Chapter 28: The Nacity Case (Part Twenty-One)

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Embraced by the support of Li Rui, Yu Meili no longer feared Lei Chen and continued, “Ever since Jia Wenming moved to a rented apartment, he barely came home. The two have been living apart for a long time. Li Junyan is also a young woman with her own needs. Long-term loneliness is no good.”

Li Rui and Lei Chen exchanged a glance, silently taking notes in their notebooks.

“There’s a 30-year-old colleague at her factory, nicknamed Wu the Leper. Wu the Leper also has a family and looks fairly spirited. Upon learning of Li Junyan’s situation, he wanted to get her into bed and began pursuing her. Over time, the lonely Li Junyan gave in and they became physically involved,” Yu Meili recounted with animated gestures.

“After the initial excitement faded, Wu the Leper grew clingy and his flaws came to light. He was lazy and always short of money, even asking Li Junyan for cash.”

“In such circumstances, Li Junyan backed off and tried to distance herself from Wu the Leper.”

“But Wu the Leper wasn’t willing to let go. Even though he was tired of the game, he could still get money from Li Junyan and wasn’t about to be dumped. He barged into her home, demanding a clear explanation.”

“Li Junyan bluntly told him their relationship was over. Wu the Leper flew into a rage and threatened to kill her daughter if the breakup was real. Li Junyan didn’t believe him, but then Wu the Leper grabbed her daughter and threw her to the ground, terrifying Li Junyan into begging for mercy.”

“Wu the Leper then let the daughter go, grabbed Li Junyan by the hair, and dragged her inside. Li Junyan suffered in silence, only realizing then that her husband was a murderer.”

“Who told you all this?” Li Rui asked.

“Li Fuping.”

Li Rui looked at Lei Chen, who shook his head.

Clearly, Li Fuping had not given a truthful confession in this case.

They had almost missed a homicide.

The nearby gentle officer immediately ordered, “Interrogate Li Fuping thoroughly—see if there are any other cases he hasn’t disclosed.”

Yu Meili went on, “Li Junyan didn’t dare confront Jia Wenming directly, so she sought out Li Fuping to help eliminate Wu the Leper. As a loyal follower of Jia Wenming, Li Fuping naturally didn’t refuse and readily agreed. But this guy can’t keep his mouth shut and told me everything. Whether he told Jia Wenming or not, I have no idea.”

“Go on.”

“Once the target was set, a few days later Li Junyan arranged to meet Wu the Leper. Around ten at night, Li Fuping prepared his tools and followed Li Junyan to Wu’s place. When Wu heard the knock, he happily opened the door, only to be shocked by what he saw. Li Junyan was there, but a man suddenly slipped past her and barged in. Before Wu could understand what was happening, Li Fuping pressed a butcher’s knife to his stomach and forced him inside. Without a word, Li Fuping stabbed Wu more than fifty times. Wu died on the spot.”

Li Rui nodded approvingly. “Well done. You’ve provided evidence of Li Junyan’s involvement in the murder and the hiring of a killer—a major contribution.”

Yu Meili beamed, “Officer, will I still be sentenced?”

Li Rui replied, “Your guilt will be decided by the court. For now, just be honest about your crimes and provide as many clues as possible.”

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Yu Meili thought for a moment, then said, “Officer, why don’t you just ask me directly? Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

Li Rui and Lei Chen exchanged a look and agreed it was a good idea.

“So, this Jia Wenming—what kind of man was he?” Li Rui asked.

Yu Meili considered. “Jia Wenming was smart but crooked. He did everything—drinking, gambling, whoring, you name it. Especially fond of soliciting prostitutes. But when he picked women, he only chose those who looked good; he wouldn’t even glance at the others.”

“How was he with you?”

“Well, you could say so-so,” Yu Meili answered.

“What do you mean ‘so-so’? Be more specific,” Lei Chen pressed.

