Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Shan Zhuo (21)

Ping’an Welfare Institution was already the third batch of welfare institutions Xie Jingyu had investigated. The first batch was in Huiyong City and its governed counties, the second expanded to surrounding cities, and the third batch covered an even wider range, making the search seem even more hopeless. Ping’an Welfare Institution was in Xiangchu City, no longer in the same province as Huiyong City, but it was a large city with very close economic ties to Huiyong City.

The welfare institution kept photos of all the children, recording them from arrival to departure. One boy, named Chu Lin, was sent to the welfare institution by street officials at age six. They said he had been wandering alone nearby for many days and looked pitiful. The boy didn’t remember his name or where his family was. If asked too much, he would cry, so the welfare institution arranged for him to stay temporarily and reported to the police.

But back then, due to technological limitations, once a child went missing, it was basically forever.

The welfare institution gave the boy the name Chu Lin. Chu Lin was very well-behaved, never fought or competed for things with other children, and learned quickly. A year later, he was adopted by a couple.

Hai Shu hurriedly asked, “Have you tracked down this couple?”

“Don’t rush,” Xie Jingyu said. “When investigating with your criminal police, we have to follow your procedural rules. At that time, I didn’t have the permission issued by Captain Qiao, so the welfare institution couldn’t provide information about the adoptive parents. I’ve already consulted Captain Qiao. While investigating Si Xiaowei, I was simultaneously investigating Li Yunting. Li Yunting is relatively easier to track. When she left Guibai Village, she was at least seventeen and left voluntarily, saying she was going to Huiyong City to work.”

The reason Li Yunting left Guibai Village early remained a mystery. One police hypothesis was that she had received a clue and preemptively went to Huiyong City to hide. But there was an inconsistency: if she knew danger existed, why didn’t she report to the police or inform her parents?

The most reasonable explanation was that she didn’t understand the situation she faced.

“If Li Yunting had stayed in the open, we wouldn’t need to continue investigating. Village Chief Liu would have found her when dealing with her parents and eliminated her,” Xie Jingyu said. “So I looked into the alternative: Li Yunting hiding in the shadows. Her workplace might not be glamorous, existing in a hidden corner of the city.”

Hai Shu suddenly thought of Zhao Ruochen’s ex-girlfriend, Sister Tao.

Xie Jingyu had also encountered Sister Tao during the investigation. Sister Tao was very interested in Xie Jingyu’s appearance, and even knowing his identity, she wanted to tease him a little.

Hearing this, Hai Shu coughed twice.

Xie Jingyu laughed. “Don’t worry, your partner is a person of high moral standards in special operations.”

Hai Shu said, “You’d better be.”

Xie Jingyu smiled again and continued: although Sister Tao didn’t provide him with much information, she introduced him to a middle-aged man who used to run a human trafficking operation, Brother Shou.

Brother Shou had long since retired and complained about Sister Tao bringing a policeman to him. Xie Jingyu said, “I’m not a policeman.”

Brother Shou’s sharp eyes studied him for a moment and said, “People like you are harder to deal with than the police.”

“Help me find someone, and if you do, I promise I won’t bother you,” Xie Jingyu said, showing a photo of Li Yunting as a teenager. It was the only photo the police had found of her so far.

Brother Shou picked it up, squinting at it for a long time, then his lowered eyes suddenly widened. “This looks like that little… Xiao Xi.”

Xie Jingyu said, “Clarify, which Xiao Xi?”

Brother Shou said, “How should I know her real name? When she came to me, either she had given up on life or had no choice. She didn’t even have an ID card. Knowing her real name wouldn’t help me!”

Xie Jingyu asked, “Where is she now?”

Brother Shou’s face muscles twitched; it was clear he didn’t want to say.

Xie Jingyu said, “The municipal bureau is investigating a series of murders. This Xiao Xi might be involved. If you tell me now, it counts as providing a lead.”

