Chapter 35

“When Liang Sheng was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment, the doctors found an envelope in his clothes pocket during the examination.”

Ruan Mingxi took the chopsticks and bowl that had just been pulled out of hot water, hissing from the heat.

Ren Xian explained: “It wasn’t really a letter inside, more like a small card.”

“On the card’s surface was a cross placed on a high platform, with a tilted scale beneath it.”

After setting down the utensils, Ruan Mingxi pulled out his phone, brought up a photo of the card, and handed it to Jiang Xuzhou.

“When fairness and justice cannot be protected, I will protect you. —The Judge.”

Jiang Xuzhou narrowed his eyes: “The kidnappers see themselves as judges of justice. They believe everything they do is for the sake of justice.”

“Exactly. Not only that, but after investigating the scene, we found that in the Orange Garden apartment only Liang Sheng’s traces were present. That group has a very strong awareness of counter-investigation.”

Because of this, Ruan Mingxi felt a headache coming on. Facing such people, catching them would not be easy.

They acted under the banner of justice. If they could interfere in Liang Sheng’s case today, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t involve themselves in other cases tomorrow.

Ying Shi raised a question: “What I really want to know is how they managed to anticipate the details of the case in advance.”

Ruan Mingxi belatedly felt his mouth go dry and, quite naturally, reached for the cup in front of Jiang Xuzhou.

After pouring water for Jiang Xuzhou, he finally poured some for himself.

“That’s something you’ll have to ask them. Once they’re caught, to satisfy your curiosity, you can lead the interrogation.” Ruan Mingxi took a sip of tea, his face twisting in discomfort—it was barley tea, the one he disliked most.

It wasn’t that barley tea was bad, but he truly couldn’t get used to the taste. It always felt greasy in his mouth.

Ying Shi’s mouth twitched: “Well, thanks a lot for that.”

Chu Liyang, who had watched Ruan Mingxi pour water the whole time, shook his head. His odd expression immediately caught Ruan Mingxi’s attention.

“What’s with that look?” Ruan Mingxi frowned, glaring at him with disdain.

Chu Liyang: “Cold-hearted! Real coldness isn’t shouting or fighting.”

Ruan Mingxi jabbed him with an elbow: “Speak human language.”

Chu Liyang protested: “So you only see Xiao Jiang, huh? Not even pouring a cup for the rest of us. At least I’m sitting right next to you—shouldn’t I get some water?”

Jiang Xuzhou, realizing what he meant, smiled. Watching the two men—whose combined ages were already past fifty—bicker like children was unexpectedly amusing.

Ruan Mingxi laughed angrily: “What, your hands broken? Can’t you pour it yourself?”

Chu Liyang put on a look of exaggerated heartbreak: “Fine, fine, my fault for expecting anything from you.”

Ruan Mingxi shot back: “So dramatic. What, I gave you instant noodles with an egg once and now you think you’re special?”

He still resented how every time he went to help the narcotics division for free, Chu Liyang would mercilessly kick him out afterward.

Chu Liyang chuckled: “I only took advantage of you country bumpkins twice. Look at you holding a grudge—pathetic.”

The two argued like a comedy duo, making everyone laugh. It was more entertaining than a New Year’s Gala skit.

Without them, the Gala’s comedy programs would lose half their fun.

Ying Shi leaned toward Jiang Xuzhou: “Their quarrels are hilarious. One year, the bureau organized an event and needed performances. Since these two loved to argue, the directors signed them up to go on stage and bicker. They argued like dozens of people at once—lively and loud—and even won Best Program that year.”

Jiang Xuzhou knew a bit about this. The award certificate was still kept at Ruan Mingxi’s home.

Ruan Mingxi thought the comedy award damaged his image and refused to keep it, so Jiang Xuzhou had taken it instead, bought a frame, and placed it in his study cabinet.

“Hey, hey, enough already—don’t ruin my image.” Ruan Mingxi quickly cut in when he heard that.

Then he turned to Jiang Xuzhou: “Don’t listen to their nonsense. I’m not like that.”

Jiang Xuzhou raised his brows slightly, amusement in his eyes: “Mm, I’ll take your word for it.”

Hearing this, Ruan Mingxi’s expression finally brightened.

Chu Liyang shook his head, wearing the look of someone watching his “disappointing son.”

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone dispersed and went home.

