The night passed in the blink of an eye, and soon the distant horizon began to lighten with the first dawn light.
By the ti the two returned to Nankou Village, it was already past one in the early hours of the morning, owing to the speed of the car in the late night when there was little traffic.
Taking a shortcut up the mountain, they reached their destination a bit past two in the morning. Zhang Heng knelt for an hour, combined with the effects of alcohol, he fell asleep after three.
Even though it’s nearing mid-September, dawn still cos quite early. By four in the morning, the horizon already showed signs of light, and by a bit past five, the sky was starting to brighten.
For so reason, whether it was the weather or Zhang Heng’s mother wanting her child to sleep a little more, a thick fog enveloped everything in white mist by dawn.
Because of the alcohol, Zhang Heng slept soundly, snoring audibly from afar.
Su Qing sat on the rock for a long ti, his slightly longer hair covered with dew, occasionally rubbing his arms.
Even in sumr, spending a night outside wearing just a short-sleeved shirt is not at all comfortable, and with so many mosquitoes around, he spent the whole night in a tug of war with them.
Thankfully, when the fog started forming at dawn, the mosquitoes disappeared, giving him so relief.
At six-thirty in the morning, several police cars hurriedly reached Nankou Village, with Lin Chengcai and others arriving after getting the news.
"Captain Lin, Su Qing said Zhang Heng has been found, and he’s confessed to the murder. Is this reliable? Why does it feel like a dream?" As he got out of the car, Du Qiang couldn’t help but ask.
Even now, he found it hard to believe the case just broke like that, but this was the exact ssage Su Qing sent, telling them to co.
They were still searching for crucial evidence. Though they made so progress over the past two days, especially after proving the child wasn’t related to Zhang Heng by blood, bolstering the suspicion on Zhang Heng, nothing was conclusive yet. It felt like things ended abruptly.
It seed as though he had contributed nothing to the effort, giving Qiang a sense that his role in the investigative team was dispensable.
"With a matter this serious, I doubt he’d dare to lie; otherwise, he’d be dood!" Li Zijun, standing beside them, said flatly.
She too received the news around dawn, rushing over without even washing her face.
Indeed, the entire matter felt surreal to her. Had Su Qing rely said he’d found Zhang Heng, she wouldn’t have reacted as strongly, but the claim that Zhang Heng confessed to the murder threw her off. Where was the evidence? The murder weapon? How did it break so suddenly?
"You guys, have too little faith in Su. This is soone I and Old Zhao painstakingly recruited. Without skills, how could he be here?
Skills are skills, luck is luck. Su has both, and it seems this isn’t his first ti identifying a suspect, so I trust him. I just wonder why he’s here in Nankou Village," Lin Chengcai replied calmly.
Having witnessed Su Qing’s abilities through various cases, Lin Chengcai had long established trust in him. Yet, during the ride, sothing kept nagging him—why was Su Qing in Nankou Village, far from the city?
Even for leisure, why here? Until eting him in person, Lin couldn’t wrap his head around it.
No one could know that Su Qing spent the entire night deliberating, struggling to achieve this seemingly favorable outco.
"Let’s go, see for ourselves. Where is he now?"
"He said by the back mountain. I asked him to send a live location!"
Soon, along with the officers, a group of more than ten people began marching towards the back mountain.
Facing such a malignant killer, excessive caution was justified, so the entourage today was quite substantial.
By seven in the morning, the thick fog had completely dissipated, and the gentle sunshine fell upon him. Not far away, Zhang Heng lay curled up peacefully.
Just as he felt a hint of warmth, Lin Chengcai and others arrived.
"Over there, chief!" Li Zijun pointed towards a rock at the foot of the mountain.
"I see!"
Soon, the group approached and imdiately spotted Zhang Heng lying motionless on the ground.
Seeing this, one of the surrounding officers moved to apprehend him.
"Wait, let him sleep a bit longer! I promised him!" Su Qing’s voice trembled slightly.
Hearing this, the officer hesitated, instinctively looking at Lin Chengcai, knowing he was the highest authority on the scene.
In response, Lin, accompanied by Du Qiang and Li Zijun, approached him. Clearly, the two young people were full of questions, but sothing happened here to cause this situation—they looked at their ntor.
Seeing his slight shiver and disheveled hair, Lin Chengcai wanted soone to get him a coat, but they ca in duty uniforms, without any extra clothes, couldn’t just strip to the waist.
"Su, what’s going on?"
Su Qing stood up, stomped his feet, and motioned towards the still-sleeping Zhang Heng: "t him while out last night, tried to call you, but he was emotionally unstable with suicidal tendencies. I suggested bringing him back to visit his mother’s grave, he agreed and confessed to the murder.
The weapon is in Shandong Village, south by the first river, right under the bridge. He confessed it himself."
He couldn’t explain all the details, as there were aspects he couldn’t account for; he only shared the basic situation. Despite this, so of his actions seed unusual.
However, the crowd was too astonished by the news to delve deeper.
"Oh, Captain Lin, he actually doesn’t know we haven’t found the key evidence. He thinks he’s been exposed. Be mindful during interrogation," Su Qing said calmly.
Hearing this, Lin Chengcai nodded. Since he admitted and revealed the murder weapon’s location, it would be easier; they could organize a search and then undergo further questioning.
"Did you stay here all night? Why didn’t you call earlier?" Li Zijun inquired.
Su Qing pursed his lips, not feeling particularly well, unsure of the reason why.
Lin Chengcai seed to sense his low spirits, avoiding prying questions, and suggested, "Take a rest; I’ll arrange for soone to take you back to rest in the car. We can discuss later."
Su Qing shook his head: "I’ll check my phone. Give it half an hour. If he doesn’t wake up, then wake him. I’ll wait a bit longer!"
Seeing his refusal, the group didn’t forcefully wake the sleeping Zhang Heng.
The group of over ten just stood forming a row.
In a blink, half an hour passed. Zhang Heng, as if perfectly tid, opened his eyes, and seeing the police surround him, paused, then looked up at the bright sky and smiled, finding him amid the crowd and nodded:
"Thank you, I slept well. I saw them."
"That’s good!" Su Qing replied.
In response, Zhang Heng took a deep breath, raising his hands towards the surrounding officers: "I did the killing, arrest !"
By this point, nothing more needed to be said. The surrounding officers stepped forward, placing handcuffs on him and leading him down the mountain.
As he passed by, Zhang Heng smiled, whispering to him, "You really don’t seem like a cop."
With that, he was taken away. Watching him get led off by the officers, Su Qing responded softly:
"I’m really not; truly!"
...
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