“Not good, not bad. Compared to those he killed, I was lucky. Compared to Liu Meixin, he was much better to me—at least he didn’t order me to kill anyone,” Yu Meili said.

“He fed me, clothed me, and gave me enough pocket money. What else can you expect from a man, right?”

“Did he ever hit you?”

Yu Meili shook her head. “No. Actually, I felt he genuinely treated me as his woman. Without Li Junyan, he might have married me.”

“And Liu Meixin? What was their relationship?”

“Plaything? Partner in crime? I don’t know how to describe it,” Yu Meili replied.

“Give us some details—specific examples,” Li Rui said.

“For example, once we got tired of staying in Nancheng. Liu Meixin suggested we visit a big city in the south. Li Fuping agreed, said it was a good chance to see the world. Jia Wenming was eager too. I think this was around August 2017, when Hao Jianping and Sun Dali rejoined us. Our first stop in the south was Jinling. Jia Wenming somehow got some anesthetics—hospital-grade sedatives. Before that, he’d been using laundry detergent. On the way, they agreed not to kill anymore but to lure victims, drug them, and rob them. When we reached Nanjing, to save money, we only booked a standard room in a hotel.”

“Here’s the problem: Li Fuping was still single. How could he share a room? Like I said before, Li Fuping liked Liu Meixin a lot. While Jia Wenming was hospitalized, Li Fuping sneaked into the room and kissed Liu Meixin. She’s smart and took the chance to tell Jia Wenming about it, expecting him to explode. But Jia Wenming held back.”

Li Rui asked, “I thought you said Jia Wenming was decent to his women? He could tolerate that?”

“Heh, it depends on what counts as his woman—whether by sleeping with them or loving them,” Yu Meili teased.

“On that question, I don’t know the answer either,” she added, shaking her head with a self-deprecating smile.

“Did Jia Wenming ever mention this incident to you?” Li Rui asked.

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“He did,” Yu Meili replied. “He told me because he thought it was a tough situation. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known his thoughts. He believed Li Fuping was loyal, and Liu Meixin was one of his women—his own people. So he figured that since there was no further relationship between Li Fuping and Liu Meixin, it was fine. Plus, if he dealt with Li Fuping, he’d lose an ally. Most importantly, he didn’t consider Liu Meixin truly his woman—at best, a partner. So he was quite tolerant of Li Fuping’s sneaky kiss.”

“How many crimes did you commit in Jinling?”

“They moved around after each job—from Jinling to Hangzhou. I don’t know exactly how many crimes they committed.”

“Alright, we’ve got a good understanding. When you get back, think carefully and see if there are any details you forgot to mention. Tell us whatever you remember.” Li Rui packed up the files. “That’s all for today.”

“Officer, are you going to interrogate Jia Wenming now?” Yu Meili asked.

“Don’t pry into things you shouldn’t!” Lei Chen warned.

“Anything else you want to say?” Li Rui asked, noticing Yu Meili seemed hesitant.

“You’re on the right track. Jia Wenming only showed kindness toward women in his life,” Yu Meili said. “I hope what I told you helps, but... that’s really all I know.”

Li Rui nodded and stood to leave.

At that moment, in Jia Wenming’s interrogation room, the municipal police were still struggling to push the questioning forward.

The man sitting in the chair was fair-skinned and strikingly handsome—Jia Wenming himself.

“Why do you have a spring-loaded knife in your bag? Why carry weapons?”

Jia Wenming answered calmly, “I’m unfamiliar with the area, so I carry a knife for protection.”

“Protection? Then why the anesthetics? And why are there so many gold rings in your bag?”

Jia Wenming remained silent.

“Don’t think you can get away with not talking! Don’t be delusional!” a policeman slammed the table. “Your accomplices are already down. I suggest you confess sooner rather than later!”

Another officer demanded, “Tell us—why carry knives? Where did the anesthetics come from? And the gold rings?”