Chapter 6
Edward Quan ·
I understood.
Tao Yuan worked at Fu Sansheng's nightclub. Of course he would have arranged somewhere for her to live.
All he had to do was clear out her room, then place these samples inside. They would be treated as hers.
He knew the procedure very well. He'd used it on Luo Susu before.
Visual identification, followed by a DNA match, really could change a dead person's identity.
And Fu Sansheng was the ideal man for the job.
Not just because he knew the process, but because he was the boss. His coming and going wouldn't arouse suspicion.
No one would dare question him either.
Just like that, “Tao Yuan” became the woman ground up at the meat-processing plant.
“I've done what you wanted. When are you letting my daughter go?”
Fu Sansheng sounded as though he might grind his teeth to pieces. I felt no sympathy.
“What's the hurry? Haven't I let you two talk every day?”
“You hang up after a few words. How do I know it's not a recording?”
Lu Jiu spread his hands helplessly.
“I just want to enjoy life abroad. I really don't mean to hurt anyone. I kidnapped Wu Yang too. Ask him if I've touched him.”
“When the hell are you letting her go?”
“Wait.”
“For what?”
“For the trial. For Zheng Shaoming to be sentenced. Then you and your daughter can both leave.”
That could take a while.
Before a trial could be held, they'd at least have to identify the body in Room 1203. Who knew when that would happen?
“Lu Jiu, I am seeing my daughter today. Otherwise, don't blame me for going down fighting.”
Lu Jiu sat thinking for a very, very long time.
Finally, he compromised.
“Fine. But remember, both of you are part of this now. Talking won't do anyone any good.”
He gave an address. Another meat-processing plant, with a small room at its northern end.
Fu Sansheng's daughter was tied up inside.
“Why should I believe you?”
Lu Jiu's smile vanished. His expression turned vicious, a savage light flashing in his eyes.
“You really think you're the victim? Some pure, innocent saint? Should I give you a medal?”
Fu Sansheng immediately wilted.
“That's not what I meant.”
“You have no choice but to believe me. Get going. She hasn't eaten for two days.”
Fu Sansheng got up to leave.
“Wait. Take Wu Yang with you.”
I froze.
“Me? Why?”
“The building has an electronic lock. Only my fingerprints and Wu Yang's can open it.”
“Fuck. When did you get my fingerprints?”
“While you were asleep.”
What the fuck...
“It's for your own good. You know all Fu Sansheng's dirty secrets. I was worried he'd kill you as soon as I left.”
“And?”
“At least this keeps you alive until you open the door.”
“Couldn't he just cut off my finger?”
“Have I told him which finger?”
Fair point.
If he really took the time to cut off all ten fingers without damaging the prints, his daughter might well have starved by then.
Lu Jiu's move did offer me some protection.
Fu Sansheng floored the accelerator almost the whole way, barely touching the brake.
In the passenger seat, I gripped my seat belt with both hands, my heart practically in my throat.
I was afraid he might have no intention of killing me, only for me to die in a crash anyway. What a bloody waste that would be.
The moment we reached the gates, he rushed into the plant.
It wasn't large. There was no one around.
“Hurry!”
At first, I hadn't intended to move quickly. But my hatred of him was one thing. His daughter had nothing to do with it.
She must be terrified. The sooner we rescued her, the better.
I quickened my steps. We headed straight for the little room Lu Jiu had mentioned.
It was small and full of junk.
No sign of Fu Sansheng's daughter...
“Bastard! Bastard! Fuck!”
He was like a maddened animal, desperate for something to vent his rage on.
I pointed at his feet.
He looked down.
A trapdoor.
Together, we pulled it open. A narrow, steep staircase appeared.
We made our way unsteadily down. A light blinked at the bottom.
Up close, it was indeed an electronic lock.
“Quick... quick... Wu Yang, please. Hurry.”
Without hesitating, I tried my right index finger.
A clear electronic beep.
The door opened.
The instant it did, cold air swept over me, making me shiver.
This... this was a cold-storage room.
A girl without warm clothing...
Would freeze to death in less than a day...
Surely Lu Jiu couldn't be that cruel.
We stepped inside. The lights came on automatically.
Fu Sansheng paid no attention to anything else. He rushed in, shouting his daughter's name.
“Fu Nuannuan! Nuannuan! Daddy's here. Don't be scared!”
I found an iron bar and wedged the door open.
If it locked automatically, we'd both freeze to death in here.
