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From the analysis of this gravestone, it seems that the kidnapper had anticipated that Han Liqun would choose to commit suicide. However, Jiang He did not understand that in this cemetery, Han Liqun was alone; if Han Liqun did not want to die, no one could force him to do so, especially not in such a manner.
At this moment, Jiang He was unaware that during these long and short twenty-six moments, Han Liqun had gradually fallen into a trap set by a deceiver.
Jiang He couldn't afford to think too much. He stuffed a handful of shards he had picked up into his pocket. He could tell that before these numerous pieces became fragments, they must have had another name—cell phone.
Jiang He did not understand why, with a cell phone available, Han Liqun did not choose to call the police.
Xu Yiman found it impossible to face such an injured person; she stood frozen in place, unable to take a step forward. Jiang He grabbed Xu Yiman's hand and felt her trembling. Xu Yiman looked at Jiang He in surprise; at that moment, she truly needed someone to help her.
Jiang He pulled Xu Yiman down the stairs and said, "When you see someone injured like this, you can't control yourself. I don't know the reason, and I can't understand it either. I know many people look at me strangely; often they think I'm crazy, and I can't comprehend that either. But that's just how it is; that's who we are."
Jiang He's words lacked any particular tone, leaving Xu Yiman unsure whether he was mocking her or comforting her.
Regardless, the two continued to run down.
Wang Chao, having worked as a detective for over ten years, was now middle-aged and somewhat overweight. Carrying someone while engaging in such intense activity on a sweltering night left him drenched in sweat. Sweat dripped continuously from his forehead, but he had no time to wipe it away.
Blood from Han Liqun also dripped down, leaving his mark on the stone steps. Jiang He held little hope for Han Liqun's survival; the distance to the hospital was simply too far. Even if they managed to meet an ambulance along the way, the chances of Han Liqun surviving were still slim.
Old Shao instructed Wang Chao to place Han Liqun in Xie Chunlan's vehicle while Han Changxue remained in Old Shao's car.
Wang Chao was responsible for driving; Guan Deng, Han Changxue, and Xu Yiman—who could not face Han Liqun—were in one car, while Xie Chunlan, Old Shao, and Jiang He were in another.
Finally having a moment to wipe his sweat, Wang Chao noticed that Old Shao's arrangement was intended not to frighten the children.
The two vehicles started moving.
Old Shao spoke up: "I just made a call; an ambulance is on its way. We will meet it on the road. Don't worry; just focus on driving."
This statement was directed specifically at Xie Chunlan.
Then Old Shao continued speaking to Xie Chunlan: "I know this might hurt right now, but I hope you can understand that our urgency is also about finding out who those kidnappers are that took your husband. What I’m saying next is also the truth."
Xie Chunlan was driving, and it was clear that she was quite anxious.
Even so, Xie Chunlan nodded.
Old Shao slowly began to speak, "Just now, Guan Deng has found some information about your husband. Everything here is true, and whether you know it or not, you don't need to be too surprised. We have investigated thoroughly. After graduating from middle school, Han Liqun has been making money through deception since he was a teenager."
"In other words, the house you live in and the car you drive were all bought with money swindled from innocent people," Shao the Elder continued. "These people might have been looking for a bargain or wanted to do something unscrupulous, but that is no excuse for Han Liqun's deceit."
Through the rearview mirror, Old Shao looked at Han Liqun lying in the back, supported by Jiang He. He knew that discussing these matters at this moment was not entirely appropriate, but these words were actually meant for Jiang He. He needed Jiang He to understand the entire case process and to grasp what Jiang He truly thought.
Old Shao continued, "So this is why he was targeted by the kidnappers. However, we don't know what kind of game the kidnappers are playing with Han Liqun, so we will have to wait for him to wake up and tell us everything."
At this point, Old Shao paused. Seeing Han Liqun's condition, he realized that the chances of saving him were quite low.
Old Shao went on, "When you went up the mountain, Captain Ma called me. Previously, Pang Suzhang had seen what the kidnappers looked like, so we sketched their portraits. Now we know one of them is named Huang Zhengqing. Based on these two clues, Captain Ma has preliminarily identified a suspect and is currently in the process of apprehending him. If he is indeed one of the kidnappers, then we can surely extract information about the others."
"And there's more," Old Shao added regarding other matters. "After Pang Suzhang died, Ding Derun was sent to the hospital. Upon learning about his wife's death, he chose to commit suicide. While the doctor wasn't paying attention, he secretly took a syringe to the bathroom and injected air into his veins."
