Chapter 231: Dogs That Bite Don't Show Their Teeth

If Li Yong hadn't gone mad and Ye Zhiyu hadn't drawn all this out of him,

Liu Jinsong would have rotted in prison until the very end without anyone filing an appeal for him.

There is also one point that remains unclear.

Why didn't Liu Jinsong appeal himself?

Sixteen years in prison, and he never thought to clear his name?

"Brother Ma, get ready; we have to go to Xicheng."

Inside the squadron leader's office, the atmosphere seemed somewhat heavy and solemn.

Li Jun sat behind the desk, frowning slightly, looking with a puzzled expression at the fat man standing before him:

"You want to go to Xicheng in S Province?"

Just now, when Yu Dazhang came to report, Li Jun thought he had misheard.

The case-handling personnel from S Province had only arrived in Songhai to investigate a few days ago, yet Yu Dazhang was going to S Province instead.

He had actually traced it back there.

"We are going there to find someone and understand the situation; it doesn't count as an investigation," Yu Dazhang explained.

Going to Xicheng is equivalent to handling a case across provinces, so reporting to superiors is mandatory.

Moreover, before leaving, there was one more thing he needed to inform Li Jun about first.

"This time we go to Xicheng, we will likely encounter resistance," Yu Dazhang continued:

"The target is a prisoner; according to the clues currently in hand, it is very likely a wrongful conviction."

He believed Li Jun would understand.

They were all within the system; some things were inconvenient to state outright, but as long as there was an opening, everyone would understand.

If they knew it was a wrongful conviction, why not directly inform the local judicial organs to retry the case?

Sixteen years have already passed.

If it could be retried, wouldn't it have been done long ago?

The resistance Yu Dazhang mentioned was the local judiciary.

"Invincible in Longgang," "Victorious in Nanshan," "Unshakable in Haidian"...

Friends who don't understand can go look it up.

"Don't have any concerns," Li Jun said with a determined gaze:

"Investigate however you must; if you encounter difficulties, report to me at any time."

That was enough... This was exactly what Yu Dazhang wanted to hear.

Two and a half hours later.

Xicheng Prison.

In an office used for reception, Yu Dazhang held a prisoner's file and flipped through it.

Liu Jinsong, 34 years old, sentenced to life imprisonment for intentional homicide...

The content on this file was much the same as what Ma Jian had investigated.

The only difference was that it also recorded Liu Jinsong's behavior and living conditions during his Sentence period.

During his Sentence period, Liu Jinsong had recanted his confession multiple times, but all attempts failed due to insufficient evidence.

This also caused him to fail to obtain a commutation for so long.

Life imprisonment does not necessarily mean rotting in prison until the very end.

Actually, if one behaves well and obeys supervision, one can apply for a commutation.

There will be two commutations in total.

The first reduces it to 20 to 22 years, and the second to 13 to 18 years.

That is to say, at minimum, one must serve 13 years.

Yet the current Liu Jinsong has already served 16 years and has not received a single commutation.

Is this reasonable?

Since the night he was arrested, he had already confessed without reservation.

Why did he persist for so many years in refusing to admit guilt?

"Please lend us your interrogation room; I want to see Liu Jinsong."

Yu Dazhang put down the file and looked at the prison warden standing nearby.

"No problem, we'll arrange it immediately." Facing his request, the warden nodded and agreed at once.

A quarter of an hour later.

Yu Dazhang met Liu Jinsong inside the prison interrogation room.

He was brought in by two prison guards, and after sitting down, he looked at Yu Dazhang with a blank expression.

"Leave this to us," Yu Dazhang said politely to the two prison guards.

The two prison guards hesitated for a moment, did not move, and appeared unwilling to leave.

"We are not here for a visit, nor for a meeting," Yu Dazhang emphasized:

"Liu Jinsong is involved in a criminal case, so the following interrogation will be conducted independently by us."

Hearing this, the two prison guards looked at each other, and finally left the interrogation room.

