"Li Chuang?"

The wife was the first to break the silence, her voice trembling severely.

"How is that possible... He just helped us fix our leaky roof last week..."

The father of the deceased slammed the table suddenly, his bifocals sliding to the tip of his nose: "Mr. Ma, you must be mistaken!"

"Even if you want to catch the perpetrator, it can't possibly be Li Chuang!"

His voice was hoarse with emotion, "I've watched that child grow up; he's always been so kind-hearted..."

"Yes," the mother said, wiping her tears.

"Last year when I was hospitalized, Li Chuang drove me to the hospital every day for check-ups."

"How could such a good person..." She couldn't finish and covered her face, sobbing softly.

A middle-aged woman sitting in the corner couldn't help interjecting.

"Absolutely impossible! Last month when we moved grain, Li Chuang helped us without a word, and left without even drinking a sip of water after the work was done."

Other family members nodded in agreement, and the conference room was suddenly abuzz with discussion.

Mr. Ma quietly surveyed the room, waiting until the noise gradually subsided before speaking, "I completely understand how everyone is feeling."

"It's true that Li Chuang has always taken good care of you, and both families have been close."

He shifted his tone, "But did you notice that ever since the incident with your son, has Li Chuang's care for you become... excessively attentive?"

"Isn't it normal for neighbors to help each other?"

The father dismissed the notion nonchalantly.

"To the average person, it might not seem strange,"

Mr. Ma leaned forward slightly, "But to us investigators, this abnormal attentiveness precisely exposes a problem."

"This is called 'guilt compensation psychology' in crime psychology."

"After harming others, the perpetrator often compensates excessively to lessen their inner guilt."

He opened the folder before him, "Additionally, are you aware that on the afternoon of the incident, your son won twenty thousand yuan at the card table?"

The family members looked at each other, clearly unaware of this information.

"This twenty thousand yuan was the fuse of the case."

Mr. Ma's voice grew deeper, "At the time, Li Chuang's father was severely ill in the hospital, desperately needing twenty thousand yuan for surgery. Driven to desperation, he harbored evil thoughts..."

Seeing Mr. Ma speak with such certainty, the voices of doubt among the family members gradually subsided.

The mother of the deceased asked tremblingly, "Mr. Ma, do you... really have solid evidence?"

"The evidence chain is very complete."

Mr. Ma nodded solemnly, "Moreover, Li Chuang has already confessed without reservation."

"Mr. Li is now pursuing another accomplice. Once the suspect is apprehended, the whole case will be clear."

He paused for a moment, his tone turning heavy, "Actually, Li Chuang's original intention was not to take a life, this homicide... was an accident."

"An accident?"

All the family members simultaneously looked up, eyes full of confusion.

"Yes."

Mr. Ma opened another page of the file, "Your son was a good swimmer, and Li Chuang was very well aware of this."

"Originally, he intended only to take the opportunity to grab the twenty thousand yuan, push the motorcycle into the river, and throw the person into the water just to stop him from chasing."

"But he didn't expect the river to be so cold that night, plus your son suffered a cramp after drinking..."

"In fact, the water in that area isn't even two meters deep, under normal circumstances, it's impossible to drown someone."

This explanation plunged the meeting room into a dead silence once more.

After a long while, the father of the deceased murmured to himself, "Sin... This is truly brothers turning against each other."

"If you needed money, you could have borrowed it, why..."

His voice choked, unable to continue.

Mr. Ma stood up and bowed solemnly to the family members, "This case took three years to unravel, for which our Public Security Bureau is deeply remorseful."

"But now that Li Chuang has confessed and the other suspect will soon be caught, I hope this can provide some closure for the victim and some comfort for you."

Upon hearing this, the deceased's wife suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Mr. Ma, tears streaming down her face.

"Thank you... Thank you for giving my husband justice..."

Other family members also stood up to express their gratitude, the room filled with long-suppressed sobs.

Meanwhile, the police car, with Mr. Li and his team of four, had already entered the boundary of Chuan City.

Just past the toll station, the scene that met their eyes was a picturesque landscape—a distant view of misty mountains, nearby clear waters gently flowing, the continuous rolling hills obscured amidst the thin mist, like a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Wan, holding the steering wheel, couldn't help but glance left and right, exclaiming, "Captain, this place's scenery is truly exceptional!"

"The air is so fresh you can even smell the fragrance of grass and woods; it's like a natural oxygen bar, perfect for health and recuperation."

Zhang Yean, sitting in the back, nodded repeatedly, chiming in, "Exactly! This landscape of surrounded by green mountains and water makes time feel like it's slowing down."

"Captain, why don't we choose this place for our next team-building event? It can relax the mind and let us enjoy the gift of nature."

Mr. Li couldn't help but smile at their words, "You two have quite the imagination."

"If we all came here for self-cultivation, who would protect the people of Jiangcheng?"

"Who would solve those tricky cases?"

"Oh dear, Captain, that's a rather unrealistic expectation."

Wan immediately pretended to be displeased, "Are you planning to guard Jiangcheng alone while we enjoy ourselves here? That's just not fair!"

Zhang Yean laughed and echoed, "Exactly, exactly! I suggest after this we should arrange it this way—have you and the instructor here to recuperate, while Jiang An holds down the fort, ensuring Jiangcheng remains peaceful."

"And you two could breathe some fresh air and enjoy a good night's sleep."

"Ha ha, you guys are really good at planning!"

Saying so, he glanced at Jiang An sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror, a smiling look of approval on his face, "With Jiang An here, I think I can retire."

Jiang An smiled and said, "Captain, you need to preside over the situation."

And so, the four people continued chatting along the way.

In a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, they smoothly arrived at their destination—the Muqi County Public Security Bureau—two hours later.

Just as the car came to a stop, a middle-aged man in uniform quickly approached, "Mr. Li! Finally, we've been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"

This warm greeting left Mr. Li a bit surprised, as cross-department collaboration is usually strictly business.

Seeing Mr. Li's confused expression, the other man laughed heartily, "Don't you remember me? I'm Chen Ju."

"Five years ago, at the Criminal Investigation Technique Symposium, I was a devoted audience of your criminal characteristic profiling course!"

"Thanks to the practical skills you shared, we solved several cold cases after returning!"

Only then did Mr. Li recall, but after so many years, those details had indeed become blurred.

He humbly waved his hand, "Oh no, it was just an exchange among colleagues."

"This time, we're going to trouble you."

"You're too kind!" Chen Ju eagerly led the way, "The suspect is already secured in the interrogation room."

"Would you like to conduct the interrogation here directly, or first go to the conference room to understand the case?"

Mr. Li contemplated briefly and then stated seriously, "There's no time to lose, we're worried about delays causing complications."

"Let's first conduct a local interrogation to secure evidence and then, after confirming the criminal facts, transfer them back."

"Okay, okay! Do you need to rest or adjust first?"

"No need, let's start directly," Mr. Li answered decisively.

Soon, they arrived at the interrogation room.

They saw Mr. Qi sitting dejectedly in the interrogation chair, appearing wilted like an eggplant hit by frost.

Upon hearing the door open, he looked up to see the officers entering, his face turning ashen.

Obviously, he had realized that Li Chuang had been captured.

Before Mr. Li and Jiang An could speak, Mr. Qi quickly pleaded, "Officers, I confess! I'll confess everything! Please for leniency!"

Mr. Li and Jiang An exchanged a glance, then Mr. Li spoke with a tone that was stern yet fair, "Since you are showing a good attitude towards confession and are willing to truthfully disclose information, we will lawfully strive to provide you an opportunity for leniency."

"Thank you, officers! Thank you, officers!"

"I will confess everything!"