The Yu Brothers’ Case Book

He knew he needed to make this choice.

Humans were far simpler than one would imagine. Life could be very simple, methods could be very simple as well. There was mostly only one type of pattern: ‘to choose or not to choose’ summarised everything.

If he did not want to be dragged through the mud, he had to keep his distance.

Humans should always choose to go forwards towards the light. Not cling to memories and sink down with them.

So his choice was not wrong, nor did he have any regrets.

It was just that sometimes, in the down time of his busy life, he would wonder if there was something more he could do that would let him break free.

Everything was simple.

Life was just a matter of struggling or not.

But when closing one’s eyes, how could one resist from peeking through the cracks?

***

“And what’s this?”

Yu Xia, who had not returned to the station until nearly twelve, turned to ask Xiao Wu this when he spotted the report on the table.

“…An extra corpse found in the same location.” Xiao Wu began to internally curse at his other group members. Everyone had dug it up together, yet in the end they had all run away as the work day had ended, leaving him to face the terrifying future alone. Is this an example of bullying the rookie?

Yu Xia flipped through the report with a blank face and figured out the gist of the situation. As a result, he just indifferently said to Xiao Wu, who had intentionally stayed behind to wait for him, “You can go home and rest now.”

Xiao Wu let out a sigh of relief, having expected to encounter a T.rex’s decimation. He then immediately tidied up his things to race home.

Having run around many places today, Yu Xia was somewhat exhausted as he sat down in front of the table, randomly tossing his jacket and keys to sprawl across the table for some rest.

Before long, he smelled a faint aroma.

“Thanks for the hard work.”

He lifted his head to see Yu Tong entering the office, as expected. Yu Tong was also holding a midnight snack.

“How has dealing with the bike gangs been?” Yu Xia rubbed his face as he sat up and stretched hard.

“They’ve more or less been restrained a bit. The main thing is that they still haven’t been caught, but we won’t need to go over again to provide support for the time being.” Yu Tong placed the food down and eyed the report as he began to unpack it. “What about the progress over here?”

“Ran around several places this afternoon and found out that Song Hui Chun had shared a pretty close relationship with a man this past year. I requested some of the footage files from the landlord, but couldn’t find any useful clues. I also requested for some telecommunication records and discovered that she maintained connections with three numbers. One of them was a beauty salon, whose owner confirmed that she was pregnant and had still been making reservations until four months ago. Back then, the owner had apparently heard that she was already pregnant for nearly nine months and ready to give birth soon. Then the owner never saw her again. The other two numbers were found too. Both were private numbers, so I want to make another trip tomorrow.” Yu Xia accepted the oden being passed over and stared at the faint, white steam. “I hadn’t expected to come back and see Ah Yin giving me trouble again.”

“Hm? You mean that new body?” Yu Tong had heard the general situation from his co-workers upon returning earlier. They had mentioned finding another corpse in the same spot.

“Yeah, and it was death from an interrogation via torture. Now we can only wait and see the report Ah Si and Jiu Shen come up with…I’ll just go stop by the site again later. It always feels weird when I don’t personally take a look,” Yu Xia helplessly stated as he pushed the preliminary report across the table.

I’ve already lost track of how many times I’ve told him not to go running around crime scenes, yet he took advantage of when I wasn’t there to go and dig up a dead body! He’s really asking to get beaten!

Yu Tong opened the file. The first thing he saw was a photo of the corpse’s tragic state.

Before he could say something, someone suddenly pushed open the door to Yu Xia’s office. For some reason, Wang Ke Zhi had stayed behind at the station, and was now standing outside the door. With brows knit into a stern expression, he asked, “What are you two still hanging around here for?”

Yu Xia patted the files piled on the desk, too lazy to reply.

Wang Ke Zhi walked over and spotted the photo on the table next to Yu Tong.

“Officer Wang, why not eat a late-night snack with us?” Yu Tong smiled in invitation at the other person and commented, “You have also been working hard so late.”

“That pile of food outside was all bought by you?” Wang Ke Zhi had undoubtedly seen a large bag filled with hot food when he had been walking past. The officers around had very naturally grabbed the food in an accustomed manner to eat while chatting and laughing with each other. “Dipping into your own pocket to rope others in?”

