I conducted a detailed investigation of Li Xiangnong and his two companions.

Apart from being unpopular in the village, this family seemed honest and obedient.

They were only despised for their loose tongues and petty greed.

However, there was something strange.

In 2012, Li Xiangnong's wife, Sun Xiuying, filed a report.

The content stated that their daughter, Li Zhaodi, went missing after going to work in the provincial capital.

Li Zhaodi?

When I saw that name, I was momentarily stunned.

So I checked Li Zhiyue's household registration, and it turned out that Li Zhaodi was her former name.

The incident of reporting took place in the second year after Li Zhiyue graduated from university.

After Li Zhiyue sent all her two years' worth of earnings to her parents, she disappeared.

Her phone was blocked, QQ was deactivated, and her family couldn't contact her no matter what.

Helpless, they had to report to the police, and Sun Xiuying even posted missing person ads everywhere.

With the assistance of the police, it took half a month to find her in a psychological counseling hospital in the provincial capital.

According to the police officer in charge of the case at the time, when they found Li Zhiyue, she looked lifeless, as if all her vitality had been drained.

But Sun Xiuying and the other two were overjoyed.

He also found it a bit strange at the time, but since it was other people's family matters and the person was found, he didn't pursue it further.

I obtained the address of that psychological counseling hospital and made a special visit.

Many years had passed, and there had been significant changes in personnel.

Fortunately, the current director was the former head, so he still remembered this matter.

He told me:

"After the police left, Li Zhiyue's parents immediately changed their attitude. They slapped her, punched and kicked her, and constantly cursed at her."

"Comrade, you may not know, but the foul language Li's mother used at that time was worse than anything I had ever heard in my life."

"They blamed Zhiyue for wanting to sever ties, accused her of being heartless, and forced her to give money to renovate the family's house."

"I had security guards drive them away, and ever since then, they have been guarding the entrance of the hospital every day."

"Whenever someone enters, Li's mother goes and says how her daughter, a psychological counselor here, is unfilial."

"At that time, this matter caused quite a stir, and the whole industry knew about it. Helpless, Zhiyue herself resigned from her job."

"Later, I don't know how she negotiated with her parents, but they never came to look for her again."

"In the past two years, she opened her own psychological counseling studio, and it seems to be doing well."

After he finished his account, he said to me earnestly, "Officer Zhao, Zhiyue is actually a good child. Back then, I didn't want her to resign."

I nodded and said, "Thank you for your information. I apologize for the disturbance today."

As I left the hospital, my doubts grew heavier. Li Zhiyue seemed different from what the villagers described.

From the director's account, I seemed to see an example of someone desperately trying to break away from their original family but ultimately failing.

Meanwhile, the villagers said that Li Zhiyue sent money to her family every month and was very sensible.

Based on my previous speculation, Li Zhiyue had long since severed ties with her original family and was maintaining a normal relationship with them.

But now, it seems that she never actually cut ties, and what the villagers saw was only superficial.

With this in mind, a motive for murder emerges.

But is that woman really the murderer?