Animal Detective

Chapter 515: Chapter 420: The Scar (2)

"If he were a regular patient, I would recommend gradual psychological counseling."

"But he’s a suspect in a murder case. My recommendation is to provoke him and break down his psychological barriers."

"Use the solid evidence you have. Confront him with it repeatedly, then give him time to think. The constant stimulus will eventually help him recall those memories."

"In short, you can be more aggressive. Trauma is a scar. There’s no way to uncover it safely; there will inevitably be pain."

He looked up at the two of them and asked if they understood.

Shen Xin nodded.

’In other words, keep interrogating him.’

「Later that day」

Once Guo Jinhua’s mood had stabilized somewhat, they conducted another interrogation.

Their method changed, too. They threw all the evidence at him and demanded he explain the specific details of the crime.

Their words were harsh, asking him how he felt watching his wife suffer every day during the two-plus months he was poisoning her.

Guo Jinhua verged on hysterics, clutching his head and shaking it wildly, babbling that he didn’t know anything.

Finally, when his body couldn’t take it anymore, he was taken back to recover.

Meanwhile, as for Guo Kaitai, relatives had been contacted, and after much persuasion, they managed to convince the couple to go home.

There were no more interrogations that night.

Yan Peng’s advice was to give him time to think.

It was as if he had fabricated a lie for himself, like someone brainwashed by a pyramid scheme. You have to tell them the truth, and they will start to reflect on their own, creating an internal conflict until they finally accept reality.

But unexpectedly, the next morning, before Shen Xin had even arrived at the precinct, he got a call from Chen Chao.

The situation was not good.

First, Guo Kaitai and his wife had rushed to the precinct entrance early in the morning. Tao Yiping, like someone beating a drum to announce a grievance in ancient times, knelt right at the gate and refused to get up.

They hadn’t even managed to calm her down when people from Fu Lanting’s side arrived.

The news must have spread, and they’d gotten word that the police had arrested Guo Jinhua.

Fu Lanting’s brother, along with her parents, his wife, and his wife’s brothers—a huge, chaotic crowd of them—had also descended upon the precinct.

They had probably come to ask about the situation.

But when they ran into Guo Kaitai and his wife, it was like old enemies crossing paths—sparks flew, and they started fighting on the spot.

In the middle of the argument, Guo Kaitai yelled that Guo Jinhua hadn’t killed anyone, which was like adding fuel to the fire.

Fu Lanting’s family had likely heard the rumor that Guo Jinhua was the murderer.

Things got worse. Fu Lanting’s mother’s vision went black, and she fainted.

When Shen Xin arrived, the precinct entrance was surrounded by a crowd, and an ambulance was parked there.

Fu Lanting’s brother was not an easy person to deal with. He held his mother, refusing to let her get in the ambulance, and shouted at the onlookers that Guo Jinhua’s family were murderers who deserved a terrible death.

The commotion was incredible.

With four people over sixty years old from both families involved, Chen Chao’s face had turned pale on the scene. He was completely at a loss.

Shen Xin didn’t get out of the car.

’Showing up myself would only make things worse.’

There was no reasoning with family members who were this emotional.

Shen Xin parked his car by the roadside, watching from a distance.

The two groups were arguing fiercely.

Guo Kaitai’s side was outnumbered; it was just the old couple, and they couldn’t win the shouting match.

Guo Kaitai’s face was flushed red as he feebly tried to argue back.

Meanwhile, Tao Yiping was collapsed on the ground, beating her chest and stamping her feet, wailing inconsolably. He was too far away to hear, but Shen Xin could guess what she was shouting.

She, too, surely couldn’t accept the fact that her son was a murderer.

Shen Xin recalled Yan Peng’s words. ’A scar is a scar. There’s no way to uncover it safely; there will inevitably be pain.’

Two families were possibly being destroyed just like that.

No.

It was three entire families, including Guo Jinhua’s own small one.

Even now, Shen Xin didn’t know what had possessed Guo Jinhua to murder Fu Lanting, but it must have been a momentary lapse in judgment.

And that single lapse had destroyed three families.

At this thought, an idea struck Shen Xin. He called Old Zhou, who was on the edge of the crowd.

He told him to start recording, to capture the entire scene with his phone.

The situation was beyond persuasion. Both sides believed they were right, and the conflict was unavoidable.

