After the autopsy of Cheng Kai was completed by the forensic department, Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling emerged. From a distance, they saw his elder sister, Wan Manyu, sitting with an elderly man in the police station lobby. He knew it was Cheng Kai's father.
“Let’s go out and wait for Captain Zhou’s investigation results.”
Wan Yunting did not wish to see his sister and Cheng Kai's father at this moment, so he turned and went back to his car. Niu Qiuling accompanied him.
“Mr. Cheng, you can proceed to the forensic department.”
A police officer came in and spoke to Wan Manyu and Cheng Quan.
“Dad…”
Wan Manyu then helped Cheng Quan, who was inwardly grieving, to the forensic department. Cheng Kai’s body had already been sewn up by the forensic pathologist and covered with a white sheet. When Wan Manyu helped Cheng Quan inside, although she couldn’t see Cheng Kai’s face, her heart ached severely. She lowered her head, afraid to look…
Cheng Quan, with his aging body, walked to the dissection table and, with trembling hands, lifted the white sheet. Looking at his son's not-so-peaceful face, Cheng Quan could no longer hold back his reddened eyes, his heart filled with immense sorrow…
It is a painful thing for parents to outlive their children.
Wan Manyu did not step forward. Instead, she stood two meters behind Cheng Quan, her head bowed, her face pale, her hands clasped tightly, and her body trembling slightly. She dared not look at Cheng Kai, for fear caused her mind to replay the scene repeatedly, filling her with panic and dread…
After a long while, Cheng Quan calmed down. He turned and looked at his daughter-in-law, who had not come forward. He did not blame her, knowing that his son had not treated Wan Manyu well when he was alive. Now that he was dead, Cheng Quan actually felt pity for Wan Manyu and his granddaughter, Wan’er…
“Let’s go.”
Cheng Quan covered the white sheet and turned to leave.
Only then did Wan Manyu recover from her inner fear. She looked up at Cheng Kai’s body under the white sheet on the dissection table… “You wretched woman, I’ll kill you…”
“Manyu…”
Cheng Quan, who had reached the doorway, called out to her when he saw his daughter-in-law not following.
“Ah…”
Called back to reality, Wan Manyu’s delicate body trembled. She turned her face, her expression pale and fearful. Cheng Quan, mistaking it for grief and fear, stepped forward and took Wan Manyu’s arm, leading her out. He said, “Manyu, no matter what choice you make in the future, you are still my Cheng family’s daughter-in-law. My Cheng family will treat you and your daughter well.”
Wan Manyu, having recovered somewhat, did not find comfort in her father-in-law’s words. Instead, it only deepened her inner pain and sorrow, self-reproach, and guilt…
At the parking lot outside the police station, Wan Yunting, who was in his car, watched his elder sister supporting Cheng Quan, whose face was filled with grief, as they left the police station. He then got out of the car and returned to the police station with Niu Qiuling. Pang Yuan sighed, “I hope Mr. Cheng can get through this.”
“How is Captain Zhou’s side?” Wan Yunting asked, his expressionless.
As soon as he spoke, a police car returned. It was Zhou Dong and his team. “We’ve investigated. Cheng Kai underwent a full physical examination at the First People’s Hospital at 5 PM on the 7th!”
“Do you have the records? Let me see.” Wan Yunting said.
Zhou Dong handed him the documents, which were Cheng Kai’s previous examination records from the hospital. “According to the doctor who examined Cheng Kai at the time, Cheng Kai was infertile!”
“What? Infertile?”
Pang Yuan and Niu Qiuling were shocked. Wan Yunting’s expression was even more stunned as he looked at the documents. Indeed, the doctor had written that Cheng Kai was infertile.
For a moment, Zhou Dong, Pang Yuan, and Niu Qiuling all looked at him. Wan Yunting looked up, his eyes filled with shock… If Cheng Kai was infertile, it meant that Wan’er was not his biological daughter. Then, with whom had his sister…?
Just then, a figure walked in through the main entrance of the police station. Zhou Dong exclaimed, “Hou Bing, why is he here?”
Wan Yunting, Pang Yuan, and Niu Qiuling all turned to look. Hou Bing walked up and said calmly, “I’ve come to surrender!”
