"What was the situation with that case you mentioned?"
Xia Jie had not read the case file, so on the way back to the station, she curiously asked for the details.
"It was July 13th, eight years ago. The Balihe River's water level was low that year, and someone fishing pulled a corpse out of the river. After investigation, it was confirmed to be Zhao Zhendong, who had been reported missing at our station two years earlier. His parents had long since died, his wife had long since divorced him, and he had no children. The person who reported him missing was his biological older brother, Zhao Zhenye, who lived next door.
"After an autopsy, it was confirmed that Zhao Zhendong had suffered severe torture before his death. He had numerous injuries from punches and kicks, blunt-force trauma, and knife wounds. But he had not been beaten to death. He had been tied to a large rock and thrown alive into the river, where he drowned. After more than a month of investigation, there was still no evidence or leads, so the case ultimately went nowhere."
"So you all suspected Zhao Changyi, but had no evidence?"
"Yeah. That old bastard Zhao Changyi is a real piece of work. When he was young, he flirted with widows in the village and even set his sights on other men's wives. He has a record. Back then, he broke villagers' legs and drove people out of the village. He was domineering and ruthless. Later, once he made it big and had money, he stopped causing trouble in the village and started looking for young girls outside. There have been plenty of incidents like that."
Xia Jie frowned. "A person like that just gets to walk free?"
"Having a sense of justice is a