Yan Qing’s gaze fell on the dead pig. “This pig was not killed by the bicycle.”

The young man in white was taken aback. “What evidence do you have?”

Yan Qing said unhurriedly, “May I ask — was this pig alive or dead when the bicycle ran over it?”

“Alive, of course.”

“If it were alive, it should have been standing in the middle of the road — not lying down. Since it was standing, how could the bicycle have run over its belly? Unless this old sir is some kind of acrobat?”

A burst of laughter rippled through the crowd.

“That’s easy to explain — the bicycle first knocked the pig down, and then ran over it.”

The pig’s owner also called out loudly, “I was on my way to sell this pig when he suddenly came charging over from the other side of the road. He was riding fast, and in one go he sent my pig flying, then heartlessly ran right over it.”

The onlookers, upon hearing this, began turning on the old man who had been riding the bicycle, berating him. The old man’s face flushed red, but he had no idea how to defend himself.

Yan Qing smiled slightly. “If what this gentleman claims is true — that the bicycle came at great speed, colliding with the pig and sending it flying — then under the force of that impact, the pig’s body would have slid or even rolled across the ground. Yet look at this pig: its body is perfectly clean, without even a scratch. That clearly doesn’t add up.”

The young man in white also examined the pig carefully — indeed, there were no wounds of any kind.

“My — my pig has thick skin,” the pig owner said, panicking, craning his neck. “It’s impact-resistant.”

Yan Qing pointed to a deep mark on the ground. “You said the old man knocked the pig flying and then ran over it. But this brake mark is barely half a meter from the dead pig. That tells us the old man was riding along when a dead pig suddenly appeared in his path — he braked hard, but the momentum still carried the bicycle over the pig’s body, leaving this skid mark.”

The young man in white crouched down again and examined the skid mark through his magnifying glass.

Yan Qing continued, “If you lift this pig’s eyelids, you’ll find the mucous membranes there are pale, with hemorrhage spots. Look carefully — you can also find purplish bruising on the pig’s body.”

The young man moved his magnifying glass to the pig’s body, and was about to flip open the pig’s eyelids when Yan Qing thoughtfully reminded him, “Don’t use your bare hands.”

He gave a quick sound of acknowledgment, pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on.

When he lifted the pig’s eyelids, the young man indeed saw the symptoms Yan Qing had described. He then carefully examined the pig’s body and found numerous purplish bruise marks.

“It’s exactly as you said.” The young man was amazed. “But why?”

“This pig is thinner and weaker than a normal pig. It didn’t die in an accident — it died from disease. This kind of disease is highly contagious among pig herds, and people who eat such a diseased pig can also be affected.”

At these words, the onlookers backed away one by one. The young man’s expression also showed alarm.

Yan Qing turned to face the pig owner, whose face had broken out in a flustered panic, and said in a cool voice, “You brought this pig that died of disease to the market, crouched by the roadside and waited for an opportunity. When you saw this old man riding toward you, you flung the dead pig into his path. The old man had no time to swerve and his bicycle ran over it. Then you jumped out and falsely accused him of killing your pig, intending to extort money from him.”

“You’re talking nonsense, making reckless accusations—”

The pig owner was still trying to defend himself when the young man rushed forward and grabbed him by the collar. “Speak the truth, or I’ll knock your teeth out.”

The pig owner trembled with fright and had no choice but to come clean. “I didn’t want to do this either — but my pig died of sickness, and no one would buy it. I’d raised it for so long. I couldn’t just take a complete loss.”

“So you tried to con someone out of money — that’s against the law.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I won’t dare do it again.” Afraid of being turned over to the Public Security Office, the pig owner offered to compensate the old man as a way of making amends.

The young man took the money and handed it to the old man. “Sir, I’m sorry about earlier.”

“It’s nothing, really.” The old man quickly waved it off. “I didn’t suffer any loss — I can’t take this money.”

“Take it — consider it compensation for your emotional distress.” The young man pressed the money firmly into the old man’s pocket, then turned back and glared at the pig owner. The pig owner hastily picked up his pig and slunk away.

“Put the pig down,” the young man called after him. “Were you planning to take it somewhere else to swindle more people?”

The pig owner had no choice but to drop the pig.

Yan Qing wheeled herself forward and frowned as she looked at the dead pig.

“Let’s go to the Military Police Division.” Yan Qing said. “This needs to be reported to Shi Ting right away.”

Murong began pushing Yan Qing toward the exit, but the young man in white followed close behind.

“Hey, Miss.”

Yan Qing didn’t turn around. “Something you need?”

The young man caught up to her side. Murong quickly stepped in front of him, her expression unwelcoming.

The young man laughed good-naturedly, raising both hands to show he meant no harm.

“I’m Long Yue. And you?”

Yan Qing had no intention of responding, and signaled Murong to keep moving.

Long Yue followed along. “I really didn’t mean to help that swindler earlier.”

“We thought you were in it together with him,” Jing Zhi couldn’t help blurting out.

“How could I be?” Long Yue jogged ahead a few steps and planted himself in Yan Qing’s path. “It was a misunderstanding — I truly wasn’t with him.”

He rummaged in his pocket and produced a bundle of items. “If you don’t believe me, look at my identification — I’m Long Yue, I live in Hua Xi Fang, and I’m a private detective.”

