Chapter 70 The Exchange Murder Case
"Do you think they'll be devastated because they lost their daughter?" Grandma asked.
“No,” Chu Ci shook her head, “it’s their daughter…”
Seeing her grandmother staring at her with curiosity, Chu Ci pursed her lips and sighed.
"It's hard to explain in a few words. It's getting late, I'll go upstairs and take a look."
"All right."
Grandma suppressed her curiosity but didn't forget to give her some advice.
"There are too many things to do today, don't forget you also need to burn paper money."
"knew."
Chu Ci waved and left, while his grandmother muttered softly behind him.
"Honestly, it's not a holiday, who are we burning paper money for now..."
Ignoring his grandmother's nagging, Chu Ci took the elevator directly to the floor where Master Qiu's house was located.
At this time of day, it's the time for white-collar workers to go home after attending drinking parties.
Chu Ci encountered two young women in their mid-twenties in the elevator, who smelled of alcohol and perfume.
The two looked exhausted and leaned against the corner of the elevator, their bodies pressed tightly together in the same corner for some reason.
Hearing someone come in, it shrank back as much as it could.
I don't know which of the two women woke up first, but she called out, "Are you... the medium from our building?"
Chu Ci turned her head and found that both of them were awake and looking at her with anxious expressions.
The two people must be from the same company, as they are wearing the exact same uniform, except for one with a high ponytail and the other with big wavy hair.
The girl with the high ponytail stared at Chu Ci, her eyes gradually clearing.
"You're the medium in our building, right?"
She leaned closer, her voice rising involuntarily:
"I remember seeing you in the newspaper, the one about a reporter who caught his wife cheating on him and was almost killed by her and her brother!"
"Are you that medium?"
Seeing Chu Ci nod, the female office worker with long, wavy hair next to her widened her eyes and quickly pulled her companion aside to ask;
"Master, can you see if there's anything unclean around us?"
She hugged her arms tightly, pressed herself against her colleague, and looked on with fear in her eyes.
"We both encountered a ghost last week!"
Her colleague with the high ponytail nodded frantically, "Yes, it's right here in our building. We've encountered a ghost wall!"
The woman with the big wavy curls chimed in: "Last week, we got off work late, around midnight."
"As a result, when we took the elevator up, it remained stuck on the fourth floor."
“Every time the door opened, I could see a woman with a blood-covered face standing at the end of the corridor, getting closer and closer each time.”
In just two sentences, Chu Ci had already arrived at the floor where Master Qiu's house was located.
Two female office workers also came out together.
"What a coincidence, Master! You're on this floor too?"
Chu Ci: "You live on this floor?"
"yes."
She rubbed her arms with her big, wavy hair, pouted, and complained softly.
"Ever since Master Qiu's daughter died, we've been terrified and have been planning to move."
"Fortunately, Master, you are incredibly resourceful and found the murderer, otherwise we would have had to pay the landlord a penalty for breach of contract."
High ponytail: "But I don't know if it's just psychological, but we both always feel that the hallway is cool and gloomy."
“Every time I get out of the elevator, I feel like there’s something watching us from behind.”
Chu Ci glanced in the direction of the elevator and saw a human-shaped black mist.
She changed the subject, asking, "You haven't finished talking about what happened in the elevator yet."
"Oh, right, right, right."
The woman with the high ponytail continued:
"We encountered a ghost wall, and then a female ghost with a face covered in blood was getting closer and closer to us outside the door."
"But the female ghost didn't mean to harm us; it seemed she was just trying to scare us."
"It took almost two hours for the elevator to return to normal."
The woman with the large, wavy hair glanced around warily and whispered:
"Master, I have my doubts..."
She pointed to a large door in the hallway, "That female ghost is the daughter of Master Qiu's family who was murdered."
"Yes, I think so too!"
The woman with the high ponytail lowered her voice, which was tinged with trepidation.
"The day Master Qiu's daughter died, the two of us saw her. We were leaving for work, and the three of us took the elevator together."
"She seemed to be going on a date with her boyfriend, so she was dressed up very beautifully. We were really impressed by her dress."
