lie
As Yi Song's countdown ended, the doorbell rang in the empty room. Du Pianjian suddenly activated her pheromones, the fragrance enveloping her consciousness like a warm barrier. A gradually melting capsule was in her saliva as she swallowed. Yu Zou was knocked back, unaware of the stinging pain in her neck or the muffled thud beside her.
Then, he was pushed away by Du Pianjian.
Consciousness gradually merges with the darkness, and the light becomes increasingly narrow.
Du Pianjian stepped back outside the door and slowly closed it.
The icy medicine spread through his bloodstream, and Yu Zou clutched his neck and knelt down. Before losing consciousness, his last thought was: this house, which he had designed and lived in for three years, actually had a secret room that he knew nothing about.
As always, it was dark and silent.
There was no difference between closing and opening his eyes. It took Yu a long time to regain consciousness. Fear was like the life force deep inside the body of a paralyzed patient, wanting to break out but blocked by a powerless shell.
There was a body buried in the garden. Yu Zou dared not think about which one it was, but was certain that he would be the next one.
The added weight on his wrist made a familiar jingling sound—it was the handcuffs. Yu Zou struggled to sit up, then stood up, leaning against the wall, calling out, "Yi Song."
"I am here."
A little light appeared on the bracelet on her back.
"Call the police."
"Sorry, unable to connect to the network, signal not available."
Yu Zouxin sank to the bottom of the abyss of death, barely able to speak: "Turn on the flashlight, low power mode."
He turned his head with difficulty and used the light to walk five steps along the wall. A square switch appeared in the circular light circle. Without thinking much, Yu Zou immediately pressed it with his shoulder.
The room suddenly lit up, and Yu Zou was so startled that he closed his eyes. After three seconds of trying to adjust, he opened them again. The sight before him made his hair stand on end. There were three rows of transparent cabinets arranged in a "T" shape in the room.
Various knives are arranged from largest to smallest, differing by only a few millimeters; even the diverse materials and strange shapes of ropes can be categorized.
Collars, chains, restraints—and further on, a bewildering array of tools he couldn't even name. Yu Zou grew increasingly terrified; there was no more complete collection of tools for committing crimes than here, except for the somewhat delicate ribbon in the cabinet at the far end.
Unsure of what Du Pianjian would do next, he couldn't just sit idly by and wait for his doom.
The handle was positioned high, so Yu Zou could only bite open the cabinet door with all his might. He then took out a knife and a piece of chain behind his back. The knife was heavier than he had expected, and he couldn't muster all his strength even with his hand behind his back. He tried to cut the chain with the knife and used the fragments to attempt to unlock the lock.
Unfortunately, it didn't work.
After much painful reflection, he decided to be released from custody.
The smoothest section of ribbon was selected, and the handcuffed hand painstakingly picked up one end and threaded it through the gap between the hand and the handcuffs, tightly wrapping it around the wrist until the wrist was completely covered by the ribbon, forming a smooth sleeve. Then the longer end of the ribbon was threaded through the handcuff chain and tightened.
Yu Zou prepared himself, pressed his thumb into his palm, and pulled the ribbon with all his might. The ribbon forcefully compressed the muscles and bones of his palm, bringing excruciating pain and squeezing out a fine layer of cold sweat.
His hand finally slipped out of the handcuffs.
Yu Zou shook his hand, took a dagger from the cabinet, and went out.
The eerie silence outside the door made Yu Zou's heart pound like a drum. He stood at the door, not daring to move rashly. The five minutes stretched to their limit. Through repeated sensing, he was certain that Du Pianjian was not here.
Nevertheless, he still tried to move silently through the room. Through the window of the third-floor bedroom, he saw two policemen standing in the garden. The soil had been turned over, and a human figure was marked with white lines. The area was surrounded by police tape.
The body has been found.
So Du Pianjian was taken away.
He swallowed hard, the vibration on his wrist felt like an explosion in his ear. He immediately pulled back against the wall to check his bracelet. The message from the unknown number with no contact information contained only four words:
The project has ended.
