Unvergleichliche Erbin

Kapitel 20

Ningxia wiped away her tears, clutching the butterfly in her hand, letting its raised edges prick her palm, the pain reaching the deepest part of her heart. What was going on? Were those receipts really hers? More and more questions and fears pressed down on her like huge rocks, threatening to crush her completely.

"Ring ring..." A loud phone call rang. Ningxia opened her eyes. It was already dawn. Had she been sitting on the floor all night?

"Hello?"

A familiar voice came through the phone.

"Okay! I'm coming right away!" Ningxia gathered her thoughts, ignoring the soreness all over her body, washed up, changed her clothes, and went out.

"Sorry to call you over so early!" It was Wu Linshan who spoke. At this moment, Ning Xia was sitting expressionlessly in Wu Linshan's office.

Wu Linshan seemed to have noticed something was wrong with Ningxia, but when he thought of Ning Kang in the morgue, he didn't say anything.

"Ningxia! Look, do you recognize this person in the photo?" Wu Linshan took out a photo and handed it to Ningxia.

The photo is low resolution and a bit blurry, but it still shows a chaotic scene in a parking lot with more than a dozen family cars of different sizes parked there. As Wu Linshan pointed, near the innermost black sedan, a young man was talking to a woman whose age was difficult to discern.

"This man looks familiar..." Ningxia couldn't quite place him.

"The man is Zhang Yanfang, the one who ran over and killed Chen Ying with his car. You should have seen him a few days ago!" Wu Linshan reminded her.

"oh!"

"Look at that woman, do you recognize her?"

Ningxia looked at the woman in the photo again. The woman was wearing a bright red coat and a short skirt, and looked quite elegant, probably in her thirties. But Ningxia had never seen her before, and she shook her head at Wu Linshan.

"Take a look at these photos! These were taken by the car rental shop owner's son with his father's phone that day, so they might be a bit blurry. According to the car rental shop owner's son, he vaguely remembers that Zhang Yanfang talked to this woman for quite a while after renting the car that day!" Wu Linshan then took out a few more photos.

A complex expression flashed across Wu Linshan's face: "Zhang Yanfang drowned in Lenghu Lake last week!"

"What?" Ningxia suddenly felt uneasy again.

"So! The woman in this photo is crucial! She is very likely related to the incident that killed Chen Ying, which in turn is related to your dowry! Moreover, the possibility of Zhang Yanfang's drowning being murdered cannot be ruled out! Please confirm again!" Wu Linshan pushed all the photos in front of Ningxia without any room for doubt.

Ningxia couldn't refuse, so under Wu Linshan's sharp gaze, she had no choice but to carefully observe the woman again.

After a while, she looked up and shook her head at Wu Linshan. A hint of disappointment flashed in Wu Linshan's eyes. "Here's what we'll do! I'll have Xiao Li process it and take this enlarged photo back to you. Think it over carefully and then call me!" Wu Linshan handed her one of the photos, which had been specially enlarged to show the woman's face.

Ningxia took the photo, put it in her backpack, and prepared to leave. Just before leaving, she suddenly turned back and softly asked, "Officer Wu!"

"What?" Wu Linshan looked up.

"Fang Jian... he..." Ningxia hesitated, "has he told you anything?"

"What? He didn't say anything?" Wu Linshan smiled. "What's wrong? Did he upset you?"

Ningxia hurriedly explained, "No! No!"

"Young man! Sigh! It's over after the bickering! Don't take it to heart!" Wu Linshan thought it was just two young people having a tiff, so he just smiled.

Seeing his expression, Ningxia realized that Fang Jian hadn't told her about yesterday's events, so she didn't say anything. That evening, Ningxia turned on her computer; the folder containing Liu Fang's image was still on her desktop. After thinking for a moment, she opened the folder and began flipping through the photos of Liu Fang, who bore a striking resemblance to herself. After searching through all the photos, she couldn't find any butterfly-related patterns. Feeling somewhat discouraged, she let the photos flash by, finally stopping at a group photo of Liu Fang with the crew of "Ancient Mirror Ghost Stories."

When his gaze fell upon the radiant girl to Liu Fang's left, he suddenly paused, momentarily stunned. Why did this girl look so familiar? The girl was dressed in a maid's costume, but her makeup had been removed. Long, jet-black hair cascaded down her bright cheeks, exuding a fresh and youthful aura; she was definitely no more than twenty years old. This girl stood in stark contrast to the melancholy Liu Fang beside her.

Suddenly, Ningxia's heart began to pound violently. She immediately opened her backpack and took out the photo that Wu Linshan had given her that morning.

The woman in the photo is in her thirties and dressed in the latest fashion. Although her makeup is quite heavy, Ningxia can still tell at a glance that she is the young girl next to Liu Fang!

Looking at the date of the photo, it's from 1990! It seems that the little girl in the photo would have become a middle-aged woman more than a decade later!

Ningxia immediately went online, found the website, and reopened the photos from that day. Above a group photo with extremely low resolution, Ningxia saw a line of names of the people in the photo:

"In the first row, Liu Fang..."