“Rather than roping others in, it’s more because I unconsciously buy a large amount whenever I think about how other colleagues could end up working on empty stomachs while we would have food to eat.” Yu Tong maintained his smile without dropping any respect, not at all offended by the other person’s words. He replied in a matter-of-fact tone, “Moreover, I am not the only one that does this. If everyone is used to taking care of each other, we will work better together too, is that not so? Besides, if we need to work overtime, why not eat some more to keep our energy up? That way, we minimise the chances of making mistakes.”

Wang Ke Zhi glanced at the oden being passed over and snorted, “What a load of bull.”

However, he still accepted the food before turning around to walk out.

Once the door closed, Yu Xia bit down hard on his blood pudding as he ground out in irritation, “Damn old man.”

“We’ll be that age in another decade too.” Yu Tong shook his head in faint amusement. They actually did not have any right to call the other an old man, as their difference in age was not too large. “So then, I wonder who that other corpse might have offended…”

“It seems like there shouldn’t be any direct relationship to Song Hui Chun. The means of killing were different. Seriously,” Yu Xia scratched his head in extreme annoyance. “Why’d they have to transfer over such an annoying bastard now!”

“But why is Officer Wang still at the station at this time? Shouldn’t the inspector’s office be off already?” Yu Tong knew that his brother had run around the entire day today just to avoid coming back to fight. He smiled dryly; they were all working in the same field, so they could only wait for time to alleviate the situation.

“Hell if anyone knows what he’s up to.” Although Yu Xia said this, he still searched through the files on the table and drew one out to show his brother. “I briefly glanced at that shooting incident from two months ago. Wang Ke Zhi was the group leader at the time.”

Yu Tong opened the file. He had no idea when or through what means Yu Xia had obtained this file. Seeing as it had been withdrawn from the pile [on the table], it must have been there for several days now.

However, his brother was not someone that would get revenge due to a grudge. It was likely that Yu Xia had simply glanced at the other person’s previous circumstances after getting unbearably irritated.

“Huh…he’s from the detective group?” Yu Tong found the other person’s background somewhat unexpected. The man appeared to be a very average police officer that had not resolved any major cases, but had investigated and prosecuted smaller cases quite well with few records of careless mistakes. In terms of relationships, the man’s background was pretty solid. Aside from having friends in the fields of law and politics, his son and daughter both held positions with the police. His wife was a retired functionary that had passed away due to illness.

Yet he was still only a leader of a small detective group.

Usually, people at his age and with his background would have definitely been guaranteed a comfortable, high-salary position. However, based on these files, Wang Ke Zhi had chosen to stay in the detective group until retirement, for some reason.

Two months prior, Wang Ke Zhi’s group had received reliable information about a hidden drug factory in an apartment up in the northern district. In order to familiarise themselves with details regarding the internal, illegal transactions, they had started monitoring the target.

Yet something had gone wrong somewhere. The day right before they had planned to position themselves for the capture, the criminals being monitored seemed to have received some kind of intel. They suddenly all left the apartment. When the police tried to follow them, the target had instead fired at them directly with a great amount of firepower that far exceeded their expectations.

It had been the peak of working hours at the time. The criminals had charged straight into a public station and opened fire, causing many civilians to get injured. One of the patrolling officers nearby failed to dodge the line of fire and ended up being killed while evacuating the civilians.

The police station had dispatched more personnel afterwards, finally shooting one of the hoodlums dead while capturing his three accomplices.

This incident seemed to have been sealed from the media, as it was never reported again after a few days, nor was it pursued further. The only published information was that they had retrieved the drugs and some guns. The citizens forgot about the event quickly afterwards.

Then, Wang Ke Zhi had been transferred to the central district.

The files did not explicitly write the reason, but it was very obvious that this unusual shift had been due to someone’s aid. It was likely with the intent to transfer him to a safer, calmer place until retirement.

This case had clearly been a leak of internal information that had allowed the criminals to learn about being targeted by the police.

The northern district bureau is probably still hard-pressed to clarify this matter.

Yu Tong closed the folder and sighed. “It’s best if you don’t provoke him.”

“That’s why I’ve been staying outside these past two days,” Yu Xia answered with a hint of resentment. “And even caught a robber while I was at it.” He did not know what the other party was hiding from him, but bureau chiefs were usually discontent with many people, so Yu Xia simply let it go.

Anyways, I should deal with the matters on hand first.

***

The next day, when Ah Liu stepped out from the elevator early in the morning, he was stunned for a few seconds.

He saw an ordinary citizen that should not have appeared over here standing outside with a foul expression, carrying a large box of objects.

