Chapter 508: You Follow Youning, I’ll Follow Muran

Yao Shangfeng immediately became agitated. “Who’s the killer? Since you guys already know who the killer is, why aren’t you going after him!? Isn’t he coming back today? Go get him now! What are you doing here!?”

“Our colleagues are already headed to the suspect’s house, but he might not be there. If he’s not there, then he’s most likely coming after you. That’s why we need your cooperation,” explained Jiang Yuecheng.

“So what exactly happened? You better come clean,” said Zhao Yiyang.

Yao Shangfeng struggled for some time before speaking up. “Since you’ve already investigated the Mêdog county trip, you should know that there were five of us. But a girl, Gong Yanfei, didn’t make it back due to an accident.”

“According to your statements after coming back, she died from an incident with the collapsing bridge,” said Wei Muran with a straight face.

“You guys have most likely concluded that the truth was different,” said Yao Shengfeng. “Regarding Wei Guangzheng, how much do you know about him?”

Zhao Yiyang scolded him immediately, “It’s us asking you, not you asking us questions. It doesn’t matter how much we know. You just tell us what you know. Stop asking so many questions!”

Yao Shangfeng pouted and then softly said, “Can’t you see I’m just trying to save some time?”

“Stop asking so many questions if you really want to save time. Just tell us the entire story,” said Jiang Yuecheng. “The suspect has his eyes on you.”

Yao Shangfeng quivered and became a lot more obedient, spilling all the beans.

“I’m well acquainted with Wei Guangzheng. We’re students, and he’s rich. Say what you may, but my family was just average. I got close to him in order to gain favors, and I have indeed benefited much from that, hence I went along with his wishes, to which Wei Guangzheng was quite happy about as well. If there were anything, he would always call me along, just like that Mêdog county trip.”

“Wei Guangzheng was a pervert and a very irresponsible one at that. His pervertedness had no limits. Countless women suffered under his hands. He’s smart about it too. Targeting people without a powerful background and creating dirt to threaten them with. Without anyone to help them, they could only succumb to Wei Guangzheng’s manipulation.”

“During that cycling trip, there was another woman named Zheng Huaijin apart from Gong Yanfei. Her appearances were just average, so Wei Guangzheng set his eyes on Gong Yanfei instead of Zheng Huaijin. However, Zheng Huaijin took the initiative as Wei Guangzheng’s identity was very alluring to her. Before he got his hands on Gong Yanfei, Wei Guangzheng made do with Zheng Huaijin. It was quite an arduous journey, so the evenings needed some entertainment. With it being delivered to his doorsteps, Wei Guangzheng won’t reject it. As per his words, ‘ignore the face with the clothes off and it’s all the same.'”

Wei Muran scowled. ‘What did these people think women are!?’ she thought.

“Gong Yanfei was also very money-minded, but because of Wei Guangzheng’s looks, she acted all righteous and cold. Even if Wei Guangzheng didn’t have the looks, he was a smart person. He was fully aware of what Gong Yanfei had in mind so he gave up shortly after trying to court Gong Yanfei for a while. He couldn’t stand Gong Yanfei’s act. One night we were camping outdoors and Wei Guangzheng took that chance to trespass into Gong Yanfei’s tent. It was inevitable that he raped Gong Yanfei.”

“Your tents should be pitched next to each other,” said Wei Muran.

Yao Shangfeng nodded, “What about it?”

Wei Muran gave a cold smile, “Why? Since you’re just in the next tent, why didn’t you guys stop Wei Guangzheng as he did that but instead just stood by and watched it happen? Don’t you have any conscience?”

Yao Shangfeng sneered, “What could we do? Compared to Wei Guangzheng, we’re just peasants and I was still hoping for Wei Guangzheng to invest in my business. Feng Haoli did try to help as he was just a student, but I stopped him. By that time, Wei Guangzheng already had what he wanted so it made no difference even if he went in then. Going in late and not going at all makes no difference. Gong Yanfei had already been raped by Wei Guangzheng.”

“Furthermore, Feng Haoli was not as dedicated anyway. He was hesitating on the fence to start with. Our group was following Wei Guangzheng’s lead all the way, so Feng Haoli was afraid of going in. He only felt that his conscience might not sit well if he doesn’t show his stance. In the end, he didn’t do it after my simple advice.”

