Chapter 121: Family Massacre
The old men and women became even more excited. The woman in the red shirt spoke first, "That's it. Zhen Lian married Feng Geming just to move to the city. Otherwise, how could such a good-looking girl like him? You haven't seen Feng Geming, have you? Oh, he's tiny, only about 1.6 meters tall, hunchbacked, not at all respectable! If he didn't have parents who were cadres, he wouldn't even be able to get married!"
The khaki-colored uncle had a different opinion: "Zhen Lian is also a pitiful person. She's beautiful, but her parents want to sell her for a higher price. She had no choice but to marry Feng Geming. After marriage, she can't stand up straight in the Feng family. She doesn't dare to refute what the Feng family's parents say. Feng Geming won't listen to her either, so she's in a difficult situation."
The lady in the red shirt spitted, "You grown men, you only care about Zhen Lian's looks! What kind of person is she? Pitiable? If she's pitiful, then there are so many pitiful people in the world. She has no worries about food and clothing, so she's not pitiful at all! Feng Revolution is out fooling around, do you think she's ever asked for a divorce? No, she doesn't even dare to make a scene, let alone a divorce. And you think she's pitiful? Pt.! This is her choice of life, she's willing to live it any way she wants, why are you being so kind?"
"How can you talk like that?!"
"What's wrong with me talking like that? Ugh, you old pervert!"
The old men and women started arguing, and Zhou Zhixing quickly tried to persuade them: "Uncle, aunt, calm down, it's not worth it. I'm just asking questions, why are you arguing? Besides, the person involved is still lying in there, aren't you afraid..."
He paused and didn't explain himself clearly, but they were all experienced people, so who couldn't understand him? He was just saying that these words might be heard by the spirits of the dead, and what would happen in the future?
Everyone's eyes began to evade. Zhou Zhixing saw that everyone understood and continued, "I understand too. The deceased Zhen Lian married into the Feng family at a high position. Her relationship with Feng Geming was average, right?"
The old men and women looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
Zhou Zhixing continued to ask, "What about the Feng family's youngest son? What kind of person is he? Who is he close to?"
The old man answered first, "The boy's name is Feng Hongwei. He's only 22 this year. He's always wanted to go to college. He started preparing in 1977, but he still hasn't been admitted. The old couple of the Feng family thought this was not a good idea, so they found a way to squeeze him into the factory, letting him study while working. He's a quiet guy and doesn't like to talk much. I haven't heard that he's close to anyone."
The lady in the red shirt smiled smugly and started gossiping, instantly forgetting Zhou Zhixing's implication. She raised her eyebrows, looking extremely pleased with herself: "You don't know? I know!"
As he spoke, he glanced at the old man with contempt and said mysteriously: "Let me tell you, this youngest son of the Feng family has something going on with his sister-in-law!"
Zhou Zhixing's face was very serious. He said, "Auntie, it's not good to talk about this kind of thing. What evidence do you have?"
As soon as the auntie said this, people rushed over. It was so fast that a crowd of people appeared in an instant. One of them said, "What? The young wife of the Zhen family is having an affair with the old man, not the brother-in-law!"
The man swore, "No, it's my brother-in-law. I saw it all! The kid from the Feng family bought toilet paper for his sister-in-law. Do you think it's suspicious?"
There were also those who winked and made malicious faces, "So they can't be related? That girl from the Zhen family is not an easy person to deal with!"
Just as Zhou Zhixing was about to yell a few words, he heard Zhen's mother, who had been crying incessantly inside the house, burst out like a cannonball. Her face was ferocious, and she pretended to be crazy. Her upper body trembled uncontrollably, and she rushed straight towards the person who was speaking. "I told you not to spread rumors, I told you not to spread rumors! Little Lian is dead, and you guys won't let her go! Lian'er, did you hear that? It's him, him, and her!"
