It’s Him – Ch47

The Grand Finale (Part 1)

Li Xun continued living her uneventful life.

The last time, Tao Feng had come to find her, but after she humiliated him in person, he had not appeared again. She had asked his roommates to keep an eye on him, especially to watch for any weapons he might have.

It felt like launching a satellite, with no signal returning.

Days passed, one after the other, with no updates. No messages came from any direction.

It was really frustrating.

If it weren’t for her mother’s situation, she might have been able to remain calm. But right now, she was desperate for an outcome.

At times, she wondered whether she might have been wrong. Maybe not everything in this world follows a pattern. Perhaps some people, after straying off course, will turn back, reflect on their mistakes, and avoid the traps ahead.

Maybe Zhao Xin and Tao Feng were those kinds of people—those who could reform, turn over a new leaf.

She even sometimes woke up in the middle of the night from nightmares, where Zhao Xin had moved to a small town. Unburdened by emotions, he had started a new life, teaching earnestly to atone for the wrongs of his past.

Tao Feng had also confessed his debts to his parents, who had sold their house to pay them off. He too had recognized his mistakes, worked hard, and eventually entered a big company, living a bright and successful life.

The human traffickers who had once escaped had seen the news, not swayed by the huge fortune they were about to receive. They weren’t looking for her anymore. They had turned back, preparing to enjoy their old age.

These people had new lives, built on the pain of all the victims and their families.

All her careful planning had come to nothing.

Li Xun broke out in a cold sweat.

She hadn’t been sleeping well for several days. As time passed, her anxiety grew, and even Guo Ying had started making her chrysanthemum tea.

“Don’t worry. I don’t know exactly what you’re planning, but you’re so smart, I’m sure you’ll make it.”

“It’s complicated,” Li Xun sighed.

Her anxiety grew day by day, especially as Zhao Xin and Tao Feng took no action. She even began to doubt her own abilities.

Indeed, she wasn’t as capable as she thought. Sometimes, she could be quite foolish.

When she was little, she thought that adults and children were two entirely different species, like cats and dogs.

She didn’t know that adults were just grown-up children.

It was strange. When she was young, she was so clever, yet she didn’t know what seemed to come naturally to most people.

Her cleverness led her to analyze everything, and eventually, she concluded that adults and children were two different kinds of creatures.

Maybe, just maybe, this time she, like when she was a child, had come to the wrong conclusion. Maybe they could still turn back from the edge.

The late He He, and the one who was killed by their relatives, Miao Miao, had been kidnapped by her class teacher’s mother because they feared for her safety. They trusted her plan, and the Qian family had provided money and support…

Li Xun couldn’t sleep at all that night. She repeatedly reviewed all her psychological analyses and character studies of the Tao family over the years, and looked over her psychological analysis of Zhao Xin…

They seemed to have no other options, but what if…?

She had to remain calm. She couldn’t panic or act rashly. It wasn’t time to despair yet.

Just then, she received a phone call.

The person on the other end said, “This is Zhang Mingcai.”

Zhang Mingcai had once worked with her mother on a kidnapping case. Later, when the class teacher was rescued, Li Xun had asked Aunt Zhang to help her grandmother escape.

At that time, Zhao Xin had told the police there was another person, but they couldn’t find him, so they had to give up.

Now, the person on the phone claimed to be Zhang Mingcai.

“I’ve found it,” Aunt Zhang said excitedly.

“Xun Xun, I’ve found where Teacher Zhao hid the child. Come here quickly, I’ll send you the address.”

Li Xun suppressed her overwhelming joy and asked, “Do you need me to call the police?”

“I’ve already called them. There are many officers here, so hurry up.”

Li Xun asked for the address, quickly got dressed, and left her bedroom.

As soon as she stepped out, the two people in the living room looked up at her.

One was Teacher Sun Ning, who had been worried about Li Xun’s well-being recently. Since Li Xun had been in bad shape, Sun Ning came over to keep her company, as Li Xun didn’t want to stay at the school.

The other was Zhang Mingcai, who had returned to Pingcheng as the anniversary of her child’s passing was approaching. To make things easier, she stayed at Li Xun’s place.

Neither of them had gone to bed yet, and upon seeing Li Xun come out, they asked, “Where are you going this late?”

Li Xun packed her things as she replied, “Come with me. I’ll take a taxi, and you two follow behind. No matter what you see, stay calm. Don’t rush out—it will ruin my plan.”

She plugged in a mobile Wi-Fi device to her laptop, making sure it had internet access, and handed it to Zhang Mingcai.

Both were confused.

Sun Ning asked, “What’s going on? What should we do? Where are you going now?”

Li Xun replied, “No time to explain. Your car should follow mine, but don’t follow too closely. Once we stop, park somewhere hidden.”

She opened a software on her laptop.

“There are ten surveillance feeds here. They’re all working fine, but we can’t be sure which one will show up. After you park, check the feeds.”

“I didn’t ask you to come out, so don’t. Remember, don’t come out. I’ll be fine.”

Without waiting for the two of them to figure it out, Li Xun was already dressed and heading out.

