Po Sir's Police Affairs: The Hunter

The bodies of Yang Tianzhen and Huang Binbin were sent to the forensic center. Su Min performed autopsies overnight, and the results were available at 3 a.m.

Jiang Bo stood before the autopsy table, gazing at the two young corpses. The bright light from the operating lamps made their skin appear pale. Huang Binbin was thirty-six, and Yang Tianzhen was twenty-four. Their lives had both come to an abrupt end while investigating a thirty-year-old cold case. Jiang Bo recalled Yang Tianzhen's smiling face in the coffee shop that day, saying, "I guarantee I'll complete the mission," and a weight settled on his heart.

"The cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation, strangulation." Su Min took off her rubber gloves and looked at Jiang Bo. "The method is exactly the same as in the Fang Min case. The angle and depth of the neck marks indicate that the murderer is the same person."

Jiang Bo examined the marks closely. Two purplish-black marks stretched across the neck, resembling some kind of eerie necklace. Su Min pointed to one of them and said, "Look here, the edges of the marks have slight bruising, indicating that the killer used considerable force and it lasted for at least three minutes. The victim struggled, but to no avail."

"Any other discoveries?"

Su Min pointed to Huang Binbin's hand: "There was a trace of skin flakes under his fingernails, which has been collected and sent for testing. But the murderer was wearing gloves, so it might not be his. Also, Yang Tianzhen's nails were neatly trimmed, with no signs of resistance. She might know the murderer and wasn't on guard."

Jiang Bo nodded. He recalled the sentence in Yang Tianzhen's notebook—"I must find out." What did she find out? Was the murderer someone she trusted?

He walked out of the autopsy room and lit a cigarette in the corridor. It was still dark, and the hospital was quiet, save for the occasional footsteps of a nurse. The smell of disinfectant mixed with the cigarette smoke was nauseating. He stared out the window at the pitch-black sky, his mind filled with the indentations and the faces of the dead.

Zhang Yuhang walked over, holding a document in his hand.

"Officer, Liu Tong has found Huang Binbin and Yang Tianzhen's recent call records. Besides each other, the person they contact most frequently is Ma Xiuying."

Jiang Bo took the document and looked at the call times. Two days before Huang Binbin died, he spoke with Ma Xiuying three times on the phone, each call lasting more than ten minutes. Yang Tianzhen also called Ma Xiuying the day before she died.

Ma Xiuying.

It's her again.

Jiang Bo stubbed out his cigarette and walked outside.

"Go to Ma Xiuying's house."

It took a long time for Ma Xiuying to open the door. She stood in the doorway, wearing old pajamas, her hair disheveled, her eyes sunken, as if she hadn't slept for days. When she saw Jiang Bo, she paused, a flicker of fear crossing her eyes—a familiar fear that Jiang Bo had seen on the faces of countless suspects, but this time, it appeared on the face of a woman in her sixties.

"Officer Jiang?"

Jiang Bo didn't speak, but went straight into the house. The living room was still the same, very clean. Ah Zhen's photo was still on display, with fruit and an incense burner in front of it. But the incense ash in the burner was cold, as if it hadn't been burned in a long time. Yang Tianzhen's photo was still next to it, her smile radiant. Jiang Bo noticed that there was a small glass bottle next to that photo, with a single white flower in it—a gesture of remembrance.

He turned around and looked at Ma Xiuying.

"Huang Binbin is dead. Yang Tianzhen is dead."

Ma Xiuying's face turned pale instantly. She took a step back, leaned against the wall, her lips trembling, unable to speak. Her hands gripped the collar of her pajamas tightly, her knuckles white. Her eyes were wide open, as if she couldn't believe it, or as if she had known all along that this would happen.

When was the last time you saw them?

Ma Xiuying opened her mouth, but after a long pause, she managed to squeeze out a sentence: "The day before yesterday, Binbin came to see me and asked about Azhen. Tianzhen came too."

"What did you say?"

Ma Xiuying lowered her head, tears dripping onto the floor. The tear landed on the tile, splashing out a small wet patch.

"I told you. I told you everything I knew. How Ah-Zhen died, how Xiao-Mei died, how Xiu-Ying died. I told you everything."

Jiang Bo stared at her.

"Is Xiuying your sister?"

Ma Xiuying nodded. The nod was very light, as if she had used all her strength.

"How did she die?"

Ma Xiuying raised her head, her eyes red-rimmed.

