Chapter Forty-Two: The Crimson Blossom Over the Wall!

Not long after, Li Xingchen announced that he had found the death records of Chen Da’s daughter and invited us to take a look. Upon inspection, it was clear that Chen Da’s daughter was adopted, and her cause of death was listed as “falling down the stairs.”

Immediately, I spotted a suspicious point—where would there be stairs in a rural area?

Li Xingchen pointed at the file and explained, “Look carefully, it says right here—she fell down the stairs in the cement factory workshop…”

“What about the time of death?” I asked hurriedly.

“It was more than ten days before Liu Juncheng died.”

“Is this a coincidence?” I turned to Old Lin in surprise.

Old Lin looked back at me. “What do you think?”

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Li Xingchen said. “Damn it, I think we need to look into the relationship between the little girl and Liu Juncheng.”

Old Lin patted Li Xingchen’s shoulder. “You’re getting sharper, kid. I’ll leave this matter to you.”

Li Xingchen pulled a bitter face. “Old Lin, you’re just bullying me. I’m only good with computers—not exactly qualified for this.”

I volunteered, “I’ll go with you.”

Director Wang had already retrieved Liu Juncheng’s records from the public security bureau. Since his “death” three years ago, his wife had remarried. Strangely, Liu Juncheng and his wife had no children.

I asked Old Lin if the ghost girl at the bus stop could be Chen Da’s daughter. If she died violently, her spirit would be restless, returning from hell for vengeance.

Old Lin said it was very possible.

I asked, “So what should we do? Shall we go catch the ghost tonight?”

Old Lin replied that we should first investigate the girl’s real identity, believing she was likely the key to the case.

We noted Liu Juncheng’s wife Fan Lu’s address and drove there with Li Xingchen.

Fan Lu worked at a textile factory. When we found her, we informed her of Liu Juncheng’s death. To our surprise, she had no idea that Liu Juncheng had “died again.” She was stunned, her emotions collapsing as she wept bitterly.

This, I thought, was a normal reaction. It seemed her relationship with Liu Juncheng had been good.

I quickly asked, “During these three years, Liu Juncheng never contacted you? Not even a hint?”

Fan Lu said no—she knew nothing.

I asked her what their married life had been like. Fan Lu hesitated, then replied, “Just ordinary, nothing special.”

I asked why they hadn’t had children. Fan Lu replied that it was because her husband lacked the ability.

Interestingly, both couples—Liu Juncheng and Fan Lu, Chen Da and Li Fengyan—had infertility issues.

I asked, “Do you know Chen Da? You’re from the same village, right?”

Fan Lu said she knew him. Liu Juncheng and Chen Da had run the cement factory together; Chen Da provided the land, Liu Juncheng the capital. Their relationship had been good.

“They started the cement factory together? Was there ever any quarrel or resentment over splitting profits?”

Fan Lu said no—the two were as close as brothers.

I continued, “Do you know about Chen Da’s daughter? Do you know her origin?”

At the mention of Chen Da’s daughter, Fan Lu’s expression changed instantly. I could see fear, anger, and regret.

I immediately caught the shift, sternly urging her to tell the truth. Otherwise, Liu Juncheng’s death would remain a mystery—something she surely didn’t want.

But Fan Lu was resolute, refusing to say anything no matter how I pressed. In the end, Li Xingchen and I had to leave, instructing her to keep her phone on so we could contact her at any time.

Before leaving, I suddenly remembered the drunk man Chen Da was supporting, and asked Fan Lu if there was a third person close to both men, or someone who held a grudge against them. Maybe there had been a third partner in the cement factory, unknown to her?

Fan Lu said that was impossible—she had been the factory accountant, handling all the money. Apart from the workers, no third party was ever paid.

I nodded thoughtfully; there was no reason for her to lie about this.

After leaving, Li Xingchen told me Fan Lu was lying.

Puzzled, I asked, “How do you know?”

“I glanced at her thigh just now. There were distinct stretch marks on the inside. With my years of experience, those are definitely from pregnancy. She’s been pregnant before.”

“Really?” I was stunned. “Why were you looking at her thigh?”

Li Xingchen replied, “Don’t you like leopard print?”

Regardless, Li Xingchen’s clue seemed worth considering—and quite gossipy.

Fan Lu admitted her husband was infertile, yet she’d been pregnant. Whose child was it?

Though she was married now, it had been less than five months; even if she were pregnant, stretch marks wouldn’t show yet. She didn’t appear pregnant at all.

So, could it be that Fan Lu became pregnant before divorcing Liu Juncheng and already gave birth to the child? Unable to bring the child home, she gave it away.

Perhaps, the child she gave away was the little girl killed by Chen Da.

I quickly shared my deduction with Li Xingchen. He grinned, “I’d already figured it out. This woman isn’t one to sit quietly. Let’s arrest her—I suspect she killed Chen Da. Because Chen Da killed her daughter, she was getting revenge for her child.”

“And the evidence?” I asked.

Li Xingchen pointed to his head. “This is the evidence.”

I laughed. “Come on! You can hardly bring your head as evidence to court. Let’s not alert anyone—let’s report to Old Lin and let him decide. He’s experienced enough to spot the hidden threads.”

Li Xingchen then mentioned another suspicious point. “When she looked at me, there was something off. Do you think she’s attracted to me? She’s kept herself pretty well—if necessary, we could use a honey trap and have her wrapped around our finger.”

I was speechless, wondering where this lecherous guy got his confidence.

But thinking about Fan Lu, she really didn’t look like a divorced woman. Her skin was well-maintained, her clothing bold and modern—high heels, leopard print, a half-exposed chest—every inch seductive.

“By the way,” I said, slapping my forehead, “did you notice? She was wearing high heels.”

Li Xingchen shot me a disdainful look. “I didn’t expect you to have a foot fetish.”

I retorted, “Nonsense! Normally, factories forbid high heels, yet she wore them to work. Previously, we deduced that the deceased, Chen Da, had also worn high heels. Maybe Chen Da wore Fan Lu’s shoes?”

Li Xingchen’s gossip instincts flared. “Damn, you might be right! I think Fan Lu’s child could be Chen Da’s—so they had an affair.”

Though this revelation was gossipy, it was valuable for our investigation. I took Li Xingchen back to report our findings to Old Lin.

Old Lin smiled, “See? The case is finally coming together. If all our assumptions are correct, many questions can be resolved.”

Why did Chen Da die—especially during sex in a car? Because he was secretly involved with Fan Lu.

Why did Fan Lu kill Chen Da? Because Chen Da killed their daughter.

Perhaps Fan Lu’s affair with Chen Da was reluctant, and she hated his lustfulness. Maybe she cut off his manhood out of disgust, and even removed his face because she couldn’t stand the sight of it.

Still, there were many unresolved points. According to Chen Da’s wife, when Chen Da brought the little girl home, she was already five or six years old. Where had she lived during those first five years? Who raised her? Since they had to hide her from Liu Juncheng, she couldn’t have grown up in his home.

Our idea was to investigate Fan Lu’s hometown, suspecting the girl was raised there.

As for why Liu Juncheng “died” three years ago and then died again on the bus, that remained a mystery. For now, we set it aside.

Old Lin gathered the members of the major crimes unit and gave a brief analysis of the case.