Chapter 130 (1/2)

Jiang Zhengkai sat in the living room, casually chatting with Jiao and Lu Xiaoqiang for more than ten minutes now. Ping's face had grown ruddy while she was in Jiao's embrace and her emotions also seemed to have stabilized. As she continued to familiarize herself with the three faces in the room, she gradually began to feel more a.s.sured of her safety. Lu Xiaoqiang was someone she was already familiar with, Jiao was the most comforting after she had been frightened, and unlike those police who cracked down on prost.i.tution, Jiang Zhengkai’s expression was warm and not malicious at all. In this sort of atmosphere, Ping had loosened up and no longer felt as stiff with Jiang Zhengkai.

“Inspector Jiang, if you want to ask something, then just ask!” Ping spoke gently, taking advantage of the lapse in the conversation between the other three. “I’m feeling a bit better now.”

“Oh really?” Jiang Zhengkai looked towards Ping with a deeply concerned expression. “You don’t need to force yourself. You must’ve been almost scared to death today, right? Xiaoqiang spoke very highly of you and your contributions to the case. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!”

“Sir, you’re too kind.” Ping lowered her head a little with a slightly shy mien. “Actually I didn’t even do much. After I help solve the case, I plan on returning to my hometown in Guangxi.”

“Good! Going back home is good!” Jiang Zhengkai said noncommittally. He knew that the women working in the alley didn’t like hearing rubbish like “Find a better profession” or “Don’t sell yourself anymore,” so there was no need for him to say something Ping wouldn’t like hearing. Jiang Zhengkai a.n.a.lyzed Ping’s expression and then used a soft enquiring tone to ask, “Why don’t you tell us what happened tonight?”

“Oh! Okay.” Ping nodded her head and replied to Jiang Zhengkai in a gentle tone. “Tonight wasn’t any different from usual. As discussed beforehand, I wouldn’t be servicing any clients tonight. Instead, I was to stay in the kitchen and was responsible for handling any emergency situations. When Hui brought that man in, she asked Rou to switch s.h.i.+fts as she wanted to personally service him. I heard all this from the kitchen and that made me more cautious since I already had an agreement with Officer Lu.” After saying his name, Ping took a quick glance at Lu Xiaoqiang before continuing. “After Hui entered the bedroom, I secretly stood behind the kitchen door to listen for any signs of activity. Since they were speaking very softly to each other, basically whispering, I wasn't able to hear anything they were saying. However, I did hear Hui's laughter, and it sounded like she was having a great time. When Rou came out of that bathroom and entered the other one, I quietly left the kitchen and stood outside Hui's bedroom so I could eavesdrop on them better.”

“At first, they didn’t make much noise.” Ping's expression became a bit bashful at this point. For a woman, actually doing it and talking about it were two completely separate things; one shouldn’t a.s.sume that prost.i.tutes have no sense of shame. “But soon, I heard some weird sounds coming from the room. What was even stranger was that the bedroom door became very cold. It was as if a bone-chilling iciness was spreading out from inside the room.”

“But then, the sounds inside the bedroom suddenly became loud! Right after that was Hui’s wretched screams…...” Ping's face paled almost to the point of being bone-white and her body began to tremble again… In response, Jiao hugged her tighter. Ping’s body trembled but she didn’t stop narrating. “Then… then as I… I opened… the… the bedroom door, I saw… saw that man’s… whole body… de… flating, and then, Hui also……”

When Jiang Zhengkai saw Ping start trembling so violently that she could no longer speak coherently, he took the initiative to continue her story from where she had left off. “After that, you collapsed onto the floor and I came in with the police.’’

Ping straightened her neck, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and replied, “Ye…… yes.” At this point, Ping’s body was as stiff as a rock from fear. She opened her mouth but couldn't produce a sound. Tears, however, began flowing down her cheeks. Ping’s pitiful appearance caused Jiang Zhengkai to pause and reconsider his question. Ultimately, he still asked, “When you opened the door, was there anyone else in the bedroom apart from Hui and that man?”

Ping shook her head with much effort. “N…… no”. Right after her whole body violently trembled, Lu Xiaoqiang brought a cup of warm water to her lips. Ping lightly sipped a mouthful and suddenly burst into a coughing fit. “Cough, cough!”

“Ok! Hon…… Both of you help me look after Ping for awhile and let her rest peacefully!” Then, Jiang Zhengkai stood up. “How about this! In a bit, I’ll go ask Liu Na to see if there’s still s.p.a.ce at the police dormitory. If so, she can stay there for tonight. ”

“Inspector Jiang, it’s already almost morning.” Lu Xiaoqiang pointed at his watch and said to Jiang Zhengkai, “I think we should bring her back to the sub-bureau and find a spot for her there!”

“Oh! That works too. You sort it out then!” Jiang Zhengkai glanced one last time at Lu Xiaoqiang and Ping before leaving the living room. Since the police were busy methodically cleaning up the crime scene inside the bedroom, Jiang Zhengkai went back inside. Jiang Zhengkai walked over to Mu Mingyuan who was still busy inspecting the skeletons and softly asked, “Have you discovered anything else?”