Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Murderous Joy (23)

"July's missing person is a male, named Ping Sheng, a third-year student at the Business University. He's not from here, and both of his parents are officials. His father holds a significant position, being the deputy director of their local city bureau, but not in the criminal investigation department. Of course, with his son missing, the father’s desperate, he’s communicated with our leaders many times," Wen Xu said.

Hai Shu asked sharply, "Does this deputy director have any issues?"

Wen Xu shook his head. "From the leads we have so far, no. Old Ping came from a rural family, no background or connections. He’s done well academically, and after entering the workforce, he’s been injured a few times and made contributions. He’s earned his current position through his abilities."

Hai Shu sighed. "A police officer like that must have offended a lot of people."

Wen Xu said, "So, in the beginning, the police focused on people who might have a grudge against Old Ping. But after no results, when the second university student went missing, they adjusted their approach—perhaps Ping Sheng’s disappearance has nothing to do with Old Ping."

"This Old Ping... He’s just anxious, but hasn’t provided any useful leads." Wen Xu lamented. "Police parents can’t even take care of their own children. He and his wife don’t know anything about their son’s study or social circle, they just throw money at him."

Hai Shu felt uneasy. In Bin Cong City, she had dealt with children of high-ranking police officers. Some of them didn’t inherit their parents’ character—some were paranoid, some degenerate, and some used their parents’ positions to bully others, real experts at being troublemakers.

Hai Shu asked, "So, what’s the investigation’s understanding of Ping Sheng as a person?"

"A good kid!" Wen Xu said. "Surprised, right? Though Ping Sheng had no parents overseeing him, he was very disciplined, and he had an outgoing personality. His classmates had no idea his parents were officials. He was also the vice president of the student union, good at organizing campus activities. The precinct investigated and found no signs of him having any enemies. But there’s one thing that hasn’t been cleared up yet—when they organized student events, they often had to contact external vendors. He might have had some conflicts with them. This is a blind spot, and we’ve just taken over, so we haven’t had time to rule these out."

Hai Shu jotted down a note and then asked, "What about the second missing person?"

"A student from the Tech University, fourth-year, Xue Ninglin, a girl, also not local. Her parents are in business. They aren’t wealthy by the city’s standards, but they’re at least in the top ten in their local area."

Xue Ninglin went missing in October. The area around Tech University has the busiest bar street in the city, a paradise for trendy young people at night. According to her classmates, she liked to hang out at the bars, and some of the bar’s surveillance cameras had caught her there before.

"But compared to her loud behavior at the bars, she had a different side at school. She was serious in class, often going to the library with her roommates to study. She was generous in personality, but never showed off in front of her classmates. Only those who lived with her knew her family was well-off."

After she went missing, her classmates initially thought she was just partying and out of touch, as this had happened before. But when she didn’t return for three days, they started to worry that something had gone wrong.

The police couldn’t find her in any of the bar street surveillance footage. After leaving school, her whereabouts were untraceable.

As for the third case of disappearance, it occurred in the past December. The missing person was Li Hui, a third-year male student at the Normal University, and he’s local. His family is in business, and his parents are often out of town. The Li family owns several villas, but only Li Hui is home.

Unlike Ping Sheng and Xue Ninglin, who were low-key and easy to get along with, Li Hui was a playboy. He’d skipped classes since freshman year, didn’t live in the dorms, and often got into fights, solving his problems with money. He spent money recklessly, always wearing designer brands, and mocked others as country bumpkins.

None of his classmates liked him, but fortunately, he didn’t attend class much, so most people just avoided him.

Wen Xu raised both hands. "The ‘shit’ part is from his classmates, not me."

Logically speaking, someone like Li Hui, who caused trouble everywhere, should be easy to track down. But after a thorough investigation by the precinct and the Criminal Investigation Unit, they found that the trouble he caused was mostly minor. Outside of school, he was more well-behaved than Xue Ninglin, never going to nightclubs. He seemed like a clumsy fool, desperately trying to find a sense of existence among his classmates because of a lack of love. The students he offended didn’t seem to have enough motivation or time to make him disappear.

