Hearing the familiar name, his eyes slightly raised before he replied with confidence, “She is worth it. Xiang’er is a good and kind-hearted woman. In this world, there was no one like her. Such a good woman shouldn’t bear those… She shouldn’t…”
‘Shouldn’t what? Is he alluding to the public humiliation she suffered?’ Ji Yunshu squatted down and asked with a serious expression, “What’s your relationship with Mei Xiang’er?”
“None. We have no relationship with each other. She doesn’t know I like her and had no idea I kill people. She knows nothing…” He continued to repeat himself, but regret could be heard in his tone.
Ji Yunshu calmly observed him, then she lightly said, “Gan Chuliang, did you really kill those people?”
As soon as the question was uttered, Gan Chuliang unexpectedly laughed and unabashedly met Ji Yunshu’s stare. “I already confessed and signed it.”
“Did they extort a confession from you?”
“I admitted it myself.” He replied very swiftly.
Ji Yunshu took out the confession at a moderate pace, unfolding it in front of him. “Good. Then, let me ask you again. When you killed Li Shuiqing, did you cut her hands first, then skin her face?”
“Yes!”
“When I examined her corpse, the corpse clearly had the face skinned first, then the hands were chopped.”
Gan Chuliang sized her up. “Are you a coroner?”
“No. As I said before, you don’t need to concern yourself with my identity, you only need to reply to my questions.”
“I’ve killed countless women, how can I remember each one of them? Whether I skinned the face first or chopped the hands, they still ended up dead in any case.” As he spoke, he continued to beam a smile as if he was carrying a will to die.
His expression abruptly sank as anger gripped him. He continued to speak. “Only I can protect Xiang’er! Everything I did was what she would have wished to do. Those women deserved to die. How can they compare to Xiang’er’s beauty? Why did they have to bully her over and over again?”
“Even if it was so, killing is not the way.” Ji Yunshu replied.
“Shouldn’t those people deserve to die?” He lowered his brows and felt what he said was justified. A malevolent expression was slowly revealed.
“Then, why did you… still want to rape them?”
Gan Chuliang’s eyes suddenly raised and nervousness quickly flit through his expression. The fleeting expression was caught by Ji Yunshu’s keen eyes. ‘That kind of expression… as if he was evading… this felt closer to a lack of confidence.’
Slowly, he said, “I have nothing to say. Isn’t a woman’s innocence the most important thing? Not only do I want them dead, I want them to experience first the feeling of wanting to die but cannot. Furthermore, all their chopped hands were soaked in lard and served at the restaurant. Everyone who ate it all praised it to be delicious. Each and every time! There was one time when I forgot to soak the human meat in lard, and as result, many guests returned the dish.” He laughed a few times after recounting the anecdote.
‘Disgusting!’ Ji Yunshu’s stomach churned listening to him. That day must be the day she went to eat there with Wei Yi. As suspected, it was human meat! She frowned while enduring the nausea she felt. Slowly, she got up and said, “Do you understand what you are saying?”
“Yes, I do.” Gan Chuliang shifted his sinister eyes. After a moment, he got up and walked toward Ji Yunshu. Suddenly, he grabbed Ji Yunshu’ arm through the gap between the wooden stake and pulled her toward him.
Ji Yunshu was forced to take a step forward, and her body pressed on the wooden fence of the cell! The governor and two jailers immediately wanted to step forward upon seeing this. However, Ji Yunshu raised her free hand and signaled them to stop.
Gan Chuliang did not do anything more drastic. He only pulled on her arm and asked in a strange tone, “What you want to know, I already told you. What else do you want to ask?”
Due to their proximity, Ji Yunshu could see his face with clarity. His face was marred by numerous wounds caused by the lash of a whip. The blood had long dried from the lacerations, but when he spoke, the wounded cracked from the movements and blood seeped out again. It flowed down, dripping onto the back of her hand.
It was a very conspicuous sight. Coincidentally, Ji Yunshu’s sight landed on his neck and saw the protuberance of his Adam’s apple. Her heart suddenly stilted and shock overwhelmed her.
“You… are lying!” She spat out.