Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 337 The Guanyin Murder Case

'Waaaah...'

Police sirens blared outside, but Li Sanwei remained completely unfazed. He leisurely stood up, looked around, and found a rag. Holding the rag in one hand and an axe in the other, he hastily wiped the blood from the old man's face, then pointed at the old woman beside him and smiled, "My story has been told very clearly, right? So, old man, you know what to do when the police come, don't you? Don't worry! I'm not interested in either of you. Just cooperate obediently?"

"well!"

The old man nodded vigorously, not daring to utter a single extra word.

With a smile, Li Sanwei helped the old man straighten his collar before returning to the table to continue eating and drinking. Seeing a bottle of Jiannanchun liquor in the nearby cabinet, he picked it up, opened it, and poured himself a leisurely sip.

The two elderly people huddled together, looking at each other, sometimes gesturing with their eyes and sometimes secretly shaking their heads, but Li Sanwei ignored them.

Twenty years ago, he could easily escape from the police's wanted list, and twenty years later, he should have no problem doing so. The thrill of the approaching police even excited Li Sanwei, his legs trembling impatiently.

The sound of police sirens could be heard in the next alley, and Li Sanwei could already hear Song Yuan being questioned by the policeman. The guy was quite arrogant and impatient with the police, which made Li Sanwei smile with satisfaction.

That kind of person... he deserves to die, right?
Hu Lijun returned empty-handed, having found neither Li Sanwei nor the cat from his local police station. But the children clearly stated that Mimi had come to this community! So Hu Lijun remained patient and continued asking around.

More than ten minutes later, he arrived at the door of the house where the elderly couple lived.

Hello, is anyone home?

"..."

The two old men looked at Li Sanwei at the same time.

"Go ahead! I'll go upstairs and take a look."

Li Sanwei said indifferently, got up and came to the two old people, pulling the old lady up: "Grandma, come for a walk with me? Tell your husband to be smart, otherwise it's the first day of the Lunar New Year, and next year we'll have to celebrate his death anniversary, which isn't good."

The old man and woman nodded quickly and hurriedly got up.

The old lady led Li Sanwei upstairs, while the old man straightened his clothes and hurried to the door. He tensed up slightly when he saw it was a policeman, but quickly regained his composure.

"Uncle, Happy New Year."

Hu Lijun greeted him with a smile, then took out a photo of Li Sanwei from his phone: "Excuse me for bothering you, have you seen this person today?"

The old man didn't say a word, only shook his head expressionlessly, as if he was about to close the door.

Hu Lijun wasn't angry.

After all, being confronted by the police on the first day of the Lunar New Year is indeed a bad omen for some people. On the other hand, Hu Lijun didn't think of Li Sanwei as too terrifying; in his eyes, he was ultimately just an honest father who was angry because his son was about to go to jail.

"I'm sorry to have taken up your time."

After apologizing again, Hu Lijun turned around and prepared to ask the next person.

'Bang!'

Suddenly, the sound of something breaking came from inside the house, which startled the old man so much that he almost collapsed.

Hu Lijun frowned, glanced into the room, and saw a dirty canvas bag lying haphazardly on the living room floor.

It's not unusual to see this thing normally, but who would leave it so conspicuous after cleaning during the Lunar New Year? If a guest comes over, it will not only be in the way, but they will also feel annoyed, right?

As a police officer, Hu Lijun took another look at the old man and immediately became suspicious.

On the other side, Li Sanwei didn't actually go upstairs. Instead, he leaned against the wall and hid on this side of the stairs, quietly watching the old man's actions in dealing with the police.

The old lady sat shakily on a small stool next to him, staring at the sharp axe in Li Sanwei's hand without daring to move.

Lin Ge hid on the second floor, quietly watching this scene.

Seeing that Hu Lijun was about to leave after being tricked by the old man, he quickly looked around and noticed a Guanyin statue and two objects resembling wine cups with candles on a small altar next to the stairs on the second floor. He then quickly overturned them all.

