Chapter 219: Son? I don’t have a son. A breakthrough with no starting point.

The photo frame placed on the dining table immediately caught Lin Tian’s attention. He quickly walked over, picked it up, and examined it closely.

Lin Tian squinted slightly in contemplation.

The photo in the frame was of Jiang Sulong, also known as Priest during his time as a mercenary abroad. The cigar hanging from his mouth was very distinctive.

This meant… Priest’s mother, Yu Ruyi, had long known about Priest’s work as a foreign mercenary in another country.

Then, could she also possibly know how Priest came into contact with an organization abroad and met K?

Or maybe Yu Ruyi knew that Priest faked his death and had been accepting financial support from him during this time, even keeping in touch?

These unanswered questions could only be addressed through Yu Ruyi.

But given her current condition, how much useful information could be extracted?

This made Lin Tian somewhat pessimistic, feeling a deep sense of helplessness. Why was it that every potential breakthrough seemed to run into so many problems?

At that moment,

Huang Qiang’s slightly puzzled voice sounded.

“Chief Lin, come take a look.”

“Why are there so many scriptures, as well as traditional Qi Men, Bagua, and I Ching-related items in this study?”

{Qi Men Dun Jia is a Chinese divination system for strategy and timing, Bagua represents eight natural forces used in Feng Shui, and the I Ching is an ancient text for understanding and predicting change.}

Upon hearing Huang Qiang’s words, Lin Tian quickly pushed aside his complex emotions and hurriedly moved to the study.

As soon as he entered the study,

Lin Tian saw countless scripture books on the bookshelf. It wasn’t just the commonly known Diamond Sutra or Great Compassion Mantra, but even the less common Rebirth Mantra was there.

In addition to the scriptures, there were also books on the Five Elements and I Ching, peach wood swords, Bagua mirrors, and talismans.

The presence of these unusual items in the study made Lin Tian furrow his brows. He couldn’t help but wonder why such things would be in Yu Ruyi’s home.

“Alright, officers.”

“I’ve already helped Yu Jie to the sofa. What would you like to ask her?”

“By the way, Yu Jie’s condition has been worsening these past few months. I really don’t know if she’ll be able to answer you.”

Hearing Zhang Lifang’s voice,

Lin Tian quickly left the superstitious atmosphere of the study and moved back to the previous living room.

At this moment,

Yu Ruyi, now changed into clean clothes and tidied up, was sitting on the sofa like a primary school student, looking serious and calm.

But her eyes had no focus as she looked around the room, clearly showing signs of a disturbed mental state.

Lin Tian sat down on the sofa opposite Yu Ruyi, then lightly tapped the coffee table with his fingers, producing a crisp sound, in an attempt to attract her attention, and said gently.

“Yu Da Ma.”

“Do you still remember Jiang Sulong?”

However, no immediate response came. As Lin Tian had suspected earlier, Yu Ruyi’s Alzheimer’s was severe, and she couldn’t even focus her attention.

Just like now… Yu Ruyi’s gaze wasn’t fixed on Lin Tian, but instead wandered aimlessly, looking around the room.

This peculiar situation left Lin Tian feeling powerless.

He had many ways to extract confessions from criminals, but facing an elderly relative of a criminal with Alzheimer’s, he was truly at a loss.

He then looked at Lan Jing beside him, signaling her with a serious look, asking if there was any useful approach based on criminal psychology.

But the next second,

Lan Jing could only sigh helplessly and shrug, indicating she didn’t have any better methods either.

Criminal Psychology is not a cure-all solution. At least when facing severe Alzheimer’s, a condition similar to mental illness, there is really no good approach.

Zhang Lifang, who was sitting next to Yu Ruyi, saw the helpless look on Lin Tian’s furrowed brow.

She immediately patted Yu Ruyi’s hand to grab her attention, then pointed to Lin Tian’s position and shouted loudly in her ear.

“Yu Jie.”

“This officer wants to ask about Xiao Jiang, you should help him answer.”

This seemingly rough approach

seemed to work remarkably well, causing Yu Ruyi to quickly look towards Lin Tian, her eyes filled with confusion.

“Xiao Jiang?”

“What Xiao Jiang, who are you talking about?”

These words made Lin Tian’s heart skip a beat, and he quickly explained.

“Yu Da Ma.”

“Your son, Jiang Sulong, the one who used to be a foreign mercenary.”

“Jiang what Long? What son?”

Despite Lin Tian deliberately mentioning key details, Yu Ruyi still showed no reaction. The severity of her Alzheimer’s had caused her to forget everything.

However,

Lin Tian was not willing to give up just yet. He continued, following Zhang Lifang’s lead, and shouted.

“Jiang Sulong.”

“Your only son, Jiang Sulong.”

“Siu what Jiang? My only son? Isn’t he right there?”

After her words fell,

Yu Ruyi pointed to the photo frame on the dining table, but her eyes still lacked focus.

This state of uncommunicative silence made Lin Tian sigh deeply in his heart. Just as he was about to make one last attempt,

Yu Ruyi suddenly stood up from the sofa, ran quickly to the dining table, grabbed the photo frame, and started running toward the study while muttering to herself.

“This is bad, this is bad, we’re running out of time.”

“Don’t be afraid, son, don’t be afraid, mom will protect you, mom will protect you.”

Three seconds later,

the sound of Yu Ruyi chanting scripture came from the study.

“Namo… He Lu Da Na… Duo Luo Ye Ye, Namo… A Li Ye, Po Lu Jie Di… Shuo Bo Luo Ye, Pu Ti Sa Tuo… ”

The familiar sound of the Great Compassion Mantra made Lin Tian and the others sitting on the sofa furrow their brows in unison.

Zhang Lifang showed a deeply apologetic expression and sighed sympathetically.

“Yu Jie’s Alzheimer’s has become very severe.”

“In the past few months, she’s started treating the photo frame on the table as her son, chanting scriptures in the study every day.”

“She says it’s because… she blames herself for not protecting him, and now her son is being bullied below. Sometimes she even waves a peach wood sword to drive away ghosts.”

“Officers, you see… maybe you can come back next time, perhaps Yu Jie’s condition will improve by then?”

Lin Tian did not respond immediately.

Instead, he went to the door of the study and saw Yu Ruyi holding the photo frame, reciting the Great Compassion Mantra in front of it, even crying and wailing.

She was… completely immersed in her own world.

After a few seconds of silence,

Lin Tian gestured to the people present, then looked at Zhang Lifang with a furrowed brow and said softly.

“Let’s leave it here for now.”

“We will come back later, and please contact us as soon as her condition improves.”

After saying that,

Lin Tian led the team out of the house first.

Since Yu Ruyi couldn’t be the breakthrough, they needed to find Priest’s older sister immediately to avoid any other issues.

…

A few dozen seconds later,

After all the officers left the house and Zhang Lifang closed the security door behind them, she quickly walked to the study and slowly closed the door.

After scanning the room carefully,

and confirming there were no hidden cameras or listening devices,

Zhang Lifang’s eyes quickly turned cold, and she narrowed them slightly, showing a hint of a sinister gleam…