Chapter 263: with translation of chapter title

That kind of disgusting maneuver like 'fishing in sewage' is really not fun.

The sewage in the cesspool hadn't reached knee level. To facilitate movement and to fully understand the truth at the bottom of the pool, the detectives decided to haul a few more loads of night soil, completely emptying the sewage.

Everyone huffed and puffed as they worked hard for a while, and the cesspool finally saw its bottom,

Everything turned out exactly as Lin Dongfan had expected. There were sacks at the bottom of the pool, and not just one large sack but two large sacks. This horrifying sight was truly shocking.

Everyone couldn't help but speculate that Bai Jianping had sawn the person into two parts and packed them separately?

The five detectives exchanged a glance, their hearts heavy to the extreme; if they could choose, they would rather not have the chance to solve the case and earn merit, wishing there were one fewer victim in the world.

But the cruel reality lay before them, leaving them no room for choice.

The five people took turns lifting the two large sacks ashore, first using a knife to slit the comparatively bulging sack; when its contents were revealed, everyone felt a pang of anguish.

Indeed, the sack contained a corpse.

The corpse was severely bloated, highly decomposed, and unrecognizable; however, it had not been sawn in half but remained intact. Based on external features, it was preliminarily judged to be a female corpse.

Lin Dongfan suppressed his anger and personally cut open the other sack.

Fortunately.

This sack did not contain a corpse but a canvas travel bag sealed with plastic film.

Lin Dongfan then slit the plastic film, took out the clean travel bag, opened the zipper and took a look, instantly overturning his worldview.

Damn it!

What a perverted way to hide money!

The entire travel bag was filled with hundred-yuan bills!

Estimated at several million.

Lin Dongfan pulled the perpetually silent Zhao Lianyue over, pointed at the bag of cash, and asked Zhao Lianyue, 'Is this your money?'

……!!!

Zhao Lianyue shook his head and remained silent.

Bai Jianping, handcuffed to the kitchen door handle, suddenly burst out cursing: 'I'm screwed! Zhao Lianyue, you damn well can do this! You said this bag of money couldn't be taken and had to be returned, right? You damn well tricked me! I usually ask you for a little money to play mahjong, and you're stingy as hell—you ask for 100,000 and you damn well give me only 50,000…'

Shut your mouth!

Zhao Lianyue glared with fury, wishing he could slap the loose-mouthed Bai Jianping to death.

Bai Jianping didn't get angry but laughed: 'You damn well screwed me over, treating me like an idiot—why should I shut up? I'm going to report this and earn merit!'

……!!!

That heart‑piercing voice left Zhao Lianyue feeling as if his heart had turned to ashes.

Zhang Yong came over and asked Lin Dongfan, 'Now we have both a murder case and a corruption case—two cases together. Should you interrogate first or should I?'

'Joint investigation, interrogate together.'

Li Chunyan, founder of Qiangsheng Petrochemical, is still detained in the detention center and is likely facing unconventional interrogation by Qian Moye.

To let Li Chunyan suffer less, Lin Dongfan now wants a quick resolution.

Lin Dongfan turned to ask the village chief: 'Chief Bai, we need to borrow the village office to interrogate Zhao Lianyue and Bai Jianping on site—could you please cooperate?'

'Sure, I'll take you to the village office.'

Baijiagou has never before encountered such a major incident; the village chief himself is clutching a pounding little heart, his worldview shattered.

At this moment, Zhang Yong also called the Changming Branch, reporting the Baijiagou homicide on one hand and requesting superiors send personnel to collect the body, conduct an autopsy, and clean up the scene on the other.

Lin Dongfan then told Zhang Yong, 'You handle the interrogation of Bai Jianping; I and Jing Sini will interrogate Zhao Lianyue. Quick and decisive—we must settle everything before dark today.'

'Don't worry, I won't hold you back.'

Zhang Yong turned and divided his five subordinate detectives into two groups: three stayed to guard the scene awaiting reinforcements, while the other two accompanied him to escort Bai Jianping to the village office for interrogation.

Lin Dongfan and Jing Sini escorted Zhao Lianyue, also taking along that bag of cash.

They arrived at the village office.

Lin Dongfan tossed the bag of money onto the desk and asked the person sitting opposite, Zhao Lianyue, 'How much money is there in total?'

……!!!

Zhao Lianyue had originally intended to grit his teeth and refuse to admit anything, but now that Bai Jianping had stabbed him, he clearly realized that continuing to resist the investigation was pointless.

Better to confess straightforwardly than to suffer humiliation and punishment.

Thinking this through,

Zhao Lianyue glanced at the bag of money on the table, then at Lin Dongfan and Jing Sini sitting opposite, and sneered, 'I never imagined that what you care about most isn't the corpse in the sack.'

Such sudden contempt truly caught one off guard.

Lin Dongfan immediately put on a pitiful expression: 'Sorry, we're from the Anti‑Corruption Bureau, we're sensitive to money. Since you want to talk about the sack, let's talk about the sack—who is the deceased?'

Zhao Lianyue shook his head and sighed regretfully, replying, 'It's my sister‑in‑law, Bai Yuzhen.'

'Indeed it's her.' Lin Dongfan was not surprised.

Jing Sini frowned and asked, 'Was Bai Yuzhen killed by you or by Bai Jianping? Why kill her?'

