Chapter 16

“This lead is pretty much dead,” Cai Chengji sighed with some regret. “With Pei Ling in this state, Pei An definitely won’t contact her.”

“Doesn’t she have a son?” Jiang Li suddenly asked.

Cai Chengji was taken aback. “Team Leader Jiang, you don’t actually think Pei An would be desperate enough to seek refuge with his own nephew, do you?”

“Finding Pei Ling wasn’t primarily about Pei An in the first place,” Jiang Li said, a bad premonition creeping up on him. Before leaving, he glanced once more at the elderly woman lying on the hospital bed. Though only in her sixties, she looked withered and frail. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a glow on the bed as tiny dust particles danced in the air. Pei Ling’s wide-open eyes were dull and lifeless.

“Caibao, contact Pei Ling’s son and have him come to the city bureau to assist with the investigation,” he said, his eyes shadowed with gloom.

“Got it!” Cai Chengji responded, scratching his head as he watched Jiang Li’s tall figure stride away quickly. He muttered to Su Yan beside him, “Why do I feel like Team Leader Jiang is a bit angry?”

Su Yan also felt a heavy weight in her heart. She had naturally guessed what Jiang Li was thinking, and if it turned out to be true, it would be utterly horrifying. Walking alongside Cai Chengji, she carefully began, “Team Leader Jiang’s main reason for finding Pei Ling wasn’t about Pei An in the first place. He wanted to ask about Pei Shasha. Based on our investigations in Great Peace Village, there’s evidence that Pei Shasha was taken in by Pei Ling a few years ago and lived with her for several years. Why did Pei Shasha leave Great Peace Village? And did she return before or after Pei Ling’s incident? These details are crucial.”

“Pei Shasha…” Cai Chengji repeated the name in confusion, then suddenly realized something. His eyes widened. “Team Leader Jiang means… that Pei Shasha is… that…” His voice trailed off as he noticed Su Yan’s complicated expression, clearly exasperated by his delayed reaction.

“Are you saying Team Leader Jiang suspects Pei Shasha is Zhang Liang’s accomplice?” He nearly choked on his own saliva. “What role would she play in a two-person team? Cleaning up after Zhang Liang? A frail little girl who probably couldn’t even lift a corpse.”

Su Yan smiled meaningfully at his words. “Brother Cai, you’re underestimating girls these days. When push comes to shove, they can even crack your crown of the head open.”

Cai Chengji was about to retort when he suddenly remembered the day this very “little girl” in front of him had fearlessly subdued a knife-wielding criminal with her bare hands. He promptly swallowed his words.

When the three of them returned to the city bureau and entered the Special Task Force office, Xiang Yang was chatting with a middle-aged stranger. Seeing them return, Xiang Yang quickly stood up. “Team Leader Jiang, this is Pei Ling’s son, Mr. Lai Xiangming.”

“Hello, Officer,” Lai Xiangming stepped forward and shook Jiang Li’s hand.

“Mr. Lai, thank you very much for coming to assist with our investigation,” Jiang Li exchanged pleasantries before inviting him to sit down and began gathering information.

“I didn’t mean to make you officers come all this way for nothing. At the time, I wasn’t aware of your intentions, so I didn’t disclose my mother’s actual condition. I hope you can understand.” Lai Xiangming adjusted his black-framed glasses, appearing every bit the serious, upright man who likely led an extremely disciplined daily life. “Just now, I heard from one of the officers that something happened to my uncle? Rest assured, I’ll cooperate fully with whatever information the police need.”

“Has Pei An contacted you in the past few days?” Jiang Li asked.

At the mention of ‘Pei An,’ Lai Xiangming instinctively frowned. “No.”

“It seems… your relationship with your uncle isn’t particularly close?” Cai Chengji’s gaze lingered on the man’s face.

“There aren’t any major conflicts, but we’re not especially close either. I hardly saw this uncle growing up, though he did have a good relationship with my mother. Before her accident, they often spoke on the phone.” Lai Xiangming explained, his recently relaxed brow knitting together again. “But mentioning my uncle reminds me of that cousin of mine—she’s really something.” He curled his lip in clear distaste.

“We heard Pei Shasha lived with your family for several years after your mother took her in?” Cai Chengji’s eyes lit up, finally reaching the main topic.

Lai Xiangming nodded. “About nine… no, ten years ago. Sha Sha was just a teenager then, around middle school age. My mother said she was too rebellious, that my uncle couldn’t control her and was at his wit’s end. Since an aunt is practically half a mother, right? She felt responsible for helping her brother raise his daughter properly. So she decided to bring her to the city for school, away from those wild village kids, thinking she might become more obedient.”