“Dong Feng, right?” Although Ah Liu had never really had any exchanges with this person, he did remember them. Dong Feng was too easy to recognise just from build alone. “What are you standing around here for?”

“My senior told me wait here. He’s on the way.” Dong Feng glanced at Ah Liu’s nametag and coldly stated, “That guy with a poor complexion and looks like he’s on the verge of death told me to go wait in the break room.”

“…Jiu Shen slept here again?” No, he might not have slept at all. Ah Liu complained to himself a bit, then opened his mouth to ask, “Why not go inside to wait?”

“I’m leaving as soon as I hand this over to my senior.” Dong Feng had no desire to stay for too long. After a moment’s thought, he immediately shoved the large box into the other man’s arms. “It’s all the same if I give it to you guys too. Good-bye.” Seriously, I should have dumped this onto that other person earlier. Why was I stupidly waiting around here for so long?

Ah Liu carried the box with one arm while easily grabbing onto the collar of the child about to run away, then dragged the boy inside. “Since Prosecutor Li has requested for you to wait here, then just wait here. The break room is on this side, no need to be courteous.”

Ignoring his colleagues’ curious gazes and Dong Feng’s resistance, Ah Liu directly pulled him into the resting area. As expected, they spotted Jiu Shen, who seemed about to turn into a shrivelled corpse, currently opening some instant noodles.

Almost exactly as they entered the area, they heard footsteps behind them before they could even speak. Turning around, they saw Li Zi Hong arrive just then, with Yan Si behind as well.

“I’m just eating breakfast, there’s no need for such a large group, is there?” Jiu Shen stared at the crowd of people at the doorway. He had not even taken a single bite of his food yet, but he suddenly felt a bit terrified.

“Perfect timing, the great prosecutor and I haven’t eaten yet either, as we just directly made our way over to find Xiao Dong-zai. Why don’t we all eat together then?” Yan Si grinned darkly, pushing everyone blocking the entrance inside and swiftly placing the bag of breakfast in his hands down onto the table. “Jiu Shen-xiǎodì, you’ll become malnourished if you keep eating instant noodles. Isn’t there a pretty poor-quality breakfast place downstairs?”

“J-just couldn’t be bothered to go down…” By the time Jiu Shen had suddenly felt hunger, it was already morning. Beyond starving, Jiu Shen had crawled out from the labs to grab some instant noodles, leading to the current situation.

“Then let’s eat together.” Yan Si opened his bag and took out take-out boxes as if he was on a picnic. Fortunately, he had bought a larger amount today.

Before Jiu Shen could even let out a cheer, he noticed Yu Xia also appear at the door.

“Why are you all here?” Yu Xia furrowed his brows as he surveyed the room full of people.

“I passed by while bringing my old roommate to work,” Yan Si replied, currently serving as a driver.

“I wanted to see if there was any progress,” Li Zi Hong seriously answered.

“I was tricked into coming,” Dong Feng resentfully spat out.

“I can only say that we were here from the beginning.” Ah Liu shrugged and went to grab some paper cups to pour everyone tea. It seemed like today’s breakfast would be here for sure now, though the location was slightly bizarre.

“Boss, did you also come to check on progress?” Yan Si waved at the other person, but his hand was slapped away.

“I made another trip to the scene and picked something up.” Yu Xia pulled out a sealed bag from his pocket and tossed it at Jiu Shen.

“Boss, I heard you didn’t return to the station until past midnight last night?”

“I came back and slept a bit, then went to the scene in the early morning and stayed there until now.” Yu Xia narrowed his eyes. “Why do you know what time I came back?”

When Yu Xia saw the profound and mysterious grin on Yan Si’s face, he decided not to ask any further.

“Where’s this necklace from?” Jiu Shen picked up the sealed bag to study the item inside. It was a cross necklace. The surface was already rusted, so it had likely been outdoors for a while. The necklace was covered in filth and what seemed to be some blood.

“I found it near where the second corpse had been. It was hanging around some of the weeds; probably got caught while the body was being tossed.” Yu Xia found a seat to sit down as he rubbed his sore shoulders.

“Is it fine for an outsider to be here?” Ah Liu asked curiously as he glanced at the restless Dong Feng.

“Since he’s already here, might as well stay, right, junior?” Yan Si chuckled and reached out to pat Dong Feng on the shoulder.

