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Li Dabiao dug and dug with a steel bar, but he was shocked to discover that the man's body was gone.
"Are you sure you found the right place?" Jiang He needed a definite answer.
Li Dabiao nodded heavily, leaning forward as if he were about to stand up. "Of course, I buried the body myself. How could I possibly be wrong? After I buried the body, I checked my phone; I clearly remember it was nine fifty-two. Then I saw that sneaky person leave, but I’m not sure what time it was—probably after ten."
Li Dabiao's brow furrowed deeply, his face filled with confusion. "After that, I unloaded the cargo for Ladle around twelve o'clock. I planned to come back and dig a deeper pit to bury the body. That way, it wouldn’t be easily discovered and wouldn’t be dug up by stray cats or dogs."
"But I really don’t know what happened." By this point, Li Dabiao's body began to tremble slightly. "I was completely stunned; in just two hours, the body had vanished without a trace. My first reaction was that the sneaky person must have seen me hiding the body."
Li Dabiao slapped his head vigorously. "I quickly filled in the pit and didn’t dare turn on my car lights; I left in complete darkness. I knew that if that person reported it to the police, they would find out who I was. I didn’t dare go home; I was afraid that as soon as I got home, several police officers would handcuff me and take me away."
"I drove aimlessly through the streets. I'm very familiar with this area; I know where there are no cameras." Li Dabiao leaned back in his chair, looking like a wilted eggplant. "I drove from midnight until dawn, then took my car up into the mountains and pushed it off a cliff. That way, no one would find evidence of me having hit someone."
"But you still got caught," Yuan Jun said from the side.
Li Dabiao hung his head and replied to Yuan Jun, "Yeah, I still got caught. At that moment, I really didn’t know what to do; all I had was five hundred yuan that Ladle gave me. I didn’t dare use my phone or go to the bank to withdraw money. I knew that as soon as I showed my face, the police would catch me."
"I walked back down from the mountains." Tears welled up in Li Dabiao's eyes. "I found it interesting; after hitting someone, all I wanted was to leave Dragon City and go somewhere no one knew me. But my mind went blank as I walked and walked, only to end up back in Dragon City."
"I guess this is fate," Li Dabiao said, perhaps having come to terms with it. "The more we try to escape, the more we can't get away. With only five hundred yuan and fearing being caught by the police, I stayed in a cheap motel that cost forty yuan a night. But lying in bed, listening to the autumn wind howling outside, I just couldn’t sleep."
Li Dabiao shook his head. "Any little sound made me think it was the police coming for me. I spent the whole night lying in bed unable to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was that person’s face when I hit him; every time I closed my eyes, it was like seeing the police breaking down the door."
Large tears fell from his eyes. "Every dawn, I'd quietly leave the motel. In places where I never dared stay for long, over those four days, I almost walked all over Dragon City. I didn’t know what to do; so I just kept walking until tired or hungry and bought buns and bottled water to eat at night before looking for motels."
"I didn’t dare take a shower or close my eyes. During those four days, I met many homeless people. I hid under bridges; I stayed in fields; I've been everywhere. Those places I'd never paid attention to before were another world—completely different from ours—a dark and filthy world."
"Not long ago, while I was aimlessly walking down the street, I saw two police officers." Li Dabiao's expression was a mix of tears and laughter. "At that moment, I didn't realize they weren't there to arrest me; they were focused on a thief by the roadside. According to those officers, that thief was a habitual offender who had been around for quite some time."
Li Dabiao smiled. "But I didn't know. When I saw the handcuffs at their waists, I realized they were undercover. I got scared, thinking they were coming for me. I turned and ran. I had been running for so long; if I got caught, it could cost me my life. I didn't want to die, but I also didn't want to live in constant fear."
"Everything felt safe once I went inside," Li Dabiao said. "I no longer had to live in fear; everything was relieved. I know I hit someone and fled the scene; all the responsibility lies with me. There are two things I beg of you."
With that, Li Dabiao knelt on the ground and bowed his head.
"First, look." Old Shao made no unnecessary movements and simply said, "I will help where I can; what I cannot do, I will refuse directly."
Li Dabiao replied, "I understand; I won't make it difficult for you. First, I don't want my wife and daughter to know about this. My marriage with my wife has long since broken down; we haven't divorced only for our daughter's sake. If she finds out about this, she could divorce me openly, and I'm afraid her new husband might not treat my daughter well."
