Guan Xia and Pang Le sat quietly in their seats, watching as Li Miao tearfully recounted her painful past.
Guan Xia could tell that Li Miao had been keeping these secrets buried for far too long. She didn’t seem to be giving a formal statement—it was more like she was pouring out her heart, rambling on and on without providing much concrete evidence or leads. Instead, she seemed to trust Guan Xia and Pang Le completely, laying bare her truest self.
They let her speak until she had no more tears left, her collar soaked and her emotions slightly steadied. Only then did Guan Xia press further: "Accomplices? Who are Li Feng’s accomplices? Names, origins, and their relationship with him."
Li Miao, as if prepared for this, took a deep breath and answered bluntly, "I don’t know how many there are, but I know at least Wu Xingxian is one. There’s also a man named Wu Yang—he’s the one Li Feng contacted the most. Over the years, Li Feng would mutter his name in his sleep, though never the full name—just ‘Brother Yang.’"
Guan Xia’s heart stirred. After all their efforts, they were finally getting closer to the truth.
Keeping her expression neutral, Guan Xia pressed on sternly, "What else do you know? Do you have any evidence linking Wu Xingxian and Wu Yang to your mother’s murder?"
Under Guan Xia’s expectant gaze, Li Miao shook her head. "I don’t have proof. But from Li Feng’s sleep-talking and drunken rants, I know they were involved. I also know my mother was killed because she caught them doing something illegal. Li Feng kept crying in his dreams, saying he didn’t want to kill her, but he had no choice—if she lived, they would die."
Hearing the lack of evidence, Guan Xia cooled down. "You said your mother caught them doing something illegal. What was it?"
Again, Li Miao shook her head. "I don’t know. But I think it was murder. Because when Li Feng brought my mother’s remains back to the village, he also brought another set of bones. They were buried in the ancestral graves of Lijia Village. I found out a few years ago and secretly followed Li Feng to see. The bones were buried under someone else’s tombstone—the name on it was Li Mian."
At the mention of Li Mian, Guan Xia immediately recalled the photo Qi Bai had shared in the group chat yesterday. It seemed their theory was half-right: Li Song had indeed been killed, but unlike Lv Xiangmei, who was sealed inside a wall, he had been buried in the grave of his biological father, Li Mian. Given their speculation about Li Feng’s motives, this was a twisted way of letting him "return to his roots."
Guan Xia asked, "Have you heard the name Li Song?"
Li Miao nodded. "Yes. He was one of the brothers Li Feng grew up with in the orphanage. But later, apart from Wu Yang, he lost contact with the others."
Guan Xia caught something unexpected in her words. Judging by how unfamiliar Li Miao seemed with Li Song, it appeared Li Feng had never mentioned him in his sleep or drunken ramblings over the years. That meant Li Feng only felt guilt toward Lv Xiangmei—but none for Li Song’s death. That was telling.
If Li Feng could feel remorse for Lv Xiangmei, a woman he had only known for a few years, why was he so cold toward Li Song, someone he had grown up with, suffered alongside, and even committed crimes with?
If Li Feng were simply a cold-blooded person, it would make sense. But based on their investigations, he was somewhat sentimental. So why treat Li Song this way? Had something happened between them that led to a bitter falling-out? Or had Li Song done something that forced Li Feng, Wu Yang, and the others to silence him permanently?
After a moment of thought, Guan Xia realized their focus might have been misplaced. Compared to Lv Xiangmei’s disappearance, Li Song’s case might be the real breakthrough.
With that in mind, Guan Xia grew even more eager to interrogate Li Feng. But first, she needed to extract as much useful information as possible from Li Miao.
She continued, "What do you know about Wu Yang?"
At the mention of his name, Li Miao’s expression twisted with hatred. She clenched her jaw, as if struggling to contain her fury, before finally spitting out, "He’s a murderer, just like Li Feng. He was the one who ordered Li Feng to kill my mother. I’ve heard Li Feng beg him in his sleep—pleading for my mother’s life."
Contrary to Li Miao’s rage, Guan Xia felt disappointed. It seemed Li Miao knew even less about Wu Yang than she did. But then again, Li Miao had been just a child when she returned to Lijia Village with Li Feng. No matter how clever she was, with Li Feng watching over her, she couldn’t have uncovered any real evidence that could threaten them.
If she had, she wouldn’t have lived this long. Guan Xia was certain Wu Yang would have silenced her—even if she was Li Feng’s daughter.
For the next hour, Guan Xia and Pang Le questioned Li Miao repeatedly, trying to extract every last detail she knew. But frustratingly, much of what she shared was speculation or assumptions. Hard evidence was scarce—especially regarding Wu Yang. Though she seemed desperate to see him behind bars like Li Feng, she had nothing concrete to tie him to her mother’s murder.
At first, Guan Xia had held out hope for the irregular financial transactions Li Miao mentioned. But as Li Miao elaborated, that hope faded.
Whether it was Li Feng’s secretive phone calls with Wu Yang or the large sums of money Wu Yang occasionally sent, none of it proved criminal activity. Both men had publicly positioned themselves as philanthropists invested in Lijia Village’s development—and the village had indeed prospered. None of this implicated Wu Yang in orchestrating Li Feng’s crimes.