Once Jiang Xuzhou had washed up and lay down in bed, drowsiness quickly overtook him. Normally he struggled with insomnia, but this time he fell asleep in less than ten minutes.

Fatigue truly was the best sleeping aid. After being tense for so long, the sudden release left him overwhelmed by exhaustion.

But sleep after fear and fatigue is rarely peaceful. All night long, his dreams played like a movie, repeating scenes from the investigation, reconstructing the crime scene in his mind.

Photographs floated past. Jiang Xuzhou reached out to grab something, but his hands closed on nothing.

Suddenly, a shadow flashed before his eyes. Just as he tried to chase it, he felt something beside him.

His heart leapt into his throat. Turning his head, he saw a frost-covered head only an inch away, as if his breath fell directly onto its face.

Blood mixed with melting ice slid down the cheek. Jiang Xuzhou jolted awake instantly.

Cold sweat covered his forehead from the fright, his heartbeat pounding like a drum.

His eyes stared blankly ahead, the dream’s images vivid in his mind.

The sound of his phone alarm finally pulled him back. It was the alarm he had set before sleeping.

After such a shock, all sleepiness was gone.

He washed up and went next door to Ruan Mingxi’s home. Their door codes were the same, so entering his place felt like walking into his own.

The moment the door opened, the aroma of food drifted out.

“You got up late today. Breakfast will take a little longer, go amuse yourself first.” Ruan Mingxi’s voice came from the kitchen.

One of them opened the door easily, while the other, hearing the sound of the door, wasn’t surprised at all—clearly this was something that happened often in their daily routine.

Jiang Xuzhou sat on the sofa, trying to wake himself up. When Ruan Mingxi brought out the finished breakfast, he saw Jiang Xuzhou looking dazed.

Even leaning on a crutch, Ruan Mingxi couldn’t sit still. He was still agile enough to cook breakfast—only he would have such “leisurely refinement.”

“Come eat.” Ruan Mingxi said.

When Jiang Xuzhou didn’t respond, Ruan Mingxi found it odd: “What’s wrong with you?”

Walking closer, he noticed Jiang Xuzhou’s face was unusually pale.

Jiang Xuzhou lifted his head, meeting his gaze, but said nothing.

Ruan Mingxi raised his brows: “Your face looks terrible. Didn’t rest well last night?”

“Had a nightmare?” Ruan Mingxi guessed.

Jiang Xuzhou nodded: “Mm, I dreamed about the body-hiding scene.”

Ruan Mingxi’s lips curved slightly: “I told you to sleep at my place last night but you refused. If I’d been beside you, you wouldn’t have been afraid.”

Hearing his light tone, Jiang Xuzhou looked a little resentful: “I’ve realized you’re very good at hindsight commentary.”

Ruan Mingxi laughed at that: “A cultured man really is different—your insults are never repetitive.”

With Ruan Mingxi’s teasing, the gloom in Jiang Xuzhou’s heart lifted by more than half.

“It’s normal to feel afraid the first time you face a crime scene. When I was an intern, I was scared too, not much better than you are now.” Ruan Mingxi said. “Back then I was so afraid I couldn’t sleep, so I kept calling you. Do you remember?”

Jiang Xuzhou nodded: “I remember. You always disturbed my studying.”

Ruan Mingxi froze for a moment, then laughed angrily: “Every time I called, I hung up within five minutes. How much knowledge could you possibly lose in those five minutes? You’ve been holding onto that all this time?”

Jiang Xuzhou, suppressing a smile, deliberately replied: “Yes. I urgently needed those five minutes.”

Of course Ruan Mingxi knew he was joking, but still felt caught off guard: “You really are impossible.”

“If I hadn’t interrupted your studying, you’d have turned into a complete bookworm. No extracurricular life at all. If I hadn’t dragged you out to play, your high school memories would have been nothing but studying.”

Jiang Xuzhou nodded. He admitted that was true.

Ruan Mingxi’s voice had colored his childhood and teenage years.

“So that’s your excuse for dragging me to skip class and play basketball, only to get punished with a written self-reflection?” Jiang Xuzhou asked with a smile.

Ruan Mingxi rolled his eyes: “This conversation is hopeless. You only remember the bad things. Hurry up and eat before the food gets cold.”

—

After being guarded through the night, Liang Sheng passed the critical stage. Once his condition improved, interrogation could begin.

By the third day, Liang Sheng was stable enough to speak. Ruan Mingxi brought his team to the hospital.

