Chapter 329 - 327: How Did You Meet Twenty-one?

Chapter 329: Chapter 327: How Did You Meet Twenty-one?

"He had a gun. Why didn’t you call the police?" Duan Wenrui asked.

"Too much trouble," Tian Min said. "I took his gun, so he wasn’t a threat anymore. Besides, he looked like he wasn’t going to make it anyway. If I’d called the police, they would have questioned me over and over. I don’t like dealing with cops. It was late and I wanted to sleep, so I just dragged him to the dump, cleaned up the blood in front of my door and the drag marks on the road, and went home to bed."

Su Miaoyi looked at her.

’Her reluctance to deal with the police probably had something to do with the woman behind her.’

"And then?" Duan Wenrui asked.

"I expected the garbage truck to pick him up and that would be the end of him, gone with the trash," Tian Min said. "But who knew he’d be so lucky? He took a punch from me, but he still woke up, ran off, and survived. Over a month later, he came looking for me, asking for his gun back. He couldn’t beat me, so I just gave him another beating."

Su Miaoyi listened to her nonchalant tone.

"After that, he started showing up every few days, even bringing me gifts. So I beat him up again."

"You took his gun and beat him up, yet he kept coming back and even brought you gifts?" Su Miaoyi asked, confused.

"You also think he’s a little..." Tian Min started to raise her hand to point at her head but couldn’t lift it. "It went on for almost half a year. I beat him so many times, but I couldn’t drive him away. He just kept coming. Eventually, I couldn’t be bothered with him anymore. Then he disappeared for half a year, and I had six months of peace. I thought he was dead."

"About three years ago, around three months before Gao Hui died, he started showing up again."

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced up at her.

’Lu Xian was in Chang City at that time. It was very likely Twenty-one had come with him.’

"Do you know what brought him back to Chang City?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"Seems like he took on some kind of job to kill someone. He didn’t go into detail, and I wasn’t really interested," Tian Min said.

"He was back, and I was still just as annoyed by him. I’d beat him up whenever I felt like it. One night, after I’d beaten him again—left him black and blue—he told me he liked me."

Tian Min snorted. "I really think he has some masochistic tendencies. If it weren’t so inconvenient to dispose of a body in the city, I would’ve killed him the moment he said he liked me."

"He was constantly harassing you. Why didn’t you call the police?" Duan Wenrui asked.

Tian Min looked at him, then sighed. "First, as I just said, I don’t want to deal with the police. Second, he can’t beat me. Third, if I report that I’m being harassed by an assassin, what does that make me? You think you wouldn’t investigate me? If I called the police and you showed up, he might pull a gun, and a firefight would break out. If he managed to escape, fine. But if he didn’t, with his twisted logic, what if he told you I stole his gun? What if he told you I could overpower him? What would I do then?"

Duan Wenrui nodded. "Go on."

"He told me he liked me, and I honestly had the urge to kill him right then and there. But right after saying that, he asked me if there was anyone I wanted dead," Tian Min said. "Good thing he asked quickly, or I’d have another life on my hands."

The corner of Su Miaoyi’s eye twitched. ’Is this how all assassins confess their feelings? *Is there anyone you want dead?*’

"The assassin’s code is to get paid and do the job. And I did believe he could keep his mouth shut," Tian Min said. "As it happened, I did have people I wanted dead."

"Gao Hui and Tian Dajiang?" Duan Wenrui asked.

"Yes," Tian Min said. "I’d been planning to kill them for a long time. I had a very detailed plan that I was slowly perfecting, just waiting for a bad mood to strike so I could pick a time to act. Coincidentally, Twenty-one asked if I had anyone I wanted to kill."

"So his methods—the black robe, the mask, the way he killed them—that was all part of your plan?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"Yes, he executed my plan," Tian Min said. "After killing Gao Hui, Twenty-one started getting close to Tian Dajiang and got him addicted to drugs. He’d give him a dose every so often—always a large amount. Gradually, Tian Dajiang started having hallucinations. The last time, Twenty-one guided him into jumping down the well."

"Was the Blood-sealing Throat poison from Twenty-one?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"Yes," Tian Min said. "It’s a poison he often uses."

"What about the rat poison used to kill the dogs?"

"I don’t know where Twenty-one got it," Tian Min said.

"Then what about Wu An?" Duan Wenrui asked. "Why kill him?"

"Don’t you already know?" Tian Min said. "Why are you asking about every single detail?"

Duan Wenrui looked at her. He didn’t say anything, but he was thinking:

’Know what? Who knows anything?’

"Just answer the questions."

"Go ahead and ask. But if you ask too much and annoy me, I’ll stop talking altogether," Tian Min said.

Duan Wenrui frowned. Just as he was about to speak, Su Miaoyi cut in, "What happened to your promise to cooperate?"

Tian Min glanced at her, then continued, "A little over a year ago, there was work to do in the fields, so I came back. The butcher shop was busy, so Tian Shi and Tian Xuan didn’t come with me. That night, my mom was out and wasn’t home. Tian Ming drugged my food, and while I was unconscious, he and Wu An took me to Wu An’s house."

Zhuang Yanzheng and Duan Wenrui were both stunned.

As a father himself, Duan Wenrui couldn’t comprehend how such a monster could exist.

Tian Min paused. "Wu An didn’t have much money, but Tian Ming wanted it. He sold me to him, by the session. I don’t know how high a dose Tian Ming used, but I’ve always considered myself to be very alert. That night, though, I knew nothing. Absolutely nothing. I didn’t wake up until almost noon the next day, and I was still dizzy and dazed. I forced myself to go home, but it wasn’t until the third day that I started to feel a bit clearer, and the dizziness and confusion didn’t fully disappear until the fourth day."

"Everyone said Wu An was an honest man, but he was devious. After the first time, he wanted a second. He was full of crooked ideas, even wanting me to go live with him and be his wife. The nerve."

"One time he was out, I ran into him, and he wanted to ’try something wild.’ With his weak legs, he could barely even climb a hill. Pathetic," Tian Min scoffed. "We went up the mountain together. I knocked him out, hid him in my family’s cellar, and called Twenty-one to come get him that same night."

"It was three days before Wu An’s sisters noticed he was missing. They searched for a while. When I saw they were starting to give up, I had Twenty-one drive him back."

"Why bring him back?" Duan Wenrui said.

"Because this is the safest place, the least likely to be discovered. They’d already searched everywhere and found nothing, so every place had become the safest place of all. Especially that patch of woods no one ever goes to." Tian Min looked at the three of them. "So I’m curious. It’s been over a year. The ground doesn’t show any signs—it’s covered in fallen leaves, branches, and pebbles. How did you find him?"

Duan Wenrui was suddenly reminded of what Su Miaoyi had said that morning.

She had stood motionless in the courtyard for over ten minutes, then bent over coughing. When she finished, she had simply stated that Zhao Yongliang was already dead.

For a split second, he had actually suspected Su Miaoyi of killing Zhao Yongliang.

They had volunteered to investigate this case. Twenty-one wanted to kill her. And she had known Zhao Yongliang was dead without even finding him.

Now, hearing Tian Min’s question, he couldn’t help but feel that something was off.

They had said they were just going for a walk on the mountain that day. It was such a long way. How did they happen to walk right to that patch of woods? How did they discover the body?

Lu Zhishen hadn’t explained it clearly either.

But... after spending this time with them, he knew they were serious. They were genuinely focused on catching the killer, and they had succeeded...