Chapter 112: Cruel Punishment
"I’m so sorry, so sorry." Chen Meihua looked at Jiang Li apologetically, her face etched with panic.
"It’s alright. Did something happen?" Jiang Li asked, studying the expression on Chen Meihua’s face.
"N-No, nothing’s wrong. Thank you." Chen Meihua pulled her hand free from Jiang Li’s and ran outside.
"Xiao Nian, follow her and see what’s going on," Jiang Li said to Yu Huannian, who was beside her.
’That woman is from the opera. Maybe we can find some clues.’
Yu Huannian nodded, turned, and followed her.
Jiang Li and Lu Xingye walked toward Wu Jianzhang’s hospital room. There were guards posted both inside and outside the door.
After they entered, Jiang Li looked at Wu Jianzhang on the hospital bed, then turned her head toward Miao Anji.
Miao Anji took out the Bone Flute and played a few notes. Wu Jianzhang’s eyes shot open in agony as he woke up. The moment he saw Jiang Li, his eyes widened in horror, and he nearly fainted again.
"Hey, don’t you pass out on us again." Miao Anji stepped forward and pressed a few points on his body. Wu Jianzhang’s breathing instantly stabilized, and he stared in terror at Jiang Li, who stood before him.
"Jiang Li, you... you’re behind this, aren’t you?" Wu Jianzhang stared at Jiang Li, realization dawning on him. If it wasn’t her, how could everything be so coincidental?
Miao Anji stepped forward and slapped him across the face, glaring at him unhappily. "Is that any way to speak to my Sister?"
Jiang Li watched Wu Jianzhang with a blank expression, her gaze dark and piercing, as if trying to see into his very soul.
Wu Jianzhang’s face turned pale as sharp, stabbing pains pulsed in his chest. ’What the hell is this Jiang Li? She’s so damn unnatural.’
"Sister, you can question him now," Miao Anji said, walking over to a nearby seat.
Jiang Li nodded and began, "Wu Jianzhang, who is the person backing you?"
Wu Jianzhang’s eyes went blank as he began to answer, "I don’t know. I’ve never met them. Every delivery is handled by someone I don’t recognize."
"Then do you know where their goods are ultimately shipped?"
"M."
"Who is the spy?"
"I... I don’t know... Stop asking! It hurts! AHHH!"
Wu Jianzhang was suddenly struck by a splitting headache. His mind felt like it was about to explode, the pain so intense he couldn’t think of anything.
"It seems the people on the other side subjected him to some kind of training. As soon as a keyword is mentioned, his subconscious has a stress reaction. He could end up dying from the pain."
Lu Xingye observed Wu Jianzhang’s symptoms. ’I’ve only ever read about this in books before. It seems that group’s methods are quite sophisticated.’
"M is overseas. A whole syndicate has formed there—a protection racket for their criminal compounds."
Lu Xingye sighed. "This is incredibly difficult."
"The borders are constantly guarded, but there are too many people finding loopholes. This isn’t a problem that can be solved overnight."
"It looks like we’ll have to ramp up public awareness campaigns to get citizens to take this seriously."
Jiang Li thought of it too. Zhaozi Village was near that area, and it was impossible to manage everything. There would always be people who thought they were the one-in-a-million lucky exception.
"Yes. It’s fine. We just have to do our best."
Jiang Li looked at Wu Jianzhang and placed a paternity test report and documents about recent events in front of him.
"Wu Jianzhang, I have some good news for you. Your precious son isn’t yours. Also, before you fell into a coma, she had already started transferring your assets.
Oh, right. You’re a pawn that’s been thrown away now. It doesn’t matter if you talk or not, because you’re headed for a dead end either way. Just like Cheng Jiasuo."
’What does she mean, he isn’t my son? And after all these years, after I did so many terrible things for them, why would they abandon me?’ Wu Jianzhang was too stunned by Jiang Li’s words to react.
In disbelief, Wu Jianzhang picked up the paternity report and looked at a video playing on a loop, which showed the exact moment he was tortured into confessing everything.
