Records of the Halls of Ten Thousand Affairs: Chapter 75

Chen Jiu truly had not expected that in modern society, someone would still use such primitive and brutal methods to imprison an adult woman, harming her body while also destroying her spirit, her mind, and her dignity.

Chen Wu, who had followed behind, saw this scene and instantly covered her mouth.

She stiffly walked forward a few steps, as if waking from a dream. She went up to the woman and started pulling at the chain on her ankle with both hands and feet, making it rattle loudly.

“Xiao Jiu, what do we do? It won’t open.” Chen Wu’s eyes went red with urgency. “How could he do this? How could he do this to her…”

Xu Wei’s mother was in an extremely weak state right now. No matter what noise they made, she showed no signs of waking up. Only the rise and fall of her chest confirmed she was still holding on to a breath of life.

Chen Jiu’s gaze swept around the room. Confirming there were no handy tools, she turned around, went outside, and searched the courtyard with a flashlight for a moment. Finally she found a rock that was more or less suitable.

When Chen Wu saw her return, she immediately wiped her tears and made some room. Chen Jiu crouched down, pulled out a bit of chain, and smashed it hard with the rock twice. Soon both chains broke in the middle, and the concrete floor also got a small dent.

Chen Wu, who had witnessed the whole thing, stared with wide eyes, put her palms together against her chest, and slowly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

So strong, Xiao Jiu.

“Let’s find her something to eat first.” Chen Jiu said, starting to rummage through her bag.

Chen Wu made a sound of agreement and quickly got up to search the room.

She had thought that this beast Zheng Kai would at least give Xu Wei’s mother enough food and warmth. She hadn’t expected he was only barely keeping her vital signs going. She had truly overestimated this man’s humanity.

“There’s a little bit of congee…” Chen Wu brought it over and sniffed it. Her face turned green for a moment. She said with fury, “It’s gone rotten! This scumbag…”

“This physical state, someone who was originally in decent health, couldn’t reach it in just a few short days.” Chen Jiu had felt Xu Wei’s mother’s pulse, and carefully inserted two needles at key acupuncture points. She continued, “It looks like shortly after she sent you the commission, she was already imprisoned by Zheng Kai. No wonder you couldn’t reach her.”

Most likely Xu Wei’s mother’s phone was now in Zheng Kai’s hands too. There might have been evidence on it that had already been destroyed. But there was also a very small possibility that the evidence Zheng Kai hadn’t had time to find yet, that Xu Wei’s mother had hidden very well.

Chen Wu said with a heavy heart, “There’s really nothing edible. Let me give her some water.”

Chen Jiu made a sound of agreement.

The two helped the woman sit up. After the acupuncture, she was already showing some signs of waking up. At least her breathing sounded less weak than before.

“What do we do now?” Chen Wu carefully fed the woman a bit of water. She swallowed it very cooperatively, looking very thirsty.

Chen Jiu: “Let’s take her back first. We’ll talk after she wakes up.”

She had her own considerations. This place was so remote that birds wouldn’t even poop there. Who knew how long it had been since they installed a camera. Without evidence, even if they took Xu Wei’s mother to the police, it would be useless. The police were already on guard against Xu Wei’s mother’s crazy behavior. Even if she woke up and cried out her own injustice, they might not pay attention. Not to mention Zheng Kai probably had some connections in between.

No matter how she thought about it, it was a dead end. For now they could only wait for Xu Wei’s mother to wake up, compare information on both sides, and then figure out how to get her phone back.

The next day, Xu Wei’s mother slowly woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw a pair of big eyes blinking at her. This little girl looked about seven or eight years old. When she saw her awake, she smiled.

“Senior sister! Senior sister! The auntie is awake!” The little girl whirled out like a small tornado, not knowing who she was reporting to, then whirled back like a gust of wind, now holding a bowl of millet congee in her hands.

“Auntie, eat!” She placed the millet congee on a small shelf serving as a nightstand, and said, “There’s more in the pot. I’ll get you more when you finish, but senior sister said you can’t eat too much at once. Eating until you’re about seventy percent full is enough.”

Xu Wei’s mother’s gaze was still somewhat dull, but she was simply too hungry. She didn’t have any extra energy to think about anything else. She picked up the bowl and slurped it straight into her mouth.

Su Xiao Yu rested her chin in her palm and watched her from the side, not saying a word, very sensible, just waiting patiently.

After finishing this bowl of millet congee and resting for a moment, her face finally had a bit of color. Xu Wei’s mother felt like she had come back to life. She said softly to Su Xiao Yu, “Thanks, girl… where is this? Where are the adults in your family?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Jiu pulled aside the curtain in one motion: “You’re awake. Auntie, here’s the thing. Your commission has been transferred to me. From now on, this case will be handled with my assistance.”

Xu Wei’s mother was stunned. Her hand loosened for a few seconds, and the bowl in her hand fell straight down.

Su Xiao Yu’s eyes were quick and her hands were fast. She caught it in one grab, thinking to herself, that was close, that was close. Senior sister didn’t have many bowls in her cabinet to begin with.

Seeing this, Chen Jiu let out a sound of surprise and vigorously rubbed Su Xiao Yu’s head. “Not bad, Xiao Yu. You’re improving fast. I’ll treat you to a big meal another day.”