“Pfft!” Jing Zhi couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Murong jabbed her in the side. “Stop ogling every handsome man you see.”

Jing Zhi said, “I never managed to figure out the case of a dead pig, and yet he dares call himself a private detective. If someone really handed him a case, that person would be truly out of luck.”

Long Yue’s pride took a small hit, but he persisted in defending himself. “I’m new to this — my detective agency hasn’t been open very long.”

“Any business?” Jing Zhi asked, curious.

“Well… does finding a cat count?” He scratched his head.

Both Jing Zhi and Murong burst out laughing.

“Miss, I can see you have some real talent. How about we partner up?” Long Yue proposed enthusiastically. “Join my detective agency — for every case we crack, I’ll give you half the fee.”

Jing Zhi and Murong laughed even harder.

Yan Qing sighed helplessly. “Mr. Long, I have no interest in your detective agency. I have urgent matters to attend to — please stop blocking my way.”

Long Yue quickly thrust a business card forward. “Here’s the address and phone number of the agency. If you change your mind, give me a call.”

Murong reached out and took the business card, stifling a smile. “Mr. Long, please step aside.”

Long Yue reluctantly moved to one side, watching the mistress and her maids walk away, then called out in a rush, “Miss, I still don’t know your name!”

But no one answered him.

“Miss, you’re so clever — I’m going to call you Miss Bright from now on! Is that all right?”

Still, no one paid him any mind.

“That Long Yue is really something — he actually tried to get our Miss to join his detective agency. With those barely passable skills of his, he dares call himself a detective.” Jing Zhi covered her mouth and laughed.

Yan Qing said, “Don’t underestimate others. He may not have the ability today, but who can say what the future holds?”

Jing Zhi immediately reined in her laughter and obediently said, “Yes, Miss.”

When they arrived at the Military Police Division, Shi Ting was in a meeting, so Yan Qing sat in his office to wait.

On his tea table was a book, still quite new, with a dark green bookmark tucked inside.

She picked it up and flipped through it — a foreign text, something about forensic investigation, it seemed. He truly never stopped enriching himself, not for a single moment.

Looking at the English characters, Yan Qing felt a headache coming on. To pass the time, she had no choice but to pretend to study it.

After a while, her upper and lower eyelids began to droop.

“Keep reading much longer and you’ll fall asleep.” The book was suddenly pulled from her hands, and a teasing voice sounded in her ear.

Yan Qing didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed. She turned her wheelchair to face him. “Just now I solved a case at the market.”

“Why did no one come to file a report?”

“The victim was a pig.” Yan Qing gave him a brief rundown of the whole affair.

“Long Yue?”

“You know him?”

“I know his older brother.” Shi Ting said. “Have you heard of the Long Yun Society?”

Yan Qing shook her head. “Sounds like an underworld organization.”

“Shun Cheng operates under the rule of law, but some things, though harmful to society, are legal here — brothels, opium dens, and gang organizations, for instance.”

Turmoil pervaded the era — these things existed as products of the times, existing within a moral grey zone.

Shun Cheng upheld the law, yet it did not ban gambling, nor did it prohibit visiting houses of pleasure. Gangs killed each other, but as long as no one filed a report, no one would intervene.

“The Long Yun Society has tremendous power in and around Shun Cheng — its branches are spread everywhere. They operate dance halls, opium dens, gambling houses, and underground fighting markets, among other enterprises. The leader of the Long Yun Society is named Long Yunxiao, and Long Yue is his younger brother. Long Yue went abroad to study some years ago and has only recently returned. Long Yunxiao had planned for his younger brother to help run the family business, but Long Yue had his heart set on being a detective, and went and opened a detective agency in Hua Xi Fang.”

“Each person has their own aspirations — doing what you love is what brings happiness.” Yan Qing said, then suddenly slapped herself lightly on the forehead. “Oh no, I completely forgot to tell you the important thing.”

“What is it?”

“The pig at the market had swine fever. This disease can spread on a massive scale — not only will it cause widespread death among livestock, but if people eat pigs infected with swine fever, they will be affected as well. I suspect the illness has already begun spreading in a limited area. If it’s not brought under control quickly, the damage could be irreversible.”

Shi Ting’s expression grew serious. “I heard about this disease when I was abroad — once it spreads, there is no cure. I’ll have someone notify the Commander right now and urge him to dispatch people to deal with it as soon as possible.”

Shi Ting said this and turned to head out, when Yan Qing quickly called after him and reminded him, “You’d best not eat pork for a while.”

Hearing her concern, his expression softened, and even his voice became remarkably quiet and gentle. “Mm. I know.”

He walked to the doorway, then turned around again. “Wait here for me — I’ll be back shortly.”

Half an hour later, Shi Ting returned to the office. Clearly things on that end had already been arranged.

“It’s mealtime now — I’ll take you to the canteen.”

“Murong and the others are still in the car.”

“I’ve already had someone send food out to them.” No matter the occasion, he was always so thorough in his thinking. Whether great or small, whatever she might have thought of, he always seemed to get there one step ahead and resolve it for her.

“Shall we go.” Shi Ting stepped forward and took hold of Yan Qing’s wheelchair.

To get to the canteen, they had to pass through the main hall. At that moment, a wail of crying suddenly erupted from inside the hall. A woman was gripping Bai Jin’s arm, weeping and wailing to the heavens. “Officer, please save my daughter!”

—