“And then? Did Pei Shasha become well-behaved as your mother hoped?”

“Well-behaved?” Lai Xiangming laughed as if hearing a joke. “Her? Change? I think she was mentally ill! When my mother first brought her to the city, she’d spend all day muttering to herself in her room. One moment she’d be chatting normally with my mom, the next she’d see me or my father and bolt into her room like we were monsters! Can you believe it? And we never mistreated her!”

At this, everyone except him grew visibly grim. Su Yan glanced at Jiang Li, confirming her suspicions—his expression had indeed darkened like ink. If Lai Xiangming’s description was accurate, Pei Shasha had already shown clear signs of trauma response back then, specifically toward men. The implication could only mean one thing: she had endured prolonged abuse from male figures.

“Also, also!” Lai Xiangming seemed to suddenly remember something, his expression growing agitated. “You know why I said she’s mentally ill? I once saw her pick up a stray kitten on her way home from school. At first, I thought maybe she wanted to keep it since girls usually like fluffy things. But then…” His pupils constricted sharply, and he swallowed hard. “She—she slammed that kitten hard onto the ground! And as if that wasn’t enough, she picked up a stone and smashed it a couple more times! Tell me, isn’t that the behavior of a psychopath?!”

“How did you react at the time? Did Pei Shasha know you witnessed her actions?” Jiang Li pressed.

Lai Xiangming waved his hand dismissively. “I’d have to be insane to provoke that lunatic. She always had this eerie, gloomy aura. Later, I only mentioned it once to my mother. After she graduated from middle school, she was sent to a boarding high school and didn’t stay at our place much anymore.”

“Which middle school did Pei Shasha attend?”

“The one near our home—Wenhua Junior High,” Lai Xiangming replied, puzzled.

Wenhua Junior High was located in the old district, and the first victim Zhang Liang had dumped was also found in the old district… Su Yan’s heart skipped a beat as a chilling realization struck her. She hurriedly asked, “And which high school did she go to?”

“Let me think…” The passage of time made it hard for Lai Xiangming to recall immediately. After a long pause, he hesitantly said, “It was a closed-off private school… something like Yuhua International High School.”

Su Yan bit her tongue hard. That high school was in Changtai County—the same area where Zhang Liang had dumped his second and third victims. Now, no one could dismiss these connections as mere coincidences. There was only one possibility: Pei Shasha might have encountered Zhang Liang while still a minor, and the two had begun collaborating in these crimes. The mere thought sent shivers down her spine.

Lai Xiangming belatedly noticed the uneasy expressions in the room and grew cautious. “Officers… did I say something wrong…?”

“No, no, not at all. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation today, Mr. Lai,” Cai Chengji quickly reassured him before wrapping up the interview with a few trivial questions.

Since Lai Xiangming had work to attend to, he left half an hour later. Cai Chengji and Xiang Yang stood to escort him out. Just as the three reached the door, Su Yan suddenly spoke up, “Mr. Lai, forgive me for being blunt, but I have to ask—how did your mother get injured?”

“Uh… she fell from the second floor. Our house is a duplex, with an open ceiling above the living room on the first floor.”

“Was she alone at home when it happened?”

“Yes. I remember I was away on a business trip at the time. It was Sha Sha who found her after the fall and called 120 to get her to the hospital.” Mentioning Pei Ling, Lai Xiangming’s expression turned sorrowful. “My father passed away before my mother’s accident. Maybe she was too grief-stricken and lost her focus… Ah…”

“Does Miss Pei often visit your home?” Su Yan asked again.  

Lai Xiangming thought for a moment before replying, “Not exactly. She was already working by then, but she always had a decent relationship with my mother. She’d occasionally drop by, bringing fruits or health supplements for her.”  

Su Yan quickly processed the information, then smiled warmly. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Lai. Please take care on your way out.”  

Lai Xiangming was somewhat overwhelmed by their enthusiastic attitude today. He mumbled a few acknowledgments before being escorted out by Xiang Yang and Cai Chengji toward the elevator. As they walked, he remarked, “The police these days are so approachable—really commendable. If everyone were like you, there’d be no conflicts between law enforcement and civilians…”  

A soft *ding* signaled the arrival of the elevator.  

Jiang Li walked over and tapped the desk in front of her, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Do you think Pei Ling’s case is also connected to Pei Shasha?”  

“Team Leader Jiang, have you ever heard the saying,” Su Yan’s lips curled slightly, “‘All coincidences are long-planned’?”  