Zhen's mother's eyes were red as she pointed at them one by one, her heart breaking. "The three of them just spoke nonsense and made up rumors out of thin air! Xiao Lian, if you are still alive, go to their house tonight and make sure they die a miserable death!"
The people who were pointed out were embarrassed at first, and the person who was hit and fell down didn't know how to talk back. After all, if such things were said behind people's backs and the person's mother heard it, everyone would feel ashamed.
But upon hearing this, their faces changed, and they shouted angrily, "What nonsense! We...we just provided some clues and didn't say anything! How can you spread rumors like this? You're cursing and threatening us! Police officer, you can't just sit back and watch this happen. She's engaging in feudal superstition and threatening the public."
"That's right. We were just providing clues, so why is that considered a rumor? And we're not allowed to speak?"
"That's right, how can you say that..."
Zhou Zhixing signaled to the policeman next to Zhen's mother to help the man in quickly. Zhen's mother was obviously furious, and she was old. If she stayed any longer, who knew what would happen.
When questioning witnesses, it's best not to have the relatives of the person involved present. After all, everyone has their own opinion, and what they hear may be inconsistent. If you get angry and start a fight with everyone, you can vent your anger, but what if the neighbors, out of the principle of less trouble, refuse to provide any clues because of this?
But letting these people spread rumors wasn't a solution. Zhou Zhixing looked at everyone with a serious face, and only spoke after they all shut up awkwardly: "The clues you provide must be based on what you saw with your own eyes. This doesn't include speculation after these events, understand? We, the police, will investigate the true situation. All you need to do is provide clues. Don't jump to conclusions, don't spread rumors, and don't provide false clues. That's all. Do you understand?"
The elderly nodded reluctantly, and Zhou Zhixing then turned to one of them. "You just said you saw Feng Hongwei buying toilet paper for Zhen Lian. Why did you say that? Did Feng Hongwei tell you that, or are you just guessing?"
The man stammered awkwardly, "Well, I saw Feng Hongwei buying toilet paper, and when he was going home, Zhen Lian came out of the house and took a roll of toilet paper out..."
Zhou Zhixing stared at the man coldly. If this wasn't fabricating rumors, what was it? The family ran out of paper, so Zhen Lian went out to the public restroom. Without any paper, she took the toilet paper her brother-in-law had bought. Such a simple matter, yet she had to fabricate dirty rumors about others!
So infuriating!
Seeing the police's cold face, the man couldn't continue and laughed twice: "Well, I... I'm not familiar with the Feng family, and I have something to do at home, so I'll... I'll leave first..."
"I'm leaving too..."
Zhou Zhixing calmed down and looked at the woman in the red shirt who had appeared at the beginning. He asked, "Auntie, you just said that Zhen Lian and my brother-in-law were having problems. What did you see?"
The woman in the red shirt had to stop as she was about to walk and chuckled. "Well, that's what everyone says. Feng Geming is often away from home, Feng Hongwei is studying at home every day for exams, and the sister-in-law and brother-in-law are together every day. Everyone just talks nonsense, haha, haha."
Zhou Zhixing said coldly, "Well, have you seen Feng Geming recently? When was the last time you saw him?"
It was summer now, and the body had not decayed, so the time of death should have been not long ago. Therefore, Zhou Zhixing only asked about Feng Geming's recent whereabouts.
The old man in the shirt said, "I saw this guy last night when I got up to go to the bathroom. I asked him what he was doing, and he was humming a song and said he was going out to play."
Zhou Zhixing hurriedly asked, "About what time?"
The old man in the shirt hesitated: "I don't have a watch, so I really don't know."
Zhou Zhixing: "Did you notice the height of the moon at that time? Or how long your shadow was? Did you hear anything like the barking of cats, dogs, or chickens? Even the smallest clue will do."
The old man thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "Um, I remember the shadow was short, less than half a meter long? I'm not sure. There are no cats or dogs in this alley, and no one raises chickens. I didn't hear any of these little creatures barking."
