Chapter 523 - 537: A Corner
’Hurry? Wait?’
’Wait for what?’ After Tao Quan entered the house, he was like a marionette, completely devoid of a soul. His every move was dictated by someone else’s words.
’Is this really Tao Quan? Or could he even be considered a person with independent thoughts?’
Lost in thought, An Ning’s gaze followed Tao Quan and his father as they passed through the clean, tidy, and bright living room and entered the steamy kitchen, which was filled with fresh ingredients.
’The kitchen?’
’What could they be doing in the kitchen?’
An Ning couldn’t figure it out. Or rather, she was unwilling to imagine the worst-case scenario.
Even though she detested the man, An Ning still didn’t want the worst to happen.
A "CLICK" interrupted An Ning’s thoughts.
Her pupils dilated.
Inside the large kitchen, the wall opposite the stove moved.
An Ning didn’t know what Tao Quan’s father had pressed, but a mechanism activated. Chains clanked and turned. Judging by the heavy sound, the door was very thick.
The cabinets on one of the kitchen walls slowly slid aside with a mechanical clatter, revealing bit by bit what was behind them.
’So, there’s a hidden door in the Tao family’s kitchen. Or rather, the door to a secret room.’
But in the past month, no one in the Tao family had opened this door.
At least, An Ning had never noticed it.
As the secret door opened, a pitch-black opening swallowed the figures of the father and son standing at the threshold. An Ning hesitated for a moment. For the first time, she really didn’t want to follow them inside.
She was afraid of what she might find inside—afraid that her entire worldview would be shattered beyond repair.
’Tao Quan, why do I get the feeling you led me here on purpose?’
This strange feeling flashed through An Ning’s mind for the first time.
’Maybe it’s not strange. Maybe I’m just now truly realizing Tao Quan’s thoughts and intentions.’
Without hesitating for long, An Ning’s spiritual power followed them inside.
The secret door slowly closed, leaving the two men and the ghost-like An Ning to share the room.
With a "FLICK," the secret room was flooded with light, as bright as day.
An Ning, observing from afar, instinctively closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she regretted following them in. She wished she could have gone blind.
The airtight secret room was a darkroom for developing photos. It was fully equipped with all sorts of developing equipment, much of which An Ning didn’t recognize.
It was obvious who the subject of the photos was.
At that same moment, the entire demeanor of Tao Quan’s father underwent a dramatic transformation.
The secret room was like a Pandora’s box that had been opened.
Across from him, Tao Quan was like an emotionless robot, completely numb and apathetic.
An Ning didn’t understand. The Tao Quan she remembered was not someone who would meekly submit to adversity.
But this Tao Quan showed not a hint of resistance.
An Ning’s worldview was truly being shattered and rebuilt. She was utterly disgusted.
An Ning closed her eyes, her mind a battlefield of conflicting emotions.
’Why doesn’t he say anything?’
’And why doesn’t he fight back?’
’Where was the pervert Tao Quan who abused cats and dogs? Where was the Tao Quan who psychologically controlled Lin Wanwan?’
A short time later, Tao Quan emerged from the secret room in a different set of clothes.
Just as An Ning thought it was over, Tao Quan’s mother, who was cooking in the kitchen, looked at him strangely and said, "You’re out?"
Tao Quan remained silent, just lowering his head.
"Come help me cook."
Tao Quan silently stepped forward and held out his hands, palms habitually facing up.
A pair of gloves made of an unknown material was pulled onto his handsome hands. Throughout the entire process, Tao Quan still didn’t show the slightest resistance.
"How nice."
With those two words, An Ning once again witnessed the depravity of the human world.
Tao Quan’s mother was different from his father. What she wanted was torture.
To make others feel pain.
In the time it took to cook one meal, Tao Quan’s mother cut him with a knife eighteen times, burned him twenty-three times, and stabbed him sixteen times.
Each time, the injury was superficial. Even the professional Luo Li would have to praise her skill.
After the blood-tinged meal was prepared, Tao Quan finally took off his gloves.
’So the gloves were just to avoid leaving scars on his hands.’
Thinking back, she realized that Tao Quan never wore short sleeves. Even now, in the scorching summer heat, he always wore long sleeves and long pants.
’Are these really his parents?’
’How is this possible!’
An Ning was on the verge of a breakdown.
If this were her when she had first arrived on Ancient Earth, she could have remained indifferent.
But now, she couldn’t. Not even for someone she hated like Tao Quan.
Just when An Ning thought nothing more disgusting could happen, the family of three sat down to eat the meal Tao Quan’s mother had cooked, appearing to be in perfect harmony.
Ironic.
Utterly ironic.
After everything that had happened, Tao Quan was covered in blood, yet the other two insisted he sit there and eat with them.
After the meal, Tao Quan was taken away again.
"Fuck! I can’t take this anymore!"
An Ning uttered one of Lin Cuihua’s famous sayings and prepared to attack with her spiritual power.
’If for no other reason, I have to do it to protect my own eyes!’
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK"
The urgent knocking pulled her out of her surveillance, and she ran to open the door.
The door opened to reveal someone An Ning hadn’t expected to see.
"An Ning, we’re about to conduct an arrest here. For your own safety, please leave with us."
"An arrest?"
In a flash, An Ning reactivated her spiritual power to survey the scene.
Sure enough, a group of plainclothes police officers was already in position outside the Tao family’s home.
An Ning looked at Shen Weidong and asked, "What’s the case?"
"An Ning—"
"I need to know."
An Ning’s determination put Shen Weidong in a difficult position, but he told her the truth anyway.
"It’s related to the case you reported earlier—the one where Huang Daxian led you to the bodies. Our investigation found that all five victims have a connection to the Tao family."
"Before they became vagrants in the West District, they had all been employed by the Tao family as nannies or maids."
An Ning listened to Shen Weidong while simultaneously monitoring the situation inside the Tao family’s house.
"Have you determined who you’re going to arrest?"
"Tao Quan. Someone saw him in contact with the five victims. He’s our prime suspect. Plus, we found some of Tao Quan’s personal belongings in the woods where the bodies were hidden."
Everything seemed to be falling into place.
’Tao Quan hid the bodies, and he just had to hide them so close to my place.’
’He provoked me several times, making me despise him more and more.’
"Tell your men to hold off on breaking down the door. I’ll go open it for you."
An Ning walked out first. Shen Weidong didn’t understand, but he gave the order anyway.
Over the past month, An Ning’s name had been mentioned multiple times within certain circles. She was someone not to be provoked—someone to be protected at all costs.
An Ning wasn’t sure what she was feeling as she walked up to the front door of the Tao family’s home.
The front door was custom-made; in fact, the entire house was specially soundproofed.
She pressed her ear to the keyhole, poked a wire inside a few times, and the door swung open.
Behind An Ning, Shen Weidong, for some inexplicable reason, remarked, "Um, An Ning... with a skill like that, you should probably register it at the police station."