During this time, Liu Jinsong sat obediently on the interrogation chair the whole time, not daring to breathe a sound.

Sixteen years of time had carved many rules deep into his bones.

After only the three of them remained in the interrogation room, Yu Dazhang walked up in front of him:

"Don't be nervous; we are just here to understand your case." Saying this, he took out a pack of Huazi from his pocket.

"Do you know how to smoke?" Yu Dazhang asked softly with a smile.

Upon seeing the cigarette, Liu Jinsong's eyes lit up, seeming somewhat impatient.

This change in expression naturally failed to escape Yu Dazhang's eyes.

He took a cigarette from the pack, placed it on Liu Jinsong's lips, and then lit it for him.

Inside, there weren't many ways to relieve loneliness; smoking counted as the simplest and most convenient.

Many people who originally wouldn't smoke gradually learned to do so after going in.

It is now 2014; in a few more years, domestic prisons will start banning smoking successively.

Liu Jinsong took a deep drag and slowly exhaled.

His expression also shifted from the previous tension to calmness.

No mistake, one sentence, one issue, one content, all in one place!

Seeing his emotions recover, Yu Dazhang returned and sat down opposite him.

"I ask, you answer; try to be as detailed as possible."

"Okay." Liu Jinsong nodded immediately, his expression serious.

"Do you know Shao Xin?" Yu Dazhang asked.

Hearing this name, Liu Jinsong paused for a moment, but answered quickly:

"I know her."

Perhaps because too much time had passed, Liu Jinsong did not show any expression of surprise.

"Describe the relationship between you two."

When Yu Dazhang said this, his tone was very calm, just like ordinary chatting.

"We were high school classmates." Liu Jinsong thought for a moment, then continued:

"In my first year of high school, I had a secret crush on her. A year later, I secretly wrote her a love letter. After that..."

He paused, a bitter smile appearing on his face:

"We only occasionally went home together after school; we never even held hands. Not long after, she met with trouble."

That matched up... Yu Dazhang had analyzed this from Li Yong's perspective while at the hospital earlier.

Hatred born from love.

As long as Liu Jinsong admitted here to having an ambiguous relationship with Shao Xin, this motive for murder would be established.

"Do you know Li Yong?" Yu Dazhang continued asking.

"Who?" Liu Jinsong asked in return.

It was clear that he was very unfamiliar with this name.

"Li Yong."

Yu Dazhang repeated it once more; this time he deliberately increase the weight of his tone.

"No impression." Liu Jinsong shook his head:

"I seem to have heard it somewhere."

"Your high school classmate." Yu Dazhang reminded him:

"Like Shao Xin, he was in your class."

Liu Jinsong fell silent, recalling for a moment; after a while, he revealed an expression of realization:

"I remember now; there was indeed such a person, but he didn't talk much at school."

This is the dog that bites not showing its teeth... Yu Dazhang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

An honest and introverted appearance is, in itself, the best disguise.

Liu Jinsong probably never dreamed in his wildest dreams that he was sent in by Li Yong.

Without the reminder, he wouldn't even be able to recall Li Yong as a person.

"About Li Yong, what else can you remember?"

Yu Dazhang asked in a gentle tone:

"Anything is fine; even a trivial small matter will do."

Ma Jian, who was responsible for recording nearby, heard this and immediately straightened his back.

He knew the main point was coming.

"Li Yong..." Liu Jinsong murmured the name once, then fell into recollection.

To make someone recall something well, one should try to use a gentle method to awaken that string in their subconscious.

Do not be too eager, nor let the person have too strong a reaction.

This was something Yu Dazhang learned from Ye Zhiyu.

He had already seen Ye Zhiyu hypnotize others several times; unconsciously, he had also learned a little bit of the technique.

This time lasted a bit long; Liu Jinsong thought for a full five minutes before coming back to his senses.

"I really have no memorable points about him, but..."

He paused here, continuing in an uncertain tone:

"He seemed to have joined a small group back then, the kind where three or five gather together to fight and brawl."

(End of this chapter)