Chapter 28 The Hunt for the Killer "I'm sure I can catch him within three months..."
"I'm not going."
"Don't forget you still owe me a written apology."
"..."
Ignoring Chen Yuhuai's cold stare, Jiang Zheng suddenly waved his hand behind him and said, "Inspector Lin."
Chen Yuhuai turned his head and saw that Lin Jing had pushed open the door to the main office.
She was still wearing that business suit, the prosecutor's badge on her chest gleaming.
Lin Jing nodded slightly: "Sorry I'm late, the prosecutor's office..."
Jiang Zhengli smiled politely and said, "I understand. The public security, procuratorate and judiciary are all one family, so we can naturally empathize with each other's difficulties."
During the time Lin Jing was away, besides being busy with the work of the procuratorate, he also had to keep track of various messages in the special task force group every day. Although he was not physically present, he was very clear about the progress of the case.
She's been in the industry for over ten years and is the most senior member of the task force. What kind of case hasn't she seen or handled?
It must be admitted that the March 16th case, in terms of both complexity and time span, ranks among the top. It is indeed remarkable that Jiang Zheng and his team were able to investigate it to this extent.
But... a lingering doubt remained in her heart. Where did this feeling come from, and what was it about? She couldn't quite put her finger on it...
“Let’s do as I just said, split into two groups,” Jiang Zhengxu nodded to Tang Jianshan and Peng Wan. “You two, along with Prosecutor Lin, will stay at the branch office with your teams. Shi Changren has also woken up, so you can continue the interrogation work in Daqugou Village and keep us updated on the news.”
"Yes!" "Good."
Tang Jianshan and Lin Jing nodded in agreement, but Peng Wan raised an objection: "I'll go with you!"
Tang Jianshan, of course, understood Jiang Zheng's intention in making this arrangement, and couldn't help but ask, "Old Peng, are you sure?"
Peng Wan nodded firmly, without saying much, only saying to Jiang Zheng, "Don't worry, I won't hold you back."
“Alright, it just so happens that neither of us can drive.” Jiang Zheng agreed.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yuhuai suddenly realized that the new wound on his hand had just reopened and was now throbbing slightly.
He stared blankly at the bloodstains seeping through the gauze on his hand, a slight twitch creeping onto his lips.
It seems like ever since she returned to Jiang Zheng's side, she's either injured or on her way to be injured every day. Given Jiang Zheng's constant torment, it's no wonder she's grown up so well all these years.
Perhaps one day, with just a push from him, Jiang Zheng will willingly jump headfirst into the fire...
"why are you laughing?"
“Difficult to kill,” Chen Yuhuai blurted out.
When he snapped out of his reverie, he looked up and found everyone in the room staring at him strangely, especially Jiang Zheng, whose eyebrows were practically twisted into a knot. It was Jiang Zheng who had asked those four words earlier.
Jiang Zheng took a few steps closer to him, squinting at him, and asked, "What did you say?"
Chen Yuhuai quickly looked away, cleared his throat, and said, "...I'm sad, I mean sad. The captain is seriously injured but still insists on staying on the front line. I'm really worried..."
"What are you worried about?" Jiang Zheng's tone trailed off with a hint of sarcasm. "Are you worried that I won't die fast enough?"
Chen Yuhuai's Adam's apple bobbed as if he were swallowing something, and finally he said calmly, "Captain, do you really have to do it this way?"
Just as the atmosphere between the two, which had finally eased up, was about to turn tense again, Peng Wan suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear!"
"Xiao Chen, your hand?!" she exclaimed, pointing to the bandage on Chen Yuhuai's hand. "Come on, come on, I'll take you to Old Zhu to get the dressing changed again. It'll be a real problem if it gets infected and inflamed!"
As he spoke, he grabbed Chen Yuhuai's wrist and strode toward the door, nearly pulling him off balance, their noses almost brushing against Jiang Zheng's chest.
Jiang Zheng didn't stop them, only hearing the door slam shut behind him. Finally, he glanced at Tang Jianshan and said, "I say, aren't you guys being a bit too protective of your own, especially of Chen Yuhuai? How long have you known each other? What, is it because he's good-looking?"
Tang Jianshan, caught in the crossfire even while lying down, could only pat Jiang Zheng on the shoulder and laugh it off: "The upper beam is crooked... oh no, like leader, like soldier, right? We all have to follow Deputy Jiang's lead, don't we? Little Chen is handsome, but he's just a nobody... I mean, he looks like a pale-faced scholar, nothing like you, so dashing, so youthful, so elegant..."
Just as Tang Jianshan was laughing so hard his lips were about to cramp up, and he had almost used up all the idioms he had ever learned in his life, Jiang Zhengcai calmly raised his hand and called out another group of people.