Zhou Zhixing nodded. The shadow was very short, which meant it was around 11 PM to 1 AM, when the moon was at its highest point in the sky. He looked at the crowd and asked, "Grandpas and grandmas, has anyone else been up at night? Have you seen anything unusual? Anything is fine, just tell us, and we'll investigate."
The elderly men lowered their heads in thought. One man in a black old man's shirt said, "I thought I saw a figure. It ran very fast and disappeared in a flash. I thought I was seeing things and didn't mention it just now."
Zhou Zhixing immediately took it seriously and asked, "How tall is the figure? What are its characteristics?"
The old man in black thought for a long time and said, "He was about the same height as you, stronger than you, with a flat head, and seemed to be shirtless and wearing big shorts. I didn't see it clearly, so I don't remember much."
"Now that you mention it, I remember." A woman in a green top squeezed in from the back and said loudly, "I also got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and saw Zhen Lian's brother Zhen Tao walking towards Feng's house. I was curious at the time, wondering why he was going to his brother-in-law's house so late at night. But I was in a hurry to go to the bathroom, so I didn't ask, and I had forgotten about it when I came out."
Zhou Zhixing immediately asked, "Auntie, are you sure you saw Zhen Lian's eldest brother?"
The aunt nodded: "Sure, that boy comes here often, I recognize him."
"Yes, Zhen Tao comes here often, we all know him."
This revealed another suspect. Zhou Zhixing noted this person down and asked everyone, "What kind of person is Zhen Tao? Does he come to the Feng family often? What does he mainly do there?"
The woman in the green top who squeezed in said, "He's here to borrow money. Zhen Tao runs a small business. He had no capital at the time, so he borrowed the money from the Feng family. He knows you have money, but he keeps coming here to pester me. Feng's parents lent him a little at first, but Zhen Tao isn't cut out for business. Others make money in business, but Zhen Tao actually loses money! Don't you think this is bizarre? There are still people who lose money in business these days."
Her tone was full of disdain: "They didn't pay back the money they borrowed, and they still want to borrow more. Even if the Feng family's parents are not good people, they can't be blamed for not lending money to Zhen Tao anymore. No one would lend money to them, comrade police officer, don't you think this is reasonable?"
Zhou Zhixing nodded. He needed to question Zhen Tao carefully. He asked a few more questions, but when everyone was talking about the same old things over and over again, he stood up and left. Entering the courtyard, he saw Zhen's mother sitting there blankly. He walked over and said, "Aunt Zhen, where is your son Zhen Tao? We have something to ask him."
Zhen's mother was also being questioned. She looked up after hearing this and said after a long while, "Why are you looking for Tao'er? He has to do business and is busy with wholesale. You...you don't suspect that it was Tao'er who did it, right? Impossible, Tao'er is a sensible child, he..."
Zhou Zhixing quickly comforted him, "No, it's just a normal questioning. Don't worry, for a case this serious, we'll interview all the deceased's relatives, friends, and colleagues."
Zhen's mother finally breathed a sigh of relief and told Zhou Zhixing the address where Zhen Tao was selling his goods. "Dongpi" was the abbreviation for the Beijing Zoo Wholesale Market, a spontaneous market for small vendors. Normally, doing business there shouldn't be a loss. Zhou Zhixing nodded calmly, whispered the situation to Xing Ming, and led his men to Dongpi.
After taking two buses and walking for a while, I finally found the place and realized that Zhen Tao didn't set up his stall today.
Did he run away? Zhou Zhixing led his men and hurried to the Zhen family. The Zhen family lived in a rural area outside Beijing, and the family still had rural household registration. The door was open, Zhen Tao's wife and children were there, but there was no sign of Zhen Tao. Zhou Zhixing asked Zhen Tao's wife, but she was still confused: "He set up a stall, and left early this morning."