Third from the left in the first row, director Chen Canyu...

Second from the right in the first row, newcomer Lin Qian...

Counting from the right in the group photo, the second one from the right is the woman named "Lin Qian" in the photo!

Ningxia immediately called Wu Linshan and informed him of the matter.

"Okay! I'll send the photos to your email right now, okay!" Ningxia finally breathed a sigh of relief, downloaded all the photos, and sent them to Wu Linshan.

Two days later, she received a call from Wu Linshan and went to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Upon seeing Ningxia, Wu Linshan immediately asked, "Do you really not know that Lin Qian?"

"I really don't know her! I only found out about her by seeing her old photos on a website! Have you found out who she is?" Ningxia was also very eager to know Lin Qian's background.

Wu Linshan frowned. He lowered his head to think for a moment, then raised it again, his voice extremely calm: "I can believe you don't know Lin Qian, but you do know someone else!"

"who?"

"The general manager of Gutan Club!"

"Lin Wei?" Ningxia's expression suddenly froze, her face showing astonishment. "Lin Qian? Lin Wei?"

Wu Linshan raised an eyebrow again: "You should know the answer from their names! Lin Qian is Lin Wei's older sister!"

"This...it might be something he can't talk about!"

"Why?"

"Our information shows that Lin Qian suffered a mental breakdown more than ten years ago after being traumatized while filming a traditional opera movie. She was subsequently hospitalized in a Xi'an mental hospital for five or six years until recently, when she finally recovered and was discharged. After her discharge, Lin Qian returned to her hometown and, leveraging her family's capital and connections, founded the city's most expensive private club in recent years – the Gu Tan Club!"

Upon hearing the words "mental hospital," Ningxia suddenly became uncomfortable.

"This history! I think none of them in their family would want to talk about it in public. Who would believe that the founder of the wealthy Gu Tan Club was once a mental patient? This information is all internal data, and ordinary people can't get their hands on it! So, it's understandable that Lin Wei didn't mention his sister's situation to you!"

"But! Why would Lin Qian want to run me over?" Ningxia suddenly thought of the most difficult question.

"Speaking of which, I also have to tell you that Zhang Yanfang used to work as a waiter at the Gutan Club. So, the statements he gave us a few days ago might not be true! He might have been hired by Lin Qian to sabotage the brakes and try to run you over! But Chen Ying became your substitute!" Wu Linshan said, flipping through a thick stack of documents.

"Why?" Ningxia was still puzzled.

Wu Linshan closed the documents, looked at Ningxia who was full of doubt, and said, "I think she knows the answer to this best!"

"Then why don't you just arrest her and bring her back for questioning?" Ningxia asked anxiously.

"Ningxia! We need sufficient evidence to arrest people! Moreover, Zhang Yanfang, who can prove that Lin Qian wanted to harm you, has already drowned!" Wu Linshan calmed down at this moment.

"And another thing! Could this Lin Qian be the murderer who killed my brother?" Ningxia asked again.

Wu Linshan frowned again: "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know! But..." Ningxia's thoughts were in turmoil. "My intuition tells me that Lin Qian wanted to kill me, and when she failed, she killed my brother..." She choked up and couldn't continue.

"Can you provide enough evidence to prove that Lin Qian intended to harm you and your siblings? Also, what was her motive?" Wu Linshan asked again.

"This...no! Isn't this an investigation that you police officers should be conducting?" Ningxia was angered by Wu Linshan's indifferent tone, and her voice unconsciously rose.

"Ningxia! Calm down! I know how you feel about losing your family..."

Wu Linshan seemed about to launch into his usual comforting words, but she interrupted him: "No! You don't know! You have no idea how I feel!" With that, she stood up expressionlessly, ignoring Wu Linshan completely, and quickly left the office.

Back home, she immediately dialed Lin Wei's number, only to hear "out of service area" on his phone. Extremely annoyed, she slammed the phone down and began to carefully recall the series of events that had just occurred.

Starting with the woman in red recorded in Su Yun's diary, Lin Qian had already entered Ningxia's life. But why would she want to harm Ningxia? Was it for Fang Lian, or Su Yun's diary?

What exactly is in Su Yun's diary? Why did she commit suicide? Who was her lover?

Ning Kang must have seen something in the diary before he disappeared. What was his purpose? Who was responsible for his murder? Was it Lin Qian?

Where exactly is that box now?

Who burned down the Lin family's ancestral home?

What exactly is the story behind the butterfly in the ancestral home?

Whose things are in the bookshelf?

......

A series of questions left Ningxia's mind in a whirl, and a throbbing pain forced her to close her eyes. Suddenly, a text message beeped in Ningxia's backpack. She opened her phone; the sender was Lin Wei, and the message read: "Come to the ancestral home ruins tonight at midnight. I have something to tell you!" She immediately dialed, but Lin Wei's number was still out of service. Confused, she thought for a moment and then dialed Fang Jian's number, but his phone was switched off.