Brother Shou considered this and realized he couldn’t afford to offend special operations people showing up at his door. Apart from talking, he had no choice. He glared at Sister Tao and rubbed his hands obsequiously. “Here’s the deal: back then, I was just working for someone else. They told us to find a batch of pretty girls to send away. If we couldn’t find enough, they would have killed us.”

Xie Jingyu asked, “Send them away? To where?”

Brother Shou steeled himself. “Out of the southwest border to Southeast Asia. There are people to receive them there. We just had to find suitable women. This was absolutely not trafficking. Everyone signed consent, male or female. They wanted to go out, thinking life outside offered a way forward. We merely provided a convenience for leaving the country. Whether they lived or died was up to them.”

Xie Jingyu asked, “What about Xiao Xi? Why Southeast Asia?”

Brother Shou thought for a moment. “She’s complicated, and she’s different from the other women.”

“How is she different?”

“Let me put it this way, I think she has ambition.”

Brother Shou first met Xiao Xi at a massage parlor boss’s hideout. The boss introduced Xiao Xi to Brother Shou, saying if he was satisfied, she’d bring benefits in the future. Brother Shou was uneducated, having barely finished elementary school, but had street smarts. He liked to appear cultured to cover his lack of education. Xiao Xi recited Tang and Song poems to him. He found her attractive. Other women flaunted their bodies; Xiao Xi flaunted her knowledge, and he developed feelings for her.

He asked Xiao Xi why she came to do this. Xiao Xi said her family had been destroyed by enemies, leaving her alone. She wanted to work hard and rise above. He asked who her enemies were, but Xiao Xi didn’t say more.

Those in their line of work knew the limits of their abilities. He didn’t bother asking further and secretly helped Xiao Xi in some ways. Later, as the Yongheng Group collapsed, criminal gangs in Huiyong City lost their foundation. Brother Shou considered cleaning up his image. Having a group of women was a problem: go to another city or send them abroad?

When Xiao Xi heard she could go to Southeast Asia, she decisively chose to go abroad.

“I heard in the first few years she was doing well, meeting financial groups from Country R and Country K, but after that, there was no news of her—either she died or was taken somewhere to enjoy a good life.”

Xie Jingyu said, “Country R and Country K?”

Brother Shou said, “Yeah, they love to ‘source’ from Southeast Asia. I heard some girls who went to those two countries were even packaged as stars, became very popular. But most of them… you know, Country R’s industry is more developed than anyone else’s.”

Xiao Xi—most likely Li Yunting—after going to Southeast Asia, was noticed by the financial groups of Country R and Country K, and suddenly disappeared. Xie Jingyu suddenly thought of someone who had been appearing in all of Hai Shu’s recent leads but seemed detached from the case—Fengcheng Anna.

Fengcheng Anna is from Country R, came to China three years ago, spoke fluent Mandarin, and although Liu Xing knew her, he seemed hesitant to speak. She instilled hatred toward Tang Jinli in Jie Yang, introduced Tang Jinli to Yao Wei, and almost single-handedly caused Tang Jinli’s death.

Could Fengcheng Anna be Li Yunting?

Brother Shou showed no reaction to Fengcheng Anna’s photo. “That woman’s just over twenty, right? Impossible. If Xiao Xi were alive, she’d be almost thirty. They don’t look alike.”

Hai Shu knew Xie Jingyu would never present a lead already ruled out, so she looked up at his eyes. “Doesn’t look alike, ages don’t match—but Fengcheng Anna is Li Yunting?”

Xie Jingyu tapped on his phone a few times and showed Hai Shu a video. The person in the video spoke R language, in a dimly lit room. Hai Shu asked, “This is?”

“With today’s technology, a fifty-year-old can look like thirty, a man can become a woman. Does it really matter if they look alike?” Xie Jingyu said. “So I investigated Fengcheng Anna’s entry records. Her entry process was fine, age listed as twenty-three, whereas Li Yunting should be twenty-eight. Entry was fine, so the problem likely occurred while she was in Country R. I asked someone to help check her past.”

Hai Shu didn’t ask who Xie Jingyu had asked, knowing special operations work differently from the criminal police.

