After Li Feng was caught last night, he confessed that the identity cards belonged to a couple he had killed and buried in Jiangsu three years ago. Because he and his wife’s ages and appearances were similar to this couple, they had been impersonating the deceased couple’s identities ever since. Now that he was captured, he knew he faced a dead end and cooperated in confessing to all the various cases he had committed, detailing everything thoroughly.
His wife, Jiang Ying, also quickly admitted to delivering takeout to Bureau Chief Zhang, proving that Zhang Yi’ang was alone at home during the period when Ye Jian was murdered. Of course, only afterward did everyone learn that Bureau Chief Zhang was responding to the national call, implementing Internet Plus into actual criminal investigation work—through point-to-point targeted food delivery orders, he first conducted comprehensive reconnaissance of Li Feng’s family members in preparation for closing the net the next day.
Li Feng’s case was too major. The San Jiang Kou Public Security Bureau only conducted basic interrogations. In a few days they would escort him to Hangzhou to be handled by superior agencies.
Time came to the afternoon. The criminal investigators who had been busy all night gradually returned to the unit. Zhang Yi’ang called everyone together for a meeting. He first roughly introduced the situation of Li Feng’s case, declaring that everyone should not let temporary victory go to their heads. The follow-up work on Li Feng’s arrest would be handled by superior public security agencies. Now their most important task was solving Ye Jian’s case.
After arranging the investigation assignments and division of labor for each group going forward, he dismissed everyone, keeping only Wang Ruijun, Song Xing, the forensic technicians, the medical examiner, and other main persons in charge of the special task force to compile information. Of course, Li Qian also inevitably became a core member of the special task force.
Ye Jian was thirty-nine years old this year, divorced and single. His ex-wife said he had a bad temper with violent tendencies. They divorced very early and had no children together. The two had almost no contact for many years. In his early years, Ye Jian was allocated an apartment in the public security family housing compound. During the divorce he gave it to his ex-wife. He later bought another small apartment in an old residential complex not far from the unit, where he normally lived alone.
On the night of the incident, he attended a property sales reception hosted by a local real estate developer. Multiple witnesses confirmed he left around nine o’clock. After leaving, he took a taxi to a riverside location several kilometers away—the crime scene—where he was subsequently murdered.
Medical Examiner Chen had his apprentice bring out photos of the body and crime scene. Supporting his waist, he limped to the projection wall and introduced to everyone: “Ye Jian had a total of six major knife wounds on his body—three in the abdomen, two in the lower back, and one on the right forearm. Multiple internal organs were ruptured. The murder weapon was a dagger-like blade. In addition, his ribs were also fractured from being struck in multiple places. Ultimately he died from excessive blood loss and multiple organ failure. From my experience, Ye Jian should have first been struck by a vehicle at least twice, causing rib fractures from different directions, then stabbed with a dagger. However…”
Medical Examiner Chen frowned, picked up a fully nude photo of the corpse, and said puzzledly: “Several of the knife wounds on his body are very strange. The direction of the blade entries doesn’t seem to be from a normal person. I’ve never seen this kind of wound combination.”
Zhang Yi’ang looked at him uncomprehendingly and asked: “Are you suspecting the killer is mentally ill?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You said the wounds weren’t inflicted by a normal person.”
“Uh… What I meant was that the blade directions of the wounds go both up and down. If the killer is one person, then several of the stabs were backhanded. If the killer is multiple people, some other details don’t support that. In my over twenty years as a medical examiner, this is the first time I’ve encountered such wounds.”
From various traces at the scene, the killer should have been one person, but of the six major knife wounds, the blade directions went both up and down. This is modern society—martial arts masters don’t exist. Who exactly had such quick hands?
Zhang Yi’ang frowned, looking at Medical Examiner Chen’s limping appearance, thinking that if he didn’t know how the wounds were caused, it was probably because his skills weren’t up to par. So he made a suggestion: “How about having the Provincial Department arrange for a medical examiner team to come down and help?”
As soon as these words left his mouth, the people around him hurriedly gave him meaningful looks, but it was already too late.