Hai Shu tapped her fingers on her notebook. "These three people don’t know each other, and their personalities are different. The only commonality, aside from the fact that they are all university students, is that they all come from good families and have been living separately from their parents for a long time... Oh, by the way, do their parents have any connections?"

Wen Xu shook his head. "We’ve considered the relationships between their parents, but the three cities are spread across the north and south, and their businesses are very different. They don’t know each other."

Hai Shu frowned. "Is this a crime targeting wealthy university students?"

Wen Xu said, "Oh, and there’s one more thing—they’re all good-looking."

Hai Shu remembered that Sui Xing had mentioned that all the missing university students were handsome or beautiful.

"If we rule out the possibility that the disappearances are related to the personal connections of the victims and their families, and assume the perpetrator is targeting their identities as university students, and adding the looks factor..." Hai Shu looked up. "Is it human trafficking targeting this group?"

"We’re planning to investigate that direction," Wen Xu said helplessly. "But before we even started, this big murder case in Zhou Ping Town came up."

Hai Shu closed her notebook, glanced at the time, and realized if she didn’t get to sleep soon, she wouldn’t wake up in time tomorrow. "Professor Wen, thanks for the spicy hotpot today."

On the way back to the guesthouse, the two chatted about the Spring Festival. Hai Shu asked, "Professor Wen, if the case is solved before the Spring Festival, how will you spend it?"

Under the streetlight, Wen Xu smiled happily. "I’ll spend it with my wife."

Hai Shu hadn’t heard that Wen Xu was married, and instinctively glanced at his finger.

Wen Xu covered his ring finger. "The ring’s at home. I’m a forensic doctor."

Hai Shu nodded understandingly. Forensic doctors aren’t exactly the type to always wear rings.

"If the case drags on past the Spring Festival, I’ll have to apologize to my wife." Hai Shu expressed some regret. With the Wan Zeyu case plus the missing persons case, it didn’t seem likely they’d wrap things up before the Spring Festival.

Wen Xu smiled with squinted eyes. "It’s fine. She’s in the military, so she understands me."

Hai Shu was about to continue talking about the wife, but Wen Xu calmly interrupted, "What about you, how will you spend the Spring Festival?"

Hai Shu: "I... will just get my place in Huiyong City sorted first."

The city bureau had arranged a temporary place for her, but she hadn’t been there yet.

Wen Xu observed Hai Shu for a while and noticed that this topic was difficult for her. He smiled and said, "Alright, forget it. What’s the Spring Festival anyway? Our Criminal Investigation Unit doesn’t deserve a Spring Festival!"

Sitting at the desk in the guesthouse, Hai Shu held a cup of hot water in a daze. It was probably because she had just discussed the Spring Festival with Wen Xu, which made her reminisce about the lively Spring Festivals from before.

Fireworks in every car, faces illuminated by fireworks, three-tiered cakes, pretty puffed skirts, endless New Year gifts...

But that was a long time ago, so long ago it felt like a past life. In this life, she was born a police officer, always working overtime during the Spring Festival. A bowl of instant noodles could count as New Year’s Eve dinner, and she’d watch fireworks set off by others in the early morning, and that was her way of celebrating the New Year.

She didn’t like celebrating the Spring Festival.

The next morning, in Zhou Ping Town, smoke from the kitchens rose in waves. Hai Shu leaned against the police car eating breakfast—a couple of steamed buns and a steaming osmanthus cake. Cheng Wei, carrying his belongings, came running over. "Been waiting long, Captain Hai?"

Hai Shu shook her head, "I haven’t even finished my breakfast, and you’re already here. Now you’ll have to wait for me."

They were heading to the old workshop of the glass factory outside of the town to try to find new clues. Zhou Ping Town was so small, with just a few streets, and the children, on their break, were running around the streets, holding firecrackers. Hai Shu was driving very slowly, and when she reached the outskirts of the town, it wasn’t as crowded.

As they neared the old workshop, Hai Shu saw a van coming from the opposite direction. It could only be coming from the old workshop. But who would be heading there so early in the morning?

Hai Shu immediately turned the steering wheel, blocking the van’s path. She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car, saying to Cheng Wei, "I’ll go check it out."

"Be careful, Captain Hai."

