Chapter 91 Chapter 4 "Who is the murderer?!" ...

"Who is the murderer?!"

"Who is the murderer?"

Facing the two disciples' unanimous questions, Li Zheng felt his temples throbbing, and every time he blinked, a sharp pain came from his entire eye socket.

Tian Chen and Lou Ruoping have always been taught by Li Zheng. They have a natural trust in their master and are looking at him expectantly at this moment.

"Could it be that there are some important clues left at the scene that we haven't noticed?"

"Master, you say."

Both of them took out their notebooks to record.

Li Zheng wanted to answer their questions like he had before, but he just lowered his head and walked out, his voice hoarse: "I... don't know either."

Yes, he doesn't know either.

Li Zheng had always been a loner. Regardless of how he had performed in school or in Yanjing, he simply didn't fit in in Qingtan City.

As the captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment under the Municipal Public Security Bureau, he was considered a mid-level leader, responsible for a large number of people. Yet, his subordinates below him were faring better than him. The cars they drove, the houses they lived in, the cigarettes they smoked, and the alcohol they consumed were far superior to his.

This involves an unspoken rule that many people are aware of but never put on the table - the basic salary of a few thousand yuan is nothing, the "pocket money" outside of the salary is the big part.

It seemed that only Li Zheng didn't know. He just collected his meager salary every month and never touched the "pocket money" that people could easily put in their pockets.

He has no so-called gang, and even the brigade under his command has been divided into several factions, but he is not in a hurry at all.

As such an outlier who doesn't fit in with the group, many people with connections in the bureau naturally dislike him, but he still manages to hold his position firmly.

The reason was simple: Li Zheng's case-handling abilities were exceptional. He possessed a photographic memory, allowing him to determine the height, weight, and age of a person simply by looking at the footprints, and even infer their lifestyle through minute details.

While in school, the teachers who taught him criminal investigation praised him as a natural born police officer, praised him for his meticulous eyes and praised him for his sharpness.

His eyesight has always been the most accurate. In many cases, before the report is issued, he can predict the approximate time of death based on the situation at the scene, and the final result is usually not much different from the prediction.

After being transferred to Qingtan City due to an injury, he solved many of the cases that had been squeezed out. In other words, as an airborne soldier, Li Zheng relied entirely on his strong strength to gradually eliminate those doubts.

Even Pan Song, who had never been convinced by him, had never questioned his choices in handling cases.

In the past, almost no one would refute his judgment, but this was the only time that Li Zheng's conclusion received different opinions.

Li Zheng still believed in his intuition.

Before meeting the suspect, he, like everyone else, believed that this person must be the murderer. However, after a night of interrogation, his intuition told him that this person was not the murderer.

There was no trace of blood in the other person's eyes. Although he had different emotions when he mentioned the murderer, it was not hatred. The confusion on his face was real, and based on probing, he really knew nothing about the scene.

But if he isn't, then who is?

Could there be a murderer in this world who could come and go without a trace? Could there really be no trace left? Is that something a human could do?

No fingerprints, no footprints...

Even the neighbors don’t know this person...

His body was exhausted, and the extreme fatigue made Li Zheng's brain constantly clamor for rest, but he still forced himself to stay awake and explain to his two apprentices that this case was too strange and he had to go to the scene again.

"Master, you should take a rest."

"Yeah, it's too dangerous for you. You've been working all day..."

The two disciples tried to persuade him, but Li Zheng waved his hand: "I'll go take a look, and then go back to rest..."

He had one point that he had to confirm immediately.

The naive young man Tian Chen was still trying to persuade Li Zheng to take a break, but the more astute Lou Ruoping had already seen that Li Zheng had made his decision, so she spoke directly:

"Then I'll go with Master."

When the master and his two disciples returned to the Municipal Bureau from the Electric Power Bureau complex, Li Zheng, who had recently fallen asleep in the car due to exhaustion, was called to the office by his superior.

"It's so certain...how come it's not him? Whatever he says is what it is?"

"You've dealt with suspects before. You know how some people lie, even more than they actually are..."

The deputy director sat in his office chair, looking at his subordinate who was very capable but stupid with a lot of sorrow.

"Li Zheng, have you also been deceived?"

"I didn't, but it certainly wasn't him." Li Zheng reached out and pushed a thick stack of documents forward. "This is my interrogation record from last night. There are many details in it that show he had neither the opportunity nor the ability to do it."

