Chapter 178: The Third Case
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The constable guarding the door held back his laughter, impressed by Liu Sanniang.
Assistant Zhu was simply a walking embarrassment. Even though Liu Sanniang was a little girl, she was by no means ordinary. From the calm expression on her face, it could be seen that Liu Sanniang was clearly not angry. The people in the government office admired her for this.
With Wu Ju around, it was very likely that Liu Sanniang would be replaced. The constables thought that if it were them, they would definitely hold grudges, but Liu Sanniang did not mind at all.
When Lin Zheng heard that Liu Sanniang was here, he quickly came out of the government office. When he saw Liu Sanniang, he wanted to comfort her, but when he saw her, he smiled. “Miss Liu, come in and wait.”
Liu Sanniang did not need any comforting. Her mind had long surpassed that of a mortal. How could she take such a petty thing seriously?
When Liu Sanniang entered the government office, she asked. “How are the two murderers now?”
Lin Zheng said, “It’s still the same. Other than not being able to remember anything, the man is still normal. The woman is a little deranged, and keeps losing control of her bowels.”
The man’s identity hadn’t been found out yet. They still didn’t know where he was from and who he was.
As for Huang Jinzhi, her situation was more serious. She was mentally unstable and seemed to have lost her mind. She couldn’t eat or drink and couldn’t control her bowel movement.
As Liu Sanniang was deep in thought, Lin Zheng said slowly, “Miss Liu, we’ve looked into the background of Huang Jinzhi’s family. Her family was originally from Huanghu Village. Twenty years ago, the entire village was burned down and it was no longer habitable. The villagers who lived there originally, moved out. It was at that time that Huang Jinzhi’s family moved to Zhijie village.”
At the same time, they had handed out the man’s portrait and promised to reward those who could provide any clues.
The government office was running out of manpower. After two murders, not to mention the government office, even the coroner was extremely busy. The victims who were dismembered had to be stitched up and compared.
Liu Sanniang looked at Lin Zheng and asked. “Where is Huanghu Village?”
Lin Zheng replied. “Huanghu Village is the furthest village in Yong County. It takes a day to go there and back. It’s very poor. Now, it’s probably desolate.”
It was very far, and no one had lived there for twenty years.
Liu Sanniang could not think of any connection between Huanghu Village and the murder case.
Lin Zheng did not disturb Liu Sanniang’s thoughts. He stood up and went out.
Chu Yan soon arrived there. He walked to Liu Sanniang’s side and sat down. Liu Sanniang was lost in her thoughts, and Chu Yan did not speak.
After a while, Liu Sanniang came back to her senses and realized that Chu Yan had already arrived. She looked at him in a daze. “When did you come?”
Chu Yan smiled faintly. “I have been here for a while.”
He had been waiting patiently all this time. Seeing that she was thinking, he did not disturb her.
Liu Sanniang was a little embarrassed. She stood up. “Let’s go take a look at Huang Jinzhi.”
She did not need to go to Xiangle Village. If Wu Ju could solve it, she did not need to interfere. If Wu Ju could not solve it, it would be useless even if she went. She was not Wu Ju’s match.
Chu Yan nodded.
When Liu Sanniang saw Huang Jinzhi, she was sitting in the prison cell of the government office, motionless and wet. The officer said with disdain, “Miss Liu, it’s not that we don’t care about her. She’s a woman, so we can’t really do anything, right?”
Liu Sanniang nodded.
The officer smiled. “Miss Liu, take your time. I won’t disturb you.”
The officer opened the door and left. Liu Sanniang walked closer and said, “Huang Jinzhi?”
Huang Jinzhi did not react. Her eyes were blank. She did not seem to be able to hear anything. The blood on her face had dried and become black. She stared blankly ahead, but no one knew what she was looking at.
Liu Sanniang looked down and saw that Huang Jinzhi’s wrist was swollen. She had been in the same position for a long time without budging an inch.
Liu Sanniang reached out and held her hand. She still could not sense anything, but she used her strength to repair the wounds on Huang Jinzhi.
It was hard to find the man’s identity, but it was easy to find out the identity of Huang Jinzhi.
Her husband was a man in his late fifties with a bad temper. However, he insisted that Huang Jinzhi could not have killed her entire family. When they asked him for a reason, he could not give any. However, he said with certainty that it was impossible for her to kill her family.
However, the truth was that Huang Jinzhi dismembered her parents, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece. Her wrist even swelled up from chopping for too long.
Liu Sanniang tried to sense Huang Jinzhi a few times but to no avail. When she came out of the cell, Chu Yan was waiting for her outside. When she saw Chu Yan, she felt inexplicably at ease.
Liu Sanniang went to look at the man again. When the man saw Liu Sanniang, he was a little anxious. “Miss Liu, have you investigated it? I was wronged, no? I didn’t kill anyone, right?”
He couldn’t remember anything at all, but he knew that he didn’t have the balls to kill people. Killing would get him beheaded.
He was terrified. He didn’t want to die.
Liu Sanniang looked at him. “We’re still investigating it.”
The man was a little disappointed, but he was also relieved. He said to himself, “I didn’t kill anyone. Magistrate Wei will definitely clear my name.”
It was unknown if he said this to comfort himself or to get Liu Sanniang to comfort him.
Liu Sanniang said nothing.
After coming out of the cell, Chu Yan held her hand and squeezed it. “Have you eaten?”
Liu Sanniang shook her head. She hadn’t eaten anything. The prophetic dream and her helplessness made her lose her appetite. She only wanted to find the murderer as soon as possible. Why did the murderer have to kill people so brutally?
Chu Yan held her hand and walked out. “Let’s go and eat.”
Chu Yan brought Liu Sanniang to a noodle shop and ordered two servings of oil doused noodles and a portion of braised meat.
At first, Liu Sanniang didn’t have any appetite. Chu Yan held his chopsticks and said calmly, “Do you want me to feed you?”
Liu Sanniang quickly picked up her chopsticks and started to eat. “No, no need.”
After eating, she realized that the taste was actually not bad. After eating a bowl of noodles, the two of them returned to the government office. Chu Yan took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of Liu Sanniang’s mouth.
She was struck dumb. Chu Yan was becoming more and more intimate with her.
Not long after returning to the government office, Wei Shilai and the others returned.
The unfortunate family that was wiped out also had the surname Huang.
The murderer was the son, Huang Shantian.
Wei Shilai’s eyes were red and bloodshot. He said to Liu Sanniang, “Miss Liu, as expected, the murderer doesn’t remember anything. The murder weapon is the hoe which the family often used at home.”
All the evidence could prove that Huang Shantian was the murderer, but why did he kill all his family members?
He didn’t remember a thing, but when the constable said that he had killed his entire family, he screamed and fainted.
Liu Sanniang looked at Wu Ju, who said calmly, “I was a step too late. I only managed to dissipate the resentment, but I couldn’t save their lives.”
Liu Sanniang asked him. “Were they also originally from Huanghu Village?”
Wei Shilai was stunned. “What Huanghu Village?”
Lin Zheng stepped forward and said, “Sir, I’ve already investigated Huang Jinzhi’s family. Twenty years ago, her family moved out of Huanghu Village.”