Zhang Meng took a swig of iced beer, then began wolfing down the fried rice with egg.
Only Lu Zhixing sat ramrod straight on the plastic stool, wearing an utterly ordinary face.
Even with his appearance concealed, it was difficult to hide his noble and refined air while sitting in the disorderly night market.
Xi Yu had been staying at the Luo residence these past few days, eating delicacies from land and sea until his mouth had gone completely bland. He desperately needed some gutter oil to give his taste buds a little stimulation. With his mouth stuffed full, he swallowed and turned to look at Lu Zhixing.
“Why have you been playing with your phone this whole time? Don’t you like the food?”
Lu Zhixing locked his phone and smiled. “Body management.”
Hearing this, Zhang Meng looked at Lu Zhixing suspiciously. Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs—he suddenly understood.
“Sure enough, a good figure takes hard work.”
After saying that, he glanced at his slightly protruding belly from eating too much and sucked it in hard.
There. His abs were back.
Xi Yu ate two bowls of fried rice and three chicken legs, finally feeling completely satisfied.
Zhang Meng was more or less finished too. Only after draining the rest of his beer did he speak.
“He does have a problem, but this problem should be related to your line of expertise.”
Zhang Meng gave Xi Yu an address.
“For the past six months, Zhang Ping has frequently gone in and out of this place. It’s a gold shop, but the plainclothes officers say the owner is a… master.”
Xi Yu was far too familiar with that title. His repeat customers called him that too.
“Nothing else?”
Even if the so-called master jumped out now and said Zhang Ping had bought something from him, it still wouldn’t work. The law didn’t recognize such things as evidence.
Zhang Meng grinned.
“There really is something else. After I investigated his movements from beginning to end, I found something rather interesting.”
Zhang Meng stuffed an envelope into Xi Yu’s hands.
Xi Yu opened it.
More than a dozen photographs had been taken from surveillance footage, capturing four people.
Zhang Ping, a woman, an elderly person, and a three-year-old boy.
“The young woman is Zhang Ping’s wife. The two of them held a wedding back in their hometown. The elderly person is Zhang Ping’s mother. As for that little boy, I don’t need to tell you who he is, right?”
“It’s just a pity. I found the chat records, but Zhang Ping was too cautious. From beginning to end, he never mentioned anything about murder.”
Xi Yu handed the photographs back and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky.
It was half-moon season again.
The day when the dead returned home had come once more.
“Then let him confess with his own mouth.”
Zhao Qi’s father sat at home, clutching a photograph of his daughter and shedding tears. His hair had already turned white.
Zhang Ping carried over a bowl of congee, his face ashen.
“Dad, eat something.”
“You eat. I can’t.”
A trace of impatience flashed through Zhang Ping’s eyes, but it immediately turned into sorrow.
“Dad, if you don’t eat, I won’t eat either. I have to take good care of you for Xiao Qi.”
Hearing this, Zhao Qi’s father finally tremblingly accepted the congee. Just as he was about to drink it, a knock came from the door.
“I’ll get it.”
As soon as the door opened, Zhang Meng, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, flashed his badge.
“You’re Zhang Ping, right? You’re suspected of involvement in a murder case. You’ll need to come with us.”
Zhao Qi’s father abruptly stood up when he heard the voice.
“What happened?”
Xi Yu poked his head inside, his nostrils twitching slightly.
The scent of Soul-Combing Incense was even stronger inside the room.
His guess had been right.
Zhao Qi’s corpse had been lying here for three months.
Then why hadn’t Zhao Qi’s father discovered it?
Or could it be that he knew…
Xi Yu moved his foot slightly. Zhang Meng received the signal and immediately pushed the door open and entered.
Xi Yu was just about to go inside when he suddenly thought of Lu Zhixing. He turned around and clasped Lu Zhixing’s hand.
“Don’t let go.”
Zhang Ping was wearing something that could keep evil spirits from approaching.
He couldn’t remove it.
