Part Four

Ji Dashun returned from buying groceries, bringing back a case of beer. Song Hongyu had finished cutting the vegetables. Deng Ligang told her to go to the bathroom and switch with Shi Bi to cook, saying her dishes were too watery and wasted ingredients.

Song Hongyu never liked cooking and other womanly chores. She excitedly went to the bedroom, opened a drawer, took out a silver bracelet, slipped it on her wrist, and entered the bathroom to replace Shi Bi.

Song Hongyu threatened Qiu Feng and Zhen Zhen with a knife, forcing them to strip naked and sit in the bathtub. She rolled up their clothes and tossed them in the corner. In the tub sat two women, one large and one small, their faces haggard and bodies covered in wounds.

Song Hongyu toyed with the knife in her hand, spinning it in a dazzling arc. Zhen Zhen stared at her intently, trying to anticipate her next move.

Song Hongyu stopped and pointed the knife tip at Zhen Zhen’s forehead, saying, “Ever since I saw you, I felt you had a certain spirit. You looked familiar but I couldn’t place it. I finally realized you’re a lot like that girl called Huang Ying – stubborn as a mule. A boiled duck may be tender, but its beak stays hard. I showed her with actions that a knife is indeed sharper than her mouth. I carved that slut up good – nothing left but a string of intestines.”

She finished with a sinister laugh, her row of white teeth making Qiu Feng shudder. Anger swelled in Zhen Zhen’s chest as she glared at this ominous woman.

Song Hongyu said, “You think you can kill me with your eyelids? That bitch Huang Ying told me this bracelet was passed down from her ancestors, very precious. If it’s so precious, it must be worth something. I didn’t sell it, just kept it as a trophy.”

She slid the silver bracelet off her wrist and grabbed Zhen Zhen’s arm, slipping it onto her wrist.

As Zhen Zhen tried to push it off, Song Hongyu poked her chest with the knife tip.

“I’m not giving it to you. Just letting it soak up some of your blood. When you’re on the road to the underworld, the bracelet will naturally be mine again.”

Zhen Zhen struggled, and her chest was marked with bloody lines from the boning knife.

Song Hongyu said through gritted teeth, “If you dare push it down again, I’ll carve your flesh off strip by strip.”

Zhen Zhen stopped moving. On the bracelet, Song Hongyu’s body heat mingled with hers, making her feel cold all over and her vision darken. Song Hongyu sat down by the bathtub and grabbed Qiu Feng’s hair, pulling her close. Qiu Feng shut her eyes tightly in fear.

Song Hongyu stared at her face for a while and asked, “Do you think you’re prettier, or am I?”

Qiu Feng began to cry. Song Hongyu raised the boning knife, and Qiu Feng immediately choked back her sobs.

Song Hongyu lowered the knife and asked Qiu Feng, “Do you know why I beat you?”

Qiu Feng stared blankly at her and shook her head.

“I see my past self in you,” Song Hongyu said sincerely.

Her words were unexpected. Zhen Zhen raised her head, fixing her gaze on Song Hongyu’s face.

“Hanging around men all day, with no one to talk to, I get bored too. We’re all women, so I’ll open up to you. Anyway, you two won’t leave this room alive, so you can’t spread gossip.”

Zhen Zhen and Qiu Feng lowered their heads, neither speaking.

Song Hongyu leaned against the wall, her voice soft as if talking to herself. She said, “I’m from Huayuan County. When I was fourteen, my mother got breast cancer. We sold our house and land, and borrowed a lot of money for treatment, but couldn’t save her. At fifteen, I started working to help pay off the family debt. I worked as a shampoo girl in a hair salon, sold fruit at the market, did odd jobs, and even walked dogs.
I sent money home as soon as I got paid. At eighteen, I met a coal boss. He was generous, gave me money, and helped me support my father and brother. We lived together for half a year, then his wife showed up. She humiliated me terribly and took all the money I’d saved, calling it emotional compensation. The coal boss didn’t say a word in my defense and went back to his hometown in Shanxi with his wife.”

“Someone introduced me to a job as a bar promoter. The hours were flexible, I could go a few times a week, 200 yuan each time. They said they’d settle up weekly, but they always held back some money to keep people working there longer. We gathered at 8 PM and divided into groups, each responsible for an area. Heavy makeup and high heels were mandatory. The job was to drink with customers, play games, or pretend to be beautiful customers when there were no real ones. The customers included students and middle-aged married men.”

“While promoting alcohol, I met Deng Ligang. He saw I was fashionably dressed and pretty, and started to rope me in. He’d buy whatever expensive alcohol I promoted. He wore a gold chain around his neck and a brand-name watch on his wrist, looking very wealthy. Shi Bi, who was with him, didn’t talk much but was considerate towards women. I came over with a glass to drink with them and called the waiter for a dozen beers. Deng Ligang said they’d already ordered alcohol. I said I’d drink with them, and that little bit wasn’t enough.

Deng Ligang got in the mood and let me drink from their table. In half an hour, we’d finished most of the dozen beers. Seeing Deng Ligang wasn’t ordering more, I suggested we play a guessing game. Deng Ligang said he didn’t know how. I taught him, having been professionally trained in dice rolling, quick and nimble. Deng Ligang knew I was cheating but didn’t expose me. We drank until midnight, ordered three rounds, and spent all the money. When Deng Ligang stopped ordering, I made an excuse and left.”

“The next day, Deng Ligang and Shi Bi came again. I saw them and came over smiling to persuade them to drink. I said, ‘The promoters in the bar aren’t real beer promoters. We drink with customers every night, get them to spend more on alcohol, and play dice. Win or lose, someone always drinks. When it’s gone, they buy more. That’s how we achieve our goal. Promoters earn much more than waitresses.'”

“After the bar, Deng Ligang invited me out for tea. I went. After tea, on the way home, he invited me to his place. It was in a high-end community, a place I’d always dreamed of living. So I went. The elevator went to the top floor. I sat on the sofa, looking around. The room was clean and tidy, with an indescribable smell. Shi Bi opened the fridge and handed me a cold Coke, taking one for himself and opening it to drink. After I finished, I felt unwell and insisted on going home. I collapsed just outside the door. Deng Ligang had just dragged me back when someone came upstairs.”

“In the morning, I woke up to find myself lying on a bed, hands tied and unable to move. Remembering what happened the night before, I realized I’d been kidnapped. Deng Ligang yanked me to my feet and demanded money. I said I had none. He asked about the 200 yuan I earned daily at the bar. I said I’d sent it home. He told me to call home for money. I said we had no phone and no money. Deng Ligang said, ‘Then you’ll never leave here alive.'”

“My legs went weak and I fell to my knees. Shi Bi tried to help me up. I said I was fine, just needed a moment. I lowered my head, tears falling steadily, forming small puddles on the floor. Deng Ligang smoked, watching me like a stage performance. I raised my head and calmly asked how I would die. Deng Ligang was taken aback, saying my reaction was different from anyone he’d kidnapped before.”

“‘However you like,’ he said. Shi Bi glanced at him and asked if I needed help. I said no. Deng Ligang laughed and tossed a boning knife in front of me. He said he’d learned martial arts at Wutai Mountain when he was eight. Even with another knife, five of me stacked together couldn’t escape his grasp. I said, ‘What’s death? I’ve been living a rotten life, long wanting to die. Close my eyes and never have to bear responsibility or struggle to earn money again.’ I sat up, took the knife, rolled up my sleeve, and looked at my wrist.”

“Shi Bi asked if I wasn’t afraid of death. I said life is just a breath, nothing special. I put the knife to my wrist, pretending to cut. Deng Ligang pointed out the artery wasn’t there. He came over, took my hand, and moved the knife to the correct spot. I looked at him and cut down. Blood immediately spurted out. Deng Ligang waited calmly for me to beg for help. I closed my eyes tightly, saying nothing, letting the blood drip steadily onto the floor.

Shi Bi said, ‘I can see you have hatred in your heart. Dying like this, you won’t even be able to close your eyes.’ I said, ‘Of course I have hatred.’ Shi Bi asked who I hated. I said, ‘I hate you, him, myself, men, women, this whole world.’ Deng Ligang grabbed a towel and came over to bandage my wound. I opened my eyes and asked what he was doing. Deng Ligang said, ‘Work with me. We’ll take down everyone you hate along the way.'”

“Later, I asked him privately why he did that. Deng Ligang said, ‘You’ve got guts, woman. If you’re this ruthless to yourself, you must be even more so to others. The advantage of bringing you in is that it’s simpler and more convenient for a woman to lure people back.'”

“From that day on, I started working with them. Deng Ligang liked me because I was bold, fearless of difficulties or death, and not subservient. I was responsible for luring people back from nightclubs, while Deng Ligang and the others handled the extortion. I look harmless, so women don’t guard against me. I never miss a target. Deng Ligang gave me enough money to clear my family’s debts, gave me the life I wanted, and gave me the love a woman needs.

He brought out everything from the depths of my soul, and let me live without morals, without feelings, without restraints. He said after this job, he’d take me to another city to enjoy life. I wasn’t grateful, saying, ‘Go to another Freaking city, live in another Freaking house.’ Deng Ligang asked what I wanted to do. I said, ‘Go home.’ He threatened me, saying if I didn’t stay with him, he’d go to my home and kill my father and brother.

After dealing with so many people, two more wouldn’t matter. I asked why he didn’t just kill me now. He answered frankly, ‘Because I like you.’ I asked if he’d dispose of me if he didn’t like me anymore. Deng Ligang looked at me and smiled, saying, ‘Once you’re in, you’re in for life. You’d better make sure I always like you.'”