The end? Yu Zou's heart skipped a beat. His cold fingers tapped the keyboard, deleting and retyping words several times. Realizing he couldn't hesitate any longer, he sent the only question he wanted to ask: Teacher, will you come back?
It has nothing to do with Du.
Please answer me.
Time ticked by, and no more messages came in.
Yu Zou felt like he couldn't breathe. He glanced at the police below again. Now he had no choice but to take a gamble, hoping that He Can below could play a role in this deadly situation.
He returned to the control room. Ison's core was missing a component, but that didn't prevent Yu Zou from using the functions he needed. After a simple setup and setting of the time, Yu Zou went back to the secret room and rummaged through the cabinet. He finally found a bottle of sleeping pills that had expired a year ago, labeled as an adult dose of one pill at a time. Yu Zou poured out a handful and swallowed them, then put the sleeping pills back in their original place, counted down the time, and stood in his original position.
A sense of sadness welled up in his heart. His teacher always kept his word, but he didn't want his teacher's life to come to an end. He also kindly explained that Li Li's death had nothing to do with Du Pianjian.
Yu Zou's heart began to beat very slowly, and his eyelids began to feel very heavy.
He fainted and vomited, but there was nothing in his stomach.
Du Pianjian bit down on the ice cube she was holding and swallowed it, then pulled her shawl tighter around her and opened the door.
Two policemen, one old and one young, were turning to leave when they heard the sound. They immediately straightened up and quickly scanned Du Pianjian. She looked completely different from the smug woman who had appeared in the public eye a week ago, boasting of "getting promoted, making a fortune, and losing her husband." Her face, no longer covered by her long hair, looked even more pitiful.
The older police officer, with his stubble of varying lengths, quickly composed himself, adopting a professional and enthusiastic demeanor: "Hello, we are community police. We have received reports from several residents about noise disturbances occurring frequently in the vicinity at night. We are here to investigate the situation."
What's that noise?
"Did you hear sounds like digging, smashing, or dragging heavy objects?"
Du Pianjian rubbed his temples, seemingly exhausted: "No."
"Do you mind if we access nearby surveillance footage? This involves your privacy, but we assure you we will not share it." The area within 100 meters of the house is a non-public area and there are no public cameras there.
"The surveillance cameras are broken."
"broken?"
"Six months ago, I smashed the core that controls it."
The police officer remained silent, and Du Pianjian understood from this silence that "around" was a politely vague term. He rubbed his temples and said, "Report me?"
"Sir, unless you can prove your innocence, you may have to go to court."
Those who live here are all wealthy and powerful, and they usually live in harmony and peace. However, when it comes to matters concerning their own rights, none of them will choose to remain silent and let things settle down.
"so?"
"Therefore, we would like to hear your reasonable explanation. If you cannot prove that the noise is not coming from your home, according to procedure, we need to enter the house to conduct a basic sound source inspection. If the result confirms that it is you, we will issue a penalty notice in accordance with the law. Please understand that this is not targeting you personally, but a necessary response to the report."
Du Pianjian remained expressionless. After listening, he slowly walked out of the house and headed towards the garden. The two policemen exchanged a glance and followed him.
"Sometimes I make a little noise in the garden. I don't remember if it's during the day or at night."
The two policemen exchanged a glance and followed. They turned to the back of the villa, where a vast expanse of white snow lay. Du Pianjian stood beside a dilapidated tombstone, his fingers, wrapped in a shawl, red from the cold.
Who would have thought that there would be a grave behind the house? The marble tombstone had varying depths and lengths of impact marks that reflected the sunlight. The police walked to the side, stepping on the footprints on the ground.
Upon seeing the name on the tombstone, I fell into a silent tribute.
Du Pianjian lowered his eyes and exhaled a string of white breath: "Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I come here and smash his tombstone. The sounds they hear mostly come from here. If they want to sue, so be it."
"Do you have a bad relationship with your husband?"
"He cheated on his wife before he died, what do you think?"
After the police officer drew a heavy circle on the logbook, another officer spoke up: "Thank you for your cooperation. We will report the situation truthfully. First, we hope you can abide by the community rules, which stipulate that you must not make noise exceeding 50 decibels in the community between 8 pm and 8 am the next day. Second, we will monitor you from time to time. Finally..."
