Chapter 48: Her parents

If He Kai's hands and feet weren't handcuffed to the chair, he would practically be begging on his knees.

"I was wrong! I… I shouldn't have stolen that for Ning Hai!"

"I've been sentenced to life imprisonment, no parole… and no reduction of sentence; my life is over!"

In China, prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment often can get their sentences reduced if they behave well during incarceration.

That would change their sentence from life to a fixed term.

Since He Kai cannot get a reduction, it means he will truly be locked up until death.

Ning Jinli looked at his tearful, sobbing appearance and calmly said, "Do you still remember what I told you?"

He Kai stared blankly and said, "What words?"

"You don't remember? Let me jog your memory," Ning Jinli reminded calmly, "The day Ning Yao was hospitalized for her injured foot, at Starry Sky Hospital, in the inpatient ward hallway…"

He Kai's whole body tensed, "I… I remember now."

The scene of that day surfaced in He Kai's mind.

Back then he was so proud, showing off to Ning Jinli how capable he was and how perfectly he had helped Ning Hai set her up.

He had even threatened Ning Jinli, saying that if she dared to insult his fiancée's family again, he could destroy her in a minute.

When Ning Jinli said he would surely face karmic retribution, he mocked her for being book‑stupid and, acting superior, lectured her with a bunch of fallacious reasoning.

He Kai, who never believed in karma while doing evil, never expected that karma would actually come.

And it came so quickly, so fiercely.

It caused this self‑proclaimed smart elite to plunge into the abyss overnight, with no chance to rise again.

"Ning Jinli… Ning Young Lady… I… I know I was wrong! Please help me!" He Kai continued to plead.

Ning Jinli furrowed her brows slightly, "Two questions: first, what would I help you with? Second, on what grounds would I help you?"

He Kai's lips trembled as he said, "Only after I was arrested did I learn that that jade disc is actually… the state treasure Azure Mist Jade Disc! It's the one you were supposed to turn over to the nation!"

"Exactly, who told you to insist on stealing it? No one could stop you." Ning Jinli's eyes held a sneer, "You brought this on yourself; regretting it now is useless."

He Kai added, "Since it's you who's turning it over to the state, that means you've rendered great service to the nation. If you'll just plead for me, the police will surely reduce my sentence—please!"

Ning Jinli wore a solemn expression, "I don't think it's a great merit; it's just what I ought to do. I simply don't have the influence to get your sentence reduced."

A flicker of despair appeared in He Kai's eyes, "Miss Ning…"

"Moreover," Ning Jinli's expression grew even graver, "Even if I really had that influence, publicly and privately I could never help you—don't dream about it."

From a public standpoint, He Kai's violent seizure of a top‑grade national treasure is inherently heinous; not sentencing him to death is already a mercy of the rule‑of‑law society.

If this happened in ancient times, it would undoubtedly be a crime punishable by extermination of nine generations.

Privately, this scoundrel, ingratiating himself with his future father‑in‑law, went so far as to destroy the old man's will and used tricks to make Ning Jinli inherit a factory on the verge of bankruptcy, owing tens of millions.

Ning Jinli hated him to death!

Help? Help with a hammer!

The fact that she hasn't gone over and slapped him twice shows that Ning Jinli, having attended college, has some restraint.

"Miss Ning… I…" He Kai's sallow complexion turned pallid, "I know you're a kind and pure person… you… just be charitable. I'm an only child; if I'm imprisoned until death, my parents will be ruined. Can you really bear to leave two elderly people helpless? Where's your kindness? Won't your conscience ache?"

"Thank you for the praise," Ning Jinli smiled faintly, "I am kind and simple‑minded; even Aunt Su often says I think too simply. But I can still see clear‑cut facts: your parents' downfall is your doing, so don't try to guilt‑trip me with morality."

Having said that, Ning Jinli rose to leave.

"Miss Ning!" He Kai gritted his teeth and said, "I can tell you a secret!"

"A secret? What secret?" Ning Jinli halted.

He Kai said, "It's a secret about your parents' accidental death. If… if you're willing to plead for me, even if it's just from life to a fixed term, I can tell you."

Upon hearing it concerned her parents, Ning Jinli's complexion shifted slightly.

Ten years ago, her parents died suddenly in an accident; all post‑mortem arrangements were handled by Ning Hai, and she never even got to see their bodies.

At that time she was only twelve; shortly after, Ning Hai drove her out of the family. The successive major blows hit her hard, and after being picked up by the roadside by Aunt Su and taken in for care, it took two or three years for her to recover.

