Chapter 27: The Mysterious Family Massacre (11)

Meng Siqi ran breathlessly to the library not far from her home. The library closed at 9:30 PM, and she had less than thirty minutes left.

At this hour, the library had already seen many visitors leave. Meng Siqi quickly entered the reading room and began searching through the bookshelves. After flipping through several books on feng shui and mysterious legends, she finally found the book she was looking for.

As she opened it, her fingers began to tremble uncontrollably. Even the simple act of turning the pages made her hands shake slightly.

“It’s almost closing time!” a staff member reminded her.

Meng Siqi immediately grabbed the book and went outside to fill out a borrowing slip. After successfully checking out the book, she followed the stream of departing visitors and exited the library. She then crouched down outside a small convenience store next to the library.

The store’s light fell directly onto the book cover in her hands.

As she carefully analyzed all the details, she realized she had been squatting at the store entrance for an entire hour. When she finally stood up, her legs cramped so badly that she had to lean against the wall for support, taking a long time to recover. The shop owner seemed accustomed to her habit of reading outside the library.

She bought a pack of dry instant noodles.

Truth be told, she was feeling a little hungry. As she walked home, she snacked on the noodles.

It wasn’t appropriate to call the station so late at night, and besides, she wasn’t entirely certain she had interpreted everything correctly. She needed to review the book again when she got home.

The next morning, Meng Siqi got up at the crack of dawn. She rushed back to the station and quickly jotted down her deductions on the crime board.

Just as she finished writing, she sensed someone standing behind her. Turning around, she saw that it was Han Changlin.

Han Changlin’s gaze was fixed intently on the words she had written. His expression was serious, his eyes glued to the board, as if lost in thought.

All because of Ye Xiuhui’s complaint about the “Eighteen Levels of Hell”, Meng Siqi had connected it to clues from the case. She realized that the key to solving this massacre case lay in the concept of the Eighteen Levels of Hell.

The hells had eighteen different punishments, and after comparing them one by one, she found a striking correlation.

Zhu Gongyou corresponded to the “Iron Tree Hell,” where nails were driven into his head after death—this aligned almost perfectly.

You Meihua matched the “Tongue Ripping Hell,” where the tongue was cut out—a perfect match.

Zhu Xinting fit the “Boiling Oil Hell,” as parts of her fat tissue had been fried.

Qi Xiaowei corresponded to the “Mountain of Knives Hell,” since two knives had been embedded in his face.

As for Ning Xiangjuan, there didn’t seem to be a matching hell. Perhaps something had prevented the killer from carrying it out.

Meng Siqi stood to the side, waiting for Han Changlin’s response. After a moment, Han Changlin turned to her and asked, “You came up with this?”

“Captain Han, I was reading at the library yesterday and made the connection…”

Han Changlin’s serious expression slowly shifted, revealing a glimmer of excitement. “Good. Very good!”

He rubbed his hands together, a surge of energy bubbling up at the realization that they now had a concrete direction to pursue.

At that moment, Feng Shaomin and the others arrived one after another.

Han Changlin immediately clapped his hands and announced loudly, “Alright, everyone, time to work! Start investigating all unsolved murder cases in Jinyang City from the past three years.”

Tang Xiaochuan stepped forward and asked, “Captain Han, what specific characteristics should we focus on?”

“The Eighteen Levels of Hell!”

Not only Tang Xiaochuan, but even Feng Shaomin was taken aback. Tang Xiaochuan asked, “Captain Han, what exactly are the Eighteen Levels of Hell?”

“I knew you’d ask. If you don’t understand, come over here and take a look!”

Everyone gathered around the crime board, their eyes scanning the notes Meng Siqi had written.

Han Changlin said, “Xiao Meng, give the team a brief explanation of your thought process.”

Meng Siqi immediately picked up the book she had borrowed from the library and concisely explained her theory, based on the descriptions of punishments in the Eighteen Levels of Hell.

At that moment, everyone seemed to grasp the concept.

Zhao Leiting shifted his gaze from the crime board to Meng Siqi and praised her, “Siqi, impressive! You actually managed to make this connection.”

Meng Siqi responded modestly, “I’m not entirely sure if my reasoning is correct.”

Han Changlin spoke up firmly, “Regardless, this is an excellent lead for the investigation. Xiao Meng’s discovery is highly valuable.” He looked at her with clear approval in his eyes.

It was rare for Han Changlin to openly praise his subordinates, and in fact, this was the first time he had complimented her in front of the entire Second Unit. A rush of emotion surged through Meng Siqi’s heart, like a plucked string vibrating uncontrollably.

Han Changlin then turned to Feng Shaomin and said, “Old Feng, your apprentice did a great job this time!”

