Chapter 173 - 171: Dark Clouds Gather, Thunder Cracks

Chapter 173: Chapter 171: Dark Clouds Gather, Thunder Cracks

Zhu Xuan fell silent after that.

When Zhuang Yanzheng came out of the interrogation room, Su Miaoyi said, "I couldn’t remember anything else."

After she said this, the two of them suddenly met each other’s gaze for a moment.

The look in Zhuang Yanzheng’s eyes was incredibly complex.

He couldn’t imagine how Qin Leyan had managed to survive those circumstances, let alone send a message out.

Huang Haoxu said she had been tied to a bed and electrocuted.

Zhuang Yanzheng’s hands trembled.

During the operation back then, they had only briefly crossed paths in Dian City.

In that operation, Qin Leyan had died in the line of duty.

Afterwards, her body was recovered, and they returned to Jinghai for the funeral.

Everyone was steeped in grief, and they had to comfort the family’s elders.

He hadn’t thought about many of the details.

Later, he didn’t dare to think about it at all.

It wasn’t until now, looking at the person before him...

...that he finally remembered.

Back then, when he saw Qin Leyan, she had already changed drastically.

Right now, the light in her eyes was bright.

But back then, there was no light in her eyes at all.

She was lifeless, as if her spirit had been broken.

Su Miaoyi met his gaze for a moment, scratched her head, and patted her pockets. Finally, she pulled out three pomelo leaves.

Chu Xingrou had given them to her.

She held up the pomelo leaves and waved them in front of his face.

Zhuang Yanzheng blinked, leaning back slightly.

Su Miaoyi waved the pomelo leaves again.

Zhuang Yanzheng stared at her. "What are you doing?"

"Warding off evil spirits," Su Miaoyi said, waving them again. "You look like you’ve been possessed by something unclean. I’m casting it out. Shoo, shoo, shoo!"

Zhuang Yanzheng was speechless. "..."

Zhuang Yanzheng grabbed her by the hat and pulled her toward the cafeteria. "You must be so hungry you’re starting to hallucinate."

Su Miaoyi twisted her head to glance at him. "See? The pomelo leaves worked. You’re back to normal already."

Zhuang Yanzheng snorted. "I suppose I should thank you, then."

"You’re welcome," Su Miaoyi said with a smile. "Since we’re so close, you can just settle the fee for the evil-warding service. Two hundred."

Zhuang Yanzheng stared at her.

Seeing he wasn’t saying anything, Su Miaoyi quietly uttered two words: "Four hundred."

Zhuang Yanzheng let out a huff of a laugh. "Looks like after we eat, I’ll have to interrogate a price-gouging con artist like you."

Su Miaoyi shot him a look. Two seconds later, she broke free from his grasp and scurried down the stairs.

Zhuang Yanzheng stood on the landing, watching her.

Su Miaoyi stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Remember, you owe me eight hundred!"

With that, she ran off toward the cafeteria.

Zhuang Yanzheng watched her retreating figure until she disappeared. After a moment, he let out a soft sigh.

...

「After lunch.」

While waiting for Shi Xiaoru to arrive, Su Miaoyi sat in Zhuang Yanzheng’s office and analyzed Zhu Xuan’s statement.

"I think there must have been other things going on at that island. If this Xie An is really their boss..." Su Miaoyi mused. ’Zhu Xuan is highly skilled, and so is Lu Jing. Huang Haoxu is even better. The three of them... they were all cut from the same cloth.’

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

"So when did they learn all this?" Su Miaoyi felt there were still too many unanswered questions. "How did Xie An get them out? And how did he blow the place up? A place like that must have had extremely tight security."

"It would have been difficult enough for one person to escape, let alone bringing others along."

"Zhu Xuan was vague about all of this. There’s a lot she didn’t say, and she even lied."

"Mm," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "Zhu Xuan likely did choose not to go with them. After learning about her family history, she returned to Ji City. She got a new identity and learned that the orphanage’s records had been destroyed."

"But she didn’t know about the other things. She lived an ordinary life, went to school, and got a job."

"Until... something happened to Shi Xiaoru. Only then did she make her move, exposing herself in the process."

Su Miaoyi agreed with his assessment, then fell silent for a moment.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"I was just thinking... they seemed to rely on each other for survival, so you’d think their bond would be strong. And someone like Zhu Xuan, who just wanted to live a normal life, even got her wish. But..." Su Miaoyi said, "The moment Lu Jing was exposed, his boss abandoned him without a second thought, practically delivering him to us. And when Ren Mao was exposed, Huang Haoxu killed him without the slightest hesitation."

"When you get used to being a killer, a lot of your feelings fade," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "Besides, people change. They’re involved in illegal activities, living on a knife’s edge, and could die at any second. All they see is money and merchandise. Gradually, they lose their humanity."

"And once humanity is gone, their bonds naturally crumble."

Su Miaoyi looked at him, remaining silent.

For some reason, she felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

Zhuang Yanzheng said, "We’ll continue interrogating Zhu Xuan. Hopefully, we can get some useful information out of her."

Su Miaoyi nodded.

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at her, then added, "About that unidentified female body in the morgue..."

Su Miaoyi snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him. "What about it?"

Zhuang Yanzheng said, "The sixty-day period for her to be claimed is up. Per protocol, the body has to be sent to the funeral home for cremation."

Su Miaoyi’s gaze trembled.

"After cremation, if the ashes are still unclaimed, we here in Jinghai can keep them at the funeral home for six months," Zhuang Yanzheng continued.

"And what if they’re still unclaimed after six months?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"They’ll be interred in an unmarked grave," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Su Miaoyi frowned. Her lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out.

Zhuang Yanzheng watched her, then handed her a form. "This is the claim form. Fill it out and give it to me. You can collect the ashes after the cremation."

Su Miaoyi glanced at the form on the desk, then back at Zhuang Yanzheng.

Zhuang Yanzheng stood up. "This will save you the trouble of trying to dig up her ashes in the middle of the night."

Su Miaoyi pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

Zhuang Yanzheng checked the time and started to walk out. "Remember, now you owe *me* eight hundred."

Su Miaoyi followed him. Just before they left the office, she asked, "Captain Zhuang, isn’t there anything you want to ask me?"

"Am I allowed to ask?" Zhuang Yanzheng stopped and looked at her.

After all, this whole situation defied the laws of nature.

After he and Shen Yanzhou had talked that day, they had agreed not to bring it up again. It was enough that they knew.

Su Miaoyi thought for a moment. "I guess it should be fine."

The words had barely left her lips when a massive, unexpected bolt of lightning split the sky outside, followed by a deafening CRACK of thunder.

The sudden noise made Su Miaoyi jump.

She looked out the window.

She had been so focused on the case that she hadn’t noticed it had gotten overcast.

The sun had been shining that morning, but now the sky was filled with dark, churning clouds, flashing with lightning.

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced out the window, then turned his gaze back to Su Miaoyi.

Su Miaoyi looked back at him, the corner of her mouth twitching. "J-Just a coincidence, probably."

She then added, "There’s nothing that can’t be said. It already happened, so why shouldn’t people be allowed to talk about it..."

CRACK—

Another bolt of lightning, accompanied by a peal of thunder, rattled the window.

Su Miaoyi stared at the dark clouds gathering in the sky. After a few seconds, she rolled up her sleeves. "This is nuts! You think you can scare me? I’m not buying it..."

As she spoke, she started to march toward the window, but Zhuang Yanzheng grabbed her by the hat and yanked her back. "Alright, forget it. I don’t have anything to ask."

He pulled her out of the office.