The next time they saw Xu Nian was at 10 a.m. Due to Li Feng's stubbornness and the slow progress in the forensics lab, Guan Xia and Pang Le decided to return to Lijia Village to see if they could assist in any way. Wang Yu stayed behind at the precinct to monitor the situation and keep in touch with them.
Only two days had passed since their last visit to Lijia Village, but the mood and atmosphere had changed drastically. The village remained the same, its scenery just as picturesque, but the villagers had lost their leisurely demeanor, and the tourists no longer felt like continuing their vacations. As Guan Xia rode back, she noticed everyone moving hurriedly—villagers anxiously inquiring about Li Feng and his daughter, while tourists, unsettled by the sudden turn of events, buzzed with curiosity and concern. Many had already checked out and left.
Guan Xia and Pang Le saw several groups of people hauling suitcases out of the resort where they had previously stayed, rushing to board cars and depart.
When they arrived at the villa where Li Feng and Li Miao had lived, Xu Nian and the local forensic team were still working. However, the skeletal remains had already been fully extracted from the wall and sent to the district precinct before Guan Xia arrived.
The forensic team was spread out across the villa, collecting evidence. It took Guan Xia and Pang Le some time to locate Xu Nian.
He was in Li Feng’s study, wearing gloves and meticulously searching every corner. Hearing their footsteps, he glanced back, then stood up and asked, "You're back? How did the interrogation with Li Miao go?"
Guan Xia rubbed her temples and recounted the previous night’s interrogation.
Instead of immediately analyzing the case, Xu Nian first removed his gloves, pulled two candies from his pocket, and handed one each to Guan Xia and Pang Le. "Actually, things aren’t as bad as they seem," he said. "Even though we lack concrete evidence, Li Miao’s testimony and Li Feng’s drunken recording—though inadmissible—give us enough grounds to bring Wu Yang in for questioning."
Guan Xia’s frown didn’t ease. "And then what? Conduct an interrogation that won’t yield anything, only to let him walk out unscathed? What difference will that make? A dip in his company’s stock price?"
She wasn’t snapping at Xu Nian—just trying to find humor in the situation, forcing optimism where she could. Pang Le, chewing on the candy, looked equally puzzled.
Xu Nian smiled. "Then we’ll have a perfectly legitimate reason to collect Wu Yang’s fingerprints and DNA."
Guan Xia hadn’t considered this. She paused, then said, "You mean…"
Xu Nian nodded. "All the leads we’ve gathered so far suggest we haven’t uncovered Wu Yang’s first crime. He might be involved in Li Song’s murder, but based on the current evidence, I suspect he was only the decision-maker, not the one who carried it out. Even if we push hard, we’ll only confirm Li Feng’s guilt. And given Li Feng’s personality and methods, he won’t implicate Wu Yang. So, once we have Li Feng’s confession, we’ll hand the case over to the task force and focus on finding the first crime."
Guan Xia was taken aback again. She hadn’t expected Xu Nian to have already mapped out their next steps while she was interrogating Li Miao.
But this aligned with her own thoughts. During the interrogation, she’d felt the investigation hadn’t met their expectations, and staying longer would be a waste of time. That’s why her first question to Wang Yu after leaving the interrogation room had been about the task force’s arrival.
Strangely, she felt she and Xu Nian were growing more in sync. She nodded. "Good. Wang Yu told me the first batch from the task force will arrive by noon, which means we can leave then. Any thoughts on where to go next and how to proceed?"
Xu Nian replied, "Remember the case we discussed during our meeting in Yongquan City—the one from Wu Yang’s high school years?"
Guan Xia nodded again. "You think that was Wu Yang’s first kill?"
Xu Nian said, "An abusive father, a weak mother, a classmate forced to drop out and miss the college entrance exams—it’s too similar to the cases of Zhang Weiyan, Wang Huiqin, and Yao Qingyan. Even if it’s not the first, it’s highly likely Wu Yang was directly involved and left traces."
Pang Le, still chewing his candy, suddenly added, "Even though the victim’s daughter didn’t know Wu Yang and wasn’t in the same class, neither did Zhang Weiyan or Wang Huiqin know their killers. That commonality alone makes it worth investigating."
Guan Xia only thought for two seconds before agreeing. "Then that’s our next step. If we’re leaving by noon, we should probably check out of our rooms first."
Xu Nian said, "Don’t worry about that. Someone will handle it for us. Aren’t you curious whether this house might hold evidence of Li Feng’s murders?"
Guan Xia was immediately drawn in by Xu Nian’s words. She was curious—otherwise, she wouldn’t have come back.
So the three of them, who had just regrouped, split up again. Xu Nian remained in the study, while Guan Xia and Pang Le headed to Li Miao’s bedroom on the second floor.
Thanks to the timely firefighting efforts, the second floor hadn’t suffered severe damage.
As soon as she entered the bedroom, Guan Xia noticed the vanity that had been moved aside. The wall behind it had been chiseled open, revealing a small hole—clearly, the forensic team had already retrieved the recording device containing Li Feng’s drunken confession, as per Li Miao’s statement, and sent it back to the district police station.
After a brief glance, Guan Xia turned her attention to the spacious bedroom.
Setting aside the twisted affection and bone-deep hatred between Li Feng and Li Miao, the material comforts alone spoke volumes about Li Feng’s attention to her. From the high-quality bed with its exquisite craftsmanship to the plush carpet covering the entire floor—in an ordinary household, these would signify a parent’s love. But for Li Feng, money was something he had in abundance and cared little for.