“I’m not your junior. Don’t touch me.” Dong Feng stood up with the strong urge to immediately get as far away as possible.

“Wait, just sit back down first.” Li Zi Hong grabbed Dong Feng and nodded at Ah Liu to have the latter close the break room door. “It’s fine, I can guarantee that Dong Feng will not divulge any information to others.” Dong Feng could only bite his lip and sit back down on his seat as he was told to.

“Then let’s start with me.” Yan Si help a slice of bread in his mouth as he pulled out a folder from his briefcase and took out some photos. “The body that arrived yesterday was indeed buried alive. Cause of death was excessive blood loss. There was a total of 83 injuries, internal and external. None were fatal, the perpetrator was likely experienced, though the accumulated bleeding is still astonishing. The victim probably went into shock only after being buried alive, so they truly persevered until death.”

“That place was the first scene of the crime. They dug up the hole, interrogated [the victim] via torture, and finally buried the victim.” Jiu Shen nodded. “We analysed the various components in the layers of soil. This should have occurred within the last two months.”

“Jiu Shen-xiǎodì is correct. There was still dirt even deep inside the rotting corpse’s wounds, so it must have already been there before dying.” Yan Si flipped the report to point out a specific page to everyone.

“A place like that really is well-suited for interrogation.” After going to the site twice, Yu Xia completely understood why that place had been chosen. It was truly so remote that normally nobody would ever pay it any mind. Regardless of how miserably one screamed, it would never be noticed.

“You guys can just take a look at the fractures yourselves. Aside from the fingernails being pulled off and all the fingers being snapped, some of the joints were broken while some were dislocated. The humerus, tibia, etc. were broken completely, with the fractures on each side in different places. There were no signs of the hands and feet being bound. The only place secured with a rope was the neck. It’s really quite gruesome, who knows what they did wrong…”

“Because the questioning failed.”

Everyone else’s gazes shifted to Dong Feng, who had interrupted Yan Si’s words.

Dong Feng took one of the photos on the table, and tilted his head to one side as he narrowed his eyes. “The hands and feet weren’t bound because they were broken from the beginning…they never planned on letting the victim live in the first place. After breaking the hands and feet, they moved the victim to the scene and started with a knife and a beating. Constricting the neck easily leads to death, so they saved that until last…With this kind of method, there should have at least been three people present, as they needed to drive, dig up a hole, and move the victim that had their limbs broken. They would at minimum require a sturdy build…”

He suddenly returned to his senses and noticed the entire group staring at him, so he immediately went quiet.

“So they did not get the information they wanted to ask until the very end, or didn’t get an answer at all.” Yu Xia coughed to draw everyone’s attention. “Which is why the deceased’s death was so tragic.”

Because they lost their patience, their actions became more and more ruthless.

A single person would not have been able to expend so much force, then move the body and dig up a hole while also creating so many injuries. Which meant that there were more than two torturers. The main party in the group would typically not personally carry out the entire process. At most, they would just feel the need to cause a bit of pain, then sit and watch the struggling from the sidelines.

“The objects on the deceased did not provide many clues. It seems like the perpetrators were wearing gloves and carefully avoiding leaving behind any traces. However, the shirt and pants had some dog fur stuck onto them. After analysis, it was found to be from a golden retriever.” Jiu Shen quickly reported the preliminary results he had gotten last night. “Nothing was found on the ground…”

“Oh, right, what’s that?” Ah Liu curiously asked the sole civilian present about the box that had been placed in the center of the table earlier.

“Belongs to my senior,” Dong Feng coldly answered.

They all turned to look at it. Baffled, Li Zi Hong slowly opened the square-shaped box and was momentarily stunned for a few seconds. The box contained a small, half-scaled head of a male. It was made of clay and even completely polished. “[From] the information I gave you yesterday?”

Dong Feng nodded.

“Holy crap, is this for real? Xiao Dong-zai, you made this in a single night?” The computer simulation had not even been sent yet. Yan Si stared at the carved head with wide eyes. He recalled his former roommate had left very late last night, which meant it would have been even later by the time the information had been transferred to Dong Feng.

“The deceased?” Yu Xia immediately guessed from their reactions.

“Mm, you can take it.” Li Zi Hong handed the clay head over to Yu Xia’s group to handle.

“I’ll take my leave then.” Dong Feng stood up, nearly beyond jittery at this point, and quickly left.

