At the execution ground, Du Qiuyi was terrified, weeping uncontrollably. Many times, she could have turned back to a peaceful, wealthy life. But once the taste of sin grew, it became addictive. Every time, she chose sin to achieve her goals.
For example, when Qihui said Jiang Zhen was coming for her children and would ruin her happiness, she hired someone to stop Jiang Zhen.
For example, when Ji Fengmei threatened An Xiuqing, she administered drugs. Before liberation, similar schemes never failed—even if reported, she always managed.
But after liberation, the world changed. Her old tricks no longer worked. She realized her mistakes.
Why could Xiuqing be reborn, but not her? No, she had to fight for herself.
Du Qiuyi revealed what she believed was her life-saving secret: “I know an overseas sabotage organization. They’ve crossed the border and contacted me once. I can act as your insider, help you capture them, and redeem myself!”
The execution was temporarily halted.
Jiang Zhen, watching, worried: “You won’t really agree, right? If she had the chance, she’d escape across the border.”
Gu Liancheng thought the same: “Right after liberation, every border city had such spy organizations—even Fancheng. I doubt they’ll accept her request.”
They didn’t agree—but they did fulfill her dying wish to see Jiang Zhen. For death row prisoners, reasonable requests are generally granted.
Gu Liancheng said: “If you don’t want to, you can refuse.”
Jiang Zhen agreed: “I’ll let her see me. After fulfilling her wish, she can go peacefully.”
…
“You came so fast,” Du Qiuyi said, weak and trembling from fear.
“I came to witness the execution,” Jiang Zhen said.
Du Qiuyi showed a puzzled expression, then smugly laughed: “I get it. You must have handed yourself over after rebirth. Xiuqing died before she could, so that was lucky for you. But the son of Gu Liancheng’s uncle—who was swapped? Only five pairs of children? And the traitor who contacted me for the overseas organization? You’ll never know these answers.”
Jiang Zhen thought for a moment. Du Qiuyi would soon be executed; a brief statement wouldn’t matter.
“Have you considered that because we have the means, that’s why we’re executing you decisively?”
Du Qiuyi never understood until the gun fired. How could Jiang Zhen know the secrets she took to her grave?
…
You can only touch a corpse once—after that, nothing is revealed. Two recorders accompanied Jiang Zhen. She thought it unnecessary to recount every detail—start from most important to less important: “The intermediary she contacted is Gao Yunxiu. She’s quite pretty; if I meet her, I’ll recognize her.”
Gu Liancheng trembled. Jiang Zhen turned to him: “You know her?”
He quickly held her hand steady: “Comrade Jiang Zhen, don’t relax so much. Keep your grip. Continue.”
Next were the swapped children. Jiang Zhen saw everything: “Gu Liancheng, your fake uncle adopted the real uncle’s son, Shi Hengjun, who works as a technician in the silk factory. He’s grateful to your fake uncle. The truth should be revealed sooner rather than later.”
Gu Liancheng’s mood was heavy: “Okay, I understand.”
“Of the five pairs of children Du Qiuyi confessed to, two were deliberately wrong. There’s also a sixth pair she didn’t mention. One mother is An Jin Zhu, surname An… my god, she swapped another niece’s child to the Fancheng Municipal Committee’s Secretary Cheng’s family…”
Gu Liancheng was shocked. He steadied himself and held Jiang Zhen: “Don’t be shocked. Take your time. Look carefully.”
“Nothing else—just some trivial everyday matters.”
“Say everything. Whether it’s useful or not, we’ll sort it out later.”
Seeing Gu Liancheng’s serious tone, Jiang Zhen recounted everything she had observed, down to the smallest details. Later, four recorders joined in. They spent several hours confirming everything repeatedly. Only then was the corpse inspection considered complete.
…
“Tired?” Gu Liancheng took Jiang Zhen to the military canteen for a meal.
Jiang Zhen shook her head. “Not physically, but I’ve never talked continuously for hours before. My throat hurts.”
Gu Liancheng felt guilty and handed her his water bottle. “This is mine—you don’t mind, right?”
Jiang Zhen smiled. “It’s not like I haven’t drunk from it before.”
Indeed, the first time they met—when they didn’t know each other—Jiang Zhen had already grabbed Gu Liancheng’s water bottle and gulped it down.
