I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 100: Chapter 98: No Matter Who It Is, Seize the Opportunity

Night had fallen.

The electrical wiring in this courtyard was all old and deteriorated.

They had to run a line from Cheng Yong’s house to set up a light.

After a thorough search of the cellar, they decided to transport the skeleton up first and take it back to the municipal bureau.

The police had finished asking all their questions.

Cheng Yong and Ge Yu planned to return to the old district.

After what had happened next door, they didn’t dare stay the night.

Since others were also heading back, they could catch a ride.

Ji Sheng and Cai Qinglian hadn’t left either.

They offered to drive them back to Jinghai.

Cheng Yong and Ge Yu both refused.

After all the commotion, Cheng Yong and Ge Yu had brewed some ginger soup.

Cheng Jue brought it over to them.

Su Miaoyi told Ge Yu that they should go back first; she would leave with the police cars.

Ge Yu was worried and also curious about why she was so close to the police, but she never pried into her affairs. She simply reminded her to be careful.

She gave her the key to the house next door.

If it got cold, she should let everyone go inside to warm up.

”There’s still a lot of ginger soup. Remember to have everyone drink some to ward off the cold,” Ge Yu instructed. ”I also left some food. Just heat it up in the microwave.”

”Okay, I will,” Su Miaoyi said. ”Don’t worry. Drive carefully on your way back. It’s dark out, so be safe.”

”Don’t worry about us,” Ge Yu said.

”Text me when you get home,” Su Miaoyi said.

”Okay.”

The family of three was split among three different cars.

After they left, just as Su Miaoyi was about to go back and help, Ji Sheng and Cai Qinglian approached her again.

”Not heading back?” Ji Sheng asked. ”We’re leaving now, too. We can give you a ride.”

Su Miaoyi looked at the two of them.

Cai Qinglian had been standing in high heels for too long and could barely stay on her feet, her face etched with exhaustion.

Su Miaoyi knew Ji Sheng was probing her, trying to figure out her relationship with Zhuang Yanzheng.

”I have to channel spirits and catch ghosts here tonight, so I won’t be leaving just yet. You two go ahead,” Su Miaoyi said offhandedly.

”What kind of nonsense are you talking about?” Cai Qinglian said, her face falling.

Ji Sheng glanced at her, then over in Zhuang Yanzheng’s direction. ”Well, we’ll head back first then. Take care of yourself.”

Su Miaoyi didn’t say a word and turned to leave.

Cai Qinglian said, ”Let’s hurry back. Coming to such an unlucky place has completely worn me out.”

Ji Sheng shot her a look and got in the car.

Seeing that he wasn’t waiting for her, Cai Qinglian closed her eyes, took a slow, deep breath, and got into the car as well.

The car drove away.

Cai Qinglian asked, ”Did she agree?”

”No,” Ji Sheng said.

”Then why did we stay here so long? What kind of people are these? A bunch of country bumpkins who’ve never seen the world, chattering away. It’s so annoying,” Cai Qinglian said with disgust.

”If she doesn’t agree, you’ll have to live with people like this in the future,” Ji Sheng said.

Cai Qinglian had been exhausted all day, and her emotions were at a breaking point. She was about to erupt, but when she saw Ji Sheng look over, she forced it back down. ”But if she won’t agree, what can we do?”

Ji Sheng didn’t reply.

Cai Qinglian also remained silent.

After a moment, Ji Sheng said, ”Without Jiang Junrui, perhaps there’s still Zhuang Yanzheng.”

Cai Qinglian looked at him. ”Zhuang Yanzheng?”

”Didn’t you see how familiar Su Miaoyi is with Zhuang Yanzheng?” Ji Sheng asked.

Cai Qinglian said nothing.

”If the Zhuang Family could give us a hand, it would be much safer than relying on the Jiang family,” Ji Sheng said. ”The Jiang family is powerful enough to blot out the sky right now, but they’re based in Jiangcheng, after all. And... with the shady business they’re in, who knows when some evidence might surface and bring them down completely.”

