Chapter 347: Last Sliver of Hope

Translator: Azza

Editor: Conspiracing

Lin Qiupu stared at Yi Qing and said, "Zhao Puyang went to the crime scene that day?"

"Yes!" Yi Qing said slowly. "I didn’t want to say this for the purpose of protecting her. Zhao Puyang ran out of the orphanage that day. I struggled to find her, but it was too late... You should know what Zhao Puyang has experienced. She hates that man who sexually assaults minors."

"That's nonsense. Zhao Puyang's affairs were all planned by you! Zheng Guohao had no relationship with her. Why would Zhao Puyang run to kill the man who sexually assaulted you back then?"

Yi Qing's eyes were ice cold. She said, "You can ask Zhao Puyang."

"How horrible. How can you use someone underage as a shield? How long do you think your lie will hold up for?"

"We should wait until you have evidence before we continue talking!"

Lin Qiupu glared at her unwaveringly and said, "Take Zhao Puyang back for investigation."

When Zhao Puyang was taken away, Yi Qing ran out and said, "Puyang, don't be afraid. I’ll find a lawyer for you!"

Her words were like the law. Zhao Puyang suddenly didn’t resist and let the police take her away.

Sure enough, Zhao Puyang was Yi Qing’s trump card, as Chen Shi had expected. She must have explained to Zhao Puyang long ago. Zheng Guohao was killed by the two of them. It was just his reasoning, but there wasn’t any direct evidence. The only evidence that could be traced at the scene was Zhao Puyang’s.

Even if Dr. Li and Zhao Puyang testified against Yi Qing at the same time, and even if she was detained, Yi Qing would be released in court due to the lack of evidence, just like her father's car accident case back then.

Yi Qing, who was standing in front of the door facing Chen Shi, faintly smiled. Lin Dongxue asked, "We’re letting her go just like that?"

"There will be evidence! There will be evidence." Chen Shi repeated.

After the police left, Yi Qing returned to her lounge and poured a cup of tea with shaking hands and drank it all up.

Putting down the teacup, she brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. In her mind, she didn’t know how many times the case was repeated in her head. Yes, she didn’t leave any traces, and Zhao Puyang wouldn’t betray her either.

All she had to do now was keep up her silence. Her confession was the only hope for the police to arrest her.

The door behind her slowly opened, and Yi Qing turned around suddenly. When she met Gu You's eyes, Yi Qing asked, "Miss Gu, is there something wrong?"

"How is the taste of revenge?"

"What?"

"It has always been hatred that supported you ‘til now. But, isn’t the moment of great revenge extremely empty? Doesn’t it feel like life has lost its purpose? There are two things in life that are the most depressing: Having nothing and having your desires granted. The flame of vengeance was so dazzling. Once it was extinguished, only darkness was left in your world. You only realized then that you were such a despicable fellow. You found that you’re not that different from those you hate.” Gu You provoked.

"You!" Yi Qing clenched her teeth in anger. She suddenly saw Gu You's hand was in her pocket. She began thinking quickly. Was she being recorded?

She couldn’t admit to killing anyone. Not even to herself. She didn’t kill anyone. It was Zhao Puyang who killed him.

Yi Qing retracted her angry expression instantly and said indifferently, "I don't know what you’re talking about. Please don't disturb my rest."

Gu You sighed in disappointment, exited the room, and turned off the recording cellphone in her pocket. This radical method hadn’t worked either. The woman was very guarded.

But, her words stabbed Yi Qing's heart and seemed to have quietly sown a seed.

In the interrogation room, Zhao Puyang didn’t say anything. Lin Qiupu listed the evidence against her, saying, "You’re advised not to be so stubborn and to just tell us what happened that day."

Zhao Puyang stared at Lin Qiupu and then spat at the ground.

A suspect who was a minor was really troublesome. Lin Qiupu thought about a strategy to deal with her. At this time, the internal extension phone rang. Lin Dongxue said over the phone, "Captain Lin, let me try!"

"Okay, I'll swap you in."

Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi walked in together. Zhao Puyang retracted her hands and rolled her eyes when she saw Lin Dongxue. Lin Dongxue said, "Little sister, don't be afraid. We won't hurt you."

Lin Dongxue stretched out a hand to pat her shoulder, but Zhao Puyang waved her hand away.

Chen Shi said, "Stay away from her."

Lin Dongxue sighed. The girl was like a hedgehog. She sat behind the interrogation table with Chen Shi. They just saw the tactics used by Lin Qiupu, so they made up their minds that they could only use a soft approach rather than a hard one.

Lin Dongxue asked, "Last December, you were molested, right?"

"..."

"Ms. Yi said to you that it was the uncle who molested you? Is that right?"

Zhao Puyang shook her head and finally said, "I found him myself."

"How did you find him?"

"Online."

"How can you be sure that it was that person? Or did someone tell you?"

"I'm just sure!"

"Why kill Attorney Bai then?"

"Because he’s also a bastard."

Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi exchanged glances. They opened the laptop and began to play Dr. Li's interrogation video from yesterday. When Dr. Li said that he was Zhao Puyang’s molester, Zhao Puyang showed a surprised expression and immediately covered her ears. "You’re lying to me! This is all fake! You recorded this yourself!"

Chen Shi said, "Wake up. Your favorite teacher Yi has used you. She fancied your violent tendency, planted hatred in you through this despicable show, and then lied about finding out who molested you. But, you didn’t successfully complete the task she asked you to do, so she showed up halfway to help you! She used your underaged status, your lack of understanding, and your trust to complete her own revenge!"

Zhao Puyang's expression was complicated. She stared blankly at a point in the air. "It was Teacher Yi... It was Teacher Yi?"

Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi saw a glimmer of hope, but at this moment, a man pushed in the door and said, "No more questions. I'm Zhao Puyang's lawyer. From now on, her case will be represented by me. You can't speak directly with her."

Lin Dongxue clenched her fists in dissatisfaction, and the subsequent interrogation was like torture. The lawyer relayed every sentence to Zhao Puyang and said that the whole thing was done by Zhao Puyang. Yi Qing's role was just as her protector.

The lawyer also continuously invoked the Minor Protection Law, emphasizing the fact that Zhao Puyang was only twelve years old.

At 3:00 in the afternoon, the long interrogation was over. The lawyer went through the process of obtaining bail pending trial and then took Zhao Puyang away. Lin Dongxue stepped out of the interrogation room, bit her lip, and punched the wall angrily.

"Everything follows that woman's script!" She said, unwilling to accept the situation.

Lin Qiupu wondered, "What if she was prosecuted for persuading an adolescent to commit homicide?"

Chen Shi said, "The evidence isn’t there. Just sending her to court like this is no different than letting her go."

"Should we change our thinking?" Peng Sijue asked. "According to Locard's exchange principle, the suspect will leave something behind and take something away as well. If the evidence left by Yi Qing is not found at the scene, then what do you think she’s taken away?"

Lin Qiupu mumbled, "Even if we found it, she would say that she did go to the scene, but it was Zhao Puyang who killed him."

Chen Shi said, "But the crime scene for Attorney Bai is still in a blank state. If we can find evidence taken from Attorney Bai's crime scene in the hands of Yi Qing, we can sue her for killing Attorney Bai!"

Light reappeared in everyone’s eyes, as this seemed to be their last sliver of hope.