“Therefore, you believe it must have been An Xinhe and the others, with such a strong motive, who killed Tang Jinglong,” Ji Xun summarized.
“Correct.”
“You make a lot of sense,” Ji Xun commented. “This could be considered a poignant ending in its own right: the women who lost their hope choose to perish together with the killer who deprived them of it. Only the blood of the true culprit can extinguish the poisonous flames of hatred burning in their hearts. Their numb souls step out of the old cage, only to willingly walk into the prison of the law. Looked at this way, Tang Jinglong and the others were at least put to some use in the end.”
“But you don’t think so,” Huo Ranyin stated, then suddenly added, “Ji Xun, your attitude when facing Xi Zhigao before was very strange. You urged me to take Xi Zhigao away quickly. Was it purely because you didn’t want these women to suffer secondary harm, or had you already foreseen what would happen next, foreseen that while they were victims, they were also perpetrators?”
The police captain was always so sharp. He had eyes that could see through a person’s heart, as if no matter where a person’s heart was hidden in their chest, no matter how deep, it could not escape his analysis.
The face of Xi Zhigao, seen at the bottom of the pit, appeared before Ji Xun’s eyes again.
That face emerged from the darkness, grinning, and said, “Still think we killed the baby girls? Why would we kill baby girls?”
Ji Xun retorted to Huo Ranyin, “So you think I want to play Poirot, and after some internal struggle between justice and law, choose not to reveal the truth out of sympathy for the criminals?”
“Your actions seem to suggest so,” Huo Ranyin’s tone was calm. “But you must understand, a detective from a novel only exists in a novel.”
“Ha,” Ji Xun gave a perfunctory laugh. “The detective in classical puzzle mysteries is a god in the world of reasoning, a bystander and narrator lacking a past, lacking a story. And the audience is human; people don’t empathize with gods, so authors always have to design some plot points to make the detective seem more human. In the real world, there are no gods. Everyone is just human, struggling to take care of themselves, with not so much sympathy to spare…”
He was absent-minded, his gaze still roving around Cheng Zheng’s house.
He had been searching Cheng Zheng’s house for an hour or two. He had gone through boxes, cabinets, and the cellar under the bed boards. He had even opened every bag to check its contents, but he just couldn’t find what he was looking for.
Where on earth was the thing he was looking for… did it even exist… or was it all just his overthinking…
He sat, gently rubbing his throbbing temple with the knuckle of his thumb, his gaze naturally falling on the large desk against the wall ahead.
The desk was nothing special, just a very ordinary office desk with a glass plate on top. Underneath the glass were picture books for children’s pinyin, preschool classical poems, the 26 English letters, and so on. These books were crammed together, so numerous and thick that the outermost book extended beyond the desktop, hanging half-on, half-off the edge.
The first thing he had searched upon entering the room was the desk. He had opened and checked every drawer of the desk. Inside, there was nothing but stationery, paper, and textbooks—nothing new.
But as he looked, he suddenly realized he had missed a place to check.
He sat up straight, pressed his hand into the gap between the picture books and the desktop, and felt around… After a moment, he touched it.
He stood up, abruptly lifted the large glass plate covering the desk, and swept away all the miscellaneous picture books. The thing Cheng Zheng had been hiding was finally exposed!
Huo Ranyin said in surprise, “…Letters?”
It was letters.
Many, many letters, laid out flat on the desktop, hidden under the large glass plate and the picture books. These letters were old, the envelopes yellowed, so the women’s names written on them, weathered by the years, had faded and lost their color.
Ji Xun had finally found what he was looking for.
The last piece of the entire case’s puzzle was now in place.
All the riddles were matched, all the answers revealed, but Ji Xun felt a sense of weariness. In the end, none of it was unexpected. He threw himself into a chair, which groaned in protest. Ji Xun paid it no mind, even maliciously kicking the floor to rock the chair that was on the verge of falling apart.
He said to Huo Ranyin, “Want to hear a story? A story told only to you.”
The night was deep and quiet.
