The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1497 Returning to the Scene

Then, the group followed Tian Liang along the overgrown path towards Zheng Guobin's suburban warehouse. The path was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, and overgrown with weeds on both sides, consistent with the "hidden route" Tian Liang had described. "When I was dragging the body, his arms and knees were constantly scraping against the roadside weeds and pebbles, which is why he had so many abrasions and bruises," Tian Liang said, pointing to the pebbles as he walked. "The stones here are very sharp. When I was dragging him, I heard the sound of his clothes being torn by the stones. Later I found out that the tear in the chest of his coat was not only from my knife but also from these pebbles."

This detail fills a gap in the interrogation and echoes the forensic autopsy findings—the abrasions on the deceased's body were caused by friction with mud and stones during the dragging process; the edges of the torn coat were irregular, showing signs of blunt force trauma in addition to sharp instrument cuts. Xiao Sun extracted a small amount of blue denim fibers from the gravel area identified by Tian Liang, matching the material of the deceased's jeans, further solidifying the chain of evidence.

About twenty minutes later, the group arrived at Zheng Guobin's suburban warehouse. The warehouse door was open, and the technical team was already waiting there; the markings on the ground were still clear. Tian Liang walked to the warehouse door, stopped, and a flicker of fear and guilt flashed in his eyes. He remained silent for a long time. "Is this where you killed Zheng Guobin?" Li Ming asked softly. Tian Liang nodded slowly, his voice choked with emotion, and said, "Yes, it was here that I stabbed him to death with a carpenter's knife."

He walked into the warehouse and pointed to a shelf in the corner, saying, "Zheng Guobin was standing right here, head down, organizing goods, his back to the warehouse door. I quietly walked up behind him and stabbed him in the chest." As he spoke, he reenacted the action—right hand holding the knife, arm bent, blade facing inward, thrusting forward sharply. "When I stabbed him the first time, he cried out 'Ah!' and staggered forward, grabbing the shelf with both hands to steady himself. He knocked over the goods on the shelf, scattering them all over the floor." Tian Liang pointed to a mark on the ground, "It's here. The goods fell to the ground with a loud noise. I was afraid people in the distance would hear, so I quickly went up and stabbed him twice more in the chest."

Referring to the on-site investigation record, Xiao Yang asked, "When you stabbed him the second and third time, did he resist? The footprints collected at the scene show that there were signs of a brief struggle." Tian Liang recalled, "He resisted. After he was stabbed the first time, he turned around and tried to grab me. I dodged, and he kicked me. I was forced to the warehouse door, and then, while he was bending over and catching his breath, I stabbed him in the chest again. This time the stab was quite deep, and he immediately fell to the ground, clutching his chest with both hands, his body convulsing."

He pointed to a bloodstain on the warehouse floor and said, "He fell right here. Blood gushed out immediately, staining the dust on the ground red. I was blinded by rage. Seeing that he was still convulsing, I stabbed him in the chest again. This time, the stab hit his heart. He convulsed a few times and then stopped moving." This confession precisely corresponds to the forensic autopsy findings—the deceased had an 8-centimeter-deep wound in his chest that penetrated the left ventricle of his heart, which was the fatal injury. The other two wounds were located in the fourth and fifth intercostal spaces on the left side of the sternum and in the upper lobe of the left lung, respectively, all of which were caused by the continuous stabs described by Tian Liang.

"When you stabbed him, did he say anything? Or make any distinctive movements?" Xiao Zhou pressed, trying to uncover more details corresponding to the traces at the scene. Tian Liang thought for a moment and said, "When he fell to the ground, his eyes were glaring at me, and he kept cursing me, saying I was ungrateful and that he would make my sister pay with her life. I was so angry by his words that I squatted down and hit his face with the back of the knife. His nose started bleeding immediately." He pointed to the spot on his nose, "Right here, I hit his nose bridge. Later, when I was searching his pockets, I saw that his nose was still bleeding, so I wiped it with his jacket sleeve."

Forensic pathologist Zhang Lin had previously discovered a minor fracture in the bridge of the nose with subcutaneous bruising during the autopsy, initially presumed to be caused by blunt force trauma. Tian Liang's testimony conveniently resolved this discrepancy. Furthermore, during the on-site investigation, a small amount of nasal secretions was found on the deceased's jacket sleeve, which, after DNA testing, belonged to the deceased and perfectly matched Tian Liang's description of wiping nosebleeds with his sleeve.

"When you searched his pockets, was it after he was completely dead? What exactly did you find?" Xiao Yang asked, as this was related to reconstructing his behavior after the crime. Tian Liang nodded and said, "It was after he stopped moving, about five minutes later. I was sure he was dead before I dared to squat down and search his pockets. I first searched his shirt pockets and found a cell phone, a wallet, and this bank card." He pointed to the photos of the evidence on the table. "The cell phone was switched off at the time. I was afraid it would be tracked if I turned it on, so I removed the battery and threw it in the bushes outside the warehouse. There was about two thousand yuan in cash in the wallet, which I took and threw in the trash can. I saw that there was no PIN on the bank card, so I kept it, thinking I could try to withdraw money later."

Based on Tian Liang's confession, the technical team subsequently found the discarded mobile phone battery in the bushes outside the warehouse. Upon examination, Tian Liang's fingerprints were found on the battery, matching his account. "After you ate his pockets, why did you choose to drag the body to the riverbank to hide it, instead of disposing of it directly in the warehouse?" Li Ming asked, pointing out a puzzling detail in the previous investigation.

Tian Liang sighed and said, "The warehouse is full of goods, there's no way to hide a body there, and security guards patrol the area occasionally, I'm afraid of being discovered. I've been here a few times before, and I know there's a Zhangjiagou River embankment not far away. Nobody goes there usually, and the reeds are dense, making it a good place to hide a body." He added, "I originally wanted to find a vehicle to transport the body there, but I don't have one, so I had to drag it. I even found a rope, tied it to his ankle, and pulled him towards the river embankment, which saved me some effort."

This detail had never been mentioned before, and Xiao Yang immediately pressed for details: "Where is the rope? What did you do with it after you finished using it?" Tian Liang replied: "I took the rope from the warehouse. It was originally used to tie up goods. After I finished using it, I untied the rope and threw it into the river next to it while I was dragging it to the riverbank."