“Bureau Chief Zhang, what do you mean by that!” Medical Examiner Chen’s voice immediately turned cold. Right there on the spot he refused to accept it, suddenly standing up with both hands on his hips, glaring at him. “I’ve been a medical examiner for over twenty years! In 1995, right after graduating from university, I became a medical examiner. You should know how difficult university entrance exams were back then—thousands of troops crossing a single-log bridge! My scores at the time were—in Chinese I scored—”
Zhang Yi’ang quickly said: “What I meant was having them come assist you. Your leg—”
“It’s not the leg, it’s the waist! What does lumbar disc herniation have to do with autopsy results! I know—you’ve all been looking down on me for a long time, wanting to replace me, right?” Medical Examiner Chen turned his spearhead, directing his fire at everyone present, directly losing his temper. “Let me tell you all, when I became a police officer, you were all still children! The corpses I’ve moved outnumber the living people you’ve seen! I—”
Section Chief Xu from the Forensic Technology Division knew Medical Examiner Chen’s temperament and quickly went up to pull him down, repeatedly consoling him, saying they all recognized Teacher Chen’s skills. His autopsy reports were rock solid—no one would doubt them. Everyone was just concerned about his waist. Also, during work day dinner hours, he should drink a couple fewer drinks.
Everyone also stated one by one that they had absolutely no doubts about Medical Examiner Chen’s autopsy results, that there was absolutely no second possibility, and only then did they coax him down.
Zhang Yi’ang secretly wiped away nervous sweat. If the medical examiners in this small place of San Jiang Kou were all like this, how could they solve cases?
Fortunately, Section Chief Xu seemed like a normal person. Next, he would handle the physical evidence analysis work.
The grassy area by the river where the body was discovered was not the primary crime scene. The actual crime scene was on a small road over two hundred meters away.
This was a cement road by the river, in a very remote location. For some unknown reason, Ye Jian came here alone late at night, was subsequently struck by a car twice, and was also stabbed with a dagger. With severe injuries, Ye Jian escaped through the greenery beside the road, then ran to a stone arch bridge by the river and jumped in. With tenacious willpower, he incredibly swam over one hundred meters, crawled to the grass behind a large tree on the shore—the place where the body was discovered—and ultimately died from excessive blood loss.
Large amounts of blood and footprints were left along the way, confirming his escape route and also confirming that behind him was a male over one hundred seventy centimeters tall chasing him.
Zhang Yi’ang pondered for a long while, looked at everyone, and asked flatly: “My name was left at the scene. What do you all think is going on?”
“Well…” Everyone turned their gazes toward Section Chief Xu. After all, he was in charge of this area, so he had to explain. “The main tendons in Ye Jian’s right arm were severed. He was unable to grip and write. So the three characters left at the scene—just from the handwriting, there’s no way to verify if it’s his writing. However, Ye Jian’s fingerprints and blood were detected on the small pebble used for writing. Medical Examiner Chen and I discussed it, and we… we’re inclined to judge that he wrote the characters himself.”
“You’re saying the characters were written by Ye Jian himself?” Zhang Yi’ang raised his eyebrows, finding this conclusion very difficult to accept.
Section Chief Xu anxiously pulled Medical Examiner Chen in: “This is our joint conclusion. As for why he… why he wrote Bureau Chief Zhang’s name, this still requires the criminal investigators to continue investigating.”
The work of forensics and medical examiners only involved writing conclusions. The subsequent investigative analysis was the criminal investigators’ business.
Zhang Yi’ang had no choice but to turn his gaze to Wang Ruijun and Song Xing.
Song Xing analyzed: “Even if the characters were written by Ye Jian himself, it doesn’t prove anything. The bureau chief has one hundred percent ironclad evidence of not being at the scene. As for why he wrote this, I think it’s possible that Ye Jian didn’t know the killer. During the attack, the killer said things that caused him to misunderstand the bureau chief. For example, Ye Jian asked the other party ‘Why do you want to kill me?’ and the other party deliberately said ‘Bureau Chief Zhang sent me to kill you.’ Ye Jian was severely injured. When people are dying, their minds can’t think straight. Plus he originally harbored resentment about your sudden arrival, which is why he made an erroneous judgment and wrote down your name.”
