Listening to Chen Xiao’s questions.

Xie Wensheng wasn’t too surprised, on the contrary, he was very calm.

"My father had quite a few old injuries, and they often acted up, especially during the monsoon season."

When Xie Wensheng said this, Chen Xiao could understand.

Not just those who have been injured many times, but everyone who gets older feels uncomfortable all over during the monsoon season.

However, the scratches on the side of the bed were really too deep.

"What you said makes sense, but seeing these scratches, I can feel the pain of the senior when his illness acted up."

"There’s no choice, he was too driven when he was young. He suffered so many injuries, I can’t even remember how many."

Chen Xiao thought for a moment: "Then how did he deal with the pain at that time?"

Ye Suzhi, who was on the side, took over the call: "Mostly relying on painkillers, he was too strong-willed. Whether physically or mentally, he was already on the brink of collapse in the two years before the accident happened. But at that time, he was still unwilling to admit defeat, always thinking he wasn’t much worse than the young folks."

The scratches on the side of the bed. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Old injuries that acted up from time to time.

And the mental pressure on the brink of collapse.

This made Chen Xiao frown tightly.

"If he refused to admit defeat and grow old, then the older he got, the more painful it was for him. But what was his mental state like at that time?"

"Mental state?" Ye Suzhi murmured, and then said: "Actually, he didn’t spend much time with me, most of his time was spent at work. But when he came home, I could clearly see he was very tired, the work pressure was great, but he always smiled at me when he returned home."

"Got it, but did you see him taking any medications long-term?"

"No, I remember mostly painkillers, but the more frequent those drugs are taken, the lower the effect."

"Hmm, are his belongings from after he died at the nursing home now?"

"Yes."

Chen Xiao didn’t ask more, after hanging up the phone, Lin Xi softly said: "Should we continue to look, or go to the nursing home?"

After a bit of thinking, Chen Xiao replied: "There’s no rush to go to the nursing home, let’s keep looking."

Chen Xiao continued wandering in the house.

Except for the edge of the bed that was quite startling for Chen Xiao, there were no other peculiarities.

After coming out of the old house, Chen Xiao and Lin Xi locked the door of Xie Wensheng’s old home.

Lin Xi looked at Yang Lake in the distance and said: "Honey, actually, I feel like there’s always been something that doesn’t quite add up about this case."

Chen Xiao noticed her gaze and understood what Lin Xi was referring to.

"You’re talking about the incident where the three from Lian Da fell into the water at the same time, right?"

Lin Xi nodded: "Yes, although I haven’t looked at the case files, I feel like the senior definitely paid attention to the investigation when the three fell into the water at first. He should have questioned the families of the three from Lian Da, but not finding the reason means he didn’t get any answers from their families."

"Since not from the families, could there be some discovery from his former colleagues or subordinates?"

"He asked them too, the case files clearly recorded some statements, including friends of the three from Lian Da."

"That’s odd, how could it allow three men to arrive at Yang Lake at night and fall into the water together? Moreover, was the event witnessed or was it only described by the three of them?"

Lin Xi’s doubts were not without reason.

But the fact that the three fell into the water seems to be true.

Because the case files clearly noted that one night when the three returned home, all were in a drenched state, and after questioning the families, they realized they had fallen into Yang Lake.

This commonality was discovered by Xie Yan after investigating several times then.

And the families’ answers from the three from Lian Da were very unified, saying they all fell into the lake muddle-headedly and could not remember the situation when they returned home.

Xie Yan also inquired whether the three had been drinking.

Ultimately, the families’ answer was consistent: They drank!

Since they drank and excessively, then it doesn’t seem so strange for the three to fall into the water.

At this moment, Lin Xi suddenly brought up this matter, causing Chen Xiao to ponder, after more than ten seconds, Chen Xiao replied:

"The families of Zhu Mao and Chang Guan still live around here, since we’re here, let’s talk to them."

Lin Xi responded with a hum, following Chen Xiao to another village.

They found Zhu Mao’s home, and Chen Xiao met Zhu Mao’s wife, Geng Youfeng.

Geng Youfeng had dark skin, with hands that clearly showed many calluses.

Seeing tools placed in the house, Chen Xiao smiled and asked: "Big sister, do you work on a construction site?"

"I’m skilled at moving bricks, mixing cement, tying rebar—those kinds of jobs!"

Geng Youfeng beamed. Despite her small size, not appearing strong, her words conveyed confidence.

Chen Xiao gave her a thumbs-up: "Big sister, you’ve been in this household for all these years and never left?"

"Oh dear, marrying a chicken according to the chicken, marrying a dog according to the dog, I followed Zhu Mao since I was sixteen, enjoyed quite a few good years, dazzling with gold and silver and making countless relatives and friends envious of me. If I ran away when something happened to him back then, would I still be human? Besides, his parents were elderly then, and our children were small."

"So I figured I’d wait to care for his parents until our child grew up before thinking about myself again. But unexpectedly, his parents became more spirited, and the child turned out quite promising. Now at this age, I’ve survived the tough days, and I can go ahead and enjoy again."

Geng Youfeng grinned widely, visibly hopeful about her future life.

Chen Xiao nodded frequently as he listened.

"From what you say, it’s clear your child must be outstanding."

"Absolutely, just a pity Zhu Mao had a stint inside, otherwise...."

Otherwise was left unsaid by Geng Youfeng, and both Chen Xiao and Lin Xi understood what she meant.

Thinking for a moment, Chen Xiao decided not to continue on this topic, and instead asked: "What do you think about Lian Da and Chang Guan?"

Geng Youfeng’s smile slightly faded: "I can’t really comment on them, Zhu Mao was brought into the business by them. Though ultimately, there was a heavy price paid, but the path was chosen by Zhu Mao, the money was spent by him. If I must say, I still feel grateful to both of them."

"For many years, the only thing I can’t figure out is why those three chose to hang themselves. Back then, our three families weren’t the best, but not bad either. We had money, houses were fine, we lacked nothing, how could they think of suicide?"

At the end of her words, Geng Youfeng also showed intense confusion.

Chen Xiao knew this issue couldn’t be answered, nor did he intend to linger on sentimental topics.

Seeing Geng Youfeng lift her head toward him, Chen Xiao asked: "Then how do you feel about the police officer, Xie Yan, who investigated the deaths of Zhu Mao and the others later?"

Geng Youfeng paused for a moment, then conveyed a face full of gloom.

Seeing her expression, Chen Xiao asked: "Is there something difficult to speak about?"

Geng Youfeng shook her head: "It’s not difficult to say, it’s that I find Officer Xie a bit strange."

"Hmm?"

"He’s tried hanging in each of our homes, each time nearly hanging himself, kept feeling he was a very scary person!"