On this cold winter day, not even a mosquito could be seen. The sounds of the outside world, the people of the outside world, were all shut out beyond the doors and windows. In this simple room, there was only him and Ji Xun.
They were now about to share a secret known only to the two of them.
“Decide quickly,” Ji Xun urged Huo Ranyin. “If you don’t want to hear it, I’m going home to sleep. And you have to drive me home—you promised just now.”
Huo Ranyin raised an eyebrow, but after a moment, he slowly lowered it. “I’ll listen.”
He was very curious. He wanted to know what else Ji Xun had seen in this case that he hadn’t.
Only when everything is revealed is it the truth.
Ji Xun laid all the letters out on the table. The letters here were of two types. One type had the same handwriting, with only a woman’s name on the plain white envelope. The other type was more varied, with different handwriting.
But there was one commonality: none of the envelopes had either a return address or a delivery address.
Ji Xun casually picked up a letter but didn’t open it. The letter, with “Chen Meilin” written on it, twirled between his fingers. He looked at the stacks of books in Cheng Zheng’s house and began to tell his story—among those stacked books, besides various educational books, there were actually professional medical books.
“Once upon a time, there was a man. He was probably a doctor. For some reason, he ran to a remote little mountain village. Everyone here had the same surname, so they were also exceptionally united. They all enthusiastically welcomed this doctor—a doctor is good, a professional, someone who can save lives at a critical moment.”
“The doctor settled down here. He knew the village’s secret: all the women here were bought from the outside. The warm and cheerful neighbors during the day turned into demons at night. The women’s wails could be heard every night in the small mountain village—and the mountains surrounding the village, like a cage, were stained with the blood of women who had tried to escape.”
“This was a barbaric, desolate, ignorant, and sinful lawless land, a place where impoverished mountains and wild rivers produce unruly people.”
“The doctor did not choose to leave. Why? Because while the villagers here were sinful, their sins were not directed at him. This was a lawless land, true, but he was also a lawless man. Otherwise, why would he, in the prime of his youth, give up his job, give up the convenient life in the city, and run all the way to this godforsaken little place?”
Having said this much, Ji Xun took a breath. He paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts.
It didn’t take long. Ji Xun soon began again, choosing his words carefully, trying to narrate everything as fairly as possible.
“He was a silent, self-preserving bystander. He absolutely did not have the courage to expose the sinful acts here and save those poor women, but at least he did not go along with the evil. But from the very beginning, there was an accident. The only woman in the village who knew how to deliver babies was about to give birth, perhaps with some difficulty. And he was the only other doctor besides this woman in the village, with medical knowledge. He had no choice but to deliver the baby for this woman in difficult labor.”
“In a village where no baby girl had ever survived, finally, a single girl survived. Her name was Xi Lei.”
“All the other children died, but this little girl, under his invisible protection, survived. Trembling but safe and healthy, like a faint but real flame—hope—she survived.”
“Thus, he, the only outsider, also became the hope of those women.”
“His remaining conscience and the living Xi Lei tormented his body and soul. Finally, amidst the women’s repeated, whispered pleas in private, he relented and agreed to half of their request.”
“To act as their messenger, on the condition that no addresses would be revealed, and he could not help them escape.”
The letter that had been twirling between Ji Xun’s fingers was opened. Ji Xun pulled out the letter paper.
“‘Dad, Mom, it’s been a long time. I didn’t run away from home after a fight with you. I was dragged into a car…'”
Ji Xun read the letter, pausing for a long time at this point before continuing:
“‘I had a daughter the year before last, she’s gone. I had a son last year, he’s alive. I’m not running anymore, and he doesn’t lock me up anymore… It’s just that my leg is crippled, work is tiring, and I don’t get enough to eat… Dad, Mom, I miss you. Will I ever see you again in this lifetime?'”
Ji Xun closed the letter.
On the table, there were many, many more letters, many, many more instances of blood and tears, condensed onto a thin sheet of paper.
“Cheng Zheng took the letters out one by one. To avoid revealing the addresses, he personally delivered them to the women’s parents’ doorsteps. Some of the women’s parents replied.”