Zhou Zhixing remained calm and asked for two photos of Zhen Tao, saying he wanted to keep them for the individual business owner's records. Zhen Tao's wife, not understanding what was going on, obediently handed over the photos and politely sent him out.
As soon as they got out, Zhou Zhixing quickly sent two people back to the Public Security Bureau. They explained the situation and immediately called the train and bus stations, asking the staff there to help keep an eye out for the man. Others immediately rushed to the train and bus stations to deliver photos, asking them to help keep an eye out for him. At the very least, they needed to know what the man looked like.
After a busy day crisscrossing the capital, the sun was almost setting when he exited the last bus station. Zhou Zhixing loosened his collar; he had to return to the Public Security Bureau. With a case this serious, a briefing would be held no later than 1 p.m. As he was walking out the door and down the stairs, a staff member chased him out. She was a woman under thirty, with a relaxed expression, revealing a cheerful personality. She stopped him and said, "Officer Zhou, well, I suddenly remembered I seemed to have seen this person this afternoon."
Zhou Zhixing's eyes lit up and he motioned for her to continue.
The woman smiled and introduced herself. "My last name is Liu, and I sell tickets at the bus station. This morning, around ten o'clock, this man came to buy a bus ticket to Changcheng. Our station has two trains a day to Changcheng: one at nine o'clock in the morning and one at three o'clock in the afternoon. I remember that man bought a ticket for the three o'clock afternoon bus today, so he must have been there by now. It takes about two and a half hours from Beijing to Changcheng, so I guess he's already there."
Zhou Zhixing hurriedly asked, "Excuse me, why do you remember him? Was there something going on at that time?"
The woman smiled. "Well, when I came to work, I saw a man selling clothes at the bus station entrance. The clothes looked brightly colored, so I tried a few, but I didn't find anything I liked, so I left without buying anything. It was past ten o'clock when he came to buy a ticket. I took a few more glances and remembered him. But I was so busy all day that I had forgotten about it. It wasn't until I got off work and a colleague was carrying new clothes that I remembered it. So I rushed over to tell you."
That made sense. Zhen Tao's wife had said he was setting up a stall, so he must have been carrying merchandise. Setting up a stall at the bus station to sell clothes and raise money for travel was something Zhen Tao could do. Judging from the words of the Feng family's neighbors, he was a clever but socially awkward person.
The two cotton mill leaders who were guarding the Feng family were only thinking about borrowing money and not about borrowing chickens to lay eggs. I don't know if this was smart or stupid. However, this man had the courage to open a stall, which made him a very contradictory person.
Zhou Zhixing nodded to the ticket seller, thanking him, and then rushed back to the Public Security Bureau with his men. It was already seven in the evening when they arrived, and the Dongcheng Public Security Bureau was brightly lit. The Criminal Investigation Department and the Forensic Department were still busy. With so many bodies arriving at once, the autopsies would take quite a while, so no one had left their shift.
In the Criminal Investigation Division's large conference room, Xing Ming stood before a whiteboard, his brow furrowed as he stared intently at the names and lines. The whiteboard was a spiderweb of messy drawings, and Xing Ming was probably the only one who could understand them. Everyone else sat around, discussing the case in low voices.
Zhou Zhixing's group was the last to return, and his colleagues had already helped make instant noodles. As soon as everyone arrived, Xing Ming gestured for them to eat while listening to everyone's conversation.
Zhou Zhixing looked at the white, already clumping noodles and the dish of pickled vegetables, feeling a bit nauseous. Instant noodles back then were different from those of later generations. There weren't those fancy sauce packets. Just a flatbread, just dipped in. Whether to pair it with pickles or stir-fry it on its own was up to him. Zhou Zhixing took a few deep breaths before he started eating.
Xing Ming removed the paper from the whiteboard and replaced it with a clean one. He quickly wrote down the names of the six deceased and said, "The deceased is Feng Dafa, male, 54 years old, deputy director of the Fifth Cotton Mill..."