The woman with long, wavy hair, clutching her bag, added, "She left in a hurry, and we even said we'd wait for her to come back so she could take us to buy the same dress as that one, but then..."
She bit her lip, her eyes filled with fear: "Master, we are absolutely certain that on the day we encountered the ghost wall, the female ghost's dress was exactly the same as the dress that Master Qiu's daughter wore when she died!"
The woman with the high ponytail asked in a trembling voice, "Is it because she remembered what we said that she came to find us?"
She almost cried, "But we'd rather not have the dress than encounter a ghost..."
Chu Ci glanced again at the humanoid black mist at the elevator entrance and shook his head.
"It's not about the dress, but you're right, she didn't mean to harm you."
After a moment of silence, she reminded the two female office workers, "Do you know how Master Qiu's daughter died?"
The two female office workers exchanged a glance, and the one with the long, wavy hair spoke:
"I heard that the murderer was her boyfriend's friend, and he followed her home that night..."
"Wait, Master!" A sudden thought struck the high ponytail, and she blurted out, "She doesn't want to harm us, could it be..."
"Yes, she's trying to save you; you're being followed."
Chu Ci glanced at the two thin figures and said, "You should practice your martial arts when you have time. Even without her, you'd still be appearing in crime magazines."
“But,” the woman with the long, wavy hair retorted softly, “there are two of us, and we always go home together, so it shouldn’t be…”
"There's more than one of you, so what if there's more than one murderer?"
The two female office workers turned pale with fright. "No way, right? In the movie..."
"Movies are movies, and reality is reality!"
The woman with the high ponytail interrupted her colleague, took the hand of the woman with the long, wavy hair, and thanked Chu Ci:
"Thank you for reminding us. We will definitely learn a few tricks when we have time."
Chu Ci nodded and said, "Now that you know she saved you, go and offer incense when you have time."
The two nodded quickly.
"Go back now. Remember to bring some pepper spray and other self-defense items when you go out."
After giving instructions to the two people, Chu Ci planned to knock on Master Qiu's door.
The girl with the high ponytail suddenly called out to her:
"master."
She clutched the hem of her clothes, exchanged a glance with her colleague who had big, wavy hair, and said, "We want to call the police."
Chu Ci's eyes softened, and she nodded, "Okay, but I've already called the police."
"You all stay in your rooms tonight and don't come out if you hear any noise."
"The police will be here soon."
The woman with the big, wavy hair opened her mouth as if to ask something, but was pulled into the house by the woman with the high ponytail.
"We understand, Master. Thank you."
Chu Ci shook her head, watched the two of them go into the house, locked the door from the inside, and then went to knock on Master Qiu's door.
It seemed that Master Qiu's family had been waiting for the door to be knocked on; almost the instant she knocked, the door was opened.
"master?"
Master Qiu opened the door and was stunned when she saw Chu Ci standing outside.
"It's you?"
Chu Ci squeezed through the crack in the door she had opened, "Are you waiting for someone?"
Master Qiu's face was pale, and her forehead was covered with a fine layer of cold sweat. She quickly shook her head.
"No... no one is waiting."
"Yeah?"
Chu Ci scanned the house with her eyes for a moment before heading straight to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Uncle Qiu hadn't had time to hide the cleaver.
Hearing the kitchen door open, he shuddered, and the cleaver clattered to the ground.
Chu Ci glanced at the gleaming kitchen knife at his feet, then looked up at Uncle Qiu, whose face was filled with panic.
"...Come out, let's talk?"
Faced with Chu Ci, their benefactor, the two elderly people who had lost their only child were unusually obedient.
Before long, the two of them sat facing Chu Ci on the sofa and began to weep uncontrollably.
"Master, we're begging you, please don't get involved in this matter, okay?"
Master Qiu slid off the sofa, intending to kneel before Chu Ci, but was stopped by her.
Chu Ci: "Sit down and talk properly."
Uncle Qiu wiped away his tears. "Master, don't worry about this. We'll handle it ourselves."
His clenched fists rested on his knees, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"No matter what, we must kill that bastard and avenge our daughter!"
Master Qiu wiped away her tears and explained, "Master, although the murderer who killed our daughter has been caught, we both feel that this matter is inextricably linked to our daughter's boyfriend."