"What do you want to say?"

"I tested it the night before last. With his height, strength, and reflexes, it's impossible for him to leave such neat, sharp cuts on the body's limbs and neck. It would require extremely high and precise skills. And so far, no murder weapon has been found at the scene..."

“………”

Li Zheng pushed the notebook again. "Take a look first. I just re-investigated the scene this morning and confirmed that he didn't lie last night."

For five or six seconds, Li Zheng's eyes were filled with dense snowflakes, like an old TV with no signal, and his ears were buzzing.

He knew it was hypoglycemia, but he continued to outline the doubts in the case in a clear and logical manner.

"The reason Cui Yang didn't go upstairs was because the deceased had left him warning signs before his death..."

This was a code between them. Cui Yang was a con man with some unresolved personal grudges, and Zhuang Ying always had to intervene on his behalf. To keep Cui Yang informed, they came up with this code: when the colored lights outside the rooftop came on, they were to stay home for a while.

Because of this, Cui Yang chose to hide instead of going home after seeing the colorful lights that night. He thought he could just hide overnight and go home like before, but in the morning he found the entire neighborhood surrounded by police. He panicked and didn't dare go out. Later, he was so hungry that he sneaked out to buy something and was caught.

“…I found that string of lights in the drainage pipe on the rooftop.”

Although the neighbors, the doorman, and even the landlord and his wife had seen the deceased with injuries on his face more than once during their visits, and it seemed that the relationship between the two was very tense, the placement of their belongings in the living environment, the well-arranged terrace outside the balcony, and the fruits and vegetables planted along the wall showed that they were living a good life and had a good relationship.

The suspect himself explained that the injuries on the deceased's body were simply because they were playing a relatively niche game, which was a consensual act between adults.

Finally, Li Zheng concluded: "I judge that he is not lying. He may not have killed the person."

The deputy director sighed and stopped proposing the plan. Instead, he brought up another topic: "Do you know that this is a critical moment? The inspection team will soon arrive in Qingtan..."

In order to better prepare for this selection, various departments began intensive preparations a month ago. On the one hand, they had to prepare materials and report work, on the other hand, they had to conduct self-inspections and self-corrections, check whether there were any illegal expenditures in their own accounts, and supervise their subordinates.

The orders were passed down layer by layer, and the sanitation and pollution control in the street area were unprecedentedly clean and tidy. The service procedures at each window were shortened a lot. Not to mention being late or leaving early, in order to have a better attendance rate, even normal leave was difficult to approve these days. Isn't it just to earn more points?

"Xiao Li, I'm usually nice to you, right?"

The deputy director's name is Zheng Guozhi. He has a good relationship with Li Zheng, especially during the period when Li Zheng was just transferred from Yanjing to Qingtan. It was his superior who provided Li Zheng with a lot of help and care.

He asked Li Zheng to sit down as usual, then found an excuse to ask his secretary to leave. When they were the only two left in the office, he sighed deeply, "You're only thirty, you're young, you still have time, but I might not be able to work any more one day..."

This is very straightforward and explicit.

As we all know, promotion opportunities decrease with age. The deputy director position is a difficult hurdle. He hasn't been promoted in years, and he's in his fifties, with retirement just a few years away. He's desperate. If he wants to continue his upward trajectory, he can't afford to make any mistakes. Leadership, professionalism, work performance, good interpersonal relationships, and the recognition and support of superiors are all essential.

The leader could speak like this, and anyone who understood what he was saying would know what to say. However, Li Zheng just stood there in a daze, not saying a word.

“………”

"Don't worry about receiving the inspection team tomorrow afternoon. I have someone else arranged. I'll just ask a few more questions about the case..." Zheng Guozhi took a sip from his teacup, secretly observing Li Zheng's expression. "Does the suspect you interrogated all night last night have...something wrong with his legs?"

Li Zheng hummed.

The suspect's limp was caused by a congenital disease, which was completely different from Li Zheng's minor limp caused by an accident.

"Nothing special, I just heard something, so I'm asking... Did you know him before? Or do you just feel sorry for him?"

Li Zheng looked his boss straight in the eye without hesitation: "I don't know him, and we had no intersection before this case."

In fact, not only was he a stranger to the suspect, but the only person who actually had some connection with Li Zheng was the deceased, Zhuang Ying.

When he first heard the name, he was a little hesitant, wondering if it was the person he knew. After seeing the body, he became more convinced that it was indeed that person.