“You guys talk first,” Yu Xia stated and immediately went out to chase after Dong Feng.

He swiftly stopped Dong Feng in front of the elevator.

“Could you please do me a favor?”

***

10 AM.

Yu Yin dazedly crawled out of his bed, scratching his head and yawning as he walked out of the bedroom.

The house was quiet.

When he walked into the living room, he saw the table with breakfast set up and a note that Yu Tong had left behind, saying that he and Yu had stepped out together since Yu wanted to go to the library, and that Ah Yin should go pick Yu up after his part-time job ended in the afternoon. There was also a warning about not running around and such.

Yu Yin took a bite of a sandwich and was about to go start getting his things ready when he suddenly heard the doorbell ring.

He changed his pants while hopping out to the courtyard area to open the front door, only to see someone unexpected. “…Dong Feng?” The visitor crouched at the door immediately stood up upon seeing Yu Yin. There was a bag of things in Dong Feng’s hands as well.

Why does that bag look like something from Dad’s recent favourite bakery three streets away from us?

Dong Feng, who had nearly died from the walk, shoved the bag at Yu Yin. “Yu Xia told me to bring this, something about how it’s fresh out of the oven at 9:30 and you guys want to eat this in the mornings but often miss the timing…” He had been punished to stand outside the bakery for half an hour, even getting annoyed by the owner’s enthusiastic insistence to basically shovel several bites into his mouth. As he could not have been able to spit it out then and there, he could only end up forcing it down. “Also, he said you need to change the laundry.”

From the beginning, all that filled Yu Yin’s mind were question marks. Typically, it was always Yu Tong that prepared to change the laundry. Moreover, his family never cared too much about what they ate for breakfast; the food was always decided by Yu Tong or Yu, not Yu Xia…Yu Yin then stared at the visitor in front of him with slight understanding. “Thanks. Come in and sit down first. I have to go out in a bit too, so I can bring you part of the way.”

Dong Feng was truly exhausted from walking. He nodded and followed Yu Yin into the house.

Yu Yin was not certain if it was his imagination or the successful result of several people combining forces to pressure this person into eating recently, but Yu Yin felt as though Dong Feng had fleshed out a bit, no longer as horrifyingly shriveled as before. In the past, Dong Feng legitimately had looked just like a moving skeleton, but now he was a skeleton with a bit of meat on him – probably closer to the level of a moving corpse now. His complexion had also improved somewhat, his features looking more delicate and pretty. If the rest of them continued their efforts, they could gradually adjust Dong Feng back to normal.

“You should be able to drink milk, at least.” Yu Yin directly placed a glass of milk down in front of the visitor and continued to organise his things.

Dong Feng hatefully glared at the white drink in front of him. He held it in his hands and slowly drank it in reluctant sips. Then, he noticed the dog fur on the sofa. “Your family has a dog?”

“Ah, that’s a friend’s. It got lost two days ago and it was just taken back home yesterday.” Yu Yin ran into the bathroom to deal with his explosive hair and shouted back in reply, “A golden retriever, a pretty large one. But it’s really friendly! Super cute too. If you’re interested, you should try raising a pet too, it’s quite therapeutic actually.”

“…” Dong Feng looked disgusted. He turned around and walked up to the living room bookcase to appraise the books.

Yu Yin stuck his head out to confirm the visitor was actually staying in the living room before he went back to playing with his hair.

After spraying some setting mousse onto his hands, he looked up to see a pale woman suddenly standing behind him. The mirror clearly reflected the face dripping with fresh blood.

The next second, the bathroom door slammed shut with a loud bang.

He saw blood pour down the door as the woman in the mirror struggled to open her mouth, as if trying to say something.

He quickly turned on the faucet to wash off the mousse in his hands, only to discover there was not a single drop of water. The faucet only made an empty gurgling noise, followed by the sound of music.

“Are you looking for a baby?”

Immediately, crimson tears flowed out from the eyes of the woman in the mirror. She turned her head and vanished at the door.

The music came to a sharp halt. After a few strange noises, clear water gushed out from the faucet.

Yu Yin sighed and randomly fiddled with his hair, then washed his hands and opened the bathroom door. Dong Feng stood right outside. “I accidentally kicked the door just now.” Yu Yin could not be bothered to explain, so he randomly made up an excuse.

