Pristine Darkness

Chapter 18

With proof of Ming Lan's involvement in hand, Fang Qing and Bo Jinyan head back to the Yao household. What will they find? Will they manage to pin down Yao Yuange and his accomplice this time, or will he somehow elude them? Read on to find out!

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Translator: Lid_d, shl

Editor/ Proofreader: shl

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When the door opened, the third wife, Zhang Jufang, stared at them in confusion.

Fang Qing looked her in the eye and lead the team in. The officers' black uniforms and heavy footsteps startled everyone in the courtyard.

"What are you doing?"

"What's happened?"

Bo Jinyan lifted his head and saw Ming Lan standing in front of her room, with an indecipherable expression on her face. Then, she disappeared.

The officers quickly took charge of everyone in the yard, then hurried to Yao Yuange's room, but found no one inside. They searched every corner, but still found no trace of him.

"How can this happen?" asked Fang Qing quietly.

An inspector replied, "No way, our men have been monitoring this place from the outside. Yao Yuange didn't go out. How can it be that he is not here?

Only Ming Lan's room was left. Fang Qing and Bo Jinyan looked at each other, and Fang Qing said, "Let's go talk to her." Bo Jinyan was calm.

"Why did you guys barge into my house?" asked Ming Lan quietly, sitting on a tatami mat beside the window.

She seemed to have expected this somewhat, and as was also as tranquil as water.

Fang Qing answered, "This is a search warrant. Ming Lan, we have evidence to suspect that you are involved in the disappearance of Zhu Fanglin and Ning Qingru in 2014 and 2015."

Ming Lan moved her lips, but her face remained as cold as ice. "I don't understand what you're saying. I don't know the people you mentioned, either."

"What about Yao Yuange?" Fang Qing asked.

Ming Lan did not speak. Her delicate fingers gripped each other tightly.

Yet, did she have any way out?

No.

"Where are those girls now?" Fang Qing hissed.

Ming Lan kept staring out of the window. Suddenly, the corners of her mouth lifted in something resembling a smile.

"I've already said, I do not know. This has absolutely no connection to me, Yuange, or us Yaos. How long are you going to keep bothering us?

"Handcuff her first," Fang Qing said.

He and Bo Jinyan walked outside. A few officers came by and shook their heads slightly, signalling that they had not found him. Not far away, the Yao women and servants had all gathered in one place. Under the gloomy daylight, each had a different expression.

Ming Yue held on to her child tightly, her face very grim, not uttering a word. When Bo Jinyan and Fang Qing's eyes fell upon her, she quickly turned away, as if she had been electrocuted.

Zhang Jufang and Chen Mei's faces looked a little pale as well. Zhang Jufang stood with her arms crossed, cursing under her breath, yet she didn't dare to openly resist. Chen Mei just kept watching the officers' every move, as if thinking about something.

"It looks this way," Bo Jinyan said, "Ming Lan, Ming Yue, and the deceased Zhao Xia know. Zhang Jufang and Chen Mei don't."

Fang Qing murmured under his breath, "He seems to be very good at exerting his control over these women. Where do you think he hid those girls?"