Love Me if You Dare: Pristine Darkness

In the interrogation room, Yao Yuange’s expression had already calmed down, and he was  back to his everyday calm demeanor.

“At about 11 o’clock at night, I was in Ms. Zhao’s room discussing some things. Miss Tong charged in here  suddenly. Zhao Xia asked her what happened, and she went crazy, pouncing on Zhao Xia.”

Fang Qing asked, “What was your reaction at the time?”

“Me?” Yao Yuange responded, “I wanted to stop her, but Miss Tong wouldn’t listen. She is very strong, and immediately pushed Zhao Xia onto the ground. I was also a little bit afraid of her, and wanted to call someone for help. But then she picked up the fruit knife on the table, and then Ms. Zhao…”

“After she killed her, she wanted to kill me. I was so angry at the time, and fought with her a little. This injury is from when she used the knife to cut me.” He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a wound on his arm that was a mess of flesh and blood.

Fang Qing nodded.

“Later, probably because Miss Tong heard that police officer arrive, she ran off. That is how everything happened.”

Fang Qing thought for a little bit, and asked again, “When she stabbed Zhao Xia, where were you standing?”

Yao Yuange thought about it before answering, “I can’t remember clearly. I think I was standing just beside her, a few steps away.”

“After she entered the room, did she say anything?”

Yao Yuange frowned a little. “. . . she said, ‘You people don’t deserve a good death.’ She said she wanted to kill everyone who was rich.”

From the other side of the dark-coloured glass, Bo Jinyan, Jian Yao, and the other police officers continued to pay attention to the entire interrogation process. An officer smiled coldly and said “His own concubine was killed right in front of him but he  escaped although he was only a few steps away. What’s more, he only received some light injuries. He really can bear it.”

After that, Ming Lan, Ming Yue and the rest of the group of women, including the two other servants in the courtyard, all accepted police interrogation. They all gave the same statement: the night when Yao Yuange went to Zhao Xia’s room, they were all getting ready to sleep. They only ran over when they heard the terrifying screams.

——

Eeveryone was busy until dawn.

Jian Yao stood in the hallway, gazing at the marble white color of the dawn sky. Many citizens were gathered by the stairs outside the station. One could imagine, after tomorrow, this case would cause quite a stir within the ancient city. A psychotic murderer, running around in the Qing Hills behind the ancient city – how much panic would this cause among the people?

But, when all is said and done, what would make people panic more – the act of killing people or human nature?

There was a noise behind her and Bo Jinyan walked out. His shirt was clean and white, his eyes clear and bright. Other than the horrifying injury revealed by the circle of bruises around his neck that had already begun turning purple, he continued to exhibit his usual indifferent and snobbish appearance.

“Does Mrs. Bo not need to go and take a nap for a little while?” he asked, “Losing sleep will not be good for your delicate skin. Whatever is left is the business of the police.”

Jian Yao stared at him, “How can I think about going to sleep? You, go and see the doctor immediately.”

Bo Jinyan felt his neck for a little bit. “Is it very hideous?” Suddenly he became thoughtful, and smiled a little as he asked, “Is it very . . . manly?”

“Go and see the doctor! Now!”

The medical office was right downstairs. In the clean and quiet room, the doctor put some medicine on Bo Jinyan’s neck, and ordered him to consume only liquids for the next few days. He then smeared some medicine on the wounds on his wrist and waist area, before leaving. At that time, the sun was already up, and the room was bright and warm. Bo Jinyan rested on  the treatment bed with his eyes slightly closed. Jian Yao sat at the side of the bed. After looking at him for a bit, she reached out with her hand to lightly touch his neck.

He opened his eyes to look at her.

“Does it hurt?” she asked softly. Really, how did he manage such a calm expression? She looked at his clearly horrifying wound and thought of that moment when he was on the phone with her, the sudden hoarseness of his voice and the sound of something breaking, and her heart experienced continuous waves of pain and fear.

“A little,” he answered.

Jian Yao’s temper suddenly flared up, and she turned her head away to ignore him. At first, he was a little startled, but then he tugged on her hand. No reaction. After a few seconds, he tugged again.

“Mrs. Bo?” he quietly called to her. “You’re angry.”

Wasn’t it obvious?

Jian Yao turned back around and glared at him. “How many times do I have to tell you, when you meet with danger, don’t rush forward! You yourself have said that the police should handle everything that requires physical exertion! It doesn’t require your genius! But why do you still recklessly charge forward every single time?”

His bright and black pair of eyes gazed at her, and he was quiet for a moment before saying,  “At the time I deduced there was a high possibility that she would go and destroy the evidence and the weapon. If I had waited until the police came, it would be too late.”

“But . . .” she couldn’t find any words.

He kept his gaze fixed on her, then reached out his hand to caress her hair, took her into his arms, and held her. After a while, when her emotions were calm, he gently and very reasonably told her, “Jian Yao, I think, you should believe in my ability to deal with emergencies and in my judgement. I’m highly capable in both those aspects. During the process of solving a case, there will sometimes be danger. But, has there ever been a time when I didn’t peacefully and safely return to your side? That is my promise and also something I believe I can do. Don’t worry, in the future, I will be fine as well.”