Despite finding it very suspicious, Dong Feng did not want to ask any further either. Thus, he spun around to head back to the living room to wait some more…He honestly had no idea why he was actually waiting. In reality, he could have just called a taxi and headed straight home! Then I wouldn’t have needed to deal with these annoying matters. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was the correct plan of action. He should have already done this earlier: just toss the bread at the other person at the doorway, then jump onto a taxi. Everything would have been settled that way.

Dong Feng placed his glass down and decided to straight up leave.

His mind really had to have been broken for him to just cooperate like this. He should have just smashed the box down onto Yan Si’s head this morning; breaking that person’s skull would have given him peace and quiet.

His originally undisturbed life had been made into a mess by these people. It was also starting to annoy him extremely. Looks like it’s time to find a new place to live.

Dong Feng texted his realtor as he walked out of the Yu family house, approaching the street to wait for a passing taxi.

“It’s difficult to call a taxi over here. Get on.” Yu Yin had followed out after him, tossing a helmet over. Patting the backseat of the motorbike in faint amusement, Yu Yin said, “I’ll bring you back. I just requested for the day off since I wanted to drop by somewhere else too.” He saw that woman silently standing at the end of the road, emotionlessly waiting for him.

Dong Feng silently climbed onto the seat and followed the bike owner’s line of sight, but there was nothing there. “You can go to the place you want to go first.”

“OK.”

Yu Yin actually had no idea where he was going; he was just advancing according to the woman’s directions. He would locate the woman’s position at every street and continue onwards that way.

“Was your bleeding ailment treated?”

About a dozen or so minutes had passed when Yu Yin heard a quiet question come from behind. “What? Oh, that wasn’t an ailment.” He paused for a moment, then explained in exasperation, “It was a ghost. I can see them a bit, so I always end up with collateral symptoms.” At most, it would just make him feel very unwell.

The backseat was quiet again.

While they were waiting at a red light, Yu Yin turned around to glance at Dong Feng, who was wearing a thoughtful expression. Yu Yin hurriedly added, “I’m not joking.”

“I don’t think you’re joking. You’ve being looking left and right since earlier, and once your gaze is set, you turn to head towards that direction, but I don’t believe you’re checking the road signs.” If this was the case, then all his previous suspicions were explained. After some more contemplation, Dong Feng said, “The bleeding was a reflection of the deceased.”

“Yeah, everything would get turned upside down too.” Yu Yin had not expected the other person to discuss this topic with him so seriously, and he found it a bit amusing. However, since very few people would chat with him like this, he continued the conversation. “Sometimes it comes in other forms, it can get quite terrifying.”

“And this time?”

“Not sure. Probably wants me to help find a baby.”

The last time he saw the woman was her standing in front of a well-off community with an extremely large residence behind her.

“Song Hui Chun’s?”

“Yep.” Yu Yin stopped the bike and gazed at the fancy villa. He rubbed his face and said, “Should be here.”

Dong Feng cocked his head to the side as he studied the other side of the villa. “Looks like you aren’t the only one that was able to find this place.”

Yu Yin followed the other’s line of sight and nearly died of shock as he spotted Yu Xia park a car on the other side, seemingly not yet noticing them. As a result, Yu Yin immediately turned his motorcycle to flee and take cover nearby.

“Hide, hide, hide!”

***

Yu Xia glanced at the address information in his hands.

This place was in an area that had increased in price recently. There were several public figures residing here.

All the buildings along the way had been extremely high-end, and there were some small villa areas en route as well, taking up quite a bit of land. There were even courtyard facilities and security guards. It was really quiet during work hours, with the occasional sight of some brand-name cars coming in and out.

Yu Xia pressed the doorbell of the villa several times and waited patiently. After a while, a girl around her twenties opened the door. She had a neat and tidy appearance and wore typical clothing. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

“May I ask if Kang Zhe Chang is here?” Yu Xia flashed his ID and immediately noticed the girl’s expression shift abnormally. However, it was just for an instant before it quickly returned to nonchalance.

“Master isn’t present.” The girl smiled and asked, “Is there something wrong, Mr. Police Officer?”

“Could I ask if you have seen this female before?” Yu Xia took out a photo of Song Hui Chun from when she had been alive and passed it over to the girl, monitoring her response.

“This person…is someone I have never seen. I apologise.” The girl hurriedly returned the photo while repeatedly glancing backwards into the house.

“Are any other members of Mr. Kang’s family at home?” Yu Xia inquired when he seemed to vaguely hear the sound of a baby crying.

