Reviewing Old Case Files

Additionally, a villager in Jiang Jia Village said that around 8 PM the previous day, when the incident occurred, this person saw Liu Sheng Li on the field bank near the scene.

Therefore, the original owner arrested Liu Sheng Li.

Initially, Liu Sheng Li did not confess to the murder. The original owner learned from neighbors that Liu Sheng Li was afraid of ghosts, so he staged a "Ghost's Revenge" scene on the seventh night after the victim's death, scaring Liu Sheng Li into confessing.

But Liu Sheng Li still did not admit to killing anyone.

However, it was thanks to this act that Liu Sheng Li had nightmares that night.

Furthermore, Liu Sheng Li's lawyer told him that if he voluntarily confessed and actively compensated the victim's family, his sentence might be reduced.

Very soon after, Liu Sheng Li confessed.

Ultimately, Liu Sheng Li was only sentenced to life imprisonment.

Lian Chi withdrew his gaze from the case file.

Looking only at what was recorded in the file, it was clear that Liu Sheng Li had a motive for murder, no alibi, and someone saw him near the crime scene. Most importantly, a cigarette butt he left behind was found at the scene. If it were the original owner, Lian Chi would also have believed that Liu Sheng Li was the perpetrator.

But the provincial High Court's ruling was also not problematic. Finding Liu Sheng Li's cigarette butt at the scene only proved he had been there, not that he had committed the murder.

Liu Sheng Li's confession was originally the best evidence, but now he had not only changed his testimony but also accused the original owner of using torture to extort a confession.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

Lian Chi opened the door.

The person who came was none other than Captain Song.

Lian Chi asked, "Why are you here?"

After Captain Song entered, he immediately spotted Liu Sheng Li's rape and murder case file on the table.

"I knew it; you haven't returned to Liu City yet, you must be studying this case."

Then he continued, "Didn't we work overtime for a whole month to solve the case last time? This time, our superiors gave us five days of compensatory leave. I came to see if I could help."

Lian Chi felt warm: "Thank you."

Clearly, he and Captain Song had only worked together for over ten days, but Captain Song was already willing to help him.

Captain Song smiled and said, "What can I do? Who told you that you're my idol now? When an idol is in trouble, how can fans like us stand idly by?"

"So, have you found any clues for this case yet?"

Lian Chi replied, "A little."

Captain Song immediately became serious: "How so?"

Lian Chi said, "I plan to go to Jiang Jia Village first."

Captain Song said, "I came here on my motorcycle; I'll take you."

Half an hour later, the two arrived at Jiang Jia Village.

At the village entrance, a group of elderly men and women were sitting by the old well, chatting.

"Why is Xia Ping Village so lively today? Firecrackers have been going off all morning."

"Don't you know? Liu Sheng Li came back this morning."

"So the Xia Ping Village committee, several big shots in the county, and a reporter from Gang City bought three cars full of firecrackers last night, saying they were to welcome him and cleanse away bad luck for Liu Sheng Li."

"Didn't you notice, Old Man Chen and Old Man Xu aren't here today? Liu Sheng Li is related to them; they went to Liu Sheng Li's house for a feast."

"Oh, by the way, how is Liu Sheng Li's wife's illness?"

"I heard the TV station in Gang City donated over 20,000 yuan to her, and she's almost recovered. Moreover, that TV station is planning to donate another sum to build them a new house."

"So, it seems her whole life's suffering is over."

"It's just a pity Liu Sheng Li's parents didn't live to see this day."

"Jiang Li is also unfortunate; she just went home to her parents and lost her life, and died so tragically. The police still haven't caught her killer."

"Everyone, tell me, was it really not Liu Sheng Li who killed Jiang Li?"

"I don't think so; I've interacted with him before, he doesn't have the guts for that."

"I haven't interacted with him, but since the court acquitted him, it probably wasn't him."

"Then didn't Liu Sheng Li serve ten years in prison unjustly?"

"Not just that, don't forget that after he was arrested, he was beaten for several days; I heard he once broke six ribs."

"And his parents also died in vain."

"Not entirely in vain; the news said he could sue the Police Bureau and receive 50,000 yuan in state compensation."

"Only 50,000 yuan for ten years? That's prison time! My son went to work in the South last year and earned 20,000 yuan in half a year."

"You people who have time to pity Liu Sheng Li should pity yourselves first. Don't think that 50,000 yuan is state money, but where does state money come from? Isn't it from the hard work of us ordinary people?"