"It was Ding Laosan who killed her. In 2000, Xiuying came to me and said she was scared. She said Ding Laosan had come to her and asked if she knew anything about Azhen. She said she didn't know, but Ding Laosan didn't believe her. A few days later, she died. They said she died of illness, but I know that Ding Laosan killed her."

Jiang Bo clenched his fist.

Ding Laosan killed Xiaomei, Azhen, and Xiuying. Three lives. Now, Fang Min, Huang Binbin, and Yang Tianzhen are added to the list? No, Ding Laosan didn't kill Fang Min and the others; he was in detention.

"Ding Laosan has acquaintances in the bureau, who are they?"

Ma Xiuying shook her head: "I don't know. He really didn't say. He only said one sentence back then: 'Someone is protecting me from above.' I asked who it was, but he wouldn't say. I didn't dare to ask again."

Jiang Bo looked at her. Her expression was genuine, not feigned. But even genuine expressions can be feigned. She had protected Old Ding for over thirty years; who knew how many other things she was hiding?

Zhang Yuhang asked from the side, "After Huang Binbin and Yang Tianzhen came to find you, where did they go?"

Ma Xiuying thought for a moment: "Binbin said he wanted to go to the archives to check the records from that year. Tianzhen said he wanted to find someone who knows the inside story."

"An insider? Who?"

Ma Xiuying shook her head: "I don't know. She didn't say her name. I asked her, and she said she would tell me after she found out. She told me not to worry and that she knew what she was doing."

Jiang Bo walked a few steps around the room, then suddenly stopped. His gaze fell on an old-fashioned cabinet in the corner of the living room. A row of framed photos sat on the cabinet, some black and white, some color. In the outermost frame was a photograph of a young girl.

"Aunt Ma, where is your daughter?"

Ma Xiuying was stunned for a moment: "My daughter? Where did I get a daughter?"

Jiang Bo walked over and picked up the photo frame. The girl in the photo was in her early twenties, with delicate features, a ponytail, and a bright, sunny smile. That smile bore a resemblance to Yang Tianzhen's.

"Who is this?"

Ma Xiuying followed his gaze, and her expression changed. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her body began to tremble, as if she had been struck by something.

Jiang Bo approached her, holding the photo frame.

"Who is this?"

Ma Xiuying suddenly burst into tears. She covered her face, squatted on the floor, and cried uncontrollably. Her sobs were suppressed, as if she had been holding them in for decades and could no longer contain them. The sound of her crying echoed in the quiet living room, making everyone's heart ache.

"That's Xiao Ying. Ah Zhen's daughter."

Jiang Bo was stunned.

Xiao Ying? The girl who died by the river in 1999?

"Isn't she dead?"

Ma Xiuying cried and said, "It was another child who died. Xiao Ying didn't die."

Jiang Bo's mind started to race. He squatted down and looked at Ma Xiuying.

"Explain yourself clearly. What exactly happened?"

Ma Xiuying took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She stood up, walked to Ah Zhen's photo, looked at the smiling face, and began to speak slowly. Her voice was soft and slow, like fragments dredged from the deepest part of the earth.

"When Ah Zhen died, she gave birth to a daughter, Xiao Ying. Guo Jianshe took Xiao Ying away and gave her to a couple who couldn't have children. The couple renamed her and raised her until she was three years old. Later, the couple died in a car accident, and Xiao Ying was sent back. I didn't dare to raise her, so I sent her to an orphanage."

She pointed to the girl in the photo.

"This photo was taken when she was at the orphanage. I visited her a few times and took it secretly. Later, she was adopted, and I never saw her again. I thought she was doing well, but I never expected—"

She couldn't continue.

Jiang Bo looked at the photo, his mind in turmoil.

Xiao Ying didn't die. Then who was the girl who died by the river in 1999?

He recalled Ding Laosan's words: "I killed Azhen, I killed Xiaomei, but I didn't kill Xiaoying. I didn't kill Xiaoying."

If Ding Laosan didn't kill Xiaoying, then who did?

Zhang Yuhang, standing nearby, asked, "Who adopted Xiaoying?"

Ma Xiuying shook her head: "I don't know. The people at the welfare home won't tell me. I've looked around, but I couldn't find them. I asked many people, and they all said they didn't know. Eventually, I gave up."

Jiang Bo took the photo out of the frame and turned it over to look at it. On the back of the photo was a line of small print: 1995, Welfare Home. The handwriting was very faint, as if it had been written many years ago.

"May I borrow this photo?"

Ma Xiuying nodded without speaking. She seemed completely drained, leaning against the wall with vacant eyes. Her lips were still trembling slightly, as if she were muttering something.