The atmosphere relaxed. Both of them were now at ease, and some conversation became possible.
In Du Qiuyi’s memory, Jiang Zhen had seen An Xiuqing reveal her rebirth and even suspect that Gu Liancheng had also been reborn. Jiang Zhen didn’t mention this in front of the recorders.
She took a long sip of hot water, moistening her throat, and looked at Gu Liancheng. “An Xiuqing told Du Qiuyi she suspected you had been reborn too.”
Gu Liancheng stiffened, fully alert. He had been waiting for Jiang Zhen to ask, but hadn’t expected her to bring it up now.
The canteen was quiet since it wasn’t mealtime. Gu Liancheng shared his rebirth story with Jiang Zhen.
“My situation is different from An Xiuqing’s. I died during the anti-bandit operation, but my consciousness persisted for many years. Only after Gu Pan and Gu Hui grew up did I finally return. Xiao Qingfeng is similar. For the three of us, it probably relates to the energy released by the seismic event.”
Two worlds had collided and merged, causing time to reverse. Jiang Zhen wasn’t surprised. Compared to those end-of-world beasts and people with evolved abilities, this was nothing.
Jiang Zhen felt this orderly world was wonderful. She wanted to protect it.
If needed, she was willing to take on a job.
“Will you assign me work?”
Gu Liancheng’s eyes sparkled. “Would you like that?”
Jiang Zhen nodded. “As long as it’s not too troublesome. I’m willing to cooperate.”
…
Gu Liancheng had prepared a work plan for Jiang Zhen, though he also wanted to ask about the place she came from. Fearing that asking too soon might close her heart again, he decided to discuss work first.
“Jiang Zhen, your ability may sometimes require you to work in other regions. We’ve arranged for you to be a special correspondent at the newspaper. You won’t need to be on-site, just submit one article per month. This way, whatever you do, your identity and reason are justified.”
Jiang Zhen thought it was a good arrangement. “If I have to go elsewhere and you’re not around, what about the children?”
Gu Liancheng shrugged helplessly. “Distant relatives can’t compare to neighbors. We’ll have to trouble Professor Li to watch them for a few days.”
Jiang Zhen couldn’t help but laugh. “Looks like you made an agreement with him?”
“Yeah. He chose to serve the country; no doubt about his patriotism.”
Professor Li persuaded the higher-ups he might be Jiang Tang’s biological father. Confident he could earn the children’s trust, he could subtly learn Jiang Zhen and the children’s secrets. He also promised he wouldn’t deceive them and would ensure they willingly spoke.
But Gu Liancheng thought that if Jiang Zhen didn’t want to, no one could learn anything.
If she chose to reveal something, she would come to him—not Professor Li.
That should be the case, Gu Liancheng reassured himself.
…
After agreeing to the work arrangement, Jiang Zhen asked about the babies Du Qiuyi had swapped and who would handle discussions with their families.
“Only a few people knew I could inspect corpses. You’ll soon go to the border to investigate foreign spies. Leave the swapped babies to me.”
Gu Liancheng felt relieved. “Even better if you’re willing. If you need to cooperate, coordinate directly with Qingfeng.”
Jiang Zhen nodded, a small smile on her lips.
Gu Liancheng suddenly asked, “Jiang Zhen, is this for He Shulan?”
On this matter, Jiang Zhen was serious.
“In An Xiuqing’s memory, I saw that He Shulan’s sister, He Shuli, was supposed to marry Dr. Qi. She died instead, and Dr. Qi left. He Shuli wanted her sister to have a better life. I planted a bit of karma—I should help.”
Gu Liancheng instinctively held Jiang Zhen’s hand. “I understand your feelings, but what happened to He Shuli was mainly due to An Xiuqing’s rebirth. Don’t blame yourself.”
Jiang Zhen looked at the hand in contact with Gu Liancheng and smiled. “Three months haven’t passed yet, and you’re already holding my hand?”
Gu Liancheng quickly withdrew his hand, opening his mouth but unsure what to say.
…
Professor Li moved in next door. On the first day, he played with the children, cooked, and invited Jiang Zhen and Gu Liancheng to dinner.
“You two busy people, finally back. Wash up and eat—the kids are starving.”