After presenting the basic information about the six deceased, Xing Ming began to explain their social relationships, starting with their closest relatives. "Zhen Lian's mother was Zhen Lan, who married into her husband's family. Therefore, the two Zhen children take after their mother. Her brother, Zhen Tao, is 32 years old and a farmer from Pingshun Brigade in the suburbs of Beijing. He currently works as a wholesale clothing dealer. According to the Feng family's neighbors, he had gone to the Feng family several times to borrow money and had argued with them. He also met with the deceased before and after her death, making him a key suspect in this case."
As he spoke, he put Zhen Tao's photo on the whiteboard and introduced, "Of course, the suspect I suspect most is him, Zhen Lian's husband Feng Geming!"
Xing Ming leaned forward and found Feng Geming's photo among the photos on his desk. He pasted it next to Zhen Lian's name. "Feng Geming's parents, wife, son, daughter, and younger brother are all dead, and Feng Geming's whereabouts are unknown. Neighbors said they saw Feng Geming leaving his home that night. He was in a very good mood and said he was going out to play. According to investigations, he often goes to dance halls, audio-visual halls, and other places. Wang Feng, Li Shan, and Zhou Zhixing, lead the team to these places in Beijing tonight and find him as soon as possible!"
"yes."
Zhou Zhixing wiped his mouth and told him that Zhen Tao might be taking a car to Changcheng. Xing Ming acted decisively and went to borrow a car from Director Qin. Zhen Tao was also a key suspect, so they had to go to Changcheng overnight to apprehend him as soon as possible.
The group was about to take action overnight. Jiang Nan came out of the forensic team and saw everyone trotting out. He didn't wait for Zhou Zhixing and went home first. With such a serious case, the pressure on the Public Security Bureau was imaginable. The faster they found the murderer, the less pressure they would feel.
When they got home, it was already nine o'clock in the evening. The three children were all asleep. Jiang Mancheng, Chen Jinhua, and Aunt Wen were sitting in the pavilion, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans to cool off. Seeing Jiang Nan finally return, they all stood up.
Chen Jinhua asked hurriedly, "Have you had dinner? Do you want something to eat?"
Jiang Nan hurriedly called out to Aunt Wen, who was about to head to the kitchen, and said softly, "Don't bother. I've already eaten at the Public Security Bureau. Mom and Dad, Aunt Wen, you guys should get some rest. Zhou Zhixing may not be back tonight."
"Is there really a big case?" Jiang Mancheng was quite surprised. "Your mother and I heard about it when we got back. They said it was a case of annihilating the whole family. Is that true?"
Jiang Nan nodded. "Really? Except for the eldest son, everyone else in the family is dead. Everyone has been busy with this case these days, so they'll probably be back late. You can go to bed at night and don't wait for us."
Yes, it was incredibly busy. Though it was only the early 1980s, entertainment venues in Beijing had already mushroomed like mushrooms after a rain. There were probably hundreds of them, so finding them wasn't easy. We didn't find Feng Geming that night, and we only tracked him down three days later in a ravine in a rural area in the western suburbs.
It was said that this was a dance hall run by some village scoundrels, and that it also provided informal services. Therefore, its location was very hidden, and most people couldn't find it. It was Zhen's mother who mentioned it, saying that she had once come here to visit relatives and seemed to have seen her son-in-law, but it wasn't clear, and she didn't take it seriously at the time. It wasn't until the police had asked her so many questions in recent days, and she had been reminiscing about her daughter and son-in-law day and night, that she remembered this. Xing Ming interrogated the local villagers, and after a battle of wits and courage, he finally realized that such a place existed.
Feng Geming was also extremely surprised. He hadn't expected the police to find this place. He sneered and watched the police handcuff him, saying nothing the entire time. Even after being taken to the interrogation room, he still refused to cooperate, maintaining his silence.