Song Hongyu’s words gave Zhen Zhen and Qiu Feng goosebumps. What kind of woman was standing before them?

Shi Bi pushed open the door, glanced at the people soaking in the bathtub, and placed two bottles of Coke beside it.

Song Hongyu asked, “Is the food ready?”

“Just one steamed fish left, it’ll be done in eight minutes. Go eat,” Shi Bi said.

Song Hongyu followed him out, casually locking the bathroom door from the outside.

Qiu Feng understood she wouldn’t leave there alive and cried uncontrollably. Zhen Zhen, with less life experience, was calmer, her eyes darting around, surveying the surroundings.

In the corner of the bathroom stood a meat grinder. Under the bathtub was a movable tile concealing an inspection hole for the drain. On the opposite wall, about head height, was a narrow window. She noticed a bolt on the bathroom door. Seeing a glimmer of hope, her mind buzzed like a hundred bees. She shook her head hard to calm herself.

Qiu Feng stopped crying and climbed out of the water, reaching for the Coke by the bathtub and about to open it.

Zhen Zhen snatched it away, saying, “It must be drugged.”

Qiu Feng said, “I know, but we can’t get out alive anyway, so what does it matter how we die?”

She grabbed the bottle and took a sip. Zhen Zhen snatched it back and poured all the Coke onto the floor.

Deng Ligang, Shi Bi, Ji Dashun, and Song Hongyu sat around the dining table, eating and drinking.

Ji Dashun said, “All fancy dishes on the table today.”

Deng Ligang said, “We’ll need strength later, got to eat and drink well to have energy.”

He turned to look at Ji Dashun and affectionately patted him on the back of the neck.

“A pig learned to climb trees. You spotted the police trap. Let’s drink to that, brother.”

Ji Dashun looked smug: “My name isn’t for nothing. Ji means auspicious, Shun means smooth. I, Ji Dashun, am especially Tashi delek.”

Song Hongyu said, “Tashi delek my ass. Back in Yanhuicheng, if the boss hadn’t been watching closely, that skull would’ve caused who knows what trouble.”

Reminded of his past mistake, Ji Dashun immediately lowered his head and poked at the food on his plate.

Deng Ligang said, “You’ve got holes in your head, and you’re greedy for money and women. Last year, your old problem flared up again, falling for a young girl. You insisted on taking her along to wander the world.”

Shi Bi asked, “Hey, Dashun, tell us, what was so good about that girl?”

Ji Dashun said, “Big chest, perky butt, lips as soft as noodles.”

Shi Bi burst out laughing.

“Look at you, I was just getting to the good part,” Ji Dashun felt his excitement dampened.

Deng Ligang said, “You damn fool, you were so busy slurping noodles you didn’t notice her eyes. That girl had a volatile temper, hard to control. If she turned on us, she could’ve ruined our big plans.”

Shi Bi said, “Remember, women are like train stations you pass through. Money is a man’s ultimate goal. Beautiful women are dangerous. If you don’t listen to the boss, it’s not just a matter of danger – it’s real peril.”

Ji Dashun fell silent, slurping his soup. A woman’s crying could be heard clearly. Ji Dashun put down his spoon and changed the subject, asking, “Who’s crying?”

Song Hongyu snorted, “The one surnamed Qiu. The younger one has more guts than her.”

Death was not as profound a concept for Zhen Zhen as it was for Qiu Feng, who was eight years her senior. The water had gone cold. Zhen Zhen climbed out of the bathtub and put on her bra and shorts from the corner. The chill spread from her body to her heart. Qiu Feng sat on the edge of the bathtub, crying. The more she cried, the more desperate she became. Zhen Zhen grabbed a towel and draped it over Qiu Feng’s shoulders, putting an arm around her and gently patting her back. Qiu Feng threw her arms around Zhen Zhen and sobbed loudly, causing Zhen Zhen to cry as well.

Fearing the crying would be heard outside, Deng Ligang slammed his hand on the table and stood up to go to the bathroom. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Deng Ligang immediately stopped and gave Song Hongyu a look. Song Hongyu grabbed the boning knife and rushed into the bathroom.

The landlord couple stood at the door. Seeing no response to their knocking, they took out a key to open the door. As it opened, Deng Ligang went out to greet them, with Shi Bi following behind. The male landlord’s gaze swept over the faces of the two men.

“We rang the doorbell, why didn’t anyone come to open it?” he asked.

“My brother came from out of town. We were happy and drank a bit too much. We fell asleep and didn’t hear it,” Deng Ligang replied apologetically.

The male landlord said, “The tenant downstairs says their bathroom ceiling is leaking. They say the waterproofing in this apartment isn’t good. I need to come in and check. If it’s our problem, we’ll have to dig up the bathroom floor and redo the waterproofing.”

Deng Ligang said, “You can’t go in now. My wife is taking a bath in there. Let’s go downstairs and see if it’s coming from our apartment.”

Song Hongyu held the knife tip against Zhen Zhen and Qiu Feng, ordering them to stop crying. She listened carefully, hearing the jumbled footsteps moving away outside. She decided to go out and look, leaving the bathroom and locking the door again with the key. Zhen Zhen immediately jumped out of the bathtub and bolted the door from the inside. She picked up the tile from under the bathtub and, using all her strength, smashed it against the narrow window. The window glass shattered, and the wind rushed in.

Song Hongyu had just reached the front door when she heard the sound of breaking glass. She immediately ran back and tried to unlock the bathroom door with the key. The door was bolted from the inside and wouldn’t open. She picked up an axe, intending to break it down. The landlord’s voice could be heard clearly from downstairs. Fearing the noise would alert him, Song Hongyu locked the bathroom door again. Ji Dashun emerged from the bedroom, asking, “Where did the glass break?”

Song Hongyu replied, “In the bathroom. Those two bitches locked themselves in from the inside.”

“You’d better go find the boss for instructions. I’ll wait in the car outside as usual. Call me when the alert is over,” Ji Dashun said.

They both left together.

Hearing the front door slam shut, Qiu Feng jumped out of the bathtub and struggled to climb up to the window. Her elbows could barely reach the windowsill, but she didn’t have the strength to pull herself up.

“The window is too narrow. Even if I could get up there, I couldn’t squeeze through,” she said, her face full of despair.

Zhen Zhen said, “I can fit through.”

“This isn’t the ground floor. What can you do if you get out?” Qiu Feng asked weakly.

“Scream for help. Even if I fall and die, people in the courtyard will see and call the police immediately.”

Qiu Feng nodded. She crouched down, letting Zhen Zhen step on her shoulders. Her legs trembled as she struggled to stand up. Zhen Zhen climbed onto the windowsill and forced her way through the narrow window with broken glass, cutting herself all over and bleeding profusely.

Deng Ligang and Shi Bi were discussing the water leak issue with the downstairs tenant when Song Hongyu came and whispered something in Deng Ligang’s ear. Deng Ligang immediately said to the landlord, “You should check again carefully. We have guests at home, we need to go back and attend to them.”

He tugged at Shi Bi, and the three of them left together.

Zhen Zhen squeezed out of the window and saw an iron frame for an air conditioner welded next to it. She crawled over and slowly straightened up, standing on top of the air conditioner. The ground was nearly 200 meters below her. Cold and fear made her shake like a withered leaf. From the corner of her eye, Zhen Zhen saw that the air conditioner of the neighboring room was more than a meter away from where she stood.

She decided to step over to it. People exercising in the fitness area below noticed the young girl standing on the top-floor window. Word spread quickly, and people looked up. The thin figure of the blood-covered girl stood on the air conditioner. People started shouting, telling her not to jump. Someone took out their phone and called the police, reporting that someone in the community was trying to jump from a building.

Zhen Zhen leaped and landed on the neighboring air conditioner. She swayed twice, almost falling off. A chorus of gasps rose from the fitness area below. Zhen Zhen steadied herself, picked up a half-brick from the air conditioner frame, and used all her strength to smash the glass window before crawling inside. Ji Dashun witnessed all this and knew things had gone wrong. He ran out of the community at full speed.

There was no one in the neighboring apartment. Seeing a telephone on the coffee table, Zhen Zhen immediately grabbed it and dialed 110 for the police. She heard someone screaming, “I’ve been kidnapped!” It was her voice. Zhen Zhen tried to calm herself down. With a trembling voice, she said, “I’ve been kidnapped! I’ve escaped to the neighboring apartment. There’s another woman still locked in the bathroom. Come quickly to save her!” After saying this, she burst into tears, unable to hear anything else the operator was asking.

Zhen Zhen threw down the phone, crying. She grabbed a man’s cardigan from the sofa and put it on. She ran to the entryway, took a pair of men’s sneakers from the shoe rack, and put them on. She opened the door and went out. She realized she was on the top floor. Chaotic footsteps were running up the stairs, and the elevator was rapidly ascending from below.

Zhen Zhen knew they were all coming for her. She couldn’t run down the stairs at this moment. She quickly retreated to the apartment she had just left and locked the door from the inside. Her heart was about to jump out of her throat. She held her breath and looked through the peephole. Deng Ligang was standing at the door of the neighboring apartment, about to take out his key to open it. At that moment, the elevator reached the top floor. The doors opened, and two security guards from the community came out. They saw Deng Ligang standing at the door.

The burly security guard said, “People downstairs reported that a woman in this building was trying to jump.”