“Fengcheng Anna, she didn’t grow up in Country R as she claimed. Her mother loved Chinese culture and taught her Chinese from childhood. She only came to Country R from Southeast Asia seven years ago. The person who bought her was surnamed Fengcheng, a businessman with ties to the underworld. Brother Shou exaggerated their influence—they weren’t some financial group, just made themselves look rich in Southeast Asia.”

Hai Shu hurriedly said, “Li Yunting knew from the start why her parents died. After getting help from the wealthy businessman, she returned to China for revenge?”

Xie Jingyu nodded. “You could put it that way.”

Li Yunting became Fengcheng’s nominal adopted daughter, accompanying him to business venues, becoming a capable aide. But soon, Fengcheng had other, younger women. Li Yunting’s ambition was never to be a wealthy man’s mistress; after getting some money, she reinvented herself. She modeled herself on what R-country female stars looked like. After spending heavily on her appearance, she looked like a twenty-year-old girl.

At that time, she returned to China and became an internet celebrity idol. She quickly rose in the 2D community, because besides her pretty, lively face, she carried an R-country sweet-girl vibe in her mannerisms, different from local cosplayers. Although Huiyong City had a developed economy, its cultural industry lagged, making her choice of location obvious.

“Up to this point, I found an even more contradictory place,” Xie Jingyu said.

Hai Shu immediately understood. “Li Yunting’s ultimate goal is revenge, but she used Jie Yang and two others to kill Tang Jinli. That seems too indirect.”

Li Yunting escaped years ago, probably knowing she was no match for Village Chief Liu’s group, not even trusting the police to protect her. Now? She returns for revenge, only to find she still can’t reach her enemies? Time has passed, evidence disappeared.

From the results, Jie Yang and two others killed Tang Jinli, who happened to be the person Liu Xing liked. Liu Xing dragged the body and disrupted the Flower Viewing Festival, objectively guiding the police toward the truth of that year.

The police were indeed investigating.

But before any of this happened, why would Li Yunting assume Liu Xing would put the body in the “Facing Death, Seeking Life” ritual? Must Liu Xing avenge Tang Jinli? Must avenging Tang Jinli make the Flower Viewing Festival the focus?

No. These are conclusions drawn from outcomes. Li Yunting couldn’t predict this initially. A more direct approach made more sense.

Xie Jingyu said, “Li Yunting found three unstable men and incited them to kill Tang Jinli. That could be done. Yao Wei was her colleague, Jie Yang idolized her, she could subtly influence them. But after that, it went off track. Liu Xing himself said it—he acted only to avenge Tang Jinli.”

Returning to the unresolved knot, Hai Shu pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why is Liu Xing so cold toward his family? Yet he seems wary of Li Yunting… Wait, when Liu Xing saw Fengcheng Anna’s photo, he recognized her as Li Yunting, which is why he later repeatedly appeared distracted. He was trying to figure out the connection in front of me. But why couldn’t Brother Shou recognize Fengcheng Anna in the photo?”

Xie Jingyu thought. “Maybe Fengcheng Anna still has a feature only Liu Xing can recognize?”

Hai Shu closed her eyes, processing in silence. Suddenly she heard rustling beside her and opened her eyes to see Xie Jingyu packing up.

“Where are you going?”

Xie Jingyu turned his face slightly, a smile at the corner of his lips. “Mind your own business.”

“…”

“The application to investigate Si Xiaowei was just approved. I need to make another trip to Ping’an Welfare Institution.”

Hai Shu nodded, and a few seconds later realized, “You came specifically to tell me about Si Xiaowei and Li Yunting?”

Xie Jingyu’s expression was calm. “Otherwise? Come to Guibai Village police station cafeteria to mooch a meal?”

“You could…” Hai Shu started to say, meaning he could have just called, instead of making the tiring trip.

“Hmm?” Xie Jingyu said. “I could what?”

Hai Shu swallowed the words, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Nothing. Thanks for your hard work, Brother Xie.”

