I shared my discovery, but Xi Jingfan disagreed, saying, "No, you don't understand my son at all. He would never think that way. He must have wanted me to cooperate with him so he could survive these 20 years. But now that it's impossible, he's shown an expression of giving up."
"Perhaps you don't know him as well as you think. I'll get his confession for you to hear later. Now, Xi Jingfan, please describe the two people who helped you. You need to cooperate with us as much as possible to find the addicted criminals."
"They were both very thin and didn't look old, but they were very clear-headed and carried guns. What they told me made a lot of sense. They said they were from the addicted criminals and could help me commit impossible crimes, and then neither Tianhan nor I would be in trouble. I didn't want my son to be found by the police, so I agreed to their request. They really did a beautiful job of handling everything and even left me some funds. At the time, I knew I was being targeted by some criminal organization, but I didn't know they would turn my home into a haunted house. Perhaps they guessed that when you investigated the other me at the hospital, you would find this place, and the strange scenes in my house would terrify you. If you didn't have strong psychological fortitude, you would have been trapped in the dormitory building forever."
"We're not that fragile. It's amazing that those two guys planned for so long and even used your identity," Liu Yuning said, recalling that they had seen He Xin's appearance back then. She felt there must be someone very good at disguise helping them from behind the scenes, as one person couldn't play so many roles.
While interrogating Xi Jingfan, Xie Chuchu and Ling Xiaotao were examining all the bodies found in the dormitory building. They were expecting results soon. Meanwhile, we went to Da Tianhan's interrogation room. This time, Xia Xiaoling accompanied me for the interrogation. Yuning still had to investigate the past events in the dormitory building. When I faced Da Tianhan, this young man, who was much thinner than three years ago and seemed like a completely different person, slumped his head and said in a low voice, "Did my mother tell you everything?"
"Yes, it's time for you to confess," Xia Xiaoling said.
"It's all my grandfather's fault. I was never cut out for medicine. I loved art, painting, so I was always conflicted before going to college. They certainly wouldn't have liked me to enroll in an art school, saying such majors were difficult, and it would be hard to find a job. And very few people in this world become artists. Studying like that would be a waste of time. It would be better to study medicine. But I didn't think so. I loved the mysterious world of art, enjoyed painting tranquil scenes, and discovering their aesthetic beauty. So I told my grandfather my thoughts, but he said those were just childish fantasies. For some reason, he also said I was the most unsuccessful one in the family and couldn't bear the family's burden. In a fit of anger, I picked up a flower pot and smashed it on the back of his head... After that, grandfather died. My mother happened to return and found me after I had killed him. I wanted to turn myself in, but my mother stopped me and comforted me. At that time, we didn't know what to do, just guarding my grandfather's body until my father returned. He was terrified when he saw my grandfather dead. Then those two people came to our house. Initially, they subdued my father, then my grandmother. We thought they were criminals who intended to harm our family, but later they told us how I could avoid going to jail. That's when we realized these two people were from the addicted criminals, as they told us themselves. I had read many novels before and knew that there were criminal organizations in this world, but I never expected we would encounter one."
Da Tianhan paused here, took a sip of water from the cup placed on the interrogation chair, and then continued, "According to them, I went to the prison upstairs. That place was originally rented out as rooms for guests, but later my mother modified it into a maze of secret passages. This was to make it difficult for others to find me even if they found the upstairs. So I lived like a beggar in a certain room, locked up every day. My mother would bring me tea and food at appropriate times. I lived like this in darkness for three years. Over the years, I always wanted to leave, to see how the outside world had changed. But my mother said I absolutely couldn't leave, that it would be dangerous for me if people outside saw me. Not wanting to make her sad, I had to suppress my bitterness and continue to stay in the prison. Thank you for finding me. Although I'm going to die, at least I won't be trapped there anymore. I never wanted to stay there..."
I thought that with this confession, Xi Jingfan would be convinced. After I finished interrogating Da Tianhan, I found Xi Jingfan again and played her son's confession. Hearing him openly express his inner thoughts, Xi Jingfan couldn't help but cover her face and cry, "Wuwu, why didn't you tell your mother directly? If I had known your true thoughts back then, I would have been willing to bring you here and surrender..."
This mother was also in a difficult position. Facing such a situation, what would I have chosen? However, I certainly wouldn't condone my child's mistakes, as everyone is equal before the law.
As I walked out of the interrogation room, Xie Chuchu had already sent me a message, telling me that all the judgments were consistent with what we had discovered in the dormitory building. Furthermore, there were indeed contusions on the back of the old man's head from a blunt object, which provided scientific evidence for Da Tianhan's account. We subsequently found the flower pot used to attack the old man in the dormitory building, completing the chain of evidence. Da Tianhan's case could be closed.
However, the woman who had impersonated Xi Jingfan was still at large, and we didn't know what identity she was living under now. Later, during a criminal case conference, He Xin, after recovering from the hospital, suddenly found information about a profession called a "disguiser" in the data: "A disguiser can change their appearance to resemble anyone at any time. Not to mention changing to look like me, it could be anyone in our Sin Punishment Team, or even anyone in the entire provincial department..."