Deng Ligang was startled: “Did she jump?”

The burly guard replied, “She broke the glass and crawled back into the room.”

Deng Ligang calmed down and said, “It wasn’t from my place. My wife is downstairs.”

The thin guard walked over and knocked on the door where Zhen Zhen was hiding. Zhen Zhen held her breath, not daring to make a sound. She knew Deng Ligang was a devil, and the two security guards might not be able to stop him. This door couldn’t be opened.

The thin guard said, “No one’s home here. Let’s go check your place. We need to report back to our supervisor.”

Deng Ligang patted himself all over: “I forgot my key. I need to go downstairs and get my wife’s key.”

The two security guards got in the elevator with him, and it descended rapidly.

Zhen Zhen seized the opportunity to open the door and rush down the stairs, tumbling and running.

The street police had received the call, and a 110 police car entered the community. People immediately gathered around. Three patrol officers got out of the car. One of them said to the burly security guard, “A girl called to report she had been kidnapped. The IP address of the call is from this community, Building 8, Unit 1, Room 3001. The girl said there’s another woman locked in the bathroom in the neighboring apartment.”

The burly guard turned to look for Deng Ligang, but he had already disappeared. Shi Bi and Song Hongyu had escaped from the community before Deng Ligang. Zhen Zhen ran to the building entrance and saw a group of people surrounding the police car, talking all at once. She saw them as her saviors and started running towards them.

Suddenly, she was grabbed around the waist and held tightly. The person’s arm was as hard as iron, firmly gripping Zhen Zhen’s waist, while the other hand tightly covered her mouth. Like a lover stopping his girlfriend from making a scene, he dragged Zhen Zhen out through the back door of a ground-floor shop. A hairdresser stood at the door, smoking and watching the commotion. This couple, struggling and dragging, passed in front of him.

He found it curious – the woman was small and thin, wearing an oversized men’s jacket. On her feet were a pair of large men’s sneakers, and her bare legs had many bleeding cuts. The woman’s mouth was covered, and her eyes were full of terror. The hairdresser stepped forward, following for a couple of steps. Deng Ligang turned his head, his gaze piercing like a dagger. The hairdresser froze in place, not daring to move.

Ji Dashun’s car had been left running by the roadside. Shi Bi and Song Hongyu were already in the car. Seeing Deng Ligang dragging Zhen Zhen to the back street of the community, Ji Dashun immediately drove up to meet them. The car stopped beside Deng Ligang. Ji Dashun jumped out, opened the trunk, took out a piece of rag, stuffed it into Zhen Zhen’s mouth, and shoved her into the trunk. All the car doors and the trunk were locked. Sitting in the passenger seat, Deng Ligang let out a long sigh of relief and slipped the dagger hidden in his sleeve into his boot. The car roared away at top speed. This escape was more desperate than ever before. Not only had they left behind their loot, but they had also left Qiu Feng, an important hostage, to the police.

Deng Ligang cursed through gritted teeth, “This little girl looks like a rabbit, but she’s a wolf. We absolutely can’t let her slip away this time. When we get to a safe place, I’ll personally cut her into pieces and grind her into mincemeat to feed to wild dogs.”

Ji Dashun asked, “Where’s safe?”

Deng Ligang said, “Get on the highway!”

Zhen Zhen was tossed about in the trunk, feeling dizzy. She curled up, bending her legs, trying to feel around with her hands tied behind her back. She was drenched in sweat from the effort and confinement. Her hand touched a handle. Zhen Zhen grasped it tightly like a lifeline.

The ATM surveillance footage showed that a vehicle with license plate XXX had stopped at dozens of ATMs. It was the most suspicious. The last place the car was seen was near the Heye Community in Luan City. This information brought us one big step closer to Deng Ligang.

I received a call from the Luan City Public Security Bureau saying that a kidnap victim had called 110 for help. The IP address of that call was from Room 3001, Unit 1, Building 8 in the Heye Community. The information about the car and the people matched. I immediately drove towards the Heye Community.

Ji Dashun was driving very fast. The traffic light ahead suddenly turned red. Unable to brake in time, he collided with a car coming from the green light intersection. Ji Dashun’s car mounted the curb and hit a tree, immediately stalling. He tried to restart it but couldn’t. Deng Ligang and Shi Bi jumped out and pushed the car off the curb. Ji Dashun tried again, and the car started.

As Ji Dashun turned the steering wheel, just as Deng Ligang and Shi Bi were opening the doors to get back in, Zhen Zhen in the trunk used all her strength to pull the handle. The trunk lid popped open, and Zhen Zhen rolled out onto the road. There was a chorus of emergency braking on the road. Deng Ligang saw Zhen Zhen lying on the road in the rearview mirror and immediately shouted, “Stop! Stop!” Ji Dashun slammed on the brakes, and Deng Ligang jumped out, running quickly towards Zhen Zhen.

My car was coming from the opposite direction, and I saw this scene. I recognized the man getting out of the car as Deng Ligang! I slowed down slightly, and Yang Bo immediately opened the passenger door and jumped out.

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Deng Ligang immediately turned back and fled to the car. Ji Dashun floored the accelerator, and the car with its trunk still open shot away like an arrow.

My eyes filled with blood, and I shouted like a madman, stomping on the accelerator to chase after them. From the corner of my eye, I saw in the rearview mirror Yang Bo helping Zhen Zhen, who was lying on the road. Zhen Zhen was shouting, kicking, and biting. Seeing her fighting spirit, I knew the girl had survived. Now, there was nothing else in my eyes but the car in front and the bastards sitting in it!

The distance between me and the car in front was visibly shrinking. A heavily loaded truck turned onto the road from a side street. Ji Dashun overtook it, brushing against the truck’s body. The truck driver instinctively swerved, and the trailer swung to one side. Cardboard boxes fell from the truck, crashing onto the road.

I quickly turned the steering wheel to avoid the swinging trailer, but my car hit the roadside guardrail and stalled. The car in front disappeared in a cloud of dust. I jumped out, cursing in frustration, but it was no use.

At the intersection leading to the highway, I found the abandoned car. Those bastards led by Deng Ligang had slipped through my fingers again.

When Qiu Feng was rescued, she was almost broken. She was curled up in a corner, shaking uncontrollably. Hearing the chaotic footsteps entering from outside, she covered her head with both hands, squeezing her eyes shut. In her mind, she kept repeating, “This is a dream, it must be a dream! Please, wake up quickly.”

There was a knock on the bathroom door. Qiu Feng felt she could never escape this nightmare. A strange voice said from outside, “I’m a police officer. A girl called for help, and we’re here to rescue you.”

Qiu Feng couldn’t believe her ears. She curled up, not daring to move. When the police broke down the door, Qiu Feng let out a piercing scream that echoed far. Seeing her naked and battered body, the landlord couple was so frightened they could barely speak. The male landlord stammered, “We… we didn’t know. We didn’t know.”

After their rescue, Qiu Feng and Zhen Zhen were sent to the hospital. Qiu Feng was plagued by nightmares. She dreamt of being trapped in a crevice, surrounded by twisted rebar and concrete. Unable to breathe, she clutched her chest and tried to scream, but no sound came out. She woke up gasping, opening her eyes to see liquid dripping from above. Only then did she realize she had truly escaped the clutches of evil?

Peng Zhaolin accompanied Zhen Zhen into the hospital room. Qiu Feng struggled to sit up, and the two women embraced tightly, their tears soaking each other’s shoulders.

Qiu Feng sobbed, “I never thought I’d live to see you again.”

“Without you, I couldn’t have escaped either. Sister, we both made it out alive!” Zhen Zhen said through her tears.

Peng Zhaolin asked Zhen Zhen, “You’re so young, yet so brave. Standing on the 30th floor, weren’t you scared at all?”

Zhen Zhen replied, “Facing life and death, I forgot what fear was. Seeing the window next door was like seeing a lifeline. I encouraged myself, saying, ‘Zhen Zhen, you must make it across. If you do, you have a chance to live, and so does Qiu Feng.’ I didn’t even know I could jump so accurately.”

The doctor came in for rounds and, seeing Zhen Zhen, said, “Go back to your room and rest. There are still some tests to be done.”

I glanced at Qiu Feng and asked, “How is she?”

The doctor replied, “Comminuted fracture of the right frontal bone. Three broken ribs on the left side. The broken ribs punctured the lung, causing hemopneumothorax. We need further tests to check for other internal injuries.”

Zhen Yuling and Hong Xia burst into the room, emotionally charged. They were shocked by the sight of their daughter. Poor Zhen Zhen was emaciated and covered in wounds, her large eyes sunken into their sockets. Hong Xia’s heart ached as she embraced Zhen Zhen, while Zhen Yuling wrapped his arms around them both. The family of three held each other tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.

Qiu Feng, supported by Peng Zhaolin, slowly sat up.

Zhen Zhen approached, holding her hand, and said, “As soon as I’m discharged, I’ll return to Xue City. I can’t stay here with you.”

Qiu Feng replied, “For the sake of our future lives, we should both move forward without looking back. Let’s completely forget all the pain we’ve endured.”

Zhen Zhen asked, “So we won’t see each other again?”

Qiu Feng responded firmly, “No contact, no meetings.”

