A Psych Case Just Joined the Team Chapter 009

Bloodshed – 09

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Before Qing Ming could react, Xing Zui's face suddenly leaned in close... The other man's breath drew nearer and nearer, and Qing Ming instinctively tensed, holding his breath.

He saw Xing Zui lean close to his ear and say in a low voice, "Call Fengzi and tell him to bring people over immediately!"

With that, Xing Zui headed towards the bedroom in Lin Datong's home. Only then did Qing Ming come to his senses. He stepped out of the apartment and dialled Cui Jingfeng's number. The phone had barely rung once before someone picked up.

Half an hour later, two criminal police officers emerged from Lin Datong's home, escorting a man. The man looked utterly dishevelled and terrified, his tightly clenched fists were drenched in sweat, and the cold handcuffs clinked sharply with a metallic sound.

The police car slowly pushed through the crowd and drove out of the communal residential buildings. Once it turned onto the main road, a black SUV appeared behind it, following.

Qing Ming sat in the front passenger seat, glanced at the child in the back, and asked, "Senior, how did you know there was someone else in the house besides Qi Qi?"

Xing Zui held the steering wheel and replied, "Qi Qi opened the door for you."

Qing Ming didn't quite get it. "I look so upright and righteous, it's obvious I'm not a bad uncle, it's perfectly normal for Qi Qi to open the door for me."

Xing Zui remained noncommittal. "That kid's usually very vigilant. Opening the door for you straightaway, something's not right."

Through the rearview mirror, Xing Zui glanced at the boy sleeping soundly in the back seat and went on, "And another thing, the garbage bin was full of takeaway containers, those should've been bought by Fengzi. How could a child like him eat so much?"

Qing Ming thought for a moment, and then his brain finally made the connection, and he suddenly realised.

"Just now when I called Brother Feng, he picked up immediately. I hadn't even explained and he brought people over straight away... It takes at least forty minutes to drive here from our station, but everyone moved so quickly. Senior, did you already have everything set up in advance? Was everyone waiting nearby for your signal?"

"Mm, finally figured it out."

Qing Ming froze and didn't say anything else on the way back.

Once they arrived at the station, Qing Ming checked the time, it was nearly midnight. He saw Xie Xun and Fang Lai eating takeaway. It looked like the two of them hadn't gone home after work. From the way things were, it was clear that everyone had known about tonight's operation, everyone except him...

For a moment, an indescribable feeling rose in Qing Ming's heart.

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In the interrogation room, a harsh beam of light shone on Lin Datong's face. He squinted uncomfortably, his complexion deathly pale. Xing Zui and Fang Lai sat across from him, while Fang Lai gazed at him coolly.

"Officer, may I have a glass of water?"

Xing Zui lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, then signalled for Fang Lai to fetch one. Lin Datong received the cup with both hands, trembling as he brought it to his lips.

Xing Zui suddenly said coldly, "Drink more, you'll have a lot to say later, wouldn't want your mouth to dry out."

A smile crept awkwardly onto Lin Datong's face as he asked, "Could I have a cigarette too?"

Xing Zui gave a faint smile and said, "Why not pour you a drink while we're at it? Call in a couple of girls, one to rub your shoulders and the other to pound your chest?"

Lin Datong cowered at that and wisely shut his mouth. Xing Zui shifted in his seat and began, "Tell me, was the 'Lin Datong' you killed your older brother or your younger brother?"

"It was my younger brother, but I didn't kill him, it was... it was Li Li... I only helped her get rid of the body. At most... at most I'll be charged with aiding and abetting."

Xing Zui said coldly, "Everything needs evidence. You say you didn't kill him? Where's your evidence?"

Lin Datong replied, "If you don't believe me, you can ask Li Li. After she killed Lin Datong, she begged me to help her dispose of the body."

"What did you use to transport the body?"

"My motorbike."

"Where's the motorbike now?"

"I took it apart and chucked it into the Tongjiang River... The knife too, I threw it in the river too"

Xing Zui had already asked Fang Lai to investigate. Lin Datong did indeed own a motorbike, purchased two years prior, but it had never been found after the incident. If what Lin Datong said was true, then with the Tongjiang's vast waters and unpredictable currents, dredging it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, an almost impossible task.

Xing Zui asked, "Have you and Lin Datong always shared a single identity?"