Looking at the time, there were still more than two hours until the agreed-upon midnight. She thought about calling Wu Linshan, but remembering his cold attitude during the day, she gave up the idea. She quickly washed up, sent a text message to Fang Jian, and went out.

On the way to the Lin family ancestral home, Fang Jian kept calling Wu Linshan, but Xiao Li answered the phone, saying that Wu Linshan was in an emergency meeting with several team leaders and couldn't answer at the moment. Frustrated that his phone always seemed to run out of battery at crucial moments, he accelerated, and the minivan sped off into the night...

Ningxia walked cautiously, her feet crunching on the dry branches, towards the Lin family's ancestral home. The surrounding trees appeared even more menacing and terrifying under the darkness of night, and strange noises emanated from the woods, making it no quieter than during the day, as if all sorts of demons and monsters were hiding in every dark corner.

Suppressing the fear that could leap from the depths of her heart at any moment, she gritted her teeth and pressed on. After struggling through the thicket, Ningxia smelled a burnt odor, which lingered even after so many days.

Bathed in the bright, clear moonlight, the vast expanse of ruins before them resembled heaps of black coal, sprawling across the open ground. Scattered everywhere were various kinds of burned timber; the once grand three-courtyard house was now reduced to a few walls and ashes. A mountain breeze swept by, carrying with it swirling ashes and a pungent, acrid smell that filled Ningxia's nostrils.

Suddenly, a faint white light shone from within the large, coal-heap-like pile of crumbling walls. Ningxia carefully avoided the debris on the ground and slowly walked towards the white light. She softly called out, "Lin Wei! Is that you?"

Just as Fang Jian was about to drive the minivan onto the mountain road, the engine suddenly made a violent roar and stalled instantly. He jumped out of the car, kicked the minivan hard, and cursed incessantly, "Damn it, why did it stall at this moment!"

They were now on a mountain road. The nearest village was about ten miles away. The surroundings were completely silent, with no people or vehicles passing by. Fang Jian's current situation could truly be described as being in the middle of nowhere.

He took out his phone and dialed a few times, but there was no signal. He plopped down on the ground, extremely frustrated. He looked up at the mountain road; it was still quite a distance to the Lin family's ancestral home. If he drove, it would take about forty minutes, but if he walked, he didn't know how long it would take to get there.

But the thought of Ningxia being all alone up there, facing the unpredictable Lin Wei, made him grit his teeth, retrieve a flashlight from his car, and head up the mountain...

"Lin Wei! Lin Wei!" Ningxia found the white light source—a white paper lantern—emitting an eerie glow on the floor of a nearly half-damaged room. There was no one around; it was as if the paper lantern had grown legs and run there on its own. Ningxia suddenly recalled scenes from *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*, and a chill ran down her spine.

"Crack!" Suddenly, a tile fell from the remaining half of the roof, startling Ningxia so much she almost fell to the ground. Looking up, she could see the deep sky through the broken roof, and a small winged creature fluttered away. Relieved, she realized she had disturbed someone. Patting her chest, she turned around, when suddenly a black figure flashed before her eyes and vanished in an instant! She screamed, but all around remained silent; there was nothing there, not even the little bird.

"Lin Wei!" Ningxia tried to calm herself down and called out loudly to bolster her courage, "Lin Wei! Is that you?"

Ningxia looked down at the white lantern on the ground. The lantern looked like a giant eye, staring straight at her. Ningxia felt a chill run down her spine, so she picked up the lantern and slowly walked outside.

Suddenly, a muffled thud came from a building on the left that still had two floors, as if something had fallen to the ground.

Ningxia, carrying a lantern, ran towards the source of the sound. After she stumbled and ran over, the sound disappeared, and the surroundings became quiet again, with only the mountain wind blowing from the forest whistling.

"Alas!..." A deeply mournful sigh rang out behind her, and Ningxia felt as if she had been doused with ice water, the chill seeping into her pores.

Suddenly turning around, a very strange face appeared in the white light of the lantern.

"Lin Wei? Is that you?" Ningxia looked at the ghost-like person in front of her and could hardly believe her eyes.

At this moment, Lin Wei was coldly looking at Ning Xia. A sense of extreme fear shot out from Lin Wei's unfamiliar eyes, like the greedy light in the eyes of a hunter after capturing his prey.

"You!" Ningxia unconsciously stepped back. "Is that Lin Wei?" But she was quickly blocked by a wall behind her and could not move.

"What? Don't you recognize me?" Lin Wei slowly approached, his movements both strange and terrifying.

"What are you doing? Don't come any closer!" Ningxia cried out, trying to move away, but she couldn't lift her feet.

Lin Wei paused for a moment, then stopped. The unfamiliar feeling in his eyes gradually disappeared, and the tenderness he used to feel when looking at Ningxia slowly reappeared.

"Xia!" Lin Wei called out softly and plaintively, his gaze wandering behind Ning Xia, as if his focus had passed right through her body.

Ningxia looked behind her in fear. There was only a charred wall and nothing else. She instinctively felt that the Lin Wei in front of her was very different from usual.