It’s Him – Ch09

Has Killed a Student

“Teacher.” Li Xun attempted to break the other party’s lucky thinking. “You’re a smart person. You shouldn’t be trying to convince me you’re not the murderer.”

To Li Xun, everything had a value hierarchy, and clearly, whether or not the person was the murderer did not rank first.

Teacher Zhao was still in pain. He looked at the student, realizing that this middle-aged man had his own flaws, being overly reliant on past experiences. His understanding of new people and new things was always based on past experiences.

Li Xun forcefully tore this notion apart.

He had already reshaped his understanding of Li Xun as a student.

The other party had already sided with her mother, with no possibility of wavering.

“I only want to protect my mom. I won’t believe that you won’t call the police once you get out. If you want to find a breakthrough from me, you should focus on ‘you won’t call the police’ and find a way.”

She clearly explained her situation, with no room for retreat.

Teacher Zhao realized that, from the moment she had discovered him, she had not apologized to him. Just as she had said from the start, she wasn’t panicking.

She wasn’t a normal high school student.

“My mom will probably be back in about an hour. If you have a way to make me trust you, don’t miss this opportunity.”

Li Xun’s phone emitted a faint light, and the basement still carried that unpleasant odor. The pain wasn’t unbearable, but the hunger was.

He was silent for a moment before speaking. “Can I have something to eat first?”

“Wait a moment.” Li Xun went upstairs and grabbed a few Snickers bars she had bought earlier.

Teacher Zhao could sense that the other party didn’t harbor hatred toward him.

The sweet taste of chocolate on the Snickers bar, mixed with the scent of peanuts, soothed the irritation tearing through his body.

Li Xun said, “Teacher, you should trust me. I just want to protect my mother. She gave me life and my current life. I want to maintain this life.”

Teacher Zhao raised his head.

“Teacher, you should understand how hard it is to have a peaceful and happy life.”

Under the continuous bombardment and mental pressure, Teacher Zhao finally relented.

“I really didn’t know about that incident from back then,” he said. “I’ll tell you another one of my secrets. You can use this to control me. If the outside world finds out, I’ll be ruined, lose my job. And as for the harm your mom caused me, it can be healed in two or three months. I’m not going to ruin my life over such a small grudge.”

Li Xun handed him another Snickers bar. “Tell me.”

Teacher Zhao quickly ate it, noticing that Li Xun didn’t seem to be fixated on finding out where the child from back then was.

For Teacher Zhao, this was good news because it meant the other party and her mother weren’t on the same team, and their goals were indeed different.

After finishing the Snickers bar, Teacher Zhao said, “I once accepted a red envelope from a parent.”

“Is that it?” Li Xun instantly lost interest.

“It added up to more than 100,000 over the years,” Teacher Zhao added.

“The justification for this is too strong.”

“How can I justify it?”

“Since it was a red envelope, it certainly wasn’t transferred through a bank; it must have been cash. Since it was cash, what kind of trace can it leave? What if you deny it after you go outside?”

“I can record it. I’ll write a confession…”

“Useless. When the police come, you just need to say you were forced to confess, that you lied to save yourself.”

Teacher Zhao: “I’m not that kind of person.”

Li Xun said, “Let’s set a standard. Your secret has to be big enough and have evidence. I need evidence that will put you in jail.”

“Accepting a red envelope of such a large amount is a serious issue for a teacher,” Teacher Zhao said.

What about something bigger than this?

Li Xun: “My mom is suspected of illegally imprisoning someone, and there are also situations involving insults and physical assault that require harsher punishment. You must have a secret of similar seriousness, and if I report it with evidence, you’ll go to jail. Only in that case will I believe you, and I’ll let you go.”

She said seriously, “I really want to let you go. My mom is old. I don’t want her to go to prison. In a way, we’re in this together.”

Teacher Zhao could feel that the other party was getting anxious, probably because, as time passed, her mother’s crime might escalate to the point of causing someone’s death through illegal detention.

He was also conflicted. Some things, hidden in the dark, were hard to deal with once brought to light.

Moreover, he couldn’t be sure if the other party really knew nothing about her mother’s actions or if she was just pretending to be unaware for some greater purpose.

The two lawless individuals fell into silence.

In the basement, the only light visible was from Li Xun’s phone, as she started searching for cement online.

She had already handed control of the situation to the person in front of her. Teacher Zhao gritted his teeth and, in the end, spoke up.

“I once killed a student.”

Li Xun raised her head. She wasn’t surprised, nor did she have a look of judgment or disdain. She simply said one sentence: “I want evidence.”

