Duan Nanzhi's face was full of frost. He held the Xiuchun Knife tightly, as if he would swing the knife out at the next moment and pierce Zhou Yi's neck with one sword.
Duan Nanqi had never been so angry before. His peach blossom eyes, which had always been filled with smiles, suddenly lost their luster and were left with only darkness.
In that darkness, there was boundless murderous intent.
When Zhou Yi was looked at like that, the chopsticks in her hand trembled slightly, leaving a red mark on Jiang Lingyao's neck.
Jiang Lingyao, however, was very calm.
She raised her eyes and looked towards Duan Nanqi, without a trace of fear in her body.
The chopsticks Zhou Yi held in her hand were indeed ordinary bamboo chopsticks, which were not very sharp, but she was a murderer with blood on her hands and she had unlimited strength. Under this kind of coercion, Jiang Lingyao felt a chill down her spine.
But she couldn't show her fear. The more afraid she was, the more excited Zhou Yi would become.
Jiang Lingyao looked straight at Duan Nanqi, with a look of soothing intent in her eyes.
Jiang Lingyao took a breath and felt the bamboo chopsticks sliding up and down her throat, but she still managed to calm herself down and said to Duan Nanqi, "Master Duan, I have something else to ask Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi was just panicking and didn't mean to hurt me, right?"
The madness in Zhou Yi's eyes gradually faded away. She pursed her lips and whispered, "Master Qiao, don't play tricks. Anyway, I have already killed three people and it is difficult to escape. I am not afraid of death."
Hearing this, Jiang Lingyao felt relieved.
If Zhou Yi was really not afraid of death, she would not have suddenly threatened her. She had set up such an elaborate plan just to escape and stay at large.
This cold-blooded killer who ignores everyone is actually a cowardly kid who is terribly afraid of death.
Just by looking at one sentence, Jiang Lingyao guessed what Zhou Yi wanted.
She calmed down and thought for a moment before saying, "Zhou Yi, we do have some questions for you. If you are willing to cooperate, I can ask Lord Duan to submit a petition to the court to forgive your crime."
Jiang Lingyao's words successfully made Zhou Yi relax his grip. No matter how scheming, cold and cruel she was, she was only thirteen years old.
The thirteen-year-old girl had no idea what the law was. She only knew that if she killed someone, she had to pay for her life, but she didn't know that the prosecutors' promises could not be kept.
Zhou Yi's voice trembled a little: "Really?"
Jiang Lingyao said, "Really, Lord Duan, what do you think of what I said?"
Duan Nanqi's peach blossom eyes stared at the two of them closely. His face was as cold as a glacier in winter, and his whole body was filled with chilliness.
One month after their marriage, this was the first time Jiang Lingyao saw him angry.
All of Duan Nanqi's anger was suppressed under the glacier in his heart. Although he seemed calm on the surface, huge waves had already risen inside and could not be calmed down for a while.
But he tried hard to suppress the huge waves in his heart, and said in a deep voice: "I agree."
As he said this, Jiang Lingyao could clearly feel Zhou Yi's grip loosen slightly, and the left hand that was holding her no longer exerted force.
Jiang Lingyao then asked, "Zhou Yi, could Xiaozhen, Zhou Sen, and Zhou Ru have been killed by you alone?"
Zhou Yi was more relaxed than before because of the "promise" from the two superiors. She said, "Yes."
Jiang Lingyao asked again: "Then do you know who the two people Zhou Sen killed back then were?"
Zhou Yi said: "Of course I know."
She told him everything she knew, and even laughed: "Zhou Sen said that the first victim was a flower farmer from Wulibao in the suburbs. She often came to Wanping to sell flowers, and my mother loved flowers, so they became familiar with each other after a few visits."
"What's her name?"
Zhou Yi thought for a long time before saying, "I can't remember. Zhou Sen probably doesn't care what her name is. I only vaguely remember that her last name was Lin. She was called Lin Xiaohong or Lin Xiaoqing. That's probably it."
Jiang Lingyao breathed a sigh of relief and asked again, "Where is the second victim?"
Zhou Yi said, "The second victim was a wealthy lady. Zhou Sen said that woman was not a good person at first glance. She must have been a prostitute in Beijing. After she changed her ways, she followed a businessman named Li to Wanping. She liked my mother's embroidery and was not afraid of her specializing in funeral business. She often came to order embroidery from my mother and was very close to her."
Jiang Lingyao discovered that in Zhou Yi's mouth, Zhou Sen was Zhou Sen, Zhou Ru was Zhou Ru, and only Rong Ya was mother.
But this mother was someone Zhou Yi had never seen before and only existed in her imagination.
All she knew was what Zhou Sen said when he was drunk, but she took it as the golden rule and talked about it over and over again.
Jiang Lingyao asked, "Do you know who Mrs. Li's husband is?"
Zhou Yi thought for a long time and shook his head: "I don't know. Zhou Sen doesn't know him either. Why would he care so much?"
It seemed like the question had ended here, but Jiang Lingyao thought for a moment and asked, "Zhou Yi, do you know where your mother's family is?"
Zhou Yi was at a loss for a moment. In her more than ten years of life, she had always lived in the Zhou residence in Jiaoye Lane. She had a father, an elder sister, a mother who passed away early, and many caring neighbors.
But she had never looked for where her mother's family was.
She had never asked, cared, or heard Zhou Sen say that to her, Rong Ya was just a gentle figure living in her imagination. Zhou Yi never cared about her joys and sorrows.
Jiang Lingyao waited for two breaths, but did not get any answer from Zhou Yi, so she realized that she probably did not know Rongya's background.
Jiang Lingyao sighed and said, "Zhou Yi, are you going to let me go? If you continue to hold me, I'm afraid the Jinyiwei masters will suddenly attack and hurt people."