"We know how close he was to the murderer."
"The murderer wanted to kill our daughter, he couldn't possibly not know! Maybe..."
Master Qiu's facial muscles were trembling, her eyes were clenched tightly, and hatred almost overflowed from them.
"It's possible that my daughter was murdered by him and the killer in cahoots!"
Chu Ci knew they were telling the truth, but...
"Just because your daughter's boyfriend is close to the murderer, you think he's an accomplice?"
"Of course, that's not the only reason!"
Master Qiu hurriedly spoke up.
She gritted her teeth, "I've been dreaming about my daughter these past few days. She keeps telling me to be careful of her boyfriend."
"I believe that since she appeared to me in my dream, it couldn't be just a rumor!"
“Master!” She grabbed Chu Ci’s hand. “You are a medium, you must believe me, right?”
Chu Ci: "..."
She looked at the two elderly people, tears streaming down their faces, and felt both pity and helplessness.
"Based on just these two points? You're being too impulsive. What if your daughter's boyfriend is innocent?"
Uncle Qiu trembled all over, "I don't care, that bastard is no good either."
“My daughter just died, and he's been flirting with other women and fooling around everywhere. He won't even cooperate with the police investigation and doesn't seem to care about my daughter at all…”
"He definitely has a problem!"
The two hugged and cried for a while. After they calmed down, they began to wonder why Chu Ci had come so late.
"Master, you've come here to..."
Chu Ci: "I thought your faces looked strange, so I came to take a look."
Her gaze swept calmly across the couple's faces. "You want to kill your daughter's boyfriend and then commit suicide, right?"
The couple were stunned. Master Qiu covered her face and sobbed, while Uncle Qiu clenched his fists tightly. "Yes!"
He gritted his teeth, his voice sounding like it was being squeezed out of his throat.
"Since we've lost our child, we have nothing left to live for. We might as well risk our lives to avenge our daughter!"
Master Qiu cried, her voice muffled: "Master, please don't worry about us, let us do it."
"We don't want to live anymore. We want to avenge our daughter before we die, and at least we can have some peace of mind when we see her again... sob sob sob..."
Chu Ci paused for a moment, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the humanoid black mist beside him.
The voice was very soft: "How could it be an explanation? Your daughter appeared to you in a dream because she wants you to stay away from danger and live well."
"Aren't you going against her ideas by doing this?"
Master Qiu shook her head wildly, tears streaming down her face.
“Master, you’ve never been a mother, you wouldn’t understand.”
She cried so hard she could barely breathe, her face turning bright red.
"We raised our daughter from such a tiny little thing until she could talk, jump, and leap."
"Now that she's finally grown up and ready to start a new life, she's been... "
“We can never forgive the person who hurt her. No matter the cost, we, as her parents, must avenge her.”
Seeing their heads bowed and their tense profiles, Chu Ci knew she couldn't persuade them anymore.
Just as she was about to speak, there was another knock on the door.
The two elderly people tensed up instantly. Master Qiu stood up to open the door, while Uncle Qiu turned around and went to the kitchen to get a cleaver.
Chu Ci stopped them: "He's not your daughter's boyfriend, he's a policeman I called."
The faces of Master Qiu and her husband turned pale instantly.
"Master, you..."
"Don't worry, we're not here to arrest you."
Chu Ci stood up to open the door. Outside were Wu Jiangxue, Ji Jingtong, Shen Xiuhe, and several other unfamiliar policemen.
"Come in."
She made way, and several police officers filed in.
Master Qiu and her husband huddled together, watching them warily, their bodies beginning to tremble unconsciously.
Wu Jiangxue was still holding her big, fat orange cat. Noticing that the two elderly people were trembling, she smiled and introduced herself:
"Good evening, uncles and aunts. My name is Wu Jiangxue."
"Rest assured, both of you. We are here today specifically to address the case of the murder of your daughter, Qiu Shuangshuang."
She extended her hand and shook hands with the two elderly people, then sat down amidst their skeptical gazes.
"Our Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong districts are currently cooperating in the investigation of a murder-for-sex case involving young women. Based on information provided by concerned citizens, we have now identified your daughter's boyfriend."