The address given on the phone led to an unfinished building in the suburbs, named Ping Shui Villa.

The driver heard her mention the location and said, “Big girl, what are you doing there this late? It’s unsafe.”

“My aunt is there. Just drive me there, don’t worry, it’s safe.”

“Alright. Will you be coming back? I’ll wait for you by the side of the road.”

Li Xun could hear her own heartbeat, counting it as she replied, “I won’t be coming back. You go ahead and return.”

Meanwhile, in the unfinished Ping Shui Villa building.

Tao Feng and Zhao Xin were hiding in a corner. They had just arrived, and the place had been chosen by Tao Feng.

Outside the building, the foundation had been dug out but left unfinished. Combined with Pingcheng’s frequent rainfall, it had turned into a large pond.

When Tao Feng graduated from high school, a classmate had invited them here for a barbecue, and they had caught fish from the pond.

Not only fish, but there were also some small crocodiles released by people, which were quite scary.

Back then, someone joked that this place would be perfect for dumping a body.

Once Tao Feng was sure he was going to kill, he came here to scout the location. Satisfied, he decided it would be the perfect spot.

At that moment, Tao Feng yawned and asked, “Are you sure she’ll come?”

In the past, Zhao Xin wouldn’t explain, but recently, he had been excluded from normal social interactions. Being human, he still had social needs.

“Do you know why the police always catch criminals at this time? It’s because people are awake, but their brains haven’t fully processed yet. By the time she realizes, she’ll already be in the car. She’ll want to check things out first. I know her, she cares about her mom, so she’ll definitely come, even if it’s risky.”

To Zhao Xin, Li Xun was a very smart and self-confident person. Even if she noticed something was wrong, she would think she could handle it, so she would come.

Pingcheng wasn’t a good place to carry out the plan, so Zhao Xin had to lure her out.

The plan was going smoothly. Tao Feng was much more useful than his son Zhao Jing. Tao Feng understood the internet and knew many things.

They had first found some old interview videos of Zhang Mingcai, recorded her voice, and used AI technology to edit a message to Li Xun.

Li Xun had been very excited on the phone and was probably coming.

The unfinished building stood like a lurking monster in the night. Tao Feng still felt a bit nervous and asked, “Do I really have to do it?”

Zhao Xin glanced at him silently, as if to say everything needed no words.

Tao Feng asked again, “What did it feel like the first time you killed?”

Zhao Xin had never been asked this before and replied, “No special feeling.”

Tao Feng hoped he could be just like that too.

Soon, Li Xun’s call came through. Tao Feng had a software program running, chatting with her and making sure she headed to the unfinished building.

Zhao Xin was monitoring the other side, and the taxi that had dropped someone off had already left.

Gradually, Tao Feng heard footsteps approaching.

Indeed, only one person had come.

On the other side, Sun Ning was driving, and Zhang Mingcai was sitting in the back seat, holding a computer.

Sun Ning asked, “What is Li Xun planning to do?”

Zhang Mingcai replied, “I don’t know either. She just told us that she has a way to make Zhao Xin reveal the location of our child.”

But after that, there was no more news from Li Xun, so Zhang Mingcai didn’t know anything further. Moreover, even if it failed, they wouldn’t bother Li Xun.

“It’s so late,” Sun Ning said, still feeling uneasy as she asked, “Did you see anything on the surveillance?”

“I’m checking one by one. Wait a minute… I found something!” Zhang Mingcai said happily. The next moment, she added, “It’s a wild boar.”

The car ahead had already stopped, and she remembered what Li Xun had said. They didn’t continue forward but instead found a place nearby to park.

Once the car was stopped, they got out and went to the back seat to check the surveillance footage.

The footage showed abandoned buildings, forests, and a pond.

But there was no movement.

At this moment, Sun Ning noticed something. “You didn’t turn on the sound!”

Zhang Mingcai then realized that the video had been muted. No wonder it had been so quiet.

The two quickly turned on the sound.

The video footage didn’t capture much, but immediately, a voice came from inside the car:

“She’s coming.”

Both of them recognized the voice—it was Zhao Xin’s.

It must have been because of the camera placement, and the person was probably just outside the camera’s blind spot.

Zhang Mingcai said, “Is Li Xun looking for them? Trying to get information? Out here in the wilderness?”

Sun Ning immediately wanted to get out of the car to find Li Xun.

At that moment, a voice from the screen said, “Don’t come!”

With that voice, Li Xun’s figure appeared on one of the surveillance videos.

The two exchanged looks and realized that Li Xun was probably speaking to them.

The two anxiously waited for Li Xun to speak.

Sure enough, Li Xun asked, “Where is Aunt Zhang?”

However, the next second, a shadow suddenly appeared from behind, directly pressing Li Xun down. Immediately, a rope was thrown around her neck, and it was pulled tightly.

The whole thing happened so quickly that Zhang Mingcai screamed. The two of them got out of the car and ran toward the other side.

The person was no longer breathing.

Tao Feng’s hands were numb. He had used all his strength, and in just a few minutes, it felt like he had lived a whole lifetime.

