Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I spent a whole day searching for information, but found nothing useful.

I glanced at the clock; it was already 10 p.m.

Just as I was about to shut down the computer, I suddenly noticed among numerous post threads one titled “Bai Yanmei Case: Real Culprit Identified, Proof in Pictures.”

Posted: 2015.

I clicked on it and immediately sat up straight.

The very first line of the post read: “The killer in the Bai Yanmei Dismemberment Case is basically confirmed-it’s her own uncle by marriage, Qi Wentao!!!”

I kept reading.

The post included an old photo of a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing glasses and holding a tea mug, looking refined and cultured.

The post read:

“I was an employee of the original Cang City Second Machinery Factory, so I know some inside secrets.

I’ve posted several times before, but they all got censored.

I don’t know how long this post will stay up, so read it while you can.”

The killer Qi Wentao was an administrative staffer, always up to petty thievery and shady dealings.

In 1988, he stole wires and screws from the factory to resell, and got a factory-wide reprimand.

What’s more, he had borrowed a huge amount from loan sharks. In the first half of 1993, debt collectors often came to the factory causing a scene, so the management ordered him to be suspended from work.

At the beginning of September, Qi Wentao’s elderly mother passed away from a serious illness, and he took his wife and child back to handle the funeral.

No sooner had he left than the niece living in his house was murdered.

Could such a coincidence really happen???

Long-time residents of Cang City know that in 1992–93, there was a criminal gang that specialized in abducting and murdering women.

Some were used for ghost marriages, others had their organs sold.

And what was Bai Yanmei’s death like?

The organs inside her chest cavity were all gone!!!

Doesn’t that speak for itself?

Qi Wentao had planned it all along, deliberately committing the crime right at the time of the funeral!

I’ve personally walked the route from the factory family quarters to Qi’s hometown of Qingshi Town. It’s not far; about an hour and a half on foot, or roughly thirty minutes by bike.

Qi Wentao could easily walk or bike home at night, murder Bai Yanmei, and immediately return to Qingshi Town.

At the funeral, with so many people around, it would be hard for anyone to notice him.

The only ones paying close attention to him were his wife and child.

Although his wife was Bai Yanmei’s aunt, in a matter involving the whole family’s interests, she would certainly side with her own.

The police had suspected Qi Wentao back then and investigated thoroughly, but he died of illness a few years later, so the case was left unresolved.

I read the whole post with a furrowed brow.

It was full of holes, yet had a strong accusatory slant.

Sure enough, the comments section had replies questioning it.

#1: OP, you’re talking nonsense. The police surely followed the organ trafficking lead back then.

#2: If the police didn’t find anything, it means Qi Wentao is innocent.

#3: Right, you think the police are just sitting around doing nothing?

#4: This post is spreading rumors, don’t believe it.

I scrolled further down.

In a lower reply, the OP responded:

“Believe it or not.”

“I’ll just say one thing: Qi Wentao’s daughter Qi Xin has a mental illness. By rights, she wasn’t qualified to take over her father’s job.”

“But Qi Xin, that mental case, smoothly got a job at the Machinery No. 2 Factory in ’94!! She stole the spot from a good kid with a college diploma. And this Qi Xin wasn’t even a front-line worker-she got an office job!!”

Back then, everyone speculated that Qi Wentao must have bribed the management with a large sum of money.

[Qi Wentao was deep in loan shark debt, with collectors banging on his door-where did he get the money to buy a job?!]

[I’ve said enough. Use your own brains and think about it!]

After that, the OP never replied again.

I clicked into the OP’s profile. This person was fairly active from ’13 to ’15, posting similar comments in several threads about murder cases and unsolved mysteries.

After 2015, the OP vanished without a trace.

Whether the post’s content was true or not, I could at least tell that the OP harbored a deep dislike for Qi Wentao.

I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Information on the internet is hard to verify.

To really get an update on the case investigation, the most reliable approach would be to ask the police.

But over thirty years have passed, and times have changed. The officers who worked the case back then have likely retired long ago.

Besides, I didn’t have the clout to go to the police station and request case files.

Another option was to ask the victim’s family-they would likely have firsthand information.