Lin Datong replied, "Lin Datong and I are twins. When we were born, the villagers forced my parents to throw one of us into the back hills to feed the wolves. But they couldn't bear to do it, they kept my brother in secret, hiding him from everyone in the village. We were never allowed to go out at the same time. If he went out, I stayed home. If I went out, he stayed home. That's how we lived, hiding for more than thirty years. Later, I married Li Li. After my parents passed away, we moved to Dang City and had my son." He took another sip of water and went on:

"I never thought that bastard had been coveting his sister-in-law all along! On the night of the 6th, I got a call from my wife. The tone of her voice didn't sound right, so I rushed home from the construction site. As soon as I got home, she told me she'd killed my brother, and that the body was in the kitchen."

Saying that, Lin Datong paused, sneaking a glance, pretending it was unintentional, at the cold-faced man opposite him. Seeing that the man was staring at him with a faint, ambiguous smile, something cunning and inexplicable in his gaze... Lin Datong's guilt surged up in an instant and sent a chill through his whole body. His scalp tingled, and the interrogation room felt so silent he thought he could hear the sound of his goosebumps rising.

Xing Zui said, "Go on."

Lin Datong continued, "Later that night, when everyone was asleep, I planned to use my motorbike to transport the body to the river and throw it in. But the motorbike broke down on the way, and I had no choice. I was worried someone might see me, so I dumped the body in a nearby sewer. I was afraid the police might find something, so I dismantled the motorbike and threw the parts into the Tongjiang River along with the knife."

Xing Zui raised his eyebrows. "That's all?"

"Yes, Officer, I've confessed everything, I haven't told a single lie. Will I get a lighter sentence?"

Xing Zui gave him a bland smile. Lin Datong, eager to please, grinned fawningly like a pathetic lapdog. But then Xing Zui abruptly spat out two words: "Absolutely not."

Lin Datong's expression froze. "I... I've confessed everything. If you don't believe me, you can go check."

Xing Zui said, "Aside from the one fatal wound to the chest, several other stab wounds on Lin Datong's body have already been confirmed to have come from someone else. And you're telling me... Li Li, a woman, not only fought with Lin Datong but came out without a scratch? And every single stab was that deep? Is she some kind of superhuman?"

Lin Datong replied, "She might have drugged Lin Datong first, then stabbed him with a knife while he was unconscious."

At that point, Fang Lai said, "Why not just say Li Li lulled him to sleep first, then stabbed him?"

Xing Zui said coldly, "Keep feeding me that hollow nonsense, and I swear I'll see to it you rot in prison for the rest of your life."

Lin Datong swallowed hard... Xing Zui added icily, "And you'll die with no one to see you off."

Seeing the cold glint in the man's eyes, a chill ran down Lin Datong's spine. He couldn't help but raise a hand and wipe his face.

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In the other interrogation room...

"Lin Datong has already been apprehended, he claims you're the one who killed the man."

Li Li's expression was sombre. She kept her head down and said nothing.

Cui Jingfeng knew that her son, Lin Qi, was her bottom line, so he changed tack. "I picked Lin Qi up from school today. He asked me: 'When can I see Mom?' What's the matter, Miss Li, don't you want to get out sooner and see your son?"

As expected, Li Li finally spoke. "I've already said that I was the one who killed him. I begged my husband to help me get rid of the body. I had planned to turn myself in, but I couldn't bear to leave my son. I thought the police wouldn't find out..."

At that moment, the phone in Cui Jingfeng's pocket suddenly vibrated. He took it out and saw that the message was from Xing Zui.

– "Let Li Li see her son."

Cui Jingfeng looked up at the woman opposite him and said, "Our captain asked me to pick Lin Qi up from school today, he knew you were worrying about your son, Miss Li. When Lin Datong was taken in just now, we brought Lin Qi to the station as well, would you like to see him?"

Li Li looked up in shock, almost unable to believe it. Her swollen eyes welled up instantly, and she asked in a trembling voice, "I... I can really... see my son?"

Right in front of her, Cui Jingfeng dialled a number.

"Hello, is Lin Qi still asleep?"

"Bring him in."

Not even a minute after he ended the call, the interrogation room door opened... Li Li stood up stiffly. She saw Qing Ming holding Lin Qi by the hand. The moment Lin Qi saw her, he let go of Qing Ming's hand, shouted "Mommy!" and ran straight to her. The mother who had waited with aching longing to see her son was already sobbing uncontrollably. She desperately rubbed her face against his, and with her hands cuffed, she could only let her son hold her tightly.

It would be hard not to be moved by this scene. Cui Jingfeng and Xie Xun looked away, giving mother and son their brief moment together. Qing Ming leaned against the wall nearby, his usual unruly expression gone, replaced with something sombre.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Angel: Poor baby got excluded from the plans

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: July 2, 2025 by Angel

Edited: July 30, 2026 by Angel