"Thank you all for coming with me on this long business trip. I've taken care of everything in Yunzhou. It's almost time to get back, brothers. Once you're back safely, I, Jiang Zheng, will treat you all to a meal at Mingyue Tower, out of my own pocket!"
"yes!"
.
The distance from Jiangtai to Yunzhou is over 1,200 kilometers, and even the fastest route takes more than ten hours by car.
Chen Yuhuai was extremely tired and sleepy. In addition, he had eaten a lot of carbohydrates before setting off, so he fell asleep as soon as he got on the bus.
Jiang Zheng's leg hadn't fully healed yet, so he and Chen Yuhuai sat side by side in the back seat, one on each side.
"If you get tired, switch with me."
Peng Wan gripped the steering wheel and rolled her eyes: "You'd better save your breath. With legs like yours, I'm afraid you'll flip the car over before we even get on the highway. I'm not ready to die yet."
"Don't worry, when I was an intern, I was the department's full-time driver. I could easily handle 12 or even 24 hours a day!"
At first, the two who were awake chatted for a while, mainly about the details of the case, and Peng Wan would talk about Gan Rong and her two children.
Once the car was on the highway, Peng Wan started glancing at the two people in the rearview mirror every now and then.
Chen Yuhuai's breathing was long and even. He was almost silent when he was asleep. His glasses slipped down halfway, revealing a pair of eyelashes that trembled slightly from time to time. It was unclear whether he was dreaming or simply not sleeping soundly in the car.
His face was actually quite handsome and refined, and with his height and long legs, he should be very popular with the opposite sex wherever he went. However, his usual gaze... Peng Wan was lost in thought when she remembered his light brown eyes. Suddenly, she felt that his gaze paired with such a refined face looked strangely odd.
"Old Chiang," she called out in a low voice.
Jiang Zheng rested his chin on one hand, turning his head to look out the window. The blurry sunlight outside cast a soft glow on his originally rugged profile, even obscuring the tired dark circles under his eyes.
"Um?"
“That photo…that child? Where is he?” Peng Wan said, “It’s been so many years, and there’s still not a single clue?”
Peng Wan and Tang Jianshan, his close friends, knew something about Wei Qian's affairs. They even knew that Wei Qian seemed to be related to a case from more than 20 years ago. However, he himself did not bring up the many hidden details, such as the relationship between Wei Qian and Yang Wanli, and the relationship between Jiang Zheng and Wei Qian when they were young. The people around him also did not ask any questions.
"Why are you suddenly asking about this?" Jiang Zheng asked instead of answering.
"It's nothing, I just saw it by chance while investigating Gan Rong. How exactly are you planning to find someone whose photo can't even be posted?"
Jiang Zheng finally turned his head back and suddenly laughed, "It's not like we gained nothing at all."
"What do you mean?" Peng Wan asked curiously, judging from Jiang Zheng's tone, he was clearly implying something.
“I can’t tell you now, and I can’t tell you,” Jiang Zheng’s gaze lingered on Chen Yuhuai’s profile. “But I dare say that within three months, I will definitely be able to find something on him and personally drag him to my teacher’s side.”
"Three months?" Peng Wan's eyes widened. "Any special dates?"
"you do not know?"
"Should I know?" This only confused her more.
“You don’t know,” Jiang Zheng said with a mocking smile, “but he definitely does.”
"who?"
"Wei Qian".
.
The convoy drove through most of the journey in one go. A light drizzle began to fall in the early morning, obscuring the moonlight and making the road surface increasingly slippery.
Peng Wan glanced at the remaining mileage on the navigation system, then immediately turned the steering wheel and drove into the service area.
Chen Yuhuai's shoulders and neck were stiff from sleeping, and Jiang Zheng lost consciousness sometime during a conversation with Peng Wan.
The car swayed, and when Chen Yuhuai opened his eyes again, he realized that he and Jiang Zheng had fallen asleep leaning against each other.
Chen Yuhuai shuddered and instantly sobered up.
The side window was covered with a layer of fog, and the outside lights shone through in a hazy, dim way.
He wiped a patch of ground with his sleeve before he could clearly see the large, illuminated characters: Baopu Temple Service Area.
"Where are we?" Chen Yuhuai asked.
Peng Wan quickly parked the car and, while unbuckling her seatbelt, said, "Baopuguan Service Area, we're about to enter Yunzhou Province. I reckon if you take another nap, we should be able to reach Yunxi County."
Seeing that Peng Wan had put on a coat and was about to go out, Chen Yuhuai hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt and tried to catch up.
