To the left of the health clinic, not far down the road, was a fried chicken and burger joint called Medes.

Shen Xin ran over and bought some food, then brought it back.

Staring at the burger held out in front of her, Li Yao gulped, then turned her head to look at Li Shi beside her.

Li Shi held his little sister’s hand and glanced at Shen Xin.

’Just a few days ago, Shen Xin had also bought him a meal.’

He gave Li Yao a slight shake of his head, pressed his lips together, and said, "We’re not hungry."

’Dad was gone, and Grandma was bedridden. It was just him and his sister now. He didn’t want to be indebted to anyone.’

Li Yao let out a soft "oh" and lowered her head, but her eyes kept darting toward the burger.

Beside them, Guo Jin’s eyes widened. "This kid... why is he being so stubborn?"

Shen Xin didn’t waste any words and pushed the burger into Li Yao’s hands.

Li Yao put her hands behind her back and shook her head, refusing to take it.

Shen Xin said with a helpless expression, "Li Shi, what’s happened has happened. I know you might not be able to accept it right away, and that’s okay. Take your time. But you still have to eat. It’s not the end of the world."

’As long as you’re alive, there’s still hope.’

As he spoke, he offered it to Li Yao again.

Li Yao looked at Li Shi. She really was obedient to her brother and simply wouldn’t take it.

"We have money."

Li Shi pulled Li Yao along and walked away.

Guo Jin sighed heavily. "What is that kid thinking? Why’s he so pig-headed?" he said helplessly.

Shen Xin was just as helpless.

’He’s at a rebellious age, and on top of that, he’s just been hit with such a huge tragedy. No matter how you look at it, his reaction is understandable.’

Shen Xin handed the food to Guo Jin and quickly followed them out.

He saw Li Shi dragging his sister nearly two hundred meters before stopping at a breakfast stall. He took out a one-yuan coin and asked for two steamed buns.

Then he stuffed them both into Li Yao’s hands.

The two of them turned their heads and saw Shen Xin.

Their eyes met. Li Shi quickly looked away, then crouched down, pulled Li Yao close, and instructed her, "Sis, I’m going home to get money. You stay here and watch Grandma. Don’t talk to anyone who asks you questions. Wait for me to come back."

With her mouth full of steamed bun, Li Yao nodded. She leaned in closer and whispered, "When Dad left, he hid the money and the card in the pocket of that big coat in the cabinet. He said the PIN is written on the back."

Li Shi patted his sister’s head and turned to leave.

Shen Xin froze for a moment, then hurried after him and grabbed him, asking where he was going.

"None of your business."

Li Shi tried to shake off Shen Xin’s arm, but he couldn’t break free.

He glared at Shen Xin, demanding he let go.

Letting go was out of the question. Shen Xin said in a low voice, "Li Shi, stop messing around. Right now, your only job is to look after your sister. You don’t need to worry about anything else."

Li Shi remained unmoved, his eyes like those of a wounded, lone wolf. He forced three words through his teeth: "Let me go."

After a tense staredown, Shen Xin let go.

Li Shi turned and walked off, seemingly in the direction of the school.

Shen Xin naturally had to follow.

’The kid’s emotional state was all wrong. If I don’t keep an eye on him, something terrible could happen.’

Shen Xin called He Wen Yu again, telling him to come out and check if Li Yao had gone back.

Then there was what Li Yao had said earlier.

She said she saw Li Xingping hit Zhang Kaiyong, but that Zhang Kaiyong hadn’t died.

Shen Xin had been too shocked just now. Thinking back, he realized he hadn’t asked for enough detail.

Shen Xin had only managed to learn that after the first argument, Li Yao had secretly followed Li Xingping down the mountain.

Then she witnessed the incident: Li Xingping hit Zhang Kaiyong, who fell to the ground. Li Xingping left in a hurry, discovered her, and dragged her away.

As they were leaving, she turned her head to look at Zhang Kaiyong and saw that he wasn’t dead yet.

Her exact words were that she saw Zhang Kaiyong "get up again."

This description was actually very subtle.

First, she had essentially glanced back while being dragged away.

After turning onto the path up the mountain, she couldn’t see what happened next.

Therefore, it was unclear what her "not dead" actually meant.

If he was hit and then stood up on his own, that would indeed mean he wasn’t dead.