“Unfortunately, at this stage, all we have are baseless suspicions.” Despite his words, Jiang Li didn’t look the least bit regretful. He had always believed that no crime was perfect—if you committed it, traces would remain. The only difference was whether those traces could be found.  

Just as Su Yan was about to speak, Xiang Yang and Cai Chengji returned. Seeing them standing together, the two rushed over eagerly. Xiang Yang impatiently swatted Cai Chengji’s arm off his shoulder and said, “Team Leader Jiang, based on what Lai Xiangming just said, Pei Shasha is a prime suspect. It’s just a shame we can’t locate Pei An—otherwise, we might’ve gotten some testimony from him. As her father, wouldn’t he know if there was something wrong with Pei Shasha?”  

“Nonsense…” Cai Chengji countered, shaking his head. “According to Mr. Lai, Pei Shasha had a habit of torturing small animals since childhood. Those missing cats and dogs in Great Peace Village were probably her doing. You think Pei An didn’t know what his daughter was like? Yet he never sent her to a proper facility for psychological intervention—instead, he covered it up for years. You really think he’d hand over evidence against his own daughter to the police? I doubt it.” He wagged his head. “I suggest we keep pressing Zhang Liang—use the timeline evidence we have to slowly break his defenses!”  

Xiang Yang shoved off the man who was practically leaning his full weight on him and scoffed, “Oh, you’re so capable? Then go ahead and break him down. If you succeed, I’ll call you ‘Dad.'”

“Zhang Liang’s side is unlikely to make any progress for the time being.” Jiang Li shook his head. “We still need to find a way to locate Pei An. You all should pay attention to the key points in what Lai Xiangming just said. When Pei Shasha first arrived at their home, she exhibited a clear fear response towards men. If we assume that the relationship between Pei An and her is not a typical father-daughter relationship, for example, if Pei Shasha had suffered long-term abuse from him, can we deduce that Pei An is the kind of father who would do anything to protect his daughter?”

The answer is, of course, negative. As for why the other party has never revealed the differences between Pei Shasha and ordinary people, it is easy to understand. He himself is afraid of being exposed for his own shady dealings in secret filming and selling, right?

“But isn’t it true that we can’t find Pei An right now? If he really goes into hiding and doesn’t come out for ten days or half a month, how are we supposed to find him?” Cai Chengji said somewhat unconvinced. “If Zhang Liang can just endure him, maybe he will end up in a daze and give up?”

“Zhang Liang won’t give up.” Su Yan suddenly interjected. Her words drew the attention of the three of them to her. She bit her lip, organized her thoughts, and continued, “We all know that any partnership in a crime involving two people is usually extremely close. From their initial mutual selection to their shared experiences in multiple crimes, the trust between the two only deepens over time. Moreover, in such criminal partnerships, the roles of the two individuals are very clearly defined, with slight differences in status. Simply put, one is the dominator, and the other is the subordinate.”

“Perhaps seeing their genders, most people would subconsciously categorize Pei Shasha as the weaker party. If our speculation is correct, then when the two of them committed their first crime, Pei Shasha was still a minor. Minors seem to be easier to control in our impression, but is that really the case?”

Xiang Yang and Cai Chengji were momentarily stunned by her rapid speech, while Jiang Li, upon closer inspection, noticed a hint of amusement hidden in his eyes, slightly tinged with appreciation.

“I remember the first time I saw Pei Shasha was when the body of the victim, Ni Yue, was discovered by the creek. She was standing behind Pei An. Because I was too far away and there were too many people at the time, I couldn’t observe her expression closely. However, this aligns with the fact that serial killers often like to revisit the crime scene to relive the process for psychological satisfaction.” Su Yan began to recall the memories she had pieced together during this time, “The second time I saw her was the day after the incident when we went to the Great Peace Village committee to conduct witness inquiries. She deliberately lingered outside the window, catching my attention. When I went out to ask her, she stammered and her demeanor was quite abnormal, which naturally left a deep impression on me.”

“Shortly after, we went to Pei An’s home for investigation. During this time, Pei Shasha displayed increasingly obvious signs of unease, which I believe Team Leader Jiang must have noticed as well. However, I found an excuse to step out first, and then Pei Shasha successfully lured both me and Brother Xiang to Zhang Liang’s home. This allowed our police team to uncover Zhang Liang’s suspicious behavior and conduct an in-depth investigation into his background, ultimately confirming his involvement in the two murder cases in Great Peace Village and three other cases from years ago.”

