Chapter 105 Fruit Knife

Chapter 105: The Fruit Knife

Li Mingliang and the others took Ke Zhiwei down the mountain, while Shen Qingye, Yue Lingchuan, Zhou Qiming, and the rest brought Xiao Jiu along as they followed Qin Jiayu in the direction she had come from.

The mountains made it hard to keep track of direction, and Qin Jiayu had been in a state of panic when she escaped. The group moved slowly, relying on her vague memories and Xiao Jiu’s keen sense of smell. After about ten minutes, they finally spotted the small wooden cabin Qin Jiayu had described.

The cabin, weathered by years of wind and rain, was so rundown nobody would dare go near it.

Shen Qingye guessed it might have been a hunter’s shack years back. Over time, as game in the mountains dwindled and policies changed, coupled with its remote location deep in the woods, the place had gradually fallen into disuse.

However, no one knew how Ke Zhiwei had stumbled on this place. It was still some distance from the Bolang Mountain villa area.

Qin Jiayu paused outside the cabin, hesitating for a long while before taking a deep breath and stepping inside.

The interior was exactly as she had left it—covered in dust, with sparse furnishings: a window, a narrow single bed by the window, a rickety square table, and a chair with a backrest in the center of the room.

A couple of ropes lay scattered on the floor nearby.

Qin Jiayu bit her lip and turned to Shen Qingye. “This is it.”

Shen Qingye exchanged a glance with Yue Lingchuan before patting Qin Jiayu’s head gently. “You’ve had a rough time.”

Qin Jiayu shook her head, seeming a little embarrassed. After a moment, she added, “He came around 11 p.m. on the 31st. I was already asleep but heard someone knocking at the door. He said he was Ke Zhiwei, claiming he’d found a job in Linzhou and that Zhou Yuanfeng had asked him to check on me…”

She paused, then continued, “I was groggy, and his voice sounded familiar, so I didn’t think much of it. But the moment I opened the door, he shoved a towel over my mouth, and I blacked out. When I woke up again, I was here.”

She clenched her jaw slightly, clearly frustrated with herself. Seeing this, Shen Qingye reassured her, “It’s not your fault. Ke Zhiwei had already set his sights on you. Even if you hadn’t opened the door, he would’ve found another way.”

Qin Jiayu was a girl alone and defenseless. Plus, Ke Zhiwei was someone she knew—someone she’d even gotten along with fairly well. How could she have guessed he was planning something this twisted?

At this, Qin Jiayu’s expression darkened. Though she didn’t understand why Ke Zhiwei hated Zhou Yuanfeng so much, she knew now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Instead, she recounted her days in the cabin: “After bringing me here, he only came once a day to bring me food. He didn’t do anything else. The first couple of days, I was terrified and asked him what he wanted, but he wouldn’t answer. He’d just stare at me—like, *weirdly*. He said I was disobedient, that I wasn’t behaving, accusing me of gold-digging… At the time, I figured he’d lost it. I was too scared to think much about it. But today…”

Her eyes darted nervously, fear flickering across her face. Shen Qingye squeezed her hand reassuringly, and Qin Jiayu continued, “This morning, he came early. He still said weird things, but the way he looked at me… had changed.”

If before his gaze had been that of someone toying with a possession, this morning, for a brief moment, it was like I was already a corpse.

That was when it hit her like a brick—how screwed she was.

She forced herself to stay calm. He had kidnapped her, yet he wasn’t here for ransom or rape—so what else could he want?

Did he want to kill her?

Never before had the thought been so clear in her mind.

Though she didn’t understand why he would wait so long to do it, Qin Jiayu knew she had to save herself.

No matter the time, all she heard was the chirping of insects and birds. She didn’t know when—or if—help would come. If she wanted to live, she had to rely on herself.

Shen Qingye studied the gentle, delicate-looking girl, her chest tight. After a long pause, she said, “You were incredible.”

They had rushed over as soon as they received Han Songlin’s message, but the distance between the school and this place was fixed. No matter how fast they drove, they couldn’t teleport there.

The forty-minute drive had already been pushing the speed limit. If Qin Jiayu hadn’t seized the chance to buy time, by the time they arrived, they’d have been too late…

“You’re smart, and you’re strong,” Shen Qingye praised her. The girl’s cheeks pinkened slightly, a shy smile tugging at her lips.

Once they had a general understanding of the situation, the group composed themselves and scanned the room.

Shen Qingye first picked up a few short strands of hair from the floor. From the look of it, they likely belonged to Zhou Yuanfeng—Ke Zhiwei’s hair was slightly longer.

As they continued searching, Zhou Qiming found a bracelet in the corner behind the door.

The bracelet had a simple black cord, strung with several small golden beads and a red sandalwood pixiu charm in the middle. The pixiu appeared smooth and well taken care of, clearly valued by its owner.

Qin Jiayu hesitated briefly upon seeing the bracelet, then said, "This bracelet... I gave it to Zhou Yuanfeng."

Everyone turned to look at her. Qin Jiayu explained, "I gave it to him around six months into our relationship. I saved up for a long time to buy those golden beads, and he always wore it faithfully..."

Shen Qingye asked, "Did he ever mention when he lost it?"

Qin Jiayu pursed her lips. "No."

