The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1389 Reenacting the Murder Details

“We wrestled for a few minutes. He pushed me back a few steps, and I got even angrier. I felt that if I didn’t teach him a lesson, he wouldn’t know how tough I was.” Zheng Hu’s voice trembled slightly. “I usually carry that single-edged dagger in my pocket when I’m cutting vegetables at the restaurant, so I can handle some odds and ends occasionally. I was so angry at the time that I just pulled it out of my pocket and brandished it at him, saying that if he didn’t give me the money, he shouldn’t blame me for being impolite.”

"What was Qin Lifeng's reaction when he saw the dagger?" Forensic doctor Zhang Lin stepped forward and asked, needing to confirm whether Zheng Hu's statement matched the resistance wounds found during the autopsy. "He was initially stunned, his eyes showing a hint of fear, but he quickly calmed down and said I wouldn't really stab him, and even tried to grab my dagger," Zheng Hu said. "He reached out his right hand to grab my wrist, and I dodged to the side. The blade of the dagger accidentally grazed the inside of his right forearm, and he cried out in pain and took a step back." Zhang Lin immediately added, "During the autopsy, we did indeed find two abrasions on the inside of Qin Lifeng's right forearm, 2cm and 1.5cm in length respectively, with irregular, strip-like edges, which are typical resistance wounds, perfectly matching the abrasion marks you described."

Zheng Hu swallowed hard and continued his confession: "After he was slashed, he didn't back down; instead, he became even more agitated, calling me a madman, and then rushed at me to fight. He was indeed quite strong; he almost snatched the dagger from me. In desperation, I stabbed him in the chest." At this point, Zheng Hu lowered his head even further, his voice filled with remorse. "I didn't think much at the time; I just wanted him to stop resisting. I never expected to hit a vital spot."

Xiao Zhou immediately asked Zheng Hu to point out the exact location of the stab wound. Zheng Hu walked to an area where a large area of ​​corn stalks had been crushed and pointed to the ground, saying, "It was right here... He was standing in this position, and I was standing to his left front, holding a dagger in my right hand, and I stabbed him diagonally into his chest." Zhang Lin squatted down and carefully observed the crushing marks on the ground, saying to everyone, "The corn stalks here formed an irregular depression, about 1.2 meters by 0.8 meters in area, which was caused by Qin Lifeng falling and being crushed. Combining Zheng Hu's description of his position with the wound's direction found during the autopsy—diagonally downwards and inwards at an angle of about 30 degrees to the horizontal plane—it perfectly matches the characteristics of a stab wound inflicted by a single-edged sharp weapon."

"What was Qin Lifeng's reaction after the dagger went in? And what did you do?" Xiao Zhou continued to press. Zheng Hu recalled, "The moment the dagger went in, he froze completely, his eyes widened, staring at me, trying to say something, but no sound came out. Then he slowly fell down, lying face down on the ground, blood gushing from his chest, staining his blue overalls red." He paused, then added, "I was terrified too. I stood there frozen for several seconds, watching him lying motionless on the ground, feeling both scared and panicked, not knowing what to do."

Xiao Yang pointed to a brass button on the ground not far away and asked, "Is this the button that fell off your clothes when you were fighting with Qin Lifeng?" Zheng Hu looked in the direction Xiao Yang was pointing, and the button had indeed come off his dark blue overalls. "Yes... it must have been when I was grappling with him, my clothes got caught on a corn stalk, and the button fell off here," Zheng Hu said. "I was so scared at the time that I didn't even notice the button was off. I never thought it would become evidence for you to arrest me." Xiao Yang added, "This button has been tested and confirmed to be made of ordinary brass, exactly the same as the button on your overalls. Moreover, the scratches and deformation on the button's surface are consistent with the characteristics of being pulled off by external force."

"Did you confirm whether Qin Lifeng was dead at the time? What did you do afterward?" Xiao Zhou's question went straight to the heart of the matter, as it concerned the reconstruction of the body disposal process. Zheng Hu shook his head and said, "I didn't dare get close to him at the time, nor did I dare confirm whether he was dead. I just wanted to run away as fast as I could, because if someone found me, I would be finished. But after running a few steps, I felt that wouldn't work. What if he was still alive? If he woke up and called the police, I would still be caught." As he said this, a ruthless glint flashed in Zheng Hu's eyes, "So I ran back to check on his condition."

"What did you do after you got back? Did you stab him again?" Forensic doctor Zhang Lin keenly spotted the loophole in Zheng Hu's words. During the previous interrogation, Zheng Hu had mentioned stabbing him again, but the autopsy only found one fatal wound. Zheng Hu's face turned even paler. He hesitated for a moment, but finally confessed the truth: "After I got back, I saw that he was still breathing weakly, and blood was still flowing from his chest. I panicked and thought that I might as well go all the way and not leave any future trouble. So I picked up the dagger and wanted to stab him in the chest again, but his body was already lying on the ground. I stabbed at the wrong angle and only stabbed him in the back. Moreover, I didn't stab him much before the dagger was blocked by a corn stalk."

Zhang Lin immediately said, "That's right! During the autopsy, we did find a shallow wound on Qin Lifeng's back, less than 1 centimeter deep, with irregular edges, which is exactly what you said caused by the second stab. Because this wound did not hit any vital organs, it was not fatal. Qin Lifeng's real cause of death was still hemorrhagic shock due to a ruptured left ventricle, which perfectly matches the location of your first stab." Upon hearing this, Zheng Hu could no longer hold on, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground, but fortunately, his teammates beside him caught him.

"Did you just run away after that? Did you clean up any traces at the scene?" Xiao Zhou continued to ask. Zheng Hu shook his head and said, "I was so scared at the time that I didn't have time to clean up the scene. When I ran out of the cornfield, I went through the peanut field and went straight back to the restaurant along the west entrance. When I ran, my clothes were covered with corn leaves and dirt, and I didn't dare to stop to clean them off. After I got back to the restaurant, I quickly took off my bloodstained work clothes and hid them in the washing machine in the backyard. I also cleaned the dagger and hid it deep in the kitchen drain."

Xiao Sun then said, "We also found your footprints at the edge of the peanut field near the west entrance. However, due to the dry soil in the peanut field, the footprints were not well preserved. But through comparison of some details, we determined that they were left by you when you fled. Moreover, we extracted Qin Lifeng's blood from the dagger you hid. The dagger's blade is about 20 centimeters long, and the handle is black, which is completely consistent with the murder weapon we deduced."