Someone with such a stable mental state would have to be left alone for now, while Zhen Tao was interrogated first. Yes, Zhen Tao had also been found. That night, Xing Ming and his men drove to Changcheng, where they searched extensively before finally apprehending him at a guesthouse in the eastern suburbs. By the time they brought him back to the Dongcheng Public Security Bureau, it was already evening the following day.
At this time, Zhen Tao had been in the interrogation room for two days. He was emotionally broken and would answer any question obediently. It was a good time to interrogate him.
Xing Ming brought Zhou Zhixing and pushed open the door of the interrogation room where Zhen Tao was, with steady and unhurried steps.
In Zhen Tao's eyes, every step seemed to sentence him to guilt. These two corrupt policemen were determined to force him to confess!
The more Zhen Tao thought about it, the more he collapsed. He shouted, tears streaming down his face, "I didn't kill them, seriously. I admit that I went to Feng's house that night, but I wanted to steal money. I deserve to die, I shouldn't have such bad intentions, but I really didn't have the guts to kill anyone! They were already dead when I got there, blood everywhere. I was so scared that I couldn't even shout, I just ran away. Really, I didn't kill anyone..."
Xing Ming picked up the thermos cup beside him and drank calmly until Zhen Tao's voice became hoarse. Then he said, "Oh, since you didn't kill the man, why did you flee to Changcheng?"
Zhen Tao felt very wronged: "How can I not run? Six people died, six! I was at the scene and left bloody footprints. You police officers are no pushovers, you will definitely find me. What if I'm tortured into confessing? I don't want to die, really. I didn't kill anyone. Even if I had the guts, I wouldn't dare to kill anyone."
Zhou Zhixing stared into Zhen Tao's eyes and unexpectedly saw fear in them. Goodness, this was truly terrifying. Thinking back to the file, Zhen Tao had been arrested for petty theft. This meant he knew the police, knew their capabilities, and was afraid they'd find him, and therefore fear being wrongly accused, so he absconded. It made sense.
Xing Ming blew away the tea leaves from his thermos cup and said nonchalantly, "Tell me about your brother-in-law Feng Geming. How is your relationship with him? When was the last time you saw him?"
Zhen Tao's eyes moved, and he glanced at Xing Ming. Xing Ming immediately sneered: "Don't have any bad ideas. If you lie to the police and cause serious losses, you will be sentenced. Think carefully before you speak."
Zhen Tao swallowed hard, and after a long pause, he said, "Well, Feng Geming isn't a good guy, really. He was a troublemaker back then, and even after his parents signed him up to go to the countryside, he still wouldn't be at peace. I heard he raped quite a few girls in the countryside, and once the incident got so bad that his parents had to take time off to go back and deal with it. It was because of this that the old couple of the Feng family transferred him back to the city. They probably felt they could only feel more at ease if they kept him under their watchful eyes."
He continued, "Who knew that after returning, this kid wouldn't work hard and would always cause trouble? This isn't reform, but this kid is even more outrageous. He runs to the dance hall with his clique every day. With his appearance, if his parents weren't capable, who would care about him? If he doesn't have a sense of escape from the summer heat, no one would bother to pay attention to him! It's just me. Seeing that he's too old to get married, I asked my sister to marry him. Otherwise, he would still be single now."
Small circle is a slang term that refers to women who hang out with gangsters and have no proper jobs.
Xing Ming said, "So, you were the one who met Feng Geming first? Then how did you two get to know each other?"
Zhen Tao was stunned for a moment and stammered, "Well, a few years ago, I was... selling things on the black market."
Seeing that the two didn't interrupt, Zhen Tao boldly continued, "The rural areas outside Beijing all raise things secretly to sell. After all, we can't starve to death under the feet of the emperor. Our village is next to a mountain, and there's a lot of wasteland at the foot of the mountain, so everyone planted more hemp. The kids who came to check didn't recognize it and thought it was a weed, so they didn't take it seriously. So the villagers used it to weave hemp cloth to exchange for money and other things."
