Chapter 326 - 324: Bluffing Her

Chapter 326: Chapter 324: Bluffing Her

Su Miaoyi knocked and entered Tian Min’s home.

"Anyone home?" she called out, not seeing anyone in the yard.

A moment later, Tian Min came out of a room. She looked surprised at first, then fearful.

Su Miaoyi smiled. "Did I scare you?"

Tian Min shook her head, clasping her hands together.

Su Miaoyi noticed the glue on her clothes. It was already dry.

"Doing some crafts?" Su Miaoyi asked.

Tian Min nodded.

"Mind if I take a look?" Su Miaoyi asked.

Tian Min looked at her, then nodded again and led her toward the room.

The two went into her room. Su Miaoyi saw various wooden sticks, knives, glue, and other items laid out on the table.

It looked like she had been working for a while.

"Is your mother not home?"

Tian Min shook her head and went out to pour her a glass of water.

Su Miaoyi took the water.

Tian Min then brought her a stool.

Su Miaoyi sat down.

Tian Min also sat down, then picked up her phone and typed: [My mom went out. My aunt had a family matter to attend to, so she went back home for now. She’ll come back when my father’s body is returned.]

Su Miaoyi nodded.

Tian Min typed again: [Did you come here for a reason?]

Su Miaoyi glanced around. "Nothing major. There were just a few more things I wanted to ask you, so I ambled over."

[Are you alone?] Tian Min asked.

"Mhm," Su Miaoyi said. "They all went up the mountain to look for Zhao Yongliang. I didn’t have anything to do, so I came for a walk."

Tian Min nodded, then sat still, waiting for her to ask.

Su Miaoyi observed her for a moment before saying, "We caught someone yesterday."

Tian Min looked at her.

"His name is Twenty-one."

Tian Min lowered her head and typed: [Is he the killer?]

"Yes."

[Does that mean I’m cleared of suspicion?] Tian Min asked.

Su Miaoyi looked at the words on her phone. "Let me tell you a story."

Tian Min looked at her, her face a mixture of confusion and bewilderment.

"Just listen."

Tian Min nodded.

Su Miaoyi said, "There was once a young girl whose father was a gambler who owed a lot of money. One time, this girl was assaulted by one of the village bachelors. Her father went to settle the score with the man, but instead, he ended up taking money from him."

Tian Min’s hands clenched together, and she slowly seemed to shrink into herself.

Even though Su Miaoyi was now certain she was the killer, it was still painful for her to recount this. She bit down on her lip and continued, "After that, every time he owed money and the debt collectors came calling, he would try to use a similar method to pay them back."

"Her family managed to stop him once or twice. But... that despicable gambler, that bastard, never gave up the idea. And on one occasion, he finally did it."

Tian Min squeezed her hands tightly.

"There was a cripple in the village. He wasn’t married and would occasionally sell some things at the market to make a little pocket money." Su Miaoyi’s voice was soft and slow. "Although this cripple wasn’t well-off, he didn’t have any major expenses, and his two younger sisters helped him out. So he’d managed to save up a bit of money. One day, the little girl’s father drugged her dinner. That night, while she was deeply asleep and disoriented, he secretly carried her to the cripple’s house."

Tian Min covered her face.

Su Miaoyi took a slow, deep breath. "When the little girl woke up the next day, she discovered her father had sold her out once again. She was filled with hatred, but she didn’t do anything. She wanted to kill them, but she had to wait for the right moment."

The images she had seen at the police station weren’t just of Tian Min killing Zhao Yongliang, but also of her killing Wu An and Wan Shuang.

When she killed Wu An, Tian Min had said a lot to him.

She had gleaned some information from that.

"Later... when the cripple was out, the little girl happened to run into him. Seeing that no one was around, she realized it was the perfect opportunity. She knocked him unconscious and hid him. When someone goes missing in a village, people are bound to search. The little girl was smart; she hid him first. After everyone stopped looking, she took him up the mountain and, with a boning knife, dismembered him."

Tian Min kept her face covered, unmoving.

Su Miaoyi said, "When she dismembered him, the cripple was still conscious. She started with his feet, cutting the flesh away at the ankle joint. Then the shins, the thighs, the arms... and finally, the head."

Tian Min slowly lowered her hands, but she kept her head bowed.

Su Miaoyi let out a breath. "Since we’ve set the mood, I might as well tell another one."

"There was a woman in the village who loved to gossip and spread rumors, always saying the young girls in the village were promiscuous. But this woman wasn’t a bad person, so when another gossip was killed three years ago, this woman was spared."

"But she didn’t know when to quit. One day, this woman said those things right to the little girl’s face. The little girl decided not to let her live. When the woman went out to cut grass early one morning, she fed her cyanide, cut out her tongue, and hung her from a tree."

Tian Min kept her head down, not saying a word.

Su Miaoyi watched her for a moment, then asked, "Did you kill Zhao Yongliang because he knew too much?"

Tian Min looked up at her, her eyes filled not only with panic and grief, but also with bewilderment and confusion.

Su Miaoyi’s voice remained gentle and soft. "The place where Zhao Yongliang was buried is on your family’s land, isn’t it? The hole is like a cellar—very deep and hard to find. Even if the body started to decompose, it wouldn’t be discovered for a while."

Tian Min still looked innocent, weak, and confused.

Su Miaoyi also remained gentle. "Tell me... the body was found on your land, and everything seems to be connected to you. How can there be so many coincidences in the world? Or is it... that you were planning to wait for things to die down in a couple of days, then secretly dispose of Zhao Yongliang’s body so no one would ever find it? After all... erasing traces is what you’re good at."

Tian Min shook her head, over and over, then picked up her phone and typed: [I didn’t! I didn’t!]

Su Miaoyi glanced at her phone, then looked at her. "I’ve been away for too long. I’m having trouble getting used to the climate here, and I can’t stomach the food. I miss home. My plan is to go back this week."

Tian Min looked at her, even more confused.

Su Miaoyi said, "Twenty-one has been caught. To be honest... that’s enough to close the case. The troublesome part is that the investigation revealed two killers were involved. We have one of the two killers. We’re still missing one."

As she spoke, she smiled, looking at Tian Min’s face. "I have to catch someone to close the case. Evidence or no evidence... I have my ways."

Tian Min’s pupils contracted.

"Guess who I’m going to pin it on?"

The moment she finished speaking, the knife in Tian Min’s hand shot toward her abdomen.

Su Miaoyi grabbed her wrist just in time.

She looked at the craft knife in her hand.

She was so fast, Su Miaoyi hadn’t even seen her pick up the knife.

The innocent, frightened look in Tian Min’s eyes turned cold, instantly replaced by killing intent.

Su Miaoyi looked into her eyes—filled with killing intent, yet brimming with tears—and let out a laugh. "If Twenty-one hadn’t attacked me yesterday, I wouldn’t have been so confident I could make you show your hand today."

Tian Min laughed too. "I didn’t want to kill you, actually. You and Chu Xingrou are both good people, but... that person saved my life. Killing you is the only way I can even begin to repay her."