While Guan Xia was still observing, Pang Le had already put on gloves and begun feeling along the walls. At some point, for convenience, she picked up a sturdy box and started tapping it against the walls.
Guan Xia didn’t need to guess—Li Feng and Li Miao’s habit of hiding things must have inspired Pang Le, making her think there might still be something concealed within the walls.
Unfortunately, after tapping nearly every accessible surface in the bedroom, Pang Le found nothing. Meanwhile, Guan Xia discovered several notebooks taped to the underside of Li Miao’s bed frame.
As Guan Xia pulled them out, Pang Le remarked with surprise, "People still keep diaries these days? Didn’t Li Miao worry Li Feng would find out and silence her?"
Guan Xia’s first thought was also that these were diaries, but upon opening them, she realized they were filled with drawings. The progression from clumsy, childlike strokes to confident, refined lines showed this was a habit Li Miao had maintained for years.
Page by page, Guan Xia grew increasingly silent. Pang Le, too, was taken aback. "These are all drawings of Lv Xiangmei," she said.
Guan Xia sighed.
Just as Pang Le had said, every page in the notebooks depicted Lv Xiangmei. At first, the drawings varied—different scenes, expressions, outfits. But over time, they narrowed down to just one.
Guan Xia guessed it must have been the last time Li Miao saw her mother—the memory etched deepest in her mind. In the drawing, Lv Xiangmei wore a loose red dress that accentuated her slender figure, her face adorned with a gentle smile. As Li Miao’s skills improved, the eyes she drew became more lifelike, brimming with unmistakable love for her daughter.
Looking at this image, no one would believe a mother who gazed at her child with such tenderness could one day abandon her.
Guan Xia couldn’t help but think: No wonder Li Miao was so tormented and furious after breaking free from Li Feng’s brainwashing. Deep down, she knew her mother had always loved her—and she had loved her mother in return. Otherwise, why would she have drawn these pictures, one after another? It was tragic. She had once known the purest, most selfless love, only to have it ripped away.
Lost in thought, Guan Xia flipped through the rest of the sketches.
Pang Le suddenly spoke up. "Even though Li Miao started that fire, she didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Do you think she’ll face serious consequences?"
After a moment’s consideration, Guan Xia shook her head. "Probably not. She set the fire in her own home, and her goal was to expose Li Feng’s crimes. Even if it goes to court, the judge would take that into account."
Pang Le exhaled in relief. "Good. After working on so many cases, I still think Li Miao’s story is heartbreaking. Deceived her whole life, controlled against her will… But when you think about it, she’s also incredible. Her mother was killed when she was just five, and she was lied to for years—yet she never forgot her. And in the end, she risked everything to get justice for her."
Guan Xia nodded. "She’s fearless, really. Starting a fire in her own home, locking herself inside to break open the wall and expose her mother’s remains… If anything had gone wrong at any step, she could’ve died in that fire."
Pang Le fell silent for a moment before speaking again, "Actually, there's one thing I still can't figure out. Why was she in such a hurry? She had waited for so many years, yet she told us that regardless of whether the police came to investigate or not, she would set that fire. She also said Li Feng didn’t have long to live. At first, I thought it was because Li Feng had been arrested—he’d killed several people, and there was a ninety percent chance he’d get the death penalty. But now, looking back, something about it feels off."
Guan Xia, prompted by Pang Le’s words, hesitated before replying, "Now that you mention it, I feel the same way. Do you remember some of the things Li Miao said during the interrogation? She mentioned that Li Feng thought he could take all his secrets to the grave, but she was determined to expose everything while he was still alive. She also said something like, 'He wants to die of old age? In his dreams.' I can’t shake the feeling there’s a deeper meaning behind her words."
Guan Xia’s mind raced as she and Pang Le exchanged glances. After a few seconds, she voiced a possibility: "Could it be… that Li Feng is sick?"
Pang Le instinctively replied, "A brain-related illness? Based on the clues we’ve uncovered, it does seem like there’s something wrong with his mind right now."
Guan Xia shook her head after a brief pause. "Probably not. During the interrogation, Li Miao mentioned that Li Feng’s paranoia was all because of things she had secretly done."
Pang Le recalled those parts of the testimony and fell silent again.
Just as the two were lost in thought, Xu Nian walked in holding a file folder. His first words were, "I found Li Feng’s medical report from half a month ago. He’s sick—late-stage esophageal cancer."
Those five words suddenly made Li Miao’s motives much clearer. No wonder she had waited for years but was now acting recklessly, even though her preparations weren’t fully in place. Li Feng was dying, and Li Miao didn’t want him to spend his final days comfortably, basking in a good reputation. She wanted him to face the punishment he deserved, to die under the judgment of the law rather than on a hospital bed, pitied and mourned. She wanted him to be despised by everyone.
After reading the medical report Xu Nian handed over, Guan Xia sighed. "Thankfully, we arrived in time and uncovered the truth as quickly as we did. If we had waited until we got the news before rushing here, Wu Yang would’ve likely been alerted too. By then, any further investigation would’ve faced countless obstacles. I already have a feeling our next steps won’t go smoothly."
Xu Nian took back the report Guan Xia had finished reading and tucked it into the folder. "Smooth or not, I also have a feeling we’ll eventually find irrefutable evidence. Wu Yang will face justice—after all, we have so many people standing behind us."
Guan Xia smiled, agreeing with Xu Nian. Though the criminal organization centered around Wu Yang was a formidable force, at the end of the day, they were still the villains. In this world where investigative stories converged, evil would never triumph over good. She had never once doubted that they would lose.
She held onto one unwavering belief: they would win. They would never lose.
