chapter 16
My dad is a man so simple that he’s almost naïve.
From him, I learned that the young couple who gave him fifty thousand yuan back then were named Li Xiumei and Lv Zhengxian.
The man and woman were husband and wife.
Now it’s known that Li Xiumei was one of the perpetrators of the Qindao Mass Murder Case fifteen years ago. Without a doubt, Lv Zhengxian was involved as well.
In other words, my dad once dealt with ruthless murderers.
What’s even more outrageous is that he didn’t even know these two people at the time, yet dared to take their money.
“I only remember their names. I wasn’t close to them, and I’d only met them a few times.”
My dad looked troubled and said, “Later on, I only saw the man, Lv Zhengxian. He said his wife had gone back to her hometown to rest during her pregnancy, and the two of them were planning to sell the house.”
“I thought it was strange that they wanted to sell the house less than half a year after buying it, but it was their property, so it was up to them what they did with it.”
“Then Lv Zhengxian gave me another five thousand yuan to help him handle the sale.”
“So I sold the house to a man named Mr. Ding. At the time, I only took that five thousand, and all the money from the sale went to Lv Zhengxian.”
After hearing this, I fell into thought.
The second owner of that house was Mr. Ding. I’ve met him before.
Back then, it was Mr. Ding who listed the house for sale at our agency, and then I sold it to Mr. Hu.
I looked at my dad and said, “Do you know that Li Xiumei and Lv Zhengxian committed a Massacre Case fifteen years ago?”
“And that Li Xiumei was most likely killed by Lv Zhengxian.”
Although the police haven’t finished their investigation, the first people to live in that house were Li Xiumei and Lv Zhengxian.
She was murdered in that house, and her body was sealed in the wall with cement. The only person who could have done all this quietly was Lv Zhengxian, who lived there with her.
A demon is a demon, even to his own family.
After I finished speaking, my dad’s face turned pale, so frightened he couldn’t say a word.
He probably never imagined that the couple who gave him money could be so terrifying.
“You, you’re really blinded by money!”
My grandpa was angry too, pointing at my dad and scolding, “Now someone’s died in that house. I’d like to see how you explain this to the police.”
My dad panicked and grabbed my hand. “Son, you know what kind of person your dad is. Li Xiumei’s death really has nothing to do with me. You have to explain this to your police friend.”
I sighed and reassured him, “Just don’t lie to the police. Tell them everything you know. As long as you didn’t do anything, the law won’t wrong you. But since you were the first official owner of that house, you’ll probably have to take some responsibility. It’s not a big deal though-at most, you’ll have to spend some money and smooth things over.”
I was telling the truth. These days, money really does work wonders.
Hearing this, my dad was much more at ease.
After getting the details, I was ready to leave.
Now that I’m haunted, I don’t dare stay at home. It’s one thing if something happens to me, but I absolutely can’t drag my family into it.
But my dad and grandpa didn’t know what was going on and wanted me to stay.
“It’s so late already, just sleep at home. You have a car anyway, just get up early tomorrow.”
“Forget it, Grandpa. There’s a lot going on at the agency these days.”
I lied and said I was going to Meng Yifan’s place to discuss something, and that I’d come back when I had time.
Now that I’m an adult, they couldn’t make me stay, so they didn’t say much more.
Before I left, my grandpa suddenly grabbed my hand, as if he could tell I didn’t look well.
“Xiao Mo, what’s going on with you lately? Why do you look so pale?”
“I’m fine, Grandpa. Maybe I’m just a bit tired these days.”
How could I dare tell him the truth and make him worry?
My grandpa looked at me with concern. “You have to take care of your health while making money. If your health breaks down, all the money you earn will just go to the hospital.”
“Alright, I’ll be careful. You should get to bed early.”
After that, I went downstairs with my dad-he insisted on seeing me off.
Judging by his expression, he still seemed very worried about the Li Xiumei case. On the way down, he kept telling me to ask my police friend to put in a good word, and to make sure no one arrested him.
“Alright, Dad, no one’s going to arrest you. Don’t worry.”
“I’m heading out. Go home and rest early.”
With that, I got in the car.
The same designated driver from before had been waiting downstairs for me. After I got in, I asked him to drive me to the bathhouse.
Through the rearview mirror, I saw my dad still standing downstairs, watching my car as I left.
Thinking back, ever since I started working for Meng Yifan these past two years, I rarely went home because I was always so busy.
It was only after coming back today that I realized my dad seemed to have aged a lot-his back was even a bit hunched.
I was raised by my dad and my grandpa. Coincidentally, it’s been exactly fifteen years since my mom left home.
Ever since she left, my dad never remarried, because he didn’t want me to suffer.
To me, my dad is the best person in the world, so I don’t believe he could ever commit a crime.
Not long after,
I arrived at the bathhouse.
Soaking my feet and getting a massage-this is honestly the most enjoyable thing in life.
I was so tired, and the masseur was so good, that I soon fell asleep.
I have to say, Meng Yifan really picked a reliable place. This bathhouse was not only crowded, but also felt safer than home. I didn’t hear that dreadful knocking sound all night.
But that night, I had a nightmare. I dreamed I was back in that house again.
Only, in the dream, the house looked different from when I visited a few days ago. The decor was old-fashioned, the furniture was cheap-like the kind of low-end interior from over a decade ago.
In the dream, I couldn’t think too much. I was just curious why the house had changed.
Just then, I heard a noise coming from the master bedroom.
Listening closely-shhh, shhh-it sounded like someone plastering cement on a wall.
As I walked to the master bedroom door, I saw a man squatting there, using tools to plaster the wall.
He was wearing a hat and work clothes, so I couldn’t see his face.
Even so, his movements and what he was doing made me freeze on the spot. Even in my dream, it brought back memories.
I remembered Li Xiumei’s body… was sealed inside this wall. The person plastering the wall-wasn’t that the murderer who killed Li Xiumei…
Who could the killer be? Was it Lv Zhengxian…
My heart was pounding, and I didn’t dare move, because I didn’t know if the person plastering the wall could see me.
At that moment, I hadn’t even realized I was dreaming.
But just then, the man stopped what he was doing, as if he sensed someone watching him.
In an instant, my hair stood on end. I felt a murderous glare slowly turning toward me.
Soon, the man plastering the wall turned his head, and that fierce glare stabbed into me like a sharp blade.
My eyes widened, as if struck by lightning, and I gasped.
The man plastering the wall was actually my dad!
And it was my dad as he looked more than ten years ago!