“Zheng Huaijin was unhappy. She had taken up the role of Wei Guangzheng’s girlfriend along the trip. Seeing that scene suddenly unfold in the night, she went bonkers. She crashed into the tent and accused Gong Yanfei of being a slut. However, we had no idea how Wei Guangzheng consoled her and she ended up agreeing to serve Wei Guangzheng along with Gong Yanfei. Wei Guangzheng could not change his old habit and took a video of it with his phone. After that, Wei Guangzheng would go look for Gong Yanfei every night and Gong Yanfei could be heard crying, cursing and begging. After a few more times, she seemed to have gone numb and we no longer heard any sound.”

“One day, when we cycled to the collapsed bridge, it happened in an instant. Gong Yanfei dashed right over on her bike. She fell down along with the chaos of people and cars. It’s not inaccurate to say that she died in that accident. All in all, it was not by our hands.”

“However, Wei Guangzheng knew the reason why Gong Yanfei lost it. He was afraid of us being a blabbermouth, so he gave us each a sum of money. I actually don’t feel so well about that incident. I’m quite reluctant to face Wei Guangzheng and those he’s close to. That incident did turn into my nightmare that will stay with me forever if I stayed in B City, so I’ve decided not to stay in B City anymore. I took that money Wei Guangzheng gave me and opened a small bar along with an inn, having money to spare.”

“Smack!”

A resounding slap unexpectedly came from Wei Muran on Yao Shangfeng’s face.

Yao Shangfeng was dazed from the slap, holding his face for some time.

By the time he recovered from the shock, he felt a hot burning pain on his face. He snapped and rushed directly at Wei Muran.

Qi Youxuan reacted quickly and immediately placed himself in front of Wei Muran, protecting her.

Jiang Yuecheng came forward and held onto Yao Shangfeng in an instant, twisting his arm behind him and pushing his face down on a table.

“Behave yourself. You’re trying to be violent?” Jiang Yuecheng exerted strength, causing more pain to Yao Shangfeng’s twisted arm.

“She started it! Why are you hitting me without any reason? Are you allowed to hit someone as you like just because you’re a police officer?” Yao Shangfeng struggled and twisted around.

Hearing that, Zhao Yiyang gave him a kick. “This coming from you? How did you treat a human life? A girl faced such humiliation, and you ignored it just because of some money. Nightmare? With your cold heart, I really can’t see how you’re regretful of what happened. You even took the money and went off to Lijiang to develop your career. You ask why you were hit? I think she should hit you harder! You’re the enabler, and also an accomplice to Gong Yanfei’s murder!”

Zhao Yiyang let off the words on her chest, leaving nothing for Wei Muran to add.

“That’s enough.” Jiang Yuecheng had Zhao Yiyang stand down and spoke calmly to Yao Shangfeng, “You behave yourself.”

Yao Shangfeng’s expression was filled with unwillingness, but he did act more obediently.

“What are you planning to do next?” Yao Shangfeng put on a face that screams ‘I’m the victim so I’m the boss’. That triggered Zhao Yiyang to give him another kick.

“If we didn’t lose our element of surprise, Li Niancheng will be coming after you very soon. We will station lookouts nearby,” said Jiang Yuecheng.

“Can’t you just wait in my house?” Yao Shangfeng asked, “Aren’t you supposed to protect my safety up close? That’s what it shows on TV.”

“TV shows promote liberating the righteous and vanquishing evil. Why didn’t you do that?” Wei Muran replied sarcastically.

Yao Shangfeng was glared at.

“We still need to plan this, and your place is quite small. Where do you expect us to hide? We need evidence and also to catch him in the act to make an arrest,” explained Jiang Yuecheng.

Yao Shangfeng was indignant from the sarcastic treatment. ‘Why are the police so snarky now?’

He was never rich, but he did manage to make a small fortune from when the government purchased his lands for development. The demolished house was reimbursed with two units and his parents let him stay in one. Looking at his house, it was true that it could not hide anyone.

“We’ll be keeping watch nearby. Don’t worry. You just need to be careful,” Jiang Yuecheng explained.