'Clang...'

With a series of crackling sounds, the Guanyin statue shattered into several pieces. The two candle holders, however, remained firmly in place by the wax, only their bases breaking without shattering the glass. Two apples rolled a long way on the ground, smeared with wax and displaying an eerie smile.

"I'm so sorry, Guanyin Bodhisattva! This elderly couple has been worshipping you for so long, please use this body to bless them!"

Lin Ge, feeling somewhat guilty, apologized to the Guanyin statue, then cautiously crouched down on the side of the stairwell where he had fallen, giving it his all. He didn't know if the sound would alert Hu Lijun, nor what Li Sanwei would do if alerted. But without a doubt, the time while Hu Lijun was still there was the best time to deal with Li Sanwei! Whether the ambush succeeded or failed, as long as he escaped to Hu Lijun's side, he could ensure his safety and allow Li Sanwei to reappear.

"What happened?"

Hu Lijun was on guard, but kept his expression unchanged as he continued to watch the old man.

The problem was immediately apparent: on the old man's forehead, where his hair had covered the wound, there was a clearly visible open wound. Although the wound wasn't deep and the bleeding had stopped, how could Hu Lijun not be suspicious of a fresh injury on his head during the Lunar New Year?
"It's nothing! My cat! My cat's been mischievous again! Officer, I'm very busy here, I'll close the door once you're done here?"

The old man was extremely anxious. He didn't know what had happened and was worried that his wife would be harmed, so he could only urge Hu Lijun to get lost.

He didn't even bother to exchange glances with Hu Lijun; all he wanted was for the murderer to be appeased and then let him and his wife go. As for who he was going to kill, what did it matter to them, right?
"Excuse me for bothering you, sir. You go ahead with your work, I'll be going now."

Hu Lijun smiled and apologized, then turned and walked out. Soon after, he heard the door slam shut behind him with a loud 'bang'.

"hehe!"

With a cold laugh, Hu Lijun's expression gradually turned serious as he walked out, texting on his phone. He didn't know if anyone was watching him, but he knew that illegal intrusion was often accompanied by illegal detention, and the situation inside the house could be extremely dangerous.

"Heh... I told you, the police are all useless."

Seeing the old man obediently return, Li Sanwei crossed his legs and shook his head at him with a sigh. To be honest, he was extremely excited! Even more so than when he left. That cup of Jiannanchun tea made Li Sanwei even more excited.

"So, what exactly is up there? You said it's just the two of you at home, then..."

Swaying as he stood up, Li Sanwei deliberately maintained the hazy, alcohol-induced state. He enjoyed this dazed feeling, which allowed him to do whatever he wanted without considering the consequences.

"There's really no one here!"

The old man felt extremely wronged and tried every means to gain Li Sanwei's trust.

That's strange!
Upon hearing this, Li Sanwei stood up, gripped his axe, and squinted as he peered up from the stairwell, but saw nothing.

This posture even made his blood rush to his head, and his mind became even more agitated.

He'd already decided: he'd kill those two old bastards later! After killing Song Yuan, he'd dump the two bodies together, deliberately confusing the police. In some novels he'd read, weren't random killings the hardest to solve? Three people had died, but only one was connected to him. That would give the police a headache, while he could use the opportunity to quickly slip out of Zhang City and be free to roam.

'Rolling around...'

Suddenly, a strange, faint sound came from above, as if something was rolling. Li Sanwei squinted and continued to look up expressionlessly, when suddenly a small, dark thing rolled down from above and hit Li Sanwei on the forehead.

It was hard and small, and it hit Li Sanwei's forehead before bouncing back to the ground and shattering into two pieces.

Li Sanwei, enduring the pain, looked down and saw a small Guanyin head. The head was carved fairly lifelike, but the broken pieces at its neck looked extremely eerie. Especially the fact that this thing had appeared out of nowhere and hit him sent a chill down Li Sanwei's spine.

