Chapter 2176 - 1182: Innocent (6)

"Didn’t expect what?" Ye Zheng asked.

"Didn’t expect Zhou Wenqing to rush out from behind a tree by the roadside with a hammer in his hand, hitting me hard on the head. After knocking me down, he... actually pulled out a pair of large scissors from his waist and started cutting my face!"

"He cursed me while cutting, the words were nasty."

"He cursed me as a shameless slut, a whore that no one wants, said he would cut my face off so everyone would know how shameless I am!!"

"He also said... he would watch me, always watch me! Until I die!!"

At this point, Sun Ying, sobbing uncontrollably, grabbed the bang covering her forehead, and in the next second, both Yang Xiao and Ye Zheng were stunned.

There appeared a zigzag scar, about 7 or 8 centimeters long, close to the hairline on Sun Ying’s forehead, the wound twisted like a grotesque centipede.

"This is what he left me, he’s a madman, a beast!!" Sun Ying almost roared, "He’s sick, really sick!! In the head!"

At that moment, Yang Xiao and Ye Zheng couldn’t help but stand up, after brief contemplation, Ye Zheng quickly asked, "You... he hurt you this way, why didn’t you report to the police?"

After all, previously Chief Zhou checked Zhou Wenqing’s profile, he had no record of hurting anyone, his record was clean.

"I... I wanted to report, but encountered some mishap, when I returned home, my brother went ballistic after seeing me, despite my attempts to stop him, he found two good buddies that very night, rushed to Zhou Wenqing’s place, dragged him out and beat him up, broke his leg, and smashed his residence to pieces."

"If I reported to the police, my brother would’ve gone to jail too, at that time he had just gotten married, and my sister-in-law was pregnant, so... I..."

"Just let it go like that?" Ye Zheng inquired.

"Yes, Zhou Wenqing compensated our family with some money, promised to leave the village for good to never bother me again, and subsequently, he indeed never came back, he left to work outside, until..." Sun Ying paused.

"Until you heard the news of his death." Yang Xiao said.

"Yes." Sun Ying nodded slightly.

"Hiss—"

Yang Xiao took a deep breath, suddenly feeling inexplicably drained, realizing that the truth was unveiled at last, but the truth was not what they expected.

That team captain Qian Shouyi was correct in his judgment based on experience, Zhou Wenqing indeed had issues, he was the true culprit for the two assault cases against female staff in the factory!

As for that Hu Genzhu, he wasn’t the culprit, most likely just a copycat, but lacking Zhou Wenqing’s skills, got caught on his first attempt, and drowned while escaping.

Thus, those reports from the female staff weren’t entirely baseless, Zhou Wenqing indeed was seeking targets before committing assaults.

Like a venomous snake, hiding in the dark, seeking what he believed was illicit intimacy between men and women, punishing them through his means.

No wonder his methods were so brutal and unreasonable, turns out... this person was just evil!

No, rather Sun Ying, who had close encounters with him, was right, Zhou Wenqing was a madman, he had mental illness, a sickness in the head!

This time Yang Xiao finally understood why Zhou Wenqing didn’t go after Qian Shouyi and Cui Hongying.

Because they weren’t wrong, they were factory defense squad members, tasked with maintaining order and catching the real culprit, and Zhou Wenqing indeed was that real culprit, so they weren’t wrong.

No one initially expected that the so-called extracted confession actually beat out the real culprit.

And history played a joke on them at this moment, it was rather these self-proclaimed righteous people who, in their search for justice for the "culprit," ended up forcing Qian Shouyi to death.

Now it appeared indeed Zhou Wenqing’s death was self-immolation, suicide, without any foul play.

Because he knew the kind of mistakes he committed, as soon as he was escorted to the city, facing a more professional investigation and interrogation, his crimes would also be exposed.

Rather than enduring the torture, ultimately getting a peanut, perhaps even getting made an example to be publicly tried, he chose to end it himself abruptly.

Zhou Wenqing was a severely twisted psychopath, he harbored no hatred towards the people catching him like Qian Shouyi, he only hated those engaging in affairs secretly, those whom he considered impure, not "loyal" enough to love.

Indeed, those dying by his hands had similar disloyal behaviors, but there were also innocents like Ma Jing and Zhang Xiaomin.

Now, Yang Xiao had figured out the ins and outs of the matter, leaving only one last question:

"Yingzi, that night... the night Zhou Wenqing attacked you, how did you manage to escape?" Yang Xiao lowered his voice, "Was it... did he let you go?"

This question dragged Sun Ying back to that terrifying night, she appeared frightened but still forced herself to answer, "No, he didn’t want to let me go, I knew... I could feel it, he... he truly wanted to kill me!"

"I used a flashlight to dazzle his eyes, that’s how I escaped."

"Zhou Wenqing’s eyes were injured by fireworks when he was young, almost blinded, ever since he feared light, especially at night, terrified of someone suddenly shining bright light in his eyes."

"He hardly turned on the light at night, occasionally lit a candle, but he could see things at night, much better than people like us."

"He demonstrated it to me, on a moonless night, without lights, he could count the number of eggs on the ground in the yard at 7 or 8 meters away, without missing an egg."

Sun Ying swallowed, recounting with lingering fear, "Zhou Wenqing’s pair of eyes was terrifying, their gaze made one’s heart shiver, later, I sought advice from a fortune teller staying at the village."

"The fortune teller, upon calculation, was shocked, said his destiny was filled with evil Qi, a ghost’s fate, born with demon ghost eyes, advised me to stay away from him."

"Also said once there’s a change in circumstances, like suicide or accidental death, his resentment would transform him into a fierce ghost seeking revenge!"

"Suicide, accidental death, fierce ghost seeking revenge!" Yang Xiao and Ye Zheng’s eyes simultaneously brightened, knowing they encountered a true expert.

"Yingzi, quickly tell us, what’s the surname and name of this fortune teller you consulted, where is he now, where can we find him?" Yang Xiao urged desperately.

"Ah, this..." Yingzi responded with a troubled expression.

"Why, is the old immortal not convenient?" Yang Xiao asked urgently.

"Not very convenient, he..." Yingzi glanced towards the window, seeing no eavesdroppers, she lowered her voice: "The fortune teller... he passed away."

"How did he die?" Ye Zheng instinctively asked.

Yingzi, after a moment of hesitation, replied, "Oh well, just two years ago, the fortune teller was checking the Fuxi bone for Village Chief Wang’s pregnant eldest daughter-in-law in the neighboring village, somehow his hands ended up on her breasts."

"It was during a strict crackdown, he was pinned down right there, immediately charged with molesting women, spreading feudal superstitions, within a short time, he was taken to the back hill and shot dead!"