“Don’t think about running. We’re onto you. If you run, that would be interfering with our investigation. Along with that incident last year, hiding the truth would be on the light side. Worst case would be counting you as an accomplice,” Zhao Yiyang sneered.

Yao Shangfeng thought of running but dismissed the thought after hearing that.

They left Yao Shangfeng’s house. As they were descending the stairs, Wei Muran spoke up, “Sorry, I lost my temper.”

“It’s understandable. I wanted to beat him up too,” Zhao Yiyang consoled. “That guy is useless.”

“Next time try to hold it in. It’s easy to give them leverage. If he makes a complaint about you, you’ll be in trouble,” Jiang Yuecheng explained.

Wei Muran nodded and honestly admitted her mistake, “I understand.”

The moment they exited the gate, Jiang Yuecheng received Zhang Ming’s phone call. On the phone, Zhang Ming could be heard speaking, “Captain Jiang, Li Niancheng had sold his house last year. As he had been staying within the university dorm, he didn’t rent any place. After he left the university that day, he rented a cheap motel. It was those within the suburbs that consist of one small room with a metal frame bed. However, before he left for Lijiang, he had already checked out. We went to his room in University A dorm and found Feng Haoli and Wei Guangzheng’s photos and information.”

“Have Jiadong stand guard there. You go look for Zheng Huaijin. Don’t leave out the possibility of Li Niancheng going after Zheng Huaijin,” Jiang Yuecheng ordered.

The rest of them examined the vicinity in pairs and proceeded to hide in corners. Around six in the evening, Yang Shaozhan delivered dinner to them as Li Niancheng had never seen Yang Shaozhan before. Even if he ran into Li Niancheng that would be fine.

Yang Shaozhan went back to the car by the road to remain on standby after delivering dinner.

By twelve-thirty midnight, the four of them were feeling cold. Finally, Yang Shaozhan’s voice could be heard on their earphones. “Attention. Target has appeared. Target has appeared! He’s heading towards Captain Jiang’s direction.”

Shortly after, Jiang Yuecheng’s voice could be heard from the headphone, “Target spotted.”

Wei Muran and Qi Youxuan’s location was directly opposite of Yao Shangfeng’s unit. They saw a shadow entering the gate of Yao Shangfeng’s unit.

A little over a minute later, on the floor of Yao Shangfeng’s unit, the walkway lights were turned on, visible from the windows of the walkway.

“Target has arrived,” Wei Muran reported, then snuck out.

Qi Youxuan followed suit. The four met up at the unit gate. Without pause, they tacitly formed pairs. Wei Muran and Qi Youxuan went in the elevator while Jiang Yuecheng and Zhao Yiyang went up the stairs. Luckily Yao Shangfeng’s unit was only on the sixth floor.

Qi Youxuan and Wei Muran arrived first. They heard the sound of a heavy object falling to the floor. Qi Youxuan raised his leg and kicked the door in.

Fortunately, Yao Shangfeng was prepared and paid attention to detail. The security door was not shut, and even the inner door was not fully closed.

Both of them rushed in, witnessing Li Niancheng looping rope around Yao Shangfeng’s neck. Yao Shangfeng was obviously knocked out, totally unconscious.

This time they caught Li Niancheng in the act Wei Muran quickly rushed up to him.

Li Niancheng was stunned seeing them crashing in suddenly, not expecting the police to be here. He did not think the police would be able to trace his connection to this case. That was why he would be brave enough to come over directly.

With this one more murder, he would be done. Just a little more, just that little bit more.

Wei Muran knocked Li Niancheng down with a kick, “Freeze!”

Maybe it was his obsession with revenge, but Li Niancheng was only stunned for a short moment. After being kicked down by Wei Muran, he snapped out of the daze and climbed up immediately. Seemingly overpowered by bloodlust, he ignored Wei Muran and Qi Youxuan in his nervousness. He flipped out a flip knife from his waist, exposing the blade and dove towards Yao Shangfeng’s body.

Wei Muran’s reaction was quick. With a forceful kick on his wrist, Li Niancheng’s wrist turned numb and almost lost his grip on the knife. Wei Muran took this change and grabbed the knife from him.

However, Li Niancheng did not give up. He lunged over to grab the knife in Wei Muran’s hand.