"What the hell?" Alcohol dulled his senses, and Li Sanwei squinted, rubbing his forehead. Seeing a Buddha statue like that would inevitably make most people have wild thoughts. Add to that his own misdeeds and the fact that Guanyin had hit him on the head, and anyone would feel uneasy.

The two elderly people, who were already believers, were now trembling and dared not utter a word. Looking at the Guanyin statue on the ground, broken into several pieces, they realized that it was their own, but now, apart from the face, the rest was all fragmented.

"Hold!"

Li Sanwei gripped the axe tightly; it was the only thing that gave him a sense of security.

But when it came to actually going up alone, he hesitated. After all, he was over forty and no longer the impulsive person he used to be; even if he wanted to kill someone for fun, he had no intention of risking his own life.

'Gurgle...'

Another strange noise came from above, as if something was rolling, which sounded a little eerie.

"Get up! Lead the way and see what's going on. Don't dawdle or I'll chop you up!"

Li Sanwei turned and glared at the old couple.

'Bang bang bang! '

Just then, there was another knock on the door. Hu Lijun's voice rang out from outside: "Sir, there's something else I need to ask you! Please open the door, I'll be back in two more minutes!"

"..."

The two elderly people looked at Li Sanwei, asking which side to deal with first.

"Hold!"

Li Sanwei's scalp was about to explode. Why were there so many messy things happening all of a sudden?
"You deal with the police! Old woman, you take me upstairs!"

Holding hostages, he quickly made his choice. The elderly couple were extremely unwilling, but under the threat of the axe, they had no choice but to obediently stand up. The old woman's lips trembled as she looked pleadingly at her husband, only to see a similarly helpless face.

No one noticed that while the three people downstairs weren't paying attention, Lin Ge had already quietly come down from the second floor and hidden at the corner of the stairs.

Just as the old man was about to open the door, Li Sanwei forced the old woman upstairs. When they reached the corner of the stairs, he suddenly jumped up, used the wall for leverage, and slammed his head and two claws into Li Sanwei's face, pushing him down the stairs.

"..."

Before he could utter a single word, Li Sanwei collapsed to the ground. The sudden, unexpected strength of the dark figure was far greater than he had imagined. Coupled with his obstructed view, he could only manage to grab the smooth wall with his hands, and he plummeted uncontrollably.

"Officer, aren't you annoying...?"

'Boom! '

The old man had just opened the door, about to help Li Sanwei drive the police away, when he heard a muffled thud behind him. The house seemed to shake, followed by his wife's almost hoarse scream.

"Step aside!"

Hu Lijun, whose expression changed drastically, quickly pushed the old man aside and rushed into the house.

Just as he reached the stairwell, he was shocked to see a person lying motionless on the ground. A cat was perched on his head, baring its teeth and seemingly in considerable pain from the impact.

The scar on the cat's forehead looked very familiar, but now it seemed even more ferocious than usual. It stared intently at the person beneath it, its long claws already scratching a deep laceration onto the person's face.

Even so, the person remained motionless, seemingly having been knocked unconscious.

"Li Sanwei?"

As soon as Lin Ge jumped off Li Sanwei's face, Hu Lijun immediately recognized who he was.

Although Hu Lijun had suspected Li Sanwei might be hiding in this family's house, seeing the poor fellow unconscious upon entering made all his previous preparations seem futile. And what about this stupid cat? Why didn't it even say hello?

"Officer... Officer! This... this man is a murderer! He... he's killed people before, and he's coming here to kill more! He's killed the whole family..."

The old man was stunned for a moment before finally coming to his senses. He pointed at Li Sanwei and roared at him. He was as timid as he was before, and now he was furious! He jumped up and down but didn't dare to get closer. He just waved his hands and feet, demanding that Hu Lijun arrest Li Sanwei immediately.

"murderer?"

Hu Lijun's eyes narrowed.

Seeing that Mimi was still watching the unconscious Li Sanwei warily, he finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

Although they didn't know whether the old man was telling the truth or not, their own police cat never joked like that. The fact that it remained vigilant even after knocking Li Sanwei unconscious undoubtedly meant that this guy was a very dangerous individual.

