Upon our return to the county police station, we immediately organized an impromptu emergency meeting. The meeting was led by Zhang Yihan, with the police chief attending in person, having rushed over from home in the middle of the night. After the meeting, we mobilized the police and armed police to launch a city-wide manhunt for Li Dapeng.
Since Zhang Yihan and I had just been beaten up, we didn't need to participate directly in the manhunt. With the case making significant progress, we had to call Zhao Mingzhu to report the good news. After Zhang Yihan detailed our situation to Zhao Mingzhu, he promptly stated that he would send someone to assist us.
He mentioned that the team leader from Jin Zhijian's Fourth Squad had gone to our team leader to stir up trouble, resulting in the decision for us to collaborate with Jin Zhijian on solving the case. The team leader's intention was for us to coordinate and share resources with Jin Zhijian to expedite the investigation.
Clearly, the case was becoming increasingly complex, and the higher-ups felt the pressure to solve it. Our Cold Case Investigation Team was highly valued by the province because we had a track record of solving cases once we took them on. They certainly didn't want this high-profile case to turn into a cold case.
Zhao Mingzhu sent additional personnel to support us, likely because he feared that without Ge Lao, who was injured and hospitalized, Zhang Yihan and I would be outmatched by Jin Zhijian and his team, who might beat us to solving the case.
After the police were dispatched to apprehend Li Dapeng, Zhang Yihan and I began investigating his social connections. Through our inquiries, we were surprised to discover that Li Dapeng's sister worked at the county construction bureau and was the director of the Urban-Rural Planning Office.
Initially, we suspected Li Dapeng's sister of embezzlement to fund their large house. However, our investigation revealed that Li Dapeng had paid for the house himself. More importantly, we found out that the recently deceased Xiao Li was closely connected to Li Dapeng, indicating a direct link between Xiao Li's death and Li Dapeng.
We immediately looked into Xiao Li's background and social relationships, discovering that he had only one sibling, a sister currently attending university. Four years ago, Xiao Li was working outside the village before suddenly returning home to study for exams. By the end of that year, he passed the civil service exam and became a police officer.
Coincidentally, that same year, strange occurrences began in Guojia Village. After passing the exam, Xiao Li was conveniently assigned to the local township police station, making him the go-to person whenever something happened in the village. It's not hard to imagine that during this time, Xiao Li likely engaged in numerous illicit activities behind the station chief's back.
With this information, we immediately went door-to-door interviewing villagers, uncovering significant findings. Over the past few years, many people had died in the well at Guojia Village, all cases handled by Xiao Li. Initially, the victims' families protested, insisting their loved ones wouldn't have committed suicide, but eventually quieted down after Xiao Li distributed compensation.
It's clear there was a cover-up, with money used to silence people, as no funds were ever officially allocated from above. From these clues, it's evident that Xiao Li was a real-life "mole." He must have had secret support from someone powerful and wealthy—likely Li Dapeng. Otherwise, even if Xiao Li passed the civil service exam, it wouldn't have been such a convenient placement.
Their relationship was straightforward: Li Dapeng committed the murders, and Xiao Li covered them up. Multiple villagers confirmed that since Xiao Li started his job, eleven villagers had died in the well, all women, with ages ranging from their late teens to over fifty.
The corpse I retrieved from the well was confirmed to have died a few days prior. The other body's time of death was still unknown, awaiting verification, as it was under Jin Zhijian's jurisdiction. These two recent deaths were crucial in determining why Xiao Li and Li Dapeng conspired to kill, making it imperative to identify the victims.
Given that these two women were not locals—otherwise, their families would have noticed their absence and checked the well—it's likely that this case involved more than just local murders. While we had solved the case in principle, identifying Li Dapeng and Xiao Li's motives remained elusive, which was crucial for us to consider the case fully resolved.
We also pondered the stranger who tried to buy the Guo family's old house three years ago, coinciding with Xiao Li's entrance into the police force. This could have been another move by Li Dapeng to facilitate his crimes. Yet, we still couldn't pinpoint the motive behind the murders, suggesting the case was far more complex than it appeared.
We worked until the early hours, finally heading back to the hotel around two or three in the morning. The next morning, hearing that Xiao Li's sister had returned, we decided to visit her for more information.
Upon arriving at Guojia Village, we were joined by the reinforcement sent by Zhao Mingzhu—a twenty-five-year-old guy. Although he was older than both Zhang Yihan and me, he was widely regarded as a jokester within our team. Notably, he was the son of our team leader, Zhao Mingzhu, leading many to suspect nepotism in his placement.
Despite being in the Cold Case Investigation Team for six months, he was often idle, never seen working on a case. He spent his days wandering around headquarters, hitting on any pretty faces he encountered. His behavior was especially irksome, particularly his incessant flirting with Zhang Yihan, which annoyed both her and me.
Seeing that it was Zhao Xiaotian who had been sent, Zhang Yihan's face darkened. "Zhao Xiaotian, why is it you?" she asked, her irritation evident.
"Heh, Yihan, I missed you. Didn't you miss me even a little?" Zhao Xiaotian shamelessly replied, reaching to put an arm around her shoulders.
"Get lost!" Zhang Yihan snapped, brushing off his hand. "Go back. We don't need your help."
Hearing her dismiss him, I felt relieved. I didn't want to work with him either; his constant chatter was unbearable.
"Whatever," Zhao Xiaotian shrugged, flipping his hair with a smug smile. "My dad told me about the situation here. No one else in the Fifth Squad can help you."
He boasted for a while longer, forcing Zhang Yihan and me to tune him out. Eventually, Zhang Yihan signaled to me, and we turned to leave. Zhao Xiaotian, of course, wouldn't let go of such a prime opportunity to be close to Zhang Yihan. He pursued her with renewed fervor, babbling about avenging her against Jin Zhijian and how he'd make him pay.
Unable to stand his antics, I crossed the street, putting some distance between us. Zhao Xiaotian, thinking I was backing down, chuckled smugly.
As a newbie, he outranked me, though I never saw him as a superior. Given his connection to Zhao Mingzhu, I couldn't afford to offend him. Let him do his thing.
When we arrived at Xiao Li's house, we found villagers arranging Xiao Li's funeral. His body was already in a coffin placed prominently in the main hall. A young, attractive woman was kneeling beside it, crying her heart out.
She was about 18 or 19 years old, with short hair and a clean, casual outfit. Her tear-streaked face was enough to evoke sympathy in anyone. It was clear she was Xiao Li's sister, his only surviving family member.
Her name was Li Xia, a 19-year-old college sophomore. Zhang Yihan and I planned to approach her gently to gain her cooperation, but before we could, Zhao Xiaotian stepped in, pushing us aside.
He knelt beside Li Xia with a dramatic thud, wailing loudly, "Oh, brother! How could you leave without a word? I wish I could have seen you off. Don't worry, as your brother, your sister is my sister now. I'll take good care of her. If you need anything down there, just give my subordinate Xiao Lin a sign, and I'll make sure you get it..."
Damn it, why drag me into this? I realized Zhao Xiaotian wasn't just a jokester; he was the ultimate jokester.
Everyone present was stunned into silence at his over-the-top performance.