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Just as Jiang He began to suspect that the killer had moved Wei Linghui to another location, a woman's crying suddenly echoed from the cellar. The sound was somewhat muffled due to the distance, but it was clear that someone was inside.
Jiang He circled around to the back of the dirt mound and discovered a narrow window meant for ventilation. It was far too small for anyone to escape through.
"Is anyone there?" Jiang He shouted toward the window.
"Who?" a woman's voice responded.
"We're the police, here to rescue you," Jiang He replied.
There was a noticeable pause in the voice from within. "You... you finally came! You scared me to death!"
What followed was a woman's wailing. Unlike the earlier sorrowful cries, this one was filled with relief and a sense of grievance, as if she were saying, "Why did it take you so long to arrive?" The sound of her crying brought a sigh of relief from Old Shao, who understood that someone with enough strength to cry like that must not have been seriously harmed.
"Get to work!" Old Shao instructed Yuan Jun.
Yuan Jun nodded, picked up a large pair of pliers, and aimed them at the padlock. With a grunt, his muscles bulged, veins standing out like snakes coiling around his arms. After a couple of shouts and a powerful effort, there was a loud snap as the padlock broke.
Yuan Jun set the pliers aside, pulled off the lock, and then lifted the iron panel.
Sunlight streamed in through the opening, illuminating the entire cellar. A foul odor wafted out as a disheveled woman covered in dirt appeared before them. Old Shao stood on the hillock, carefully observing and soon recognized her as none other than Wei Linghui, the very person the task force had been desperately searching for.
"Are you Wei Linghui?" Old Shao called out.
"Yes, that's me!" Wei Linghui lifted her head.
Xu Yiman said, "Don't worry; we're coming down to get you."
Wei Linghui nodded, brushing her bangs aside as she waited for the others to rescue her.
Jiang He stepped forward, looking into the cellar, which was about three meters deep and roughly ten square meters in size. Inside the cellar, there was a mat that appeared to be where Wei Linghui had been sleeping. A foul stench wafted from the cellar, and as Jiang He peered in, he saw piles of snack wrappers and some feces on one side.
It seemed that during Wei Linghui's disappearance, she had been kept in confinement here.
Wei Linghui was covered in dirt, looking like a dog that had rolled around in the mud. The walls and floor of the cellar were made of smooth concrete, offering no handholds. Yuan Jun looked around but found no ropes or anything useful. He turned to Wei Linghui and said, "Step aside."
With that, Yuan Jun jumped directly into the cellar.
"Climb onto my back, and let the people above pull you up," he instructed Wei Linghui.
She nodded and wiped her hands on her clothes, though they were hardly any cleaner.
Yuan Jun placed his hands against the concrete wall and said, "Climb up."
Without hesitation, Wei Linghui seemed eager to escape this place. She took a few quick steps, stepping on Yuan Jun's legs, arms, and shoulders as she climbed upward. Meanwhile, Jiang He and Xu Yiman bent down, each grabbing one of Wei Linghui's arms to pull her up from the cellar.
"You finally came," Wei Linghui said as she collapsed onto the ground. "I thought I was going to die down there."
Jiang He looked into Wei Linghui's eyes, and she met his gaze. Slowly, he asked, "Wei Linghui, do you know how long you've been kidnapped here?"
Wei Linghui nodded and then shook her head. "I'm not really sure. It's too dark inside; I only noticed a bit of sunlight coming in at some point. I estimate it's been over twenty days."
Jiang He nodded again and asked, "Do you know who took you?"
This time, Wei Linghui decisively shook her head. "No idea. I didn't know what was happening at the time; I just fell asleep at home and woke up here. During all this time locked up, I've never seen who captured me. However, he occasionally comes to bring me food and drink to make sure I don't starve. He always comes at night and wears a mask, so I can't see his face."
"Have you ever tried to call for help?" Jiang He asked again.
Wei Linghui replied, "Did you see that window? I would shout for help at that window every day, but no one ever heard my voice. However, just a little while ago, I heard someone knocking on the cellar door. I called out to him; he must have heard me, otherwise you wouldn't be here."
"You must know the build and height of the person who kidnapped you, as well as his voice, right?" Yuan Jun asked while suddenly jumping up. He grabbed the edge of the cellar and, without waiting for Jiang He or Xu Yiman to pull him, he climbed up the dirt mound.
"About one seventy-eight in height, a bit overweight, but not excessively so. As for his voice, he might have used a voice changer because it was quite high-pitched. But he was definitely a man..." Wei Linghui pondered.
