Chapter 130: The Case-Solving Pro Black Sesame
Su Jianming sighed in relief when he saw his son hold back his emotions.
Late at night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Su Jianming quietly got up and went to the kitchen. He pulled open a floor-to-ceiling cabinet and moved things aside, revealing a hidden door.
If Su Tao were there, she would have been shocked—after living in this house for over ten years, she had never known such a hiding place existed.
No wonder Pei Dong’s people had searched the house and found nothing.
Su Jianming quickly opened the door, and Su Zhengqing, who had been missing for days, crawled out, speaking urgently:
“Dad, I’m starving! Do you have anything to eat?”
Su Jianming handed him the bread and meat pie he had secretly bought earlier and said in a low voice:
“Zhengqing, you can’t keep hiding here. Once the city guards ease up on their searches, find a way to escape to the Eastern District. If that doesn’t work, leave Dongyang altogether.”
Su Zhengqing devoured the food, burped, and said,
“I’m not willing to leave yet. That bitch Lan Lingling is still alive—I have to kill her before I go.”
Su Jianming scolded him angrily,
“You’re still thinking about that at a time like this? If they catch you, what will you do? Listen to me—forget about Lan Lingling. She’s practically locked inside Taoyang; you won’t have a chance to get to her.”
Hearing “Taoyang” made Su Zhengqing furious.
“If it weren’t for Taoyang, none of this would have happened! I wouldn’t have ended up like this! If I ever get the chance, I’ll destroy Taoyang first!”
Just as Su Jianming was about to speak, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a pair of glowing green eyes outside the kitchen window.
“What the hell?!”
He was so startled that he fell back onto the floor.
Outside, Black Sesame disappeared into the night.
Su Tao was woken up the next morning by Black Sesame licking her face.
As soon as she opened her eyes, her mind was flooded with the images of what Black Sesame had witnessed the night before.
After a long moment, she took a deep breath, calmed herself, and called Pei Dong:
“Sister Pei, I need to borrow two people to go with me to Su’s house. I know where Su Zhengqing is hiding—I want to catch him myself.”
Pei Dong didn’t ask any questions and personally drove to Taoyang.
When Su Tao got in the car with Xuedao, she didn’t see any other personnel and was about to ask when Pei Dong said, “Zining isn’t here. I don’t trust anyone else—I’ll go with you.”
Su Tao felt touched but simply nodded and closed the car door.
She remained silent during the drive.
When they arrived at the Su residence, a few neighbors who recognized her waved and greeted her.
“Tao Tao, it’s been so long! Your dad said you joined the army. How have you been?”
Su Tao smiled faintly. “I’m fine, but this isn’t my home.”
The neighbors were taken aback, wanting to ask more, but she had already turned away and headed up the stairs with a cold expression.
It was still early, so Su Jianming and Su Zhenglan were both at home, and Li Ronglian had just put Tangdou to sleep after soothing her all night.
Su Tao knocked on the door loudly.
Annoyed, Su Zhenglan opened it. Seeing Su Tao, his expression shifted instantly from irritation to shock, then a mix of surprise and anticipation.
“Xiao Mei? You—”
Before he could finish, Pei Dong pressed a gun to his forehead and flashed her credentials.
“Search warrant.”
Su Jianming, just finishing dressing, came out and instinctively shouted,
“You already searched the house before! How can you come back? You’re disturbing our lives—get out, get out!”
But before he could do anything, Xuedao lunged at him, barking fiercely. He stumbled back in fear, only to see Su Tao striding straight toward the kitchen.
Terrified and furious, Su Jianming yelled, “Su Tao! What are you doing?!”
He wanted to follow her, but the massive black dog blocked his way, its aggressive stance making him too afraid to move.
Ignoring his shouting, Su Tao yanked everything out of the kitchen cabinet, opened the hidden door, and dragged out a stunned Su Zhengqing.