"I’ve got it."

Just as Hai Shu got out of the car, the door on the driver’s side of the van opened. A man in a gray jacket stepped out and hesitated, looking toward the police car.

Hai Shu instantly recognized him. It was the clerk who worked at the glass factory. She had met him before when she was investigating Wan Zeyu and Yuan Zhong at the factory, and she had also met his wife, the inspector. Even earlier, she had seen this "model couple" in the woods while smoking sausages and cured meats.

"Hello," the man approached, his brow slightly furrowed, looking uneasy. "We’re heading back to the town. Is there something we can help you with?"

Hai Shu’s gaze went past him, through the van’s windshield, and she saw a woman stretching her neck to look out. She looked familiar too—his wife.

"What are you two..." Hai Shu lifted her chin toward the distance, "Going to the old workshop?"

The man nodded awkwardly without looking at Hai Shu. "We’re heading there... to take care of something."

Hai Shu asked, "What’s the matter? The old workshop hasn’t been in use for a long time, right?"

The man turned to look at the van, as if seeking help from his wife. The woman got out of the van and quickly walked over. "Hello, Captain Hai."

She seemed a little more adept at socializing than her husband, at least managing a smile.

Hai Shu sized them up for a moment. "I’m not a leader. My name is Hai Shu. We’ve met at the glass factory."

The woman nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, Officer Hai. We’re just heading back to town, and your car is blocking the way. Could you please move it?"

Hai Shu said, "No problem, but I’d like to know why you two are heading to the old workshop so early in the morning? You’ve heard that place is a crime scene, right?"

The woman said, "We know, we know. We’re not causing trouble. It's just... since the New Year’s coming up, we’re going to burn paper for our ancestors."

"Burn paper? In the old workshop?" Hai Shu raised an eyebrow.

The woman gave the man an awkward look. "Yes, it’s an old tradition for our family. The old workshop is empty, so it’s peaceful to burn paper there. If we did it elsewhere, we’d have to fight for space. In the past, they used to do it in the woods, but now we don’t dare go there anymore, so we do it in the town. It’s more crowded there."

"You’ve always been burning paper at the old workshop?" Hai Shu asked.

The woman said, "If it’s not okay, we won’t do it next year." She then returned to the van and took out a basket containing paper money and candles, showing that they were indeed planning to burn paper.

Hai Shu moved the car aside, and the woman thanked her profusely. The van slowly drove off, and Hai Shu watched it shrink in the rearview mirror, her brows furrowed.

Cheng Wei asked, "Do you think they’re hiding something?"

Hai Shu started the car, her mind a little chaotic. "I don’t know. Burning paper for the New Year in a quiet, remote place... seems reasonable. I’ve heard this couple doesn’t interact much with others. But the timing..."

She couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander. When the old workshop was first built, human bones had been discovered there. Not long ago, Wan Zeyu had killed Yuan Zhong there. Now this couple was coming to burn paper. Were they just burning paper? Or did they have other intentions?

As they got closer to the old workshop, Hai Shu got out of the car, planning to walk over and observe the surroundings. Cheng Wei switched to the driver’s seat to continue driving.

The morning wind was cold, and there was a faint scent of incense in the air. Hai Shu walked along the tire tracks, and when she reached the southeast side of the old workshop, she saw a few extinguished candles stuck into the ground under the outer wall. On the ground, there was a pile of burnt paper ash.

The couple really did come to burn paper.

Hai Shu crouched by the candles, but the doubts in her mind had not disappeared. Burning paper usually happens at night. If they were going to burn paper and return now, the timing was plausible, since it wasn’t dawn yet, but why did they have to do it this way? Furthermore, a murder had just occurred here—were they not afraid?

The man’s gaze was evasive, clearly not wanting to meet them at this moment. So why, then, did they insist on coming here to burn paper when the case had yet to be solved and the police could show up at any time?

Cheng Wei parked the car and joined Hai Shu. She asked, "How long does it usually take for the remnants of the paper to disappear?"

Cheng Wei replied, "The ashes are absorbed by the soil in about half a month. It’s even quicker in the wild with rain and the growth of spring and summer plants. But the candles, if not cleaned up, can remain for years."

