Xiao Gang explained that the murders had been planned from the start. The sedative they used was obtained from a relative who was a doctor. They lacked experience since it was their first time committing murder, and both of them were very nervous. At the time, Xiao Lie was on guard duty outside, while Xiao Gang carried out the plan inside.
Because the sedative didn't achieve the expected effect, the victim regained consciousness when he was shaving her. She got into a scuffle with Xiao Gang and ran to the balcony to call for help. Left with no better option, Xiao Gang pushed her down, cleaned up the scene and fled with Xiao Lie!
Two people were extremely frightened at the time. When the police found the body, they used their identities as screenwriter and director to enter the city bureau and inquire about the investigation when they happened to notice us.
Upon learning that we were experts from Nanjiang City, they were even more afraid, but Xiao Gang came up with a bold plan–using us to create alibis for them!
After sharing his idea with Xiao Lie, the two ‘bumped’ into us that night, then rushed off to kill the second victim, altered the time of death by tampering with the fuse, and dropped by for a chat.
In the process of killing the second victim, Xiao Gang had originally planned to put on a condom to rape her, but he was too nervous to get an erection, so Xiao Lie helped him.
Xiao Gang admitted he was the one who solely deceived and killed the victim—Xiao Lie merely helped.
"It was all me. I’ve confessed, so please let my cousin go now," Xiao Gang spread his hand.
As I pondered his words, I noticed several obvious loopholes. "Why come to Liangchuan now? Is it really just a coincidence? Besides, when you first killed, you were in such a panic but in less than ten hours, your second kill was done so professionally. How could that have been achieved without the help of external forces?" I sneered.
Xiao Gang shrugged, "I don't know what you’re talking about!"
"A man in a mask helped you paint nail polish on the fuse. This brilliant idea wasn't yours, but his. It was also his idea to use us as your alibis. In return, you put this in our room for him."
I pulled out the bug we found in our room.
As soon as he caught sight of the bug, Xiao Gang was all nerves. But he soon regained composure, smiling once more, "I don't know you were talking about… Ahh!”
This time, I used the Eyes of Yama for only five seconds but Xiao Gang was already sweating like a pig. "Won’t you come clean?" I demanded.
“I didn’t have any help," he insisted.
I couldn’t help but wonder why he would admit to the murder charge, but not this. While observing his expression, I asked, "He won't let you talk, will he? Did he threaten you?"
"No! I said no!"
"No what? He didn't threaten you? Didn't you just say you didn’t have help?" I questioned.
Panicking, Xiao Gang fumbled, "I don't know anything. Stop asking. I said stop!"
It appeared he was bent on keeping mum about the matter. Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look. She gestured to the one-way mirror, indicating that the officers should escort Xiao Gang away first.
"The Blade Master must have secretly given him pointers, but he’s not allowed to speak about it," I analyzed.
"Why?" asked Xiaotao.
"Perhaps in the Blade Master’s opinion, the view of the knife god, although these two women were relatives of the suspect, they weren’t worthy of a personal attempt, which would violate his creed of killing only the wicked. Thus, he instructed the two men to do it instead. The Blade Master probably noticed them after the first murder, so the second murder was done professionally."
"Even criminals have their own code of conduct," sighed Xiaotao.
We proceeded to interrogate Xiao Lie, whose confession roughly corroborated Xiao Gang's, though there were slight discrepancies in the details. Xiao Lie also didn’t mention the help that the Blade Master secretly provided.
After the interrogation, I asked an officer to extract their fingerprints from the cups they used. We confirmed that the fingerprints on the bug belonged to Xiao Lie after comparing them. Their cooperative relationship with the Blade Master was obvious.
It was already three in the morning by the time we left the bureau and Bingxin was exhausted. Before leaving, I asked the fat officer to investigate a man named Shen Lijuan. That night, I slept the best ever since we arrived in Liangchuan.
At nine the next morning, the fat officer called and asked if we wanted to visit Ma Sanyou's home, to which I agreed of course. He asked us to wait while he sent someone to pick us up.
Since this wasn’t a formal investigation, only Xiaotao and I took the trip. After a while, an officer pulled up in front of the hotel and drove us to an old commercial street. Pointing to a closed store, he said, "This is where Ma Sanyou used to work."
After jotting down the address, I asked, "Has no one rented the place for the past twenty years?"
"This street originally fared poorly, and on top of that, the locals came to know about the murders. Who would dare rent the store of a murderer?"
Then, the officer drove to an adjacent street and entered a neighborhood with uniform red-bricked, tube-shaped flats. The streets were lined with plane trees. It felt as if we had stepped into the 1980s and 1990s of Nanjiang City that no longer existed.
Ma Sanyou's home was located on the first floor–Unit 4. Before we entered his flat, I noticed burnt marks on the door frame. On the wall were words written in red paint: What goes around comes around. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.
When we knocked on the door, a middle-aged lady with a baby next door asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"We are the police here to investigate something. Does anyone live here?"
"Oh, you’re policemen!" the woman exclaimed. "Is the man next door a criminal? I’ve long thought of him as strange. He rarely shows up and even if we bump into each other occasionally, he doesn't say hello. Look at what’s written on the wall. He’s definitely not a good man. Around a month ago, someone threw a burning bottle at his house in the middle of the night, scaring the daylights out of me. Fortunately, it was put out in time! Alas, it’s really scary to live near to someone like him. If he’s a criminal, you should arrest him at once. God knows if someone decides to take revenge on him and inadvertently harms us instead!"
From the woman’s accent, she was clearly not a local.
At this moment, the door behind us opened, and the woman quickly entered her home with her child in her arms, as if she had seen a ghost.
We turned around to see a pale face behind the security door. The man was about thirty with unnaturally pale skin, and he had long hair that covered his eyes. He exuded a gloomy aura.
"Who are you looking for?" he asked coldly.
"Are you the son of Ma Sanyou, Ma Qiaojun?" said the officer.
"Haven’t you done enough? My father committed those crimes. What does it have to do with me? For twenty years, all you do is harass us? You police are a bunch of pigs!"
With that, he slammed the door shut, the sound reverberating through the corridor.