Su Zhengqing barely had time to react before the little sister he used to bully pointed a gun at his head.
He was so shocked that for a moment, he wondered if he was dreaming.
“You…”
Su Tao cocked the gun without hesitation and shot him in the ankle.
Su Zhengqing screamed in agony, clutching his foot as blood quickly spread across the tiles.
Hearing the commotion, Li Ronglian rushed over. Seeing the scene, she let out a terrified scream, covered her mouth, and backed away, staring at Su Tao in fear and disbelief.
Su Tao holstered her gun and coldly looked at Su Jianming, whose face had turned pale.
“I had no idea you were hiding someone here. You really made me search hard.”
Su Jianming wanted to ask how she had found out, why she was cooperating with the city guards to capture her own brother, and when she had learned to use a gun…
There were too many questions, but he felt like his tongue was tied. He couldn’t say a single word.
Only Su Zhengqing kept wailing and cursing from the floor.
“Su Tao! Who the hell do you think you are?! Ahh—damn it, it hurts!”
Su Tao kicked him hard in the stomach.
“Now you know pain? Do you have any idea how much Lan Lingling suffered when you and your people attacked her?”
“What the hell does that have to do with you?!”
Su Tao stomped twice more, grinding her foot against Su Zhengqing’s ear with force.
“Listen carefully. Whether or not this has anything to do with me today, I am going to make sure you pay. I won’t even bother settling the old scores from when you bullied me as a kid, but for what you did to Lan Lingling and the bombing, you must pay the price.”
“Sister Pei!”
Pei Dong pulled out a pair of handcuffs and swiftly restrained Su Zhengqing’s hands and feet before dragging him out of the kitchen.
Su Jianming knew that things had reached a point of no return. His voice trembled as he pleaded,
“Vice Officer Pei, no matter what, please spare his life. Send him to the army or make him do hard labor—just have some compassion for a father’s heart.”
Pei Dong glanced at him and said, “Mr. Su, in your eyes, it seems that only Su Zhengqing is your real son.”
As for Su Zhenglan and Su Tao, he had never shown them the slightest bit of concern.
Su Jianming seemed to catch onto something and turned to Su Tao instead.
“Tao Tao, help your brother. You’re siblings—there must be some misunderstanding. He was young and ignorant back then, and it was my failure as a father that let you suffer.”
Su Tao’s gaze was as calm and lifeless as the Dead Sea. She simply said, “Sister Pei, let’s go.”
Just then, Su Zhenglan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
“Xiao Mei…”
Su Tao turned back and looked at him as if he were a stranger.
Although this second brother had never bullied her, he had always been a bystander—watching indifferently as Su Zhengqing and Jiang Jinwei tormented her since childhood.
Whatever he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.
Su Zhengqing was taken back to the detention center, where he was tortured for an entire afternoon. Eventually, he gave up the names and hideouts of two more accomplices, in addition to Fei Pengyi, who had been responsible for making the bombs.
Pei Dong wasted no time. That very night, she arrested the two men.
According to Pei Dong, all of them were scum who harbored hatred toward Taoyang, each with a criminal record of some sort.
Fei Pengyi and Su Zhengqing, being the main culprits, had committed serious offenses and showed no remorse during interrogation. They were to be executed by firing squad.
The other two were sent to the frontlines for military service.
With that, all the perpetrators behind the Taoyang bombing were captured, finally bringing the case to a close.
The suffocating weight in Su Tao’s heart eased. With the public announcement issued, the lingering fear hanging over the tenants of Taoyang was finally dispelled.
Zhuang Wan also let out a sigh of relief.
“It’s finally over. No one said it out loud, but I know everyone was still worried about another bombing. At least now, they have an answer.”
Su Tao nodded, holding Black Sesame close and taking a deep breath. She even gave it extra treats for a late-night snack.
Watching it eat happily, she stroked its head and sighed.
“Well done. Looks like your abilities aren’t completely useless with me after all.”