“Ok.” Jian Yao was buried in his arms, his fingers on her waist were lightly scratching her, and the scratching even had a specific tempo. After a while, she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

——

At this point, major progress had been made on the case. The suspect was determined to be the 49-year-old servant from the Yao family, Tong Min.

The city police chief had also rushed over, and was meeting with the investigative team in the auditorium. The police chief asked, “Where is Professor Bo Jinyan?” Fang Qing replied, “He was injured in the process of chasing the suspect and is in the medical office. It’s flesh wound, not a big deal, we don’t need to worry about it.”

 The police chief was startled for a bit, then nodded. “All right, then let’s start. Fang Qing, you report first.”

Fang Qing walked to the front of the stage, looked around, and then began. “For now, Tong Min is our prime suspect.  As we’ve not had much time, we are still waiting on some primary information, but this is what we’ve gathered from the information she registered with the Yao family – she is from our city’s Qing Shui Township, and started working in the city to support herself. She has already lived in the ancient city for two years. We haven’t been able to contact her family yet, and the phone number she left doesn’t exist. We have already sent people there.”

Tong Min’s picture appeared on the screen at the front of the auditorium. Although she wasn’t even 50 yet, she had a head full of white hair, and appeared very elderly. However, her eyes were particularly piercing. They seemed to be staring out of the screen straight at you.

Below the stage, there was a lot of quiet discussion. This was a female murderer, and one that was so old and crazed. It was they first time they had encountered such a murderer.

 “We have already found the weapon. Tong Min’s coat, which was hanging in the kitchen, has tested positive for traces of the blood of the victim, Fu Wei. There is no doubt that Tong Min is the killer in Fu Wei’s case. In addition, from what we are able to grasp of the current situation, she is also the prime suspect in the case of Zhao Xia’s murder last night.

“Why?” asked the police chief. “Why would she want to commit murder? How did she commit the murder?”

Crime scene photographs of Fu Wei’s murder appeared on the screen. They included the blood splatter, hand prints, and pictures of the corpse.

Fang Qing said, “This is something that Professor Bo has explained previously  – in the Yao family, Tong Min underwent long-term abuse, and her psyche was already not very normal. At the same time, we suspect that, before she arrived in the Yao household, she also endured some psychological trauma. Otherwise, a person’s character could not have such a large change within just two years.”

“While she was cleaning in the inn, she met Fu Wei. Something about Fu Wei set her off. At the moment, we suspect it was Fu Wei’s lustful character. Although Tong Min is schizophrenic, she is also very smart. Thus, she planned this entire elaborate plot to kill Fu Wei in a cruel manner.”

“Because we entered the Yao home and took the fingerprints of the suspects, she was probably startled and wanted to retrieve the weapon that she had left in the kitchen — the boning knife. However, she was intercepted by Professor Bo, tussled with him and fled.”

“Why would she also want to kill Zhao Xia, who was unrelated?” Someone asked.

Fang Qing answered, “According to the testimony of the only witness, Yao Yuange, at the time Tong Min had already lost her mind, so she simply rushed in and killed Zhao Xia.”

The entire crowd was silent. Someone sighed.

“Fang Qing, you must find Tong Min as soon as possible!” the police chief said sharply. “We can’t let a crazy serial killer run around outside! How can the people of the ancient city live peacefully! You must capture her within three days!”

——

At the conclusion of the meeting, all the officers left the meeting room with grave expressions. They had finally determined the prime suspect, and it seemed like they were making some progress with the case. Of course everyone was happy. However, to find a person amidst vast and precipitous mountains, a murderer who has been backed into a corner – how could that be easy?

Fang Qing returned to his seat, and at that moment, the phone rang. He picked it up to take a look, and froze.

It was the one who had not contacted him for a long time, Jin Xiaozhe.

But they were on the cusp of catching this murderer on the run, how could he talk to her? Fang Qing thought briefly, and without much hesitation, stuffed the phone into his pocket. I’ll think about it later.

A police officer at one side suddenly exclaimed, “Where is my notebook?”

Everyone looked towards him.

He went through his desk again, and said anxiously, “Who took it? I put it on my desk before the meeting. How did it disappear? The details of the entire case were in there.”

Fang Qing was startled, and asked “When we were having our meeting, who was still inside the building but not in the auditorium?”

An officer thought about it and answered, “Other than the Yao family, there was only the victim, Fu Wei’s, father.”

Fang Qing’s face changed colour. “Where are they now?”

“We have already escorted the Yao family home. Fu Wei’s father…. Ah, where is Fu Dafan, he was just sitting here a minute ago, he had said that he wanted to speak to use. And now, suddenly, he is gone.”

“Oh, no! Something’s going to happen!” Fang Qing said sharply. “We need to go to the Yao home immediately!”

Translated by clue

TLCed by Geeky

Edited by shl, SantaCalculus

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