Xu Wei’s mother’s expression still looked very doubtful. It wasn’t until Chen Wu came in, hanging her head low with a timid look, seemingly not daring to look this employer in the eye.

“Uh, auntie, I’m sorry. My abilities weren’t enough, so I had to hand it over to my junior sister.” As Chen Wu spoke, she couldn’t help but glance up at Xu Wei’s mother, then quickly lowered her head again, like an elementary school student who had done something wrong and was being scolded.

Xu Wei’s mother let out a long breath and nodded. She accepted the reality quickly: “I understand. Thank you, girl.”

Chen Wu added: “Without my junior sister, I couldn’t even find where you were, let alone rescue you.”

Xu Wei’s mother’s eyes went a bit red. She held back her heartache and thanked the two of them.

Chen Jiu saw that she wasn’t as crazy as Chen Wu had described, and felt some doubts in her heart.

She sat by the bed and felt Xu Wei’s mother’s pulse again. After the acupuncture and a full night of peaceful rest, her condition had improved somewhat. Although overall she was still weak, her body now had enough energy to support a relatively clear conversation.

“Auntie, how did he bring you to that house?” Chen Jiu asked. “Has your phone already been taken by him?”

A look of hatred gradually appeared in Xu Wei’s mother’s eyes. She closed her eyes and said, “That day, I went to find him on my own initiative.”

…

After Xu Wei died, she had become like a walking corpse with her soul sucked out. Only one thing remained in her life: getting justice for her daughter.

She had long since cut ties with her birth family, and didn’t have any friends who could really help. When the incident first happened, some neighbors had come to comfort her. As time went on, no one bothered with this idle matter anymore. Everyone felt that life should go on. The dead cannot come back to life. What are you still fighting about at your age? Just muddle through the rest of your life and be done with it.

But her daughter had left that video on her phone. How could she be content with that?

She refused to accept it. She kept making trouble for Zheng Kai, going to his home, his workplace, then to the police station. She didn’t know how to navigate the internet, so she could only use the most honest and simple methods: holding up banners, holding up big character signs, spreading the word everywhere that this beast in human skin Zheng Kai had killed her daughter.

But Zheng Kai deeply understood the power of public opinion. He had already hyped up the heat of this matter online, and pretended to be the victim, occasionally acting out emotions showing how much he understood Xu Wei’s mother’s feelings. Most people didn’t know the full picture, and believed him completely.

No one was willing to help her. She was desperate. She felt she couldn’t trust people anymore. Even the police couldn’t help her. Who else could help her?

That night she dreamed of her daughter again. Xu Wei seemed to have returned to her childhood self, so small, curled up in her arms, saying, Mama, I’m so cold, Mama, I hate it so much, I hate it so much.

That night she barely had an hour of continuous sleep. She kept having the same dream, over and over, tormenting her until her eyes were red.

So when she woke up she started running around, asking everywhere for reliable people who could settle matters. Somehow she ended up bumping into Chen Wu.

If people couldn’t help her, she could only believe in gods and ghosts.

Xu Wei’s mother knelt in front of Chen Wu’s small stall, her eyes blood red, tears streaming down her face, sobbing. She scared Chen Wu so much that she took on the job right then and there. That was why later Xu Wei’s mother dragged her feet on paying the fee.

Because it happened so suddenly, one of them didn’t rush to ask for it, and the other didn’t remember to give it.

After handing over the video, Xu Wei’s mother took Chen Wu’s hand and pleaded earnestly, “Girl, please, you must get justice for my daughter.”

Then for some reason her whole aura changed, and she strode away from her stall with big steps.

…

“Not long after I left your stall, people started pointing fingers at me.” Xu Wei’s mother said coldly. “Actually, saying things about me is nothing. But when they curse my daughter, that won’t do. My daughter was very well behaved, very sensible. She didn’t have a single bad thing about her. The only bad thing was that her eyesight was too poor, and she misjudged a person.”

…

“These days everyone claims to have depression. Who knows if it’s real or fake. There are plenty of people who jumped on impulse too. Her daughter chose it herself. Now the mess is left for her boyfriend to clean up. How unlucky.”

“You’re telling me. And she got stuck with such a crazy ex mother in law. How scary.”

“You know, she goes to that guy’s workplace to make trouble every few days. He can barely keep his job.”

“Didn’t that girl jump herself? The boyfriend is really getting hit for no reason.”

Every person’s voice rustled and whispered, gathering in one place like a flood, almost drowning her. Xu Wei’s mother walked forward, feeling the sky spin and the earth turn. Everything before her eyes was covered in a layer of gray fog. Everyone’s faces had their features blurred.

Were the ones speaking even still human? She thought she had arrived at the underworld, and the ones whispering around her were all demons and monsters.

When she came back to her senses, she was already at Zheng Kai’s front door.

A neighbor passed by carrying groceries, looked at her in surprise, then noticed something was off with her emotions, and quickly went back inside their own door, afraid of getting involved in something they shouldn’t.

The door opened from inside. When Zheng Kai saw her, his expression quickly shifted from surprise to panic.

“I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you!” Xu Wei’s mother lunged forward with a ferocious face, both hands gripping Zheng Kai’s throat tightly.