"Who?"
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Officer Qin.
When the girl described the killer's facial features, Zhao Yan knew it absolutely couldn't be Old Qin.
Zhao Yan had indeed suspected him and thought it over carefully. If Old Qin were the killer, it wouldn't hold up to scrutiny; the timeline wouldn't match.
Moreover, the killer was said to have issues with performance. If it were Old Qin, how could Officer Qin's father have come about?
"The moles on his eyes and chin are very similar to my second uncle's, but my second uncle died over twenty years ago in a car accident when I was only two or three."
"But this person's nose and mouth don't resemble my second uncle's."
Jiang Yu said something to the officers behind him, and an investigation was immediately launched.
Soon, the person was identified.
"Qin Jiangshui, elementary school graduate, worked at the tin factory from 1981 to 1991, and died in a car accident in 1992."
Qin Jiangshui's photo was found, and when compared to the drawing by Zhao Yan, their eyes were somewhat similar to the eyes in the drawing, but the mole on the chin was in the exact same position.
The only difference was that the mole used to be large, and the current one was very small.
It was less that the mole was smaller and more that it had been too large. Although it had been removed, it hadn't been completely eliminated.
The more Officer Qin looked, the more he found it hard to accept. The first time he saw it, he felt like he had seen the eyes in the drawing somewhere before.
"I'm calling my master," Jiang Yu said, taking a deep breath.
He called Old Qin, who answered quickly.
After explaining the situation to Old Qin, the latter sounded incredulous on the phone.
He then came to the police station.
"Are you sure?" Old Qin asked, his voice trembling as he approached.
"The surviving girl saw the killer's face. After comparison, it's possible it was Qin Jiangshui."
"Master, Qin Jiangshui died in a car accident. You should have been at the scene. Did you examine his body?"
Old Qin stared intently at the photo, as if trying to see through it. "He was burned to a crisp, and my sister-in-law was also burned to death."
No wonder the investigation hadn't yielded results. Who would suspect someone who was already dead?
After all, Qin Jiangshui had "died" before the murder had even occurred.
This was truly a case of the brightest light casting the darkest shadow.
"Master, what was your brother's personality like?" Jiang Yu asked.
"He was very quiet, a bit eccentric, and didn't talk much. He was quite suspicious. He used to hang out with some riffraff. Later, I arranged a job for him at a factory, and he became a bit more settled," Old Qin said, still unable to believe it, staring at Qin Jiangshui in the photo.
With this photo, a wanted poster was quickly made.
The next step was to search and apprehend.
Zhao Yan said softly, "My plan did not fail."
From the words of the surviving girl, it seemed that Qian Chuntao had repeatedly hit her head with an iron spoon.
Although she appeared to be beaten badly, she wasn't beaten to death; her force was controlled.
Furthermore, when Qin Jiangshui opened the gas tank, Qian Chuntao dragged the surviving girl into the bathroom.
It wasn't that Qian Chuntao's conscience had awakened, but rather that she was scared.
Especially after seeing Qin Jiangshui kill the shop owner like slaughtering a chicken, she realized she could suffer the same fate.
Although Qin Jiangshui was Old Qin's brother, Old Qin might not be the one who understood him best; perhaps Qian Chuntao understood him better.
Once the seed of suspicion was planted, the longer time passed, the more this suspicion would be amplified.
She was more afraid of Qin Jiangshui than anyone else.
By saving the surviving girl, she was extending a friendly signal.
"I think we shouldn't act yet. Let's wait a while; perhaps the phone will ring," Zhao Yan said softly.
She explained her analysis.
"Don't issue the wanted poster yet; we don't want to alert him."
"Master, we need to examine your brother Qin Jiangshui's 'body'," Jiang Yu said.
Fortunately, cremation had not been widely implemented in 1992.
As long as they exhumed the grave, they could retrieve Qin Jiangshui's 'body'.
"Mm," Old Qin nodded.
After the body was dug up and autopsied, it was discovered that the charred corpse was not the real Qin Jiangshui.
Upon hearing this news, Old Qin was so enraged that he had to be hospitalized.
He never imagined that the person he had painstakingly hunted for most of his life would be someone he was once closest to.
In a derelict, unfinished building, Qian Chuntao lay on a very worn-out sofa.
The springs beneath the sofa were exposed.
Sleeping on it made her back ache terribly. Every twist and turn was uncomfortable, as if she were sleeping on uneven stones.
Qian Chuntao slowly turned over and glanced in Qin Jiangshui's direction.
Qin Jiangshui lay on two snakeskin bags, his side facing her.
Next to his pillow were a feature phone and a dagger.
The abandoned building was simple, containing pots, bowls, chopsticks, a wooden stool, and many discarded newspapers.
Beside the newspapers was a bottle containing folded paper cranes made from newspaper.
She sat up from the sofa and slowly walked towards Qin Jiangshui, reaching out to pick up the feature phone. Her breathing became increasingly rapid, and she pressed the power button.
When the screen of the feature phone lit up, Qian Chuntao was startled. She then realized the phone was locked.
She put the phone down and picked up the dagger instead.
Just as she was about to stab him, Qin Jiangshui's leg suddenly moved.
This startled Qian Chuntao, and she quickly put the dagger back in its place.
She hurried back to the sofa, bit her finger, wrote something on a piece of paper, and as she turned around,
She saw Qin Jiangshui standing behind her and calmly asked, "Are you hungry?"
Qian Chuntao was startled and quickly shook her head.
Qin Jiangshui walked to a corner, took out some noodles and an iron pot.
After setting up the firewood and cooking the noodles, he specifically cooked two eggs for Qian Chuntao.
Qian Chuntao's hands were still trembling as she took them.
Qin Jiangshui asked, "Chuntao, how long have you known me?"
Qian Chuntao replied, "31 years."
Qin Jiangshui nodded. "31 years. Time flies."
"Let's go pick up some firewood. It gets very cold here at night without a fire," Qin Jiangshui said.
He stood up, picked up the kerosene lamp, and walked outside.
Qian Chuntao got up and followed behind Qin Jiangshui.
They arrived at a grove of trees, and Qin Jiangshui lit the kerosene lamp in his hand.
Watching him walk further and further away, Qian Chuntao said fearfully, "Jiangshui, where are we going to pick up firewood?"
Qin Jiangshui replied calmly, "We're almost there."
After speaking, he stopped, turned, and looked at Qian Chuntao.
"Do you remember this place?"
Qian Chuntao looked around and shook her head. "I don't know."
Seeing Qin Jiangshui's disappointed expression, she quickly said, "Let me think."
Qin Jiangshui pulled open his shirt to reveal a hammer and said with disappointment, "You've forgotten. This is where you killed Zhang Wenwen."