He had met him once before the incident.

Of course, Li Zheng and him were not friends. At most, they were just acquaintances. He had met him when he was studying in Jinghai, and they had only had a few interactions.

They hadn't seen each other for many years. They bumped into each other once on the street last month and chatted casually. They didn't expect that they would meet in person again.

"Is that so..." Zheng Guozhi put down his teacup, looked at Li Zheng and said earnestly, "In short, never bring personal feelings into work. You must clearly distinguish between public and private matters."

Li Zheng: "Okay, I know."

"Go down and get busy."

Li Zheng turned and left.

On the way back to the office, I met many familiar and not-so-familiar people, as well as some colleagues I was not very familiar with.

"Captain Li..."

"Um."

"Hello, Captain Li."

"Um."

“.....”

He just took a quick look and found that not only were there people climbing up ladders to sweep the dust in every corner that had been ignored for years, but even the ceiling was wiped clean.

The cleaner saw Li Zheng passing by and quickly warned: "Captain Li, be careful..."

Back in the office, Li Zheng originally planned to look over the relevant information about the case again to sort out his thoughts, but he was too sleepy.

First, he was busy at the site all day yesterday, worked all night, and then went to the site again for inspection during the day. Even a strong body could not bear it. He didn't even know when he fell asleep.

Naturally, he didn't know that his two apprentices, seeing that he hadn't eaten, had gone to the cafeteria to get some of his favorite dishes and brought them to him in a thermos.

"master--"

Lou Ruoping pushed the door open and saw the figure lying in front of the table. She immediately swallowed the words in her throat and winked at Tian Chen behind her.

"Hey...shh, keep your voice down."

Lou Ruoping put down the thermos, took out a folded blanket from the cabinet and covered Li Zheng with it, then turned around and closed the office curtains. She then tiptoed out of the office and closed the door.

Tian Chen, who was outside, seemed to have just exited a group chat page. He must have seen something in there, and his face was filled with anger. "How could they say that?"

No matter what he said, he could always make calm judgments before, but this time, it must be because the other party had the same disability as him, which made him sympathize with him and affected his judgment. He even speculated that Li Zheng and he were old acquaintances?

Although it was only said privately and vaguely as a joke, it was too much.

Lou Ruoping didn't seem particularly angry. She asked, "Do you think Master is that kind of person?"

Tian Chen shook his head vigorously.

In fact, neither of them was Li Zheng's apprentice before. They were each taught by old men from other bureaus, but they didn't learn anything useful for a long time. They just ran errands and did some trivial things.

It is called tempering.

It was by chance that he was brought under Li Zheng's guidance. Under his guidance, he learned a lot in a short period of time.

And unlike other old men who ordered their apprentices around at will, Li Zheng would never order them to do very small things outside of work hours even if he had a lot of things on his hands. He would always teach them useful things seriously, pay them immediately if they helped to carry things, and would not accept any gifts from holidays. He would not get angry if questioned, and he rarely lectured them on empty principles.

Compared to other smarter and more sophisticated veterans in the bureau, Li Zheng may seem a little stubborn and stupid, but he is an extremely pure idealist.

So why would he shield a suspect for such a ridiculous reason? It's just ridiculous.

"That's it."

Tian Ruoping walked forward holding a stack of documents.

"I'm planning to go to the Electric Power Bureau complex after lunch. When I was surveying this morning, I noticed a building across the street that's a bit higher up. I might be able to see a terrace there, so I'm planning to go check it out. Are you coming?"

"Okay, okay."

The two footsteps became farther and farther away until they could no longer be heard. The corridor fell into complete silence, and Li Zheng in the room fell into a deep sleep.

Three minutes later, several trainee police officers hurried past, carrying a pile of documents. Ten minutes later, a cleaner passed by carrying a half-filled bucket of sewage, which accidentally spilled two drops onto the ground. Twenty minutes later, a white stray cat sneaked in, its tail drooping, and cautiously stopped at the door of Li Zheng's office. After several unsuccessful attempts to open the door with its head, the kitten tilted its head back and meowed at the door. After a few meows, the kitten's ears twitched, and it swiftly disappeared. Within seconds, a group of police officers, who seemed to have just finished a meeting, passed by in pairs or threes, discussing the meeting and lunch...

"Was there a kitten's voice just now?"

"I think I heard that, too."

“………”

At this time, Li Zheng in the room was still sleeping with his eyes closed. All the sounds that came into the room through the glass formed a muffled sound.