Guan Xia sighed inwardly. The key to the case clearly lay with Li Feng. But the problem was, Li Feng was Wu Yang’s most loyal follower. Given that he had obeyed Wu Yang’s order to kill his own wife, Lv Xiangmei, it was unlikely even the most skilled interrogators could get him to betray Wu Yang.
The questioning dragged on until dawn. Both Guan Xia and Li Miao were exhausted. Seeing that Li Miao had nothing left to offer, Guan Xia finally wrapped up the session.
Before ending, she asked the question that had been nagging at her:
"Since you knew where Li Feng buried both sets of remains, why didn’t you go to the police all these years?"
Li Miao let out a mocking laugh and said, "How do you know I didn’t try calling the police? I actually did—when I was sixteen. It was the first time I heard him talking in his sleep. After sneaking back to my own room from his, I stayed wide awake until dawn. I had it all planned out—the moment the sky lightened, I’d run out of the village to report him. To move faster, I even took Li Feng’s motorcycle. But before I could leave the village, the villagers stopped me. They’d all been bought off by Li Feng. Whenever he wasn’t around, they became his eyes, watching my every move. Do you think I didn’t try everything? He could buy people’s loyalty, and I tried to find someone to help me too. But he kept me under such tight control. He saw me as his property—no one else was allowed near me."
Guan Xia understood immediately, recalling the conversation she’d overheard between two villagers from Lijia Village at the orchard. So, at sixteen, Li Miao hadn’t been acting out of passion—she’d been trying to use her body to gain allies. But even that had been thwarted by Li Feng. No wonder the dynamic between father and daughter was so bizarre.
One was obsessively devoted to his daughter—perhaps projecting his twisted love for the wife he’d murdered—while the other knew the truth and wished him dead.
Realizing this, Guan Xia asked, "When did Li Feng’s mental state start deteriorating? When did he begin frequently visiting the ancestral graves in Lijia Village? Was that because of you?"
Li Miao smiled again, but this time it wasn’t mocking—it was triumphant. "I remember that clearly. It started in 2020. That was also the year I pieced together his slip-ups and figured out where he’d buried my mother. If I couldn’t make him pay right away, I could at least make his life miserable. Most importantly, that house was his home, but it was also mine. As long as I stayed inside, there weren’t as many eyes watching me. So, making small moves wasn’t hard. He didn’t go insane, but he started hearing and seeing things. Combined with his age and all the evil he’d done, he convinced himself he was being haunted by vengeful spirits."
Her smile grew wider, almost sweetly cruel. "The ghosts were just in his head, but his punishment was real—wasn’t I proof of that? He thought he could control me forever, but he forgot children grow up, and even the strongest men grow old. He believed he could take all his secrets to the grave, but I was determined to expose everything while he was still alive. Did he think he’d die peacefully? Not a chance. A man like him deserves to face justice, to have everyone know the truth of what he’s done."
Finally getting what she wanted, Li Miao laughed freely in the interrogation room for a long time.
When she finally stopped, Guan Xia asked one last question. "Do you know how many more people Li Feng killed in Lijia Village?"
Li Miao’s expression was unsurprised, eerily calm. "If he could kill my mother, is there anyone he wouldn’t dare or want to kill? If he decided to kill me one day, I wouldn’t even be shocked."
By the time they stepped out of the interrogation room, dawn had broken. Golden sunlight streamed through the windows, casting reflections on the polished hallway floor. Guan Xia’s heavy mood lightened slightly.
After exchanging a few words with the middle-aged policewoman who had observed the interrogation, Guan Xia turned to Wang Yu, who immediately stepped forward. "Captain Xu called earlier. Qi Bai and Brother Jiang found four bodies in Lijia Village’s ancestral graves."
Guan Xia frowned. "So, besides Li Song, Li Feng killed three other villagers?"
Wang Yu nodded. "The bodies have been sent to the precinct. The local forensics team is conducting autopsies, but Qi Bai said all four were skeletal remains—dead for at least two years."
That didn’t surprise Guan Xia. Based on what they’d heard in Lijia Village, the villagers Li Feng had lured away under the pretense of job opportunities had disappeared six or seven years ago. Given his methods, they were probably killed the moment they left the village.
Guan Xia nodded. "Has local police interrogated Li Feng yet?"
Wang Yu sighed. "Like Li Miao, he was taken straight to interrogation. But he’s proving much harder to crack. I checked in earlier—no matter what the officers asked, he stayed completely silent. This might take a while."
Guan Xia exhaled in frustration. It was expected, but time wasn’t on their side. With Li Feng arrested, news would spread fast. She wasn’t sure when Wu Yang would find out, but once he did, he wouldn’t sit idle. Everyone—whether here, Ji An in Shuangshi, or Meng Lan and Lu Tingfeng back in Yongquan City—would be in danger.
Thinking of that, she pressed, "Did Captain Xu mention the task force? Any arrangements from them?"
Wang Yu reassured her. "He did. The task force mobilized a large team—they’re already on the way. The earliest will arrive by noon."
Guan Xia pressed further. "What about Sister Ji, Meng Lan, and Lu Tingfeng? Any plans for them?"
Wang Yu smiled confidently. "Don’t worry. The task force knows our situation inside out. They’ll have everything covered."
His words were diplomatic, but both Guan Xia and Pang Le understood exactly what that "coverage" meant.
