Chapter 211: The Truth
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Upon hearing this, Xi Mo was immediately terrified.
The person behind those text messages carrying layered, malicious enticement in their tone, seemed to be toying with their prey.
Clearly knowing Ruan Yesheng was already emotionally broken, yet still guiding her bit by bit into a deeper hell, while hiding in the dark and enjoying the pleasure of watching the prey collapse.
This can no longer be considered human.
"That person must have been watching me somewhere in the landfill. I looked around, but there was no one there. I didn't know where they were watching me from. I could only...only do as the text message said, dig up the pile of garbage under the red bucket. Finally... I saw it appear... it appeared..."
Ruan Yesheng’s voice seemed to shatter. She stopped and took a few deep breaths, unable to continue for a moment.
"...Let's stop here for now." Xi Mo was also feeling terrible. She quickly hugged Ruan Yesheng, her palm gently stroking her as she softly comforted, “Rest for a bit, then we'll go wash your face, okay?”
With her tear-streaked face, Ruan Yesheng slowly nodded.
Once she had calmed down, they got up and took a shower. It was already dinner time. Ruan Yesheng actually had no appetite, but she still cooked dinner. Xi Mo stayed by her side to help, doing what she could. After eating, she even washed the dishes.
Afterwards, Ruan Yesheng led Xi Mo to the study and, in front of Xi Mo, opened a safe.
There were several file boxes in the safe. Ruan Yesheng carefully took them out and placed them on the desk.
Xi Mo carefully examined the file boxes, roughly guessing what they contained and understanding what Ruan Yesheng was about to say to her. She couldn't help but hold her breath.
Ruan Yesheng continued what she hadn't finished saying earlier. With her eyes lowered, she said, "That day at Xiao Hui Ling Landfill, I reported the incident to the police. My strength alone is too insignificant; I need to rely on outside help. The police in charge of this case protected me and hid all my information. They've been investigating, but there's been almost no progress. The number of the person who sent the text message keeps changing, and we can't trace any clues. But without a doubt... that person must be related to my father's death. The other party is very likely the murderer, or an accomplice. They witnessed the whole process, which is why they know all these details so well."
At this point, Ruan Yesheng’s fingers tightened. The veins on the back of her hand bulged. In that moment, her whole body seemed wrapped in a kind of unwavering determination.
There was sorrow, there was hatred, and there was persistence.
Ruan Yesheng said, "At the time, I thought I had to find out the cause of my father's death and the whereabouts of my mother. My father suffered a lot before he died, and my mother's fate was probably also grim. But the investigation was like a blank sheet, with no way to start. I had to spend more time trying to see if there was any breakthrough. I started to turn down some filming opportunities and slowed down my work pace. However, at that time, the media often liked to watch my movements. Under this kind of long term surveillance, it was hard for me to use more time and energy to investigate all this.”
"...So, you've decided to leave the entertainment industry?" Xi Mo felt a pang of pain in her heart.
“…Yes.” Ruan Yesheng said, “At that time, I was getting more and more film offers. If I took a role, I would have to stay on set for a long time. During that period, my mental state was very poor. I was full of hatred and it was difficult for me to work properly. Gradually, I realized that I had to give up some things. So I chose to give up the path to fame and let myself slowly return to a track not watched by the public media. Only then could I have more time and space to do what I wanted to do.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Xi Mo: "Moreover, during this investigation, I could sense the danger behind it all. If I continue to go to you as before, the people behind this might think that I have a deep connection with you, and I'm afraid that it will implicate you. I thought that after I retire from the entertainment industry, the distance between us will inevitably grow further and further, so I took a letter to the Xi Manor to find you and say a final goodbye. But you weren't there that day."
Xi Mo's brows furrowed, and though she wanted to say something, in the end she only sighed. That letter was still missing; perhaps it had long since vanished for some reason.
She missed the gift, she missed the letter.
She also did not know that Ruan Yesheng had suffered such a devastating blow at that time.
