Chapter Nine: The Missing Father

I nodded.

Director Wang immediately pulled out his phone and dialed a number. The call was quickly answered.

“This is the City Police Department.”

“I need you to investigate someone. Check if there’s an elderly man in your psychiatric ward—the one who just got admitted, the school’s gatekeeper. Did he sneak out last night?”

“Don’t ask why. Just do as I say. If you find anything, inform me at once.”

With that, Director Wang hung up. He glanced at the crowd and waved his hand decisively, “Alright, everyone not involved, please leave. Those responsible for this case, stay.”

I saw that Li Xingchen was about to leave. Knowing he was a valuable asset who would surely be useful in the future, I quickly reported to Director Wang, “Director Wang, our case requires extensive computer assistance. So, perhaps…”

Director Wang understood my implication. “Li Xingchen, stay!”

Li Xingchen shot me a look that could devour a man.

“Old Yang.” Director Wang handed a cigarette to the veteran detective nearby. “How much longer until retirement?”

Old Yang smiled awkwardly, “Less than a month, I believe.”

“Hmm. I’m protective of my people, so…”

Old Yang suddenly grew excited, saluting respectfully, “Thank you, Director! It’s a young person’s world now; us old folks only make things messy.”

He spat out the cigarette, “Reporting to Director Wang, due to recent high blood pressure and to avoid causing unnecessary trouble for the department, Comrade Yang Qingyun requests to withdraw from the task force.”

Director Wang smiled, “Approved. Go home.”

I was speechless.

Tang Jingjing said, “Director Wang, we’re already short-handed, and now…”

“Don’t worry,” Director Wang replied, “The Provincial Bureau has sent us a few elites to specifically assist our Seventh Major Crimes Unit.”

“Seventh Major Crimes Unit?” We exclaimed in surprise. “What’s that?”

“It’s just you three,” Director Wang said.

We all wore bitter expressions. “Director Wang, you’re entrusting such a big case to us?”

“Stop pretending with me—it won’t work,” Director Wang retorted. “Mingxuan, I’ve conducted a special investigation on you. I know better than you what your father did back then! You haven’t lost that red umbrella, have you?”

Sweat beaded on my forehead; the burden on my shoulders felt as heavy as a mountain.

Director Wang turned to Tang Jingjing, “Jingjing, I won’t expose your little secret, will I?”

Tang Jingjing immediately grew tense, “Director Wang, how did you know? My mother told me not to tell anyone.”

Director Wang smiled and then looked at Li Xingchen, “You controlled three thousand computers and hacked into the American CIA. When do you plan to turn yourself in?”

Li Xingchen was dumbfounded, stammering, “No… no such thing.”

After saying this, his forehead was covered in cold sweat that couldn’t be wiped away.

“That’s settled! From now on, report directly to me. If anything exceptional arises, I’ll escalate it to the Provincial Bureau.”

Just then, Director Wang’s phone rang. He stepped aside to take the call.

Tang Jingjing and I almost simultaneously asked, “What secrets are you hiding from me?”

We exchanged a knowing smile.

Director Wang soon returned, his face dark. “The gatekeeper did sneak out last night. Let’s go meet this old ghost!”

We drove straight to the psychiatric hospital without further words.

Following Director Wang’s instructions, two officers had already detained the gatekeeper.

But when we looked at him, he seemed just as deranged as ever, grinning foolishly at the air and barely reacting to our arrival.

A nurse was checking his heartbeat. Upon seeing us, she left.

I suddenly noticed a subtle gesture from Tang Jingjing; as the nurse passed by her, she lifted her nose and took a gentle sniff, her expression immediately changing. After the nurse left, Tang Jingjing tugged at Director Wang’s sleeve.

Director Wang nodded silently, and Tang Jingjing rushed out after the nurse.

I couldn’t fathom what she was up to; it must be related to her “little secret”!

As soon as the nurse left, the gatekeeper began muttering to himself. “It’s back, it’s back. It wants to eat people, ha ha.”

Director Wang lit a cigarette and gazed calmly at the gatekeeper. “If you keep playing mad, I’ll throw you in jail for a few years.”

