Chapter 6

As Lu Zheng and Du Xiaohu rode out of the county bureau compound and just turned the corner, a green jeep passed by them, honking twice. The honking made Lu Zheng and Du Xiaohu feel agitated.

"Old Gao is getting more and more arrogant! What a jerk, bossing people around. If he were on the battlefield, I guarantee he'd wet his pants!" Du Xiaohu said angrily.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Let him be arrogant. The clear wind blows over the mountain ridge." In fact, Lu Zheng had already noticed Gao Zhikai and Zhao Hongxia walking behind them when they went downstairs.

Du Xiaohu was puzzled, as if Brother Zheng had suddenly lost his temper, remaining calm and composed, completely different from before.

"Are we really going to Li Weijun's house?" Du Xiaohu asked, pedaling hard to keep up with Lu Zheng's pace. A gust of wind blew directly into his face, filling his mouth with sand. Du Xiaohu couldn't help but spit and curse, "It's all the dust kicked up by Old Gao's car!"

Seeing his awkward state, Lu Zheng couldn't help but laugh. After laughing for a while, he said, "I want to learn more about Li Weijun."

Du Xiaohu didn't understand why they needed to learn more about a suspect, but he didn't ask more. Whatever Lu Zheng said, he would do.

"Xiaohu, do you think Li Weijun looks like a real killer?" Lu Zheng suddenly asked slowly.

Du Xiaohu shook his head honestly and said, "I don't know."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly. Indeed, whether Li Weijun was a real killer, even he himself had no certainty. In his previous life, Li Weijun would soon be sentenced to death, and after his execution, it seemed that Guangning did not experience similar cases again.

However, he always suspected that the real killer might be someone else. Although Li Weijun was a butcher at the food company, fitting the characteristics described by the special task force for the killer, "All victims were women, showing signs of rape and murder, and parts of the bodies were cut into pieces and cooked. The killer is ruthless and has some anatomical knowledge, suspected to be a single man, possibly a doctor or a butcher."

Li Weijun was single and a butcher, fitting the killer's characteristics. The third victim's underwear was found in his home, and there were still unidentified bloodstains in the floor tiles. The surface evidence seemed to be established.

However, when Li Weijun was first arrested, he refused to admit to the murders. When he confessed, he claimed that the victim's underwear was stolen, and he was just curious about women's underwear. Later, he somehow admitted to the murders. A few days ago, when Lu Zheng visited him, he was dazed and clearly had been tortured.

Lu Zheng actually admired his younger self from twenty years ago. After all, his current self should be a rough, uneducated man, and his knowledge was self-taught during his business ventures. But even now, he argued logically, believing that the case had too many doubts, and he was not being unreasonable just to target Gao Zhikai.

Torture was often used in investigations due to the limited detection technology at the time, and this ancient but brutal method played a significant role in solving many cases. Therefore, although confessions obtained through torture were not entirely reliable, this was not the main reason for Lu Zheng's doubts about the case.

Twenty years ago, he vaguely felt that the case was concluded too hastily, but now, after being reborn, he saw that the case had too many doubts.

First, the characteristics of the killer were not scientifically sound, the scope was too narrow, and did not consider the diversity of modern people's psychological states. Second, with the current technology, it was impossible to determine whether the bloodstains in Li Weijun's home contained human blood, let alone whose blood it was. Third, although the third victim's family firmly denied that the victim had lost her underwear, it could not be ruled out that the victim, due to traditional psychological reasons, might not have told her family if she had lost her underwear.

Therefore, these pieces of evidence could not be considered solid evidence.

However, overturning a case that was about to be closed as an ironclad case, especially one with such a negative impact, and with the county's top leaders urging its resolution daily, was extremely difficult.

Lu Zheng had no clear plan at the moment, so he decided to visit the suspect's home to see if there were any clues.

Li Weijun was an employee of the county commercial bureau's food company, living in the company's family compound, a row of bungalows. However, his small single room had been sealed off. Lu Zheng and Du Xiaohu came to House No. 3, where Li Weijun's parents lived.

Both of Li Weijun's parents were employees of the food company. His father had passed away early, and Li Weijun had taken over his father's position. His mother, surnamed Zhang, was in her forties but looked very haggard.

When Lu Zheng and Du Xiaohu showed their police IDs, Madam Zhang showed no reaction, still sitting on the bed, lost in thought. The person sitting next to her poked her and whispered a few words in her ear. She suddenly shuddered and looked at Lu Zheng, then struggled to get out of bed and knelt down, bowing to Lu Zheng, repeatedly saying, "Please save my son, save my son. My son wouldn't kill anyone, he's a good boy, he wouldn't kill anyone..."

The room was full of people, all Madam Zhang's relatives who had come to support her. Over the past few days, Madam Zhang had neither eaten nor slept, and her relatives were very worried.

The woman who poked and whispered to Madam Zhang was her sister-in-law, Deng Cuifen. She told Madam Zhang that a high-ranking official from the county bureau had come, and if she believed her son was innocent, she should speak up. However, she didn't expect Madam Zhang to react so dramatically. Deng Cuifen, while helping Madam Zhang up, also wiped away tears, feeling that her sister-in-law's life was too hard. Her sister-in-law was not old, but a few years ago, her father-in-law had died in an accident, and now, she had to send off her only son, and it was a tragedy.

Li Weijun's uncle, Li Xiangyang, was standing nearby, sighing deeply, also sighing over the fate of his brother's family. Although he had some status in Guangning, he could do nothing to help in this matter.