The person collapsed on the ground. Zhao Xin came over, checked for a pulse, and confirmed that there was no breath left.

Zhao Xin raised his head, and Tao Feng was still in shock. His brain seemed to have stopped working, and everything felt blank. He had killed someone. He had really killed someone.

Tao Feng snapped back to his senses and looked at Zhao Xin.

“I killed her…”

He desperately needed some reassurance from the outside world, something that would allow him to catch his breath.

Zhao Xin didn’t have time to console him.

Tao Feng didn’t get any comfort from the outside world, so he kept talking to himself. “It’s all her fault. She’s a liar. I thought about working with her, but she wouldn’t allow it. She chose this dead-end path herself.”

As he said this, he thought about the reward he would soon receive.

He had made such a big sacrifice; he should get a huge benefit in return.

“Now, now, take me to the location of the victim from that year.”

“Let’s go tomorrow,” Zhao Xin said.

“No, now!” Tao Feng was starting to panic. If Zhao Xin was lying to him, then he had killed someone for nothing.

His emotions were extremely unstable, and Zhao Xin realized the gap in their strength.

Zhao Xin could only say, “I’ll take you there now.”

They tossed Li Xun’s body into a nearby pond before leaving.

When they reached the end of the road, Zhao Xin turned around and looked back at the abandoned building.

He still felt uneasy.

He couldn’t explain why, he just felt uneasy. Maybe it was because he was getting older and didn’t have the same mentality as before.

Zhang Mingcai and Sun Ning almost bumped into each other. Luckily, Sun Ning reacted quickly, and with the darkness of night, the two quickly lay down in the nearby bushes.

Zhao Xin and Tao Feng quickly left.

Once they were gone, the two of them ran toward the large puddle beside the abandoned building.

“Li Xun! Li Xun!”

The large pond looked intimidating, and they didn’t know how deep it was. Sun Ning immediately wanted to go into the water, as she could swim.

At that moment, suddenly a head emerged from the water. Both of them were startled.

Looking again, it was Li Xun!

When she saw the two teachers, she swam toward them, hoarsely shouting in fear, “Grab a rock, there’s a crocodile! A crocodile is biting me!”

Sun Ning and Zhang Mingcai quickly entered the water to grab her. Zhang Mingcai held a rock and aimed for the crocodile’s head. Fortunately, the crocodile wasn’t very large, and with one strike, it ran away.

Li Xun was both angry and speechless. As the two aunties pulled her to the shore, her throat hurt so much she could barely speak, “How could there be a crocodile here!”

Indeed, things couldn’t always be planned perfectly.

Sun Ning looked at her neck. “Did you know from the beginning that they were going to kill you? How dare you take such a big risk? You could have lost your life! How could you do that?”

Li Xun gritted her teeth in pain, pointing to her throat, indicating that she couldn’t explain.

“Can’t catch the wolf without losing the cub.”

As soon as Li Xun reached the shore, she cried from the pain. Her neck, throat, and thighs all hurt.

Zhang Mingcai said, “We need to get you to the hospital quickly. You’re covered in injuries!”

Li Xun waved her hand and said in a strained voice, “Take me back to the car—we need to go after the victim’s body from that year.”

Zhang Mingcai quickly picked her up and headed toward the car, with Sun Ning following closely behind. Sun Ning couldn’t help but say, “You should have told us. We could have checked the area in advance, at least taking care of the crocodile in the pond.”

Li Xun rasped, “I prepared nine murder plans for them, but I don’t know which one they ended up using…”

“And I definitely couldn’t tell you. The last person who knew the plan was my mom.”

Now, at the detention center:

“You really scared me to death.”

“It’s okay, I have experience now.”

Teacher Sun wanted to carry her, but was worried about her injuries. “I’ll call an ambulance.”

“No, the ambulance has to come from the city. If they return to the city, they might run into us and get suspicious. It would all be for nothing. Take me back to your car, and we’ll head back.”

“We need to hurry. Aunt Zhang, send the video to the Qian family, and have them prepare quickly.” Li Xun started assigning tasks. “Have the Qian family track Zhao Xin’s car. Right now, Zhao Xin is heading to the location of the victim from that year. Aunt Zhang, have the Qian family sync the location with us so we can go there too.”

Zhang Mingcai did as she was told.

Li Xun added, “Wait until the location is confirmed before notifying the police. Don’t alert them.”

Zhang Mingcai informed the Qian family about Li Xun’s injury.

“Qian Jie said she’s already arranged it. We’ll head back to the city, and Qian Jie has arranged for an ambulance to meet us.”

“No ambulance. If Zhao Xin runs into it, he will get suspicious.” Li Xun quickly said.

“Qian Jie said she’s tracking Zhao Xin’s car. The ambulance will avoid Zhao Xin and won’t be discovered. Your wound needs treatment. No one knows if the crocodile in the water carries any bacteria.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xun detached herself from the joy of her plan’s success and nodded.

“You all must be careful.”

Tao Feng now urgently needed to know the address and get the victim’s body from that year to soothe his panic over having killed someone.

He would get the address today.

Although there had been a small issue, her plan was mostly successful.