Hai Shu looked around but saw no trace of candles. The last time she came for investigation, there were no candles either.

"They might be lying," Hai Shu said. "If they burn paper every year, where are the old candles?"

Cheng Wei thought for a moment. "Maybe the next time they come, they’ll take the candles they used last time? It's a custom from my hometown—people usually burn paper in a fixed spot, and if there are old candles there, they have to be taken out before new ones can be inserted."

Hai Shu said, "That makes sense."

Temporarily setting aside the odd couple, Hai Shu and Cheng Wei split up to continue their inspection of the old workshop. The old boilers and other equipment were completely unusable. In the blazing fires of the past, they had consumed unknown lives.

Hai Shu whimsically thought that there might be another space here, where some mechanism could open a passage leading there.

After returning to Zhou Ping Town, Hai Shu initially wanted to go to the glass factory, but upon thinking that the factory might already be on break, she turned around and headed to the alley where the workers lived.

Between the buildings, there were Mahjong tables set up, with some people playing, others cracking sunflower seeds, and the best topic being gossip about the Li family. Hai Shu mingled with the crowd, eavesdropping on the gossip while casually inserting a few comments, gradually steering the conversation toward the couple.

"The Liang couple, two days ago I told them that this year’s gathering at Six Village would have each family make a dish, and we’d have a big banquet. But Xiao Zhao said they caught a cold and wouldn’t participate. Haha, a small cold, what’s that? They just don’t fit in! They didn’t join last year’s event either."

"They’re university students, young people, they can’t get used to our way of life."

"They’ve been at our factory for over ten years, what’s so high-class about them? Don’t always mention they’re university students, my grandson is taking the college entrance exam tomorrow, isn’t he also a university student?"

"Today’s university students aren’t like before. Nowadays, even cats and dogs can go to college!"

Everyone laughed, and Hai Shu joined in.

Someone else said, "They went to university, but didn’t graduate, right? Otherwise, how could they come work at our factory back then?"

"Yeah, I heard they didn’t graduate. Why is that?"

"We don’t know, maybe their grades weren’t good enough."

Didn’t graduate? Both of them didn’t graduate? Hai Shu’s mind was filled with questions, but she didn’t want to directly confront the couple. After thinking it over, she decided to speak with their supervisor, Director Xu, who had recently mentioned that human bones had been found in the furnace.

Director Xu was organizing the union to write Spring Festival couplets, looking very cheerful. When he saw Hai Shu arrive, his cheerful expression turned into a cold sweat. "Officer Hai, what brings you here again?"

Hai Shu noticed that Director Xu’s calligraphy was powerful and very impressive. She complimented him a couple of times, and Director Xu relaxed a little. She then invited him outside and asked about the couple.

"Liang Lanjun and Zhao Yue? Why are you looking into them?" Director Xu seemed surprised.

Hai Shu explained, "I’m not investigating them, just trying to understand more about the workers’ situation for the subsequent investigation."

Director Xu assumed it was a routine inquiry. "Well, they don’t fit in much, but they don’t have kids or anything bad about them. They both went to Huiyong University, our city’s best university. It’s well-known nationwide. They both got in, and luckily they didn’t graduate, otherwise, how could they work at our factory?"

Hai Shu asked, "So why didn’t they graduate?"

Director Xu said, "Well, that’s a long story!"

He led Hai Shu to the clerks' office and rummaged through some untidy personnel files, finally finding the ones for Liang Lanjun and Zhao Yue. While preparing tea, he said, "I helped them get the job when they came here."

Hai Shu looked at their registration photos on the yellowing paper. Liang Lanjun and Zhao Yue were in their twenties, looking very different from now—he was handsome, and she was beautiful, but there was a shared sadness in their eyes.

The personal information under the photo didn’t mention which university they attended, and the highest level of education listed was high school. The two were from different county towns, but both were under the jurisdiction of Huiyong City. Hai Shu took out her phone to check the geography, and both counties were in the northern part of Huiyong City, quite far from Zhou Ping Town.