Feng Shaomin pressed his lips together, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

To Meng Siqi, Feng Shaomin was always stern and serious, but that subtle smile filled her with even greater pride.

However, the case was still unsolved, and she knew she couldn’t afford to be complacent. She immediately said, “Master, I will work even harder.”

To her surprise, Feng Shaomin responded for the first time with a nod. “Good.”

Han Changlin’s voice rang out, filled with confidence and determination. “Now that everyone understands this key detail, our next task is to identify any murder cases that align with the punishments of the Eighteen Levels of Hell!”

“Understood!”

Zhao Leiting raised his hand and asked, “Captain Han, is it possible that the killer committed similar crimes in other cities?”

“Good thinking. Zhao Leiting, you’ll be in charge of contacting the police departments in neighboring cities to request case files for similar murders.”

“Got it, Captain.”

Han Changlin clapped his hands. “Alright, let’s get to work! Leave no suspicious case unexamined.”

Inside the archives room, Feng Shaomin led the team in combing through unsolved murder cases from the past three years. Because of the large number of case files, careful cross-checking was necessary. Han Changlin assigned two more investigators to assist with the search.

Everyone was busy scanning the shelves, flipping through files. Some stood while reviewing documents, others crouched down to search, and Meng Siqi, after squatting for a long time, started to feel sore and numb. She leaned against a wall, stacking files from the shelves and reviewing them one by one.

To ensure nothing was missed, they even expanded their search to include cases from the past ten years.

The day passed quickly, yet they found nothing substantial.

Han Changlin had checked in on the team several times throughout the day. As the evening approached, a hint of urgency crept into his expression. He turned to Tang Xiaochuan and asked, “Still nothing?”

Tang Xiaochuan said, “There are no obvious matches.”

“Hey, doesn’t this one seem similar?” Feng Shaomin held a case file and walked toward Han Changlin.

Everyone quickly gathered around. Meng Siqi, who had been struggling to stay awake, instantly perked up at Feng Shaomin’s discovery and hurried over.

Han Changlin read from the file, “The victim’s heart was removed… Is there such a punishment?”

Tang Xiaochuan asked, “A punishment of having one’s heart ripped out?”

“I don’t think so,” Meng Siqi recalled clearly.

Tang Xiaochuan nodded, “Then I must have remembered wrong. I’ve been watching Liaozhai^[1]Liao Zhai (聊斋) refers to Liaozhai Zhiyi (《聊斋志异》), also known as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. It is a collection of supernatural and eerie short stories written by Pu Songling … Continue reading on CCTV lately, and my mind keeps going to these things.”

After a brief silence, Feng Shaomin suddenly said, “The killer has a strong counter-surveillance ability and a deep knowledge of these strange concepts, even using them in his crimes. He must have received a good education. It’s highly likely that he only came up with this plan this year, carefully prepared for it, and only recently started committing crimes. The Zhu family’s case might be the first one.”

In other words, they wouldn’t find any more leads in these past case files.

Han Changlin added, “He could also have an extreme antisocial personality. He might not be targeting specific people but rather suffering from a mental disorder, seeing himself as a god-like figure delivering punishment using the tortures of the Eighteen Levels of Hell.”

Feng Shaomin and Han Changlin’s analysis made everyone fall into deep thought. This kind of insight was crucial to solving the case.

Meng Siqi had recently been reading Criminal Psychology, which described antisocial personality disorder—also known as sociopathy. People with this disorder were often cold, lacking empathy and guilt. Their crimes were not fueled by personal hatred but rather by a desire to enjoy the act itself. They tended to be meticulous and extremely cruel.

Feng Shaomin closed the case file and followed up on Han Changlin’s point, “Captain Han, when you put it that way, I think this theory holds up. Zhu Gongyou committed arson at his company, You Meihua embezzled her brother’s compensation money, and Qi Xiaowei was involved in prostitution. These are all actions the killer might have deemed worthy of damnation. He’s acting as the judge…”

At this realization, everyone felt a heavy weight pressing down on them. They had only uncovered four of the eighteen punishments so far, which meant that fourteen more could still be coming…

Just thinking about it sent shivers down Meng Siqi’s spine.

“Alright,” Han Changlin sighed. It was unclear whether it was out of frustration over the lack of clues or anxiety about the case’s progress. He slowly said, “I’ll go report to Director Liu… You all keep going.”

Meng Siqi suddenly remembered that today was the deadline Han Changlin had given Director Liu for solving the case. It seemed he was about to break that promise.

The next day, only Tang Xiaochuan and Meng Siqi were still reviewing case files. By the third day, only Meng Siqi remained, re-examining everything while the others were out conducting field investigations.

