Chapter 220: Obsession

"Of course, undertaking something this huge wasn't done purely on instinct,"

Old He stared at Xu Ruyi. "That morning, after getting the suitcase, to determine if Qin Guan could truly be brought to justice, to weigh whether or not to call the police, you still went to the Xinhe Hotel. Was it Qi Donghao or Cui Yuan?"

"Room 201. The first time I took Qin Guan there, when I pushed the door open, the room reeked of strong disinfectant. I suspect that was precisely your doing."

"Qi Donghao and Cui Yuan—one stayed with the suitcase, the other rushed to the Xinhe Hotel. Entering the room, they found everything you anticipated was spot on. The room had been tidied slightly, making it look like Qi Min had packed up and left on her own. As far as the eye could see, there was no trace of Qin Guan, only the smell of disinfectant. You naturally understood too—disinfectant can destroy DNA evidence. Meaning, Qin Guan had indeed cleaned the scene. Calling the police carried a risk of losing."

Xu Ruyi remained motionless, not looking at Old He—it was the first time she realized this seemingly slovenly middle-aged man could be so astute. The events of that day, he described as if he'd witnessed them himself.

"Sis, she... all ten of her fingers are gone. The box reeks of bleach, really strong," the boy who nervously opened the suitcase called Xu Ruyi, frantic with worry. "He didn't even spare Qi Min's fingernails. We probably won't find any evidence against Qin Guan in this box."

"What do we do?" Everyone panicked.

No surveillance captured Qin Guan. Qi Min's DNA evidence was ruined by disinfectant. Qi Min's fingers were severed, the nails likely washed away long ago. So, how could they prove he killed Qi Min?

Call the police? With the odds stacked against them, risk letting the professional lawyer Qin Guan defend himself and possibly walk free? Let him remain at large?

Or take control themselves?

Then spare no cost to nail him shut?

"You chose the latter. Worried Qin Guan had erased the evidence, worried he had prepared thoroughly for exoneration, you forcibly twisted this case. After all, if Qin Guan couldn't be nailed down, all your efforts would be wasted. And your wrongfully killed father and mother would never rest in peace."

"So, you turned it into the 'Lakeside Hotel Qi Min Disappearance Case'. Because, conveniently, you already held one piece of ironclad evidence: the black stockings bearing epithelial tissue from both Qi Min and Qin Guan."

"Outside the Yongfa supermarket, you urged Li Yang to pick a fight with Qin Guan. During that scuffle, you got the stockings. The one who slipped into the car to grab them was naturally either Qi Donghao or Cui Yuan."

From the moment Qi Min "disappeared," those two had stayed in the city.

They were the moving "pieces" in this elaborate game.

"But, regardless of your original intentions, this approach was wrong. It was illegal," Old He sighed, looking at Xu Ruyi with conflicted anguish—destroying evidence, interfering with law enforcement, moving a body. These were undeniable facts.

"And it will haunt you for the rest of your lives."

"You must have hesitated and agonized over it many times back then, didn't you?" Old He looked at Xu Ruyi's thin face. "It was a corpse. And you people, who wouldn't even harm a small animal in your daily lives... How could you ever forget such a horrific sight?"

Xu Ruyi gritted her teeth hard.

Yes, she had hesitated many times—wanting to nail someone down and actually doing it were two entirely different things.

After dragging Qi Min's body out, the two young men were shocked, scared, uneasy. She was torn, lost, terrified.

But Qin Guan was closing in—after killing, he swiftly cleaned up all evidence against him. He would quickly get people to delete the road and residential surveillance footage; that was child's play for him with his connections. He had fabricated evidence before...

Committing crimes was second nature to him.

"Punishing crime can only ever be the job of the law, Xu Ruyi. I understand how you feel. But you have broken the law. Hiding from it, you will suffer psychological torment for the rest of your lives. You're all still so young... Turn yourselves in. Listen to me. I don't know how you altered the body's time of death, but this whole thing is wrong..."

"Turn ourselves in?" Xu Ruyi finally turned her head, meeting his gaze directly. "Turn ourselves in for what? This is all your speculation. Do you have evidence?"

Her red-rimmed eyes held a stubborn, painful defiance.

She couldn't admit it. Not because she refused, but because she was no longer alone. They were a team, a unit, bound tightly together from the moment they met in the neighboring city.

Turning herself in meant dragging everyone down.

"Do you? No evidence? Then what are you making a fuss about? Why not go after Qin Guan? He killed my dad and my mom, and the charges didn't even stick! You can't handle him?" Xu Ruyi grew more furious. "You only know how to handle me, is that it? Chasing me all the way to the airport? What, planning to arrest Little Zhi based on this story of yours? Or go after Qi Donghao? Cui Yuan? Based on what? You said it yourself, the body's time of death is correct! Since it's correct, why come after us?"

Her frail body seemed like a fully drawn bow, like a mother hen fiercely protecting her chicks in danger. Even knowing she was grasping at straws, she maintained a facade of strength.

"True," Old He sighed again. "I don't have enough evidence yet..."

"Then don't waste my time!" Xu Ruyi threw the words over her shoulder and turned to leave. Her steps were quick but unsteady, each one feeling like walking on glass suspended high in the air.

Glass covered in cracks, ready to shatter at any moment.

"Captain He, we do have some evidence. Getting them in for questioning was approved too," Officer Wu murmured, puzzled, stepping closer. "Not stopping Feng Zhi? He's about to board the plane."

Old He didn't speak. He watched Xu Ruyi's retreating figure disappear through the terminal doors. Finally, he waved to his two subordinates. "Let's head back first. We need to clarify every detail, especially the time of death. Maybe... only then can they truly face it."

He arrived home at dusk.

Returning from the airport to the station, Old He had to explain up and down why his trip yielded nothing, endured a proper dressing-down from his superiors, and made a trip to the forensics department.

The time of Qi Min's death was in question. Forensics conducted a second examination, still arriving at the same conclusion.

Death by manual strangulation, fractured hyoid bone. Time of death consistent with the first estimate.

What on earth had they done to Qi Min's body?

Old He couldn't figure it out. He asked Qi Zhifei for three days. "Three days. Give me three days. I'll convince them to turn themselves in. Okay?"

He had to convince them to turn themselves in. That was Old He's obsession—making mistakes was one thing, but they couldn't sink deeper.

He opened the door to the same cold, lonely apartment.

He sat down, had just ordered takeout, when the doorbell rang—the washing machine delivery men had arrived.

And with the delivery men, unexpectedly, was his ex-wife.