“Mistress is at home, but I am afraid I cannot let you inside. Both Master and Mistress have a strong dislike for outsiders,” the girl shook her head as she immediately refused. “They specifically ordered for me not to let any outsiders inside.”

“May I ask who you are…?”

The girl sighed and invited Yu Xia to stand in front of the fence nearby before replying “I was invited by Master to come help. I usually work part-time here, sweeping the place and helping Mistress.” As she said this, she pulled out a student ID from her pocket and passed it to Yu Xia. “Master is my uncle’s friend.”

He looked at the student ID. She was a university student named Lin Zi Lei.

Yu Xia jotted this down before returning the student ID. “When would Kang Zhe Chang be here? Or could you perhaps provide a method of contact, such as his work phone or address?” He had checked before arriving and knew that Kang Zhe Chang operated a business but had not gone to the company for a long time now. Currently, it was handed to a friend to manage, and he was only the boss in name. When Yu Xia had called to ask, the staff had replied they did not know, and Yu Xia had been unable to investigate any further.

“I’m not sure, I usually only help until 4 PM and return home afterwards, so I don’t know when Master comes home. I have never asked him about his work,” the girl answered, expressing this was beyond her scope. “Master dislikes being asked unnecessary questions.”

“Are there others at home?”

The girl shook her head. “Just me, Mistress, and Master. I only arrived around three months ago. Before that, Master and Mistress lived here by themselves. They previously had cleaning people come at regular intervals.”

“The baby is Kang Zhe Chang’s child?” Yu Xia asked with narrowed eyes.

“Mm.” Hearing a woman shout from inside the house, the girl replied before turning to look back at Yu Xia with a slightly apologetic face. “Excuse me, I have to return to work. I won’t be seeing you off then, Mr. Police Officer.”

Yu Xia watched the front door close in front of him. After a moment of contemplation, he turned and left.

***

“Uncle seems to have been met with a rebuff.”

Yu Yin watched his old man leave. From where they were hiding, Yu Yin had vaguely heard the conversation.

“He was not invited nor did he have any reason to go inside. It’s only natural they didn’t pay him any mind.” Dong Feng was crouched on the ground, having not tried to peek on them like Yu Yin. His voice came from behind as he said, “Do you really want to go inside?”

“I really do.” Yu Yin let out a sigh as he glanced at the woman waiting for them at the front door. He felt that if they did not go in today, there would be no end to all this.

“Then go run into a wall.”

“What?” Yu Yin stared blankly.

“Go run into one and get a serious-looking injury. Then I’ll go and request for help. Problem solved.”

Yu Yin gaped at this person that had somehow come up with such a rotten idea, and for a few seconds, had no idea how to respond. No normal person would’ve thought of something like this to get inside. “The doctor told me to reduce the number of head collisions as much as possible.” Banging it left and right would cause him to have issues sooner or later.

Dong Feng was speechless for a moment. “Forget it, just pull the bike up to the front door and start the engine.”

Yu Yin did not know what the other person was planning to do, but he followed the instructions and pushed the motorcycle up to the front entrance. The instant he started the engine, Dong Feng suddenly reached out to crank the accelerator hard, causing the vehicle to skid out and heavily crash into the ground with a loud bang. The instant the bike struck the ground, the shell of the small motorcycle split apart.

Yu Yin watched, completely dumbstruck.

Dong Feng walked up to the vehicle and bent down, emotionlessly swiping his wound-covered arm across the plastic shards. He then wiped the blood onto his clothes.

“What are you doing!” Yu Yin finally snapped out of his daze and hurried over, only to have a bloody handprint wiped onto him.

“Getting this over with so we can quickly go home.”

Dong Feng ignored the other person’s shocked face and pushed him aside to directly walk up and press the doorbell. After a while, the girl that had appeared earlier ran over to open the door again. She was immediately alarmed by the sight outside.

“Sorry, I fell from my bike in front of your home…Could I borrow your place to wash myself?”

The girl scanned the two covered in blood and hurriedly ran back into the house before dashing back out with a clean towel in her hands to press against Dong Feng’s wound. “Why don’t you two come inside first? Do you need me to help call an ambulance?”

“No need, just rinsing it clean should be fine. The injury isn’t bad.”

“Then please hurry in.”

Yu Yin pulled the key out and pulled the bike along with him. He did not know what to say, as everything had happened too quickly just now. While still trying to wrap his brain around it, he followed them into the house.