But if he was hit and just struggled a couple of times on the ground, you couldn’t call that "not dead."

Second, there was a more fundamental question: was Li Yao telling the truth?

Since Li Xingping had discovered her, could he have warned her not to say anything when they got home? Or told her that he hadn’t killed the man?

Both were possibilities.

Children in fairy tales are all innocent and pure, but that’s not always the case in real life.

So there were still many details that needed to be clarified.

Shen Xin had already called Li Xiaowen to report the situation, and Li Xiaowen was now rushing over.

Meanwhile, Li Shi had indeed gone to the school.

He came out pushing his battered old bicycle, ready to leave.

Shen Xin quickly stopped him and asked where he was going.

As usual, he said nothing.

’What could Shen Xin do? Drag him back to the police station to keep an eye on him?’

’His father’s fate was unknown, and his grandmother was critically ill. That wouldn’t be appropriate.’

Li Shi got on his bike and rode off, sobbing.

Shen Xin hurried after him, calling Guo Jin on his way to see if he could arrange for someone to tail Li Shi.

Before long, Guo Jin arrived on his motorcycle.

He stopped Li Shi and tried to talk some sense into him.

It was no use.

Li Shi stopped talking altogether. Seeing that Guo Jin wouldn’t let go of his bicycle, he simply threw the bike down and trudged forward, head down, dragging his feet.

Guo Jin stomped his foot in frustration. He asked again where he was going, offering to give him a ride.

But Li Shi didn’t answer, just kept walking on his own.

Defeated, Guo Jin could only give the bicycle back to him. Only then did Li Shi get back on.

Based on the direction, he seemed to be heading home.

Shen Xin said, "Guo Suo, just follow him for now. He’s stuck in a negative mindset, and he won’t snap out of it anytime soon."

To be honest, after such a sudden, huge blow, his mind was bound to be a mess.

Guo Jin nodded and slowly followed on his motorcycle.

Shen Xin immediately returned to the health clinic.

Li Yao was already back, watching over Geng Aiyi and quietly gnawing on her steamed bun.

Beside them, He Wen Yu was trying to coax her with the burger, but she ignored him. Seeing Shen Xin return, he had a helpless look on his face.

Shen Xin crouched down and comforted her softly, "Li Yao, don’t be scared. You said it yourself, your dad didn’t kill anyone. You saw it. So as long as we explain the situation clearly, everything will be okay."

After this bit of comfort, Shen Xin asked her what state Zhang Kaiyong had been in at that moment.

He also asked how many times she saw Li Xingping hit Zhang Kaiyong while she was hiding.

Li Yao looked up at Shen Xin. Her eyes seemed to say she wanted to talk, but then she shook her head and whispered, "My brother told me not to say anything."

Hah!

Shen Xin cursed silently. ’That foolish Li Shi, what is he thinking?’

He tried to guide her again, but it was no use.

The little girl might be young, but she was extremely obedient to Li Shi.

And from his interactions with her, Shen Xin felt that she actually knew everything.

There’s an old saying: the children of the poor learn to run a household early. With Li Xingping working away from home, Li Shi attending school in town, and Geng Aiyi having mobility issues, she was surely the one who took care of everything at home on a daily basis.

’If that weren’t the case, how could she have secretly followed Li Xingping down the mountain?’

’She must have guessed Li Xingping was up to something and followed him to keep an eye on him.’

Before long, Li Xiaowen arrived in a flurry with his team.

He waved Shen Xin over, first asking about Geng Aiyi’s condition before asking what exactly Li Yao had seen.

Shen Xin did his best to recount her exact words, concluding with, "The problem now is her so-called ’not dead’—what kind of ’not dead’ was it?"

Li Xiaowen, an old pro, understood instantly. His brow furrowed.

Shen Xin turned to glance at Li Yao, then said, "Now the little girl has clammed up."

Li Xiaowen was taken aback and asked what had happened.

Shen Xin said helplessly, "It’s her brother. He probably told her not to talk. The little girl is very obedient; she won’t say a thing no matter how we ask."

Li Xiaowen’s brow tightened further. He quickly asked where Li Shi was.

The mention of Li Shi gave Shen Xin an even bigger headache.

After hearing the explanation, Li Xiaowen had a headache of his own.

