The Devil in the World (8)

At dusk, Lu He, Liang Yunfeng, and Lin Tao arrived at Qingshui City No. 1 High School. It was the time for the school to be dismissed. Students in red school uniforms walked out of the school gate like the morning sun. Suddenly, the streets were filled with groups of people and bicycles with ringing bells.

Liang Yunfeng said: "Is it time for Sun Mengshu to finish class and go home?"

Lin Tao said: "Generally, those who leave school should live nearby. I looked at the map and the school is quite far from Sun Mengshu's home. He is now in his third year of high school and will take the college entrance examination soon, so he should live on campus."

Liang Yunfeng smiled and said, "Brother Tao's analysis makes sense."

Lu He said, "Okay, let's go find the school leaders to find out the situation."

The three of them quickly found the school director. Director Wang said that the student accommodation information was rather complicated. Some students stayed on campus, some left campus, and some lived together. He took everyone to the dormitory management office to look up the registration information.

While flipping through the registration book, Lin Tao handed the specific information to Director Wang, "Name: Sun Mengshu, male, currently in the third year of high school."

"Sun Mengshu?" Director Wang's fingers that were turning the pages suddenly stopped, with a hint of surprise in his pupils.

Lin Tao said: "Yes, Sun Mengshu, the director, do you know him?"

Lu He felt that Director Wang not only knew Sun Mengshu, but also that something important might have happened to him.

Director Wang asked, "Is there any progress in Sun Mengshu's case?"

"Case?" Liang Yunfeng asked anxiously, "What case?"

Director Wang sighed and said, "I thought you had found the murderer. During the Spring Festival this year, Sun Mengshu was beaten by a few hooligans. The beating was quite severe. He was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment and was admitted to the ICU. Our school went to visit him. He stayed in the hospital for more than a month before he recovered. The police station took over the case at that time, but they never found the murderer. This child is also pitiful. He took the college entrance examination this year and did not want to stay for a year to review, so he came to school before he fully recovered."

All of this gave Lu He more and more information shocks, and kept approaching the center of his thinking. He didn't know if it was what he had explored in his heart, but in any case, this matter must not be simple.

He asked, "Director, how is Sun Mengshu doing now? Can I see him?"

Director Wang said, "It's okay to meet him. Sun Mengshu's condition should be stable now. However, the school dormitory is not suitable for him to live in. He needs someone to take care of him. His mother rented a room near the school. He can go back to live there after class and come to class in the morning."

While Director Wang was talking, he flipped through the drawers and found a notebook. He tore off a page, copied a paragraph, and handed it to Lu He, "This is the address of his out-of-town residence that his mother filled out to the school. Take a look."

Lu He took it, thanked Director Wang, and immediately left the school gate. From the school gate, he could see the surrounding residential buildings, most of which were probably rented by students' parents.

It is now past seven in the evening and the sky is getting dark. Many windows are lit up, densely packed like stars in the sky. One of them should be Sun Mengshu's window. He loves studying and is preparing for the college entrance examination. He must be studying hard under the light at this time.

Based on the address, the three of them quickly found the building and knocked on the door on the third floor. The sound of slippers stepping on the floor came from inside the house. Soon after the footsteps stopped, the light on the door suddenly went out and the room became silent.

There was a light in the corridor. Lin Tao and Liang Yunfeng looked at each other. When they knocked on the door again, there was no response. The two of them were puzzled by each other.

Lu He suddenly realized what had happened. There was a peephole on the door of this house, and the person inside must have used the peephole to check the situation outside the door.

There were three big men standing outside the door, all in plain clothes, which would surely make the people inside mistakenly think they were bad people. Even if they claimed to be police officers, people would inevitably think they were lying. After all, Sun Mengshu had just escaped from such a tragic situation, and he must be still frightened.

Lu He thought of an idea. He immediately took out his police ID, opened it with two fingers and showed it to the cat, and said in a deep voice: "Sun Mengshu, I am Lu He, the criminal police captain from Jinyang City Bureau. This is my police ID. We are here to talk to you about the beating you received and your sister Ruan Mengying. I hope you can trust us."

There was still no sound from inside. Lu He thought that the police officer's ID card was facing the cat's eye and the light was blocked. He immediately said, "Yunfeng, turn on the light."

Liang Yunfeng picked up a small flashlight and shone it on the police officer's ID from the side. After about a few seconds, the lights in the house came on and the door creaked. From the gap in the door, a boy of about sixteen or seventeen, still a little childish, appeared.

This face is very pretty, and is 80% similar to his sister Ruan Mengying, but there is a hint of timidity in the pupils.

Liang Yunfeng and Lin Tao looked at each other and smiled with some satisfaction at the small progress made in the case.