In the past, after committing a crime, Deng Ligang’s gang would meticulously mop the floor, and then carefully wipe everything with alcohol. They’d erase all footprints and fingerprints, leaving no trace. Before leaving, they’d spray the room with an air freshener. This time, in their hasty escape, they hadn’t had time to do any of that. Fingerprints left in the room matched those of Deng Ligang, Shi Bi, and Ji Dashun from Case 1103, along with a woman’s prints, likely Song Hongyu’s. This kidnapping case was now linked to Case 1103 from Xue City’s Bishui Garden.

This rescue operation couldn’t be called a success. The kidnapping victims had saved themselves. I felt utterly defeated; this was the second time Deng Ligang had slipped through my fingers. Unable to sleep that night, I repeatedly imagined scenarios where we could have protected the hostages and caught the criminals. But imagination was just that – everything was now irreversible. I could only return to my old methods, focusing on the only lead we had: the bank card Zhen Zhen’s parents had used to transfer money, which still had 60,000 yuan on it.

Deng Ligang, that bastard, was skilled at evading detection. I was always half a step behind him. Every time he arrived somewhere new, he’d change his phone number, forcing me to reestablish surveillance. Chasing him, I somehow lost track of him in Shanxi province. I was like a headless fly, searching aimlessly. For a while, I completely lost all leads on this group of criminals. Later, I learned they had gone to Mount Wutai to lay low. Temples are peaceful places where one can stay without showing ID or registering.

Initially, while staying on Mount Wutai, Deng Ligang was very devout. He prayed and burned incense daily, asking the Bodhisattva for protection. After half a month, as his nerves relaxed, he noticed the donation boxes in the temple were always full of money. He saw the head monk, Wenshu, driving a BMW when he went down the mountain on errands. Immediately, Deng Ligang thought about kidnapping the monk. He privately discussed the plan with Shi Bi.

Shi Bi said, “Wake up at 4:30 tomorrow morning and take a look. You’ll know what to do then.”

The next day, just as dawn broke, Deng Ligang struggled out of bed and walked into the courtyard. He saw the head monk leading his disciples in martial arts practice. The disciples were in a neat formation, their punches swift and their shouts deafening. After a set of combination punches, the head monk came out to demonstrate. He moved as lightly as a swallow, his punches like lightning. He swooped like an eagle catching a rabbit and ran like a cat chasing a mouse. His touch was as soft as cotton but as hard as iron on impact. Deng Ligang watched in awe, realizing that even ten of them couldn’t get close to the monk. He immediately abandoned the idea and woke up his three accomplices.

“Pack up, we’re going down the mountain!” he said.

They had just left in an unlicensed taxi when we arrived, renting the same vehicle to go up the mountain.

The young driver was talkative. He said the group he took down yesterday spoke with the same accent as us.

“Men or women?” My nerves immediately tensed.

“Three men, one woman. They paid generously and even gave me a string of bodhi seed beads as a tip.”

I asked, “Did they say where they were going?”

“I dropped them off at the train station, then picked up the next group of passengers to come up the mountain,” the young man shook his head.

It was like a bucket of cold water over my head. I realized we had missed them again. Fortunately, there was activity on the bank card in Meiling City. Two withdrawals of 20,000 yuan each were made in one day. The person making the withdrawals was still Ji Dashun. We set off for Meiling City. Lin Hui and I disguised ourselves as security guards, while Yang Bo and Ge Shoujia dressed as cart pullers. We staked out the places where the group had withdrawn money.

A week passed, and there was no further activity on the bank card. Our funds were depleted. According to department regulations, each person was allotted 85 yuan per day for out-of-town assignments. Renting a basement room cost 45 yuan, and technical support was provided by the local police department. Vehicle expenses and meals all had to come from this allowance. When it wasn’t enough, I dipped into my pocket. When my pocket was empty, I called the department for more money. Their instruction was for me to return immediately.

I returned to the department, dejected. Chief Jiang said, “The victims have been rescued. You’ve completed your mission. We have so many cases in the department and not enough manpower. You’ve been pursuing this for so long with unsatisfactory results. I think it’s time to suspend it for a while.”

“If you could guarantee the funding and give me another two weeks, I’m certain I could crack these bastards wide open,” I said, gritting my teeth in frustration.

Chief Jiang replied, “That’s the reality. There are no ‘ifs’.”

And so the case was shelved. I understood it wasn’t that the leadership didn’t want to pursue it; the department simply lacked the resources and finances to continue.

Zhen Zhen returned alive to her parents but suffered severe psychological issues. She couldn’t bear any mention of the kidnapping. When it was brought up, she would tremble uncontrollably and struggle to form coherent sentences. She was afraid to go to school or unfamiliar places and couldn’t face strangers. During the day, she was in a daze; at night, she was plagued by nightmares. Hong Xia felt deeply guilty about her daughter’s running away. Zhen Yuling couldn’t forgive Hong Xia for their daughter’s tragic experience. Though Zhen Zhen had been rescued, their marriage was on the brink of collapse. Now, their daughter remained shut in her room all day, not speaking a word to her parents. Zhen Yuling took Zhen Zhen to the hospital, explaining her symptoms to the doctor: “Her heart races, she breathes rapidly, and at times she can’t catch her breath.”

The doctor added, “Feelings of suffocation, impending doom, loss of control?”

Zhen Yuling nodded, “Yes! Exactly!”

The doctor asked, “Does she often break out in cold sweats, feel weak, and have diarrhea?”

Zhen Yuling confirmed, “That’s right.”

The doctor said, “These are typical symptoms of panic attacks.”

He picked up his pen to write a prescription: “Try this medication for a week. This condition requires gradual treatment.”

Hong Xia and Zhen Yuling lay back to back, both unable to sleep. Zhen Zhen cried out in her sleep. After settling her, they returned to bed, still shaken.

Zhen Yuling sighed deeply, “Such a good child. Why did she have to suffer like this?”

Hong Xia said, “This whole thing was my fault. I’ve felt like dying. You don’t need to keep stabbing me with your words.”

Zhen Yuling sat up, leaning against the headboard. He said, “We’ve argued countless times over Zhen Zhen. Has it solved anything? No. The psychologist suggested it would be best to take her to a new environment, somewhere no one knows about her past. This way, she can gradually recover, and our family life can slowly get back on track.”

Hong Xia also turned to sit up, asking, “Our home is here. Where else can we go?”

“Back to our hometown. My parents have been hoping for us to return,” Zhen Yuling said.

Hong Xia frowned, “We haven’t finished paying off the mortgage. We can’t just abandon it.”

Zhen Yuling said, “We can rent out the house and use the rent to pay the mortgage. I’ve made up my mind. If you don’t want to go, I’ll take Zhen Zhen myself. I’ve already found a job, and it’s easy to arrange a school for Zhen Zhen. This tragedy was brought upon her by her parents. For her sake, we should make some sacrifices.”

Hong Xia looked at him for a long time without speaking. A week later, Zhen Yuling brought Zhen Zhen to say goodbye to me. Zhen Zhen stared at me intently. I smiled and asked her, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Zhen Zhen said, “Promise me you’ll catch those criminals. Only when you catch them will I dare to come back to Xue City to see you.”

“I promise you,” I said. “And you must promise me to study hard. I’ll call you often to check on your homework.”

I took out a brand-new notebook and handed it to her.

“I don’t have much to give you as a memento, but please take this notebook.”

Zhen Zhen took the notebook, hugged it to her chest, and bowed deeply to me.

Zhen Zhen’s family moved to Hexi, where she continued her high school education. Hong Xia and Zhen Yuling each found new jobs. Zhen Zhen maintained contact with me, never asking about the case, and I never mentioned it. Although the case was shelved again, I remained vigilant, ready to spring into action at any moment.

The psychologist’s advice proved effective. After Zhen Yuling’s family moved back to their hometown, the new life, new environment, and new faces greatly improved Zhen Zhen’s condition. She no longer had nightmares, and her insomnia became less frequent. Zhen Yuling had a new job, and Hong Xia opened a convenience store selling vegetables, fruits, and mineral water, also serving breakfast in the mornings. Hong Xia’s egg pancakes became very popular, with people queuing up to buy breakfast. The couple took turns managing the store and taking Zhen Zhen to and from school, without a word of complaint.

No one at school knew what had happened to Zhen Zhen. She was assigned to sit in the last row of the classroom. The homeroom teacher was a humorous man who knew how to motivate his students. In class, he held up four homework notebooks, one for each row, and had the students pass them back to look at.

The teacher said, “You’re high school students now, yet your handwriting is still embarrassingly bad. Chinese characters are the most aesthetically pleasing script, but look at what you’ve turned them into. Some look like spider crawls, others like donkeys rolling in the dirt, all a jumbled mess.”

The students laughed.

The teacher continued, “These four students’ handwriting is neat and straight, worthy of your emulation. Especially our new transfer student, Zhen Zhen. Not a single character in her entire assignment is sloppy. Take a good look, everyone. With the same 45-minute class, and the same homework assignment, how did she manage to combine form and content so perfectly?”

Zhen Zhen’s face flushed with excitement. She was changing day by day, even asking her parents not to pick her up from school anymore. Zhen Yuling and his wife outwardly agreed but secretly kept a watchful eye on their daughter at all times.

To solve Case 1103 and the Luan City kidnapping case, I filled two large notebooks. When I felt utterly dejected, I would flip through my diary.

Cheng Guo asked me mockingly, “Have you filled two books with love letters?”

I sighed and said, “From the 2002 Bishui Garden dismemberment case to the 2004 Luan City kidnapping case, I’ve recorded everything I thought of, summarized, succeeded in, and failed at in these two notebooks.”

“Is it useful?” Cheng Guo asked.

