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Chapter Five
In the afternoon, the interrogation room was dimly lit, suffused with a stifling sense of oppression. Li Guofu sat on the cold metal chair, his face pale and lips devoid of color, resembling a walking corpse. Sweat soaked through his clothes, leaving a dark stain on the back of the chair.
"I... I..." Li Guofu's lips trembled, his gaze flickering as he paced back and forth like a trapped beast in the interrogation room. His eyes fell upon the mottled stains on the wall, and for a moment, he saw the bright red blood washed away by rain on that stormy night seven years ago.
Young Officer Zhao Yang sat at the other end of the table, his sharp gaze fixed intently on Li Guofu, as if trying to penetrate the secrets hidden deep within his soul. "Li Guofu, is there anything else you are hiding?" His tone was cold and devoid of emotion, like a sharp blade piercing into Li Guofu's heart.
"I... I... I don't know..." Li Guofu's voice quivered as sweat trickled down his forehead, pooling into glistening beads on his chin before finally falling to the floor with a soft splat, shattering like his fragmented psyche. The words in his diary felt like daggers stabbing painfully at his heart. Did he really kill Lin Xiaomei's grandfather? The old man he had callously abandoned in the mud that rainy night?
Zhao Yang placed a new document in front of Li Guofu. The photo attached was of an autopsy report for a hunchbacked old man, the yellowed edges of the paper bearing the marks of time, while the text seemed like death warrants tightly wrapping around Li Guofu's breath. The report clearly stated: The deceased suffered from severe scoliosis and multiple old fractures prior to death.
"According to forensic analysis, the fracture marks on the deceased's spine closely match those of the victim from a hit-and-run case seven years ago," Zhao Yang's voice was deep and powerful, each word striking Li Guofu's heart like a hammer, leaving him dizzy.
Seven years ago… seven years ago… it was a nightmare buried deep in his memory that he did not wish to revisit.
A blurry image flashed through Li Guofu's mind: late at night, torrential rain poured down like a waterfall, obscuring his vision. A runaway truck sped recklessly along the muddy road, its screeching brakes shattering the silence of the night… then came a dull thud and faint groans mixed with the rain…
"Seven years ago… I… I…" Li Guofu's breathing quickened as he desperately tried to recall everything that had happened that rainy night but found his memories shrouded in thick fog, impossible to see clearly. Fear gripped him like an invisible hand around his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.
"Seven years ago, you were driving under the influence and hit a pedestrian before fleeing," Zhao Yang's voice sounded like judgment from hell—cold and merciless—shattering any last shred of hope within Li Guofu. "For seven years, this case has remained unsolved while you have lived freely."
Li Guofu's body jolted as he staggered back a few steps, barely managing to steady himself against the cold table. His complexion grew even paler, and his lips trembled more violently. "I... I... I don't remember..." he muttered to himself, his eyes vacant as if he had lost his soul.
"Don't remember?" Zhao Yang sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm and disdain. "Do you think you can escape? Do you think pretending to have amnesia will shield you from the law?"
"I... I..." Li Guofu's lips trembled as he tried to argue, but found himself utterly powerless to refute. He wanted to shout, but his voice came out hoarse, like a broken bellows.
Zhao Yang stepped closer, looking down at him with eyes sharp as a hawk's, his voice icy. "Li Guofu, do you have anything else to say?"
Fear and despair filled Li Guofu's heart as he looked at Zhao Yang, his eyes pleading. "Officer... I... I really don't remember..."
"Don't remember?" Zhao Yang slammed his hand on the table, his voice rising sharply. "Do you think I would believe that?!"
Li Guofu flinched, his body shaking as he slumped in the chair, his gaze vacant, as if he had given up all resistance.
"Li Guofu, the one you killed was not just Lin Xiaomei's grandfather; it was also yourself... your own conscience!" Zhao Yang's voice echoed like thunder in the interrogation room, making Li Guofu's eardrums buzz.
Images of Lin Xiaomei's desperate eyes flashed through Li Guofu's mind—those eyes filled with hatred and sorrow pierced his heart like a dagger. The words in the diary felt like sharp knives, stabbing painfully at his soul.
"I... I..." He clutched his chest in agony, struggling to breathe as it became increasingly difficult.
"Speak! Who did you hit seven years ago?!" Zhao Yang pressed on relentlessly, his tone cutting.
"I... I..." Li Guofu's lips quivered as he tried to speak but found himself unable to produce any sound.
"Speak!" Zhao Yang roared again, his voice like a beast's growl reverberating through the cramped interrogation room.
"I... I hit..." Li Guofu's voice came out hoarse, like the groan of a dying man. "I hit... a... a..."
"A what?!" Zhao Yang's voice pierced Li Guofu's eardrum like an ice pick, sending waves of pain through him.
"A... a Hunchbacked Old Man..." Li Guofu's voice grew fainter until it finally vanished into the air.
Zhao Yang's pupils suddenly constricted. He stared intently at Li Guofu and said each word slowly, "Are you sure... you hit a Hunchbacked Old Man?"
Li Guofu weakly nodded, his eyes vacant as if he had lost all hope.
Zhao Yang fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking again. "Li Guofu, the Hunchbacked Old Man you mentioned... he... he is the victim from seven years ago... in your hit-and-run case..."
"What?!" Li Guofu shot his head up, his eyes filled with shock and fear. "What... what are you saying?!"
Zhao Yang's gaze pierced through Li Guofu's heart like a sword as he enunciated each word carefully. "You... you killed... your own... father..."
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