“…” Xie Jingyu was helpless. “Brother Xie?”

Hai Shu corrected herself, “Brother Xie. Thank you, Brother Xie.”

Xie Jingyu: “Stuttering. Nowadays, being a criminal police captain doesn’t even require standard Mandarin?”

Sui Xing, arriving at that moment, happened to hear this: “Since when did being a criminal police captain require Mandarin?”

Xie Jingyu had already left. Hai Shu sighed, “Don’t mind him.”

For half a day, “Xiao Si”’s posts online were spreading intensely. Netizens demanded a thorough investigation of the murders hidden beneath Guibai Village’s surface prosperity, a strict probe of the digital store invested by Liu Buquan, and some overly excited netizens even called for boycotting Guibai Village’s tourism products. As long as the police didn’t release the investigation results, they wouldn’t contribute KPIs to Guibai Village.

Guibai District’s New Town was already a cluster of small media companies. At this time, many influencers and self-media creators had arrived at the digital store to livestream. Of course, the digital store was already closed and refused to receive them. Some video creators knowledgeable about digital products, even if they couldn’t enter, could use a camera suspected to be bought from the store to showcase it in 360 degrees, proving it wasn’t genuine.

Sui Xing sighed: “That’s the power of public opinion. I’ve been investigating here for so long, all indirect evidence collection, no proper authority to search or detain. But look now—the online uproar is such that the economic crime colleagues are about to be sent to ‘deal’ with the store.”

Hai Shu asked: “Any leads from ‘Xiao Si’?”

Sui Xing’s expression became somewhat awkward. “Hmm, not yet.”

Hai Shu immediately sensed something was wrong. “Xingxing?”

Sui Xing was taken aback. “Hey, don’t call me that.”

Hai Shu said seriously: “What have you found?”

“I… haven’t.”

“If you really hadn’t, you wouldn’t react like this.”

The office was silent for a moment. Sui Xing subconsciously glanced toward the door, then got up and led Hai Shu to the window. “‘Xiao Si’ is definitely not the same group as the one who sent the anonymous email last time. Although ‘Xiao Si’ used many tools, none were hard to decrypt or track.”

Hai Shu frowned. “So?”

Sui Xing looked troubled. “I traced through a jump server and locked his real IP—he’s in Guibai Village.”

Hai Shu’s eyes widened. Anyone still in Guibai Village could only be three types: villagers, local police, or city bureau officers. If you add a fourth category, it would be Xie Jingyu, who came and left.

“‘Xiao Si’ hiding among villagers? Impossible. Everyone in the village knows each other—when would a child who went missing at five or six return to become one of them?”

Not a villager, then among colleagues. Hai Shu’s heartbeat quickened, understanding why Sui Xing had been evasive.

Hai Shu asked: “Who do you think it is?”

Sui Xing hesitated a moment, then said: “I don’t know about the police station. If they have abnormalities, I can’t tell. But there’s one person—ever since arriving in Guibai Village, I’ve felt… too eager, too excessively.”

Hai Shu took a deep breath. “You mean, Cheng Wei?”

At that moment, Cheng Wei had taken off his always-clean police uniform and put on a slightly thin gray sweatshirt and jeans. Like a traveler, he carried a backpack, climbing the Guibai Mountain on the village side. After a few steps, he was already slightly sweating.

As a member of the first criminal investigation team, he wasn’t a combat officer, but he underwent annual fitness tests. Because childhood was so poor, what he lacked then couldn’t be fully made up later. To avoid being a burden, he trained whenever he had time. His stamina was okay now, but he sweated easily, and hiking was physically demanding, needing rest frequently.

Every rest brought old memories to mind. They overlapped with the present, forming the true Guibai Mountain.

Springtime Guibai Mountain was indeed as netizens described: pink petals flying in the wind like a flower rain; looking up, under blue skies and white clouds, clusters of pink clouds, the air romantic and beautiful.

