w.a.n.g Weimin was handcuffed, but seated before final sentencing.
Zi Yingtai went on, showing the intricate footage she managed to steal while living with w.a.n.g Weimin.
He kept the footage to sabotage it, making Long Huojiin look like he was the one who committed the crime. He deleted the parts where it showed him visiting Xue Hien and Xue Gao half an hour before the crime, and it showed his escape through the backdoor.
In between the footage, were images of Long Huojin. Thus the above-cropped video only showed him. Zi Yingtai hired someone to recover the lost footage that w.a.n.g Weimin tried to erase, thus revealing what he did.
The courtroom was silent. Even Qian Meigui had to take a moment before she said, "I would like Xue Gao to enter the witness stand."
Xue Gao was seated next to Xue Teegan; he rose from his seat, silently walking towards the jury.
Xue Guangli was trying hard to register and swallow everything. She was sick to her stomach. She had dated a monster for two years, had courted her mother"s killer. But she didn"t know.
Xue Gao seated next to the judge.
"Mr. Xue, can you tell me what you saw that night?" Qian Meigui asked.
Xue Gao nodded. "I remember seeing w.a.n.g Weimin that night; he came over in regards to my daughter. He left, then I remember my wife and I went to pack until everything went black. When I woke up, I saw Long Huojin holding my wife, but he was crying...mourning. I know he didn"t do it. I know it. My eldest daughter, Xue Teegan, was the one who called Mr. Long to check on us, which is why he was there. But it was too late, at least, not for me. I believe Mr. w.a.n.g would have killed me too had Long Huojin not arrived," he took a deep breath.
"I then told Mr. Long to go back to his home and pretend as if he hadn"t been there. If he were, the police would have mistaken him as the killer. I couldn"t let an innocent boy—young man go to jail," Xue Gao finished.
Xue Teegan bit her lip, clenching her fists. She always had a keen intuition, and that night she felt something go horribly wrong. It wasn"t like her father to send them away suddenly, without attending them, too. She couldn"t shake the feeling, so she called Long Huojin, her neigbour, to check if anything seemed odd. Indeed, she was right.
Qian Meigui pulled out some doc.u.ments, quickly skimming them with her precise eyes. She then gave it to the judge, "Autopsy reports say that she was drugged. Based on my experience with the medical field, I can a.s.sume that Mrs. Xue was drugged when Mr. w.a.n.g visited them. It took some time for it to take effect," she paused.
"Afterward, when both Mr. and Mrs. Xue were unconscious, Mr. w.a.n.g re-entered the home with the intent to kill Mr. Xue. However, Mrs. Xue woke up early from the drugs, and Mr. w.a.n.g impulsively killed her due to the shock of being caught. Mr. Long then came to the house for a visit, and out of a concerned neighbour, Mr. Long found them in their state and called the police. Mr. Long left the crime scene before the police arrived encouraged by Mr. Xue, afraid that he would be wrongfully accussed," Qian Meigui finished.
A commotion then rang through the room. Xue Guangli glanced up when she saw Xue Teegan savagely attacking w.a.n.g Weimin. It happened so fast. She pinned him down from the chair, choking his neck, but she couldn"t finish as the police came to grab her. She kicked and wriggled from their grip, but they dragged her out of the room. Startled, Yin Shou rose and followed after them.
On the floor, w.a.n.g Weimin was trying to regain breath. Song Ren came from the benches, approaching him. "I"m a doctor; please let me see him."
w.a.n.g Weimin"s lawyer nodded. She approached him, observing his neck. She clicked her tongue. "The damage was near-fatal. He will need further inspection at the hospital as his neck is incredibly sore. He may not be able to speak for some time, either."
The judge nodded, "We shall post-pone Mr. w.a.n.g"s final sentencing until further notice. For now, Mr. Long is now free from his charges, p.r.o.nounced as not guilty."
Everyone in the courtroom stood and began to exit. Xue Guangli ran towards Long Huojin after they uncuffed him. She embraced him hard, sighing with relief. It stunned her that he was in her arms, after two achingly long weeks. She then took his hand and dragged him out of the court hall.
Xue Guangli found Yin Shou, and he told her the police had already taken Xue Teegan to the station. They all rushed towards the station, taking Qian Meigui with them.
At the police station, Qian Meigui spoke to the detectives and negotiated with them. Yin Shou paid the bail money without hesitation. When Xue Teegan was released, she looked embarra.s.sed for what she had done, but all Yin Shou did was hug her instead of shame her.
Afterward, they all went to Long Huojin"s house, where he explained his full side of the story.
In the hospital, w.a.n.g Weimin woke up in a dim-lighted hospital room. It appeared to be nightfall, but when he glanced at the window, he saw to dark figures at the corner of the room.
His heart sped up quickly. He tried to get up, but he was chained to the bed he slept in. He tried to speak, but his sore throat prevented him; he could only make whistling sounds.
The two figures stepped through into the light, and his eyes widened.
Yin Shou removed the cuffs off w.a.n.g Weimin"s wrists using tools to break it. w.a.n.g Weimin then shuffled out of bed quickly. He was about to press a b.u.t.ton for help when Long Huojin grabbed him. They both stared at him with cold-dark eyes, but he did not reveal any fear.
"You can"t kill me," he said through a hoa.r.s.e voice, though it hurt him to speak. "If you do, Xue Teegan will be charged with voluntary manslaughter."
Yin Shou gritted his teeth.
"We won"t kill you," Long Huojin said with a low, but threatening tone. "We simply want you to pay some old debts."
At that, Long Huojin held w.a.n.g Weimin"s hands behind his back, as Yin Shou punched him right in the stomach, causing him to cough up some blood. w.a.n.g Weimin dropped to his knees, where Long Huojin crouched near him, plummeting his face with his fist.
After, Yin Shou and Long Huojin picked him with a bloodied and bruised body. His eyes were swollen shut, and they re-cuffed him on the bed. Not long after, Song Ren entered the room, nodding towards the two men as they left.
She approached w.a.n.g Weimin and began to administer some treatment, but she wasn"t gentle. He wriggled underneath the pain, "I know," she coaxed. "It hurts. But I have to make sure that you heal as if nothing happened, and you can"t say a word to the police, you have no proof as I own this hospital."
w.a.n.g Weimin tried to widen his swollen eyes, but it was no use. Then Song Ren continued her treatment, "I must give you back to the police new again, so you can rot in jail," she said with a soft, dark tone.