Contrary to expectations, the inside of the residence was not that gorgeously decorated. The courtyard was plain and simple, with just a lawn and garage. The house itself was cleanly whitewashed and had a few simple pieces of furniture, giving a not so high-end image.

As soon as they entered, Yu Yin heard the loud crying of a baby.

“That’s Mistress and her child.” The girl smiled in a friendly manner and introduced herself. “I’m Lin Zi Lei. The bathroom is inside there. You can wash up first, I’ll go grab a first-aid kit…Please don’t wander around.”

As soon as the girl ran out, Yu Yin shot a withering look at the person that had used such an extreme method, dragging them into the bathroom. “Can’t you have used a more normal way! Even destroying my bike…”

“I will compensate you for the maintenance fees.” Dong Feng indifferently rinsed the blood on his arm, ignoring the person hopping around next to him.

“The maintenance isn’t important. Why did you have to get injured!”

Dong Feng lifted his scarred arm and apathetically intoned, “One more won’t make a difference.”

Yu Yin felt like there was a huge gap in their communication, so he decided to just stop speaking entirely. He ripped off some toilet paper to press it against the wound and then belatedly noticed that this bathroom was quite large. The tiles were magnificent and luxurious – even the cabinets installed were decorated. The toilet was also high-grade, including functions like warm water rinses and sterilization. It was a bit of a contrast from the decorations outside.

“Although there isn’t much here, everything is very expensive.” Dong Feng noticed the other person’s gaze and explained, “The furniture outside are either all antiques or created by famous names.”

“So weird…” Yu Yin had not noticed this detail. He let out a sigh, but the ghost from just now had vanished into the unknown.

When they walked out of the bathroom, the girl was already waiting for them with a first-aid kit. However, there was now also a tall middle-aged man standing with a stiff face, giving off an indescribably strange aura.

“This is the Master. He heard that someone had fallen outside, so he came down to take a look,” the girl said as she handed the first-aid kit to Yu Yin.

“Kang Zhe Chang.” The middle-aged man extended his hand out towards Yu Yin.

Right before Yu Yin could reach out, he suddenly felt a jab of pain in his ear from a strong ringing buzz. He then saw that woman with a blood-covered face sinisterly standing behind the middle-aged man. Her face slowly began to fester and burst apart, too terrifying to look at directly.

He froze for a moment before finally shaking the other person’s hand. “…Wang Jia Yi. This here is my friend, you can just call him Ah Ke.”

The corners of Kang Zhe Chang tilted up slightly. He had the girl leave the living room first, and only spoke again once she had left. “So, what is the reason you went through such great pains to enter my home?”

Yu Yin stared blankly. When he tried to retract his hand, he discovered that the other person was restraining him with so much force that he was feeling a dull pain.

“And so, what is the reason you let us in?” Dong Feng went ahead and opened the medical kit, rummaging through the multiple containers to find some bandages and antiseptic packets. “The cameras should have clearly caught our deliberate actions. Or even if not, wouldn’t a stranger entering your home be very suspicious?”

“That’s why I was curious as to why you would use such a method to enter.” Kang Zhe Chang slowly loosened his grip and smiled as he asked, “You seem to have seen the situation at the entrance?”

“The pigeon has an eye on the nest, no? We would need a reason no matter what.”

After he finished sterilizing, Dong Feng wrapped the bandage around [the wound], then rummaged through the first-aid kit’s contents to pull out a packaged pill. “Could I trouble you?” He raised his bandaged arm.

Kang Zhe Chang’s expression did not change. He smoothly opened the packet and even placed it in Dong Feng’s mouth. “Who were you guys sent by?”

“That’s not important. We just do as we are paid to do. We only had to notify you that the pigeon has already started to suspect you. You’ve seen the news, haven’t you?” Dong Feng took the pill package back and coldly smirked. “Our names are fake, so no need to specially investigate who we are. It’s best if you don’t try doing anything to us as well. It’s pointless, and you won’t provoke others that way as well.”

“That’s true. Go back then, and help me thank whoever is behind you when you do.” Kang Zhe Chang shrugged. “I won’t see you off.”

Dong Feng closed the first-aid kit and stood up. Yu Yin, who had not managed to get a word in nor dared to carelessly speak, was dragged out by Dong Feng.

“Don’t look back,” Dong Feng warned in a low voice as he opened the front door.

Then they walked out of the villa.