The Devil in the World (15)

After returning from Shanghai, Lu He immediately took Cai Shuangxi and Liang Yunfeng to the detention center to interrogate Li Muxiao.

Li Muxiao was taken to the interrogation room ahead of time. When Lu He saw him again, he was wearing prison clothes, with a thick beard on his chin and a haggard look on his face.

The court has not yet convicted Li Muxiao and is still in the investigation and retrial stage. Li Muxiao also faces multiple charges including "insulting a corpse."

From the moment they entered the door, Li Muxiao stared at Lu He with a vigilant look. Even though he was tried in court and was embroiled in various charges, his confidence did not seem to be worn away.

Lu He sat down, looking serious, and asked: "Li Muxiao, did you know I would come to see you?"

Li Muxiao looked him straight in the eye, "Captain Lu, what do you want to know?"

Lu He said firmly: "You and Ruan Mengying have been to Shanghai. Ruan Mengying is suffering from a terminal illness. Not only she herself, but you also know this. Did Ruan Mengying commit suicide?"

"I have no idea."

Lu He kept staring at Li Muxiao's expression. He was not panicked and remained calm, just like a calm lake. From his state, Lu He could guess that he had been "waiting".

Just like the photo that Ruan Mengying sent to Lu He before her death, she hoped that Lu He would find the truth, and Li Muxiao also expected the same, so he is now in a quiet "waiting".

Lu He said, "You don't tell me anything, do you think I can find out the truth?"

"Yumeying said, you can, you can definitely do it."

Lu He was a little surprised. Although he was the captain of the criminal police, he never published anything in the newspaper. He didn't know how Ruan Mengying was sure that he could find the truth, so he asked, "How did she know me?"

"Ruan Mengying said that she had heard your name from bad people."

Lu He was getting more and more confused. What kind of bad guy was he? Was he the bad guy who took the photo? How did he know him? Of course, if the bad guy had dealt with him before, there were many ways for him to know him. Of course, it was not ruled out that he was a celebrity or someone who knew the police.

He asked: "Does Ruan Mengying know the identity of this bad guy?" If he knew his identity, he believed that Li Muxiao would not beat around the bush. Both Ruan Mengying and he hoped for the help of the police, so he would not hide it.

"I don't know. In fact, I know very little about Ruan Mengying's story. Do you still remember, Captain Lu, the story I told you was actually true."

Lu He certainly remembered that in that story, Li Muxiao and Ruan Mengying met because of a dolphin puppet. At that time, Li Muxiao dressed up as a "Xiao Chou" who sold balloons and puppets. He gradually got to know Ruan Mengying and they even thought that they had "fallen in love" with each other.

But one day, Ruan Mengying borrowed some money from him and suddenly left without saying goodbye, completely disappearing from the city for a year.

Lu He believes that Ruan Mengying borrowed this money most likely to repay her debts and the high-interest loan caused by the bank's loophole, but this money may not be enough.

Because Li Muxiao had said before that Ruan Mengying borrowed 3,000 yuan from him, which was almost all of Li Muxiao's savings at the time, and Zeng Haoqiang also said that Ruan Mengying embezzled about 8,000 yuan from the bank.

To Zeng Haoqiang, it was not a huge sum of money. To Ruan Mengying, it was not a huge sum of money either. She could still pay it back by scraping together some money.

However, Lu He guessed that Ruan Mengying had a bad relationship with her father and she did not ask for help from her family. At that time, Ruan Mengying was forced by Zeng Haoqiang to take a risk and borrow a loan with high interest in order to pay back the 8,000 yuan as soon as possible. This loan with high interest may have harmed her, leading to her being blackmailed, placed under house arrest, and taking those photos. She must have been imprisoned during the year she disappeared.

Li Muxiao said: "I had been looking for her for a year when she disappeared. Later, I really saw her. It was at the end of last year. I was still wearing a little ugly dress and met her at the door of the Hong Kong Hotel. But this time she was very thin, as if she was sick. I felt distressed when I saw her. I asked her if she was sick. Her face was very pale. She smiled at me and told me not to come to her in the future. She would find a way to return the money to me."

"I was really angry at the time. I later found her address, but I didn't kill her. I wanted her to tell me what she had been through, but she said nothing. She said she would pay me back and asked me to wait."

"Later, late one night, she suddenly called me. She sounded very painful. I ran to her rental house and saw her holding her stomach and crying. I didn't know what happened, so I took her to an emergency room. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with her, so he prescribed her painkillers and told me to go to a big hospital."

"Mengying took painkillers and rested. I fell asleep at the head of her bed. Mengying disappeared again. I looked for her again. Three days later, she called me again and asked if I could go to Shanghai with her."

Li Muxiao sighed, "She seemed to know that she had a terminal illness. She was diagnosed with the disease in Shanghai. I had worked in a museum for a while and had some savings. I wanted to treat her, but she didn't agree. Later we returned to Jinyang, and I tried to make some nutritious food for her and persuade her to accept treatment."

