Chapter 222: Leaving the Police Station Calmly, an Escape Plan Years in the Making

Xiao Mei’s fault?

That sentence instantly made Lin Tian and the others exchange a meaningful glance, each of them stirred by a particular thought—along with a hint of suppressed excitement.

Because—

If Zhang Lifang wasn’t deliberately lying, and if Yu Ruyi, already suffering from dementia at the time, said something like that—

It would be enough to prove one thing.

Priest’s sister, Jiang Sumei, must have known about Priest being a foreign mercenary years ago.

Which raised another possibility… Could Jiang Sumei know other crucial leads or information?

Moreover—

After faking his death and erasing his identity, if Priest maintained contact with anyone from the past, Jiang Sumei would be the most likely person.

At this moment—

In the minds of the three, Jiang Sumei’s importance had rapidly surpassed their earlier suspicion toward Zhang Lifang.

Of course, based on the brief questioning just now, none of them detected any flaws in Zhang Lifang’s speech or demeanor, so they had already…

Further lowered the likelihood that Zhang Lifang was a plant sent by K.

…

Just then—

The door to the mediation room was suddenly knocked.

Two seconds later—

A police officer pushed it open, but kept his hand on the doorknob and didn’t step inside. Tilting his head slightly, he said in a low voice,

“Chief Wang, leaders.”

“Jiang Sumei has arrived at the precinct. She’s currently waiting in the public service hall. Should we keep her waiting a bit longer, or…”

Before the officer could finish—

After exchanging a glance with Lin Tian, Wang Qi turned to the reporting officer and instructed,

“No need to wait.”

“Bring her directly to the mediation room now.”

“Also, have the forensics tech team pull all relevant records on Jiang Sumei, especially her bank account statements. Check if there are any records of overseas transfers.”

“Also look into her regular expenses, and whether her work income is enough to cover her monthly spending.”

“Go quickly.”

After saying this—

Wang Qi waved his hand, signaling the officer to bring Jiang Sumei over as soon as possible.

It was clear that based on what Zhang Lifang had just said, Wang Qi had begun to suspect that Priest might have been sending money to his sister during the years he was presumed dead.

After all—

From the current picture, Priest didn’t have a bad relationship with his mother. Even while working as a foreign mercenary, he had kept in phone contact with Yu Ruyi.

So even after faking his death and erasing his identity, Priest likely couldn’t bring himself to completely sever ties. He would’ve found ways to show filial piety to his mother.

Thinking this way—

The most plausible method would be for Priest to send substantial money to his sister and mother, as a way to make up for his guilt and regrets toward his family.

While Jiang Sumei was still on her way—

Lin Tian looked at Zhang Lifang in front of him, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, and continued asking,

“Zhang Lifang.”

“Other than that, did Yu Ruyi ever say anything else? Anything about her son, Jiang Sulong?”

Looking into Lin Tian’s world-weary eyes—

Zhang Lifang remained unfazed, raising her head slightly as her eyes looked upward, still feigning a thoughtful recollection.

A few seconds later—

With a light sigh, Zhang Lifang shook her head and went on with a sigh.

“No, nothing else.”

“Officers, maybe Sister Yu did mention other related things, but maybe I didn’t hear it, or maybe I’ve already forgotten.”

“You really have to understand us. People like us doing nanny work… we honestly don’t have the time or energy to care about or deliberately remember everything our employers say.”

“Especially someone like Sister Yu… basically incapable of taking care of herself, often not even aware of what she’s saying—we’re even less likely to keep track of the things she rambles about.”

“Just like now…”

“You officers wouldn’t deliberately remember those scriptures Sister Yu keeps muttering either—it really takes too much effort.”

As soon as she finished speaking—

As if to echo Zhang Lifang’s words, Yu Ruyi suddenly grabbed the peach wood sword on the table and stood up, waving and slashing it through the air while chanting scriptures.

“Om, sarva praśamana svāhā, śuddhanta dhāraṇī, namo sukhāvatī·imon ariye, prajñāparamitā·śīfala ratnapātra, namo·nārakindri…”

At the sight of this—

Huang Qiang frowned and turned to Lin Tian beside him, speaking in a low voice.

“Chief Lin.”

“Yu Ruyi’s dementia seems to be quite severe. I doubt we’ll be able to get anything useful out of her.”

“I think… we should focus on Jiang Sumei instead. That might lead to a breakthrough.”

Hearing this—

Lin Tian gave a slight nod, also somewhat helpless in the face of Yu Ruyi’s current state. He was just about to arrange for Zhang Lifang to rest somewhere at the Criminal Investigation Division when—

Zhang Lifang, seated across from them, took the initiative to speak in a gentle voice.

“Officers.”

“If there’s nothing else for now, do you think… I could take Sister Yu home first?”

“We’ve been out for a while now, and if we don’t hurry back, I’m worried Sister Yu might not be able to hold it…”

Before she could finish—

Yu Ruyi, who had suddenly stood and was swinging the peach wood sword, abruptly stopped and stood frozen in place, lowering her head to look at the crotch of her pants, her legs trembling slightly.

“Drip—drip—drip———”

A pungent-smelling liquid had already soaked through her pants and was dripping onto the floor.

This scene—

Made Zhang Lifang freeze for a second before she quickly waved her hands and apologized nervously.

“Officers, I—I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t expect… I didn’t expect Sister Yu to lose control right now. I usually take her to the bathroom at regular intervals, but now, this happened—oh dear.”

As she spoke, Zhang Lifang pulled a few tissues from the box on the table and bent down to wipe the smelly puddle on the floor.

But before she could fully bend down—

Lin Tian, looking at Yu Ruyi’s unfocused gaze, waved his hand directly.

“Alright, no need to clean it up.”

“Zhang Lifang, go ahead and take Aunt Yu home to change her pants. If we need anything later, we’ll contact you.”

Although Zhang Lifang didn’t wipe the floor, she did toss the tissues onto the puddle to show her skill in housework, then quickly helped Yu Ruyi up and apologized again.

“Officers.”

“Sorry, really sorry.”

“I’ll head home now—I’ll take Sister Yu home first.”

After saying that—

Zhang Lifang helped Yu Ruyi out of the mediation room.

But what Lin Tian and the others didn’t notice was…

Every time Zhang Lifang said the words “go home,” Yu Ruyi’s legs would tremble slightly—just like a child responding to the suggestive “pss pss” used to coax them into peeing…