Chapter 251: There’s No Better Place to Hide from a Manhunt Than Prison

After his release from prison.

He kept a disheveled appearance, wore plain clothes, continued living in the same old house, and still visited his wife’s grave every month to pay his respects.

All these seemingly heartfelt gestures were, in truth, carefully crafted by Ghost as part of his act.

It was obvious.

Either Ghost was afraid that his past crimes might be unearthed and held against him, so he maintained the image of a remorseful man who had made a mistake.

Or… he was deliberately using this persona to construct a special kind of criminal identity, one that would help him evade police scrutiny.

After all.

A middle-aged man who looked broken, grieving deeply for his late wife, and had all but withdrawn from society—such a person was hardly the type anyone would suspect of being a murderer.

If Su Ming hadn’t keenly noticed the issue with that Leak-repair Van, and then connected it with the incarceration timelines of One-Eye and Brother Long, using those details to dig deeper—

If he hadn’t pieced together seemingly unrelated clues—

Ghost’s true identity might never have been uncovered.

…

At this moment.

Staring at the surveillance photo projected on the screen, Su Ming narrowed his eyes and said calmly,

“It’s been about six months since Lan Cai’er was killed.”

“Judging by the Drug trafficking organization’s previous patterns of rotating identities, six months isn’t a long time. It’s very likely they haven’t had the chance to switch yet.”

“Not to mention, the murder of Lan Cai’er was a sudden incident. There wouldn’t have been any prior setup.”

“So it’s highly probable that Ghost hasn’t changed his identity yet and is still using the name Liu Su.”

“Besides, based on our investigation over the past six months, Ghost, who has a background in magic, is extremely skilled at manipulation and psychological suggestion.”

“Magic is all about using techniques, props, and psychological cues to mislead the audience.”

“With those skills, Ghost could absolutely do what Butcher described—amplify the fear in his prey’s heart until they willingly stick their necks out.”

“And from that earlier manslaughter case, it’s clear Ghost possesses the caution and patience of a magician. He didn’t act rashly, but waited until what he deemed the perfect moment.”

“Just like in the Hotel Female Corpse Case… even though he subdued Lan Cai’er early on and gagged her, he waited a full nine days—until the optimal moment when he could erase all traces—before striking.”

“That kind of extreme patience strongly suggests that the same person committed both crimes.”

“Once you strip away the distractions, the core methods and execution are remarkably similar. That’s why we can confidently lock in our target.”

At this point.

Su Ming paused for a couple of seconds. His gaze turned sharp as he continued in a low voice.

“Chen Ju.”

“Do we have any more detailed information? Or any other photos or surveillance footage of Ghost?”

Seeing Su Ming so decisively confirm that Liu Su was the hidden Ghost,

Chen Sheng felt a surge of emotion. Whatever lingering doubts he had were swept away, replaced by certainty.

He believed that the man who had unearthed the killer behind the Modu University Dismemberment Case from twenty years ago, and exposed major criminals like Qiang Wei, Poison, and Butcher, would not make a mistake here.

He immediately clicked his mouse and pulled up several more surveillance images, explaining,

“Besides the footage from the convenience store, we have a few older photos.”

“For example, in this one, Ghost is eating at a small stir-fry restaurant. It’s the same place he and his wife used to frequent.”

“And this one shows Ghost buying a bouquet of baby’s breath and lilies from a flower shop. On the first of every month, he brings the same flowers to his wife’s grave.”

“In all the surveillance footage, Ghost is either going about his daily life or mourning his wife.”

Looking at the photos on the screen,

Xu Changsheng, standing nearby, let out a cold, contemptuous snort and said,

“Looks like Ghost really went all in to maintain his ‘devoted husband’ persona, just to keep committing crimes under the radar. That kind of patience isn’t something most people have.”

“To be honest, the fact that he killed his own wife with his own hands, then staged it to look like an accident in order to lessen his sentence—that’s already despicable enough.”

“But to then use that fake image of devotion to lower suspicion and facilitate future crimes?”

“Such a calculating, ruthless criminal is rare. And to think he even spent years in prison just to fully erase suspicion.”

“His mind runs so deep, it’s enough to make ordinary people shudder.”

Su Ming nodded in agreement, then narrowed his eyes and said meaningfully,

“Exactly.”

“There’s a saying online: if someone pretends to be a good person their whole life and does good deeds all along, then no matter how ugly their heart is, they become a good person.”

“But those people forget one thing—pretending is still pretending. No one knows what filth lies behind that so-called good guy facade.”

“While we can’t define someone entirely by a single act, Ghost’s so-called devotion is downright disgusting.”

“And the surveillance photos of Ghost only go up to five days ago. That lines up with when we uncovered Zhou Shirui, which further confirms Ghost’s identity.”

“But what still puzzles me is…”

“Why did Ghost kill his wife? Was it a relationship issue? A dispute over assets? Or was he trying to cover something up?”

“I want to use that motive to deduce where Ghost might be hiding now.”

Hearing this,

Chen Sheng shook his head and answered with certainty,

“Officer Su.”

“During our earlier investigation, we were able to confirm that Ghost and his wife had no relationship issues, and there was no dispute over assets.”

“They had a bare-bones marriage—everything they had, they built together from scratch.”

“To be honest, it was precisely these factors that led the team in the neighboring district to misjudge the case as an accidental killing.”

At that moment,

Chen Sheng suddenly froze, then slapped his thigh and exclaimed,

“That’s right.”

“If it was premeditated murder, then what was Ghost’s motive for killing his wife?”

“He couldn’t have just killed the woman he’d built a life with for no reason. That kind of extreme, pathological mindset doesn’t fit with Ghost’s calm and calculated personality.”

In response to Chen Sheng’s question,

Su Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, tapped the table, and offered a bold hypothesis.

“Chen Ju.”

“Do you think it’s possible that Ghost’s wife discovered a secret? Or maybe a secret they both knew was about to be exposed?”

“To prevent that secret from coming to light—and to avoid police pursuit or even being hunted down—Ghost staged the entire incident as an accidental death?”

“Because I believe…”

“There’s no better place to hide from a manhunt than prison.”