Chapter 7: An Unexpected Discovery

Chen Xuewen crawled back through the dark sewer for about two miles until he reached a fork in the tunnel. This fork led to a nearby village. However, he did not dare to leave the sewer directly. Instead, he found a precarious spot to temporarily hide. Outside, the occasional sounds of wheels and running footsteps echoed, indicating that the prison guards were conducting a thorough search in the vicinity.

Time passed slowly, and the stench inside the sewer was unbearable. Chen Xuewen’s clothes had long since been soaked from the earlier struggle. The freezing temperatures, combined with the cold, wet fabric clinging to his body, were torment beyond words. Gritting his teeth, he endured the suffering in silence. He knew this was his only chance. If he survived, he could seek revenge for his parents. But if he were caught and returned, death was certain—and his parents’ deaths would have been in vain.

Resolute, Chen Xuewen vowed silently that he would persevere no matter if he died from hunger or cold. After a full day, the searching sounds finally faded away. The prison authorities had likely scoured the area thoroughly and, convinced he had fled farther, abandoned the nearby search. Even so, Chen Xuewen stayed hidden in the foul-smelling sewer for several more hours.

Only in the early hours of the morning did he finally crawl out. He found himself near a dilapidated village. Surveying his surroundings, he spotted a small creek nearby. Jumping into the creek, its surface covered with a thin layer of ice, he braved the biting cold water to wash himself. Only then did he emerge and open the bag that Old Du had given him. Inside was a set of clothes.

He had seen these clothes before but had been too afraid to change in the sewer, fearing they would become soiled and that his foul odor would give him away once he emerged. Now, having washed, he could don the clean clothes without worry. Putting them on, Chen Xuewen felt a wave of warmth and breathed a long sigh of relief, as if he had come back from the brink of death.

He found a secluded spot to bury the prison uniform. Having done all this, he quietly headed toward Ping City. Unsure if there were patrols along the roads, he avoided main thoroughfares and traveled through the woods instead. After two hours of careful trekking, he arrived at Ping City just before dawn.

Looking at the familiar city, a sharp pain struck his heart. This was where he had grown up, but now his home was gone.

Chen Xuewen avoided the main roads, slipping into Ping City via a path through a nearby village. Dawn was breaking, and pedestrians began to appear on the streets. Wearing a hat that concealed half his face, he walked unnoticed, finally allowing himself to relax. The bag from Old Du still contained some money, which Chen Xuewen used to buy four steamed buns and a bowl of porridge from a breakfast stall.

He had gone over thirty hours without food and was on the verge of fainting from hunger. Looking at the buns, he wanted to devour them whole, but he dared not eat too quickly—it would draw unwanted attention. So he ate slowly, as an ordinary person would.

Suddenly, several men in police uniforms approached from a distance. Chen Xuewen’s breath caught, and he instinctively wanted to flee. But he held back. Running might allow him to escape these men, but it would alert the entire city, leading to a city-wide lockdown.

He decided to gamble that these men had not spotted him. His gamble paid off. The officers sat down at a nearby table, ordering breakfast from the stall owner. The owner clearly knew them and greeted, “Old Ge, out early, huh?”

“Still searching?” he asked.

The officer called Old Ge waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t mention it. We still haven’t found the prisoner who escaped from the prison. The entire city’s law enforcement is on edge.”

“We haven’t slept a wink for over a day now.”

The owner brought them breakfast and asked, “Just one escaped? I thought there were two?”

Old Ge replied, “The younger one was found—dead.”

“The older one is a repeat offender. No one knows where he’s hiding now.”

Chen Xuewen’s heart stirred. He had dressed Old Du in prison clothes and had burned the old man’s body with acid until it was almost unrecognizable. It seemed the law enforcement believed the dead man was him, so their focus was now on Old Du.

This eased Chen Xuewen’s pressure considerably. Though this situation couldn’t be concealed forever, it would save him a great deal of trouble for the time being.

The stall owner shook his head in disbelief. “Oh man, that young guy’s dead? What a pity.”

A nearby customer sneered, “Pity? That bastard raped and murdered someone. He deserved the death penalty!”

“Only now dead? That’s being merciful.”

The owner quickly retorted, “Hey, don’t talk like that.”

“My kid went to the same school as that young man,” he said.

“I heard he was a decent kid—not the type to do such things.”

The customer spat, “You never really know someone!”

“There’s evidence—witnesses and forensics. If he’s not the one, then who is?”

The owner sighed, “Who knows? But those poor parents… They ran everywhere trying to clear his name, got into a car accident, and died. A good family wiped out just like that. So sad.”

The customer scoffed, “Sad my foot!”

“You don’t know the truth.”

“I’ll tell you—those parents deserved what they got!”

Chen Xuewen clenched his fists tightly, hatred surging within him. The customer’s words felt like knives tearing at his heart.

The owner frowned. “Hey, watch your mouth. The parents are dead—show some respect.”

The customer cursed, “Do you know what those parents did?”

“I’ll tell you—they stole the autopsy report of the girl who died, trying to overturn the case!”

“And look what happened—they got their comeuppance!”

The owner’s eyes widened. “No way! Who told you that?”

The customer spat again. “That girl who was killed was my relative. How could I not know?”

“Scum like that—dying like this is too good for him!”

Chen Xuewen could no longer listen. At that moment, his mind was consumed by a single thought: his parents had stolen the schoolgirl’s autopsy report.

Old Du had once speculated that Chen’s parents must have obtained some kind of evidence, which led to their being silenced. Now, Chen finally understood what that evidence was.

It seemed that autopsy report was the key.