I said, “Not really.”

Cheng Guo said, “Who says it’s not? When you retire and are idle at home, you can use it as writing material.”

“You know my writing skills,” I replied.

“I know, I know. Your love letters read like court verdicts.”

The case was shelved. Feeling uneasy, I got a pair of large scissors, intending to destroy these two diaries. After cutting up about a dozen pages, I regretted it and tried to piece them back together. Cheng Guo mocked me for being childish, and I had no retort. With my brows constantly furrowed, Cheng Guo noticed that the crease between my eyebrows wouldn’t smooth out. She knew I was agonizing over the case.

As such, I didn’t ask any unnecessary questions. This was the tacit understanding between us as husband and wife, built over many years. On the weekend, Cheng Guo and our son dragged me to go skiing. I wasn’t in the mood, but the two of them insisted on taking me along. My mind wasn’t on the ski slopes, and our son quickly surpassed me. He kept skiing up to me, then mercilessly overtaking me. I knew if I didn’t pay attention, I’d lose all dignity in front of my son. Taking a deep breath, I adjusted my mindset, coordinated my upper and lower body, gripped the poles, and leaped down the snowy slope, leaving my son far behind at top speed.

The day’s excessive physical exertion didn’t help me sleep easily. Cheng Guo, lying beside me, emitted soft breathing sounds. I wasn’t sleepy at all, staring like a hawk at the few stains on the ceiling. Suddenly, the stains morphed into Deng Ligang’s face. I sat up abruptly, widening my eyes to look carefully, but the stains were just stains again. Unable to lie still, I got dressed and went out for a run. In the dead of night in Snow City, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep. People were running and practicing boxing by the river. A man in his fifties held a tennis racket with a tennis ball tied to it by a long string. He would hit the ball hard, then pull it back with the string. This lonely way of playing tennis made me feel less alone.

Dawn comes early in Snow City. The early market food stalls were opening, and as my muscles loosened up, I wandered through the market with interest. There were vendors selling vegetables and fruits, seafood and poultry, shoes, socks, and hats. All kinds of general merchandise were available.

I bought the first batch of freshly fried youtiao, along with soy milk and baozi. When I returned home, my wife and son were still in bed. I went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I cooked century egg and lean pork porridge, fried bread slices with butter, fried sausages, and eggs, and made a sandwich for my son.

At the breakfast table, I asked Peng Cheng, “Is the sandwich good?”

He said, “Next time, add some bacon inside.”

The little guy had already planned for the next time.

Cheng Guo ate youtiao and drank soy milk. She asked me, “Did you wake up at three again?”

I nodded.

Cheng Guo said, “Between one and three in the morning is the Chou hour when the liver meridian is active. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, waking up at this time regularly indicates excessive liver fire, and the liver qi needs to be regulated.”

“Let me state upfront, I’m not taking any medicine,” I said.

“What do you want to do?” Cheng Guo asked.

I said, “I want to repaint the room.”

Cheng Guo stared at me blankly, not believing her ears. “Did I hear that right?”

I said, “You heard correctly.”

Cheng Guo said, “We bought this second-hand house when we got married. At that time, we said we’d renovate it. You’ve been buried in cases day after day, never finding the time. I’ve lost the motivation for it, so why are you suddenly inspired?”

I looked at her with determination and asked, “Will you let me do it or not?”

Cheng Guo immediately put down her chopsticks and raised both hands in agreement. “Since the sun has unexpectedly risen from the west, let it shine brightly on this home.”

Without another word, she packed up that day and took our son to stay at her parents’ house.

I went out and bought paint and tools for the walls. With hands on my hips, I looked around, calculating where to start. Finally, I mixed the latex paint and, standing on a ladder, began painting from the ceiling. At night, lying in bed, I stared blankly at the half-painted ceiling. The stain I hadn’t painted over during the day suddenly morphed into Deng Ligang’s face. I turned away, only to see Deng Ligang’s face appear on the opposite wall.

Like cockroach eggs, one face multiplied into four, with four criminals chasing my gaze across the wall. The artery in my neck pulsed like a war drum in the dead of night. Their mocking faces angered me. I jumped out of bed, grabbed a sledgehammer, and chased those four faces, smashing wildly. After breaking out in a cold sweat, my mind cleared. Looking at the wall with several large holes, I knew I was in trouble. So I called Yang Bo to help me salvage the situation. The brothers from the Criminal Investigation Unit gathered at my house, holding youtiao in one hand and soy milk cups in the other, surrounding the pile of broken bricks, arguing like a pot of porridge.

Ge Shoujia asked, “Who designed your house? It’s so unreasonable.”

I said, “The house was built in the ’90s. It’s understandably a bit clumsy.”

Yang Bo suggested, “I think we might as well tear down the damaged walls and completely readjust the unreasonable structure of the rooms.”

“How much would that cost? I don’t have the money!” I exclaimed.

“If you don’t have money, don’t you have a life-and-death friendship?” Yang Bo asked me.

I said, “Even if I do, I can’t use it for this.”

Lin Hui scratched his head and said, “My uncle owns a brick factory. I can get some at factory prices. It’s not a big deal.”

Gu Jing said, “Captain Peng has spent a lot of his own money when taking us out. Brothers helping each other, we can do the most reliable job with the least money.”

A few days later, Cheng Guo brought our son back to inspect the results of my labor. Opening the door and entering the house, the scene before her eyes took her by surprise.

The layout of the rooms had completely changed. The wall between the balcony and the living room had been knocked through. The living room looked spacious and bright. The corridor had been removed, and the area was used to expand the bathroom.

Cheng Guo was shocked and asked, “How much did this cost?”

“The guys from the Criminal Investigation Unit got help from relatives and friends. It didn’t cost much,” I said, deliberately downplaying it.

Peng Cheng ran into his room to inspect. The bunk bed with a desk underneath delighted him.

Cheng Guo threw her arms around my neck, her face flushed with excitement.

“We’ve finally moved into a new house. Did you do this for me?” she whispered in my ear.

Her arms were so tight around my neck that I could barely breathe.

I squeezed out a sentence through clenched teeth: “No, it was that bastard Deng Ligang who forced me to do it.”

Cheng Guo pinched a bit of flesh on my arm and asked through gritted teeth, “Would it kill you to say something nice?”

While I was wrestling with myself, Deng Ligang and his gang had settled down in Suiluo City in the Northwest. As I had anticipated, the security situation there was poor, with a diverse mix of residents. To avoid drawing attention, the four of them lived in three separate places. Deng Ligang and Song Hongyu lived together, while Ji Dashun and Shi Bi each rented their places. Ji Dashun’s house was deep in an alley, with a grocery store at the entrance.

The store owner, Xiao Liying, was an attractive woman in her thirties. Ji Dashun often came here to buy things, and over time, they became familiar with each other. Xiao Liying’s husband, Wu Jiandong, had come to the city with her to make a living. Their two children were left behind in the remote mountains, cared for by their grandparents. Wu Jiandong was a man of few words, dull as a post. In Xiao Liying’s words, you couldn’t get a peep out of him even if you hit him three times.

Being his wife made for a stifling life. Ji Dashun was different; he could make Xiao Liying laugh for half an hour just by buying five packs of instant noodles. If he didn’t come for a few days, Xiao Liying would feel like a big piece was missing from her heart. Ji Dashun wasn’t much to look at, but he was a master at seducing women.

With a few tricks, he had her hooked. Xiao Liying hadn’t seen much of the world, and Ji Dashun made her experience the joys of being a woman in every way, in bed and out. The spineless Wu Jiandong couldn’t swallow this humiliation and had a big fight with Xiao Liying. She gave him two choices: one, divorce; two, go back to their hometown to farm and take care of the children, and never come out again. The man chose the latter.

Ji Dashun didn’t have an ID card and wouldn’t go back to his hometown to get a new one, which had once aroused Xiao Liying’s suspicion. She thought he might be a petty thief who had committed a crime and dared not go home. She never imagined that he was carrying murder charges. Ji Dashun used Wu Jiandong’s ID card to handle some affairs, and surprisingly, he wasn’t recognized. To be able to stay with him for the long term, Xiao Liying took Ji Dashun back to her hometown in the mountains. The place was so poor that even birds wouldn’t defecate there, and household registration management was very lax. Xiao Liying spent some money and used Wu Jiandong’s name and ID number to get Ji Dashun an ID card. Xiao Liying and Ji Dashun then openly lived together in Suiluo City.

Deng Ligang saw the path that Xiao Liying had paved and gave her money and various benefits to dig tunnels and find connections to solve the identity problems of this group of fugitives. Xiao Liying did manage to help. She used the money Deng Ligang gave her to establish connections in the countryside and helped these criminals first settle in the most remote mountains of her home province. Then, taking advantage of the policy that allowed people to register their household in Suiluo City if they bought commercial housing there, Deng Ligang had the group purchase houses locally and transfer their household registration to Suiluo City to settle and do business. After several maneuvers, their identities were thoroughly whitewashed, and the four criminals transformed into legal citizens of Suiluo City.

Through an introduction, Shi Bi met Feng Shuanghuan, who owned a tea shop. Feng Shuanghuan was four years older than Shi Bi, tall and sturdy, with an ordinary appearance. When Shi Bi and Feng Shuanghuan met, there wasn’t a hint of romance.

Feng Shuanghuan asked, “Divorced?”

Shi Bi answered, “Yes.”

“No children?” Feng Shuanghuan asked.

Shi Bi answered, “No.”