As Ji Xun spoke, he looked at the letters with all sorts of things written on their covers.
“The parents of the other women did not. Perhaps the letters were not delivered; perhaps they were delivered, but for various reasons, the parents chose not to reply. Regardless, although not a single woman has escaped from here over all these years, their dark world now had a small window. At least some of them could secretly contact the outside world, even if this contact took as long as one or two years.”
“Under these circumstances, Xi Lei grew up. She was a very lucky girl,” Ji Xun said, his face expressionless. “In this village, she was neither controlled nor did she become public property. The women here, as well as Cheng Zheng, went to great lengths to protect her, to teach her, so that she could grow wings and fly away from here.”
“Xi Lei did it. The girl who flew away must never return here, everyone who helped her fly away said so. So she left this village without looking back, came to Ning City, and carefully tried every means to stay in Ning City… She could have done it. But she was murdered.”
“Xi Lei died, and what collapsed was not just the hope of the women here, but also Cheng Zheng’s paradise—Cheng Zheng’s false, fragile paradise of conscience. And so, after being a coward for twenty or thirty years, driven by anger, he did something.”
“He killed Lu Ping and Tang Jinglong.”
Ji Xun began to slowly narrate the story that Huo Ranyin had already told. “On the 18th, he took a colorful plastic bag and knocked on Lu Ping’s door. That day was the seventh day after the deceased Xi Lei’s death. He went in, claiming to be someone sent by Tang Jinglong to help Lu Ping tie up loose ends. He might have told Lu Ping, ‘Moving out is not enough. If the police get suspicious and come to this house, the DNA from the traces of your life here over the years will be ironclad evidence. So you’d better call a moving company to destroy everything and turn it back into a bare shell.'”
“Lu Ping, already feeling guilty and remorseful after killing someone, followed his advice, using his own phone and account to book moving and deep cleaning services for the next couple of days. Cheng Zheng then had him, or killed him and then used Lu Ping’s name, to arrange a meeting with Tang Jinglong around 9 PM on the 19th near the unfinished building’s parking lot on Xinglin Road.”
“Tang Jinglong could miss anyone’s invitation, but he would not miss Lu Ping’s. The first thing he wanted to do after Zeng Peng injured his arm was to secretly go to the flower and bird market to see Lu Ping, let alone an active invitation from Lu Ping. Tang Jinglong also knew that his contact with Lu Ping was best kept out of the police’s view, so on the 19th, after withdrawing money and dealing with Xu Xinran, he specifically avoided cameras to secretly go to the meeting place.”
“Everything, everything did not escape Cheng Zheng’s careful planning. He successfully killed the man, successfully tied up Tang Jinglong and brought him home.”
“And all of this was noticed by the women traveling in the same car.”
Ji Xun paused, as if repeatedly pondering the women’s state of mind at that moment, gesturing in the air with his hand for a while before continuing cautiously.
“At first, it was probably the gold powder from the Spring Festival couplets that got on the back seat of the car.”
“It rained on the night of the 18th. Big Brother Daming, who was with them, couldn’t possibly have noticed such a small detail, nor would he care where Cheng Zheng went. But the women in charge of purchasing New Year’s goods were already a little suspicious. How could the usually meticulous Teacher Cheng get the couplets, which were placed so far inside, wet?”
“In addition, there was Lu Ping’s dismembered head. The cautious Cheng Zheng would not have thrown it at Wushan, but would have brought it back to the small village. To prevent the body from decaying and emitting a foul smell, there must have been something like activated charcoal or a cooling device to preserve it. Such a package was not there the day before. It was not small and was also likely noticed by the women traveling with him.”
“On the 19th, the unconscious Tang Jinglong stuffed in the trunk was large. The things inside were naturally moved to the front seat. The car was full of people, but the trunk was clearly empty and not used for storage. Although the women were silent at this time, they most likely had some vague suspicions.”