Wei Muran quickly sheathed the knife. Qi Youxuan positioned himself between Li Niancheng and Wei Muran, protecting her and blocking Li Niancheng’s assault.

Li Niancheng was on the verge of his sanity. In his despair, he managed to muster a miraculous amount of strength. However, without training, it amounted to nothing. He was completely held down by Qi Youxuan. Wei Muran made a quick and precise kick on the back of Li Niancheng’s knees.

Li Niancheng’s knees buckled and fell kneeling. Qi Youxuan twisted his arm behind his back while Wei Muran tacitly took out her handcuffs and cuffed Li Niancheng in a clean, swift move.

Jiang Yuecheng and Zhao Yiyang also rushed into the scene. Seeing how things were already settled, they were somewhat embarrassed.

Zhao Yiyang called for an ambulance and accompanied Yao Shangfeng to the hospital. Wei Muran and the rest, on the other hand, brought Li Niancheng to the police station.

On the way, Zhao Yiyang called to inform them that Yao Shangfeng had only inhaled some knockout drugs and would wake up naturally in a while.

Li Niancheng was led to the interrogation room with the cuffs still on his hands and his eyes red.

Faced with his own infractions, Li Niancheng admitted to all of it.

“They deserve to die! Wei Guangzheng’s actions were worse than an animal. Those who stood by and watched deserved to die too! It’s them that killed Feifei! Feifei called me the night before she died, crying to me. I asked her why, but she wouldn’t tell the truth. Instead, she told me she missed home. At that time, I told her that I’d prepare her favorite yam ribs for her when she got back. Who would’ve thought she would die the very next day? She was still fine the day before and called me on the phone! A few days later, I received a letter from her. It was sent the day before she died, telling me the truth. She said she couldn’t stand the constant torture. She knew that even if she returned, it was impossible to bring justice to Wei Guangzheng. She lost her will to live. Do you know how I felt when I received this letter?”

“At that moment I wanted nothing more than to have these people killed! They killed my daughter! With that, I used a year to put everything together. I checked on their identity, then came up with a plan to have them killed before you guys found out the truth. Just a little bit more, just a little bit more! Why! Why must you stop me!” Li Niancheng slammed his cuffed hands on the table in anger. “Just a little more and I would’ve killed him! By that time you can arrest me. I’ll pay with my life! I’ll pay any price! Yao Shangfeng just stood there and watched without stopping Wei Guangzheng. He’s an accomplice! If he stepped in, Feifei wouldn’t have died so horribly!”

“I’m only giving them their just desserts! Why can they do all those evil deeds yet live their lives in peace? One gets to enjoy his life as a rich child, while the other used my daughter’s death to gain riches and live his dream in Lijiang. One more still enjoying his university life while my daughter died before she could enter university! She’s only eighteen years old! Those animals! She should be happily enjoying her university life, then fight for her dreams after graduation. Now that’s all gone, right when she’s eighteen. Her life came to a halt, and such a terrible death at that!”

“Since you guys aren’t going to deliver justice and avenge my daughter, I’ll just have to do it myself! A commoner like me is no match for those rich people. I don’t care how heavy a price I have to pay, I must avenge my daughter! They deserve to die!”

Li Niancheng admitted to all his infractions. He was convinced that his actions were not wrong and had no regrets.

Based on Li Niancheng’s statement, after he had learned of Gong Yanfei’s death, Li Niancheng suffered a heavy blow. He could hardly hold it together, spending his days in a daze, unable to live past the pain.

At the behest of a friend, he went for psychiatric counseling. However, he learned of the truth behind Gong Yanfei’s death. That set him on a path of no return. Even counseling did not help. All he could think of was vengeance.

…

The group worked all the way till morning as they waited at Yao Shangfeng’s house until midnight before they managed to arrest Li Niancheng. Additionally, they also had a lot of wrapping up to settle.

At the hospital, Zhao Yiyang sent news that Yao Shangfeng had awakened and made his statement.

Even though Yao Shangfeng already knew that Li Niancheng was looking for him and was mentally prepared, he was still scared despite being alert. Unfortunately, his preparations were insufficient.

