Qian Shang's hometown was in a small staff housing complex. This complex, placed in current times, had no class. But over ten years ago, this complex was one of the best batches of residential buildings in the county.
There were not many buildings in the complex, just three six-story buildings, but the complex had a lot of greenery and courtyards, making it especially suitable for the elderly to live in.
As soon as Su Mo entered the complex gates, he saw three middle-aged women sitting at a stone table chatting. There were also two bags on the table, both filled with vegetables and meat.
He walked over with a smile and said, "Hello aunties, I'm from the Xikang City Government. I've come to learn about some situations from you. What do you think, is this okay?"
Upon hearing this, the three middle-aged women all looked at Su Mo, then were stunned for a few seconds. One middle-aged woman with short hair said, "From the government? That's fine, ask whatever you want to know."
The older men and women in rural counties were fundamentally different from those in the cities. One of those differences was that they were very cooperative with officials, unlike urban older folks who would sometimes make trouble for the government.
"I'd like to learn about matters concerning Qian Shan," Su Mo said.
As soon as he said this, the three middle-aged women had strange looks on their faces, but soon returned to normal. The short-haired middle-aged woman asked, "Why ask about Lawyer Qian's matters? Could it be that something happened to him in Xikang?"
Su Mo casually made up a reason to brush it off, then got right to the point.
"What do you think of Qian Shan as a person?"
Still the short-haired middle-aged woman that said, "Lawyer Qian is a very good person. When people in the county ask him for help, he basically always agrees. Also, for relatively difficult families, he doesn't charge money.
Many people in our county have received his kindness before, this is common knowledge."
Su Mo nodded and continued asking, "I heard that over ten years ago, Qian Shan and his wife divorced. Do you know the reason?"
At this, the short-haired middle-aged woman didn't speak. After a moment, another white-haired middle-aged woman said, "This is not a secret either. It's said that Lawyer Qian's wife had mental problems.
His wife used to often run to the public security bureau saying that Lawyer Qian domestically abused her, but that woman didn't have any injuries on her body. Later, Lawyer Qian took his wife to the hospital for examination, and only then discovered that his wife had mental illness. Originally, Lawyer Qian didn't plan on divorcing, but later because of one incident, Lawyer Qian resolved to divorce."
"Oh, what incident?" Su Mo hurriedly asked.
The short-haired middle-aged woman picked up and said, "This incident, the whole complex knew about it. Once, after Lawyer Qian went to work, his wife pulled along their child, preparing to jump off a building together.
This really frightened all of us. Luckily at the time several men in the complex reacted quickly, saving that crazy woman and child. My husband was one of the people who saved them at the time."
When she spoke to here, the short-haired middle-aged woman had a proud expression on her face. She continued speaking:
"When Lawyer Qian returned and learned of this matter, he could no longer tolerate that woman, so they divorced. After the divorce, that woman left this place. I heard she remarried someone after going up north, anyway she was never seen again."
After listening, Su Mo thought: "It seems the domestic abuse is real. No wonder the three victims all had domestic abuse in their stories, this matches up."
Then, Su Mo continued asking, "Then how was Qian Shan to his son?"
This time the three middle-aged women's statements were very consistent - Qian Shan was very good to Qian Shang, not just for food and clothing. Every time Qian Shang went out, his dad made sure he was dressed very finely. Everyone knew this.
Not only that, Qian Shan paid special attention to educating his child. He would often invite tutors to their home to tutor Qian Shang's schoolwork, and Qian Shang's grades were consistently very good.
After asking several more questions, Su Mo left.
"It can be confirmed now, Qian Shang is the murderer. Although, it can't be said that this Qian Shang is an utterly wicked person, but who told you to be my target? Then, please die. Oh, don't worry, I won't let your father off either," Su Mo revealed a gentle smile.
That afternoon, Su Mo returned to Xikang. He was going to start preparing for the hunt.
At 5:30 in the afternoon, this was when people normally got off work. Su Mo stood outside Fanghua Community, waiting for a suitable person. Soon, he saw a girl walk to the complex gates.
He inconspicuously walked over, then when the girl swiped her access card, he followed along very naturally. To outsiders, it looked like he was together with the girl.
After entering the complex, he still walked alongside the girl. Smiling, he said, "Hello, I'm Gu Hua."
The girl turned her head to look at the boy in front of her without saying anything, just slightly frowning, then quickly leaving.
Su Mo still had an faint smile. His goal was just to blend in, enter without bringing any attention to himself. As for being looked down upon by the girl, he didn't care.
Next, he started observing the complex, mainly observing the surveillance cameras in the complex. There weren't many cameras in the complex. Aside from one under each building, there were three more among the greenery in the complex, nothing else.
He didn't leave until around 8 pm after fully understanding the circumstances of Fanghua Community, always following others to sneak back out.
In the following week, he waited around every day for when that girl came back, then followed behind her to gain access. The gate guard assumed they were a couple. The girl assumed he was a complex resident wanting to pursue her.
As for Su Mo, this past week he had observed Qian Shang's patterns - very simple and regular.
Qian Shang left every morning at 8, coming back 8 or 9 at night. His wife didn't work, only taking care of their child. Also, every Friday night his wife would take their child to tutoring, not coming back until 11 or 12 at night.
The strangest thing was Qian Shan. He never went out, also not knowing what exactly he was doing.
Coming back to the archives office after this, Su Mo prepared all the necessary tools. He just waited for Friday to arrive, then he could start the hunt.
December 16th, Friday. At 5:30 in the afternoon, Su Mo with his backpack followed the girl into the complex very naturally.
Things were a bit different this time. Right before the girl left, she suddenly turned around and said to Su Mo, "My name is Li Danting."
Su Mo instantly had a strange look on his face, muttering to himself, "This girl, she couldn't possibly think I'm pursuing her...hmm, it's possible.."
Of course, he was just casually complaining to himself. He basically didn't take it to heart at all. Instead, he followed the plan, avoiding the cameras in the complex as he headed towards Building 2. Qian Shang's family lived in Building 2.
Sitting on a bench not far from Building 2, he waited. Since it was December, the sky darkened early, so he didn't have to wait long.
Around 7 pm, the sky had completely darkened. He took out the prepared steel wire, and when no one was around, hooked the surveillance camera outside Building 2. Then he gave it a fierce yank.
Like this, the camera wouldn't be able to capture footage of him entering the building.
Next, he put on a duck bill cap and directly entered Building 2.