Chapter Twenty-Three: Tang Jingjing Is Captured!

Li Hong retrieved several bottles and jars from behind the infant’s desiccated corpse and showed them to me.

I glanced at them and saw that they contained sticky, blackish liquid. Without hesitation, I opened one of the bottles, dipped my finger into the dark substance, and rubbed it slowly. It felt slightly coarse, with a bit of elasticity, and its sheen was a deep, dark red.

Could it be blood?

It was easy to determine whether these were blood or not. My father once taught me: “Blood, over time, turns ashen; spit upon it, and its true color will emerge.” The meaning was that old blood becomes black and gray, and if you spit on it to dilute it, the original color will reveal itself.

I immediately spat onto my hand, and sure enough, the black-gray substance gradually changed color until it became a dark red.

Why would that mysterious woman store so much blood in jars? I was puzzled.

Then I noticed labels affixed beneath the bottles. I raised the bottle above my head to read what was written there.

To my surprise, the label bore the name “Li Yanran.”

I recalled that one of the two dead female college students was named Li Yanran.

Another bottle had a familiar name as well: Wang Fenfang, also among the deceased students.

There were three more: Lin Yunshan, Song Yuanhai, and Hu Lei.

Lin Yunshan’s blood was noticeably fresh, a shocking sight. The bottle labeled Hu Lei, however, was empty—nothing inside.

“Hu Lei must be the next victim!” I decided instantly and called Director Wang, urging him to investigate who Hu Lei was.

Director Wang sighed upon hearing the name. “I never expected it to be him.”

That struck me as odd. Hu Lei was a common name; in a city of three million, at least thirty people must share it. How could Director Wang know which one?

I quickly asked about Hu Lei’s identity.

“He’s the director of that psychiatric hospital—you’ve met him. Lin Xue just confessed to me that Hu Lei had sexually harassed her. I didn’t believe it at first, but… I’m sending people there now. And Li Hong should go, too.”

No time to waste—I hurriedly led Li Hong out of the basement.

But as soon as we emerged, I was stunned: Tang Jingjing was gone.

Where had that silly girl wandered off to? I immediately called her, but no one answered.

“Forget it, we must go to Director Hu first—his life is more important!” I exclaimed.

We drove to the hospital, and all the way I kept calling Tang Jingjing, but she refused to answer, infuriating me. I had no choice but to send her a text, telling her we were looking for Director Hu.

Partway through, a sudden realization struck me. My mind exploded, and I urgently told Li Hong to hit the brakes.

Li Hong stopped abruptly, asking what was wrong.

“Earlier, there was a car parked at the curb where Tang Jingjing stood. When we came out, it was parked across the street. Did you notice?”

Li Hong thought for a moment. “I didn’t pay attention.”

“The car stayed there, but we didn’t hear a locking sound. That means someone was inside.” I quickly explained.

Li Hong was still confused. “So what?”

“Tang Jingjing must be in that car, held hostage by the mysterious woman—we need to go back now.”

Li Hong slapped the steering wheel. “This is bad!”

“In other words, the next intended victim isn’t Director Hu, but Tang Jingjing,” I said nervously.

“But why is Hu Lei’s name on the blood jar?” Li Hong asked.

“She probably planned to kill Hu Lei, but when we arrived sooner than expected, she kidnapped Tang Jingjing instead. Damn it, we’ve fallen for her diversion tactic!” I said.

Li Hong angrily floored the accelerator, and I was deeply worried. Tang Jingjing was reckless, rude, wild, and spoiled, yet somehow lovable—a maddening mix.

I couldn’t imagine the police force without her; how much joy would be lost?

Thinking of her possibly suffering fear and torment, I felt a sudden pang of heartache.

Meanwhile, I quickly contacted Director Wang, urging him to send two officers to protect Director Hu, and dispatch the rest to the Academy of Finance, making sure their identities remained undisclosed.

Hearing that Tang Jingjing might be held hostage, Director Wang was furious, swearing loudly. If anything happened to her, we’d all be in trouble; the Tang family would never forgive us.

My head spun, and I hastily promised Director Wang that Tang Jingjing would not be harmed.

I took off my jacket, bought a mask and sunglasses at a nearby shop to avoid recognition. If I could exchange myself for Tang Jingjing as a hostage, I wouldn’t hesitate.

But all that preparation was in vain, because when we returned to the original spot, Tang Jingjing was asleep on the flowerbed, and a thief was about to make a move on her.

Li Hong reacted even faster than me, charging ahead like an enraged lion, landing a punch on the thief’s head and knocking him out cold.

I hurried to pick up Tang Jingjing. “Jingjing, wake up! What happened to you?”

Tang Jingjing opened her eyes groggily, glanced at me, regained her senses, then suddenly grabbed me. “Damn it, quick, chase after her!”

I was amused and relieved she was safe. I asked her what had happened.

Tang Jingjing gritted her teeth angrily. “Not long after you went inside, I smelled the scent of death, and it was coming from the parked car nearby.”

“I walked over, and the car suddenly pulled up beside me. I reached for my gun, but remembered you’d taken it. The person inside instantly dragged me in…”

“She didn’t hurt you, did she?” Li Hong asked anxiously.

“Hmph, do you think I’m helpless? I graduated from police academy, and took her down in three moves.”

“Don’t exaggerate—just tell the truth. How did you escape?”

“I’m not sure,” Tang Jingjing replied, still dazed. “I said I wanted to call my mother before dying, and suddenly she started crying. I comforted her a bit, then she knocked me out. When I woke up, I saw you guys.”

“You got lucky,” I said. “Do you know where she went? Did you see her face?”

“I did.” Tang Jingjing nodded. “She’s the female student from ten years ago—she never died.”

“I knew it was just superstition,” I said. “Let’s go after her!”

But the Academy of Finance was in a bustling area, with heavy traffic and many intersections—tracking her would be no easy feat.

I could only report to Director Wang, advising him to watch for a black sedan. I asked Tang Jingjing if she remembered the license plate, but she shook her head, saying she never noticed.

Damn, she missed such a crucial clue.

Helpless, we could only search blindly.

We circled the area but found nothing, and I nearly lost hope.

I contacted Old Lin and learned he and Mouse were nearby, trying to cut her off. We decided to meet up.

We recounted everything to Old Lin, and after hearing it, he fell silent for a long time before finally saying, “Go to the Academy of Finance—the killer has returned…”

We were astonished and quickly asked how he knew.

Old Lin sighed. “The heart of a parent is a wondrous thing. The killer is a mother, too; she can’t bear to leave her child.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Jingjing said she wanted to call her mother before dying—it struck the killer’s soft spot. She knows, as a mother, how much pain comes from losing a child, so she couldn’t harm Jingjing. Jingjing, you saved yourself!” Old Lin said softly.

“I don’t believe she’ll go back,” Tang Jingjing said. “It’s too dangerous there.”

“The more dangerous a place, the safer it is. Don’t you know that much?” I retorted. “She’d never guess we’d return, so she thinks it’s the safest spot.”

No time to waste—we set off at once!