"Yumeying said that she wanted me to do my own thing and not always be nice to her, it's not worth it. During that time, every time I visited her, she dressed up carefully and had a smile on her face. But I know that she must have experienced a lot of pain when I was away."

"Until one day," Li Muxiao's eyes were red and filled with anger, "she showed me the photos, and I asked her who she was? Who did this to her? She told me that she didn't know him, and that he was always wearing a white mask, and she never knew who he was? She didn't even know where she was imprisoned that year. She didn't describe too much because she was in too much pain. She just told me that there were more than one girls like her."

Li Muxiao's tears flowed out. He recalled that scene again, and it still seemed as if he was stained by Ruan Mengying's pain.

"Soon it was the day before the museum opened. Ruan Mengying asked me to deliver something to her brother, so I did it. When I came back, it was around four in the morning. I was worried that something had happened to her, so I went to her rental house. The moment I walked into the bedroom, I was shocked by what I saw. There was a basin on the ground, and her head was hanging by the bed. Half of the basin was filled with blood..."

"I didn't know she committed suicide at first. She left a tape on the bedside, and I listened to it immediately." He raised his head, looking at Lu He with bloodshot eyes, "No one can understand her pain and despair. A person who commits suicide will bleed himself..."

Li Muxiao finally broke down in tears. He held his face with his hands and cried, his whole body shaking.

"If I knew that she wanted me to leave for a period of time, that she was committing suicide, and that she was choosing to leave this world in this way, I would definitely not leave..." Li Muxiao's voice began to become hysterical, his eyes were terribly red, like a devil escaped from hell. He was still in handcuffs at this moment, but the violent shaking caused blood marks on his wrists.

"Ruan Mengying lied to me. I thought she had a long-term plan. She could have lived another year or two. If she had money, she could have received treatment. Her terminal illness was not in the late stage and could have been cured with money. But she seemed to be unable to wait. She was afraid of dragging me down, afraid that I would continue to see her in pain, and she was afraid that the devil would find us in advance and kill us..."

Lu He's mood had never been so heavy, and there was bitterness in his eyes. He had been a police officer for many years and had seen many tragic cases, but at this moment, he still couldn't listen to such a story.

He finally understood why there were a large amount of sleeping pills in Ruan Mengying's stomach, and perhaps also painkillers. It was because she was afraid of pain. She was a girl who was afraid of pain. She must have been very afraid of pain before committing suicide. She thought sleeping pills could relieve the pain of cutting her throat.

He began to understand Li Muxiao's feelings at that time. He loved her so much, but one day he suddenly saw his beloved die in front of her without saying goodbye and in such a cruel way. The pain was so severe. It might not be difficult to understand why he fell asleep holding her head and kissing her head.

Li Muxiao lay on the table and cried heartbreakingly for a while, then wiped away his tears with strength, looked up and said: "Captain Lu, actually this is all I know. Mengying bought those flowers herself, and she asked me to buy two pots of flowers at the funeral flower shop. She also found the cart. I think you should understand why I appeared in the museum and why I changed my testimony in court. Everything I did was Ruan Mengying's original plan. But she likes the sea of ​​flowers, and it was my own initiative that upgraded her original plan and made it known to the whole city. I also ask you to forgive me for the trouble I have brought you."

Lu He understood what was Ruan Mengying's final plan in life? She wanted to seek justice, but she was powerless. She committed suicide in a cruel way. Perhaps that was her only way to fight the devil.

Li Muxiao was the only person who could help her, maybe he took advantage of her, but she had no other choice.

Li Muxiao would definitely do this for her sincerely. He had been looking for her for a year, and now that he had found her again, he would definitely cherish her and go through fire and water for her.

Lu He knew that it might not be safe to carry the tape with him, just like Li Muxiao's change of confession in court would definitely arouse the criminals' vigilance and anxiety, so the tape might be hidden in a very special place or destroyed.

Just like Ruan Mengying's brother was told to destroy the tapes, if these were left behind, they would become a motive for criminals to kill.

But Lu He believed that Li Muxiao did not destroy the last tape that Ruan Mengying left for him. Because he felt that Li Muxiao also had his own plan. He only stated the alibi for Ruan Mengying's death in court, and kept silent about the evidence of dismemberment. He would rather be accused because he wanted to continue to expand the matter and to protect himself. He knew that once he left the detention center, he might suffer misfortune.

And that tape will be kept whether to prove his innocence or out of his love for Ruan Mengying.

Lu He felt that it was time to ask the most crucial question. He spoke in a calm and low voice: "Li Muxiao, Ruan Mengying hopes that I can seek justice for her. You must also hope that you can tell me where the tape is? I think the tape must reveal the truth about the suicide and dismemberment."

Li Muxiao sniffed and sniffed: "Yes, the tape does reveal the truth, but I hope Team Lu...don't hand it over to the court now. I hope to wait until the case is over and the truth about Ruan Mengying comes to light before releasing the information on the tape."

