Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Jia Zhangshi was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding, but the desire to survive overwhelmed all doubts.

I didn't think much of it.

She chose to believe in this slim hope, nodding frantically, "I'll keep going! I'll keep going!"

Lin Tian solemnly replied: "Freedom, equality, justice, and rule of law."

Despite the excruciating pain, Jia Zhangshi struggled to keep up, her words slurred as if she had a hot eggplant in her mouth, but she managed to finish reciting haltingly: "Freedom...equality...justice...rule of law..."

After she finished reading, she looked at Lin Tian expectantly with her eyes, which were swollen to the point of being slits, waiting for the promise to "let her go" to be fulfilled.

However, what awaited her was not a way out, but—

"Snapped!"

A large, tight bag, heavy with force.

Jia Zhangshi collapsed to the ground like a dead dog, barely having the strength to scream.

Why did you slap my right cheek again?

Can you slap me on the other side?

Her remaining consciousness was filled with a bewildered despair, and she murmured in an almost inaudible whisper, "Why...why...do we have to fight again...you've done it before..."

"Shouldn't you have hit him?"

Lin Tian interrupted her, his voice filled with cold sarcasm, "Rule of law! Jia Zhangshi, do you even know what the word 'rule of law' means?"

You condoned your son Jia Dongxu's burglary and assault on me, and you spread rumors and caused trouble, which angered my mother to death.

You conspired with Yi Zhonghai and his associates to seize my Lin family's house.

You abused my sister, called her a money-losing burden, and even wanted to raise her to sell her as a bride price.

With each word Lin Tian spoke, the invisible pressure intensified, and Jia Zhangshi felt as if she were about to be crushed.

"Tell me, what right do you have to pronounce the words 'rule of law'? Do you even deserve it?"

"Your Jia family has fallen to this state today, with your family destroyed, your lineage cut off, all because of you, you stupid and wicked old hag."

"No...it wasn't me...it wasn't..."

Jia Zhangshi offered a weak, subconscious rebuttal, which was her last, pitiful psychological defense.

Lin Tian stopped talking.

A ripple of gray mist appeared, and a blood-stained axe materialized in his hand.

He gripped the axe and walked step by step toward Jia Zhangshi, who lay limp on the ground.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the silent space like the drumbeats of death.

Jia Zhangshi panicked, was afraid, terrified, and regretful... all sorts of emotions churned within her mind as she teetered on the brink of collapse.

As death approached, images flashed uncontrollably through his mind: Lin Tian's mother vomiting blood from anger; the sound of her son cheering him on as he beat Lin Tian.

The smug smile on Banggeng's face as he snatched the steamed bun from Lin Tangtang's hand; the innocent little girl calling out "Grandma"...

And while Dongxu was alive, their family lived happily...

If it weren't for greed...

If it weren't for greed...

If it weren't for not nipping the problem in the bud...

Everything is too late.

"No...don't...don't come any closer..."

Jia Zhangshi frantically clawed at the smooth ground beneath her with her still-movable hands, retreating in vain, leaving a bloody scratch on her plump body.

Lin Tian did not stop.

Just as the axe was raised high, a bolt of lightning seemed to strike Jia Zhangshi's mind, which was fueled by her will to survive.

A final, desperate glimmer of hope flashed in her triangular eyes. "Lin Tian! You swore an oath! Your sword won't kill the old or the young! You can't kill me! You swore an oath!!"

Lin Tian stopped moving.

Jia Zhangshi's heart, which had been in her throat, suddenly fell back into her stomach.

I survived!

This evil spirit…this demon…he is bound by an oath!

Yes! That must be it!

In her eyes, swollen to slits, rekindled resentment and a glimmer of triumphant ambition.

As long as I get out alive...

Lin Tian tilted his head slightly, his sinister gaze falling on her terrified face, and raised his axe high.

"You old pig, your eyesight isn't very good. This is an axe, not a broadsword."

What?

ax?

Big sword!

Jia Zhangshi's mind went blank for a moment, and she instantly realized that she had been tricked.

He doesn't kill the old and young?

How could my beloved grandson and granddaughter have died?

Stick and Little Tang...aren't they also "young"?

Is it because they never age?

Jia Zhangshi was in despair.

It turns out that Lin Tian never intended to let anyone go in the first place, and I was still foolish enough to believe his lies.

"Liar! Liar! Lin Tian! You'll die a horrible death! You'll die a horrible death!!!"

"I'll be waiting for you down here! Haha...hahaha...you'll come down too! You definitely will!!!"

Her laughter was shrill and wild, echoing in the pure white space.

Lin Tian said nothing more, and the axe he had raised came crashing down with a cold, hard blow.

A cold glint flashed.

The curses and maniacal laughter abruptly ceased.

……

"Don't stop! Don't miss a single corner—ventilation vents, sewers, bushes, toilet latrines..."

Qin Ming's voice echoed in the somewhat empty police station corridor, carrying a tension he himself was unaware of.

The criminal disappeared right under his nose (at the police station), which was another slap in the face to his criminal investigation team.

Director Li, with a similarly grave expression, directed another team: "Second group, check the small dark room for any signs of damage or entry/exit."

The third group, along with all on-duty personnel, is to thoroughly search the area within a three-kilometer radius of the police station, determined to find the person alive or dead.

Police officers moved quickly through the station and streets, checking every possible hiding place or escape route.

The beam of the flashlight flickered in the dim corner, and the footsteps were disordered and hurried.

Time ticked by, and the neighboring streets were quickly searched, but still nothing was found.

"Captain Qin, we've checked the small dark room. The walls and floor are solid; there are no hidden passages," an old detective reported, wiping his sweat.

"Captain Qin, all the doors and windows are intact, and there are no signs of forced entry on the locks. The officers on duty last night all said they didn't see anyone enter or leave." Another officer ran over.

"Initial inquiries on the surrounding streets revealed that no one saw any suspicious persons or unusual activity." The third team has also returned.

Qin Ming stood at the door of the small dark room, staring at the heavy wooden door and the only small window with iron bars.

The room was empty, with only cold cement floors and walls, not even a mouse hole.

How did Jia Zhangshi, a fat old woman, disappear from here in the few seconds it took to close the door and turn around?

"Old Qin...should we invite a master?"

Director Li walked to his side, lowered his voice, and said with deep unease, "This is too strange. A perfectly healthy person, just like that..."

Qin Ming didn't speak, but gave him another deep look before walking into the small dark room. He squatted down, carefully touched the floor with his hand, and then examined the walls.

There were no drag marks, no bloodstains, and no signs of struggle or movement.

It was as if Jia Zhangshi had been "swallowed" by this room.

Is Director Li's unusual fear a sign that he has something to hide?

An immature idea quietly emerged in my mind...

"Could it be... really..."

A young police officer couldn't help but mutter under his breath, but was glared at by the older officer next to him, and swallowed the word "haunted."

How can law enforcement officers knowingly break the law?

But that idea, like that of ghosts and spirits, had already quietly crept into the minds of many people present.

From yesterday to today, there have been a series of bizarre deaths, and now a living person has vanished into thin air inside a police station's dark room...

All of this goes far beyond the scope of the theft, brawls, and even murder cases they handle on a daily basis.

Qin Ming straightened up, walked out of the small dark room, and looked around at the police officers who looked surprised and uncertain.

He knew that morale couldn't be broken, especially at a time like this.

And someone has to handle this matter.

"Alright! All of you go out and search. A living person can't just vanish into thin air; they must have used a method we haven't thought of yet."

His shout roused the officers, who then reluctantly headed out of the police station, but the atmosphere remained tense.

Only two people remained in the small dark room.

……