Feng Shuanghuan said, “My husband died three years ago, and my son is seven this year.”

“Mm, I know,” Shi Bi replied.

“You don’t mind?” she asked.

“I don’t mind.”

Feng Shuanghuan said, “Then you can move in.”

Shi Bi said, “Alright.”

Shi Bi was hardworking and spoke little. Every day, he took Feng Shuanghuan’s son to and from school, as responsible as a biological father.

The chubby sister-in-law from the neighboring dumpling shop always had something to say about everything. She stared at Shi Bi as he walked away with the child.

“Surname Sun?” the chubby sister-in-law asked.

“Mm,” Feng Shuanghuan replied.

“What’s his name?”

“Sun Xuequan.”

“He doesn’t look like a rough person.”

“He’s very attentive.”

“Where’s he from?”

“Not from our Western District.”

“They say ‘a wife who holds her head high and a husband who keeps his head down.’ Look at how he walks with his head down. That kind of man is hard to figure out.”

“Jealous because you see how handsome my man is?” Feng Shuanghuan teased.

“Pah!” The chubby sister-in-law spat on the ground.

Feng Shuanghuan linked arms with her plump friend and said, “To tell you the truth, I never thought he’d like me. His conditions are more than enough for me. What do you think he saw in me?”

“That’s what I’m saying, why would he like you?”

“I’m puzzled too. If it’s about being chubby, he should have fallen for you!”

The chubby sister-in-law came over to pinch her mouth, and the two laughed together.

“Hey, tell me honestly, what do you like about him?” the chubby sister-in-law asked.

Feng Shuanghuan said, “He looks good, has a good temper, and even his voice sounds nice.”

The chubby sister-in-law had a mischievous smile and whispered something in her ear.

Feng Shuanghuan gave her a slap on the back: “I knew you’d have a dirty mind.”

The chubby sister-in-law chuckled, “Are you getting married?”

Feng Shuanghuan put on an air of being in charge and said with a pout, “It’s too early to say. We’ll see when things are more stable.”

Deng Ligang’s Yongshun Billiards Hall was on the second floor of a small building, with Yongshun Massage Parlor in the basement. Both upstairs and downstairs were Deng Ligang’s businesses. Most of the people who came to play billiards were young, and half of them were small-time gangsters who followed Deng Ligang. Song Hongyu would come over when she had nothing to do and sit at the cashier’s desk to collect money.

She and Deng Ligang were living together. Song Hongyu wasn’t the type for domestic life. This kind of day-to-day existence, seeing today and tomorrow without any excitement, made her extremely restless. Deng Ligang was also tired of living with one woman, dealing with the trivialities of daily life day after day. The two would get into big fights at the slightest disagreement. Deng Ligang hit hard, but Song Hongyu wasn’t a pushover either. She always found ways to poke at Deng Ligang’s soft spots. Deng Ligang asked her what she wanted.

She said, “This bland life is no different from being dead! I’ve had enough of it. I want to go back home!”

“We’ve whitewashed your identity, bought a house, transferred your household registration to the city. I’ve done everything I could. What more do you want?”

“I can’t take a plane, can’t stay in hotels, can’t call anyone back home. Even if I were sentenced to prison, at least I’d have visitation days with relatives, right?”

The words “sentenced to prison” hit a nerve with Deng Ligang, and he kicked Song Hongyu.

“Is your mouth a garbage can? You dare to say anything?” He glared at her with bulging eyes.

Song Hongyu picked up a stool and threw it at him. The two started punching and kicking, and the fight quickly escalated. Both seemed intent on killing the other. The petite Song Hongyu was no match for Deng Ligang in the end. Deng Ligang grabbed her by the back of her collar, ready to throw her down hard. Song Hongyu let out a wolf-like howl and started crying. This woman had a personality as hard as cast iron, and Deng Ligang had never seen her cry like this before. His hand loosened, and Song Hongyu crumpled to the ground like an empty sack.

“You bastard, you got me pregnant!” Song Hongyu cursed through her tears, almost moaning.

Deng Ligang’s heart skipped a beat, and a feeling he had never experienced before welled up inside him. He sat down on the floor, his eyes fixed on Song Hongyu’s face.

“Really?” he asked.

Song Hongyu cried, “Five months already. It’s too late to get rid of it.”

“Who said anything about getting rid of it? Since it’s come to us, let’s have the baby.”

Song Hongyu thought she had misheard and stared at him wide-eyed.

Deng Ligang’s voice was so soft it made even him shiver: “We’ve been through everything together. What’s so hard about raising a child? Let’s go get our marriage registered tomorrow and have this child properly.”

Song Hongyu scooted forward a bit, leaning shoulder to shoulder with him. Deng Ligang put an arm around her. Song Hongyu immediately spread her arms and hugged him tightly.

The whitewashing of their identities gave Deng Ligang peace of mind, and the birth of his son gave him even more assurance. Deng Ligang decided to take one more step for security: he would secretly return to Snow City to bring his mother and brother over, eliminating any worries about them. Deng Ligang arranged for Song Hongyu and the child to fly back to Snow City, while he chose to take the train. If Song Hongyu had been detained during the security check, he would have been able to escape in time. In the end, Song Hongyu boarded and landed safely, and Deng Ligang knew that their identity whitewashing had been completely successful.

On this trip back to Snow City, Deng Ligang successfully brought his mother and brother away. Zhang Fengci and Deng Liqun’s household registrations were first established in a remote mountainous area of S Province, then transferred to Suiluo City. Song Hongyu’s father and brother also used the same method to register in Suiluo. The third step for peace of mind was complete. Deng Ligang believed that their life in Suiluo would now be stable and peaceful.

The sudden disappearance of Deng Ligang’s mother and his recently released brother from Snow City, along with Song Hongyu’s father and brother from Huayuan City, hit me like a sledgehammer. I led a team to search their homes but found no valuable information. This situation was rare in previous cases. After my initial anger, I quickly calmed down. Everything has two sides. With Deng Ligang and Song Hongyu fleeing with their entire families, their target would be enlarged, which would exponentially increase the opportunities for investigation. Even thinking with my toes, I could be certain that this group had gone to a place with poor public security. They had money, so settling down under false names wouldn’t be a problem. The possibility of them splitting up was small; even if they did, at least two people would stay together.

Far from home, feelings of loneliness and loss would often strike. Every Spring Festival, Deng Ligang would gather everyone at his home for a meal, deliberately creating an atmosphere of intense familial affection and harmony. In reality, Shi Bi and Ji Dashun were always very nervous during these gatherings. They knew Deng Ligang was ruthless and harbored wariness towards him, fearing he might poison the food or drink. They would only eat dishes that Deng Ligang and Song Hongyu had already tasted, and would only drink after someone from their family had drunk first.

On May 12, 2008, a strong earthquake struck Wenchuan. I led a team to Sichuan for earthquake relief and was awarded a second-class merit. In August of the same year, I led a team responsible for Olympic security work and received a commendation.

In 2010, I was promoted to Deputy Director of the Snow City Public Security Bureau. After graduating from high school, Zhen Zhen was admitted to the Police University. Upon graduation, she requested to return to Snow City. She passed the entry examination and smoothly entered the Criminal Investigation Unit. This girl followed me around every day, calling me “Master.” Since she had decided to take me as her master, I had to be strict with her.

On a day off, I gave her a private lesson in tailing. I wore a baseball cap and denim clothes, walking with my head down. Zhen Zhen wore a hoodie with the hood pulled up to cover her eyebrows and eyes, following not too far behind me. I got on a bus, and she squeezed on too. I suddenly jumped off the bus in the confusion, but she didn’t manage to get off in time, and the bus drove away. After several twists and turns, she finally spotted me again in an alley. I turned into a side street, and she lost her target again. As she was searching the alley, panting, I grabbed her by the collar and pulled her in front of me.

I scored her point by point: “Facial expression exposed, minus 10 points. Identity revealed, minus 10 points. Lost the target, minus 10 points. Captured by the target, minus 20 points. You’ve failed this test.”

I had Zhen Zhen train physically with the men in the Criminal Investigation Unit, not lowering the standards one bit. At first, Zhen Zhen was very angry, but I didn’t give an inch. Gradually, she adapted. Whenever I had time, I would go to the training ground to watch her. I demonstrated for her. I kicked a male team member’s ankle and swept upwards, immediately causing him to fall. Zhen Zhen applied what she learned and gained the upper hand for the first time.

“Strengthen your control, press down on his head hard. Breathe, trap his arm, beautiful!” I instructed her from the side. Zhen Zhen was straddling the male team member, her hands crossed, gripping his neck. The male team member flipped over, pinning her underneath.

“Don’t go soft, make him go soft!” I shouted at her.

Zhen Zhen flipped and leaped up, using a side throw to slam the male team member to the ground.

I patted her shoulder and said, “In this world, there are no difficulties that can’t be overcome. As long as you give it your all, you can turn disadvantages into advantages.”

Zhen Zhen became familiar with the men in the Criminal Investigation Unit, and they stopped treating her differently because she was a girl. They invited her to drink with them and to play soccer. If she didn’t play, she would sit on the sidelines as a cheerleader. Zhen Zhen’s family wasn’t in Snow City, so during holidays, Cheng Guo would have me invite her to our home.