An unknown amount of time passed before Li Zheng was awakened by a continuous buzzing sound. Half asleep, he took out his phone and answered the call by dragging the green icon based on his muscle memory.

"Hello? ...Um... um, okay, I get it."

The call was from the nursing home. The nurse there reminded him that it was almost the end of the month and it was time to prepay the next stage of fees. He also mentioned Li Mingyao's recent rehabilitation progress, saying that her recovery was very good. He said that she could control the wheelchair by herself, use assistive devices, and walk a few steps. If she continued like this, it wouldn't be long before she could walk on her own.

Li Mingyao is Li Zheng's sister.

She is Li Zheng's younger sister, who is ten years younger than him.

She is a sister who has no blood relationship with Li Zheng.

Just like the melodramatic stories that can be seen everywhere on the street, a couple tried every possible way to conceive since they got married, and in despair, they adopted a little boy, determined to love him as their own flesh and blood. But who knew that in just the third year, the couple got pregnant with twins.

One is called Li Mingyao.

One is called Li Mingyu.

Li Zheng knew from a young age that he was an outsider in that family, so he almost never mentioned his family at school. At home, he always took the initiative to take more responsibilities, and there was never any dispute between him and his adoptive parents and younger siblings.

Of course, his adoptive parents were not as cruel or overly partial to Li Zheng as they were in the drama. No matter what, they still supported him and helped him finish junior high school, high school, and even college.

That's enough.

The first setback came during my senior year of high school. My father fell ill but kept it a secret. By the time we found out, it was too late. He was gone, leaving only my adoptive mother and my younger siblings in elementary school.

At that time, Li Zheng wanted to drop out of school to work, but his adoptive mother sternly refused. She took the initiative to sell the house in town and move to the old house in the village. Only then did Li Zheng finish college.

After joining the job, Li Zheng only kept 300 yuan of the first salary he received and sent the rest back home.

The second tragedy happened three years ago when his sister, Li Mingyao, then a high school student, was tragically involved in a car accident and was unable to stand. That night, Li Zheng made the decision to leave Jinghai and return to his hometown. This way, he would be closer to them and more convenient to look after them.

At the beginning, life was really tight. Li Zheng had to pay for his adoptive mother's living expenses, his brother's tuition and living expenses, his sister's medical expenses for staying in the sanatorium, surgery fees, nursing fees, meals and other trivial expenses almost all by himself, and there was little left of his monthly salary.

But fortunately, the days are slowly getting better.

His younger brother is about to graduate from university, so he doesn't need to worry about him much anymore. His younger sister had leg surgery at Jinghai two years ago, and with new medication, she's recovering much faster than before. The nurse says there's hope. She hasn't given up on her studies in the nursing home. After all, she still has her student status, having taken a leave of absence, so she can retake the college entrance exam.

During the Chinese New Year last year, his adoptive mother's eye disease never recurred after surgery. Before the New Year, he used the bonus to renovate the old house in his hometown, adding two floors to the original one.

My adoptive mother is in good health. In her spare time, she grows some vegetables next to the house. The rest of the time she shows off and enjoys herself with those she plays with well.

He never mentioned these things to anyone. Even his colleagues and apprentices who spent the most time with Li Zheng did not know about his family situation.

"Hello? Is Mr. Li listening?"

The nurse on the phone said that his sister had been secretly extending her daily rehabilitation time in order to get better faster. She fell yesterday. The nurse asked Li Zheng if he was free recently and when he could go.

Counting the days, it seems like he hasn't been to the nursing home for more than two months?

"Forget it if you're busy. I just mentioned it casually."

Li Zheng checked the time on his phone. It was exactly 1:33 pm. The sanatorium was far from the city, about 20 kilometers away by car. He calculated the time in his mind.

"Okay, I'll come over around three this afternoon."

Li Zheng has always been a man of his words. He said he would arrive at the sanatorium around three o'clock, and he really arrived at the front desk of the sanatorium to report in around three ten.

The nurse on duty happened to know him. Before Li Zheng could explain who he was here to see, she nodded at him and said, "Are you here to see your sister?" Then she lowered her head and began to fill in the visitor record.

Li Zheng had been here several times and was very familiar with the terrain. He did not need a nurse to lead the way and walked towards Li Mingyao's ward on his own.

Walking along a long corridor, I saw several elderly people in hospital gowns sitting on both sides. They all maintained the same posture, looking up at the TV hanging on the wall without blinking.