The police officer showed sympathy, and his tone was no longer as cold as before: "Sir, do you need psychological counseling assistance?"
"No need." Du Pianjian said calmly, her fingers slowly tracing the marks. "I don't need this tombstone anymore."
"What do you mean by 'not need'? Please be clear. Do you mean you want to leave here, or do you mean you want to move your spouse's remains?"
Seemingly amused by this remark, Du Pianjian's lips curved into a smile, but there was no hint of amusement in her eyes: "There are no bodies here. Are you new here?"
The police officer, who had been silently recording, suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp as lightning: "Are you sure there are no bodies in here?"
"No."
The pen was stuck between the pages. The young policeman's face was the same as everyone else's: passionate about justice and eager to carry it out.
He crouched down and brushed away the snow in different spots, revealing the cold, damp soil underneath. He rubbed the soil in his hands, smelled it, and finally stood up and said righteously, "Sir, I am certain there is a body here. Please cooperate with the investigation!"
Three yellow police tapes were laid out. Du Pianjian sat in the back of the police car, holding a cup of hot coffee. Two uniformed policemen stood in front of him, standing at a straight military posture, motionless. The gap between their arms was exactly the same width as the tombstone, allowing him to see the entire tombstone that was properly placed against the wall.
The unearthed corpse was presented in a sacred, reclining posture, its dirty green, branch-like veins resembling those of a forest child beneath the soil, and its wide-open red umbrella on its abdomen resembling a carrion-eating mushroom.
A strong, cloying, and pungent stench assaulted his senses, but Du Pianjian calmly sipped his coffee.
The police officers carried the stretcher away, and the dark gray figures blocked the gap.
Du Pianjian looked up, and He Can stood above her, his dark-circled eyes filled with vigilance and suspicion: "Du Pianjian, we now suspect you are involved in a major criminal case. Please come with us."
"I need to change my clothes."
"No. This is a murder scene. It's completely sealed off. No one is allowed to enter."
In the interrogation room, Du Pianjian waited until she fell asleep. When she woke up, 12 hours had passed.
The visitors were He Can and Sang Pingqiu again, but this time Sang Pingqiu nudged him, and He Can, who was originally moving to the left, slowed down and moved to sit on the right after Sang Pingqiu.
He turned on the recorder and notebook, and abruptly pulled off the pen cap.
Sang Pingqiu's tone was flat and emotionless, completely businesslike: "Du Pianjian, the person buried in your garden has been preliminarily identified as Chi Hengxun, the captain of the Municipal Public Security Bureau's anti-riot team. What is your relationship with him? Is there any economic dispute or emotional conflict between you?"
"It's nothing."
"According to our investigation, you had a close relationship with Chi Hengxun. He violated military discipline by using a firearm without authorization to injure your deceased husband. What you say is not true?"
"What he did has nothing to do with me?"
"This means there's a romantic entanglement between you!"
He slammed the pen on the table, and it rolled to the floor. He had no patience for Du Pianjian's fabricated excuses. Chi Hengxun had been stabbed in the abdomen, piercing his liver, causing secondary injury. His glands had been removed, and the position had been deliberately arranged, showing how much the murderer despised life, how much they disregarded a policeman who had served in the army for fifteen years and remained loyal to the people even after his retirement.
Sang Pingqiu patted He Can's arm, forcefully pressed another pen from his breast pocket between He Can's fingers, and then asked, "We have enough evidence to prove that you and he have a close relationship. Whether you are guilty or not, lying will only harm you. Please answer truthfully: When was the last time you saw him alive? Where was it? What happened?"
“About ten days ago, in my underground garage, I was on my way to Lingwan when I saw someone who looked a lot like my late husband there.”
"who?"
"You may report."
"I mean someone who looks a lot like your husband."
"I didn't know who he was. After seeing him, I realized he didn't look like him at all."
"So you say you love your husband very much, but you told the community police officer before, 'I smash tombstones when I'm in a bad mood,' and you said your husband cheated on you and you had a bad relationship with him."
"right."