Our son, Peng Cheng, was 14, at an age where he was indifferent to people. When Zhen Zhen first came to our house, he hid in his room and only came out reluctantly for meals. When asked about his mid-term exam results, Peng Cheng looked very impatient. Zhen Zhen had taken a psychology elective in school and knew he was in a stage of challenging parental authority. She spoke in a way that aligned with Peng Cheng’s thoughts, and soon, he started talking to her.

He asked Zhen Zhen if she played video games, and she said, “If you don’t believe me, let’s play a round.” They immediately left the dinner table to play games. Cheng Guo wanted to stop them, but I held her back with a look.

Zhen Zhen beat my son three to zero, thoroughly subduing him. Peng Cheng started following her around like a puppy, calling her “sister.” The two of them hid in his room, and Zhen Zhen made him take out his homework. She explained the problems to him in a way he could accept. My son’s grades started to improve, and every Sunday, Peng Cheng would look forward to Zhen Zhen’s visit. Whether I was home or not, Zhen Zhen would come as if it were her own home, buying groceries, cooking, and helping Cheng Guo manage Peng Cheng.

Cheng Guo once asked Zhen Zhen, “Your college entrance exam scores were so good, why did you choose to go to the Police University? And you’re studying criminal investigation, is that a job for a girl?”

Zhen Zhen said, “After that incident, I developed psychological issues. I felt that I was only safe when I was with police officers. Since that was the case, I might as well become a police officer myself.”

In 2011, I went to Beijing for a meeting and took the opportunity to visit my brother-in-law who was hospitalized there. My brother-in-law had heart problems, and my younger brother-in-law was keeping him company. My younger brother-in-law was talkative and spoke incessantly. With my mind on the meeting, I chatted idly with the two brothers.

I asked my older brother-in-law, “How did your heart suddenly develop problems?”

He replied, “This disease doesn’t discriminate by age. The patient who was discharged a few days ago wasn’t even forty.”

My younger brother-in-law chimed in, “Speaking of that person, I just remembered something. That man had just had this surgery and was lying in bed. I wanted to go over and ask him if there were any dangers with this surgery. I saw the medical chart hanging at the head of his bed, which said ‘Sun’ or something. Looking at his face, I felt it was familiar. After thinking hard for a while, I finally remembered that this guy went to the same middle school as me, but in a different class. He was well-known for his bad behavior. I thought, wasn’t his surname Deng? Why did it change to Sun?”

The mention of the surname Deng triggered my sensitive nerves. I quickly took out my phone and showed my younger brother-in-law a photo of Deng Ligang.

My younger brother-in-law shook his head and said, “It’s not him. That person had a round head, thin neck, and was a bit hunchbacked. From behind, he looked like a turtle.”

I thought for a moment, then pulled up a photo of Deng Liqun on my phone and showed it to my younger brother-in-law.

“That’s right, it’s him,” my younger brother-in-law pointed at the photo, his tone very certain.

I was so excited that I felt a chill all over, and the hair on my back stood up. I found the hospital leadership and, using police procedures, obtained the names of those who had surgery in those few days. One of them was named Sun Xuming. Upon investigation, it turned out that except for the illness being real, the name, place of origin, and date of birth were all fake.

As soon as Deng Liqun surfaced, all my investigative instincts were immediately activated. Back in Snow City, I employed a mass tactics approach, carefully combing through Deng Ligang’s social connections again and again.

From a distant relative of the Deng family, I learned that Deng Ligang’s brother, Deng Liqun, had returned alone to Snow City for medical treatment two years ago. The relative had accidentally discovered that the name on Deng Liqun’s medical chart was “Sun Xuming.”

At the Snow City Hospital, I indeed found a patient called “Sun Xuming.” The address registered on the appointment slip was fake. There was no way to find this person. From Deng Ligang’s network of relationships, I fished out his cousin, Huang Laoqi.

Huang Laoqi was Zhang Fengci’s nephew, fifty-four years old. In his early years, he had been involved with gangs. He had been to prison for breaking the law, and due to his gambling addiction, his wife had left him, and his children were estranged. Now he had no house, no land, and was scraping by running a small mahjong parlor. He had no fixed abode and changed locations every few days. He also frequently changed his phone number. After word got around, Huang Laoqi learned that I was looking for him. He immediately called me proactively: “Second Brother, I hear you’ve been looking for me everywhere. What’s the matter?”

I said, “I want to have a drink with you. Let’s go to that new dumpling place in Xinkai Alley and have a good chat.”

I arrived first and ordered two cold dishes, a pound of dumplings, and two bottles of beer. Huang Laoqi arrived shortly after. It had been a few years since I’d seen him, and Huang Laoqi had aged quite a bit. His skin was loose, his hair was graying, and he was leaning on a cane.

“What happened to your leg?” I asked.

Huang Laoqi said, “I injured it in a fight when I was young. It’s caught up with me in old age. Femoral head necrosis.”

“You can have it replaced. Titanium steel material, very sturdy.”

“I checked the price. It’s over 30,000 yuan. My life isn’t worth that much.”

I glanced at him, picked up the bottle, and poured him some beer. He raised his glass, clinked it with mine, and downed it in one gulp. I refilled his glass.

Huang Laoqi wiped the beer from his mouth and sighed, “Ah, when you have money, all your body parts are in good order. When you’re broke, they start falling apart one by one.”

“Does your mahjong parlor make money?” I asked.

“Barely enough to feed myself. Second Brother, you’ve gone to such trouble to find me. Are you planning to help me out?”

I smiled, “At your age, it’s not appropriate to call me brother.”

Huang Laoqi said, “In Xinqiao District, old and young all call you Second Brother. I’m just following the trend.”

“They’re following my younger brother’s lead,” I said.

Huang Laoqi shook his head, “Second Brother isn’t a casual title. Without some real ability, your shoulders can’t bear the weight of those two words. Second Brother is synonymous with righteousness.”

“Huang Laoqi, you’re getting on in years. Why did you get divorced? I heard your wife was quite a beauty in Xinqiao when she was young,” I said.

Huang Laoqi snorted, “If she was a flower, cows wouldn’t shit. Women are all opportunists. When you have money, they pamper you and make you dizzy. When you break your leg, they immediately kick you in the ass.”

Huang Laoqi drank glass after glass. It was clear he hadn’t had money for alcohol in a while. As the alcohol went to his head, Huang Laoqi grew bolder.

He leaned close to me and lowered his voice, “For a man, how badass you are depends on your criminal record. When I was young, I had endless brute strength. I was known as the big yellow beast in our area. I not only had a double-barreled shotgun, but even hand grenades. Whoever I said we’d kidnap, that’s who we’d kidnap. Now I have no power and no money. The rule of law does constrain people. When I was young, I had people following me everywhere. We ate big fish and meat every day without clearing the table. Now I’m so down on my luck I don’t even have a home.”

I asked him, “What else do you want to eat?”

“Bring a plate of sausages, and slice some marinated beef.”

I ordered these for him and asked the waiter for a small bowl of ice cubes. Huang Laoqi drank while I chewed on ice cubes.

When Huang Laoqi was sufficiently drunk, he asked me, “What did you want to see me about? Ask away, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Is there anything you haven’t told me?” I asked him.

Huang Laoqi got agitated, “Director Peng, can’t we just have a proper chat? I’ve told you everything. If I knew anything else, I’d be willing to let you use it to gain merit.”

“You came as soon as I called and cooperated actively. Would you cooperate just as actively if police from other regions were looking for you?” I smiled as I looked at him.

Huang Laoqi’s face tightened, “I couldn’t do that for them.”

I said, “Back when Deng Ligang injured someone, it was you who got him a fake ID using Li Jianfeng’s name and ID number. Deng Ligang had his photo taken, and you delivered the ID to him in Tianjin.”

Huang Laoqi said, “I’ve already confessed to that, served time in jail, and completed my sentence. Why are you bringing up old matters?”

“Deng Ligang and the others, including Shi Bi, committed a series of crimes in another province, killing quite a few people. They’re no longer using Li Jianfeng’s ID,” I said.

“No need to ask, they must have gotten new fake IDs.”

“Your cousin Deng Liqun was sentenced to seven years for robbery. Not long after he was released, the whole family moved away. Did you know about this?”

“I didn’t know when my aunt and her family moved away.”

“Then what do you know?”

“I don’t know as much as you do.”

I put on a stern face, “Did you know that Deng Liqun came back to Snow City for medical treatment?”

Huang Laoqi was taken aback.

“Did you know or not?”

“By the time I knew, he had already left.”

I stared at him without speaking, making Huang Laoqi very uncomfortable.

I said, “Huang Laoqi, are you putting on an act for me?”

Huang Laoqi picked up a piece of braised beef with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing with relish.

After swallowing the beef, he put down his chopsticks and said, “Second Brother, if you want to get to the bottom of this matter, you’ll have to cooperate with me. Let’s put on a show.”

I adopted his idea and, in front of everyone at the mahjong parlor, I arrested Huang Laoqi. When his family members requested to visit him, Huang Laoqi applied makeup to himself, using grease paint to cover his face with a bluish-purple hue. He asked me to handcuff him to an iron chair. When his relatives saw Huang Laoqi in this state, they were shocked and visibly distressed.

I kept a stern face and said, “Huang Laoqi is suspected of harboring Deng Ligang and withholding information. He’ll be taken to the detention center shortly. Whether he can be released or not is still uncertain.”

Finding an excuse, I pretended to leave to answer a phone call. Huang Laoqi employed a strategy of sowing discord with his relatives. He dejectedly said, “Cut the crap, let’s not beat around the bush. Just say what you know. Don’t try to tough it out. Look at the state I’m in, while Ligang and the others are out there living it up. It’s not worth suffering for them like this.”