One of the younger patients was different from these people. Her wheelchair was parked abruptly in the middle of the road, with no one behind her. She was not watching TV, but was concentrating on reading a thick English book.

Hearing the footsteps, the girl looked up, a surprised smile suddenly appeared on her face: "Brother, you are here?!"

Li Zheng pushed the wheelchair to the side and stopped. Looking down, he could see the girl's lips were obviously dry and flaky due to lack of water. "Where's Aunt Zhang?"

Just as he was speaking, the nurse, Aunt Zhang, appeared. She held a thermos in one hand and a phone in the other, her hand half-raised, as if she had just finished a call. Seeing Li Zheng, she hurried over at a trot.

"Mr. Li, you're here?" She explained with a smile, "Oh, I just went to get some water for Mingyao. I got some water."

Li Zheng glanced at the thermos, which was clearly only half full, and didn't expose the issue directly. He simply warned, "It's very dangerous for her to be alone in the aisle."

"Yes, I'll be gone for a while..."

Li Zheng ignored the nurse and half-knelt down, lifted the towel on Li Mingyao's leg, and carefully examined the tightly bandaged wound on her calf.

"Listen to the doctor, don't be too anxious, let's take it slow."

"I know that. It's you, brother. Have you been very busy recently? Have you not had a good rest? Have you eaten today?"

Li Mingyao's features resembled his deceased adoptive father, and his eyes were similar to his adoptive mother's. His family all had softer facial features: his adoptive father, his adoptive mother, and Li Mingyu. Unlike Li Zheng, who perhaps had some northern genes, he had a narrow, long face with little facial fat and soft tissue, narrow eyes, thin lips, and a cool temperament.

Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that they don't look alike.

"Brother, why did you come here so suddenly today? Did Aunt Zhang call you? I told her everything. I just fell down. It's really nothing. I'm fine staying here alone. Oh, by the way, Mom mentioned you when she came to see me a few days ago." The little girl said, winking at him, "She said you're not a child anymore, so she wants to find a partner for you. What kind of person do you like? Tell me about it."

Li Zheng pretended not to hear.

"Don't worry about that."

After all, they hadn't seen each other for a long time. That afternoon, during the hour that Li Zheng stayed in the sanatorium, Li Mingyao chattered about her current review progress, the major she wanted to study in the future, and the job she wanted to do. At the same time, she also curiously asked Li Zheng about his recent work.

Li Zheng picked out some non-confidential content and talked about it, making his sister laugh.

The little girl in the wheelchair suddenly stopped laughing and her expression gradually became serious: "Brother, has Mingyu contacted you recently?"

If Li Zheng were to ask who among his younger siblings gave him the most worry, it would definitely be Mingyao, and the one he worried the least about was Mingyu. As far as he could remember, he wasn't very talkative. The last time he called was probably during the Lunar New Year.

"What happened to him?"

"He's been a little weird lately."

"Why is this so strange? Isn't he attending university in Ningcheng?" Li Zheng stopped pushing the wheelchair. "Did something happen to him? Why didn't he tell me?"

"No, no, he just called me one night. He probably called me by mistake, and he said some really weird things... Maybe I'm overthinking it. He must have been heartbroken, so he said those nonsense."

"I see."

Li Zheng felt relieved and continued to push Li Mingyao around the rest area of ​​the sanatorium.

"I'll call him and ask him when I have time."

"Brother, you are always like this..." Li Mingyao wanted to laugh, but he couldn't laugh for several times. He buried his head deeply: "Brother..."

"Um?"

"I'm sorry that our family has burdened you."

Li Zheng raised his hand and ruffled Li Mingyao's hair: "Don't think too much. Take good care of yourself and eat more. You've lost weight again."

Hearing the last sentence, Li Mingyao was obviously not convinced: "You are still blaming me? Don't you look at yourself? You are almost as thin as a paper, and you still let others eat more..."

"Yeah, I know."

As he drove away, Li Zheng glanced back at the sanatorium's gate. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he saw a familiar crow. Its jet-black feathers and large, slightly curved beak were unmistakable.

A black bird that shouldn't be in the city and looks out of place stood abruptly on the roof.

? !

Li Zheng rubbed his eyes.

Gone again.

He didn't know if there was something wrong with his eyes or he was too tired, but he even felt that the cloud in the distance looked a little distorted, as if there was a momentary freeze.