Chapter 16

Gu Changzheng looked at the data sent by Guo Hao on his phone: in just two years, Ren Jiahe had purchased a total of 10 million yuan in accidental insurance policies for Ge Manli through five different insurance companies.

Hah! He sneered inwardly! Even the kindest, most honest person would now have to suspect a connection between Ge Manli’s death and Ren Jiahe!

Add to that how precisely the assassin knew Ge Manli’s schedule—how could anyone know such details unless they were extremely close to her?

But everything was still just his speculation—evidence! He had to find evidence to expose the mastermind behind it all.

After learning about the insurance policies, Gu Changzheng decided to meet Ren Jiahe immediately—kill two birds with one stone: make some noise, just to shake this Ren Jiahe up.

Ren Jiahe’s company, Jiangnan District.

Gu Changzheng lounged casually on the sofa in Ren Jiahe’s office, while Luo Fei sat stiffly beside him; both remained silent, watching Ren Jiahe’s hands as he brewed tea.

Soon, Ren Jiahe had poured tea for both of them. Gu Changzheng lifted his cup, sniffed it, and smiled: “Ren Zong, this tea is excellent! Looks like your business is doing well!”

A faint hint of embarrassment crossed Ren Jiahe’s face; he smiled faintly: “These past few years, business has been tough. I’m barely holding on, trying not to burden society or the government, doing what I can to create jobs—just contributing my small part to national development.”

“Hah! Ren Zong, your awareness makes us blush!” Gu Changzheng glanced sideways at Luo Fei: “Luo Fei, you should learn from Ren Zong. But I’m not capable of thinking at your level, nor do I have the power to solve such problems—I just want to solve cases and bring the real culprits to justice!”

Gu Changzheng spoke slowly, word by word, locking eyes with Ren Jiahe as he finished.

Ren Jiahe showed no reaction; he merely smiled calmly: “Did you come today to inform me about my late wife’s case? Has it been solved?”

Throughout Ren Jiahe’s speech, Gu Changzheng never took his eyes off his face. When he finished, Gu Changzheng shifted slightly, leaned forward, and whispered: “We’ve found the assassin who killed your wife—but he was killed too. Burned down to nothing but a skeleton. But that doesn’t stop us from knowing who he was.”

As Gu Changzheng spoke, he watched Ren Jiahe. Ren Jiahe lowered his gaze to his teacup, picked it up, and took a small sip: “Good. I hope you solve the case quickly, so my late wife can rest in peace.”

“We will. It’s our duty. And if you recall anything you might have overlooked, please contact me directly.”

Gu Changzheng drained his cup in one gulp, waved his hand, and stood up: “Let’s go!”

Ren Jiahe rose quickly: “Of course, Inspector Gu, take care on your way out.”

The two descended to the car. Gu Changzheng sat in the passenger seat, eyes half-closed as if about to sleep. Luo Fei said: “Inspector Gu, we can’t arrest Ren Jiahe yet? This whole thing is suspicious!”

Gu Changzheng kept his eyes shut: “We could ask him to come in for assistance, but we have zero direct evidence. How do we interrogate him? Because he bought accidental insurance for his wife? Ren Jiahe isn’t simple. Bringing him in now would just reveal all our cards.”

He rubbed his lower back: “The information we gave him today is already enough to keep him busy. Wait. He won’t hold out much longer.”

Luo Fei didn’t understand, but seeing Gu Changzheng wasn’t going to elaborate, he suppressed his doubts and focused on driving.

Jiangdong Branch, Criminal Investigation Office.

DNA testing confirmed without doubt that the tenant of Apartment 401 was the same person as the victim in the June 23 charred corpse case. But his identity remained unconfirmed—no match in the fingerprint database.

Could this be someone with no criminal record? He didn’t look like it. Or had he never made a mistake before?

Just when we thought we were nearing breakthrough, we’ve hit another wall.

Gu Changzheng forced himself to calm down. Someone like this wouldn’t appear out of nowhere—he must have left traces.

Wait until the suspect’s composite sketch is ready, then search again.

He sighed deeply, trying to clear his mind. Just then, a knock came at the door.

“Come in!” At his call, Luo Fei entered: “Inspector Gu, I’ve been thinking—based on the crime scene evidence, the killer is likely from Guangdong. We checked the national fingerprint database and found nothing. What about Hong Kong or Macau? Could the killer be from there?”

“Oh?” Gu Changzheng sat up straight. “Hah! Why didn’t I think of that? Luo Fei, young minds still think flexibly!” Indeed, for a police officer from an inland city, suspect origins rarely extended to distant Hong Kong or Macau. Gu Changzheng had only considered whether the killer had a criminal record—he hadn’t considered the possibility that the killer’s records might not even exist on the mainland.

“Push the municipal bureau—tell me the moment the suspect’s sketch is ready!” Luo Fei left. Gu Changzheng went to report to Gao Jianjun...

Three days later, a cooperative investigation document from the Ministry of Public Security arrived at Jiangdong Branch: the suspect in Case 6.21 and the victim in Case 6.23 were confirmed to be the same Hong Kong man. Now, the dossier of this Hong Kong man, nicknamed “Xi Gui,” appeared in Jiangdong Branch’s Criminal Investigation Office.

In the conference room, after introducing Zhou Derong (“Xi Gui”)’s basic information, Gu Changzheng told Gao Jianjun: “Director Gao, we’ve confirmed Xi Gui’s identity. But there’s more behind Ge Manli’s murder—I believe we must first uncover why Xi Gui came to Zizhen. His death may be directly tied to it.”

Gao Jianjun nodded: “Yes. Ge Manli’s case is almost certainly a hired killing. And the charred corpse—could Xi Gui have been silenced? Follow this angle. The reason these two cases were merged isn’t just because of Xi Gui. I agree with you—his death may be a continuation of Ge Manli’s murder.”

Gu Changzheng’s heart leapt violently. Gao Jianjun’s words were a bold hypothesis—but they also resolved many lingering doubts.

If his suspicions were correct, both cases could now be solved at once.