He continued, "I'm a quick talker and was in charge of selling cloth on the black market. Feng the Revolutionary was from a cotton mill and had a supply of defective cloth, so he sold any leftovers on the black market. We got to know each other over the years, but he wasn't very honest with his sales, so the team leader wouldn't let me have any further dealings with him. You don't know, but the rulers Feng the Revolutionary used were specially processed, shorter than regular rulers. I remember being warned twice by the black market boss before he switched to a standard ruler."
Xing Ming raised his eyebrows: "So, you knew about Feng Revolution's family situation a long time ago? You also know who he is, and you introduced your sister to him?"
Zhen Tao blushed and said awkwardly, "Well, a girl should... marry a man of high status, and my sister is pretty, so it's not a big deal for the Feng family to marry her."
Xing Ming gave Zhen Tao a cold look and asked directly, "Didn't you say Feng Geming was dishonest? Why did you introduce your sister to him?"
Zhen Tao was a little embarrassed. "Well, it's common for people from a family like his to be dishonest. He... he looks like that, so he's easy to control. My sister is stronger than him. Even if he treats Xiao Lian badly, he can't beat her. At least if Xiao Lian marries him, she won't be beaten, and she can eat and dress well. In the eyes of us rural people, this is a good life, really."
Xing Ming nodded and continued to ask, "How is your sister doing after getting married? How are the relationships between husband and wife, and between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law?"
Zhen Tao: "Or maybe Feng Revolution is a piece of shit. This guy has been flirting with my sister for a month, but he still goes to those secret doors as usual. I beat him two or three times, but he won't change. I have no choice. I can't divorce him, so I just stopped doing anything. As for the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, it's just like that. There are a few mothers-in-law who like their daughters-in-law, and they live differently."
Xing Ming picked up the cup and drank water again. Zhou Zhixing said, "So the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is bad?"
Zhen Tao nodded. "Yeah, that's not good. We obviously bought a washing machine, but that old hag still made my sister wash by hand. She didn't even boil water in the middle of winter. My sister was raised at home until she was eighteen, and her hands were fine. But within two years after she got married, she had frostbite on her hands. How evil can you say she is? But she's been better in the past two years, and Xiao Lian has figured out that old hag's temper. She just goes along with her, and she's put up with it."
Zhou Zhixing rolled his eyes, speaking as if this was a good thing, and then Xing Ming continued to ask, "So, does Feng Geming have a good relationship with his parents and brother?"
Zhen Tao glanced at Xing Ming a few more times. Most of the questions today were about Feng Geming. Could it be that...
He shuddered, not daring to think any further. What kind of cruel person must this be to kill his parents, wife, and children? If such a person were released, would he still have a good life as his brother-in-law?
Zhen Tao tried to recall the past for a long time before speaking hastily, "Oh no, Feng Geming and my parents often quarreled. I remember one time when I went to borrow money, in front of me, in the yard, Uncle Feng and Aunt Feng pointed at Feng Geming's nose and scolded him for half an hour, saying things like, 'Worse than pigs and dogs,' 'Would rather die,' and they didn't even bother to hide from me.
But Feng Geming was no pushover. He cursed at his parents fiercely, calling them "old bastards" and "old bastards." The people gathered around the yard, and everyone was used to it. They watched the fun with great enthusiasm.
He continued, "As for his younger brother, Feng Hongwei is eight years younger than him. You should have seen that Feng Hongwei is 1.8 meters tall and very handsome. Feng Geming is particularly jealous of his younger brother.
I remember one time at a dance hall, a group of friends were asking about Feng Geming's younger brother. Feng Geming immediately got upset and threatened to destroy the hall if he heard the name Feng Hongwei again. It was a huge uproar, and everyone who was there that night knew about it.