From the very beginning, her goal was clear. She didn’t care what kind of person the individual in front of her was.

Teacher Zhao, for the first time, grew anxious. “Where can I get you the evidence? How could something like this leave any evidence?”

“Teacher Zhao, it’s always been you giving lessons. Today, I’m giving you a lesson. From a legal perspective, things without evidence are as though they never happened. Legal facts are not objective facts.”

“I’ve seen other murderers collect victim’s belongings or write journals. Don’t you have anything like that?”

“No.”

Li Xun: “Then find something else with evidence.”

Teacher Zhao said, “You can record what I’m about to say. You can use it to threaten me.”

Li Xun: “Once you get out, you can say that my mom locked you in here, and that you’re just saying these things to deceive me, for self-preservation. Everyone will surely understand.”

So, evidence was a must—irrefutable, solid proof.

Teacher Zhao fell silent. He had thought that once he spoke up, the other party would keep pressing him for answers. But once he said there was no evidence, the other party lost interest.

The two fell out of conversation again.

Li Xun: “You think about it here. I’ll come find you when I have time. Don’t anger my mom.”

She said one final sentence, directly hitting the heart.

“You know, there are many cases in this world that will never be solved. Maybe you’ll be one of those victims.”

As she stepped out, Li Yugui returned from outside, carrying the strange smell of mugwort. It was somewhat bitter.

She looked exhausted, a kind of mental and spiritual fatigue reflected in her physical state, as though her whole body had collapsed.

Li Xun had a vague sense that the other party was trapped.

She believed the murderer was right in front of her, yet she couldn’t get any information about her child’s whereabouts from the person before her.

The next day, Friday, during the second class in the morning, the sky darkened, and large clouds began to gather.

A fierce wind blew, and the entire school seemed to fall under the roar of a gigantic beast.

The whole world was plunged into darkness. During the ten-minute break, Li Xun and her deskmate ran to the corridor.

Almost every student had an excited look on their face.

The wind was strong, the thunder loud, and the sky seemed to be blowing the horn of destruction, giving the illusion of the apocalypse.

The students ran and jumped in the hallway, their hearts thrilled by this destructive joy.

When emotions are suppressed for long periods, people are drawn to this frantic feeling of destruction.

Li Xun’s mind still focused on the problem.

What exactly did Teacher Zhao mean when he said he had killed a student?

She hadn’t shown curiosity in the basement, because she wanted to leave the impression that, as long as her mother was fine, she didn’t care about anything else.

More importantly, why did a serial killer stop their killing spree?

For serial killers of this level, stopping generally meant either death or imprisonment.

They gained immense pleasure from killing, it was an addiction. When they stop, it’s usually due to uncontrollable factors.

Or could it be related to the student he mentioned who had died? What year was that student? Could it coincide with the time when Teacher Zhao stopped his killing?

Li Xun thought of another person who might have a clue.

——————————

Elsewhere, Zhao Jing had just left the police station, completely dazed.

He had followed Li Xun’s advice and contacted the police, but of course, his grandparents were not deceased. He had only been told they were missing.

The police helped him investigate.

Both of his grandparents were still alive.

His grandfather—his grandfather was in prison.

His grandmother—he had obtained his grandmother’s address.

What was going on?

Zhao Jing hid under the eaves, outside the rain pouring down and the thunder attempting to tear apart the world. He felt as though he was the only person left in the world.

In his confusion, his phone rang. It was Li Xun.

“Do the police have any leads?”

He held the phone and texted the person on the other end, venting his emotions.

“My dad lied to us. Both my grandparents are still alive, but my grandfather is in prison.”

Li Xun’s message came quickly.

“Don’t overcomplicate things. If my dad is in prison, I wouldn’t want to tell my kids either. Your dad definitely has his own troubles, which is why he didn’t tell you. The most important thing for us right now is to find your dad, not to obsess over whether he lied.”

These words pulled Zhao Jing from his emotions.

“You’re right. Let’s find my dad first.”

On his phone, Li Xun’s second message came through: “I’ve made some progress on my end, but the clues are unclear. I need your help.”

Zhao Jing’s feeling of being the only one left in the world disappeared. He still had a reliable friend.

“Did your dad have a student who died? Do you know about this? I heard from a classmate, and I’m wondering if your dad’s disappearance is connected to this.”

While comforting Zhao Jing’s emotions, Li Xun inquired about the student incident and also sent a message to the entrepreneur whose contact information she had previously obtained.

“Uncle Qian, I heard from a classmate that his dad also killed a student. You might need to help check this out.”

If you want to understand the nature of things, the best way is to observe from different angles.