This statement shocked everyone present. Wan Yunting’s eyes fixed on Hou Bing. He then turned to Zhou Dong and Pang Yuan and said, “I killed Cheng Kai!”
Zhou Dong and Niu Qiuling looked at Wan Yunting. He said to Hou Bing, “Cheng Kai found out about you and my sister, didn’t he?”
Hou Bing turned to look at him. Their eyes met, and he nodded calmly. “Wan’er is yours and my sister’s. Cheng Kai knew he was infertile, so he came back to make a scene. He even took Wan’er for a paternity test. Your sister refused, so he hit your sister, and I happened to be there.”
“So, I knocked Cheng Kai out, disguised myself as him, and drove his car away from the villa complex. I took him to the outskirts and killed him, then put his body in a suitcase and dumped it in the grass outside the suburbs. I drove Cheng Kai’s car to Shenzhen for a trip, all to mislead you.”
“I only returned the next morning and disposed of Cheng Kai’s body. Later that night, when no one was around the Zhu River, I dumped Cheng Kai’s body into the Zhu River.”
Hou Bing looked at Zhou Dong and said, “I just didn’t expect you to accidentally recover Cheng Kai’s body!”
Wan Yunting remained expressionless. Zhou Dong and Pang Yuan looked at Hou Bing. From his words, both the motive for the murder and the logic all matched.
“Apprehend him. Take him in for questioning, record all his testimony, and then have him identify the murder scene…”
Seeing that Wan Yunting did not speak, Zhou Dong signaled his team members to take out handcuffs and put them on Hou Bing. He remained calm and composed, offering no resistance, and was escorted into the interrogation room.
Zhou Dong and Pang Yuan, along with Niu Qiuling, looked at Wan Yunting. They saw that his brow was furrowed, and he remained silent. Based on Hou Bing’s own account of killing Cheng Kai, all the logic fit. However, he still felt that something in the case was not quite right!
After the interrogation, Zhou Dong personally escorted Hou Bing, with Wan Yunting, Pang Yuan, and Niu Qiuling accompanying him, to a wasteland outside the suburbs overnight. Hou Bing pointed to the dried, brown-black bloodstains on the ground… “This is where I killed Cheng Kai.”
The forensic pathologist compared and identified the scene and then nodded to Pang Yuan and Zhou Dong.
“This is where I hid the body.”
Hou Bing, with handcuffs on, pointed to a patch of grass. The lawn indeed showed signs of being flattened, precisely the size of the suitcase.
Now, Zhou Dong and his team were certain that Hou Bing had indeed killed Cheng Kai.
“The murder weapon is buried here!”
Hou Bing pointed to a spot, and a police officer immediately dug, unearthing a fruit knife. Wan Yunting recognized the fruit knife as belonging to his elder sister.
“When I knocked Cheng Kai out and brought him out, I took it along,” Hou Bing explained to Wan Yunting, turning his head.
The forensic pathologist said, “That’s not right. With your military experience, killing should be very professional. But based on the victim’s wounds, we deduced that the killer was very panicked while committing the murder…”
These words made Hou Bing smile. He looked at Wan Yunting, Pang Yuan, and Zhou Dong and said, “It was my first time killing someone!”
“And I didn’t originally intend to kill Cheng Kai, but he threatened me, saying he would kill Manyu and Wan’er when he returned. So, in a moment of urgency and anger, I stabbed him in the chest. Seeing him fall to the ground writhing in pain, I left the scene for half an hour. After I calmed down, I came back to try and save him, but Cheng Kai had already died from excessive blood loss.”
This statement left the forensic pathologist in a dilemma. Their deduction based on Cheng Kai’s fatal wound seemed correct. However, Hou Bing’s explanation also seemed plausible, as even someone with strong psychological resilience might be nervous and frightened during their first murder.
“Take the murder weapon back for examination.”
After the on-site identification was completed, Zhou Dong waved his hand, and two officers escorted Hou Bing back to the car.
“Xiao Wan, do you still have any doubts?”
Seeing Wan Yunting still frowning and remaining silent, Pang Yuan asked. Zhou Dong and Niu Qiuling also looked at him.
“No.”
Wan Yunting shook his head slightly, seemingly hiding something he didn’t want Zhou Dong, Pang Yuan, or the others to know…