When he noticed that it was Li Niancheng standing at the door, he subconsciously wanted to close the door. However, Li Niancheng was much better prepared than he was, rushing in immediately and covering his nose with a cloth. Yao Shangfeng could only detect a sourish pungent smell.

When Li Niancheng saw Yao Shangfeng’s eyes narrow, seemingly passing out, he grabbed Yao Shangfeng by the hair and slammed his head hard on the ground until he was out cold.

Even after the ordeal, the back of Yao Shangfeng’s head was still swollen, causing him great pain.

Jiang Yuecheng sent them home to rest up before having them come in the next day to finish up the reports for submission.

After that case, the Criminal Investigation Division enjoyed a period of peace, somehow allowing them to adhere to the standard office hours.

Within the blink of an eye, National Day and its week-long holiday starting from the first of October was quickly approaching.

Based on the Criminal Investigation Division’s schedule, Wei Muran was scheduled for her shift on the fifth and sixth. The first four days off could be spent on a vacation.

Just one week before the holiday, Qi Youning and Wen Xu visited them to ask them for a joint holiday to T City.

The reason behind this was due to the long holiday. Wen Xu had no good reason to continue staying in B City, so he had to return to T City and Qi Youning misses him too much, but she would never admit it.

If she went over by herself, Qi Chenglin will definitely say no. Therefore, she could only drag Qi Youxuan and Wei Muran along.

“There’s a resort with a great hot spring in T City. It’s filled with natural minerals, unlike those hot springs they created using sulfur. Taking a soak there is especially great for women. Beautifying, expelling the cold, and even helps with backache and arthritis,” said Qi Youning as she marketed it to Wei Muran.

To convince Qi Youxuan, one had to start with Wei Muran.

“…” Wei Muran was speechless.

She somehow felt that Qi Youning’s sales pitch sounded like a certain chinese medicine factory’s TV advertisement.

Wei Muran turned around to look at Qi Youxuan with an empty look. Whether to agree or not, she already subconsciously passed Qi Youxuan the right to make the call.

Qi Youxuan narrowed his eyes, seemingly scheming something. A while later, he signaled for Qi Youning to come over with his finger.

Qi Youning behaved the same way she had since young and subconsciously followed behind Qi Youxuan and headed to a corner nearby.

“Brother, what’s up?” Qi Youning asked innocently.

Qi Youxuan chuckled, “It’s not impossible to go.”

He had thought it through. Since they were probably going to just laze around for the National Day holidays, might as well have everyone go on a vacation, including Wei Ziqi.

As long as Wei Ziqi was home, he would come up with ways to prevent Wei Muran from dating Qi Youxuan.

Qi Youxuan was disappointed. He had never seen a father that was so against his daughter getting married!

Obviously, Qi Youxuan had automatically ignored his father.

If he had a chance to officially bring Wei Muran out for a vacation, then it would solve that problem.

If he brought it up to Wei Muran, she will definitely question his intentions and might be hesitant to go with him alone. Now that Qi Youning had brought this up, it was too convenient.

Hearing that Qi Youxuan was not against it, Qi Youning’s face brightened up. Qi Youxuan gave a faint smile and said, “I’ll settle it on our father’s end, and you help me settle my father-in-law’s side of things. We’ll help each other out.”

“No problem!” Qi Youning happily agreed.

When both of them returned, they put on their serious face. Qi Youxuan asked Wei Muran, “You wanna go?”

“Since there’s nothing to do, it’s not a bad idea to go have some fun.” Wei Muran gave him a nod. Since it was Qi Youxuan’s idea, Wei Muran did not think much of it.

Qi Youxuan gave an especially innocent smile. “Then let’s go.”

Four of them were having a double dinner date. After the dinner, Qi Youxuan went off to settle the bill and Wen Xu tacitly followed along. Qi Youning, on the other hand, asked Wei Muran along to the washroom.

“Room distribution,” Wen Xu quietly uttered those words as he walked up to Qi Youxuan’s side.

Qi Youxuan understood it immediately. He retrieved his card from the waiter, then turned around, “You follow Youning, I’ll follow Muran.”

Absent of the thought to protect his sister. Qi Youxuan went by the principle that his sister has grown up and he, as the brother, should learn how to let go. His sister was no longer the fat, snot-nosed brat with a ponytail who pulled at the edge of his shirt.