The Last Mr. Dongguo

The silence was terrifying; the darkness was utterly helpless.

In the darkness, his right hand was numb, while his left hand was covered in blood, sticky and heavy.

He raised his left hand, searching for light. Blood slowly slid down his arm, gathering at his elbow, and finally dripped into the endless darkness.

Without light, it was pitch black, and I could only grope my way forward. The smell of blood grew stronger and stronger, and the dizziness intensified.

Where exactly is this?

He didn't shout because the person was still nearby. We need to get out of here as soon as possible!

Fear compelled him to quicken his pace, but his dilated pupils could not perceive any light, as if he were in a vast darkness, being swallowed up by the inky reality.

Suddenly, a faint ray of light was captured by his optic nerve, followed by beams of light like searchlights sweeping in his direction. More and more light gathered in front of him, forming a huge sheet of light. He saw the hope in his heart.

A sweet and innocent girl appeared on the screen. He stopped, a happy smile slowly spreading across his face. He reached out to embrace her, but suddenly the screen switched, the girl vanished, and in her place appeared rows of tombstones. The gray tones caused his mood to plummet, and soon, darkness returned.

"I've already lost enough!"

"Everyone has countless doors in their heart; whether they are closed or open depends on their own choices."

Is there any choice now? It's all too late!

A light drizzle unveiled the pre-dawn sky, making the gray cemetery appear even more somber. A man dressed in a black coat, his back hunched, slowly approached from a distance. He held an umbrella in one hand and tightly clutched a cloth bag to his chest with the other, the umbrella hand slightly tilted forward, as if the contents of the bag were particularly precious.

"My child, your father has come to see you." The man stopped in front of a tombstone, his expression solemn, his eyes already brimming with tears. The flowers in front of the tombstone were wet with rain, but they looked remarkably fresh.

"Child, are you alright?" The man sat down on the ground, wiping the rainwater off the tombstone with his sleeve and placing an umbrella over it. "I received your dream. It's my fault for being careless, don't be angry. Look! I stayed up all night making your favorite dumplings." The man wiped away his tears, gently placed the cloth bag in front of the tombstone, and carefully took out the lunchbox inside. "Child, eat slowly, I'll talk to you."

The chill of the cemetery is the most immediate feeling, but today, Fei Li felt the warmth of family affection. Looking at Wu Lian's small figure in the distance, Fei Li thought of herself; some things you really can only trust and rely on yourself for.

The rain started again. Cheng Luan held up an umbrella with one hand and answered the phone with the other.

"Team Leader Cheng, I have compiled the detailed information you requested regarding Wu Lian and the three deceased."

"Okay, send it to my phone now. Thanks for your help!"

Cheng Luan handed the umbrella to Fei Li and then looked through his phone.

"What a tragic person. He lost his father at a young age, dropped out of school before graduating from elementary school, and worked odd jobs with his mother, drifting from place to place. Finally, he learned some skills from a man named Liu Ming and was introduced to Feng Zi's factory. After starting work, he met his wife, and the two quickly got married and had a daughter. Unfortunately, his wife passed away from illness twenty years ago, and a few years later, his daughter also passed away due to a doctor's misdiagnosis."

Wu Lian's life is a tragedy.

Cheng Luan shook his head helplessly, his thumb scrolling through his phone screen. "Feng Zi is really crazy. He's into gambling, drugs, and prostitution. He's ruined the factory long ago. Going abroad? Humph! He's dreaming."

"And then there's Hu Lan. The assets under his name alone are enough for him to live on for several lifetimes. Where do you think he gets so much money? Even if he gets red envelopes every day, it wouldn't amount to that much, would it?"

Fei Li didn't speak, while Cheng Luan kept shaking his head.

"And then there's Wei Li, who was a hotel owner five years ago. Guess what her hotel was called? It was the place where she and Feng Zi booked rooms."

"Fei Li," Cheng Luan suddenly raised his voice, startling Fei Li, "Guess what I found?"

"What?" Fei Li seemed to have sensed something was wrong as well.

"The three of them have connections," Cheng Luan held the phone up to Fei Li's face. "Five years ago, a murder occurred in Wei Li's hotel. The victim was a young female college student, and all three of them were at the scene."

The three men's statements and signatures were presented to Fei Li.

"What was the deceased's name?"

"Liu Siyu".

Liu Siyu's information appeared on Cheng Luan's phone, and her father's name was Liu Ming.

"It seems this case isn't as simple as we thought. Liu Ming is the key. A witness from five years ago died at the same time five years later—is that a coincidence?" Fei Li narrowed her eyes, looking at Wu Lian, who was still sitting in front of the tombstone in the distance. "Do you have Liu Ming's photo or information?"

"No." Cheng Luan scrolled to the bottom of the screen on his phone.

"He has connections with both the deceased and Wu Lian; perhaps we're all mistaken."

"You mean..." Cheng Luan guessed Fei Li's thoughts, "But why? Where is Liu Ming now?"

"Then we need to start investigating from five years ago. Besides, that hotel was located in a red-light district, which was quite bustling five years ago. Even if a murder occurred, given the circumstances, the hotel wouldn't have had to close down. Look, it's still there, isn't it? Why would Wei Li want to transfer the hotel?" Fei Li put her right hand in her pocket. "Wu Lian didn't even finish elementary school; he couldn't possibly have come up with such an excuse. Besides, he spends all his time working and taking care of his mother; where would he have time to watch TV? Also, when exactly did Wu Lian's daughter die?"

"Twenty years ago! It's clearly written in the documents."

"But how could a father be uncertain about such an important date? When he faced Hu Ling, and when he finally answered your questions, he used several uncertain numbers. It seems that he didn't even know when his daughter passed away."

"Could it be that he was instructed by Liu Ming? No," Cheng Luan immediately denied. "It doesn't make sense. The information couldn't be faked. Even if the information was faked, Wu Lian's memory should be accurate, unless he has memory loss."

"Our relationship with Wu Lian and Liu Ming is currently only that of master and apprentice. Besides, the data was written by a person, and people can falsify things, as for memories..."

As the two were discussing, Wu Lian suddenly collapsed in the distance. The sudden turn of events immediately jolted Fei Li awake. The two rushed forward, but it was too late; Wu Lian was already lifeless. Fei Li looked up at the tombstone. It was erected five years ago, and the black-and-white photograph in the center was of Liu Siyu. That sweet smile was so familiar, yet it sent a chill down her spine…