Chapter 116 [VIP] Demons Among Us (15)

Chapter 116 [VIP] Demons Among Us (15)

After returning from Shanghai, Lu He immediately took Cai Shuangxi and Liang Yunfeng to the detention center to interrogate Li Muxiao.

Li Muxiao had been brought into the interrogation room in advance, wearing a prison uniform, with a dense beard on his chin and a haggard, gaunt face.

The court had not yet sentenced Li Muxiao, and he was still under investigation and retrial, facing multiple charges including "desecrating a corpse."

From the moment they entered, Li Muxiao had been watching Lu He with a vigilant gaze. Even though he was facing trial and multiple charges, his confidence did not seem to be diminished.

Lu He sat down, his expression serious, and asked, "Li Muxiao, did you know I would come to see you?"

Li Muxiao looked straight at him and replied, "Captain Lu, what do you want to know?"

Lu He said decisively, "You and Ruan Mengying went to Shanghai. Ruan Mengying was terminally ill. She knew about it, and so did you. Did Ruan Mengying commit suicide?"

"I don't know."

Lu He continued to observe Li Muxiao's expression. He showed no sign of panic, remaining as calm as still water. This demeanor suggested to Lu He that Li Muxiao had been in a state of calm anticipation.

Just as Ruan Mengying had expected Lu He to uncover the truth before her death, Li Muxiao was also waiting in a similar state of calm anticipation.

Lu He said, "If you don't tell me anything, do you think I can find the truth?"

"Ruan Mengying said you would, that you definitely can."

Lu He was slightly surprised. Although he was the criminal investigator captain, he never appeared in the newspapers. He didn't know how Ruan Mengying was confident that he could find the truth, so he asked, "How did she know about me?"

"Ruan Mengying said she had heard your name from a bad person."

Lu He became more puzzled. What kind of bad person? Was it the same bad person who took the photos? How did this person know him? Of course, if the bad person had dealt with him before, there were many ways they could have known each other. It was also possible that it was a celebrity or someone knowledgeable about the police.

He asked, "Did Ruan Mengying know the identity of this bad person?" If she did, Li Muxiao wouldn't beat around the bush. Both Ruan Mengying and he were relying on the police for help, so he wouldn't hide anything.

"No, I actually know very little about Ruan Mengying's story."

Lu He certainly remembered. In the story, Li Muxiao and Ruan Mengying met because of a dolphin plush toy. At that time, Li Muxiao was dressed as a clown selling balloons and toys. They gradually got to know each other and even fell in "love" for a time.

But one day, Ruan Mengying borrowed a sum of money from him and disappeared without a word, vanishing from the city for an entire year.

Lu He believed that the money Ruan Mengying borrowed was likely to repay a debt, possibly the high-interest loan generated by the bank's embezzlement. However, the amount might not have been enough.

Because Li Muxiao had previously mentioned that Ruan Mengying borrowed 3,000 yuan from him, which was almost all of his savings at the time, while Zeng Haoqiang had said that the amount Ruan Mengying misappropriated from the bank was about 8,000 yuan.

To Zeng Haoqiang, that wasn't a huge sum. Ruan Mengying should have been able to manage it too. But Lu He guessed that since Ruan Mengying had a strained relationship with her father, she didn't seek help from her family. At that time, Ruan Mengying was pressured by Zeng Haoqiang and, to quickly repay the 8,000 yuan, she might have taken a risky high-interest loan, which could have led to her being blackmailed, confined, and photographed. That missing year, she was probably held captive.

Li Muxiao said, "I searched for her throughout that year she was missing. I finally saw her again late last year. I was still in my clown costume, standing at the entrance of Xiangjiang Grand Hotel. She was very thin, as if she had been sick. I was heartbroken to see her like that. I asked if she was ill. She looked very pale, smiled at me, and told me not to search for her again. She said she would find a way to repay the money."

"To be honest, I was quite angry at the time. I later found her address but didn't kill her. I wanted her to tell me what had happened to her, but she didn't say anything, only that she would repay the money and asked me to wait."

"Then one late night, she suddenly called me. Her voice was full of pain. I rushed to her rental place. She was crying, holding her stomach. I had no idea what was going on, so I immediately took her to an emergency clinic. The doctor didn't find anything wrong and gave her some painkillers, telling me to go for a thorough check-up."

"After taking the painkillers, Ruan Mengying rested, and I fell asleep by her bedside. She vanished again. I searched for her again, and three days later, she called me again, asking if I could go to Shanghai with her."

Li Muxiao sighed, "She was diagnosed in Shanghai. At that time, I was working at the museum for a while and had some savings. I wanted to get her treated, but she refused. Later, we returned to Jinyang. I tried to make nutritious food for her and persuade her to accept treatment."

