"My Xiao Hong died so horribly! Wang Li, you ungrateful, twisted monster! And after Xiao Hong always treated you like her own sister!"

The woman cursed as she pelted Wang Li with rotten vegetable leaves and stinking eggs. Wang Li, however, seemed oblivious, silently wiping the front gate.

Eventually, the woman grew tired of shouting and left.

Qin Jiao sighed softly. "If only we’d remembered sooner. Maybe we could have saved that girl’s life."

Shen Yi said, "But if Feng Dayong hadn’t appeared and tried to target your family, we would’ve had no way of remembering this."

’True. Nearly twenty years have passed, and so much has happened. There have been so many murder cases alone.’

Qin Jiao’s gaze dropped. "Later," she said softly, "let’s think things over carefully together. We can see if there are any other criminals like Feng Dayong who slipped through the cracks."

’If there are, and if we can, we should help those poor souls.’

Shen Yi nodded in agreement when she suggested they think things over together.

Once Wang Li finally finished cleaning the mess off the gate and turned to go back into the yard, Qin Jiao strode over. She got straight to the point. "Ma’am, I’d like to talk with you. Do you remember me? I’m Qin Jiqun’s niece."

The two families were related, and with Feng Lan being so loud and boisterous, Wang Li vaguely remembered Qin Jiao. A flicker of light passed through her dead, fish-like eyes.

She murmured, "Oh, you’re Xiao Jiao, right? I heard you got into college. Congratulations."

Most people in Ping’an Town knew that Qin Jiao had gotten into a prestigious university. After all, the large red banner with gold lettering was still hanging.

Wang Li looked a little crestfallen. The two families were related, so she could have shared in the happy occasion. But who would have thought Feng Dayong was such a scoundrel, dragging her entire family down with him and ruining everything.

Still, Wang Li let Qin Jiao and Shen Yi into the house. The body in the backyard had been unearthed and taken away. After the victim was identified, her family had her cremated. The front yard, in contrast, was perfectly orderly, with vegetables planted in neat rows.

Wang Li was someone who knew how to make a home, but unfortunately, Feng Dayong was not even human.

Qin Jiao cut straight to the chase. "That day, Feng Dayong tried to do the same thing to me. Luckily, my neighbor arrived just in time, and my parents were there too, so he didn’t succeed. You knew about that, didn’t you?"

Wang Li’s eyes instantly turned red, and she dropped to her knees before Qin Jiao. "I’m sorry, Xiao Jiao," she sobbed, "I’m sorry..." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Qin Jiao and Shen Yi immediately pulled her back up.

Qin Jiao said with a sigh, "Why are you apologizing to me? It’s not like you encouraged Feng Dayong to do it, did you?"

"Of course not! But... I knew. I knew they were planning to steal from your house. That day, he, Feng Lan, and Qin Jiqun were all talking about it. Qin Jiqun didn’t want any part of it and told them not to do it, but he couldn’t talk the two of them out of it, so he just left. Then... they threatened me. They told me not to say a word. If I went to warn you, he... he would kill me..."

"You knew and you didn’t say anything. Ma’am, you nearly got me killed. Do you realize that?"

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry..."

"Then what about your cousin, Xiao Hong? When he killed her, where were you? Were you standing by, helping him?" Qin Jiao’s tone suddenly sharpened, her next question cutting like a knife.

Wang Li froze, her eyes flying wide. At the mention of her cousin’s tragic death, her tears fell like beads from a broken string.

She knelt there, her body trembling uncontrollably.