"We’ve been fighting recently and barely talked. But the last time I saw him was about two weeks ago, and he was still wearing it then."

Shen Qingye and the others exchanged looks. Ke Zhiwei must have deliberately exploited their fight, stolen Zhou Yuanfeng’s bracelet, and left it here as planted evidence against him.

Now certain, they resumed searching—this time focusing on finding the murder weapon.

If Ke Zhiwei planned to kill, he’d need a weapon. Yue Lingchuan had already searched his person earlier and found no sharp objects, so it was likely hidden here.

They combed behind the door, under the table, and every nook, until Yue Lingchuan finally stopped in front of the dust-covered bed.

The cabin had clearly been abandoned for ages, everything coated in thick dust—including the narrow wooden bed.

However, the bed wasn’t bare; it had a straw mat covering it. Yue Lingchuan’s instincts kicked in, and he lifted the mat, revealing a fruit knife underneath.

"Got it," he called out, putting on gloves and placing it into an evidence bag.

Shen Qingye asked Qin Jiayu, "Did Ke Zhiwei ever show you this knife?"

Qin Jiayu’s legs went weak at the sight of the knife. Even if she’d suspected Ke Zhiwei wanted her dead, seeing the actual weapon he intended to use was another matter entirely. She stiffly shook her head. "No..."

Zhou Qiming said, "Then he must’ve stashed it here earlier. Since he didn’t get the chance to act, the traces on it might still be intact."

Yue Lingchuan added, "We’ll have the Trace Examination Unit analyze it later to check for fingerprints."

Mission accomplished, they all breathed easier. They did one final sweep of the cabin but found nothing else, then turned to leave.

·

About twenty minutes later, they finally emerged from the woods. Yue Lingchuan surveyed the surroundings, confirming they were halfway up the mountain, then called Wei Zhengyi to arrange a pickup.

Less than ten minutes later, a squad car pulled up. Before it fully stopped, the door flung open, followed by a woman’s tearful, frantic voice:

"Jiayu!"

Qin Jiayu’s eyes welled up. Despite the pain in her legs, she rushed forward, crying out, "Mom!"

Qin’s mother tightly embraced her daughter, tears pouring down her cheeks. Qin’s father, who had followed closely behind, also had reddened eyes as he wrapped his arms around both of them.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack! When I heard you were missing, I almost passed out, you reckless girl—"

Qin Jiayu broke down sobbing, the fear and grievances she had suppressed earlier now pouring out in the safety of her parents’ arms.

Qin’s father comforted his wife and daughter. Once their emotions had settled slightly, Qin’s mother pulled back to examine Qin Jiayu, her voice cracking at the sight of her disheveled, mud-and-blood-stained state. "What happened? How did you end up like this? Where’s the blood from? Are you hurt?"

Qin Jiayu quickly reassured her, "It’s nothing, really! I just fell while escaping. It doesn’t even hurt much now."

She even extended her arm to show her mother. "See? Just scratches. I’ll be fine after some ointment!"

Mrs. Qin relaxed a little at this but still couldn't help asking, "Are you really okay? You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

Shen Qingye stepped forward and reassured her gently, "Auntie, I just checked Jiayu. She's really fine, please don't worry."

Only then did Mrs. Qin turn to look at her, wiping her tears as she said, "Thank you so much, Officer. We owe you everything, everything..."

Shen Qingye quickly replied, "Don't mention it. We're just doing our job as officers."

Wei Zhengyi, who had just gotten out of the car, added, "We've got a doctor with us in the car. Since Jiayu is injured, why don't we have the doctor take a look first?"

Mrs. Qin finally realized and hurriedly agreed.

The police van had plenty of room for everyone.

After Qin Jiayu got in, the doctor checked her wounds as a precaution. After making sure it wasn't serious, they began cleaning and treating the injuries.

During the ride, Mrs. Qin kept asking if anything had happened over the past few days. Qin Jiayu kept her tone light, brushing everything off, but how could her mother not understand her daughter? Her eyes reddened slightly as she fought back tears and simply hugged her daughter tightly.

About halfway there, seeing her parents' emotions had somewhat stabilized, Qin Jiayu opened her mouth but hesitated.

Noticing her daughter's unease, Mrs. Qin quickly asked, "What is it? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Does something hurt?"

"...No." Qin Jiayu paused, nibbled her lower lip before whispering, "Why... why isn't Zhou Yuanfeng here?"

Even though they had argued before, they hadn't broken up. Now that she was finally safe after such an ordeal, how could he not be here?

At her words, both Yue Lingchuan up front and Shen Qingye in back tensed up.

Zhou Yuanfeng...

Shen Qingye coughed lightly, while Yue Lingchuan asked Wei Zhengyi, "Before you came, was Zhou Yuanfeng handled?"

Wei Zhengyi, still driving, looked bewildered. "This... we came straight here when we got the call. We don't have all the case details yet. How could we have had the extra energy to arrange anything for Zhou Yuanfeng?"

Yue Lingchuan rubbed his temples, momentarily speechless.

Only then did Qin Jiayu slowly realize something was wrong. "What arrangement... Where is Zhou Yuanfeng now?"

Shen Qingye replied, "He's... probably still in holding."