Seeing the light gradually appear in the eyes of the two elderly people, she smiled.
"If it's possible, could you two please cooperate with us?"
-
Around 11 a.m., a young man with slicked-back hair was making a phone call from a public phone booth on the street.
He was chewing bubble gum, and his once handsome face was mostly ruined by his roguish demeanor.
"What kind of trap? That's an entire apartment! A building with an elevator!"
He yelled impatiently at the person on the other end of the phone.
"With that apartment in a building with an elevator, and given the current housing prices, I can just sell it and I won't have to worry for the rest of my life!"
"What trap or not? Those two old bastards just lost their daughter, what reason would they have to harm me, their prospective son-in-law?"
"They're giving me the house because I'm their only daughter's boyfriend!"
"How good I was to Qiu Shuangshuang when she was alive! It's time for those two old bastards to repay me!"
The man shouted a few words at the person on the other end of the phone, then quickly and impatiently hung up.
He slammed the microphone back into place, muttered a few foul words under his breath, and spat at the roadside.
"Damn it, you're having a hard time yourself, and you want to drag me down with you."
After saying that, he came out of the public phone booth.
He changed from his previous impatience and rubbed his hands excitedly.
"Wow, I'm rich! I'm rich! My good days are coming!"
He tossed his slicked-back hair, strode with an air of arrogance, and hummed a little tune as he walked toward his deceased girlfriend's parents' house.
It was getting late, and all the food stalls had closed up shop. There were fewer and fewer people on the streets.
Whether it's because he feels guilty or not, the man always feels a chill down his spine.
He glanced around and spat again.
"Damn it, now that our daughter is dead, these two old geezers are starting to act up too."
"Why did you have to call me so late?"
But he still walked briskly into the building, and after entering the elevator, went straight to the home of his deceased girlfriend's parents.
When he stood in front of the door, he realized that he had come empty-handed.
But if I asked him to buy it now, not only would the store be closed, but he also wouldn't be willing to spend the money.
After thinking it over for a moment, he gritted his teeth and pinched his arm hard.
With a suppressed cry of pain, his eyes reddened, and he rubbed them hard, putting on a sorrowful expression.
Knock on the door, "Auntie, it's me, Yao!"
A short while later, the door was opened.
The room was dark, with no lights on, except for a candle burning in front of his girlfriend's portrait.
It became the only source of light in the entire house, illuminating a small open space.
"..."
Looking at the situation inside the room, his heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but swallow.
"Aunt?"
His heart was pounding, and he didn't dare go in.
Why...why didn't you turn on the light?
"It's customary. Today is Shuangshuang's funeral, how can we turn on the lights?"
Uncle Qiu suddenly emerged from the darkness, startling him.
He was breathing heavily, wanting to lose his temper, but the thought of the house he was about to get made him suppress his anger.
"Uncle, Auntie, I'm so sorry, I was so sad that I forgot to buy anything..."
"It's alright, we'll be fine once they arrive." Master Qiu beckoned to him, "Come and light some incense for Shuangshuang."
In the portrait, Qiu Shuangshuang is staring intently at her, her face blurred by the flickering candlelight.
"..."
He mustered his courage, entered through the door, and closed it behind him.
The moment the door closed, the whole room became even darker.
"Aunt?"
"Here you go." Master Qiu handed him the lit incense stick in her hand. "Light an incense stick for Shuangshuang."
He glanced quickly at Qiu Shuangshuang's face in the portrait, silently praying, "I'm not the murderer, don't blame me," and knelt down in front of Qiu Shuangshuang's portrait with a thud.
He bowed respectfully three times, but just as he was about to place the incense sticks into the incense burner, he was suddenly pressed down by someone.
The room lights suddenly blazed on, and my eyes couldn't handle the brightness; all I could see was a blurry, bright white.
After his eyes gradually adjusted, he found himself pinned to the ground, surrounded by several men in police uniforms who were staring intently at him.
"Sun Yao, right?"
Wu Jiangxue took out her ID and showed it to him.
"You are now involved in a murder-for-exchange case, and we are arresting you in accordance with the law."