"You don't care about your life, do you?"
Zhou Yi paused slightly while holding the chopsticks. She repeated fiercely in her eyes: "Will you really keep your promise?"
Jiang Lingyao said: "Yes."
Zhou Yi hesitated for a moment before letting go of her hand and pushing Jiang Lingyao forward.
The next moment, Jiang Lingyao felt a pair of strong and powerful hands grabbing her arms and pulling her straight into a broad chest.
Her face hit the other person's body hard, and there was a slight collision sound on her cheek.
"Hiss." Jiang Lingyao cried out in pain before she knew it.
But the hand that was clamped on her arm showed no sign of loosening. Jiang Lingyao could only hear the strong thumping of his heart in his chest and Zhou Yi's angry voice behind him.
"You lied to me. How dare you lie to me."
Pei Yu and Shen Suning jumped forward and clamped Zhou Yi's hands behind his back, pressing him to the ground.
Zhou Yi yelled and struggled, his cheeks leaving bloody marks on the rough ground, looking as ferocious as a demon from hell.
"I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you, you all deserve to die."
Her miserable cries echoed in the back compartment, but to no avail. She could only allow the officers who were more powerful than her to hold her tightly in a grip, and they could no longer bully the weak.
On the other side, Jiang Lingyao was still held in Duan Nanzhi's arms.
Jiang Lingyao didn't feel offended at all, but she still struggled a bit and said, "Master Duan, you..."
Duan Nanqi was filled with rage, and at this moment he could no longer suppress it. He held Jiang Lingyao's hand tightly, pulled her out of the back room, and walked towards the coffin room.
He strode forward, and Jiang Lingyao had to jog after him. The two figures, one red and one blue, intertwined into a bright galaxy, passing through the corridor in the backyard of the mottled and dilapidated county government office.
Duan Nanqi found a private room where no one was inside, pushed the door open, and then dragged Jiang Lingyao into the room.
After the door was shut, Jiang Lingyao finally caught her breath and said, "Master Duan, why are you so shameless..."
"Jiang Lingyao."
Duan Nanqi's cold voice rang out. He tried hard to suppress his anger. His eyes were deep and dark, and there was an entire night hidden in them.
"Jiang Lingyao, you are really not afraid of death."
Jiang Lingyao was caught off guard when her identity was revealed. She was a little stunned for a moment, but then she reacted and looked up at Duan Nanqiao.
Her face was resolute and calm, and she never gave in: "Duan Nanqi, you are overstepping your authority."
"Did I overstep my authority?" Duan Nanqi said, pausing each word. "You ignored the threat of the murderer and did not respond to it. You also did not allow the Jinyiwei to take action. You said I overstepped my authority?"
"If you weren't held captive, even if I wasn't mentioned, I think Shen the policeman would have been able to subdue her in one hand."
Duan Nanqi's voice was very low, and Jiang Lingyao could hear the anger in his voice. She was a little confused and did not agree with his idea.
"And then?" Jiang Lingyao looked at Duan Nanqi with wide eyes.
"Then Zhou Yi will bite her tongue and never speak again. The identity of the person who died fourteen years ago will be buried in the past along with her death. The relatives of the deceased may never know where she is and spend their whole lives searching for her whereabouts."
"Master Duan, should I do this?"
Duan Nanqi: “You!”
Duan Nanqi could no longer suppress his anger. He frowned and whispered, "As police officers, we should put our own safety first, and then investigate the case. Otherwise, if we can't even protect ourselves, how can we seek justice for the deceased?"
"Jiang Lingyao, I think you are doing something wrong."
Jiang Lingyao was provoked to anger by Duan Nanqi, and she didn't know what was wrong with her. Seeing Duan Nanqi put away his playful smile and scold her so seriously, the rebelliousness in her bones was completely aroused.
"Duan Nanqi, I am the prosecutor of Shuntian Prefecture, and my superior is Lord Yao Yuan. If you want to reprimand me, Lord Yao must come in person. As for you, take care of your Jinyiwei and don't come to Shuntian Prefecture to make decisions."
"Do you think I'm willing to meddle in your business?" Duan Nanqi was so angry that he didn't care for a moment and just wanted to vent out his thoughts. "If you weren't my wife, do you think I would care about you?"
As soon as the words fell, the room suddenly became quiet.
In the silence, there were only the sounds of two people's breathing, one heavy, one light, intertwined together like a solemn piece of music.
Jiang Lingyao paused. All the anger in her heart was dispelled by these words. At this point, she finally calmed down.
She explained calmly, "Zhou Yi is a selfish, cold-blooded killer. She is strong on the outside but weak on the inside. She kills others without mercy, but when it comes to me, I am timid and cowardly and I don't dare to die easily."
"She held me just to buy a glimmer of hope for survival, not to hurt my life. If she really hurt me, it would be counterproductive and she would be sentenced to death."
There was a gleam of confidence in Jiang Lingyao's beautiful eyes.
"So I was sure she wouldn't hurt me. It turned out that my inference was correct. Not only did we get the clues, but I also didn't suffer any harm. What was my fault?"
Jiang Lingyao asked Duan Nanqi seriously, their eyes met, and Duan Nanqi's voice rang out faintly.
"What if?"
"Have you ever thought about what would happen if she was cornered and just wanted to kill to vent her hatred?"
"Have you ever thought about the consequences of doing this? Have you ever thought about whether your father-in-law and mother-in-law will be sad? Have you ever thought about...how sad your grandparents will be, Jiang Lingyao?" Duan Nanqi said in a low voice. "I thought you were calm enough, but I didn't expect you to be the lunatic who would do anything for the case."
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