"This deceased individual was not only poisoned but also beaten. No wonder Zhou Zijuan hated them so much. She probably witnessed her mother being abused and then poisoned. But why did these people do this? Why commit such an atrocious act? If I were Zhou Zijuan, the immense shock I would have suffered at that time might have led me to do the same.
Now, only Jiang Yisi is still alive. To uncover this secret, she is the only one we can question. Even though I knew she wouldn't reveal anything, Liu Yuning and I paid her a visit, this time armed with the autopsy photos.
Upon seeing us again, Jiang Yisi was clearly impatient and a bit nervous.
I didn't waste time, as this wasn't our first encounter. Last time, I had hinted to Jiang Yisi that I would return, and she had appeared nervous and hesitant to agree. This time, I presented the photos of the female victim's sternum directly to her: "How do you explain this? After our detailed autopsy, we discovered the female victim's ribs had been struck multiple times. After comparison and experimentation, it was determined that Zhou Zijuan's mother, Tian Muwen, actually died from acute renal failure caused by crush syndrome. In other words, she was beaten to death by you, and before that, she had already been poisoned with arsenic."
"I don't know what you're talking about. We didn't kill anyone, no!"
"Heh, did you really erase everything that happened on the island? Do you think you can escape legal punishment by pretending nothing happened?"
"I've never been to the island!"
"You..." At that moment, Liu Yuning almost raised her hand to slap this shameless old woman. Others were braver than her and had confessed readily. Yet, she remained evasive and resistant. Although we lacked definitive evidence, her reaction made it clear she was an accomplice back then. If she continued to deny it, what could we do?
Seeing that Liu Yuning was at a loss for words, Jiang Yisi seemed to show a hint of smugness and relief. "You're always suspecting me like this, yet you can't produce any evidence. Aren't you afraid I'll sue you for defamation? Officer!"
"Whether it's defamation, we'll find out later. Don't think we'll give up so easily. There are still many opportunities for investigation. As long as our Crime Punishment Team is here, this case will be investigated to the end!" I deliberately deepened my tone. I had only intended to leave after saying this, but at that very moment, a frightened scream echoed from within the house: "Mom, the bathroom, the bathroom!"
Jiang Yisi immediately became alert, unsure of what was happening. She turned and walked back into the unit. Liu Yuning and I exchanged glances. That scream sounded quite alarming, and something serious must have happened. Without further thought, we followed Jiang Yisi into the house.
When we reached the bathroom, we found a woman, who appeared to be around 30 years old, standing in terror in front of a wall. The wall was covered in blood-red writing: "Heh, we won't let you live alone. We're all dead, so how can we let you linger in this world? Since you did it, you'll have to go with us! Tonight, we will come back for you!"
"What?" Jiang Yisi cried out, covering her mouth in horror, as if she had been struck dumb. She had claimed to know nothing earlier. If she hadn't been involved in something wrong back then, why would she be so panicked now?
However, I didn't say anything at the time. I approached the bathroom and walked inside. The woman deliberately stepped aside, and as I looked at the wall, my nose twitched. I realized something. This was human blood!
The writing was very clear, with strong, powerful strokes, similar to the markings left on the edge where Watanabe Yumi died at the hot springs on the island. Even if Dao Zhiyong weren't here to identify it, I could analyze it myself. Still, I quickly took photos, intending to have him examine them later.
Turning back, I asked the woman, "You haven't entered the bathroom at all?"
"Uh, well, since the bathroom was disinfected, we opened the window and haven't been in there for about a day. We have two bathrooms in our house! It's just the two of us mother and daughter living here, so it's not crowded!" The woman before me was Jiang Yisi's daughter, Jiang Meng.
"Have you heard any unusual noises in the house recently?" I pressed.
Jiang Meng thought hard and suddenly recalled something. "Last night, I thought I heard some noise in the bathroom, but we have a cat. I assumed it was inside?"
As Jiang Meng spoke, a meow came from beneath her feet. I saw that it was a rather expensive Persian cat.
I went to the edge of the window. Since the door was certainly locked, anyone wanting to write on the wall would have to climb in through the window.
This floor wasn't high, and there were air conditioning platforms and pipes around. It wouldn't be difficult to climb up. Indeed, on an air conditioning platform, I found some footprints. I took photos, and after comparison, they matched Zhou Zijuan's height and weight. But she was injured, wasn't she?
She must have pushed herself to come here. I wondered how she was doing now.
I sent a message to the Crime Punishment Team's group chat. Upon learning of our findings, Xia Hou and Xiao Yuande immediately headed to the hospital.
I collected some blood samples from the wall. Then, Liu Yuning said to Jiang Yisi, "Your reaction just now... Sigh... I don't want to lecture you, but perhaps you still don't want to admit it, right? Let's wait until we have the evidence. Don't think about escaping, understand?"
"Mom, are they telling the truth!" Jiang Meng said sadly.
At this moment, the old woman's legs went weak, and she slumped to the ground, weeping uncontrollably.
"Wuwu, it's all my fault! They did this because of me. I am the one most deserving of death among them!"
Jiang Yisi's words surprised both me and Liu Yuning. We weren't sure what she meant specifically.
But she quickly continued, "Thirteen years ago, on Mount Qingcheng. Before I talk about this, let me clarify something. I was actually the teacher of Watanabe and the others. We went to the mountain for an expedition, but we accidentally encountered Zhou Zijuan's family. We unintentionally entered a tomb intending to rob it, but they discovered us. These people were about to report us to the police. My students immediately grabbed them and covered their mouths. We originally just wanted to threaten them, but I knew the matter had been exposed. If they weren't killed, we would certainly go to jail. There was no other way. We had no choice but to kill them. The little girl escaped at the time, but we clearly saw her fall off the cliff. Little did we know Zhou Zijuan didn't die!"