Zhao Lianyue lowered his head and remained silent for a moment.

When he spoke again, his voice was somewhat heavy: 'That day was February 10, the seventh day after my father‑in‑law's death. According to village custom, my wife had to return to sweep the tomb and make offerings. That morning, my wife had a big argument with Bai Jianping on the phone, she was fuming and didn't want to see him, so she asked me to go to Baijiagou.'

'What happened then?' Lin Dongfan asked.

Zhao Lianyue furrowed his brows: 'After finishing the tomb‑sweeping and rites, I had intended to go straight back to the city to bid farewell to my sister‑in‑law, but I happened to see her changing clothes in the room and lost control…'

'Is that it—you wanted to sleep with her, she refused, and then you channeled Houyi and forcibly drew the bow?' Lin Dongfan eyed Zhao Lianyue doubtfully.

Zhao Lianyue nodded sheepishly.

Jing Sini instantly glared and rolled her eyes: 'Scum!'

'Scum is scum,' Zhao Lianyue didn't deny, and he slowly recalled: 'This isn't entirely my fault—my sister‑in‑law's figure is simply outstanding; every time I see her I…'

Speaking, Zhao Lianyue glanced at Lin Dongfan and said, 'We're both men—you get it, right?'

!!!

Faced with this whether-you-understand-or-not problem, Lin Dongfan sneakily glanced with the corner of his eye at the junior martial sister Jian Sining sitting beside him, seeing that she might at any moment burst out with contempt.

Lin Dongfan decisively shook his head: "Not really, explain it clearly."

"Really don't understand?"

Zhao Lianyue dubiously stared at Lin Dongfan.

Seeing Lin Dongfan again shaking his head and swaying, putting on the airs of a saint, Zhao Lianyue shook his head and laughed sighing: "You're really pitiful in this life, not daring to have any thoughts upon seeing a beauty; what official are you pretending to be?"

"Talk about the matter!"

Before Lin Dongfan could respond, Jian Sining tapped the table twice with her pen, not giving Zhao Lianyue any space to speak, as if fearing that the senior martial brother beside her would be led astray by Zhao Lianyue.

She didn't know, but actually her senior martial brother is the true Dongwang.

Lin Dongfan, as pure as a saint unsullied by the six dusts, said: "Finish your story—was Bai Yuqin really killed by you?"

Zhao Lianyue replied without hesitation: "That day I slept with her; she lay on the bed, neither crying nor making a fuss, nor speaking, just staring blankly at the ceiling, very calm. I thought she had accepted the fact, so I didn't rush back to the city. I threw a whole bag of money in front of her—five million exactly. I told her, as long as she doesn't marry in the future and follows me well, that bag of money is hers. To her, I truly like her."

"What did she say?" Lin Dongfan asked.

Zhao Lianyue again shook his head regretfully: "She said nothing, still lying on the bed in a daze, not getting up to eat at night. After I had eaten and drunk my fill, unable to restrain myself, I climbed onto the bed and slept with her again..."

"Really a beast!"

Jian Sining seemed able to feel Bai Yuqin's then silent, heart-as-dead-ashes state, and couldn't help but once again harshly scold Zhao Lianyue, whispering her curses.

Zhao Lianyue, hearing that, wasn't angry either, and continued: "I truly like her, I didn't mean to harm her. After I slept with her, I went to take a shower. Returning to the room, I found she was already dead, her face bluish, Bai Jianping sitting on the bedside smoking."

"Bai Jianping killed her?" Lin Dongfan asked in surprise.

Zhao Lianyue nodded: "Bai Jianping— that daytime he saw me bring a bag of money into the house, that night he went to find Bai Yuqin. Seeing Bai Yuqin lying on the bed without clothes, he guessed Bai Yuqin had taken my money and thus gotten involved with me. He ordered Bai Yuqin to hand over that bag of money; Bai Yuqin lay there like a corpse, unmoving. So Bai Jianping grabbed Bai Yuqin's neck, further threatening her, which led to Bai Yuqin's death."

"Was that bag of money already thrown by you into the cesspool?" Lin Dongfan asked.

Zhao Lianyue nodded again: "Before eating, I threw that bag of money into the cesspool. Because I still had another bag of money in the vehicle, there was too much cash, really nowhere to hide. I thought to toss it into the cesspool, where no one would think to look. If someday I run into trouble and go back to dig up the money, even in the second half of my life I won't have to worry about food and drink with that sum."

Hearing that, Lin Dongfan was speechless.

Just Zhao Lianyue's money-hiding scheme can rival Cheng Dao's ancestral grave gold burial—damn it! These beasts spend all their lifetime wisdom on hiding money.

Lin Dongfan pursued: "Since Bai Jianping killed Bai Yuqin, why didn't you report it?"

Zhao Lianyue wore a speechless expression: "I'm just a corrupt official, and I violated a woman's will by sleeping with my younger sister-in-law. Then my older brother-in-law killed her—should I report to the police? What are you thinking?"

"Beast!"

Jian Sining lowered her head, taking notes while cursing people.

Zhao Lianyue glumly glanced at Jian Sining: "I know I'm a beast; you've already scolded me many times—can you rein in your sense of justice? You're interrupting my confession train of thought."