But the case had to go on.

Shen Xin wanted to use this scene to provoke Guo Jinhua.

He wanted him to see with his own eyes the consequences of his momentary lapse.

’He’s unwilling to accept reality, so he ’forgot’. But what about Fu Lanting?’

’She was 31, in the prime of her life, a good wife and mother, now lying cold in the ground. Is she supposed to accept this reality?’

In the distance, Old Zhou discreetly took out his phone and started recording.

The farce at the entrance continued for a long time before they finally managed to persuade everyone to come inside the precinct.

Unable to win the argument, Guo Kaitai’s side had also called for backup.

Now, Fu Lanting’s family was demanding an explanation from Guo Jinhua’s side.

And Guo Jinhua’s side was demanding an explanation from the precinct.

They were fixated on one point: Guo Jinhua had also been poisoned and was suffering terribly, so on what grounds was he arrested?

The case wasn’t fully investigated yet, so the details couldn’t be revealed.

All the police could do was let them cause a scene and give them the cold shoulder.

But the key still lay with Guo Jinhua.

「In the holding cell.」

The door opened, and Shen Xin glanced at Guo Jinhua.

He was in a private room, and they had even set up a bed for him.

A meal box sat on the floor, untouched.

He had uremia and hadn’t had much water either.

’We’ll have to take him for dialysis later.’

His expression was haggard. He clearly hadn’t slept all night.

When he saw Shen Xin, his vacant eyes suddenly found focus. He struggled to his feet and stammered, "Officer Shen, they arrested me... You told me there was progress in the case, that you were close to catching the killer."

Shen Xin gestured for him to calm down, then walked over, sat down, and turned on a tablet for him to watch.

It was the video of the chaos at the precinct entrance.

He saw his mother-in-law crying until she fainted, his father-in-law pointing and cursing at his own mother, and his mother collapsed on the ground.

He saw his own father trying desperately to defend him, only to be drowned out by a chorus of curses.

"I’m not the killer! You can’t do this!"

Guo Jinhua protested vehemently, looking from the video to Shen Xin, his lips trembling and his face contorted in pain.

Everyone had said he was a filial son.

By the time the video finished playing once, Guo Jinhua’s face was streaked with tears. He began to beg Shen Xin to let him see his parents.

Shen Xin gently pushed him away and played it again.

Then he said, "Guo Jinhua, face reality. We’ve already figured everything out."

"And just look. Look who’s suffering because of what you did."

Guo Jinhua just kept shaking his head, muttering that he wasn’t the killer.

Shen Xin paid him no mind and just kept the video playing.

Listening to the curses from the video, seeing his parents’ helpless attempts to defend him...

Every word, every action, seemed to pierce Guo Jinhua’s heart, causing him a pain like a thousand arrows.

"Enough."

He covered his ears, trying to drive the sounds from his head. But even kneeling and banging his head on the floor couldn’t drive them out.

He broke down into great, racking sobs until suddenly, as if all his emotions had been unleashed at once, he spoke.

"I really didn’t want to do it... but why did she make me give up?"

"If we hadn’t given up, there would have been hope! Jingjing wouldn’t have died! My Jingjing wouldn’t be dead!"

His emotions erupted like a landslide, completely out of control.

Tears streamed down his face. He wanted to wail, but a lump in his throat choked the sound.

He could barely speak, just mumbling incoherently, "I know it wasn’t her fault, but I just couldn’t get over it."

"Every time I saw her, I couldn’t help but think that if she hadn’t made me give up, Jingjing would still be alive. She could have lived!"

"She was only seven! Seven years old!"

Guo Jinhua clutched his chest, collapsing to the ground in agony, letting out dry, choked sobs.

"She forgot."

"She wasn’t her biological daughter anyway, so if she died, she died. That’s why she acted like nothing happened."

"She even wanted to sleep with me... but I couldn’t stand it, just looking at her."

"Why did she think that if we had another child, everything would be okay? It wouldn’t be okay! It wouldn’t!"

Guo Jinhua shook his head relentlessly, his frantic eyes gradually turning ice-cold.

It was only at this moment that Shen Xin felt he was truly seeing the man before him.

Beneath the surface of a filial, family-oriented, and responsible man was, in reality, a cold-blooded and ruthless murderer.

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