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墨書 Inktalez
Liu Changtian got up and blocked Sun Bai's path. He pulled out his identification from his pocket and, under Sun Bai's wary gaze, said seriously, "Hello, I am the captain of the Criminal Police Team, Liu Changtian. Are you Sun Bai, the spouse of Li Cheng?"
Inside a small café at the market.
"Are you going to Yue Town to find Li Li?" Liu Changtian asked as he sat on the sofa.
"Chengzi is dead. I'm going to help sort out his things," Sun Bai replied, lowering her head, her long eyelashes obscuring her eyes.
"You suddenly went missing for a while. Where did you go?"
"I was at the Night Market; I never left," Sun Bai said. "Li Cheng and that woman made me very sad. I married him for seven years and gave birth to a son for the Li Family. How did they treat me? They conspired to deceive me and betrayed me. If you were in my shoes, what would you do?" Sun Bai became very angry. "I hoped that by leaving home, he would realize his mistakes. I don't want this family to fall apart; Xiao Ming is only six years old, and he needs his father. But I waited for more than a month, and he didn't even call me... Ha, I was blind to marry such a man."
"So your reason for coming back is—"
"I found out from the news that something happened to their family. What’s the point of making a scene anymore?"
"During the time you were gone, where did you stay?"
"An inn. If you don't believe me, I can give you the address; there’s a registration record with my name on it," Sun Bai said calmly.
Liu Changtian stared intently at her expression. "Your child's father is dead; you don't seem very sad."
Sun Bai smiled coldly. "Yes, I'm not sad. He never treated me like a person, so why should I be sad? You might think I'm heartless, but I can assure you that I feel no sadness at all. On the contrary, I'm quite relieved he's dead; otherwise, my son and I would eventually be kicked out. That woman would take my place, and I'd end up with nothing. But now I at least have enough assets to raise my son—Officer Liu, am I breaking any laws here?"
Liu Changtian felt a lump in his throat and shifted the topic. "Are you familiar with Li Li?"
"Li Li? I'm his sister-in-law; how familiar can we be? For the first two years after getting married, I lived with the Li Family and saw him every day. He's mentally challenged; you know that, right? Always dirty and smelly; just seeing him annoys me. Especially during meal times when he can't even use chopsticks and just grabs food with his hands—those hands are so filthy; who knows what they've touched? Just thinking about it makes me sick," Sun Bai said with disgust.
Liu Changtian looked at Sun Bai. "Since something happened to the Li Family and Li Li is part of it, if you want to inherit their assets completely, you'll have to take on the responsibility of caring for him."
Sun Bai rolled her eyes. "Officer, isn't this a family matter? Does this also fall under police jurisdiction?"
Liu Changtian was momentarily speechless.
That day, as Liu Changtian walked through the corridor toward the archives room, he saw Xiao Chen from Team Two rushing out in a hurry. He called out to him, "What's going on? Is there a major case?"
Xiao Chen panted as he replied, "A female corpse was found by the river a couple of days ago. Our team went there today; the forensic results just came back saying that she had AIDS virus in her system. My God! I need to get checked at the hospital; otherwise, I won't feel at ease. Captain Liu, you're busy; I'm heading over now."
AIDS virus—Liu Changtian's temples throbbed. "Has the identity of the female corpse been determined?"
"A prostitute who sells herself, who knows how many people she has infected, what bad luck," Xiao Chen said as he hurriedly ran down the hallway.
Could the prostitute be related to the Li Family Massacre?
Could it be that Li Cheng accidentally contracted something while soliciting? That wouldn't involve Li Li... Liu Changtian thought to himself as he walked.
In the office, the director leaned back in his chair, looking at Liu Changtian sitting on the sofa across from him. "You've been handling the Li Family massacre case for over a month now, right?"
Liu Changtian's heart skipped a beat. "Yes, it's been over a month."
"How is the case progressing?"
"It's moving along, but there are still some doubts."
"Still doubts?" The director's tone rose, and an expression of dissatisfaction appeared on his face. "But according to Wang, the case was already solved long ago; you've just been holding back from reporting it. Is that true?"
That Wang Yang! Liu Changtian cursed inwardly. "Director, this case seems reasonable on the surface, but it doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Once I resolve the remaining doubts..."
Before he could finish, the director raised his voice sharply. "If you wait until you resolve them, it will be a big problem!" He then sighed and spoke slowly. "Chang Tian, this case is different from others; it involves AIDS. It's a ticking time bomb. Not only are the media watching us, but the public is too. Cases like this never really end; as long as it seems reasonable on the surface, it doesn't matter whether things are as you think they are. As long as there are no lingering issues, we should close this case here. If we drag it out any longer, we won't be able to control public opinion."
"But... Director, four victims killed each other; doesn't that sound absurd?"
The director shook his head calmly. "Not absurd! What police case isn't absurd? Isn't robbery absurd? You have hands and feet; why rob? Isn't murder absurd? What kind of grudge would lead someone to risk their life to take another's? So everything sounds absurd, but when there are enough absurdities, they become normal. It's just a matter of a reporter's pen at work. Besides, why do we solve cases? Isn't it for the safety of people's lives and property? Since they are not in danger, why create social panic?"
"Director..."
"Alright, that's enough for now." The director picked up his teacup and stopped looking at Liu Changtian.
Liu Changtian hesitated for a moment before finally sighing and leaving the office.
Yue Town.
Liu Changtian stood in front of the Li Family's door, examining the ordinary entrance. Who would have thought that over a month ago four gruesome bodies lay inside? Who would have imagined that this blood-soaked courtyard still housed people today?
He was here to find Li Li.
Taking a step forward, he knocked on the door.
After a moment, a dirty young man opened the door and looked at Liu Changtian with innocent yet unfamiliar eyes. "You... looking for someone?"
Liu Changtian carefully observed Li Li—a tall figure over six feet tall, thin as a skeleton with ragged clothes hanging loosely on his frame. His face was dark and hands were dirty, but from the few clean patches of skin visible, it was clear he was actually quite pale. Upon closer inspection of his facial features and appearance, if he were a normal person, he would definitely be considered handsome.
"Hello, I am Captain Liu Changtian from the Criminal Police Team," he introduced himself seriously.
"Oh—police officer, uncle," Li Li said foolishly.
Liu Changtian looked into the empty courtyard, which was just as desolate as it had been on the day of the incident.
"Can I go in?"
"Oh, please, come in," Li Li stepped aside to make way.
Liu Changtian stepped inside, noticing an open plastic bag lying on the ground at the entrance of the main room. The bag contained bread, sausages, and other food items.
"What are these...?"
"My sister, my sister gave them to me," Li Li said slowly.
"Oh," Liu Changtian nodded and suddenly turned to ask, "Are you scared living alone?"
"I'm not scared; Dad doesn't hit me anymore, I'm not scared."
"Huh?" Liu Changtian raised an eyebrow, staring into Li Li's eyes. "But you killed them; aren't you afraid they'll come back for revenge?"
Li Li's gaze flickered for a moment, so quick it was almost unnoticeable. He shook his hands anxiously. "I didn't kill them; it wasn't me, it was them themselves, not me..."
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