When Lu He entered the house, he found Sun Mengshu leaning on a bamboo cane and his right calf wrapped in a thick plaster cast. This quickly reminded him of the accident during the Spring Festival.

Lu He asked: "Was your leg hit by someone?"

"Yeah." Sun Mengshu nodded.

However, when he nodded, there was a hint of fear in his eyes, which was not easy to detect, but Lu He could see that Sun Mengshu must have a deep memory of that past event and could not bear to look back on it.

Lu He glanced around the room again. The rented house was very simple. It was probably a converted one-bedroom apartment. There was only one bedroom with a bright table lamp. There was a bed in the living room, which should be where his mother slept.

"Where's Mom?" Lu He asked.

"After making dinner, I went back home and came back before going to bed."

"How's your leg? What did the doctor say?"

"It's not fully healed yet. I should be able to walk in a month or two."

"Okay, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah." Sun Mengshu nodded again. He kept looking at Lu He's face, his eyes timid and inquiring, as if he was confirming something.

Lu He may think that he should still be confirming his identity as a criminal policeman, after all, criminal policemen are not common in real life.

There happened to be a round table in the living room with some leftovers on it, including a half-eaten plate of braised pork with zucchini and reed, a small bowl of tomato and egg soup, some broken boiled egg shells, and a small bowl of pickled beans. It seemed that the child's mother had taken good care of Meng Shu for his recovery and preparation for the college entrance examination.

Liang Yunfeng and Lin Tao helped to clear the table and wipe the surface. The four of them sat down, and Lu He planned to ask questions in person.

Sun Mengshu placed the bamboo stick on the table and swayed a bit when he sat down. Lin Tao quickly held his arm. Sun Mengshu sat down steadily with a slight smile on his face.

"Would you like me to get you a glass of water?"

"No need." Lu He said, "We'll just ask a few questions and leave."

"good."

Lu He asked: "Sun Mengshu, you are a good student. You must trust the police. You must answer the questions I ask truthfully and stay calm."

"Um."

"Do you remember the exact date during the Spring Festival when you were beaten up? How many people beat you up at that time? Do you remember the figure and appearance of any of them?"

Lu He knew that the police station must have asked him before. He didn't have time to go to the police station, so he could only ask him on the spot. Perhaps this information would be helpful to Ruan Mengying's case.

But when he asked this question, Sun Mengshu's expression, which had been relatively calm just now, immediately became tense. He shook his head involuntarily, and an imperceptible fear appeared in his eyes again.

Lu He wanted to wait for him, but Sun Mengshu looked at him again, as if there was some kind of power supporting him. He lowered his head again and spoke slowly: "It was the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the day before school started. I arrived at school early, and my roommates hadn't come yet. I went out to eat something, and when I came back I passed an alley, and then..." He stopped talking, his lips trembled, and after a moment he said, "something hit my head, and then countless fists and feet hit me, and soon I passed out..."

After a moment of silence, Lu He asked, "Did they say anything?"

"no."

“Are you taking photos?”

"Yes, it seems so."

Lu He realized that this might be an organized and premeditated persecution group, and these people did not look like a loose bullying group.

There are some questions that Lu He does not plan to ask today. The police station should have investigated the details of Sun Mengshu's beating and his social relations that day.

He turned the question to the case under investigation: "Do you know about your sister Ruan Mengying's situation?"

"What do you mean? I haven't seen my sister for a long time."

Lu He was surprised that Sun Mengshu didn't know about Ruan Mengying, but he soon realized that there was a distance between Qingshui City and Jinyang City. At that time, for the sake of the case, the name of the victim used by social media was not Ruan Mengying, but a pseudonym. The most popular pseudonym was Ai Ying. Maybe some reporters thought that "Ai" was the same as "Ai".

Moreover, the Ruan Mengying case happened not long ago. The case may have spread in Qingshui City and Qingshui No. 1 High School, but Ruan Mengying's name did not spread. Moreover, Sun Mengshu's surname was Sun, so probably no one would care that they were siblings.

It is also possible that Sun Mengshu's mother did not know about this, because the family members who were notified at the time were Nguyen Phu Xuan and Luo Ping, and it is unknown whether Nguyen Phu Xuan told his ex-wife about his character.

Liang Yunfeng and Lin Tao looked at each other, obviously unable to believe that their own brother didn't know that his sister had passed away.

Lu He hesitated for a moment. He didn't know whether to tell Sun Mengshu about this, but in the end he chose to keep it secret for the time being. Perhaps he didn't want to see Sun Mengshu cry during the questioning.

Lu He wanted to start with an easy question, so he asked, "Sun Mengshu, do you like music?"

"Yes, I like it very much."

"Did your sister ever say anything about buying you a piano?"

“It seems not.”