Later, as she grew up, she vaguely sensed that the accident was abnormal in many ways.

But too much time has passed, and she also lacks the ability to investigate.

Unexpectedly, He Kai now claims to know a secret about that incident!

Ning Jinli unconsciously clenched her fists, striving to stay calm, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

Seeing a chance, He Kai brought up the condition, "You have to get my sentence reduced first, then I'll tell you."

Ning Jinli's pretty face instantly flashed a frosty look, "He Kai, do you think you're in any position to negotiate terms with me?"

"I…" He Kai's face twitched.

"Forget it," Ning Jinli said, actually not believing he could know any secret about her parents' death, showing an indifferent expression, "You were only fifteen ten years ago? Back then you were still in high school, with no connection to the Ning family whatsoever—how could you possibly know this supposed secret?"

He Kai's face turned greenish, his eyes extremely complex, as if he were undergoing a fierce internal struggle.

Ning Jinli pondered briefly, then decisively turned and walked away.

As her hand reached the doorknob of the interrogation room, He Kai squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, "Fine, I'll speak first."

Ning Jinli stopped moving, her back to him.

He Kai looked up at the ceiling and said, "What you said is correct—I was also only fifteen or sixteen back then, and I'd never even heard of the Ning family. But later I saw in the news that the heads of the Ning Group, a married couple, had a car accident and fell into the water, and I saw photos of the salvaged sedan… that's when I remembered…"

Ning Jinli's shoulder twitched, "What did you remember?"

He Kai said in a low voice, "I personally saw that the sedan was knocked out of its lane by another vehicle."

Ning Jinli's pupils instantly contracted.

Her parents were actually… knocked off the road into the river by another car?!

Their deaths weren't an accident?!

It was… murder??

She immediately turned, rushed up to He Kai, grabbed his collar, and demanded, "What else? What else did you see?"

He Kai said: "Nothing left, I roughly only remember that the car that hit your parents was an old Jeep, the license plate was unclear, it was too dark."

"Then why didn't you tell the police after the incident?" Ning Jinli shouted.

The place where your parents had the accident was very remote; ten years ago there was no surveillance there, and at that time Ning Hai told her that the investigation concluded it was an accident.

I never expected it—turns out He Kai had actually witnessed the whole thing!

He's the sole eyewitness!

He Kai showed a disdainful expression: "That situation is obviously a hit‑and‑run; I didn't want to bring trouble on myself, so I pretended I knew nothing."

"You…" Ning Jinli, furious, raised her arm and slapped him hard!

Slap!

He Kai was struck so hard his head jerked to the side and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Miss Ning, I've told you the secret," he said, having been hit, yet still squeezing out a fawning smile, "you ought to help me——"

"You're dreaming!" Ning Jinli was angry, but her reason remained intact.

First, she couldn't confirm whether what He Kai said was true.

Anyway, he's out of options, fabricating a story to try to get her help to reduce his sentence—it's not impossible.

Second, even if he were telling the truth, this couldn't serve as grounds for pleading on his behalf; moreover, this information alone could never convince the police to reopen a case that was closed as an accident ten years ago.

Finally, Ning Jinli didn't think she had that kind of ability.

"Ning Jinli! You…" He Kai's eyes flashed with anger.

Ning Jinli rubbed her sore palm, "You'd better spend the rest of your life reflecting in that cell!"

Having said that, she turned and left the interrogation room.

Behind her came He Kai's desperate roar: "I'm telling the truth! I've told you everything I know! Don't go… don't go!"

Ning Jinli rushed to the restroom, splashed cold water on her face to calm herself.

She hadn't completely dismissed what He Kai had said.

If what people say is all true, then… who could have done it?

Her first thought was Ning Hai.

Because, according to the original situation of the Ning family, the eldest son should have inherited the family business—that would have been her father.

Moreover, more than ten years ago, when her grandfather's health began to fail, he had already entrusted the family business to her father to manage, and outwardly he was declared the Sect Leader.

Only after her father's death could Ning Hai, as the second son, have a chance…

Furthermore, given Ning Hai's later actions and the fact that he indeed came into possession of everything the Ning family had…

But…

Could he really have done something like killing his own older brother and sister‑in‑law?

Human hearts… could they really be that dark?

Ning Jinli stared at her death‑pale face in the mirror, while various childhood scenes kept surfacing in her mind.

She still remembered that, when she was little, her uncle treated her very well.