"PUH!" Unable to accept it all at once, Wu Jianzhang spat out a mouthful of blood.
Lu Xingye quickly called for a doctor. ’Letting him die of anger would be getting off too easy.’
As Miao Anji left, he took his insects with him. ’They’ve all eaten their fill. Time to go back and let them digest.’
’Sister told me to plant the Gu, but she never said how many. It’s not often I get to feed them so openly, so of course I had to use a few extra.’
Miao Anji opened a small jar and let them hurry back inside, then followed Jiang Li as if nothing had happened.
Yu Huannian followed Chen Meihua all the way to her home. He didn’t notice anything unusual along the way, but he got temporarily lost on his way back.
While trying to find his way, he saw a woman about to jump into a river. He casually saved her and took her to a small, nearby clinic.
After returning, he told Jiang Li the address of Chen Meihua’s home.
To be on the safe side, Jiang Li asked Huo Qing and Zhou Tiancheng if there were any new cases recently.
Other than Wu Jianzhang’s case, there was only the incident Lu Xingye had mentioned about someone slipping and falling off a cliff. They were still in the process of contacting the family.
The next day, Zhao Shuo had a colleague bring Lin Ye’s wife and daughter to the police station to meet with him. The evidence Lin Ye submitted consisted of illegal drugs Wu Jianzhang had ordered him to purchase, as well as some audio recordings of Wu Jianzhang.
Three days later, Wu Jianzhang was wheeled into the courtroom by a doctor. Across from him were Zhou Fuhai’s wife and daughter, along with more than a dozen other family members of victims.
The scene instantly became chaotic, with the families crying and shouting for justice for their loved ones.
Wu Jianzhang, Lin Ye Yang Baiwan, and all involved parties were sentenced one by one.
Jiang Li stood in a corner, watching the vengeful ghosts crying out for justice.
Wu Jianzhang’s gaze met Jiang Li’s. He stared at her with hatred and roared, "Jiang Li, you’ll die a miserable death! If I had known it would come to this, I should have killed you back then!"
Jiang Li watched the contorted face of Wu Jianzhang with an indifferent gaze. In response to his violent words, she gave a slight smile. "Is that so? Good luck to you!"
Wu Jianzhang’s expression froze. A chill rose from the soles of his feet, and in the next second, he felt as if he were plunging into an abyss, where countless bloody hands grabbed and tore at him.
"AHHH!"
Wu Jianzhang’s pupils dilated, and he fell to the ground with a THUD.
The doctor beside him rushed forward to check. "It was caused by excessive shock."
Jiang Li watched this scene with a faint smile. ’Letting them suffer a fate worse than death even before their execution... How wonderful.’
Suddenly, her eyes met those of a man who was looking at her with a puzzled expression.
Jiang Li took a closer look, but he had already turned and walked away.
With the case solved, the police department had a brief moment to breathe. The new chief hadn’t been appointed yet, but the commendations had already been delivered to the station.
When they tried to find Jiang Li, she had already left, only sending a congratulatory message in the group chat.
Lu Xingye looked at the medal in his hand. ’If only they were here too, how great would that be.’
Jiang Li and Yu Huannian arrived at the hospital. When Zhang Haosheng saw her, he greeted her enthusiastically. "Hey, Jiang Li! What a coincidence. Are you here for something?"
Zhang Haosheng saw Jiang Li walking toward him and looked her up and down a few times. ’She seems to be in a good mood. Looks like her condition has improved a lot.’
"Jiang Li, if you’re feeling better, you can stop taking the medicine I prescribed before. Taking too much isn’t good for you."
"Okay, thank you, Doctor Zhang."
"No problem, no problem! I’m happy to see your condition has improved so much. I still have patients, so I have to get back to work."
Zhang Haosheng waved at Jiang Li and hurried toward his consultation room. His patient today was a high school senior.
Zhang Haosheng paused his steps. ’Come to think of it, this student’s situation is somewhat similar to Jiang Li’s.’
When Zhang Haosheng turned to ask Jiang Li how she had recovered on her own, she was already gone from the hallway.