"This won’t mention university. They don’t want it to. It’s like a scar that no one wants to reopen," Director Xu finally finished making the tea. The large teacup was black and yellow, and he found a paper cup to pour some tea for Hai Shu.

Hai Shu didn’t reach for the cup. Director Xu awkwardly smiled, "My information might not be completely accurate, but from what I heard from the old factory manager, it’s something like that."

Hai Shu asked, "Old factory manager? Li Yun?"

"Yes, the old factory manager Li Yun."

Hai Shu furrowed her brows. This was the second time she had heard the name Li Yun. The last time, it was related to the fact that Guang Yongguo had said that human bones were found in the furnace, and Li Yun had requested that the factory be rebuilt.

Director Xu continued talking about what he had heard from Li Yun:

Liang Lanjun had been admitted to the Agriculture College of Huiyong University. At that time, studying agriculture was quite prestigious. Although the work environment was tough, it was respected, and there was a strong sense of social recognition and self-worth.

Liang Lanjun’s academic performance was excellent after entering the university, but his personality was somewhat incompatible with others—he was quite aloof and looked down on classmates he felt were inferior. Later, when there was an opportunity to go abroad for research in the Agriculture College, Liang Lanjun thought, based on the evaluations, that the spot would certainly be his. However, when the list of selected students was announced, his name wasn’t on it. The spot was taken by a classmate he deemed far inferior to him.

He went to the teacher for an explanation, but the teacher did not give him a clear answer. He then confronted that classmate. The details of what happened during this period were unclear, but in the end, he ended up injuring the other student.

This incident caused a huge uproar. The classmate’s family and friends came to the Agriculture College every day demanding an explanation. When the college leaders refused to meet with them, they went to the school leaders and even threatened to bring in the media.

At that time, the media still held credibility. Once something was published in newspapers or shown on TV, Huiyong University’s reputation would be severely damaged.

As a result, Liang Lanjun was suspended from classes, and soon after, he was expelled.

This incident dealt a heavy blow to him and his family. After his parents paid all his medical bills, they severed ties with him. He had been excellent in school, but once he entered society, he became a "cripple"—unable to get along with others, not knowing how to support himself. In the years after his expulsion and before he came to Zhou Ping Town, he worked odd jobs in Huiyong City, living a tough life.

It was during this period that he met his junior, Zhao Yue.

"But that's another story. When Liang Lanjun was expelled, Zhao Yue hadn’t yet been admitted to Huiyong University," Director Xu sipped his tea and continued.

Zhao Yue studied journalism, which was even more popular than Liang Lanjun's agriculture. Had she graduated, with her looks and charm at that time, she might have already been sitting in front of the camera at Huiyong TV Station.

Unlike the reclusive Liang Lanjun, Zhao Yue immediately became involved in student activities after entering school. She was often seen running around both on and off-campus. Her academic performance was not outstanding, but she was well-known in her college and even in the entire university.

This young woman, however, unexpectedly became pregnant in her second year.

She insisted that she didn’t have a boyfriend and couldn’t say who the father of the child was. The school could have turned a blind eye to the matter, but her situation gave those who didn’t like her a chance to attack. They repeatedly reported her to the school, making it a big deal and claiming that it tarnished the purity of the university campus.

As the situation began to escalate, the school held multiple talks with Zhao Yue, but what was said remained unknown. The final outcome, however, was clear to everyone—Zhao Yue was expelled.

Zhao Yue came from a single-parent family. Her mother had raised her with great difficulty. After hearing about this incident, her mother fell ill and passed away less than a year later. Zhao Yue didn’t give birth to the child, but the miscarriage seemed to drain her life away. This also planted the seeds for the misfortune that later befell her and Liang Lanjun.

Hai Shu asked, "Was she unable to have children?"

Director Xu nodded, and as he did, he noticed the teacup was empty.

After burying her mother, Zhao Yue didn’t stay in her hometown but returned to the painful place, Huiyong City, where she set up a stall in the night market outside the university to make a living. By chance, she encountered Liang Lanjun, who was delivering goods to her. Perhaps it was the shared suffering that brought them together. By the time Li Yun found them, they were already married.

Hai Shu asked, "Found them? Why did he need to find them? What’s the connection between the old factory manager and them?"