Chapter 17: A Premonition of Murder and Retribution

To encounter danger even within his own home—this was something Qiao Xia had never anticipated. Consequently, as darkness enveloped his vision, Qiao Xia found himself utterly dumbfounded. He racked his brains, yet he couldn’t fathom what kind of danger could possibly manifest within his residence. Could it be that an earthquake had struck again, toppling the residential building and burying him beneath its rubble?

As Qiao Xia’s mind reeled with questions, the precognitive vision successfully materialized. Once his eyes recovered, Qiao Xia immediately looked around with a curious gaze.

However, ten minutes into the future, he was not at home.

Instead, the familiar surroundings made Qiao Xia realize he was still within the community, though he had walked behind Residential Building No. 8.

Xingfu Community comprised only eight buildings. While Buildings No. 1 and No. 2 were adjacent to the main entrance, Building No. 8 stood as the very last one.

A wall stood nearby, segmenting the community from other areas.

Furthermore, it seemed the original designer had a screw loose. In addition to this exterior wall, another wall had been constructed inside the community itself.

The two walls faced each other across a gap, leaving an empty space between them.

Initially, the community’s fitness equipment was meant to be installed here, but for some unknown reason, the location was abruptly changed.

Ultimately, this plot of land remained vacant.

As for using this space for parking, no one dared to leave their vehicles there. Without surveillance, thieves could easily steal battery packs and bicycle seats in the dead of night without anyone noticing.

Even the children playing wildly in the community were reluctant to go there. Aside from trash falling from above, the only people who regularly visited were the workers who periodically cleared weeds.

At that moment, Qiao Xia found himself walking amidst scattered litter, which clearly indicated he was behind Building No. 8.

But why would he leave his home to come to this godforsaken place?

It made no sense!

“Grandpa Li, why are you here? You didn’t explain clearly on the phone earlier. I thought something had happened!”

As he reached the low wall, Qiao Xia saw Grandpa Li standing at the innermost part of the area. The words that escaped Qiao Xia’s lips were accompanied by heavy, ragged breaths, suggesting he had run frantically all the way here.

However, Grandpa Li merely stood there, offering no response.

This prompted Qiao Xia to walk towards him, perplexed. What did Grandpa Li mean by suddenly calling him over and then remaining silent? Was he playing a guessing game?

“Grandpa Li, why aren’t you speaking? I heard from the committee members that you left right after taking the call. I thought you had left the community, but I never expected you to be here…”

When Qiao Xia reached Grandpa Li’s side, he directly raised a hand and clapped him on the shoulder. His words, however, abruptly ceased the very next second.

Grandpa Li remained silent, but the moment Qiao Xia clapped his shoulder, Grandpa Li’s body immediately collapsed to one side.

Immediately after, a horrifying sight—Grandpa Li’s glowering eyes and a face covered in blood—burned into Qiao Xia’s vision.

Motionless, he was clearly lifeless.

This startled Qiao Xia immensely. Before he could fully react, he felt a sudden throbbing pain in his head.

When he raised a hand to touch his head, he immediately saw a smear of blood, gushing rapidly from the wound.

“Hahaha, die, all of you!”

The assailant, who had attacked Qiao Xia from behind, did not stop upon seeing his blood. Instead, they continued to strike Qiao Xia’s head rapidly with the weapon, causing him to fall to the ground, unable to rise. His eyes could only make out a pair of dirty white sneakers.

They looked somewhat familiar.

[Precognitive vision ended, returning to reality.]

As the darkness swiftly receded, Qiao Xia instinctively raised a hand to cover his head. The pain of being savagely struck on the head seemed to still linger, leaving him with a relentless ache even now.

‘Damn it! Which bastard ambushed me and killed Grandpa Li?!’

The moment Qiao Xia fell, his arm had brushed against Grandpa Li’s body. He hadn’t felt the coldness of death, but rather a residual warmth.

It was clear at a glance that Grandpa Li had only recently died!

Upon this realization, Qiao Xia felt his headache subside considerably. He lowered his hand and, based on the known clues, began to meticulously piece together the entire sequence of events.

Firstly, he had left home because he received a call from Grandpa Li.

At that time, Grandpa Li had not yet been killed, but Qiao Xia could not rule out the possibility of him being threatened.

After all, the vacant lot behind Building No. 8, due to the two walls, was rarely visited by anyone. It was an ideal location for murder and disposal of a body.

Secondly, those dirty white sneakers—he had definitely seen them recently; otherwise, he wouldn’t find them so familiar.

Upon closer thought, the killer’s voice also sounded familiar.

Connecting this with the deceased Grandpa Li, instantly, a name flashed into Qiao Xia’s mind.

Ding Ce.

Last weekend, to avoid Liu Ge’s strange gazes, Qiao Xia had specially altered his routine, leaving home earlier than usual. He ended up encountering Grandpa Li on a stroll.

Having nothing better to do, Qiao Xia wandered around with Grandpa Li, chatting and walking around the community. He considered it exercise.

Subsequently, when the two of them saw someone damaging the community’s plants and flowers, Grandpa Li quickly intervened, only to be struck with a stone by that person.

This prompted Qiao Xia to quickly step forward and push the person aside, to prevent Grandpa Li from further harm.

It was precisely Qiao Xia’s action of pushing the person that allowed him to see, up close, the dirty white sneakers. The person then stepped directly onto his freshly cleaned shoes, leaving an unforgiving black shoe print.

Afterward, the community committee swiftly arrived after receiving a call and subdued the person. They immediately explained the situation to Qiao Xia and Grandpa Li. This person was named Ding Ce, a resident of the community.

His behavior was normally quite eccentric. However, since he hadn’t committed any crimes, even with his strange personality, those who knew him in the community could only give him a wide berth.

If one were to call Ding Ce mentally ill, his thoughts were perfectly normal, and he even held a proper job.

Yet if one were to call Ding Ce normal, his actions were precisely the opposite.

In short, he was an odd individual, best avoided.

As the committee prepared to take Ding Ce away for re-education, Ding Ce turned back and flashed a chilling smile at Qiao Xia and Grandpa Li. Then he was led away without another word.

At this memory, Qiao Xia immediately knew that Ding Ce was the one who had killed him and Grandpa Li!

To have waited a whole week before seeking revenge—this person possessed extreme patience!

However, Ding Ce’s previous successful attack had been due to Qiao Xia’s lack of preparedness. Now, having witnessed the precognitive vision, he would not allow events to repeat.

Moreover, Qiao Xia intended to save Grandpa Li.

Checking the time, he realized that if he left now, he should still make it.