The two of them made their way to the address they had found.
It was an old residential complex, its buildings somewhat rundown. Built of concrete and brick, they looked dull and gray.
When they found the housekeeper, she was sitting with her neighbors beside the exercise equipment, chatting and laughing.
She was in her sixties or seventies, wearing a long red top over a black undershirt. Her hair was styled in a salon-done updo popular with older women, perfectly neat without a single stray strand.
When she saw Zheng Ye and Ning Shile, she raised her eyebrows and looked them over. "You're the ones who contacted me?"
"Yes." Zheng Ye nodded.
The housekeeper stood, lowering her voice a little. "Let's talk at my place."
With that, she slowly ambled into the stairwell, climbed the stairs, and unlocked her door. "You weren't lying to me on the phone, were you? If I tell you the truth about what happened back then, you'll give me five million?"
Five million?
Ning Shile frowned. That much?
Zheng Ye nodded. "Haven't you already received two million?"
"Yes," the housekeeper replied, pushing open the door. "Come in."
They entered, and the smell of cheap incense hit them, pungent and choking.
Ning Shile glanced around and noticed a deity statue enshrined in the living room.
"I asked my son, too. He said it's been twenty years, so the statute of limitations expired ages ago." As she spoke, the housekeeper picked up the teapot on the table and poured herself a cup, then sat on the sofa and looked at them. "That means even if you know who the killer is now, you can't prosecute them. You know that, right?"
Ning Shile took an immediate dislike to her, especially the dismissive way she spoke.
"We know," Zheng