’She’s only seven years old. How could they take someone that young back for a formal interrogation?’

He looked around, pointed at one of his subordinates, and told him to give it a try. "You’re always bragging about how good you are with kids."

The subordinate who was called out, a clean-cut young man, acknowledged with an "oh" and quickly went inside.

Li Xiaowen thought for a moment, then had someone call a female colleague from the team and ask her to come over.

’A woman would probably have an easier time communicating with a little girl.’

Only then did he pull Shen Xin aside again to ask for his opinion on Li Yao’s statement.

"Hard to say."

Shen Xin shook his head, then asked Li Xiaowen in return if he believed the words of a child.

Li Xiaowen pressed his lips together, turned to stare at Li Yao for a moment, and then shook his head. "It’s not a question of belief. As you said, Li Xingping discovered her, so it’s possible he coached her on what to say."

The man ran off, leaving his kids behind. Before he left, telling his child to tell the police he didn’t kill anyone—that’s highly possible.

Shen Xin nodded. That was exactly the point.

Even if Li Yao were to talk now, her words couldn’t be completely trusted.

A seven-year-old child could be coached, or she could be in shock and say things that aren’t true.

Shen Xin said, "Captain Li, now that we have this new development, I think we should first try to verify Li Yao’s account."

"Also, Liu Shasha witnessed Li Xingping returning in a panic, but her description doesn’t mention seeing Li Yao. That raises a question."

Shen Xin had only just remembered Liu Shasha’s testimony when Li Xiaowen arrived.

She had only seen Li Xingping.

But Li Yao’s description was that Li Xingping had discovered her and they had returned home together.

Li Xiaowen nodded. He had been about to bring that up himself. "We questioned Liu Shasha in detail. She saw Li Xingping when she got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom."

"Li Xingping had to pass the school gate to get home, and there’s a light at the gate at night, so she was in a position to see him clearly."

"However, she only glanced over. She didn’t walk over to get a better look and went straight back to her dorm."

"Under these circumstances, it’s also possible that Li Yao was walking slowly and fell behind."

Shen Xin hadn’t seen Liu Shasha’s detailed statement, but he had already speculated about this possibility.

She was inside the school, happened to glance out, and just didn’t see Li Yao.

The path up the mountain was difficult to walk, so Li Yao might have been moving slowly.

It was also possible that Li Xingping’s legs were injured, making him walk even slower, and he had yelled at Li Yao to go home first, so she ran on ahead.

Anything was possible. They couldn’t simply assume Li Yao’s story was problematic just because of Liu Shasha’s testimony.

Shen Xin continued, "The key is evidence."

Testimonies can’t be guaranteed to be true; evidence is king.

"Regardless of whether Li Yao is telling the truth or not, if a second person appeared at the scene and was the one who ultimately killed Zhang Kaiyong, I refuse to believe they wouldn’t have left a single trace."

"Take the murder weapon, for example. Assuming Li Xingping didn’t kill Zhang Kaiyong, and a second person showed up—did they pick up the brick and hit Zhang Kaiyong a few more times, finally killing him?"

"In that case, there would definitely be fingerprints or DNA on the brick. If they used a different weapon, I’m sure we’d be able to see that on the body."

Every contact leaves a trace. If there really was a second person, it’s impossible that they left nothing behind.

But even as he said this, Shen Xin couldn’t help but worry.

The crime scene had been compromised. A lot of onlookers had shown up, and the body had even been moved. Any traces left by a second person could have been obscured in the chaos.

Li Xiaowen nodded in agreement.

To confirm whether Li Yao’s testimony was true or false, evidence was the key.

At this point, Li Xiaowen gave a wry smile. "I was just thinking earlier that once we identified the killer at the scene, the case would be closed. I never expected a twist like this."

Shen Xin had been thinking the exact same thing.

Based on the earlier evidence, Li Xingping was the killer.

Speaking of which, he wondered how Li Xingping was doing. His testimony was actually crucial.

For instance, how many times he hit Zhang Kaiyong, and what state he left him in—only he himself knew.

If he died, it would be much harder to confirm anything.

Just as he feared...

They were still painstakingly trying to get Li Yao to talk when Li Xiaowen took a call. He came back with a grave expression and said, "Li Xingping didn’t make it to the operating table. He just died."