Cai Qinglian thought for a moment. ”How did Su Miaoyi get so close to Zhuang Yanzheng? It seems like she’s working for the police department.”

Ji Sheng considered this but didn’t say anything.

’It’s more than just working for the police department,’ he thought. ’They seem to care about her a great deal, to value her highly.’

”Now that you mention it, I remember. That time Cai Xi and I saw her at the pet hospital, Shen Yanzhou was there too,” Cai Qinglian said.

Hearing her words, Ji Sheng slammed on the brakes.

The road was slippery, and the car skidded sideways for a distance.

Cai Qinglian cried out in fear.

After the car stabilized, both of them were a bit shaken.

Ji Sheng placed a hand on Cai Qinglian’s back and patted it. ”I forgot the road was slippery.”

Cai Qinglian’s heart was pounding with fear, and she couldn’t speak.

Luckily, there were no cars in front of or behind them.

The car remained stopped for a moment as they both composed themselves, then Ji Sheng started driving forward again.

Ji Sheng asked, ”You’re saying Su Miaoyi was with Shen Yanzhou?”

”Yes,” Cai Qinglian said. ”Around that time, my brother and Cai Xi were both arrested. I was so frantic I completely forgot about it. At the time... we had a bit of an argument, and Shen Yanzhou seemed very protective of her.”

Ji Sheng fell silent.

Cai Qinglian said, ”How did they get so close?”

”The Shen family and the Zhuang Family have always been on good terms. Shen Yanzhou and Zhuang Yanzheng are close, too. Perhaps Su Miaoyi is only close with one of them, and naturally got to know the other through him,” Ji Sheng said.

Cai Qinglian pounded her thigh.

”But regardless of who she’s close to, if we can seize this opportunity, it could be a turning point for us,” Ji Sheng said.

”Do we have to rely on her?” Cai Qinglian asked. ”That master said back then that if my firstborn was a girl, our family would go downhill. That master’s predictions have always been accurate. And it’s come true now. Even after abandoning her, we still couldn’t escape this fate.”

”You can’t believe in such things completely. Right now, she’s all we have,” Ji Sheng said.

Cai Qinglian was annoyed. ”What’s so great about her anyway? Why is everyone so close to her?”

”No matter what, we have to get on good terms with her,” Ji Sheng said.

Cai Qinglian took a deep breath.

Ji Sheng said no more.

...

The skeleton was carried up from the cellar, piece by piece.

The driven nails were also pulled out and placed into evidence bags.

After all the bones visible on the surface of the cellar floor were transported up, they began to carefully dig into the ground, searching for the remaining ones.

The entire floor was turned over, but a few phalanges were still missing.

They couldn’t be found no matter how much they searched.

”The environmental conditions here aren’t great, but looking at the state of the other bones, they shouldn’t have decomposed, right?” Su Miaoyi said.

”Could the person have had severed fingers before death?” Zhuang Yanzheng suggested.

”It doesn’t look that way from the other phalanges,” Yan Cheng said.

Zhuang Yanzheng sighed. ”We’ve turned everything over. If they’re not here, let’s head back for now.”

Yan Cheng nodded.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at Su Miaoyi. ”You go up first.”

Su Miaoyi climbed the ladder, and Zhuang Yanzheng had Yan Cheng go up next. He shone the light around the cellar one last time before following them up.

The skeleton was placed in the vehicle, and the rest of the items were loaded up as well.

Su Miaoyi said to Zhuang Yanzheng, ”Have everyone go inside to wash their hands and get a drink of water. My aunt and uncle left food. You can have a bite if you’d like.”

”Eating or not, it’s all the same. I’m already sick of all the food from the first day of the New Year.” Zhuang Yanzheng told everyone to go inside for water and to eat if they were hungry.

He and Yan Cheng stayed outside to watch the vehicles.

After a while, other officers came out to relieve them.

Then Su Miaoyi turned off the electricity and put out the fire at the house before heading straight back to the municipal bureau with them...