“Wu Yang, help me. Please, help me find her.”
The room upstairs had been small, but this underground cold store was quite large. There were plenty of compartments and metal storage cabinets.
One man could spend ages searching.
“You take the left. I'll take the right.”
...
“F-Fu Sansheng! Over here! Hurry!”
My legs were trembling.
From cold or fear, I couldn't tell.
In front of me stood a transparent freezer. Inside lay a girl who bore a strong resemblance to Fu Sansheng.
Her eyes were closed. She was naked beneath a thin white sheet.
Frost coated her eyelashes. Her chest rose and fell steadily, as though she were asleep.
Above the freezer was an electrical socket. A phone charger was plugged into it.
The other end was connected to my phone.
Fu Sansheng ran over, then sagged against the freezer.
He carefully opened the lid. He wanted to touch Fu Nuannuan's face, but didn't dare.
His trembling hands could only trace the outline of her face.
His mouth opened, but no words came out.
Warm breath washed over Fu Nuannuan's face, unable to warm the ice-cold corpse.
Only when tears and saliva ran from the corners of his mouth onto the glass did he manage to breathe again.
“Ah—Nuannuan! My girl! Daddy's sorry!”
I retrieved my phone and switched it on.
The wallpaper had been changed.
Black words against a pure white background:
“Feel better now?”
I admitted it: I hated Fu Sansheng.
He was scum. He deserved punishment under the law.
Even chopping him into a hundred pieces wouldn't have been too much.
But his daughter shouldn't have had to bear this retribution for him.
She was innocent.
So however wretched Fu Sansheng looked, I felt no satisfaction at all.
“Nuannuan, it's so cold here. Daddy's taking you home. Right now.”
He wrapped the sheet around that pale, frozen body and tried to lift her.
She wouldn't come up.
He tried harder.
Still nothing.
In disbelief, he ripped away the white cloth.
Then staggered back in horror, trembling all over.
I was no better.
The phone fell from my hand. I stood rigid, unable to move.
The body beneath the sheet...
Was only a head and two arms showing above the rest.
Everything else...
Was ice.
Blocks of ice shaped like a human torso.
The head and arms had been frozen into them.
Then the body in Room 1203 was...
Back home, I collapsed onto my bed.
My head was full of unintelligible whispers and terrible screams from somewhere I couldn't place.
No matter how I tried, I couldn't drive them out.
I felt as though I was losing my mind.
The kidnapping hadn't injured me physically.
But mentally, I was being tortured to the brink of madness.
Why?
Why was the body in Room 1203 Fu Nuannuan?
That meant Lu Jiu had killed her long before, then used her to frame Zheng Shaoming.
If he was that vicious, there was no reason to spare me.
Wouldn't killing me have been cleaner?
And he'd utterly enraged Fu Sansheng.
Could his escape plan still work?
Could he evade the police, the client's assassins, and Fu Sansheng's insane fury?
Anyone capable of constructing such an extraordinary scheme was no simpleton.
This brought him harm and no benefit.
Why had he done it?
Ding-dong.
A WeChat message.
From Zheng Shaoming's law firm.
“The body in Room 1203 has been identified.”
I sighed, thinking of that poor girl again.
“I know. Fu Nuannuan.”
“No. Tao Yuan.”
“How could it be Tao Yuan?”
“While you were missing, the police established her identity. It's Tao Yuan, a prostitute.”
“Impossible!”
“They compared the DNA. It's Tao Yuan.”
Compared the DNA?
When Lu Jiu said he wanted to change a corpse's identity...
He'd never meant the head.
He'd meant Fu Nuannuan!
“Also, Lawyer Zheng has made a request. He's decided to terminate your representation and defend himself. Of course, your fee will be paid in full.”
The Zheng Shaoming sitting before me looked radiant, several years younger.
I stared into his eyes.
He stared back.
“I need an explanation.”
“For what?”
“Everything! All of it!”
He laughed.
First a quiet chuckle, then a little louder, then a roar of laughter.
He laughed for a long time.
“Lawyer Wu, I've always admired you. And I've always been grateful. If I could, I'd even repay you with my life.”
“Why?”
“Because Luo Susu was my girlfriend at university. When she was falsely accused, you were the only person who stood behind her and believed she was innocent.”
“So you and Lu Jiu are working together?”
He nodded.
“Yes. He's my childhood friend. And Susu's sworn older brother.”
“Sworn older brother?”
He fell silent, unwilling to explain.
But everything was beginning to make sense.