"Mengying said she hoped I would focus on my own life and not always be good to her. It wasn't worthwhile. During that time, every time I visited her, she had always tidied herself up, with a smile. But I knew that she must have suffered a great deal when she was alone."

"Until one day," Li Muxiao's eyes were extremely red, brimming with anger. "She showed me that set of photos. I asked her who did this to her. She said she didn’t know him. He always wore a white mask, and she never knew who he was. She didn’t describe much about where she was held that year; she was in too much pain. She only told me that there were other girls like her."

Li Muxiao's tears flowed out, and as he recalled that scene, it was as if he was soaked in Ruan Mengying's pain.

"Soon, it was the day before the museum opened. Ruan Mengying asked me to deliver something to her brother. I did as she asked. When I returned, it was after 4 a.m. I was worried something had happened to her, so I went to her apartment. The moment I entered the bedroom, I was shocked by what I saw. There was a basin on the floor, and her head was dangling off the side of the bed. Blood had already filled half the basin..."

"At first, I didn’t know it was suicide. She left a cassette tape by the bedside. I played it right away." He looked up at Lu He with bloodshot eyes. "No one could fathom her pain and despair. Who would bleed out in a suicide?"

Li Muxiao finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably as he covered his face with his hands, his entire body shaking.

"If I had known that when she asked me to leave for a while, she was planning to kill herself, to leave this world in such a manner, I would never have left her." Li Muxiao's voice became hysterical, his eyes bloodshot and terrifying, as if he were a devil escaped from hell. Though still chained, his violent trembling caused the handcuffs to cut into his wrists, drawing blood.

"Ruan Mengying deceived me. I thought she had a long-term plan. She could have lived for another year or two. With money, she could have been treated. Her illness wasn’t terminal. But she couldn’t wait. She was afraid of burdening me, afraid that I would continue to see her in pain. She feared that the demons would find us and kill us all."

Lu He's heart had never been so heavy. After many years in the police force and having seen numerous horrific cases, he still couldn’t bear to listen to this story.

He finally understood why there were large amounts of sleeping pills found in Ruan Mengying's stomach, perhaps along with painkillers. Because she feared pain. She was a girl who feared pain. She must have been terrified of the pain before committing suicide, believing that sleeping pills could alleviate the pain of slitting her throat.

He began to understand Li Muxiao's emotions at that time. He loved her so much, but to suddenly see the person he loved leave this world in such a cruel and abrupt manner, the pain must have been unbearable. It might not have been hard to understand why he held her severed head and kissed it.

Li Muxiao cried heartbrokenly on the table for a while, then wiped away his tears and looked up. "Captain Lu, I really don’t know much more. The flowers were purchased by Mengying herself. Two of the potted plants were requested by her to be bought from a funeral home. The handcart was also found by her. I think you understand why I appeared at the museum and why I recanted my testimony in court. Everything I did was part of Ruan Mengying's original plan. But she loved flower fields, so I took the liberty to upgrade her original plan, making it known to the whole city. I also ask for your forgiveness for the trouble I’ve caused you."

Lu He understood. What was Ruan Mengying's final plan in life? She wanted justice but was unable to achieve it herself. By taking the cruel path of suicide, it might have been her only way to fight against the demons.

Li Muxiao was the only one who could help her. Perhaps she used him, but she had no other choice.

Li Muxiao would sincerely do this for her. He had searched for her for a year and would cherish her and go through fire and water for her.

Lu He knew that keeping the cassette might not be safe, just as Li Muxiao recanting his testimony in court would surely alert the criminals and put them on edge. So the cassette might be hidden in a special place or destroyed.

Just like how Ruan Mengying's brother was told to destroy the cassette, these remaining pieces of evidence could become motives for the criminals to kill.

But Lu He believed that Li Muxiao hadn’t destroyed the last cassette Ruan Mengying left for him. Because he felt that Li Muxiao had his own plan. In court, he only presented the alibi for Ruan Mengying's death and remained vague about the evidence of dismemberment, choosing to face accusations rather than reveal everything. He wanted to keep the matter alive and protect himself because he knew that once he left the detention center, he might suffer misfortune.

Whether for proving his innocence or out of his love for Ruan Mengying, the cassette would remain.

Lu He felt it was time to ask the most critical question. In a calm and low tone, he said, "Li Muxiao, Ruan Mengying hoped I would seek justice for her. You must also wish for that. Can you tell me where the cassette is? I believe the cassette reveals the truth behind the suicide and dismemberment."

Li Muxiao sniffled. "Yes, the cassette reveals the truth, but I hope Captain Lu won’t hand it over to the court just yet. I hope that after the case is over, when the truth about Ruan Mengying is revealed to the world, only then should the information on the cassette be made public."

Lu He's speculation was accurate. Li Muxiao wanted to delay the matter, keeping himself at the center of the vortex, even if it meant being imprisoned for life. And he also needed to protect himself because he was the only human witness who could testify for Ruan Mengying.

