SFTD -Chapter 156 Ghosts Beneath the Bridge (Part 11)

Jin Zhicheng’s breathing grew noticeably heavier, anger clearly written across his face.

“An affair? Don’t insult our relationship,” he said sharply. “We truly love each other. It’s not what you call an affair!”

“Oh?” Wang Xuchao responded. “Then what do you call your wife and child in your household registration? The result of artificial insemination?”

Jin Zhicheng instantly deflated. What Wang Xuchao said was true. Even though he didn’t live with them, they were still his legal wife and daughter.

“My wife and I haven’t had feelings for a long time,” he said bitterly. “You should know I’ve been trying to get a divorce. In March 2014, she even went to the school several times to make trouble—hung banners at the gate, sat in at the principal’s office…”

“I’m not very ambitious. I just want to escape that life. I don’t want to fight every day. Back then, I just wanted to be with Xu Miaochi. Now I just want peace.”

Wang Xuchao narrowed his eyes. “You mentioned Xu Miaochi’s murder case. How do you know she was murdered?”

Veins bulged slightly on Jin Zhicheng’s neck, his gaze turning darker.

“I think it was Zhao Lijuan who killed her. Zhao Lijuan is my current wife. I told Officer Zeng about this, but he ruled her out as a suspect.”

“Now tell me,” Wang Xuchao continued, “what were you doing on June 20, 2014?”

Jin Zhicheng cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table.

“Officer Zeng asked me this already. I was traveling with the field hockey team to Dongnan City for a match. We won the championship, so we returned early and arrived in Yong’an City around 4 p.m. Everyone wanted to celebrate, so I couldn’t refuse.”

“At that time, I received a message from Xu Miaochi. She said one of her women’s basketball teammates was having a birthday party to celebrate their win, at the basketball gym. She asked me to wait for her in the office at 10 p.m.”

“But she never showed up. I called her—no answer. Texted—no reply. I thought something came up since her coach was very strict. So I slept in the office that night. At around 6 a.m., I was woken by sirens—that’s when I learned something had happened to Xu Miaochi.”

Wang Xuchao glanced at the case file. For some reason, this information was not included in it. With no access to Officer Zeng’s phone and no trace of the vehicle, many things now had to be rechecked from scratch. He closed the file.

“Did Xu Miaochi’s family know about your relationship?”

Jin Zhicheng lowered his head. “Yes. But they strongly opposed it. Even her coach confronted me. The pressure was enormous.”

“But we truly loved each other. In my dull, ordinary life, I never thought I could love like that again. You might think it’s ridiculous, but I only felt like a man when I was with her. With Zhao Lijuan… I was like a eunuch.”

“Who can prove you stayed in the office all night on June 20?”

“There are surveillance cameras in the administrative building. Officer Zeng copied the footage before.”

Wang Xuchao nodded. He could tell Jin Zhicheng wasn’t lying—he was almost obsessed with Xu Miaochi.

“After verification, you may leave.”

Jin Zhicheng stood up, then stopped and turned back. “Officer… can I see Xu Miaochi?”

Wang Xuchao shook his head. “Not now. If her body is handed over to her family, you may come then. Whether they agree is another matter.”

Then he added, “One more thing—you should know this. Xu Miaochi was pregnant when she died. About two months.”

Jin Zhicheng froze as if struck by lightning. A detective stepped forward and escorted him out.

Wang Xuchao returned to the next room, surprised to see Liu Da there.

“Liu Da, you’re here too?”

“Yeah. How’s it going?”

Wang Xuchao, still mentally scattered, summarized the progress over the past two days. Liu Da nodded repeatedly as he listened.

“So we still have to wait for the toxicology results to confirm what poison was used?”

“Yes.”

At that moment, Xu Biao’s phone chimed. He quickly checked it—an email had arrived. The artificial turf samples had been retrieved and analyzed. They matched the same batch.

“This is the only good news so far,” he said. “The green fibers and black particles found on the victim’s wound match the artificial turf from Yong’an Sports Academy. The victim was likely attacked on a football field.”

Zhou Hai clenched his fist. “Today, take samples from all the women’s basketball players and coaches. Based on the palm prints on the victim’s back, we suspect the killer has severe athlete’s foot or an external fungal infection, requiring heavy antifungal medication. If it’s athlete’s foot, long-term treatment would be needed. We’ll confirm after lab results.”

Liu Da glanced at the time. “I’ll head to the press conference first. Don’t feel too pressured.”

From his hurried movements, Zhou Hai knew Liu Da was under the greatest pressure of all.

“Fine. Keep searching for Officer Zeng’s phone and car. But since the incident happened at Qianhai, why aren’t we searching along the coast?”

Wang Xuchao froze. “We did search the beach. Nothing was found.”

Zhou Hai studied the map of the incident area.

“It’s now certain that the victim, Zeng Zhicheng, was thrown off Ding Bridge. So where do the two ends of that road lead? And can either route reach the seaside?”

Wang Xuchao immediately caught on and pulled up a tablet.

Heading north leads into the city. Heading south, after descending the elevated road for about one kilometer, there is a coastal cliffside road next to a ravine.

Wang Xuchao finally understood.

“You’re saying the killer drove Zeng Zhicheng’s car, took him to the bridge, threw him off, then drove the car to the cliff and pushed it into the sea?”

Xu Biao frowned. “That’s a lot of effort. Why not just push the body and the car into the sea together? Then there would be no trace at all.”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes and nodded.

“That’s a good question. It shows the killer deeply hated Zeng Zhicheng—not only wanting him dead, but wanting him crushed under wheels, completely destroyed.”

“However, the only miscalculation was this: it’s off-season, so very few people use the Qianhai road at night. The body was preserved too well. That’s why we could tell it wasn’t a traffic accident.”

Wang Xuchao quickly dialed a number.

“Where are your teams now? Stop searching the beach. From the south side of Ding Bridge to Xishi River and all the way to Qingshi Monument—check the cliffside mountain road. Look for any tire marks or signs of a vehicle going over. Report immediately!”

Liu Da glanced at the time and rushed toward the TV station. Just as Zhou Hai and Xu Biao were about to leave, Wang Xuchao’s phone rang. Seeing an unknown number, he narrowed his eyes.

“Hello.”

A cheerful voice came through:

“Hello, Captain Wang. I’m Cui Mingyu from the Yong’an Criminal Police Team. We’ve caught Zhang Xiaotian. Director Sun asked me to contact you…”

Wang Xuchao immediately put the call on speaker and looked at Zhou Hai.

“Zhang Xiaotian? That little thug who had a crush on Xu Miaochi? Where are you? I’ll send someone to bring him back immediately!”

The caller laughed loudly.

“Haha, no need for that. This was originally our case. It’s already troublesome enough that you’re assisting us. We’ll cooperate fully.”

“We’ve already brought Zhang Xiaotian to Dongnan City. We’re on Macau Road now. Where exactly is your unit located?”