He had to let Zhao Qi break through the formation herself at midnight and appear beside Zhang Ping.
The formation would consume Zhao Qi’s resentment, allowing her to better control the ghost infant.
A few days ago, Zhao Qi had been unable to approach Zhang Ping, but today she could.
Xi Yu wasn’t worried about Zhao Qi. With the infant spirit, coupled with the timing of the half moon, the thing Zhang Ping was wearing could no longer hurt her.
He was only worried about Lu Zhixing.
The half moon belonged to yin. The demonic aura around Lu Zhixing had grown heavier, and Xi Yu could sense it. He was afraid it would affect Lu Zhixing. With him protecting him, those things wouldn’t dare approach.
“Officer, could there have been some mistake? I was so devastated after my wife passed away that I haven’t gone anywhere. How could this have anything to do with a murder case?”
Zhao Qi’s father came over with shuffling steps.
“Xiaoping has been taking care of me all this time. Did you make a mistake?”
Zhang Meng entered the room and turned his gaze to the rice porridge. He took out a small bag, collected a sample, and only then looked at Zhang Ping.
“There’s no mistake. You’re suspected of killing Ms. Zhang Qi. We need to take you back for questioning.”
“Ms. Zhao Qi’s body was reexamined by a forensic pathologist. The results show that she has been dead for more than three months. Someone used a special method to keep her corpse from decomposing, and only dumped the body in the Scenic Lake a week ago.”
Zhang Ping looked at the bag Zhang Meng had used to collect the rice porridge, his expression stunned.
“Officer, are you joking? Not long ago, I was still taking my wife for walks downstairs. The neighbors can testify.”
Zhang Meng kept his eyes on Zhang Ping.
Only Xi Yu and Lu Zhixing weren’t looking at him.
Lu Zhixing’s gaze fell on Xi Yu’s hand tightly clasped around his own. His eyelashes trembled, and threads of delight spread through his heart, blooming into clusters of pure white flowers.
Meanwhile, Xi Yu looked at Zhao Qi’s father.
The old man’s body was stiff, and he lowered his head, his gaze darting away.
Zhang Meng tossed the sample bag to his colleague and took out his handcuffs.
“Your mother, wife, and child have already been taken in for questioning. You’ll come with us too.”
Zhang Ping’s expressionless face suddenly turned pale.
“My mother and I haven’t seen each other in many years. I don’t know what you’re talking about, Officer. But since this concerns Xiao Qi, I’m willing to go with you.”
Zhang Meng looked at Xi Yu.
Xi Yu gave a slight nod.
Zhao Qi’s father was too old. He couldn’t withstand a shock.
“Dad, I’ll be back soon. Eat properly and stay home.”
Zhang Ping’s face was full of concern.
Zhang Meng put the handcuffs on Zhang Ping and pushed him toward the door.
There were only ten minutes left until midnight.
Xi Yu had told him to get Zhang Ping out before twelve.
Zhang Meng was afraid of delaying things, so he didn’t waste any more words. He was also worried that saying too much would be too much for the elderly man to bear.
Xi Yu and Lu Zhixing fell behind at the end, watching as Zhang Ping was pushed out the door.
Xi Yu casually prepared to close it when he suddenly heard a sorrowful cry.
“It was me! I was the one who threw Xiao Qi into the Scenic Lake.”
Xi Yu stopped in his tracks and looked toward the source of the voice.
Tears streamed down Zhao Qi’s father’s aged face as his voice trembled.
“A week ago, I was the one who threw my daughter into the Scenic Lake. If she stayed any longer, she would have killed Xiaoping. She was already dead. I couldn’t… I couldn’t let her hurt this child, Xiaoping…”
Zhang Ping’s expression changed drastically.
“Dad! Don’t say it!”
Zhao Qi’s father became extremely agitated and nearly collapsed. Lu Zhixing caught him, but he was terrified that Zhang Ping would be taken away, so he continued speaking mechanically.