He would look after her when her parents were busy, take her out to play, buy her clothes and snacks.

Why…

Why… when it came to material interests, did her uncle gradually turn into that later version…

Can people really be blinded by profit, have their personalities changed by wealth?

Precisely because her uncle had been kind to her when she was young, even though her parents died when she was twelve and her uncle drove her out of the house, she still held onto a shred of familial affection and hope for him.

Thus, ten years later, now that her grandfather had passed away, her uncle suddenly wanted to give her a factory to inherit; she had no suspicions, still believing that even if he had changed, deep down he still cherished some blood‑line feeling…

Ning Jinli's mind uncontrollably conjured up a whole bunch of thoughts.

Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face.

"Miss Ning, are you all right?" a policewoman walked in, asking with concern.

Ning Jinli lowered her head again, splashed cold water on her face, wiped it casually, and said, "I'm fine."

"By the way," she asked casually, "May I ask why only He Kai was sentenced, but not Ning Hai?"

The policewoman said: "Because there is no evidence proving that Ning Hai wanted to seize the Azure Wave Jade Disc."

Ning Jinli couldn't believe it: "That day He Kai went to my factory together with Ning Hai! I'm a witness! I also told the police everything about the situation—how is that not evidence?"

The policewoman wore a look of helplessness: "Looking at all the circumstances, Ning Hai didn't know that was the Azure Wave Jade Disc, and he didn't directly participate in the robbery; moreover, even from what you said, no evidence can be found that he instigated He Kai."

"We interrogated Ning Hai's whole family carefully—his wife and daughter knew nothing at all, and he insists he never meant to have He Kai do that; it was He Kai seeking to show off, a misunderstanding."

Besides… Ning Hai hired expensive lawyers to defend him; in the absence of direct evidence, even if we know Ning Hai is finicky, we still can't convict him…

Hearing these words, Ning Jinli froze.

Now she finally understood why, after being detained and interrogated for a few days, Ning Hai was released unharmed.

What a crafty old fox!

Using He Kai as a gun, then pushing all the blame onto him and walking away scot‑free!

No wonder Ning Yao said he would never, no matter what, try to get He Kai out.

Whether or not he could be gotten out is another matter; at the very least he would never do that—the crime of robbing a national treasure must have someone to take the full blame!

Ning Jinli took a few deep breaths, calmed her emotions, and asked: "Where is the Azure Wave Jade Disc now?"

The policewoman told her: "Miss Ning, rest assured, on the day He Kai was apprehended, the relevant department's experts already took it away; they will release news when the time is right."

Ning Jinli nodded; the matter of the Azure Wave Jade Disc is now settled, and she will have nothing more to do with it—at most, when the national treasure is unveiled, she could go to the museum to take a look.

As for whether the news will mention her as the person who turned over the Azure Wave Jade Disc and praise her lavishly, she doesn't care.

On the contrary, she would rather they not mention it at all.

Otherwise, in this highly developed information‑spreading society, she could forget about ever finding peace.

For her, who seeks neither fame nor profit, it's best to avoid attracting attention.

After leaving the police station, Ning Jinli immediately returned to the factory.

However, the spacetime portal at the back door of the small warehouse still did not appear.

"What on earth is going on..."

"Xiao Qidi, you left without a word—what in the world are you doing? Please don't get into trouble..."

Ning Jinli stood at the doorway, watching the gradually sinking sunset, feeling a sense of loss.

…

At this very moment.

Xiao Qidi suddenly felt a faint twitch in his heart.

Unconsciously, Ning Jinli's figure appeared in his mind.

He rubbed his temples to dispel the strange thought, spurred his horse, and quickened his pace toward the southwest.

Behind him, three thousand Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army troops followed closely, their hooves flying and kicking up clouds of dust.

They marched on like this until just before midnight, when the scout reported they had entered the southwestern border region, and only then did he lead the three thousand Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army into concealment.

This time he would take a great risk—an important decision he had previously wanted to tell Ning Jinli about.

If successful, it would not only resolve the crisis of Xi Tun Guan facing Yu Guo's 170,000 elite troops pressing the border, but also stabilize Xuan Guo's southwestern frontier.

It might even inflict heavy damage on Yu Guo.

Therefore, despite the danger, he believed it was worth a try.

"Your Majesty, someone is coming this way!" the scout reported in a lowered voice.

Xiao Qidi took the drone controller from the scout, and on the screen saw a dozen or so ragged civilians fleeing in panic, as if something terrifying were chasing them from behind...