"Do you contact each other often? Did your sister contact you last year?" Lu He knew that Ruan Mengying had been missing for a whole year, but Sun Mengshu might not know about it. From the package sent to Ruan Fuchun, he concluded that someone had contacted Sun Mengshu in a similar way.

Sun Mengshu replied: "My sister knew that I was studying in a high school and would take the college entrance examination. She usually wrote me a letter once a month. But later, she wrote me longer and said less. She said she was very busy and could not write to me. She told me to study hard and come to see me after I finished the college entrance examination."

Sure enough, Lu He was not wrong. During the time when Ruan Mengying disappeared, someone simulated her life.

At this time, Sun Mengshu took the initiative to say: "I like music. I remember when my sister and I were still living together, we went to a big shopping mall and saw a piano. I told her that I dreamed of sitting in front of the piano and playing music for her like a great musician one day."

Lu He could feel the light in the child's eyes when he said this. When he said he lived with his sister, he must be referring to the days when their parents lived together before their divorce.

"Has something happened to my sister?" Sun Mengshu suddenly asked.

The air suddenly became silent. Liang Yunfeng and Lin Tao both lowered their eyes at the same time. Lu He was silent for a moment and said calmly, "Sun Mengshu, I will tell you later if you can cooperate with us to answer a few questions today."

Sun Mengshu's cheeks and forehead were covered with beads of sweat, which appeared shiny in the dim light, and his eyes gradually became rosy.

Lu He was not very good at relationships, so he decided to end the questioning early and asked, "March 25th is not a weekend, are you in school?"

"March 25th?" Sun Mengshu repeated, "Yes, I'm in class. I don't usually ask for leave, and my legs are not convenient."

"That day, was there a man who came to see you? He was about 1.75 meters tall, about 25 years old, and his hair... was about the same length as Officer Liang's," he pointed at Liang Yunfeng and continued to introduce, "He was thin, with slightly protruding cheekbones, a long and thin face, and a high nose..."

Sun Mengshu's eyes were fixed. He looked at Lu He without moving. This made Liang Yunfeng and Lin Tao even more puzzled. Lu He was also very puzzled and asked curiously: "Sun Mengshu, did you remember something?"

"Are you really Lu He?"

The questions asked by Sun Mengshu made the three people even more suspicious. It seemed that things were not developing as they imagined.

Lu He said: "Why do you ask that?"

"Can I see your ID again?"

For some reason, Liang Yunfeng suddenly felt a little nervous. He didn't know why Sun Mengshu said this. He had clearly confirmed Lu He's identity through Mao Yan just now, so why was he still doubting it? Could it be that some of Lu He's actions made him distrust him?

Lu He calmly took out his police ID again and handed it to Sun Mengshu, "Take a look."

Sun Mengshu really took it. He held it in his palm and stared at the words on it closely, as if he was repeatedly confirming that the information was true.

After a while, he closed the police officer's ID and returned it to Lu He. This time, the light in his eyes was calmer than before, and it was filled with the simple sincerity of a young boy.

"Wait a moment." Sun Mengshu stood up, leaned on his bamboo crutches, and went to the bedroom.

Liang Yunfeng looked at Lu He and whispered, "Captain Lu, what does he want to do?"

Lin Tao said, “Yes.”

"Wait and see."

After a while, Sun Mengshu came back with a stack of bulging envelopes in his hands. The envelopes seemed to contain something. He walked to the table step by step and handed the envelopes to Lu He. He said calmly: "My sister said to give this to Officer Lu He. She said you would come to see me."

Lu He took it in his hand. There was no words on the cover of the envelope, but the envelope was sealed and no one had ever opened it.

He guessed that Li Muxiao came to Qingshui City on March 25th and found Sun Mengshu. He asked, "Which man gave it to you?"

"Yes, he told me that my sister recorded a tape for me and told me not to tell anyone about it. I listened to the tape that day. It was a college entrance exam English tape. There was a message in the middle. It was my sister's voice. My sister told me not to open the letter and give it to Officer Lu He. This matter is very important. So what happened to my sister?"

Lu He held the thick envelope, feeling heavy. Perhaps it contained a key clue.

"Is the tape still there?"

Sun Mengshu said: "Destroy it. My sister said that after listening to it, destroy it. After giving the letter to Lu He, never think about it again."

Sun Mengshu bit his lip after saying this. He must have realized that something had happened to his sister.

Lu He stood up and said firmly, "Give me a few days, and I will tell you everything about your sister. Sun Mengshu, study hard and remember that your sister loves you very much and she hopes you can get into a good university. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Sun Mengshu's eyes were red, and he seemed to have realized that his sister had met with an accident.

After going out, Lu He walked in the night. Lin Tao asked: "Captain Lu, why didn't you tell him that his sister passed away?"

Liang Yunfeng said: "Yes, Captain Lu, at least now he can see him for the last time."