“Three months ago, when I came back from the restaurant, I saw my daughter’s corpse in the bathroom…”
Chapter 29: The Truth Revealed
The date of the corpse’s death and everything that followed could finally be pieced together completely.
After Zhao Qi became pregnant, she would frequently go into shock because of her physical condition. Zhao Qi’s father and Zhang Ping had never felt at ease, so one of them was always at home.
That day, Zhang Ping went to work. Someone caused trouble at the restaurant, so Zhao Qi’s father had to go out for a while. After confirming that Zhang Ping could get home within half an hour, he left while Zhao Qi was taking a shower.
But when he returned, Zhang Qi had already drowned in the bathtub after fainting.
Zhang Ping’s car had gotten a flat tire that day and had been sent for repairs, so he returned after Zhao Qi’s father.
Zhao Qi’s father couldn’t withstand the shock and fainted on the spot.
When he woke up, Zhao Qi was beside him.
Zhao Qi’s father initially thought he had merely had a nightmare.
Until he saw Zhao Qi’s corpse lying on the bed, a candle stuffed inside her mouth, while a circle of candles burned around her, with incense sticks emitting an unusual fragrance among them.
Zhang Ping told his father-in-law that he couldn’t accept his wife’s sudden death. He took his father-in-law’s hair and forcibly performed a corpse-binding technique to keep his wife’s corpse from decaying. He then used Soul-Combing Incense to see his wife’s ghost.
Zhao Qi’s father loved his daughter too much.
He likewise couldn’t accept her death and accepted Zhang Ping’s method.
Together, they created the illusion that Zhao Qi was still alive.
Not only that, Zhang Ping even lit Soul-Combing Incense all around the building under the pretense of repelling mosquitoes, allowing Zhao Qi to go outside after dark as well.
That was also why the people downstairs had seen Zhao Qi going out.
A person surrounded by Soul-Combing Incense would not know that they were dead.
But when a living person and a soul remained together for too long, the living person’s body would grow weaker and weaker.
Zhang Ping and Zhao Qi’s father began to weaken, especially Zhang Ping, who slept beside Zhao Qi day and night.
He began coughing up blood.
After Zhao Qi’s father discovered this, he stared at his daughter’s corpse for an entire night.
Then he carried her on his back, slipped out through the unoccupied back entrance of the residential complex, avoided the surveillance cameras, and took a long route to throw her into the Scenic Lake.
Still water couldn’t extinguish the candle in Zhao Qi’s mouth.
The nearest flowing water was the Scenic Lake.
After one night, the corpse was discovered.
It appeared to be a case of accidentally falling into the water.
Zhao Qi’s father hunched over.
He was clearly only in his fifties, yet he looked like someone approaching the end of his life.
He closed his eyes.
“Throwing away the body was my fault. Take me away. I’m already this old. There’s no point in living anymore.”
Zhang Ping burst into tears.
“Dad! It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have forcibly kept Xiao Qi here. I was possessed by madness. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been afraid that something would happen to me and thrown Xiao Qi into the lake.”
What a touching display of familial affection.
Even Xi Yu found it somewhat difficult to bear.
Zhao Qi’s father truly regarded Zhang Ping as family.
But there would always be people who exploited the kindness of good-hearted people to satisfy their own selfish desires.
They treated human lives as stepping stones for their own ascent.
Like the Luo family.
Like Zhang Ping.
Zhang Ping knew that Zhao Qi’s father couldn’t bear to see him get hurt, so he had pretended to cough up blood.
The hour hand on the wall slowly moved.
Xi Yu gave Zhang Meng a look, signaling for them to leave.
There wasn’t enough time.
After Zhang Meng went outside and closed the door, midnight had already arrived.
The howling wind roared.
The curtains that had not been properly closed billowed wildly in the wind.
Xi Yu tightened his grip on Lu Zhixing’s hand and let out a cold laugh.
“Zhang Ping, aren’t you going to turn around and look at your beloved wife? She’s here to ask you why you killed her!”