He described it vividly, simulating the dialogue between Ye Jian and the killer and the psychological state before death to perfection. After hearing his analysis, everyone also felt it made quite a bit of sense. Originally jealous of the new leader’s airborne arrival, plus the killer’s misdirection, harboring a trace of malicious revenge against the leader in his dying moments—that wasn’t difficult to understand.
Everyone turned their gazes toward Zhang Yi’ang, only to find his face had turned ashen. After several seconds, he suddenly shouted coldly: “What you said makes absolutely no sense! If Ye Jian’s mind wasn’t clear, he wrote my name—why didn’t he write yours, why not someone else? I’ve barely spoken a few words to him total. How could he harbor such great resentment toward me? This is an extremely irresponsible judgment! You haven’t grasped the key point of this case at all!”
Song Xing was scolded until he didn’t dare lift his head, asking quietly: “The key point of this case… what is the key point?”
Wang Ruijun’s eyes rolled, and he blurted out: “The bureau chief is absolutely being framed!”
“See, Ruijun grasped it in one shot!” Zhang Yi’ang slapped the table, beaming with joy, looking at him quite appreciatively. Even his form of address was shortened to one character. “Jun, you explain it thoroughly to everyone.”
“I… Mm!” Wang Ruijun was overwhelmed by this unexpected favor, but after hesitating for quite a while, he only said, “I only know that behind this case there must be someone deliberately trying to frame the bureau chief, affect the bureau chief’s work. Mm, as for the specific situation, I still need to sort it out more.”
Zhang Yi’ang curled his lip. His appreciation also ended there. Seeing that everyone’s analysis couldn’t directly hit the vital point, he had no choice but to speak himself: “Think about it—Ye Jian jumped off the bridge and swam away. If you were the killer, would you just watch him swim away and not chase after him? Could the killer guarantee that Ye Jian would definitely die after being injured? So the characters at the scene weren’t written by Ye Jian at all. Rather, after the killer chased him down, he stuffed the pebble into Ye Jian’s hand, grabbed his hand, and wrote it. The purpose was to frame me, shake the entire team, and disrupt the investigation direction. Ye Jian’s tendons were very likely also deliberately severed by the killer at that time. This way, the severed tendons could explain why the handwriting differed from Ye Jian’s usual writing habits. Otherwise, the physical evidence would have already discovered the characters weren’t written by Ye Jian, and naturally couldn’t frame me! This is a setup, a meticulously planned setup!”
Hearing this analysis, everyone’s eyes lit up. Section Chief Xu and Medical Examiner Chen stated it was completely technically feasible. Moreover, the scene was outdoors with other people’s messy footprints to begin with, making it impossible to distinguish the killer.
Wang Ruijun and Song Xing, considering it from the perspective of veteran criminal investigators, felt it was indeed so. After the killer murdered someone and the victim escaped over a hundred meters, he would definitely chase after to check if the person was dead before feeling at ease. How could he be so carefree as to directly turn around and leave?
The killer borrowed Ye Jian’s hand to write Bureau Chief Zhang’s name. If Jiang Ying couldn’t confirm the bureau chief was at home that evening, things still wouldn’t be clear by now. With the boss becoming a criminal suspect, how could his subordinates investigate the case? Naturally it would severely mislead the direction of the police investigation.
Indeed, it was an extremely vicious, extraordinarily sinister framing method! Everyone proceeded to thoroughly curse the unknown killer—truly something worse than pigs and dogs—and only then did they resolve the hatred in their hearts.
After clarifying the issue with the characters, Section Chief Xu continued: “Several meters from Ye Jian’s body, we found his wallet. His phone was in his pants pocket. From a preliminary look, nothing was missing. Clearly the killer’s murder was targeted, not an impulsive robbery. Additionally, we discovered a card hidden inside Ye Jian’s pants.”
Zhang Yi’ang asked: “What kind of card?”
“Uh…” Section Chief Xu hesitated for a moment. Rather than answering directly, he took out a photograph and showed it to everyone.
The photo showed a black plastic card similar to a bank card, covered in dried bloodstains. The upper right printed “VIP,” with the center displaying four large characters: “Spa Center.”
Li Qian leaned her head over and asked curiously: “What does this spa center do?”