“You’re contradicting yourself.” Sang Pingqiu’s gaze was piercing. Du Pianjian tilted her head slightly, her stray hairs swaying in front of her forehead: “You’re not married, are you? And you don’t have anyone you like.”
"Answer whatever I ask, don't change the subject!" He Can slammed his fist on the table.
Du Pianjian remained unmoved, her trembling eyelashes casting fine shadows on her eyes as she leaned back in her chair: "That's how marriage is. You can immediately sense if your partner is acting strangely at the slightest thing. Especially when your tastes are completely different from his, it takes so much effort to maintain the relationship. He cheated on me, he unilaterally refused to be with me, that's why I'm angry."
"Is your husband's infidelity related to your relationship with Chi Hengxun?"
"I don't understand why everyone values Chi Hengxun so much. You are too, and so is Yu Zou. Why do we feel that mentioning him will affect this marriage? He is nothing!" Du Pianjian said angrily, her mole, like an ink droplet, under her tight lips, like the last period at the end of a verdict.
Sang Pingqiu kept her eyes straight ahead and was unaffected by his emotions. After confirming that he had nothing more to say, she asked again, "Please describe in more detail the scene of the last time you saw Chi Hengxun."
Du Pianjian blinked, her emotions shifting, and tapped her fingers on the handrail: "In my underground parking garage, I told him I saw Yu Zou and I wanted to go find him. Chi Hengxun said it was all my hallucination. I tried to open the car door, but he kept blocking me. I told him to move aside, but he wouldn't, and then..."
The words stopped abruptly, along with the finger gesture.
Du Pianjian's expression froze, and the two people opposite him also held their breath, waiting for what was to come.
Her fingers slowly contracted, enveloped in her palm. Du Pianjian's soft voice carried disbelief: "I pushed him away and got into the car. He grabbed the car door and wouldn't let go, talking all around me. I was so annoyed that I stabbed him a few times."
How many cuts?
"I can't remember."
Where is the murder weapon?
"On him, probably. I closed the car door and drove away. On him."
"And then?" Sang Pingqiu asked.
“I was in Lingwan, and I just got back a week ago.”
Sang Pingqiu took the pen from He Can's hand and gave a final statement to the interrogation: "Thank you for your cooperation. Based on your testimony, you cannot leave at this time. If you need anything, please let our colleagues know."
Du Pianjian nodded.
Sang Pingqiu got up and left. He Can followed, but was stopped by Sang Pingqiu at the door. He clicked his tongue, went back to pick up the pen on the ground and put it away, and then the two of them went out together.
The interrogation room door closed.
Sang Pingqiu took the notebook from He Can's hand. The folded pages were covered in a flurry of calligraphy, like a projection in the void. His sigh was almost inaudible amidst the solemn clamor in the office.
He said sullenly, "Anyway, there's a video recording, so we can just convert the audio to text later."
"As long as you can understand it yourself, that's fine."
He Can scratched his head; his usually meticulous and trendy hairstyle had become so entropy from working non-stop that it could be used as a "No Smoking" sign.
Sang Pingqiu walked towards the printer, but He Can stopped and said with a serious expression, "I won't sign it."
"Then I'll get the bureau chief to sign it."
"Do you dare bypass your direct supervisor?"
"Because he doesn't seem very rational right now," Sang Pingqiu objectively expressed his subjective feeling, "and this doesn't violate any rules."
“Fenzi, if Du Pianjian is confirmed to have a mental illness, his sentence will be reduced. Even if the autopsy and traffic records can prove that he is not the murderer of Chi Hengxun, he is still suspected of intentional homicide.”
“But if it’s uncertain whether he has a mental illness, then his testimony is also unreliable. He said he stabbed someone a few times, but how many times exactly? If the second stab that caused Chi Hengxun’s fatal injury was his doing, then the other murderer is only guilty of desecrating a corpse.”
He Can spun around a few times, glared fiercely at Sang Pingqiu, then suddenly grabbed him by the neck and shoved him forward, cursing, "I'll sign! Anyway, the director will agree to your application for a mental evaluation, since you're her trusted lieutenant. I don't believe he's really sick!"
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