Pristine Darkness

Chapter 21

The Yao family case finally draws to a close and some loose ends are tied up. Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao share a sweet moment as they reflect on the case, but it is not without a tinge of melancholy. Fang Qing, on the other hand . . . well, read on to find out . . .

If you're interested in trying your hand at translating, checking the translation of, or editing this novel, do email tranzgeek@gmail.com. We welcome anyone who would like to give it a try, and those of us with a little more experience are happy to help out 8-)

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Translator: shl

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"Team Leader Fang, there's been a new development!" An inspector ran to face Fang Qing.

Fang Qing had been having a hard time due to Ming Yue's insanity, and was also very busy extracting a large amount of evidence from the Yao household. Right now, he was in a pitiful state.

"Go on!"

"Previously, didn't someone mention that Fu Wei had a girlfriend in university whom he met online? Later, the girl suddenly lost contact with him, so that was that. We couldn't locate this girl in Fu Wei's QQ account. The account had already been deleted, so we needed more time to retrieve it. Then, we were busy investigating the case, and didn't follow up on this."

Fang Qing raised his eyes to look at the inspector.

"Today, news came from the Beijing police. They've discovered the identity of this online girlfriend."

——

"It was Tong Sheng," Bo Jinyan said.

He and Jian Yao were sitting on a dyke by the Jiang River. The gently rolling waves of the river reflected the state of their minds and emotions.

"How did you know?"

Bo Jinyan looked into the distance and replied, "Fu Wei's university schoolmates testified that he had an online girlfriend while at university, but also that they lost contact later on. In the investigative records of that time, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Fu Wei's situation, except that small item."

"What's the big deal about that?"

"In her testimony, the front desk receptionist at the Yao Family Inn said that Fu Wei had hit on her before, and left behind his QQ number. A waiter and a chambermaid nearby at that time also heard them. Two days ago, I checked with the Inn staff. The chambermaid on duty that day was Xie Min."

Jian Yao's heart surged with emotions as she finally learnt the whole sequence of events. However, she did not know whether to feel relieved, or sad.

Thus, Xie Min had inadvertently heard Fu Wei's QQ number while undercover and secretly investigating the Yao family. She definitely recognised it as the QQ number of the man who had established an online relationship with her daughter before her disappearance. Consequently, late that night, in the pouring rain, she had waited for Fu Wei. Moreover, because she was wearing the Inn uniform, Fu Wei recognised her on sight. Being surprised, he stopped along the road, and, due to his having just returned from a bar, he braced himself against the wall in his drunken state and left his handprint behind.

It was unknown whether Xie Min had interrogated Fu Wei on his relationship with her daughter that night. However, the final outcome was that she had personally killed this man who might have played with her daughter.

How did Xie Min find out about the Yao family? How many people had she investigated over the years? Why did she decide to act at this time? These were all questions that could no longer be answered.