The gatekeeper glanced at Director Wang and whispered mysteriously, “Death. You will all die.”

Director Wang chuckled, “Is it the ghost infant coming to kill us?”

The gatekeeper’s face turned pale. “Ghost infant… Don’t see the ghost infant… Don’t see the ghost infant…”

He buried his head in the blankets, shivering violently.

I felt the gatekeeper wasn’t faking; if he could fool my eyes, he could make a career in acting. My eyes, though not as sharp as my father’s, had inherited the “Falcon’s Gaze”—my father discovered my talent and, day after day, smoked my eyes with a dozen herbs. For a week, I couldn't see a thing, but when the bandages came off, it was as if I had a new pair of eyes: everything was crystal clear, and I could even read micro-expressions. Though still elementary, my gaze was as keen as a hawk’s!

Soon, a doctor entered. Director Wang nodded, signaling him to sit and speak.

The doctor sat opposite Director Wang and spoke directly, “We ran two rounds of psychiatric evaluation. He’s genuinely insane. The diagnosis is excessive neural stimulation—in plain terms, he’s been scared witless.”

Director Wang cursed under his breath—another lead broken.

I said, “Director Wang, if he’s really insane, why did he run out last night—and to the woods, no less? He should be afraid of that place.”

The doctor looked troubled, “I remember the nurse gave him a hefty dose of sedatives last night. Even without considering why he’d leave the hospital, the sedative alone should have kept him asleep in bed for two days.”

Li Xingchen asked, “Could the sedative have no effect on him?”

“As long as it’s a living body, sedatives will work,” I replied. “Maybe the nurse who administered it made a mistake?”

I signaled Director Wang with my eyes—it was time to question the nurse who gave the injection.

Strangely, despite Director Wang’s experience, he didn’t act on my hint but remained seated.

Ten minutes later, Tang Jingjing returned to the ward, bringing the nurse responsible for the gatekeeper. The nurse was as timid as a mouse, keeping her head down, not daring to look at us.

I hadn’t expected Tang Jingjing to anticipate the nurse’s involvement, but how she figured it out was a mystery to me.

Director Wang flicked his cigarette ash and asked, “Speak. Who ordered you to do this?”

The nurse tried to lie, “Do… do what? I didn’t do anything.”

Director Wang said, “Don’t bother denying it. We’re seasoned detectives, and we brought a polygraph this time.”

I had to admire Director Wang’s ability to improvise.

The nurse, inexperienced and easily intimidated, was instantly frightened by the polygraph. “I’ll tell, I’ll tell.”

It turned out, the nurse hadn’t injected the gatekeeper with sedatives; she had injected them into the bed instead. That’s why the gatekeeper had the strength to sneak out of the psychiatric hospital.

As for why he went back to the woods and kept pretending to be mad, it was clear he wanted us to believe it was all the work of ghosts!

The one who instructed the nurse not to administer the sedative was none other than her father.

Damn, this case really involves a lot of people. Now it’s pulled in the nurse’s father as well…

But after thorough investigation, we realized the case hadn’t expanded to unnecessary individuals. The nurse’s father turned out to be the very person we were seeking—one of the two migrant workers who built the earth temple at the school ten years ago.

Director Wang immediately made calls, dispatching officers to apprehend the nurse’s father, Lin Yunshan.

With our next target confirmed, we were closer to the truth. I observed the gatekeeper’s reaction; he showed no change in expression. I wondered if he truly was insane.

The nurse, tearful, pleaded, “If you… find my father, can I see him, just once?”

Director Wang asked, “Why?”

“My father’s been missing for three days,” the nurse replied. “Yesterday he called me and specifically told me not to give the gatekeeper any sedatives. I asked where he was, but he wouldn’t say a word. He’s getting old, and I really worry about him.”

Director Wang said angrily, “If you truly want to help your father, you’d best tell us every detail you know!”

The nurse thought for a moment, then said, “He’s been very secretive lately, always anxious and rarely speaking. He only asked me one question, which I remember clearly.”

“What did he ask?” I pressed, anxious.

“He asked me if a man can have children.”

“A man can have children?” Director Wang and I exchanged bewildered glances, utterly unable to fathom the meaning behind those words.