"You have the right to remain silent, but everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Sun Yao subconsciously looked at his deceased girlfriend's parents, and his expression instantly turned ferocious.
"Damn it, you two old bastards tricked me!"
He flew into a rage, but was firmly restrained by the police officers around him.
Seeing his ferocious expression, Master Qiu endured it for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back and went up to slap him hard twice.
The surrounding police officers all turned their faces away, pretending they hadn't seen anything.
Master Qiu grabbed his hair, sobbing uncontrollably:
"It really was you! You're the one who killed my daughter!"
"Pah!" Sun Yao's features contorted in rage. "What makes you think it's me? What evidence do you have to prove it's me!"
"The murderer has been caught, otherwise how did you get your daughter's body back?"
"You caught the murderer and you still want to slander me? Are the police in Hong Kong all shit?!"
He looked at the police officers around him and shouted threateningly:
"I'm telling you, if you let me go right now, I can pretend nothing happened today."
"Otherwise, believe me or not, I'll contact reporters and hold a press conference, accusing you police officers of abusing your power!"
Seeing his confident demeanor, Wu Jiangxue stood in front of him, her tall shadow falling on him.
"Of course you can contact reporters to hold a press conference; that's your right."
"But the prerequisite is that you must first cooperate with us to explain your crimes clearly."
Sun Yao was stunned, and his face turned pale instantly.
He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, but Wu Jiangxue waved her hand and said, "If you have something to say, you can go back to the police station."
Two policemen were left to take statements from Master Qiu and her husband, while the rest of the policemen escorted Sun Yao downstairs and into a police car.
As Wu Jiangxue watched him being led into the car, she stroked the fur of the big, fat cat in her arms.
She looked intently at Chu Ci, her voice flat and monotone:
"How did Miss Chu know we were investigating a murder swap case? Even experts these days can tell that?"
Chu Ci knew she didn't need an answer, so she smiled.
She couldn't possibly say that she knew about Wu Jiangxue's career path in advance and just happened to stumble upon a crucial part of the case, could she?
She looked at Wu Jiangxue's expressionless face and pointed to the shops that were still lit up not far away:
"My shop has moved downstairs. If you need anything, Officer Wu, you are welcome to visit anytime."
Wu Jiangxue glanced in the direction she was pointing, then looked at the big fat cat in her arms.
The big fat cat meowed and looked up at Chu Ci:
“That house belongs to the Zhuang family. I heard you were getting very close to Zhuang Jingxuan a few days ago.”
Chu Ci squinted at the big fat cat in her arms. The big fat cat licked its lips and guiltily looked away.
Wu Jiangxue warned her, "Her family has been in turmoil lately because of the fight over the inheritance. You'd better be careful."
"Okay, I'll remind you more, Officer Wu."
Wu Jiangxue's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing.
He simply told her, "The suspects in the murder exchange case haven't all been apprehended yet, so be careful lately."
After saying that, she got into the car without waiting for Chu Ci's reply.
Chu Ci watched her leave, stood there for a moment with his eyes down, and finally slapped his forehead.
"Oh no, we almost missed the deadline."
When she returned to the shop, Grandma was already feeling sleepy, her head gradually becoming drowsy.
Hearing Chu Ci return, she sighed, "You silly child, why did it take you so long to come back?"
Chu Ci took out the brazier and the prepared incense, candles, and paper money, urging Grandma:
"Grandma, it's getting late, you should go back to sleep."
Grandma was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open. "After you burn the paper money, you'll go home, and then we can go up together."
"No, I still have things to do, Grandma, you go up first!"
After seeing off the reluctant but curious grandmother, Chu Ci stared at the time and began burning paper money.
She threw the wooden plaques given to her by the two underworld officials into the brazier, and soon a thick fog rose from the street not far away.
"Oh my, Sister Chu, why have you been so generous these past few days!"
A sinister voice, tinged with laughter, rang out through the thick fog as a figure dressed in black squatted in front of a brazier, picking up gold ingots.
He brought the gold ingot to his mouth and took a bite, his sly-looking face beaming with a smile.
"This is the gold! Fine gold!"
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