At this point, Old Shao sighed. "This is not an easy way to die; however, Ding Derun persisted in injecting one vial after another of air into his veins until he formed an air embolism. This process could take anywhere from twenty minutes to half an hour and is extremely painful."
Having lived for sixty years, Old Shao sometimes still couldn't understand what kind of creatures humans were. Take Ding Derun for example; as Captain Ma would say, he was a rogue. Despite his unruly nature and cowardice, when it came time to end his own life, he showed remarkable courage. Throughout that long and painful ordeal, Ding Derun didn't make a sound or alert anyone. It wasn't until the doctor noticed he had been in the restroom for far too long that this tragedy was discovered.
The car fell into silence as Old Shao reflected on how absurd life could be—one person on the brink of death while discussing another who had already passed away.
Old Shao rubbed his eyes gently; at his age, staring at one spot made them feel sore.
He asked, "Jiang He, did you find anything at the cemetery?"
Jiang He pulled out a pile of fragments from his pocket. "These are pieces of a phone I found at the cemetery. I don't understand; if Han Liqun had a phone to contact the outside world, why would he choose to commit suicide? There are two possibilities: first, the phone was already broken when Han Liqun was captured; second, there was no signal here so he smashed his phone."
Old Shao pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"There are other possibilities," Elder Shao said. "You must have heard the phrase 'there is no greater sorrow than a dead heart.'"
"Yes," Jiang He nodded. "The original text is 'there is no greater sorrow than a dead heart, and death of the body comes second.' It refers to the numbness of the heart, the despair and loss of hope being the greatest tragedy, while physical death is secondary."
Old Shao emphasized, "Therefore, destroying a person's will is far more tormenting than killing them directly."
Old Shao pointedly added, "This phone is the tool used by the murderer to destroy his will."
Suddenly, a cold wind blew through the air, causing everyone to shiver involuntarily.
Old Shao closed the window. "In a moment, I'll have Guan Deng check this out; it's his specialty."
As they spoke, the cars had already entered the city.
Two cars met an ambulance in the city.
Jiang He and Wang Chao hurriedly lifted Han Liqun out and placed him on a stretcher. Once the stretcher was loaded into the ambulance, Xie Chunlan naturally followed. However, twelve-year-old Han Changxue insisted on coming along as well. Initially, Old Shao feared that such a bloody scene would leave a significant psychological scar on the child, but he overlooked one thing:
Some people remain children their entire lives, while others become men at twelve.
What surprised them was that Xu Yiman also boarded the ambulance, and this action conveyed an unspoken message to everyone.
Old Shao watched the departing ambulance in silence.
Wang Chao was still puzzled and asked, "Why did Xu Yiman get on?"
Old Shao explained, "You all know that Xu Yiman cannot face those who are injured. The more severe the injuries of others, the worse her condition becomes. Now that Xu Yiman has directly boarded the ambulance to confront Han Liqun, you should understand what that means."
Wang Chao still seemed to not fully grasp it.
Jiang He stated plainly, "Han Liqun is already dead."
"Shao the Elder said, 'Xu Yiman is quite thoughtful. As a professional Forensic Doctor, she must have realized that Han Liqun is already dead and cannot be saved. But she can’t come out because Xie Chunlan is right next to us. In any case, it’s better to give a glimmer of hope if we can.'
Old Shao stopped looking at the cars in the distance. 'Wang Chao, you take Xie Chunlan's car back. Jiang He, never mind, just park Xie Chunlan's car by the roadside. Wang Chao will drive us back.'
It was hard to guarantee that Jiang He wouldn’t have an episode while driving; that could put everyone in danger. Old Shao thought it would be safer to take precautions.
In the car, Jiang He handed a piece of broken phone to Guan Deng.
The SIM Card was the key.
Guan Deng nodded and inserted the SIM Card into his phone, then connected it to his computer.
After some time, Guan Deng had already uncovered the trick behind the SIM Card.
He sent the investigation results to everyone's phones: 'This SIM Card has been programmed so that no matter what number is dialed, it will ultimately connect to a single signal. I followed this lead and checked the numbers dialed from this SIM Card; there were calls to personal numbers, emergency services, and so on. But in reality, no matter who it was called, it would ring on the phone of the person that the programmer wanted Han Liqun to contact.'
Jiang He and Old Shao understood; this was indeed the best way to destroy Han Liqun's will.
At that moment, Captain Ma's call came through to Old Shao's phone: 'One of the kidnappers has been caught.'"
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