"Did he ever record a video of you? Do you know?" Jiang He asked.
"A video?" Wei Linghui fiddled with her dirty hair. "I don't know."
"You would never let him off the hook if you had the chance, right?" Jiang He said.
"That's right." Wei Linghui nodded, feeling a bit shy. "Yes, I was like that. By that time, I had been imprisoned for a while. I couldn't call for help; it felt like everything was falling apart. During that time, I cried a lot. When he opened the cellar door, I told him that even if I became a ghost, I wouldn't let him go."
As she spoke, Wei Linghui began to cry again. "At that moment, I really thought I might die in this cellar. Thank you for saving me; really, if it weren't for you, I might have died here."
Jiang He said, "It's our duty to save you. But do you know that Lu Zhengye has been released from prison?"
"I know," Wei Linghui nodded.
"Do you know that Lu Zhengye is missing?" Jiang He asked again.
Wei Linghui stared at Jiang He and replied, "I know. When he was first released from prison, I went to pick him up. But after a while, he completely disappeared. I searched for him for a long time; he never showed up. I don't know where he went before I ended up being imprisoned here."
"Ten years have passed, do you still like him?" Xu Yiman interjected at that moment. "He did such things..."
Wei Linghui nodded and said, "He is the man I fell in love with. Since we are already married, we should be together for a lifetime."
"You two haven't divorced, have you?" Xu Yiman asked again.
Wei Linghui nodded. She turned to look at Xu Yiman, her eyes seemingly glistening with tears. "Miss, you probably haven't found someone you truly like yet. You should know that if you really love someone, you love all of them. Whether they are a billionaire or a beggar, whether they are a criminal or not, you must love them."
"I know he committed a crime, but he has received his due punishment," Wei Linghui said. "If you have loved ones, you will understand that profound love—the kind where no matter what happens, as long as you can be together, that's enough. So even though he is a criminal, he is still the person I love the most."
The others shook their heads; indeed, as her brother Wei Lingyong said, Wei Linghui loved Lu Zhengye deeply. They had no idea how Lu Zhengye managed to win her heart so completely. They only knew that if the murderer was truly Lu Zhengye, when Wei Linghui found out, she might collapse.
They intended to keep this from her, but matters of the heart were never something Jiang He considered: "But now we suspect that the one most likely to retaliate against you is your husband Lu Zhengye. This is related to the rape case from ten years ago. We need to further understand what exactly happened back then, so in a moment..."
Before Jiang He could finish speaking, Wei Linghui suddenly stood up. With her disheveled hair and wild appearance, she looked like a ghost emerging from a horror film. She rushed towards Jiang He, tearing at him while shouting, "Impossible! How can you say that? He made mistakes, but he has already been punished! How could he ever treat me badly!"
"I am his greatest love!" Wei Linghui roared like a wild beast. "No one can speak ill of him!"
In the struggle, Jiang He lost his balance and stumbled backward, accidentally falling into the cellar.
"Are you crazy?" Yuan Jun stepped forward to restrain Wei Linghui.
"Are you okay?" Xu Yiman asked.
Jiang He struggled to stand up and replied, "I'm fine."
As Jiang He got up and prepared to brush off his clothes, he realized there was no dirt on him at all. Recently, Dragon City had experienced several rain showers; however, it seemed the iron cover was well-sealed and positioned on a mound of earth, preventing any water from flowing in. The walls and floor were all cemented over and didn't appear too dirty at all.
Jiang He glanced at the snack packaging beside him and the feces underneath. There were quite a few snacks of various kinds, indicating that the murderer had been eating and drinking, and it seemed that Wei Linghui had not been mistreated. Moreover, there were no visible injuries on Wei Linghui; it appeared that the murderer had simply locked her up here.
Additionally, the murderer had thoughtfully prepared some tissue paper, a detail that was quite intriguing.
Old Shao looked at Jiang He, naturally following his gaze to the pile of items.
After a brief observation, Old Shao also noticed this interesting detail.
If the murderer was indeed Lu Zhengye, and although Lu Zhengye hated Wei Linghui, perhaps there was a hint of love mixed in. It wouldn’t be too surprising for Lu Zhengye to have thoughtfully prepared tissue paper and feminine products for Wei Linghui.
Love and hate can never be completely separated; sometimes love to the extreme becomes hate, and hate to the extreme becomes love. This is particularly true among couples.
"Are you okay, Jiang He?" Xu Yiman asked as she noticed Jiang He standing still, seemingly in shock.
Jiang He stood up. "I'm fine. Let's go back."
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