“I’ve walked the path I’ve chosen.” Ruan Yesheng placed her hand on the file box and tapped it lightly, saying bitterly, “These are all the relevant clues I’ve found over the years. Even if there’s only a slight connection, I’ve collected them all in this file box. Now looking back, after so many years, it only became this few boxes.”
"You are amazing." Xi Mo's eyes welled up with tears as she said softly, "You are the most amazing person I have ever met. These materials are already a lot. You must have spent a lot of time, put in a lot of effort, and walked a long road to have these.”
Ruan Yesheng looked at her with tears in her eyes, then opened one of the file boxes, took out a stack of documents, and handed them to Xi Mo.
Xi Mo took it and began to read it.
Ruan Yesheng said, "My parents are biology professors. Their work mainly involves scientific research, and they also travel to participate in some scientific research projects. They rarely talk to me about work-related matters, as some things are classified. Before they disappeared, they told me that they were going to a place in Guizhou on a business trip and that they were in the same scientific research team. They are not usually at home, so at the time I thought it was just the same kind of work as before, and I didn't ask any more questions."
Xi Mo picked up a photo from the documents. It was a group photo of six people, two of whom were Ruan Xijian and Yan Biechun.
"This photo is a group photo of the scientific expedition team that went to Guizhou. Apart from my parents, I don't recognize the other four people. Later, I asked around and found out that three of them were biologists from other places who were my parents' classmates. One from Guizhou is the team leader. She was the one who contacted my parents for this trip. I don't know what they were going to investigate, but it should be very important and very complicated. The last person, after a long time of checking, we still don't know who he is. He should not be a research related person. Otherwise, we could find him through connections.”
Ruan Yesheng continued, "Tinghuan said that this person might be a guide. I got to know Tinghuan during these years of investigation, and we obtained some information together. At that time, we found that the place the expedition team was going to was a deep mountain in Guizhou. The roads in those deep mountains are difficult to travel, and a local guide is needed. However... it is also possible that this person has another identity."
"What about these four people?" Xi Mo asked in a low voice, "Are they missing too?"
Ruan Yesheng’s eyes turned cold. She nodded, “At that time, they all disappeared together. I asked about each one. The other two still have not been found. But the body of the Guizhou team leader was found. The time was about one week earlier than my father’s body…”
"Who discovered it first?" Xi Mo asked while looking at the documents.
“It was the team leader’s older sister.” Ruan Yesheng said, “She also received similar text guidance. In the end she found the mangled body. She was greatly shocked and became depressed, and took a long time to recover.
Xi Mo looked down and saw several pages of information that summarized relevant information about the other three research members, including their family information.
“The person who did these things is extremely… despicable.” Xi Mo frowned deeply. “No… he’s a pervert. This person is torturing you family members. The person who received the text message instructions must have been anxiously searching for the missing person, so he deliberately chose the opportunity to lure you into discovering that bloody scene.”
“That’s what I suspected at the time too.” Ruan Yesheng’s expression was complicated: “They may have come into contact with some terrifying person at the same time, and that person is deliberately taking revenge and enjoying it.”
"You said the other two haven't been found yet, and a body has been found." Xi Mo pondered for a moment and said, "There's something wrong with that. What about the other person? Weren't there six people in total who went to Guizhou?"
“There is one more person… that unidentified suspected guide.” Ruan Yesheng’s voice was faint, “Tinghuan and I found him. At that time, he was unconscious, but there was weak breathing. We sent him to the hospital.”
Xi Mo’s heart jumped, “What about him now? Did you find anything out?”
“He never woke up. He was in a vegetative state. He could only rely on machines and medicine to maintain vital signs.” Ruan Yesheng sighed, “A few months ago, he died, right when we were about to go to Hengdian to join the crew and film Sui Ting.”
Xi Mo said regretfully, "Did you find any clues on him? For example, was there anything in his clothes?"
“He had a photo in his pocket, it's in the file box,” Ruan Yesheng said. “And the doctor asked us to come talk. He said there was a strange code carved on his body, which read: XFH25081459.”
Author's Note:
The number “XFH25081459” was mentioned before; it appears in Chapter 15 at the very beginning.