Lu He nodded. "I promise you."

Li Muxiao looked up at Lu He, his bloodshot eyes firm and resolute. "The cassette is in Ruan Mengying’s apartment, inside a stuffed toy—a little sun plushie. I sewed it inside."

Liang Yunfeng sighed regretfully and interjected, "Captain Lu, I have a question for Li Muxiao."

"Go ahead."

"Li Muxiao, you had the photos, which are evidence of the crime. Why didn’t you give them directly to the police, to Captain Lu? It would have been faster than all this elaborate planning."

"I mentioned it to Mengying, but she didn’t agree. Perhaps she felt that going to the police wouldn’t solve the problem."

Lu He made his final deduction. "Was it around the time when Ruan Mengying's brother was beaten into disability?"

"Yes."

Lu He guessed that at that time, Ruan Mengying might have received a warning and threat from the criminals. The warning was her brother's life, so she chose not to go to the police. She might not have had any evidence against the criminals, so she chose this desperate but attention-grabbing route.

Li Mu Xiao is also steadfast on this path. He lied repeatedly to escalate the situation and keep the criminals restless. Clearly, he achieved his goal.

After asking a few more questions to ensure Li Mu Xiao hadn’t forgotten any details, Lu He slowly stood up. "Li Mu Xiao, thank you for your cooperation. You must trust us police. The monsters who abused Ruan Mengying will definitely be brought to justice."

"Mengying trusted you, so of course I trust you too. Thank you, Captain Lu." For the first time, a genuine smile appeared on Li Mu Xiao's face.

As he left the interrogation room, Lu He noticed that both Liang Yunfeng and Cai Shuangxi had reddened eyes. These two tough men were clearly moved and angered by the story told in the interrogation room.

"Captain Lu, should we go to Ruan Mengying's place now?" Liang Yunfeng asked.

"Yes, we can't afford to delay. We must find the tape as soon as possible. This is the evidence that will clear Li Mu Xiao's name. If it falls into the wrong hands, the consequences would be dire."

The police car sped to Ruan Mengying's rental. Since it was the crime scene, her rental had been under police lockdown this entire time.

Lu He unlocked the door and entered. The three of them quickly began searching. On the most prominent spot of the dressing table in the bedroom, there was a sunflower plush toy, or the "little sun" that Li Mu Xiao mentioned. Lu He picked it up, and Cai Shuangxi promptly found a pair of scissors.

Lu He cut the stitches. It seemed that when Li Mu Xiao sewed it that morning, he was in a rush. The stitches were irregular, perhaps because his hands were shaking at the time.

Inside the little sun plush, a clump of cotton was quickly pulled out, revealing the tape. There was a tape recorder in the living room. Liang Yunfeng had already fetched it, plugged it in, opened the cover, and Lu He inserted the tape.

Liang Yunfeng's slender fingers pressed the play button, and a familiar Cantonese song came out of the tape recorder.

The three exchanged glances, unsure if this was the evidence tape Li Mu Xiao mentioned or if it had been switched.

Just as they were puzzled, the song suddenly stopped, and static filled the air. Gradually, a sound of uneven breathing emerged.

Lu He's eyebrows furrowed slightly. This was likely Ruan Mengying's breathing as she prepared to record her message.

"Can you hear me, Mu Xiao... I am Ruan Mengying..." The voice was weak, but it was recognizable as that of a young girl.

"Mu Xiao, can you hear me? I should be dead by now... I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye. Every time, I deceived you, but this time, it's true. I will never lie to you again, and I will never leave you without a reason..."

"I'm sorry that I once thought I could be your girlfriend. I loved the time we spent together. It was the most precious time in my life, and I always cherished it. But I am not worthy of you. My body is filthy, extremely filthy, and I hate it. I know you will never love my body again..."

"I want you to cut me into pieces, dismember me, and scatter my remains across the streets. I know I am being selfish, that I am using you, but I have no other choice. I want to use this most brutal method to expose the demons to the world. After I die, I want you to cut me up, put me in the suitcase I prepared, and use the handcart to dispose of me in the bustling streets. Many people will notice then. This is the only way. It will harm you, but please keep the tape and bring it to court to prove your innocence. Captain Lu He is the only one who can help me. You must find him, only him..."

"...If there is another life, I will repay you. Mu Xiao, I may never be able to repay that debt. I'm sorry, and thank you for loving me... I, I love you too... I hope you find someone better, not someone as unfortunate as me. You will have good luck for the rest of your life. Mu Xiao, goodbye..."

The voice stopped. The latter half was almost spoken with a sob, which gradually faded into static.

At that moment, Lu He finally understood why Ruan Mengying had bled herself. She was afraid that Li Mu Xiao wouldn't be able to go through with it, so she had done the first step herself.