Chapter Forty-Four: The True Strength of the Yu Family

When I walked up, my mind spun, and I nearly fainted myself—it was the captain of the Special Police Unit assigned to protect Elder Mo! His body bore obvious bruises and swelling, his police uniform torn, a blood wound in his abdomen, one ear ripped off. The manner of his death was unbearable to witness.

It took me a long time to steady myself, my hands trembling as I finally managed to pull out my phone and call Director Wang.

“Director Zhang, we’ve found the captain who accompanied Elder Lin by the riverbank on Huangpu Road. He… died in the line of duty.”

There wasn’t a torrent of rebuke from the other end, just silence. After half a minute, Director Wang hung up.

He was quiet—when Director Wang fell silent, he became a beast capable of tearing a person apart. At the very least, my psyche had been shredded by him.

A crewman, his face lined with wrinkles, stepped forward, demanding six thousand six hundred for recovering the body—the corpse had been hauled up by him, working on a fishing boat, which had pulled it from the river during their operation.

I asked where they’d retrieved the corpse. They said it was from the center of the river.

Without a word, Li Hong stripped off his shirt, revealing a bronzed, muscular chest, and plunged into the river.

“Go recover,” I shouted at the crewman. “There may be other bodies. For every one you find, I’ll pay ten thousand!”

“Really?” The crewman was overjoyed.

I nodded. “Really.”

They became excited, hastily piloting the boat to the river’s center and diving in to search.

I stood, lost and anxious, before the captain’s corpse. Since taking this case, deaths had followed one after another—even a Special Police captain had been killed. This was a staggering blow for us. I wasn’t sure if the higher-ups would disband the Major Case Unit because of it; at the very least, each of us would face severe punishment.

If Elder Lin, Tang Jingjing, and Li Xingchen had also been killed, I wouldn’t have the face to meet my father or the ancestors of the Yu family.

Yet, before the sanctity of life, none of that mattered. I would even trade my own life to secure theirs.

Soon, the riverbank blared with sirens, and the outskirts entered a Level One alert. Large squads of Special Police sped in on motorboats and riot vehicles, the route cordoned off by armed police wielding Type 95 assault rifles.

Director Wang and several city officials strode forward, faces fierce as leopards.

“Have you found anyone else?” Director Wang forced himself to stay calm.

I shook my head. “Still searching.”

“Searching, my foot!” Director Zhang cursed furiously. “They’re not dead yet—what are you searching for? Everyone, load your rifles and turn this place upside down! Find Elder Lin, quick!”

Hundreds of armed police and Special Police sprang into action. This demolition zone had long been a mess, and searching for a few people would be extremely difficult.

Soon more military trucks arrived with soldiers drawn from the local garrison.

“Get to work!” Director Wang said to me. “If the sky falls, we leaders will bear it. We must find the killer and avenge our fallen brother.”

Director Wang tossed my forensic tools from the car.

I approached the dead captain and began the autopsy. My mind was in chaos, unable to focus, my thoughts only of Elder Lin, Tang Jingjing, and Li Xingchen.

Li Hong soon emerged from the river, staggering, clutching something in his hand. This burly man fell to his knees on the bank and burst into tears.

Director Wang and I rushed over.

Tang Jingjing’s pistol, Elder Lin’s jacket, Li Xingchen’s shoe…

Director Wang, his hand trembling violently, drew a cigarette and struggled to get it to his mouth.

Suddenly, Director Wang’s bloodshot eyes turned to me, locking on with deadly focus. “You—get back to work!”

I returned to the corpse for the autopsy. Though I forced myself to endure, my emotions ran wild.

The deceased, Yang Weiguo, captain of the Special Police Unit, had engaged in fierce combat before death, bearing thirty-two bruises. The fatal injury was at the back of his head; he had struggled violently after being wounded…

Clearly, the man had fought to his last breath to protect Elder Lin.

I couldn’t help but salute, smoothing his wide-open tiger eyes.

After the routine autopsy, I was at a loss for what to do next, staring blankly at the corpse.

Director Wang approached and asked what I’d found. I gave the autopsy report to Director Zhang.

Director Wang spat out his cigarette butt. “That’s not what I want.”

“What do you want?”

“I want the Yu family’s expertise!” Director Zhang roared. “If you can only do what any ordinary forensic doctor does, what use do I have for you? When your father investigated cases, what level was he at? You need to show me at least sixty percent of his skill!”

I nodded immediately, closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and steadied myself. The first page of the True Record of Redressing Wrongs had written: What is a coroner? One must always carry the heart to redress injustice, worthy of the bright heavens. To vindicate the dead, one must first calm the breath, empathize, empty the mind…

Then my mind swiftly fixed on a page in the book: The dead cannot use mouth or nose, but in their final moments, hands may substitute. Remember this.

This meant that before death, the mouth and nose rarely leave vital clues; the only movable part is the arm. Many cases are cracked by focusing on the arms and finding evidence there.

I grabbed the corpse’s hand and examined it closely, and to my surprise, found something. I scooped a handful of earth from the ground, carefully compared it to the corpse’s hand, but it was different.

I sprang up, staring at Director Zhang. “I need a map of the area.”

Director Wang, perhaps not hearing, asked again.

“A map of the area,” I repeated.

Director Wang called out, “Who has a map? Bring it here, now!”

No one responded.

Director Wang immediately drove off, personally taking me to a nearby shop and buying a map.

I studied the map for a long time, marking a question mark at a place called ‘Luojia Bay.’ “Go here—at once!”

Director Wang tossed me the car keys, took the back seat, and began commanding everyone by phone. All units, proceed to Luojia Bay.

We soon arrived. This was also a demolition zone, about ten kilometers from where we found the captain’s body.

I circled Luojia Bay, quickly discovering an abandoned warehouse. Glancing at the sandy soil on the ground, I declared confidently, “This is the first murder scene.”

“The scene where the captain was killed?”

I nodded. “Search quickly.”

We disembarked and began searching the vast warehouse.

I called out loudly, “Elder Lin! Jingjing! Li Xingchen?”

Only echoes answered.

The main force had come by riot vehicles and trucks, the roads narrow and slow, so it would be a while before they arrived.

Director Wang and I turned the place upside down. It was a huge concrete warehouse, loose cement burning my hands as it stuck, but I had no time to care, ignoring the pain as I worked without pause, tossing sacks of cement aside.

“Wait.” After searching a while, I suddenly shouted.

Director Wang stopped what he was doing. “Xiao Yang, what is it?”

“There’s a smell.” I knelt down, pressed my nose to the ground, and inhaled deeply. The pose was inelegant, but I had no time for appearances.

“It’s ether,” I told Director Zhang. “Ether can make people lose consciousness.”

“There’s movement!” I suddenly pressed my ear to the ground, listening closely; Director Wang followed suit.

It sounded like metal striking, coming from beneath the floor.

The main force soon arrived, police dogs barking wildly. Director Wang strode forward, pulled out a cigarette, and handed it to the police dog.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded—was Director Wang offering the dog a smoke?

But I slapped my forehead, understanding Director Zhang’s intention.