“Tang Jinglong was brought back tied up. Cheng Zheng’s house, unlike other villagers’, did not have a basement for confinement. He had to deal with this trouble as soon as possible. So even though they returned to the village in the early morning, Cheng Zheng still took Tang Jinglong up the mountain that night.”
“The women, or An Xinhe, under these circumstances, followed him and saw everything.”
“He buried Tang Jinglong’s body and Lu Ping’s head and then left. And An Xinhe, after Cheng Zheng left, dug up that spot and examined Lu Ping’s remains.”
“Lu Ping died from boric acid. An Xinhe, with some medical knowledge, saw the clues on the body. She was also familiar with Cheng Zheng’s house, ruled out some other lethal drugs, and quickly deduced the cause of death.”
“She had some understanding of Lu Ping, knew he was a carpenter, and guessed that the carpenter’s head was cut off with a tool. The most suitable tool at a carpenter’s house would be a chainsaw.”
“An Xinhe and the other women reburied the remains. In the following days, they probably used various excuses to enter and leave Cheng Zheng’s house, swapping the objects Cheng Zheng had touched that day with Tang Jinglong with items from their own homes. Among them, there must have been the weapon used to cut off Tang Jinglong’s head.”
“Cheng Zheng did not realize that these women had already discovered his secret. He was even perhaps happy about the women’s frequent comings and goings, because for the next few days until the 23rd, he needed to ensure he was always seen by everyone in the village to ensure his alibi was perfect.”
“The plan proceeded as he had envisioned, progressing smoothly until Lu Ping’s remains were discovered. He answered your questions in Zeng Peng’s house without any cowardice. I think he actually saw the handcuffs that day. It was precisely because he knew you were a police officer that he specifically detailed his timeline. He knew you would definitely investigate, and once you did, he would be innocent and blameless.”
Huo Ranyin frowned, refuting the inconsistency Ji Xun had raised: “Cheng Zheng has always appeared before us with an attitude of resignation. His detailed explanation could be deliberate, or it could be a habit of being cautious. This is not a decisive logical inconsistency.”
“Mm,” Ji Xun replied faintly. “Of course not. Because the one who showed an illogical flaw was not him, but An Xinhe, the women, and that strongest motive for murder that is deeply ingrained in your heart, and in everyone’s hearts.”
Huo Ranyin was surprised. He immediately reviewed his chain of thought, trying to reassemble and reorder it, unconsciously placing his index finger on his lips.
At this moment, Ji Xun, who had been holding his five fingers open in a Sherlock Holmes-esque pose throughout his narration, extended a finger, pushed Huo Ranyin’s finger away, and waved it in front of his eyes. “Alright, stop thinking. Why continue to torture your injured finger? Just listen to me, I won’t lead you astray—”
He gave a teasing smile.
“I have to repay you for saving my life tonight, right? You even gave me CPR, after all.”
Saying this, Ji Xun quickly cut to the chase, leaving Huo Ranyin no time for any extra reaction.
“You didn’t see it, so of course you couldn’t have thought of it.”
“When I came here today, my original intention was just to investigate the secret about Tang Jinglong that Xi Lei was hiding. Tang Jinglong’s plan was interlocking, he even scheduled Lu Xiao’en’s surgery to the minute, which is enough to prove that Xi Lei did not immediately use the evidence to threaten Tang Jinglong after she obtained it. During this long period, there was no reason for Xi Lei not to consult someone about this secret. Cheng Zheng was Xi Lei’s teacher, someone who could travel freely to the outside world and was well aware of the world’s darkness and evil. If Xi Lei were to consult someone, he would be the first choice.”
“So I used Tang Jinglong’s death to test Cheng Zheng. And this was noticed by An Xinhe. After I came out of Cheng Zheng’s house, the atmosphere in the village had already changed. An Xinhe was clearly the leader of the women here. Under her instruction, every woman in the village was monitoring me, causing me to feel eyes following me wherever I went. And this was only the first level of development. They did not take any more drastic actions at this time because I was not a police officer. A normal person could just be sent away.”
The various events that happened in the village today were analyzed layer by layer in Ji Xun’s narration, like peeling an onion.