He didn't want to be alone with Jiang Zheng.
"Sister Peng, where are you going? I'll go with you."
Peng Wan pushed open the door, one foot already outside, and without turning her head, uttered two words—
"restroom."
After saying that, he emphasized again: "Women's restroom."
With a bang, the car door was slammed shut. Peng Wan took a few steps out, then turned back: "Wait a while before waking Captain Jiang. It's rare for him to sleep so soundly. He's had a tough time lately."
After being pushed away by Chen Yuhuai, Jiang Zheng leaned against a corner, his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling evenly, his restless long legs almost taking over two-thirds of Chen Yuhuai's territory.
After hearing no more of Peng Wan's footsteps, Chen Yuhuai said coldly, "Stop pretending."
Jiang Zheng suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze so clear that he didn't look like he had just woken up at all.
I don't know how long he's been awake.
He raised his hand and glanced at the time. It was just past midnight. The service area, which used to have only a few delivery trucks, became much livelier as soon as they arrived. Some were letting out water, some were smoking, and some were catching up on sleep.
When the people around saw so many police cars suddenly arrive in the middle of the night, the truck drivers who had been chatting nearby were startled. Thinking something had happened, they quietly moved away.
As soon as he got out of the car, the rain, carrying fine shards of ice, fell into the back of Chen Yuhuai's collar, making him shiver.
He was dressed lightly and wasn't usually that afraid of the cold, but perhaps because he suddenly stepped out of the heated car and was hit by a gust of cold wind, he sneezed several times and his eyes watered.
Chen Yuhuai rubbed his itchy nose, wanting to turn around and look at Jiang Zheng, but suddenly everything went black before his eyes. A leather jacket was draped over his head, still warm with body heat and carrying the patchouli scent that Jiang Zheng often had.
"If you fall down at a time like this, no one will care about you."
Chen Yuhuai pulled off his jacket, and Jiang Zheng walked past him with his hands in his pockets.
He was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and navy blue police trousers. Even in clothes that had neither a defined nor a fitted style, he still managed to make his shoulder, back, and waist proportions look incredibly perfect.
The two entered the restaurant one after the other. Several tables were already scattered with people. With limited time to rest, everyone was making the most of it to fill their stomachs and recharge for the mission ahead.
Chen Yuhuai glanced around but didn't see Peng Wan. He could only bite the bullet and sit down with Jiang Zheng.
At this time, there aren't many restaurant options; most of them offer local specialties from Yunzhou.
Chen Yuhuai didn't have much of an appetite, so he casually ordered a bowl of tofu rice noodles to whet his appetite. But Jiang Zheng produced a plate of dumplings out of nowhere.
All around were the rustling of conversations and the clattering of chopsticks and bowls.
How is your injury?
Chen Yuhuai swallowed a mouthful of rice noodles and said succinctly, "It won't affect my ability to use chopsticks."
After thinking for a moment, he felt that it was time to show some concern for his leader, even if it was just for show, so he asked, "What about you? You were seriously injured at Qingyang River, and I haven't seen you resting at all."
"It doesn't affect walking anymore."
Chen Yuhuai: "..." He's doing this on purpose, isn't he?!
Jiang Zheng quickly finished what was on his plate, wiped his mouth, and asked, "What do you think Gan Rong's motive was?"
Chen Yuhuai seemed to actually think about it for a moment before saying, "For revenge?"
Jiang Zheng chuckled: "The same answer as Peng Wan."
Chen Yuhuai gestured for him to continue, waiting for him to finish.
"It's true that she wanted revenge. Yao Zhuoya stole the life she should have had: a happy family, a blissful marriage, government-sponsored study abroad, and a respectable job. It's completely different from what she has now. It's better not to know the truth. Once she finds out, injustice, resentment, and even jealousy will gradually erode her rationality."
"But if it's just for revenge, isn't that going to great lengths and taking a roundabout approach?"
Chen Yuhuai understood immediately.
Since Gan Rong was able to kill her own husband, and later Zheng Changgui and Guo Yan, how did she manage to escape each time, only coming to the attention of the police after so many years? If it weren't for Feng Qiyuan's report, she might have remained buried for many more years.
Yao Zhuoya's death was particularly bizarre, suspicious, and conspicuous, involving a wide range of people.
Most people can't imagine how an ordinary, even perpetually amiable, butcher, a single mother struggling to raise two children, could devise such a horrific plan in her mind—how to build rapport with the victim, how to poison her silently and without leaving a trace, how to exploit her weaknesses and lure her into the cult's trap.
Thinking of this, Chen Yuhuai suddenly looked up and met Jiang Zheng's gaze directly: "Is it for the child?"
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