“Vague?” The capital governor did not understand Ji Yunshu’s meaning. He pondered a moment, then he asked, “Didn’t he already say that his motive was to retaliate against the people who humiliated Mei Xiang’er? He even explained how he hid the bodies amongst the pork and shipped them out. So, when he chased after Miss Li to Liang mountain, that white cloth must have been dropped by him. Aren’t those explanations clear enough? As for the point mentioned earlier, whether he chopped the hands first or peeled off the face, it might not necessarily be relevant since he had killed so many people that he might have remembered the details incorrectly.” The capital governor’s reasoning was quite logical.
Ji Yunshu’s intuition was keen, thus the uneasiness within her could not be unraveled by his words. She sighed. “To sum it up, there are nebulous points in the confession. Regardless, we need to clarify those points properly before reaching a conclusion. Governor, let me meet him. I am the one who is the most familiar with the details of this case afterall.”
“I…” The problem was not if the capital governor was willing to let her see the criminal. The governor was only a rank 4 first class official. Within the Ministry of Justice’s staff, there was still a minister who was rank 1 first class, and a rank 2 first class assistant minister. Whether this could be done or not, at this stage, the capital governor had no reason not to give it a try. “Alright, I’ll bring you to the Ministry of Justice’s prison.” The governor agreed.
After reaching their destination, the capital governor took out a command tile, but he stopped the jailer from notifying the Ministry of Justice’s minister and assistant minister. Then, he secretly brought Ji Yunshu inside.
The Ministry of Justice’s prison was unlike the prisons in each administrative area. Although the dim and gloomy atmosphere, created by the candlelights illuminating spots of darkness, was the same in any prison, the pungent smell assaulting the nose was not as strong compared to inside the Ministry of Justice’s prison. In addition, lettuce juice was spread on two corners outside of each prison cell to neutralize the odor as much as possible. There was also a difference in size for the prison cell when compared to those in major cities and small towns.
They finally came in front of Gan Chuliang’s cell. He was leaning on the freezing wall with his legs crossed. His white prison garment was dyed red with his blood and torn in countless places, a result of being whipped. It appeared that the Ministry of Justice’s method of interrogation was to extort a confession. His disheveled and unkempt hair shielded his stubborn and cold expression from view.
The capital governor stepped forward to take a look at him before saying to Ji Yunshu, “We don’t have much time. Ask him what you want and let’s leave quickly.”
“Hm.”
Ji Yunshu came forward and stood near the prison cell door. She used her hand to lightly knock on the wooden pike several times. The dull sound echoed and reached Gan Chuliang’s ears. However, he was unresponsive.
Ji Yunshu spoke, “I know you can hear me knocking.” As soon as she said those words, Gan Chuliang raised his head. Blood could be seen dripping from the corner of his eyes. However, Ji Yunshu was not the least bit afraid of his appearance.
“W-who are you?”
“There’s no need for you to know who I am. I am only here to ask you a few questions.”
Gan Chuliang smiled, but the action made the tear at the corner of his mouth to crack and he bleed again. “What needs to be said is already said. Everything you want to know is already dug out. I killed them. I am the one who killed them!” His voice was hoarse when he spoke.
“Is Mei Xiang’er worth it for you to do this?”
Hearing the familiar name, his eyes slightly raised before he replied with confidence, “She is worth it. Xiang’er is a good and kind-hearted woman. In this world, there was no one like her. Such a good woman shouldn’t bear those… She shouldn’t…”
‘Shouldn’t what? Is he alluding to the public humiliation she suffered?’ Ji Yunshu squatted down and asked with a serious expression, “What’s your relationship with Mei Xiang’er?”
“None. We have no relationship with each other. She doesn’t know I like her and had no idea I kill people. She knows nothing…” He continued to repeat himself, but regret could be heard in his tone.
Ji Yunshu calmly observed him, then she lightly said, “Gan Chuliang, did you really kill those people?”
As soon as the question was uttered, Gan Chuliang unexpectedly laughed and unabashedly met Ji Yunshu’s stare. “I already confessed and signed it.”
“Did they extort a confession from you?”
“I admitted it myself.” He replied very swiftly.
Ji Yunshu took out the confession at a moderate pace, unfolding it in front of him. “Good. Then, let me ask you again. When you killed Li Shuiqing, did you cut her hands first, then skin her face?”
“Yes!”
“When I examined her corpse, the corpse clearly had the face skinned first, then the hands were chopped.”
Gan Chuliang sized her up. “Are you a coroner?”
“No. As I said before, you don’t need to concern yourself with my identity, you only need to reply to my questions.”
“I’ve killed countless women, how can I remember each one of them? Whether I skinned the face first or chopped the hands, they still ended up dead in any case.” As he spoke, he continued to beam a smile as if he was carrying a will to die.
His expression abruptly sank as anger gripped him. He continued to speak. “Only I can protect Xiang’er! Everything I did was what she would have wished to do. Those women deserved to die. How can they compare to Xiang’er’s beauty? Why did they have to bully her over and over again?”
“Even if it was so, killing is not the way.” Ji Yunshu replied.
“Shouldn’t those people deserve to die?” He lowered his brows and felt what he said was justified. A malevolent expression was slowly revealed.
“Then, why did you… still want to rape them?”
Gan Chuliang’s eyes suddenly raised and nervousness quickly flit through his expression. The fleeting expression was caught by Ji Yunshu’s keen eyes. ‘That kind of expression… as if he was evading… this felt closer to a lack of confidence.’
Slowly, he said, “I have nothing to say. Isn’t a woman’s innocence the most important thing? Not only do I want them dead, I want them to experience first the feeling of wanting to die but cannot. Furthermore, all their chopped hands were soaked in lard and served at the restaurant. Everyone who ate it all praised it to be delicious. Each and every time! There was one time when I forgot to soak the human meat in lard, and as result, many guests returned the dish.” He laughed a few times after recounting the anecdote.
‘Disgusting!’ Ji Yunshu’s stomach churned listening to him. That day must be the day she went to eat there with Wei Yi. As suspected, it was human meat! She frowned while enduring the nausea she felt. Slowly, she got up and said, “Do you understand what you are saying?”
“Yes, I do.” Gan Chuliang shifted his sinister eyes. After a moment, he got up and walked toward Ji Yunshu. Suddenly, he grabbed Ji Yunshu’ arm through the gap between the wooden stake and pulled her toward him.
Ji Yunshu was forced to take a step forward, and her body pressed on the wooden fence of the cell! The governor and two jailers immediately wanted to step forward upon seeing this. However, Ji Yunshu raised her free hand and signaled them to stop.
Gan Chuliang did not do anything more drastic. He only pulled on her arm and asked in a strange tone, “What you want to know, I already told you. What else do you want to ask?”
Due to their proximity, Ji Yunshu could see his face with clarity. His face was marred by numerous wounds caused by the lash of a whip. The blood had long dried from the lacerations, but when he spoke, the wounded cracked from the movements and blood seeped out again. It flowed down, dripping onto the back of her hand.
It was a very conspicuous sight. Coincidentally, Ji Yunshu’s sight landed on his neck and saw the protuberance of his Adam’s apple. Her heart suddenly stilted and shock overwhelmed her.
“You… are lying!” She spat out.
