Chapter 6

I stayed in that room all day.

It was part of the police building, with cameras everywhere. Wandering around didn’t seem wise.

Of course, I had no idea what was happening outside.

Until night fell.

Officer Li came to see me again. His face was even more grave this time.

As he pulled up a chair to sit down, he began:

“The Zhang family has confirmed that the body is Zhang Lingwei. They’ve also told us a little about sixteen years ago…”

Once seated, he fixed me with a piercing look before asking:

“What happened back then did involve you, didn’t it?”

I was baffled. All I could do was shake my head.

I knew he was trying to draw me out, but I really had no answers to give.

He paused again. “Surely you haven’t forgotten what Yang Xiaonian’s parents were like?”

I frowned and thought hard before answering slowly.

“Her dad was fierce. He worked in the fields like my dad did, but his temper was much worse.”

“A few times, when we stayed out playing late, he’d yell at her. Sometimes he got so angry he wanted to hit her.”

“As for her mother, I remember she always protected her. She worked in the fields, too…”

Then I spread my hands. “I really can’t remember anything else. Why do you ask?”

Officer Li watched me a little longer before saying, “Yang Zhicheng is now our prime suspect in Zhang Lingwei’s murder.”

I was taken aback, my frown deepening.

“The two families had some kind of dispute back then. That’s why they both moved away.”

“After identifying Zhang Lingwei’s body and learning that it had been dumped in the Yang family’s ruined house, Zhang Jianjun insisted that Yang Zhicheng was the killer.”

“He said he was certain Yang Zhicheng had committed the murder because of that old dispute.”

“But he refuses to explain what the dispute was. That’s why I’m asking whether you know.”

I answered hurriedly, “I don’t! If I knew, why wouldn’t I tell you? Wait—if Yang Zhicheng is your prime suspect, why don’t you just go and arrest him?”

Officer Li shook his head, and even sighed.

“He’s missing, too. We can’t reach him at all.”

Only then did I understand how much more complicated this was than I’d thought.

First, the Zhang father and son were accusing Yang Zhicheng of murder without any evidence. They wouldn’t even explain their dispute from sixteen years ago.

That was highly suspicious. Officer Li hadn’t even given their claim much weight at first.

But the biggest problem was that Yang Zhicheng could not be reached at all.

For years, he had been living in an adjoining district. He had remarried and had two sons.

Then, two weeks ago, he had suddenly vanished without a word. Even now, his family couldn’t get in touch with him.

“Wait, what about Niannian? And her mother? When you say he remarried, did they get divorced? Is Niannian living with her mom?”

I asked in confusion.

Officer Li shook his head.

“Yang Zhicheng’s wife went missing sixteen years ago. No one reported it at the time. As for Yang Xiaonian…”

“She died a long time ago, too.”

“She accidentally fell into a river and drowned. About fifteen or sixteen years ago… Anyway, it was not long after Yang Zhicheng moved away…”

I stared at him, speechless.

So much had happened sixteen years ago!

Even Niannian was already… dead?

For a long time, I was too shocked to speak.

All the while, Officer Li watched my reactions.

At last, he said, “So finding out what that so-called dispute was sixteen years ago may be the key to the truth… And perhaps it all began when you and Yang Xiaonian went up the mountain… Otherwise, you wouldn’t have received that note, would you?”

I finally came to my senses.

“Officer Li, is there anything I can do to help? I’ll do it… Whatever it takes.”