The moment Liang Sheng saw Ruan Mingxi, his emotions surged—he was even expectant.

He recounted the case details clearly.

His family suffered from a hereditary blood disease. Currently, such illnesses cannot be cured. Once afflicted, it is essentially a countdown to death.

The process was agonizing, and the psychological torment unbearable. After watching his father and brother die from the disease, he began to think about building his own “blood bank.”

He refused to wait for death. Since other doctors couldn’t save him, he chose to save himself.

Liang Sheng believed that if he changed his blood, he might avoid the disease. Using his position as a doctor, he secretly collected information on patients with the same blood type.

But AB Rh-negative blood was extremely rare. In all his years of work, he had only encountered a handful.

Gao Hai was one of them. Liang Sheng thought that since he had saved Gao Hai’s life, Gao Hai could save his in return—a kind of repayment.

Lacking parental love, Gao Hai was vulnerable. When Liang Sheng deliberately approached him, Gao Hai believed he was sincere and treated him like a father.

But in the end, the one who took his life was the person he trusted most.

His son’s lupus intensified Liang Sheng’s fear of blood disease. He hadn’t intended to kill Gao Hai, but Gao Hai’s heart was too fragile. During a struggle, he suddenly couldn’t breathe and died.

Gao Hai’s death deepened Liang Sheng’s darkness and made him more aware of life’s fragility, fueling his desperate will to survive.

He killed all the patients he had tracked with the same blood type, to “change blood” for himself and his son.

To dispose of the bodies, he chose to dump them.

But he hadn’t expected Yan Zhan to witness the dumping.

He had no choice. To keep the secret, he killed Yan Zhan too.

And just like the others, he drained their blood.

Unexpectedly, Yan Zhan also turned out to be AB Rh-negative.

Liu Hui was not this blood type, but one of Liang Sheng’s patients had once mentioned a strange case: an employee whose blood type had changed due to special circumstances.

A story once told as a curiosity became the reason for Liu Hui’s death.

After confessing the details of the case, Liang Sheng grew frantic. He clutched Ruan Mingxi’s hand so tightly that he nearly pulled down the man with weak legs.

Thankfully, Ying Shi reacted quickly, catching him and preventing further injury.

“I’ve told you everything you wanted to know. I killed them. It was all me. Arrest me now, send me to prison, hurry!”

Liang Sheng’s tone was desperate, and beneath that urgency was unmistakable fear.

“What are you waiting for? I already said I killed them. Arrest me!”

Liang Sheng shouted: “I can’t stay outside. They’ll kill me. They’ll come again.”

Ruan Mingxi frowned: “Who will come?”

“Those demons. They said if I don’t receive the punishment I deserve, they’ll come to finish it for me. Hurry, arrest me!”

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became. His voice rose, he even knocked over the IV stand, and blood seeped faintly from the wound on his wrist.

Doctors and nurses rushed in at the commotion. Liang Sheng clung to Ruan Mingxi’s hand as if it were his lifeline, terrified that if he let go, his last hope would vanish.

In the end, the doctors had no choice but to administer a sedative.

After the struggle, everyone was drenched in sweat.

Ying Shi collapsed onto a bench by the door, gasping: “His strength is unbelievable. His grip was like iron pliers—nearly crushed me.”

Ruan Mingxi’s face was grim: “Did you record everything he just said?”

Ying Shi nodded: “Yes.”

“Good. Then let’s go back and write the closing report. Also, send two more men here to keep watch, in case those people really try to abduct him.” Ruan Mingxi ordered.

Back at the police bureau, Ruan Mingxi reported everything to Feng Yuping.

After listening to the case details, Feng Yuping’s already dark expression grew even heavier.

“Get the report out quickly. The rest is no longer our responsibility. Before the handover, I’ll assign people to guard the hospital. Once the victims’ families are handled, I’ll give you a few days off. Rest and take care of your leg.”

Ruan Mingxi acknowledged and was about to leave. As he reached the door with his crutch, he was suddenly called back.

“Director, do you still have something?” Ruan Mingxi asked.

“Almost forgot. There’s pig’s trotter soup. Your sister-in-law heard you injured your leg and specially cooked it for you. Drink it before you leave.”

Feng Yuping’s gaze shifted to the insulated container on the table. Ruan Mingxi realized and immediately smiled: “Please thank sister-in-law for me.”