“Moreover, during my first interaction with Zhang Liang, I felt something was off. It took me a while to realize what it was—the subtle inconsistencies in their body language. For instance, Pei Shasha would grip Zhang Liang’s shoulder while speaking. At first, I thought this was an intimate gesture due to their unusual relationship… But later, when we went to Zhang Liang’s home for evidence collection in the evening, Pei Shasha repeated the same action. That’s when it hit me—this was clearly a dominant-submissive dynamic, a gesture symbolizing absolute obedience!”

Su Yan paused here, concluding her analysis: “You see, the bond between a dominant and a submissive is nearly unbreakable because the submissive is psychologically dependent on the dominant. This explains why Zhang Liang willingly took the blame, even though he knew Pei Shasha had planted the evidence in his home to frame him. After the covert filming incident, Zhang Liang even redirected our suspicion toward Pei An—because he was protecting his dominant. In his mind, betraying her was out of the question.”

“This…” Cai Chengji quickly poured her a glass of water after she finished. “Listening to you makes me feel like my brain isn’t even a brain.” For a moment, he almost mistook her for Jiang Li with how eloquently she spoke.

Xiang Yang nodded in agreement. While they had pieced together some of these details, they hadn’t yet organized their thoughts as thoroughly as she had.

“As Su Yan pointed out, the relationship between Zhang Liang and Pei Shasha goes far beyond what we consider normal, equal human interactions. Even if we could break through, it would take too much time. In investigations, every second counts. So our priority now is to delve deeper into Pei An’s background and trace any clues that might reveal his whereabouts,” Jiang Li summarized. Cai Chengji then called for a meeting, bringing together the Special Task Force and the Technical Brigade.

All evidence related to Pei An—testimonies, physical evidence—was laid out for discussion. The team brainstormed, hoping to apprehend him as quickly as possible.

The meeting lasted until evening. The Special Task Force’s office was littered with empty water bottles and overflowing ashtrays. Despite their exhaustion, there was still no significant breakthrough.

At that moment, everyone fell into silence. Su Yan glanced down and noticed several documents that had been on the desk were now scattered on the floor. She bent down to pick them up. Just then, the office landline rang.

She straightened up again. Answering calls was naturally the duty of an intern like her. Walking over to the phone, she picked up the receiver and held it to her ear, responding professionally, “Hello, this is the Special Task Force of the Criminal Investigation Division, Nan City Bureau.”

“……”

Jiang Li and the others were resting with their eyes closed nearby. After a long pause without hearing her next words, Jiang Li opened his eyes and looked over. He could only see her profile—her lips pressed tightly together, her expression seemingly grim.

“Who is it? What’s the matter?” he asked.

Su Yan placed the receiver back, her pale fingers gripping it so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She took a deep breath and spoke with difficulty, “Pei An has been found.”

“What?!” Cai Chengji, who had been listless, sprang up instantly, grabbing his jacket from the chair and rushing toward the door. “Where is he now? I swear I’ll drag him back myself!”

“He’s dead.”

“Damn it—” Cai Chengji was about to continue cursing when he abruptly stopped, his eyes widening in disbelief. “Yan, what did you just say?”

“The local police station just called. They said Pei An was found—still in Great Peace Village—but he’s already… gone.” Su Yan’s other hand, hanging at her side, clenched into a fist.

The room fell so silent that the sound of a single sheet of paper hitting the floor would have been audible.

…

Bang!

With the sound of the car door slamming shut, Su Yan and the others stepped out of the police van and once again arrived at the pebble-strewn creek in Great Peace Village. The area was already cordoned off with police lines, and as usual, a crowd of onlookers had gathered around.  

The officer in charge from the local police station approached them.  

“Where is it?” Jiang Li narrowed his eyes as he looked toward the creek.  

“Over there,” the officer pointed in a direction. “We arrived quickly after receiving the report. The body was still in the water, so we retrieved it. But… the victim’s daughter has been crying and making a scene. We can’t get her to leave no matter how much we try.”  

Following the officer’s direction, the group saw the body laid out by the creek. Beside it, Pei Shasha was silently weeping, having already passed the most emotionally shattered stage. Still, no matter how much the officers tried to persuade her, she refused to move even a step away from the body. At one point, she even tried to throw herself over it, wailing, but each time, the officers nearby held her back.  

Jiang Li led his team, along with colleagues from the Technical Brigade and the forensic examiner, lifting the police line as they made their way toward the creek.  

Pei Shasha seemed to hear the commotion. Through tear-filled eyes, she glanced in their direction, and suddenly, her expression twisted into something fierce. She lunged at them, screaming, “It’s you!!! You’re the ones who drove my dad to his death!!!”