「The next day」

Jiang Li arrived at the police station to find that Luo Binglin and his team had already brought Wang Qiao in for questioning.

Luo Binglin looked at Wang Qiao. "Wang Qiao, regarding the Lu Zhi case from three years ago, why did you and your husband, Zhang Qiang, aid and abet him?"

"Mom, why on earth did you and Dad help that bastard Lu Zhi? Don’t you know this is against the law?!"

Zhang Kaicheng looked at Wang Qiao, his heart pounding with anxiety. ’To break the law for a distant relative... Is Mom out of her mind?’

Hearing Zhang Kaicheng, Wang Qiao shot him a glare. "You... what do you know!"

Wang Qiao looked at Luo Binglin. "We broke the law. I’m old, my husband is dead, so do what you will."

Wang Qiao said it nonchalantly. ’I knew this day would come when we did it. It was just the two of us old folks. It has nothing to do with our sons; they can’t be implicated.’

Seeing Wang Qiao act this way, Zhang Kaicheng trembled with rage. "Mom, have you lost your mind? How do you expect your sons to face anyone after this?"

"And my little brother, Chenxiang! He’s studying for his exams right now! You’ve just ruined his future! You..."

Zhang Kaicheng was so furious he saw spots. ’Our family finally produced someone with a bright future, and because of them, it’s all been destroyed.’

When she heard her younger son mentioned, Wang Qiao’s eyes glazed over with confusion. "This was something your father and I did. What does it have to do with the children?"

"He won’t pass the background check! How can he even take the exam?!" Zhang Kaicheng couldn’t help but roar.

Wang Qiao’s mind went blank, buzzing. Her lips trembled as she stared at him. "I... I didn’t know... How could this happen?"

Luo Binglin took a deep breath, his eyes cold as he stared at her. "Wang Qiao, you destroyed your own children’s future for the sake of someone who was practically a stranger. Are you satisfied now?"

Wang Qiao stared blankly for two seconds before bursting into loud sobs.

"I... I didn’t know... I..."

Zhang Kaicheng’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at her. "Mom, just why?"

’What hold did Lu Zhi possibly have over them to make them do such a thing?’

Crying, Wang Qiao looked at him. "He’s your older brother! He’s my son, too! We couldn’t just ignore him!"

Zhang Kaicheng was so shocked he forgot to breathe. ’My older brother? But I’m the eldest, aren’t I?’

"When your older brother was born, there was a famine. Your father and I couldn’t afford to raise him, so we had to give him away."

"We’ve felt indebted to him all these years. Then, three years ago, he suddenly called your father and said he’d killed someone."

"We already felt so guilty. We couldn’t just stand by and watch him go to prison, could we?"

"So... so I went to my sister for help. We dismembered the woman and brought her back, hidden with our supplies for the New Year."

"We were going to dump the body in the mountains, but the police were searching everywhere at the time. Your father and I were terrified the neighbors would notice something was off and call them on us."

"Then your father looked at the flower pots in the courtyard and got the idea..."

As she spoke, Wang Qiao beat her chest in anguish. "Chenxiang can’t become a civil servant now... It’s all my fault, all my fault..."

’They felt guilty about the eldest son they’d given away, but their youngest son had always been a good student. For years, he had been their source of pride.’

’They had been pinning all their hopes on him, thinking the Zhang family was finally going to achieve something great. But now she was being told her youngest son couldn’t become a civil servant...’

’That was supposed to be a guaranteed job for life!’

The more Wang Qiao thought about it, the more devastated she became, and her wails grew louder.

Luo Binglin shook his head. ’She really brought this on herself.’

Jiang Li watched the scene unfold, then turned to Luo Binglin. "Officer Luo, Lu Zhi won’t be getting out now, will he?"

Luo Binglin nodded, a great weight finally lifting from his shoulders. He needed to contact the court about a retrial.

Jiang Li looked at the flower pots arrayed before them. There were so many, and they hadn’t even found half of them yet.

Jiang Li asked Miao Anji to go help, hoping to speed things up.

Another day passed in a flurry of activity. The following day, Jiang Li finally met the culprit himself, Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi, dressed in a striped prison uniform and sporting a buzz cut, swaggered in with his head held high.

Lu Zhi sat down, crossing his legs. He rested his cuffed hands on his lap and looked with contempt at the familiar face across from him.

"Well, well, Officer Luo. Long time no see. What’s with all the white hair? HAHAHAHA!"

Lu Zhi laughed with sheer arrogance. ’I’m definitely getting out this year. And when I do, I’ll make sure to get Hu Yuanyi and his little bastard son.’

’Of course, if it weren’t for Luo Binglin clinging to the case like a dog with a bone, he never would have gone to prison in the first place, not with the insufficient evidence they had back then.’

’He wouldn’t let them off even if it cost him his life. He’d learned quite a few new tricks during his three years inside and was itching for someone to practice on.’

As Jiang Li watched the insolent Lu Zhi, she thought of Hu Yuanyi, lying in the hospital, unable to care for himself, and of little Ping’an, forced to shoulder such heavy burdens at such a young age.

’The killer is so arrogant, while his victims pay such a terrible price.’

"That’s a real shame, then. Your mother, Wang Qiao, has confessed to everything. We’ve also found Tang Xiaomei’s remains."

"You’re not getting out, Lu Zhi. Not as long as I, Luo Binglin, am still drawing breath!"

Luo Binglin clenched his fists, his gaze fixed on Lu Zhi with cold fury.

Lu Zhi froze. ’Wang Qiao?’

’Those two old geezers aren’t dead yet?’

’Didn’t I tell them to just drop dead?’

’Damn it! Those two old fossils. If they had just died, how could Luo Binglin possibly have gotten any leverage?’

"She’s not my mother. I don’t have a mother like that. It’s just the nonsense ramblings of some old hag."

Lu Zhi snorted and leaned back in his chair. ’I can’t say anything more. The more I talk, the more holes they’ll find in my story.’