Chapter 2169 - 1181: Ghost Face_3

One night five years ago, Hu Genzhu once hid behind a tree by a dirt road near an elementary school close to his hometown, ambushing a young female teacher walking home at night.

According to case records, his method of attack was almost identical to the assault method used in the case of two female workers attacked at the factory back then.

The victims were all young women walking alone at night in remote areas, and the attack method was also a heavy blow to the back of the head with a blunt instrument.

But heaven had eyes, for a male teacher happened to be nearby at the time, heard the female teacher’s screams, and immediately shouted loudly, calling out several male teachers who were staying at the school.

They chased with flashlights, pursuing for over a mile until a small river blocked their path.

Cornered, Hu Genzhu jumped into the river, but he couldn’t swim. After struggling for a while, he was washed away, and the next day the police found his body on the downstream riverbank.

The attacked female teacher identified Hu Genzhu as the attacker who also attempted to harm her with ulterior motives. Fortunately, she struggled desperately and cried for help, thus saving herself.

The ominous instrument was found at the scene, and Hu Genzhu’s bicycle, which he had hidden nearby beforehand, was also discovered. The case was as solid as iron with witnesses and evidence.

Nearby villagers also reported seeing Hu Genzhu wandering aimlessly near the path a few days before the incident, seemingly scoping the area.

Besides this, there were several other matching suspicions.

Zhou Wenqing was in the second workshop, and Hu Genzhu was in the third workshop.

The two workshops were not far apart, and the changing area was also concentrated together, so he could definitely get the iron shoes.

Additionally, according to old employees, he was idle and had been reported for harassing young female workers.

Furthermore, his residence matched the profile of the suspect; he also lived in the northwestern part of the plant and Hu Genzhu’s height wasn’t tall.

According to old employees who worked with him, he was quite frail, getting quickly exhausted from work.

Hearing this, Ye Zheng could no longer bear it and angrily questioned, "With all this suspicion, why are you still pursuing Zhou Wenqing? Are the factory security team members idiots?"

"The factory security team didn’t even consider him as a suspect; he... is rather special."

Captain Zhou looked conflicted and said in a low voice, "He’s our deputy factory director’s nephew, though a distant relative."

"When he came to our factory, he didn’t live in the regular employee dormitory but with the deputy factory director’s family in the exclusive compound for leaders."

"Only top leaders could live there. When the security team went to inquire once, the lady of the house recalled Hu Genzhu was having dinner at home when the incident occurred, and she could testify, so the matter dropped."

"Oh, and one of the security team members involved in the case at the time recalled that after the two assault cases, Hu Genzhu had indirectly asked them about the suspect and case progress multiple times," Chief Zhou continued.

"Do Qian Shouyi and the others know about this?" Yang Xiao asked.

Chief Zhou took a deep breath, nodded, "They do; we laid Hu Genzhu’s rural crime and Cui Hongying’s testimony in front of them, breaking down their psychological defenses, causing most of the security members to confess."

"They admitted attacking Zhou Wenqing, using violence and threats to force him to confess."

"Now only Qian Shouyi remains. He admits using certain violent methods to solve the case but insists he did nothing wrong, still maintaining that Zhou Wenqing is the culprit, claiming it’s based on his experience."

"He claims he could see a ghost in Zhou Wenqing’s eyes and refuses to disclose Zhou Wenqing’s burial site," Chief Zhou solemnly added.

"What, he also dealt with Zhou Wenqing’s body?" Ye Zheng was stunned.

"Oh, it doesn’t have much to do with him. Originally, after Zhou Wenqing self-immolated, his body should, by rule, have been sent back to his hometown for burial by his parents."

"But because of this incident, he was deemed a villain and died violently, so his hometown people, including his parents, wouldn’t accept his body, not allowing Zhou Wenqing’s corpse into the village, fearing it would ruin the village’s Feng Shui."

"Finally, with no choice left, the corpse was cremated by the funeral parlor, and the ashes were sent back to the factory, supposedly given to Qian Shouyi for handling, but no one knows where he buried the ashes," Chief Zhou explained.

"Wait, does Qian Shouyi have a grudge against Zhou Wenqing? Did you check?" Yang Xiao got anxious.

"We did. We traced back three generations and found no grudge; these two nearly had no interaction at the factory," Chief Zhou replied, looking puzzled as well.

"These ashes are very important. By all means, you have to find them, then have someone return them to his hometown, and clear his name, summoning the villagers for a meeting to confess the previous injustice and admit the error; Zhou Wenqing was innocent," Yang Xiao emphasized.

"Alright, we will continue pressing to break Qian Shouyi soon and locate Zhou Wenqing’s ashes," Chief Zhou agreed.

Then, Chief Zhou lowered his voice, whispering, "Rest assured, once the ashes are found, I will invite that old Taoist to perform rites to help Zhou Wenqing pass on."

Though Yang Xiao knew rituals were pointless, he suspected Zhou Wenqing’s obsession stemmed from being rejected by his hometown folks and parents, who all thought he was the culprit. By clearing his injustice and restoring his name, perhaps his resentment would fade, paving a way out.