After nearly two hours of interrogation, Zhen Tao emptied his stomach. Upon his release, the forensic report arrived. Examination revealed the murder weapon to be a kitchen knife from the Feng family's home. Fingerprints from Feng's mother, Zhen Lian, and Feng Geming were found on it. But that didn't prove anything. A kitchen knife in the house was commonplace, and anyone could find a legitimate reason for using one.
Let Xing Ming and Zhou Zhixing confirm whether the murderer is Feng Geming, or the force point and location distribution of the cut wound.
Feng Geming was only 1.6 meters tall, with short arms. Even with his arms raised high, his total height would have been no more than 1.9 meters. One of the victims, Feng Dafa, was 1.85 meters tall. His wounds were concentrated in his chest and abdomen, suggesting that the weapon's impact was most effective at that height. The injuries on Feng's mother, Feng Hongwei, and Zhen Lian all demonstrate this. As for the two children, due to their small stature, their injuries were primarily concentrated in their heads.
Zhen Tao, on the other hand, stood at 1.88 meters tall, taller than Feng Dafa. If he were the murderer, the wounds wouldn't be concentrated on his chest and abdomen; he would have at least had injuries on his shoulders and neck.
Of course, these were all physical evidence, and closing a case required more than physical evidence; the suspect also had to speak. Feng Geming had been locked up for two days and still remained silent.
It has been six days since the family massacre occurred, and the news has spread like wildfire. The pressure on the Public Security Bureau can be imagined. Director Qin Guoqin has to receive three calls a day, all of which are urging him to do something.
On the third day, Feng Geming remained silent. Furious, Zhou Zhixing pretended to go to the restroom, then walked to the forensic team's window, knocked twice, and raised his hand to signal Jiang Nan to come out. Jiang Nan saw this and was puzzled. She'd been so busy these past few days that she hadn't looked for Zhou Zhixing, and yet he showed up.
As Jiang Nan took off his gloves and walked out, a female colleague beside him joked, "Oh, look at this couple. They see each other every day, but they're still so affectionate."
Jiang Nan laughed and scolded: "What nonsense are you talking about."
That's completely bullshit. Zhou Zhixing wanted Jiang Nan to meet Feng Geming. Now all he needs is a confession from this guy. Why has he remained silent for all these days? He doesn't think he can do anything to him by not speaking, does he? He doesn't think he can escape legal punishment by doing so, does he?
Jiang Nan nodded in understanding. Her work now leaned more towards forensic medicine. Old Man Du was very fond of her, lending her all his college books and his years of experience. He even asked her random questions daily, trying to train a successor before his retirement. Therefore, Jiang Nan had mostly worked with the dead since she started working. Since the system couldn't see the life stories of the dead, Jiang Nan hadn't used it in a long time.
Pretending to go to the interrogation room to pour water, Jiang Nan successfully met Feng Geming.
[Host, we have connected to Feng Geming's channel and are analyzing his information. Please wait.]
Jiang Nan successfully left the interrogation room. During lunch, the system, which had been analyzing for half an hour, finally spoke, "Host, Feng Geming has contracted a heart disease and doesn't have much time left."
Jiang Nan wanted to curse, but luckily, they didn't have much contact with this guy, otherwise what would happen if he got infected? She hurriedly confirmed, "Is this disease contagious through daily contact?"
[The possibility of infection cannot be ruled out. Although the probability is low, we should be prepared for it.]
Jiang Nan's expression turned extremely serious. She asked the system, "Is this the reason why Feng Geming killed people?"
One reason was that the whole family was arguing and emotionally charged. Zhen Lian had also contracted the disease. Feng's parents, knowing their son's character, wanted to kick him and his wife out. Zhen Lian refused, and Feng Geming, who had been pent up for years, suddenly erupted in resentment.
Jiang Nan: "So he's keeping quiet because he thinks he can escape the death penalty?"
[Yes, another point is that he felt his life was worthless. Every day he was imprisoned, every day he infected another person, meant another person would accompany him on his journey to the underworld.]
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