Lu He's speculation was correct. Li Muxiao wanted to continue delaying the incident and put himself in the center of the vortex, even if the price was to spend the rest of his life in prison. Moreover, he also wanted to protect himself because he was the only witness who could testify for Ruan Mengying.

Lu He nodded, "I promise you."

Li Muxiao raised his eyes and looked at Lu He, his bloodshot eyes were firm and determined, "The tape is in Ruan Mengying's rented apartment, inside a puppet, a little sun puppet, I sewed it inside."

Liang Yunfeng sighed and interrupted, "Captain Lu, I want to ask Li Muxiao a question."

"Go ahead."

"Li Muxiao, you have photos, which are also evidence of the crime. Why don't you send them directly to the police or the road team? This will be faster than you painstakingly designing this case."

"I mentioned this to Mengying, but she didn't agree. Maybe she felt that calling the police might not solve the problem at all."

Lu He made a final guess: "Did Ruan Mengying's brother get beaten to a pulp during that time?"

"right."

Lu He guessed that Ruan Mengying might have received a warning and threat from the devil at that time, and this warning was her brother's life, so she did not choose to call the police. She might not have any evidence of the devil, so she chose such a desperate but attention-grabbing path.

Li Muxiao also insisted on this path. He lied again and again in order to escalate the incident indefinitely and make the criminals have no peace. Obviously, he did it.

After asking a few more questions to make sure that Li Muxiao had not forgotten any details, Lu He slowly stood up and said, "Li Muxiao, thank you for your cooperation. You must trust us police officers and believe that the demon who abused Ruan Mengying will be brought to justice."

"Mengying believes in you, and of course I believe in you too. Thank you for your support." For the first time, Li Muxiao had a sincere smile on his face.

When leaving the interrogation room, Lu He found that Liang Yunfeng and Cai Shuangxi both had red eyes. It seemed that these two macho men were also moved and sad about the story in the interrogation room just now.

"Captain Lu, are we going to Ruan Mengying's house now?" Liang Yunfeng asked.

"Yes, in order to avoid any more trouble, we must find the tape as soon as possible. It is also the evidence that proves Li Muxiao's innocence. If it falls into the hands of others, it will be disastrous."

The police car arrived at Ruan Mengying's rental house as quickly as possible. Because this was the crime scene, Ruan Mengying's rental house had been under police blockade.

Lu He unlocked the door, and after entering, the three of them searched quickly. On the most conspicuous dressing table in the bedroom, there was a sunflower doll, or the little sun as Li Muxiao said. Lu He picked it up, and Cai Shuangxi quickly found a pair of scissors.

Lu He cut the seams. Maybe Li Muxiao was in a hurry when sewing that morning, so the stitches were jumping irregularly, but maybe Li Muxiao's hands were shaking at that time.

A ball of cotton appeared from the little sun doll, and the tape was quickly taken out. There was a tape recorder in the living room, which Liang Yunfeng had already taken, plugged in the socket, opened the flap, and Lu He put the tape in.

Liang Yunfeng pressed the play button with his slender fingers, and a popular Cantonese song came out of the recorder.

The three of them looked at each other, unsure whether the tape was the evidence that Li Muxiao had mentioned, or whether it had been swapped?

Just as I was wondering, the singing stopped abruptly, and there was a period of blank noise. Gradually, there was a sound of breathing, uneven breathing.

Lu He frowned slightly. This should be Ruan Mengying's breathing. She was preparing to record the sound.

"Did you hear me? Mu Xiao...I'm Ruan Mengying..." The voice was very weak, but it could be heard as a young girl's voice.

"Mu Xiao, when you heard my voice, I should have been dead... I'm sorry that I didn't have the time to say goodbye to you. I lied to you every time, but this time, it's true. I will never lie to you again, and I will never leave without reason again..."

"I'm sorry, I really thought I could be your girlfriend. I loved the days I spent with you. They were the most precious time in my life and I always miss them. But I'm not worthy of you. My body is extremely dirty. I hate it and I know you will never like it again..."

"I hope you will chop me into pieces, cut me into pieces, and throw my body pieces in the streets. I know I am selfish and I am using you, but I have no other choice. I want to use this most cruel method to expose the devil to the world. After I die, you will cut me up, put me in the suitcase I prepared, and throw me on the busy street with a cart. At that time, many people will pay attention to me. This is the only way. It will hurt you. Please leave the tape and take it to the court to prove your innocence. Officer Lu He is the only person who can help me. Remember to find him, only him..."

"...If there is an afterlife, I will definitely repay you, Mu Xiao. I may never be able to pay back that money. I'm sorry. Thank you for loving me...I, I love you too...I hope you can find someone better, and not be as unlucky as me. You will have good luck in your life. Mu Xiao, goodbye..."

The voice stopped. The second half of the song was almost spoken with a crying tone. Afterwards, the crying sound gradually became smaller and slowly turned into blank noise. The blankness came to an abrupt end and the singing started again.

At that moment, Lu He finally realized why Ruan Mengying wanted to bleed herself. It was because she was worried that Li Muxiao couldn't do it, so she took the first step.