It’s Him – Ch37

Reincarnation?

Zhao Jingzheng was looking online for the original poster, hoping to make contact with them.

The person had never responded to him, as if they had just posted this message, stirred up his life, and then disappeared.

Until this evening, Zhao Jingzheng logged into his WeChat again, and someone tagged him in a group he had joined earlier. This group contained people who had deep knowledge of the serial murder case from years ago, which Zhao had infiltrated in order to collect information about the victims’ families.

It turned out that there was a message tagging all the group members.

He clicked on the chat box and saw nothing but “+1” messages.

Scrolling up, he found the group leader’s message tagging everyone.

“@All members, the funeral of one of the victims of the serial murder case will be held tomorrow. If anyone in the group would like to attend and pay respects, please register your name so we can go together.”

“@All members, a fee of fifty yuan per person is required as condolence money for the family. We hope everyone understands.”

“@All members, please avoid discussing the details of the case at the scene to prevent causing further harm to the family. Don’t go online and gather in groups to discuss the case.”

A victim’s funeral?

Wasn’t there a body of one of the victims found at the basketball court of that neighborhood? Hadn’t there been no funeral held for them until now?

His father had firmly stated that it wasn’t one of the victims from the case.

His father’s certainty made Zhao Jingzheng panic.

He felt guilty for his thoughts, but he couldn’t help wondering—if his father was so sure, did he know where the real victim was?

But the police had already confirmed that it was one of the victims. The police couldn’t possibly lie to the public. His father claimed that Li Xun and others must have found out about the body through some channel, then worked with one of the victim’s families to claim it, which led to this outcome.

Zhao Jingzheng wasn’t very bright, but he had common sense. There was no way that if a victim’s family claimed that the body was theirs, the police would simply accept it. Besides, what were the odds that the body would match the victim’s features exactly?

He couldn’t make sense of this. Now that he had the chance, he immediately registered for the funeral.

He didn’t tell his father that he was going. He told his mother instead.

He was going to be out for a day, and since his father’s hand was injured and no one was looking after him, Zhao Jingzheng couldn’t leave him alone, especially since people still thought his father was a murderer. Naturally, he asked his mother to take care of him.

When Qin Li received the call, she asked, “What is your relationship with your father?”

Zhao Jingzheng said, “Mom, I really don’t want to argue with you right now. I have something very important to do. Dad’s in the hospital alone, his hand is injured, and I just can’t leave him. I’m really worried, and I need you to come and look after him for a bit. You don’t need to do anything else.”

“I want to come, but these days have been too busy for me, I can’t make it.”

“Mom, I’m begging you,” Zhao Jingzheng said, unsure why he was so persistent. “Dad was so good to you back then. Now that he’s like this, he just needs you to help watch over him for two days.”

If Li Xun were there, she would tell him that it wasn’t because his father needed care, but because Zhao Jingzheng no longer felt safe with his father and was afraid, desperately looking for an accomplice.

Qin Li agreed.

As soon as she did, Zhao Jingzheng immediately left.

The funeral was in the southern district of Pingcheng, and it would take over an hour by taxi. Zhao Jingzheng didn’t want to spend the money, so he transferred twice on the light rail and three times by bus.

It took him over three hours to get there.

When he arrived, the first thing he saw was a girl at the edge of the crowd wearing a mask and a hat.

It was Li Xun.

What was she doing here?

A few hours earlier, Li Xun had seen the news online—the only victim of the serial murder case who had been found would have their funeral.

The news came from a marketing account, with a black-and-white photo attached, which seemed to have been taken secretly.

A little girl, about five or six years old, with an oval face, big eyes, and chubby baby cheeks frozen in that moment of innocence and cuteness.

Li Xun stared at the photo for a while, noticing a small detail—a mole at the corner of the little girl’s eye.

She laughed at the absurdity of it but soon fell silent again.

Sitting alone in her empty rental apartment, the sound of a child being called home echoed from the alley, though it seemed not to reach her room.

The furniture in the room seemed to soak in her emotions.

Eventually, she picked up her phone and made a call.

“Where’s the funeral? Send me the address.”

The person on the other end lowered their voice after receiving the call. “Are you coming?”

“I want to come and take a look.”

“But would it be inconvenient for you to come? Won’t it interfere with the plans?”

“It won’t.” Li Xun said.

“Then I’ll send you the address.”

Li Xun quickly hailed a taxi to the location.

She wasn’t sure why she was going, but many people had arrived—after all, someone had leaked the news, and this was the only victim found in the serial murder case.

Some were curious to know more about the details of the case, while others felt sorry for the child, whose life had been stolen at such a young age before she had the chance to grow up.

Many came as adults to give the child her final farewell.

The victim’s family was in their fifties. They had no children of their own, and now they were wiping away tears as they received guests.

Li Xun looked at them. They weren’t like the parents of the book sister who cried for others to see.

They had red eyes, but their sorrow seemed so clumsy.

On the other side, Li Xun could hear some case enthusiasts discussing the details.

“I bought some insider information. The victim’s wounds don’t match what the dreams of past and present have described.”

“The fatal injury was caused by a broken sternum, leading to suffocation. Suffocation, that must have been so painful.”

“How was such a severe injury caused?”

Li Xun stood there, the voice of a man echoing in her ear—

“Still not listening? Still making noise?”

Suddenly, she felt as though someone had stomped on her chest. Pain swept through her entire body.

“Boss—” a voice from her side pulled her back to reality.

Under the hot sun, Li Xun’s whole body turned cold.

Her desk mate, Guo Ying, leaned over and whispered, “I’ve already posted online that I won’t attend the funeral.”

This was the second time Guo Ying had attended a funeral with Li Xun. Compared to the last time at the book sister’s funeral, when she cried uncontrollably, this time, she felt little emotion.

Guo Ying had been a classmate of the book sister’s, and she had been the one to inform Li Xun about the book sister’s funeral.

She had posted the message online, but even she didn’t know why she did it.

At first, she thought Li Xun was going to use this event to deceive people.

But Li Xun had not taken any further action, leaving Guo Ying confused.

Guo Ying whispered, “Boss, could this really be the body of your past life?”

Guo Ying couldn’t understand why her boss knew that there was a body down there, and that it was one of the victims from the case.

During that time, just thinking about this question caused Guo Ying so much stress that she felt like the pebbles in her brain were smoking.

Could it be true?

Was her boss really the reincarnation of a victim, seeking revenge on the class teacher?