Seeing Madam Zhang kneel and her dazed state, Lu Zheng felt a bit uncomfortable. If it was indeed a miscarriage of justice, it would mean a life lost, and a life that many people cared about. The person who might be executed was not an isolated individual. If this trial was a mistake, the harm would not be limited to Li Weijun alone.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but think of his own past, when he was in prison, and his family, friends, and brothers who had shed tears and blood for him.

Lu Zheng also thought of his adoptive parents from his previous life. His younger self had been too extreme, but now, he should know what it means to be broad-minded. Although they hadn't treated him well, making him go hungry and work like an adult every day, they had still raised him. After this case was resolved, he would visit them.

Especially his adoptive mother, who actually cared for him, but had no say in the family.

Lu Zheng had a brief conversation with Li Weijun's relatives, but found no clues. They all said that Li Weijun was well-behaved, timid, and quiet, and even when he was wronged, he kept it to himself.

However, this made Lu Zheng even more disappointed. These personality traits were also common among many historical serial killers.

Lu Zheng and Du Xiaohu said goodbye, and Li Weijun's uncle, Li Xiangyang, saw them out. Li Xiangyang was the deputy director of the county propaganda department and the director of the county radio and television bureau. He wore a gray Lenin suit with a pen in the pocket, and his hair was neatly combed, giving him a distinguished appearance.

Lu Zheng had heard of Li Xiangyang before, as the establishment of the county TV station was a major event, and Li Xiangyang was the leader of the project.

However, the current political relationships were not so complex. In his nephew's case, he had no special privileges, and no one would inform him of any developments.

Lu Zheng thought that if it were a few decades later, with the connection of Gao Zhikai's wife, Zhao Hongxia, working at the TV station, Li Xiangyang, as the head of the county TV station, would know more about his nephew's situation and would not be so helpless, not even knowing if his nephew was alive or dead.

Moreover, Li Xiangyang might also be worried that his nephew's case would affect his career. The promotion of officials still heavily considered the family background, and having a nephew who was a murderer would have a bad impact.

Seeing Li Xiangyang's sighs, it might not just be because of his nephew.

At the alley entrance, Li Xiangyang looked around, hesitated, and tentatively asked Lu Zheng, "Comrade Lu, is my son's case settled?"

Lu Zheng made a difficult, non-committal expression.

Li Xiangyang immediately said, "I know, I know, I shouldn't have asked. I spoke out of turn." He was very regretful and felt a sense of unease. Since his nephew's arrest, this sense of insecurity had been lingering in his mind, as if a great disaster was about to befall him.

After shaking hands with Li Xiangyang, Lu Zheng went to the homes of the three girls who had been killed one after another, but he did not knock on the doors or enter. He only observed the environment. After all, if he were to ask the victims' families, the information would already be in the detailed records, and with the passage of time, the information would not be as accurate as the records.

Du Xiaohu didn't know what Lu Zheng was doing, but he silently followed him, not wanting to disturb his thoughts.

Back at the county bureau, Lu Zheng stayed up all night, marking a map and thinking deeply, sometimes pacing around the room.

The next day, when Ma Yuewu entered the office, he almost choked on the thick cloud of cigarette smoke, coughing and saying, "Comrade Lu, what are you doing? Can anyone even enter this room?"

Lu Zheng, immersed in the case, did not respond, which made Ma Yuewu even more frustrated.

Around nine o'clock, Du Xiaohu wandered into the room, knowing that Lu Zheng had been busy all night and was a bit worried.

On Lu Zheng's desk, Du Xiaohu saw a large map with various markings, such as "Annex 1, Annex 2, Annex 3..." around the first victim's residence. Correspondingly, there was a thick stack of documents, with "Annex 1" marking the position of the first victim's neighbor on the same floor. Document "Annex 1" contained the neighbor's family situation, members, and the results of the investigation.

Du Xiaohu, also a member of the special task force, flipped through a few pages and was amazed, "Did you do all this in one night?"

Lu Zheng had actually been working on this massive project for a long time, starting ten days ago when he was reborn. Without a computer, he had to do it manually.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "This is called the three-dimensional thinking method, which can stimulate inspiration."

In his previous life, even after leaving the police force, Lu Zheng sometimes thought about this case. With the internet, he had even searched for similar cases, but found no clues. He was not a professional detective and did not dare to call himself a genius. With the limited technology at the time, he could only use his brain to try to find a breakthrough.

Du Xiaohu looked at Lu Zheng's work in awe and said, "Wow, impressive, really impressive."

Lu Zheng said, "I have some ideas now. I'll talk to Director Gao later."

At that moment, footsteps were heard outside, and Old Zhao from the criminal investigation team knocked and entered, smiling at Lu Zheng and saying, "Comrade Lu, the special task force held a meeting this morning and confirmed that there is enough evidence to send Li Weijun for prosecution. Director Gao asked me to inform you."

Lu Zheng was taken aback. The special task force could hold a meeting without notifying him, the deputy leader. But now was not the time to argue. He asked, "Where is Director Gao?"

Old Zhao smiled and said, "He went to the county committee. After all, this is a big case, and we need to report to the county leaders."

Lu Zheng frowned. This Gao Zhikai was still fond of grandstanding. Didn't he know that this was a matter of life and death and should be handled with caution?

Was Li Weijun to be executed so hastily? What was the point of his rebirth? Perhaps, he was not really reborn, and the experiences of the next twenty years were just a dream. Fate was hard to change, and Li Weijun would still be executed, and he would still be pushed out of the police force by Gao Zhikai, and his family would still be destroyed.