Lu He walked with heavy steps, "Ruan Mengying didn't want him to see her for the last time."

Liang Yunfeng suddenly understood Captain Lu's thoughts. If the case was not solved and the truth about Ruan Mengying was not revealed, perhaps Ruan Mengying herself did not want Sun Mengshu to know all this, because she told him personally that after handing the letter to Lu He, she would never think about it again.

Ruan Mengying died on the night of the 25th, and this letter was given to Sun Mengshu during the day on the 25th, which means that Ruan Mengying had already foreseen that she was going to die.

After Li Muxiao handed the letter to Sun Mengshu that day, he took a bus back to Jinyang City. He also had an argument with a passenger on the bus in the early morning. Everything seemed to be connected.

Did she foresee that her body would become six packs? She certainly didn't want her brother to see her like that.

Lu He opened the car door and said, "Go back to Jinyang City immediately and call Zeng Haoqiang tomorrow morning."

Liang Yunfeng drove back under the cover of night. He seemed to feel that the whole thing was heading in a completely different direction. This feeling made him suddenly realize that a storm was about to come and they would face unprecedented challenges.

In the co-pilot seat, Lu He held the envelope tightly in his hand. Holding this unknown sediment, he felt the weight of responsibility.

Turning on the reading light on the roof, he slowly tore open the envelope. In fact, Lu He had experienced many unknowns, and he had also solved countless unknowns in countless cases. Those unknowns were not scary, because there were already predetermined signs anchored in his heart.

This letter was sent to him directly by the deceased during his criminal career. The weight of this letter is different. Perhaps after opening the envelope, a new "world" will be revealed.

Whether that world is hell or an arena, whether it is the devil or ferocious beasts, all will be presented in the new "world".

When he tore open the envelope, Lin Tao, who was sitting in the back seat, was already a little nervous. In fact, he had been thinking about what the letter was about. He had been thinking about it after getting on the bus, but he didn't ask Lu He right away. He felt that Lu He had his reasons for not opening the letter at Sun Mengshu's house. He leaned forward, wanting to see Lu He's expression clearly.

Liang Yunfeng was equally nervous. He turned his head away and couldn't help looking in Lu He's direction again and again.

Lu He's slender and stylish fingers touched the photos. There were several photos in the envelope, but they were wrapped in a layer of paper and could not be felt from outside the envelope. He slowly pulled out the photos.

The first photo that came into view made his eyes suddenly stunned. He did not continue to pull out the whole thing because this part of the photo was enough to see the content clearly.

It was a girl, a young girl who was completely naked, without any clothes to cover her body, but she was a little different. She had a scarf around her neck, a colorful scarf made up of red, yellow, green and other colors.

Lu He is extremely sensitive to bright colors, so when this photo appeared, the first thing he saw was the scarf. This scarf quickly reminded him of the scarf worn by the female employee of the Development Bank where Ruan Mengying used to work.

Simply put, this is a professional scarf unique to the Development Bank and a professional symbol.

The girl's whole body was exposed, with all her sensitive parts visible. As a criminal investigator, Lu He naturally blocked out a lot of unnecessary information. He was looking for clues about this girl.

The photo was not very clear in the dim light, but the girl's skin was very fair and there were no obvious scars on her body. She was sitting on the ground with her back against the wall. Behind her was an open window with a small section of gray curtains visible on both sides.

The girl's legs were stretched out, slightly bent, and spread out, so that certain parts of her body were visible.

A pair of black high-heeled shoes with red soles remained on her feet, her arms were hanging down, and her whole posture looked like she had been abused and had no strength left to be pushed into the corner, or was lying in the corner.

A silver plate the size of a poker card was tied to her right thigh with a red rope. There was some number written on the plate, but because the plate had fallen to the outside of her thigh and her vision was dim, she could not make out the words clearly.

Finally, Lu He looked at her face. Her long black hair was disheveled and scattered around her face. A few strands of hair covered her eyes, and some strands of hair were like leeches drilling into her mouth.

Even so, Lu He still recognized her. It was Ruan Mengying without a doubt.

Her lips were tightly pursed, as if she was biting the hair that had gotten into her mouth. Her cheeks were lined with tear marks, and her pupils were looking forward. She should be looking at a person and the camera in his hand. Her eyes were filled with despair, fear and pain.

This was the entire picture that Lu He felt at first sight. Even though he had seen many tragic deaths, the sight of a living person, a young girl, in such a tragic posture and with such desperate eyes still shook him to his core.

Under what circumstances would a girl give such a photo of herself to someone else, to a man, even if he is a policeman.

She must be extremely desperate, desperate to the point of suffocating!

Lu He's heart was filled with waves!

The demons from hell are rampant in the world, and he must kill them with his own hands!