663 A Million Times for You 25 (1/2)
”Team Leader Zhang, don't address me that way anymore. I'm no longer a team leader.”
”Ah, you can resume your duties any moment if you wish to,” said Team Leader Zhang.
Pan Zhenghui nudged Team Leader Zhang with his elbow and prompted, ”Brief Xiaoning about the details of the investigations we've carried out for the past couple of days.”
Thus, Team Leader Zhang began telling her about the investigations while walking. When he finished speaking, An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and asked, ”You mean, Xu Youran gave her this apartment?”
”Yes, Xu Youran had even transferred a few million dollars to her account.”
Mrs. Jin's death immediately came to An Xiaoning's mind. After being dumbstruck for a few moments, she nodded and continued walking. ”Okay. Is Yuan Mingzhu's mother residing in the apartment alone?”
”Yes, Yuan Mingzhu's mother has already asked for our help to sell the apartment after the investigations are over. She wants to move back to her own home.”
The three of them exited the elevator. Team Leader Zhang pressed the doorbell of the apartment, after which a middle-aged woman who resembled Yuan Mingzhu quickly opened the door.
She was obviously Yuan Mingzhu's mother. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and she appeared extremely haggard.
”Hello, Auntie. This is Ms. An, whom we specially requested to make a trip here. She's psychic, just like your daughter.”
”Please come in, quick.”
The three of them entered the apartment.
An Xiaoning's first impression of the apartment was that it felt rather stuffy and that the air was stale.
”Which one is the ritual room?”
”This one.” Mrs. Yuan led them to one of the rooms and entered. Everything in the room could be seen clearly the moment she switched on the lights.
An Xiaoning walked toward the altar and took a look at the items placed on it.
An Xiaoning picked up a small pot and emptied it.
She then bent down and squinted to look at the liquid that flowed onto the ground, after which a sullen expression formed on her face immediately.
”Is this some kind of oil? It's still glistening,” Team Leader Zhang questioned, staring at the ground.
”It's oil derived from corpses.”
Team Leader Zhang immediately sprung up and asked, ”What is it used for?”
”Isn't it obvious? This will help catalyze the effects exponentially if one uses it to harm others,” An Xiaoning said frankly, right in front of Mrs. Yuan.
”It… it's impossible. Mingzhu wouldn't intentionally cause harm to others,” Mrs. Yuan protested, shaking her head fervently.
An Xiaoning stood up and said to her calmly, ”If that's the case, how do you explain the oil? If your daughter didn't plan to harm to others, where did this apartment and the millions of dollars in her bank account come from? Do you seriously think someone would give those to her for free?”
”According to the investigations, it was said that Xu Youran was the one who gave her those things as a reward for her fortune-telling services,” Team Leader Zhang explained.
An Xiaoning did not buy his explanation at all.
”I know clearly what kind of a sordid person Xu Youran is,” An Xiaoning retorted, rolling her eyes at him before scanning her surroundings in the room once more.
She then proceeded to Yuan Mingzhu's bedroom, where she rummaged through her closet, only to discover that there weren't any bizarre or suspicious items inside.
An Xiaoning then picked up the large teddy bear on the bed and casually unzipped the outer casing to take a peek inside. To her astonishment, the teddy bear was filled with a bunch of smaller puppets instead of wool.
”Why are there so many of those?” Pan Zhenghui questioned in bewilderment.
”Bureau Chief Pan and Team Leader Zhang, do you know what these puppets are used for?” An Xiaoning asked, dumping the puppets aside and getting onto her feet.
”No.”