The old man beside him was still rambling on, recounting the past events that Li Sanwei had used to threaten him. Hu Lijun frowned more and more as he listened, then took out handcuffs and cuffed the unconscious Li Sanwei to the stair railing.

"Step back, don't come any closer. Mimi, keep an eye on him for a while longer, I'll contact my colleague."

After taking two steps back to take a picture of the scene, Hu Lijun pressed the walkie-talkie on his chest.

"Have you found him?"

Before he could even speak, Zheng Mingxing's cold voice came from inside. The chaotic events of the day had put Zheng Mingxing in a very bad mood, and the fact that the police had been careless and allowed the suspect to escape made him even more humiliated.

"According to reports, Instructor Zheng has been arrested by Mimi."

Hu Lijun knew he had done something wrong, and he didn't dare to take credit for it. He first explained that Li Sanwei had been arrested again, and then carefully told Zheng Mingxing about Li Sanwei's past, as told by the old man, as well as the possible reasons why Li Sanwei was hiding next to Song Yuan's house.

In an instant, Zheng Mingxing broke down, and he could no longer maintain his indifferent expression.

"what?"

"Yes! If the old man's account is true, then Li Sanwei should be a cruel murderer who committed a family massacre twenty years ago! Although we don't know exactly where it happened, such a big case shouldn't have been forgotten as a file."

Hu Lijun also looked bewildered, not understanding why he would have such bad luck and encounter such a thing.

Zheng Mingxing listened patiently and made a decisive decision: "I'll send people to investigate right away! Facial recognition and identity information might not be useful for a case from twenty years ago. But since Li Sanwei mentioned DNA, there will at least be clues in the police database. Moreover, there aren't many cases like this, where a family of three was wiped out, even going back twenty years. As long as this case is mentioned, someone will still remember it."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “Old Hu, if Li Sanwei really is the murderer of a cold case, then you’ve actually benefited from this misfortune. You know what kind of responsibility it is for allowing a criminal suspect to escape. Gong Haiyang is just an auxiliary police officer, even just a traffic police auxiliary officer; he can’t and shouldn’t take the blame for Li Sanwei’s escape. So the previous mistake can only be attributed to you. In any case, you’ll at least receive a major demerit after the New Year. But if… Li Sanwei is the murderer of a family annihilation case… Heh! Old Hu, at least you’ve benefited from this misfortune, like a windfall. In Zhangzhou, solving any cold case is at least a third-class merit. And this is a family annihilation case, so a second-class merit is inevitable. With so many things happening on the first day of the Lunar New Year, you should really thank Mimi! Compared to a mistake, a second-class merit is much more valuable…”

"Hehe... Instructor Zheng, I'm a veteran police officer! I don't need you to comfort me with things like meritorious service when something like this happens today."

Hu Lijun was both amused and exasperated. He knew perfectly well that Zheng Mingxing was actually trying to comfort him. Today's incident was indeed his fault, and the punishment was deserved. Even without the subsequent case involving Li Sanwei, if he had been punished, would he have refused to admit it?
And to be honest, he felt ashamed to accept this second-class merit! It was clearly Mimi's doing all the work from beginning to end, how could he possibly take it for himself?

Soon, Zhang Ke, Sun Chang, and police officers from the Municipal Public Security Bureau arrived. The entire community was filled with the sound of sirens as officers surrounded the elderly couple's house, creating an atmosphere of excitement for the residents on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Especially Song Yuan, who was in a daze from playing mahjong and drinking, was shocked when he curiously approached and heard that Li Sanwei's purpose was to kill him.

The old man, who had finally come to his senses, slapped him without saying a word. The old man forgot to dodge and was so beaten that he saw stars.

Of course, this guy wasn't easy to deal with either. When he woke up in pain, he immediately fought back and got into a fight with the old man.

The matter was not over until the police had both men under control and put them in a police car.

(End of this chapter)