Zhao Leiting had been in charge of contacting other municipal police departments for case files. The other cities were very cooperative. Then, at noon on the third day, when Zhao Leiting was alone in the office, he received a call.

A few minutes later, he rushed into the archives room, visibly excited. “We found it! We found it!”

Meng Siqi, exhausted, looked up. “Found what?”

“A case from last year in Qindong City. The victim had all ten fingers cut off!”

“The Scissors Hell?” Meng Siqi’s drowsiness vanished instantly, replaced by excitement. The Scissors Hell was one of the Eighteen Levels of Hell, where fingers were severed as punishment. She put down the case files and said, “We need to tell Captain Han right away!”

“Captain Han is on his way back… No need to search anymore. Let’s wait for him.”

“Alright.”

Less than half an hour later, Han Changlin and the others returned to the office. While waiting, Meng Siqi had written the key details of the newly discovered case on the crime board.

When Han Changlin saw the board, his eyes lit up.

Zhao Leiting summarized, “Captain Han, here’s what we’ve gathered so far: The victim, Wei Xingping, was murdered at home with his wife late last year. The murder weapon was a single-edged blade, 13 cm long and 3 cm wide. All ten of his fingers were cut off, with clean cuts—this perfectly matches the Scissors Hell punishment from the Eighteen Levels of Hell.”

Han Changlin asked, “What do we know about the victim?”

Zhao Leiting drew a line under the words Photographer on the board. “He was a field photographer for Jinyang Evening News in Jinyang City. He lived in Qindong City and commuted between the two cities daily. He had been working at the newspaper for over five years.”

Not only did he have a connection to Jinyang City, but the case also perfectly matched the killer’s pattern. At that moment, a sense of renewed hope spread across everyone’s faces.

Zhao Leiting continued, “According to the Qindong police department, their initial assessment of the case was that it was a revenge killing. Since Wei Xingping was a photographer who frequently went out with a small camera for documentary-style reports, it was possible that his work had offended someone, leading to his murder. His fingers being severed was suspected to be a symbolic act—cutting off the hands that held the camera. However, no concrete leads were ever found.”

Han Changlin’s voice was filled with confidence. “Immediately contact Jinyang Evening News. We need to investigate all of Wei Xingping’s reports from the past five years.”

Feng Shaomin added, “Captain Han, Wei Xingping had worked for a long time, so he likely covered a lot of stories. Should we get copies of the past five years’ newspapers and go through them ourselves?”

“Good idea,” Han Changlin nodded. “We need to sort through them as fast as possible!”

Tang Xiaochuan volunteered, “Captain Han, I’m going to the newspaper office. I’ll explain the situation and bring back the newspapers from the past few years…”

That afternoon, Tang Xiaochuan and a few others returned with stacks of newspapers. Since the office space was limited, they piled them against the wall. The sheer volume of five years’ worth of newspapers filled an entire section of the room.

Han Changlin opened one and quickly skimmed through it. “Alright, everyone, let’s get to work. Our first step is to pull out every newspaper that features a report by Wei Xingping.”

Unexpectedly, that task alone kept them busy until late at night. When they finally looked back, they realized that at least half of the newspapers contained reports Wei Xingping had worked on.

Looking at the towering stack of newspapers, everyone stood still and silent. The next phase of the investigation was even more daunting—sifting through the reports involving Wei Xingping to identify potential suspects.

This was the real challenge ahead. The sheer number of reports was overwhelming, and even if a suspicious report was found, verifying every detail would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Even if they put in a hundred times the effort and managed to identify all possible suspects connected to these reports, by the time they reached the truth, the killer could have already disappeared without a trace. Worse yet, they might have committed more crimes.

Han Changlin pressed his fingers against his lower lip, deep in thought about how to proceed. Zhao Leiting wiped the sweat off his forehead and glanced at Meng Siqi. After working tirelessly all afternoon, she was visibly exhausted, barely having the strength to speak.

“Old Feng, how long do you think it would take to go through all of this?” Han Changlin asked.

Feng Shaomin pursed his lips. “Hard to say. If we narrow it down to reports from the past three years and focus on those involving conflicts of interest, then investigate each one individually, it would still take at least a month or two.”

That was a conservative estimate. No one reacted much to the statement, and Han Changlin let out a quiet sigh. “Even if it’s a slow and tedious process, we have no choice. There’s no other way, is there?”

Clearly, there was no better option. According to information from the Qindong Police department, Wei Xingping had no known enemies and no disputes over relationships or finances. He was highly dedicated to his work. Aside from conflicts of interest arising from his reports, it was difficult to think of another motive for his murder.

Seeing that no one objected, Han Changlin made his decision. “Then let’s get started.”