“This spa center…” Wang Ruijun was thinking about how to answer when he saw the other several people all start coughing. Even Medical Examiner Chen with his lumbar disc herniation was coughing incessantly. He quickly shut his mouth. Subsequently, everyone collectively focused earnestly on discussing the case itself, turning a deaf ear to Li Qian’s question.
Section Chief Xu continued: “I judge that before dying, Ye Jian pulled the card from his wallet, hid it under his body, then threw the wallet into the distant grass. Late at night, it would be very difficult for the killer to notice this small action of his. This card was hidden so covertly—clearly Ye Jian must have wanted to transmit some kind of information through this action.”
Zhang Yi’ang carefully observed the photograph. The address location on the card read: “Stopping the Carriage – Maple Grove at Dusk Grand Hotel, 3rd Floor.”
“Stopping the Carriage Maple Grove at Dusk Grand Hotel?”
Wang Ruijun beside him explained: “This is San Jiang Kou’s first five-star hotel. The class is very high.”
Zhang Yi’ang nodded: “Stopping the carriage in the maple grove at dusk—using poetry for the hotel name is somewhat interesting, though it seems to be missing two characters in the middle.”
Wang Ruijun pointed at the card and said in a low voice: “Supposedly inside there are!”
Everyone froze for a moment, then nodded with serious expressions again.
Zhang Yi’ang coughed once and asked: “Who runs this place?”
“Who runs the place isn’t clear. The hotel’s owner is called Lu Yibo, but there are also rumors that the real big boss is San Jiang Kou’s richest person, Zhou Rong.”
“Zhou Rong?!” Zhang Yi’ang and Li Qian simultaneously widened their eyes.
The remaining several people, seeing their reaction, in a flash of lightning and flint, brewed a common speculation in their hearts. Everyone’s face shifted through different colors.
After a moment, Song Xing carefully inquired: “Bureau Chief, did the Provincial Department transfer you here… in connection with Zhou Rong?”
“Why do you say that?” Zhang Yi’ang’s expression was very unnatural. Director Gao had repeatedly instructed that this matter must be conducted low-key and absolutely must not be publicized.
Li Qian also quickly covered for him: “There’s no such thing. What are you talking nonsense about?”
Song Xing looked at her strangely: “But a few days ago I saw you looking up information on Zhou Rong’s company.”
Zhang Yi’ang glared at Li Qian. Li Qian shut her mouth and lowered her head. The leadership had repeatedly instructed her to act carefully, yet she was seen by colleagues just looking up information. She really wanted to kill herself.
Wang Ruijun said in a low voice: “Bureau Chief, speaking frankly, if you want to investigate Zhou Rong, we will definitely fully cooperate!”
Song Xing, Section Chief Xu, and Medical Examiner Chen also all earnestly nodded together, directing sincere gazes unanimously toward Zhang Yi’ang.
Zhang Yi’ang looked at them hesitantly: “You all…”
Song Xing voiced everyone’s thoughts: “We all followed Bureau Chief Lu for many years. We were all promoted by him. He revealed to us privately that he was investigating Zhou Rong, yet suddenly disappeared. We strongly suspect Zhou Rong did it!”
Subsequently, everyone expressed their positions. They knew investigating Zhou Rong was a major matter, and Bureau Chief Zhang keeping it confidential was appropriate. However, they could completely rest assured—Wang Ruijun and Song Xing were personally promoted by Lu Zheng, Section Chief Xu worked with Lu Zheng for many years with a deep friendship, and Medical Examiner Chen felt that Lu Zheng never criticized his autopsy skills the way other youngsters did, showing that Lu Zheng was very professional.
Now, as long as Bureau Chief Zhang nodded to investigate Bureau Chief Lu’s case, they would go all the way to the end!
Under the determined gazes of the four people, Zhang Yi’ang slowly nodded. He realized that with the ironclad support of these backbone members of the Criminal Police Division, the plan to formally investigate Zhou Rong—it was time to put it on the agenda.
However, Director Gao said the informant from that accusation letter would wait for the appropriate opportunity to make face-to-face contact with him after he came to San Jiang Kou. He’d already been here over a week—what the hell was this informant up to, still not coming out to meet?