“When Da Gao and Xiao Gao arrived, the situation changed again. The women were already on high alert. Seeing them, they immediately came out with a plate of fruit to test them. These two idiots bent over, revealing the outline of their guns. From this, the women confirmed that the two who came later were police officers. Because Zeng Peng’s drug trafficking arrest was never exposed, they had no idea that these two police officers were escorting Zeng Peng. They only thought I was the advance party, and these two police officers were here to secretly arrest Cheng Zheng.”
“An Xinhe consulted with the other women. They decided to take the blame for Cheng Zheng.”
“Taking the blame is not just about saying it. To make the police believe, there must be something the police have no choice but to believe. They had to make their lies seem more real than the truth.”
Ji Xun raised his eyes and looked at Huo Ranyin.
“So, An Xinhe created a scene, emphasizing the graveyard on the mountain in her words, arousing my suspicion. Then she convinced the men in the village, making them believe that police were mixed in with the team coming to move the graves, and that they were here to investigate the dirty deeds of the past. The men then turned hostile, further intensifying my suspicion. At this point, I chose to go up the mountain to investigate, falling right into An Xinhe’s trap—I dug up the bodies of numerous baby girls, and thus dug up the motive for their collective crime. As stated before, this is a collective motive that no one can question.”
“This powerful, horrifying, and undeniable motive was what they proactively told the police.”
“They didn’t hesitate to dig up their own pain from many years ago, using this motive to hide another motive.”
“They wanted to take the blame for Cheng Zheng—”
Ji Xun gave a slight, derisive laugh. This motive was indeed laughable.
“Just because Cheng Zheng delivered letters for them.”
“When you’ve been in the desert for a long time, a single drop of water becomes precious. When you’ve been trapped in darkness for a long time, a tiny glimmer of light is revered. Cheng Zheng was hypocritical enough, cowardly enough. He was nothing. He just poked a small ventilation hole in this sealed cage, and so these women were willing to repay this kindness with their lives—they were not destroying themselves in a rush towards death. Rather, like moths, to protect their final hope, they flew into the flame, their bodies becoming the fuel.”
“Alright, the story is over,” Ji Xun said.
It wasn’t a good story. After hearing this story, the listener might only be left with a vast emptiness.
“Evidence?” After a long time, Huo Ranyin asked.
“There is no evidence,” Ji Xun said directly. “At this point, all the clues have been realigned under An Xinhe and the others’ arrangement. In this case, it’s possible that An Xinhe and the others committed the murder, and it’s also possible that Cheng Zheng did.”
“Speculation without evidence is just conjecture,” Huo Ranyin said.
“Yes,” Ji Xun laughed heartily. “So this is just a story. But Captain Huo, as a police captain who operates based on evidence, in this story without evidence, how will you choose?”
“The scales are set out.”
Ji Xun drew a symbol in the air.
“On the left is Cheng Zheng, on the right is An Xinhe and the others. Cheng Zheng, for all these years, due to some unknown crime he committed, has been a cold bystander to everything. His actions were false and insignificant. An Xinhe and the others have suffered for so many years, been abused for so many years. When the truth of all the crimes is revealed, they actually have to go to prison with the people who threatened and persecuted them. They also have children. After losing their beast-like fathers, the children will also lose the mothers who raised them through hardship.”
“Now, Captain Huo,” Ji Xun asked with interest, “who do you choose? Choose An Xinhe and the others, and while the women’s bodies may be imprisoned for a long time, or even face the death penalty, their hearts are fulfilled and free. Choose Cheng Zheng, and Cheng Zheng is guilty of intentional homicide, while the women are guilty of perjury. The previous infanticide incidents will not be erased either. Their sentences may be lighter, but their hearts will be in pain, and they may not even be able to rest easy for the rest of their lives. They would probably feel that they were the ones who caused the death of the only man who helped them and gave them hope.”
“Now, you tell me, what kind of outcome do you want? Who do you want to have killed Tang Jinglong and Lu Ping?”