But he saw none of that beauty. He saw the greedy, selfish villagers, the profit-driven village chief, the corpses destined as fertilizer for the Flower Viewing Festival. While others said Guibai Mountain smelled sweet, he only detected a nauseatingly strong stench of rot.

That stench came from the innocently dead, decayed, unburied corpses. And from hearts blinded by greed.

He climbed a while, then rested on newly-built stairs. These stairs were clearly constructed for tourism; the old Guibai Village had no such stairs. Villagers had to climb step by step, relying on physical strength. Villagers also didn’t appreciate flowers—they preferred wild chestnuts, bamboo shoots, mushrooms for sustenance. Those more learned could identify medicinal herbs, like Liu Xing’s parents.

Thinking of Liu Xing, he lowered his head and smiled quietly.

Liu Xing was still the clever one—smarter than he remembered, smarter than he imagined.

This year, Guibai Village lost tourists, who were now denouncing it online. Cheng Wei finally reached the mountain top, standing amid abundant flower clouds, overlooking the tiny village below. His gaze shifted until he found the sparse courtyard hanging at the village foot.

The Si family’s small courtyard—seen from above—it was still an easily overlooked small square, almost swallowed by surrounding plants.

Strong wind blew, petals fluttered, and Cheng Wei’s figure blurred in the flower rain, forming the outline of a small boy.

“The teacher Cheng went out at noon,” the policeman said. “Wasn’t he supposed to go to New Town to check the digital store?”

Hai Shu put down her unreachable call. Sui Xing shook his head anxiously, “The digital store is not under our investigation. Even if he went, it wouldn’t matter.”

“Don’t worry,” Hai Shu pressed Sui Xing’s shoulder. “Even if the post was made by Cheng Wei, he hasn’t done anything particularly serious yet. We can find him.”

Sui Xing grew increasingly uneasy. “I’m afraid he’s being used by someone!”

Hai Shu couldn’t stay in Guibai Village indefinitely; she still had a thorny person to deal with—Fengcheng Anna. But just as she and Sui Xing had agreed on their division of work and were about to return to Huiyong City, Fengcheng Anna showed up uninvited.

Hai Shu met her. “Ms. Fengcheng, what brings you here?”

Fengcheng Anna wore heavy makeup, and her long hair, styled in big waves, was no longer tied high as in photos, but let fall over her shoulders. Without the decorations that added a youthful charm, she finally looked close to Li Yunting’s real age.

“Officer Hai, I heard you’ve been investigating me, tracing from my past all the way to R Country,” Fengcheng Anna placed her handbag on the table and crossed her arms. “With countless people’s information, where could I get more reliable news than about myself? Don’t you think so?”

Hai Shu paused slightly, then smiled. “Isn’t that because I’ve tried repeatedly to get information from you, and you wouldn’t tell me? Why are you suddenly willing to talk now?”

Fengcheng Anna took a deep breath, her gaze solemn. “I saw the messages online. I want to meet ‘Xiao Si.’”

Hai Shu feigned surprise. “You are?”

Fengcheng Anna pressed her lips together, finally making up her mind. “I am Li Yunting, the one you’ve been looking for. Xiao Si is a witness, and so am I!”

Hai Shu gave Sui Xing a meaningful glance, then said to Fengcheng Anna, “I need to record our conversation.”

Fengcheng Anna nodded. Sui Xing had already set up cameras in the interrogation room. Hai Shu pointed to a seat inside. “Sit down first.”

Fengcheng Anna looked at the camera, a hint of unease in her eyes. Hai Shu could tell it was distrust toward the police.

“Who are you really? How old are you? Where are you from?” Hai Shu started with the essential questions that had to be recorded.

“Li Yunting, daughter of Li Chun and Feng Xiaoqing, who were murdered by Liu Buquan. 28 years old, from Guibai Village, Huiyong City.”

At that moment, the name Fengcheng Anna, along with its glamour, seemed to peel off Li Yunting like snake skin. Her eyes carried deep hatred and anger. Her life had been shattered ten years ago, and the blood-stained fragments had all become scars embedded in her being.