The Deng family’s relatives grew wary, and when questioned again, they began to reveal everything they knew.

I asked Deng Ligang’s cousin, “Your aunt Zhang Fengci had a job. After she left, who collected her salary?”

The cousin admitted that she had been collecting Zhang Fengci’s salary every month.

I asked, “Why were you collecting her salary?”

She said, “They owed me money.”

“What money? How much did they owe?”

The cousin hesitated, unable to provide a clear answer.

I said, “Withholding information is also a crime.”

The cousin lowered her head, and after a while, she looked up and said, “Deng Liqun had heart surgery and owed me over 30,000 yuan.”

“Let me do the math for you, from the day you started collecting the salary until now. Deng Liqun owed you 30,000, but you’ve collected 40,000. Why did you take so much? Whether the police find them or not, since you’ve been collecting this salary, you’re now a prime suspect.” My expression was very serious.

The cousin’s face turned pale with fear. She said, “At the time, Deng Liqun was hospitalized in Beijing and had no money. I sent him 30,000 yuan. I’ve been collecting his mother’s pension to cover my loss.”

I asked, “Which hospital in Beijing?”

The cousin answered, “Anzhen Hospital.”

I asked, “Under what name was Deng Liqun admitted?”

The cousin couldn’t remember, but her husband, standing nearby, said, “Sun Xueming.” Then he added something that surprised me. He said, “Deng Ligang was so angry, he almost kicked his brother off the hospital bed.”

The cousin glared at her husband, annoyed at his loose tongue.

I asked him, “Did you chat with Deng Ligang when you met?”

The cousin’s husband said, “Yes. I asked him where he had been living all these years. Deng Ligang said, ‘When you get home, I’ll be home too.'”

Deng Liqun’s ex-wife, who had divorced him the year he was imprisoned, told me, “A few years ago, Deng Ligang and Song Hongyu came back and stayed at the Hongbin Hotel. It was during that visit that Deng Ligang took his mother and Deng Liqun away.”

I immediately sent people to investigate the hotel, but it had long since closed down, though the building was still there. The original registration records were nowhere to be found.

After Huang Laoqi was released, his relatives accused him, saying, “You leaked information about Deng Liqun’s hospitalization to the police. You must have made at least 200,000 yuan.” Huang Laoqi retorted, “If I had 200,000 yuan, would I be living like this? I may have a limp, but if anyone dares to spit in my face, I’ll still gut them like a fish!”

Knowing he wasn’t one to be trifled with, the Deng family relatives didn’t dare provoke him further.

Armed with this information, I called an emergency meeting with the criminal investigation team to analyze the case in detail.

I said, “Deng Liqun changed his surname, which means he’s whitewashed his identity. With such a large group moving together, they can’t hide in first or second-tier cities because they’d be too conspicuous. They could easily survive in third or fourth-tier cities. The possibility of them being in the south is small due to the differences in living environment, dietary habits, and language barriers.”

Using a compass, I drew a radius north of the Yellow River with Beijing as the center.

“This is the area suitable for their survival, including Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, parts of Inner Mongolia, and some cities in Hebei province.”

At the Snow City Public Security Bureau, a large-scale network search began. Criminal investigators buried themselves in the public security network, searching for facial matches. We started with the surname Sun, then narrowed it down to names ending with ‘ming’, then ‘Sun Xue’, followed by a percentage match. We began a detailed search within his birth year radius, expanding the age range by five years in both directions. After working for over two weeks, we had no results. I started losing sleep again, sitting under the lamp and looking at their printed photos. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit me, and I jumped out of bed to search online again. I shifted the age range down by another two years. On the second-to-last page, the first person was Sun Xueming! This was the turning point of the entire case.

At four in the morning, I contacted the duty officer at the Provincial Public Security Department through the Snow City Public Security Bureau’s command center. Only through him could we contact the N Province Public Security Department’s duty officer to authorize Snow City Public Security Bureau with the password to access detailed household registration information for the entire N Province.

Once the authorization was completed, at four in the morning, we accessed N Province’s household registration information and found that Sun Xueming’s place of birth was S Province. Excitingly, his mother’s name on the same household registration was unchanged, still Zhang Fengci. Shi Bi had changed his name to Sun Xuequan, also born in S Province, and further down we found Sun Xuefei, also born in S Province. This was Deng Ligang.

Sun Xuefei’s wife was named Fan Ying, born in H Province, Xi County. This was Song Hongyu. They were all on the same household registration. Their dates of birth and places of origin had all been changed, as well as their heights and build. If we hadn’t thoroughly investigated them, we might have overlooked them just by looking at their records.

But looking at the photos, there was no mistake – these were indeed the fugitives who had escaped years ago. When they registered, they had planned meticulously. They all moved from S Province to Suilu City in N Province, while Sun Xuefei’s wife, Fan Ying, moved from H Province, effectively whitewashing their identities.

Seizing the opportunity, I led a small team of seven people to take immediate action. The team consisted of six men and one woman. Knowing we were going to arrest Deng Ligang and his accomplices, Zhen Zhen strongly requested to join this operation. Considering that Song Hongyu was a female suspect and would need a female officer to escort her, I granted Zhen Zhen’s wish.

Through our superiors, we directly contacted the Security Bureau responsible for managing national security. The Security Bureau had a technical investigator named Qiao Zhi, who was Zhen Zhen’s classmate from the Police University. As soon as our car entered the Security Bureau’s courtyard, he ran out to shake hands with us, genuinely happy to see Zhen Zhen jump out of the car.

The director of the Security Bureau was a 50-year-old man with thick hair and a bluish tinge on his freshly shaved cheeks.

He said, “The Ministry of Public Security has regulations stating that when out-of-town police come to make arrests, they should be assisted by the local police department. Tell me, why didn’t you seek help from the local police department and instead came to us at the Security Bureau?”

I replied, “This case is of great importance, and we’re unfamiliar with the situation in Suilu. The criminals have been entrenched here for a long time, and I’m concerned about the complex social relationships within the local police force. If there’s any leak of information, it could lead to irreparable consequences. The slogan on your wall, ‘Absolute Loyalty to the Party,’ has given me peace of mind. I trust you!”

The director nodded, “I understand. Rest assured, the discipline in our Security Bureau is ironclad. I’ll assign Qiao Zhi to assist you. If you have any requirements, just let him know.”

In this arrest operation, Deng Ligang was our top priority. Even the wisest can make mistakes, and Deng Ligang, despite his intelligence, had his moment of oversight. Years ago, when he registered his motorcycle, he used a phone number ending in three 8s. We thought this number had long been discarded and didn’t have high hopes. Unexpectedly, there was activity on this number just half a month ago. Deng Ligang had inexplicably used this number again. I asked Qiao Zhi to monitor this phone number, and on the monitoring station, I discovered that all four suspects were still alive and well, which was somewhat surprising to me. Given Deng Ligang’s ruthless nature, I had thought he might have silenced some of them.

I overheard Deng Ligang saying on the phone, “The news reported that starting January 1, 2012, Chinese citizens applying for, renewing, or replacing resident ID cards will need to provide fingerprint information.”

He warned everyone to keep their ID cards safe and not to apply for replacements if lost. This conversation once again proved that these people were not only guilty but their crimes were severe. Before they fled, they were in their early thirties, and now, a decade later, they were all in their early forties. The black and white photos on their old ID cards in the archives would certainly look quite different from their current appearances.

I was so excited that my head was sweating. After downing a bowl of ice water, my mouth went numb, but my blood pressure returned to normal. I made sure every small detail of our work was solid and reliable. We employed disguised reconnaissance, mobile phone positioning, and voice monitoring. From precise targeting to final confirmation. The pool hall and foot massage parlor were the core areas of activity for all the individuals on Sun’s household registration. I gradually expanded their network of relationships. The action patterns of this group became increasingly clear.

Zhen Zhen’s surveillance target was Song Hongyu, who was using the alias Fan Ying. At twenty-two, Zhen Zhen was no longer the frail figure she was seven years ago. She was tall and slender, and long-term physical training had made her agile and flexible. Even if Song Hongyu were to bump into her face-to-face, she might not recognize her.

The cold in Suilu was different from Snow City. Snow City’s winters were cold and humid, but in Suilu, the wind howled as it hit your face, feeling like small knives cutting into your skin.

The trees lining both sides of the street were bare, without a hint of green. Zhen Zhen wore a woolen hat and a tracksuit, disguised as a morning jogger. She jogged in circles around the high-end residential complex where Deng Ligang lived. She ran past people walking their dogs, buying groceries, and heading to school. She counted her laps, and on the fifteenth lap, Song Hongyu came out, holding the hand of a three or four-year-old child.

Despite being mentally prepared, Zhen Zhen’s heart skipped a beat. Her ankles felt weak, and she stumbled for two steps before regaining her balance.

Song Hongyu had her long hair pinned up on top of her head. She wore a white down jacket, tight pants, and deerskin boots, with a bright red cashmere scarf around her neck. She had taken good care of herself, and her figure and appearance hadn’t changed much.

The child looked up at his mother, constantly asking questions. Song Hongyu answered patiently with a smile on her lips. During the days when Zhen Zhen was kidnapped, she had never seen such a smile on Song Hongyu’s face. Zhen Zhen couldn’t understand how such a demon could have human emotions and even form a family because of these feelings. What she found even more incomprehensible was how such a cruel woman could be qualified to be a mother.