Everyone thought of Zhai Qiang, Xiao Fang's lover. If they married, it would surely not bode well for Li Dabiao's daughter.
"Alright." After a moment of silence, Old Shao agreed.
"What else?" Old Shao asked.
Li Dabiao bowed three times before standing up and said, "Before I'm executed, I want to have a good sleep. In these four hours, I've never slept a wink; my eyes haven't closed for even a second. I'm so tired, but I can't fall asleep. Now, finally, I'll be able to sleep well."
"Okay," Shao the Elder replied.
Li Dabiao revealed a happy smile.
Old Shao said to Li Dabiao, "You won't be executed; you don't need to worry about losing your life. But prison is certain; I hope you can turn over a new leaf when you get out. Behave well inside and strive to come out early."
"Am I not going to die?" Li Dabiao asked.
"Yes." Old Shao looked at Li Dabiao. "Describe the person you hit."
Old Shao observed Li Dabiao, knowing he was an honest man. During the interrogation, many details would remain unknown if Li Dabiao chose not to share them. He could have simply killed someone without any hesitation, rather than burying him alive while still breathing.
These were two completely different matters.
From this point, it was clear that Li Dabiao was not lying.
Li Dabiao stood up and then sat back down in the chair. "I remember he was wearing a dark blue tracksuit and carrying a large travel bag. He looked to be in his thirties, about five foot seven. He had long hair, quite messy, but I can't describe his face."
"If there were a photo, would you recognize this person?" Li Dabiao asked.
"I could," he nodded.
"Alright." Old Shao turned to Captain Liu beside him. "Arrange a place for Li Dabiao to sleep."
Captain Liu nodded.
"Can I go to sleep now?" Li Dabiao asked.
"Yes," Old Shao replied.
Captain Liu arranged for Li Dabiao to sleep. As soon as he lay down on the bed, he began snoring loudly, falling asleep almost instantly.
"This might be the best sleep Li Dabiao has ever had," Xu Yiman said to everyone. "He finally doesn't have to worry anymore."
Yuan Jun nodded. "Yeah, but from what Li Dabiao just said, the person he hit was wearing a dark blue tracksuit. Isn't that...?"
Jiang He leaned against the wall and said, "That's right, the person he hit must be the murderer who was digging up corpses. It's exactly as Zhai Qiang described; it’s clearly one person. Based on the timeline, around eight forty, Zhai Qiang saw the murderer, and the murderer saw Zhai Qiang. They both ran in opposite directions—one towards the fields and the other onto the highway."
Old Shao continued Jiang He's thoughts, "The murderer was panicking and when he reached the road, Li Dabiao happened to drive up here. For Li Dabiao, this person appeared almost out of nowhere on the road. He couldn't brake in time and ended up hitting the murderer."
"Entrails were splattered everywhere from inside the car, along with what was in the murderer's travel bag. In the darkness, Li Dabiao didn't notice what was inside that bag; he hurriedly zipped it up and buried it along with the body." Old Shao continued to speculate about what had happened at that time: "After finally burying the body, Li Erdan showed up looking for jewelry."
"Li Erdan's testimony matches Li Dabiao's," Jiang He said. "This proves that neither of them is lying."
Xu Yiman scratched her head and said, "Both of them had ulterior motives; they both knew something was off but didn’t ask too many questions. However, this does explain why there were entrails in Li Erdan's pot. It’s a misunderstanding and a coincidence."
"Li Dabiao killed the murderer!" Yuan Jun exclaimed. "This is just too coincidental; no wonder there hasn't been any more murders for such a long time. I wonder how this case will be judged in court. In a way, Li Dabiao has saved quite a few people..."
Around six o'clock in the evening, a list of personnel changes from three major hospitals appeared on Guan Deng's computer. The list focused on security staff and cleaners at the hospitals. Guan Deng tallied it up; there were hundreds of people, indicating a significant turnover among hospital staff. He entered some basic data and filtered out dozens of male individuals who matched the murderer's appearance.
"These are the ones," Jiang He said as he took out the printed materials and addressed everyone. "Let's have Li Dabiao identify them."
"Let’s wait until he wakes up," Old Shao gently suggested. "From now on, he won't be able to sleep so soundly again. Moreover, we know that the murderer can no longer kill."
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