Chapter 24: Too Blunt for Words

He speaks without a brain; does he have any sense of what kind of person he is? To stand here and brazenly twist the truth!

Zhang Xiaorui clapped her delicate hands together. "Good, very good. Brother Meng, have you perhaps forgotten a few things?"

Meng Shan curled his lip. He couldn't believe this young girl in front of him could actually turn the tables. He wore an expression of indifference. "Oh? What have I forgotten? I have no idea. I am a perfectly law-abiding citizen, so would you mind not slandering me here?"

A smirk played on Zhang Xiaorui’s lips. Ignoring the many police officers present, she began to speak, her tone cold and biting.

"One evening last month, the sky was dyed orange by the setting sun, and a gentle breeze brought a hint of chill. You held a sharp chef's knife tightly in your hand, the blade glinting with a cold, piercing light in the twilight. Your heart was filled with complex emotions—a mix of tension and determination. But there were things you had to do, things you wouldn't hesitate to carry out, even if it meant losing a good brother.

"Oh, and you were also carrying a bottle of national liquor. You had chosen it specifically because you knew it was your good brother's favorite. You set off toward your brother's home, your footsteps hurried, as if every step were beating to the rhythm of fate. You knew this act wasn't a momentary impulse, but a calculated, premeditated crime. Your brother—the man who once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with you, laughing, crying, and struggling together—even such a good friend could not stop you from striking when you decided to. After you got your 'good brother' drunk, you reached behind your waist and pulled out that knife. Then... well, there was no 'then,' because you wiped out the very man you kept calling your good brother."

The police officer’s eyes widened in disbelief. This young girl was no ordinary person.

"Young lady, is everything you're saying true?" the officer asked after a moment of hesitation.

Zhang Xiaorui pointed at Meng Shan. "Take him back to the station for interrogation and you'll find out. Don't worry, Officer, the crimes he’s committed aren't limited to just this one."

Meng Shan’s heart skipped a beat. "Stop spouting nonsense! Everything you’re saying is just something you’ve imagined, right?"

Zhang Xiaorui looked at him, squinting with disdain. "Don't be so anxious. The crimes you've committed aren't just this one."

As Meng Shan tried to interject, an officer nearby barked at him, "Behave yourself! You are a wanted criminal now." The officers were eager to find out just how many heinous and inhuman acts this man had committed.

***

The only thing that made the officers feel uncomfortable—or perhaps just awkward—was that the young girl kept calling them "Officer Uncle," which they found quite unsettling.

"Three years ago, on a rainy night, a heartbreaking case occurred in Beijing. An eight-year-old girl, due to her parents' negligence, was unfortunately abducted by someone with malicious intent. The little girl’s name was Xiaomei. She had a pair of bright, large eyes and always loved wearing her favorite pink dress. Xiaomei’s disappearance plunged her parents into deep despair.

"The police immediately launched a massive search operation. They investigated every detail before she went missing, questioned every possible witness, and even deployed search dogs and helicopters. However, due to the technical limitations and the lack of leads at the time, the investigation progressed slowly. After weeks of searching, police found some blurry surveillance footage showing Xiaomei being taken out of the city by an unidentified man, eventually appearing near an abandoned air-raid shelter on the outskirts of Beijing.

"The shelter was located in a desolate field, surrounded by overgrown weeds, appearing particularly eerie. When the police arrived, they discovered Xiaomei’s body. She had been brutally tortured and murdered; the scene was too horrific to look at. This discovery left the entire police department and Xiaomei’s parents in even deeper grief. They didn't know who the killer was. Her parents wept daily. On the day of her cremation, they collapsed on the floor, crying uncontrollably. Despite their immense sorrow, Xiaomei was gone, and as parents, they only hoped her soul could find peace.

"Even though the police invested a massive amount of manpower and resources, the case hit a dead end due to a lack of key evidence and witnesses. As time passed, the case gradually faded from the public eye, but for Xiaomei’s family, it remained an unhealable wound for the rest of their lives. They hoped every day for justice, praying the police would find the killer and bring closure for Xiaomei. To this day, the case remains an unsolved mystery in Beijing. Whenever it is mentioned, people feel a chill, their hearts filled with sympathy for Xiaomei and a longing for justice. Am I right, Officer Lin Yong?"

When Zhang Xiaorui mentioned the case, a flash of helplessness and a deep sigh appeared in Lin Yong’s eyes. He firmly believed that one day, the truth would be revealed and the killer would be punished, but for now, no one truly knew who the murderer was.

***

Lin Yong looked somber. "The evidence back then was too scarce, that’s why... it was unavoidable. We couldn't identify the killer. That is the greatest tragedy for us as police officers." After saying this, Lin Yong lowered his head, seemingly in deep thought or perhaps self-reflection.

Zhang Xiaorui ignored his despondency. She took a few sips of water and continued:

"Over a decade ago, when you were in your twenties, you boarded a train to Beijing, filled with dreams for the future and a hunger for life. To you, Beijing was a place of opportunity and challenge; you believed you could carve out a life for yourself there. However, reality was far crueler than you imagined. When you first arrived, you hit walls everywhere—jobs were hard to find, and life was a struggle. To survive, you had to accept work at a construction site, living daily among steel and concrete, repeating the backbreaking labor day after day.

"That sweltering summer, because you were short on cash, you acted on a sudden impulse and stole the cigarette money the foreman had left in his toolbox. You thought it was a trivial matter, but the foreman was furious. He took several of his men and punished you severely. That dark night, they surrounded you, punching and kicking you until you were unable to resist, lying on the ground covered in blood. That night, your heart was filled with humiliation and hatred.

"The next day, as you wandered the streets dragging your exhausted body, you met five-year-old Manman. She was innocent and naive, her large eyes looking at you with curiosity. The suppressed malice in your heart was suddenly awakened. You decided to abduct her and take her to that abandoned air-raid shelter. In that dark corner, the criminal impulse hidden within you began to take hold. You took all the pain the foreman and his men had inflicted on you the day before and unleashed it all upon this innocent child."

Zhang Xiaorui glanced at Meng Shan as she finished speaking.