"50,000 yuan? How many catties of public grain do I have to submit to make 50,000 yuan!"

Hearing this, Captain Song felt the need to interrupt them. He clenched his right hand and coughed loudly.

At this moment, the elderly men and women finally reacted. They turned their heads to look.

The entire Jiang Jia Village suddenly fell silent. Clearly, even though these elderly people were experienced, they were not used to this situation.

So, even though Lian Chi pretended not to hear anything and greeted them, they remained motionless.

Finally, an old woman spoke first: "Ah, Old Man Chen, have you forgotten, we haven't had to pay agricultural tax since last year."

"That's right, that's right."

The elderly men and women then reacted and quickly nodded.

Then, they looked at Lian Chi and Captain Song: "So, comrade police, do you have any business?"

Lian Chi asked directly, "Do you know where the crime scene from ten years ago is?"

Hearing this, silence fell again.

After a moment, an old man said, "Are you here to investigate that murder case?"

Lian Chi replied, "Yes."

They fell silent again. Because they didn't expect Lian Chi to still be pursuing this case.

The old man stood up: "We know, we'll take you there."

Then, they led Lian Chi and Captain Song to a small hill.

Captain Song asked, "Wasn't this a peanut field before?"

The old man replied, "That's right, but Jiang Li died here, so the landowner felt it was unlucky and abandoned it. Later, the owner of the field below wanted to dig a pond, so he made an agreement with this landowner to dump all the excavated soil here."

Captain Song turned to look at Lian Chi.

Lian Chi was comparing the scene before him with the case file. Fortunately, other areas hadn't changed much.

Lian Chi walked to a field bank: "The cigarette butt was found here."

Then, he looked up at the houses in the distance and pointed to one house: "That's Jiang Wei Min's house."

Jiang Wei Min was the person who claimed to have seen Liu Sheng Li on the field bank near the crime scene at the time of the incident.

The old man nodded: "That's right."

Lian Chi said, "Let's go, let's go to Jiang Wei Min's house to see."

"This..."

The old man looked hesitant.

Lian Chi asked, "What's wrong?"

The old man replied, "Jiang Wei Min passed away the year before last."

So, ten minutes later, at Jiang Wei Min's house, Lian Chi and Captain Song only saw his portrait.

Jiang Wei Min's family said apologetically, "Sorry, you came all this way for nothing."

"It's alright."

Lian Chi still asked, "Did Old Man Jiang tell anyone about the murder case from ten years ago? For example, besides Liu Sheng Li, did he see anyone else?"

Jiang Wei Min's family looked at each other and shook their heads: "Not long after that murder case, my father became confused."

"Is that so."

Lian Chi sighed and stood up: "Thank you for your trouble today, I'm really sorry."

But unexpectedly, not long after they left Jiang Wei Min's house, a young girl chased after them, calling out, "Officer."

Lian Chi and Captain Song stopped. The young girl also stopped.

Lian Chi and Captain Song looked at each other, then stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong?"

The young girl hesitated: "There are some things I don't know if I should say."

Their intuition told them that this young girl knew something.

So, Captain Song quickly said, "If you've chased after us, it means you want to stand on the side of justice. So please speak frankly."

"Yes."

The young girl said, "I heard that when he was first arrested, Liu Sheng Li didn't admit to going to Jiang Jia Village at all."

Lian Chi nodded: "That's right."

"Actually..."

The young girl gritted her teeth and said, "My grandfather was nearsighted, and he also had a grudge against Liu Sheng Li's father."

"What?"

Captain Song frowned.

The young girl recounted: "When my great-grandfather passed away, my grandfather hired a feng shui master to choose a burial plot. In the end, the master chose a piece of land belonging to Liu Sheng Li's family, saying that the land was very suitable for my great-grandfather's age. If my great-grandfather was buried there, my family would prosper."

"So, my grandfather went to Liu Sheng Li's father to buy that land. Initially, Liu Sheng Li's father agreed to sell it at market price, but later, instigated by his wife, he raised the price threefold. My grandfather was angry and didn't buy it, instead burying my great-grandfather on our family's land. Afterwards, my family indeed did not prosper..."

So, her point was that her grandfather, Jiang Wei Min, had lied. The person he saw that year might not have been Liu Sheng Li. In fact, he might not have seen Liu Sheng Li at the crime scene at all.

Captain Song took a deep breath.