Jiang Bo walked to the door and suddenly turned back.

"Aunt Ma, is there anything else you haven't said?"

Ma Xiuying looked up at him. There was a strange light in her eyes—was it guilt, fear, or something else?

"Officer Jiang," she said softly, "you need to be careful. That person might be right next to you."

Jiang Bo nodded and went out the door.

When Jiang Bo stepped out of Ma Xiuying's house, it was already dawn. He stood downstairs and lit a cigarette. The sunlight shone warmly on his face, but his heart was ice-cold.

Xiao Ying is still alive. But who was the girl who died by the river in 1999?

He recalled a sentence in Yang Tianzhen's notebook: "I must find out."

What did she find out? Did she find out that Xiao Ying was still alive? Did she find Xiao Ying?

Zhang Yuhang walked over and said softly, "Officer Bo, is Ma Xiuying's statement credible?"

Jiang Bo took a drag of his cigarette and looked at the gray sky.

"It's a mix of truth and falsehood. What is she hiding?"

"What are you hiding?"

Jiang Bo didn't answer. He stubbed out his cigarette and threw it into the trash can.

"Go to the welfare home."

The orphanage was in the suburbs, an old three-story building. Several children were playing in the courtyard. Sunlight shone on the slide, and the children's laughter was crisp and clear. Those laughter seemed out of place with this case, like the sounds of another world.

Jiang Bo and Zhang Yuhang found the dean and showed their credentials.

The dean was a woman in her fifties surnamed Chen, wearing glasses and looking very capable. She checked their identification and ushered them into her office.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Jiang Bo took out Xiao Ying's photo.

"This child was adopted here in 1995. Can you find the adoption record?"

Dean Chen took the photo and examined it carefully. She frowned, as if trying to recall something.

"This child... looks familiar. Let me check the file."

She turned on her computer, typed for a while, and pulled up a file.

"This is the child. He was admitted to the hospital in 1993 and adopted in 1995. The adoptive parents are a couple; the man's surname is Zhang and the woman's surname is Li."

Jiang Bo leaned closer to take a look. Adopters: Zhang Jianguo, Li Xiufang. Address: A town in Wuwei County.

Zhang Yuhang, standing nearby, said, "Zhang Jianguo? That name sounds familiar."

Jiang Bo looked at him.

Zhang Yuhang thought for a moment and shook his head: "I can't remember. But I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."

Jiang Bo made a copy of the file and then asked Dean Chen, "Do you know the person who brought this child here back then?"

Dean Chen thought for a moment: "It was a woman in her thirties who said she was a relative of the child. She didn't leave her name, just paid the money and left. Back then, management wasn't strict, and this kind of thing happened often."

"Do you remember what she looked like?"

Dean Chen shook his head: "It's been so many years, I can't remember clearly. I only remember that she dressed simply and spoke with a local accent."

Jiang Bo nodded. That must be Ma Xiuying.

After leaving the welfare home, Jiang Bo sat in his car and dialed Liu Tong's number.

"Check Zhang Jianguo and Li Xiufang, they're from Wuwei County. See where they are now."

Liu Tong replied to the message quickly.

"Zhang Jianguo and Li Xiufang are both deceased. Zhang Jianguo passed away in 2005, and Li Xiufang passed away in 2010. They had a daughter named Zhang Xiaoyu, who should be thirty-one years old now."

Jiang Bo paused for a moment.

Thirty-one years old. The same age as Xiaoying.

Where is Zhang Xiaoyu now?

Liu Tong said, "I found out. She lives in a residential area in Jinghu District, Jiangcheng. She works for a GG company. I'll send her a photo to your phone."

Jiang Bo opened the photo and looked at the woman named Zhang Xiaoyu. She was thirty-one years old, with short hair, a round face, and her eyebrows and eyes bore a resemblance to Ah Zhen's.

Xiao Ying didn't die. Her name is Zhang Xiaoyu, and she's alive and well.

But what did Huang Binbin and Yang Tianzhen find out? They found out that Xiao Ying was still alive, which is why she was killed?

Who is the killer?

Jiang Bo started the car and said to Zhang Yuhang, "Go to Jinghu District and find Zhang Xiaoyu."

The car pulled up to the entrance of the residential complex in Jinghu District. The complex was quite ordinary, with buildings from the 1990s and mediocre landscaping. Jiang Bo and Zhang Yuhang went upstairs and found Zhang Xiaoyu's apartment. They knocked on the door, but no one answered.

The neighbor peeked out; it was an elderly woman in her sixties.

"Looking for Xiaoyu? She's away on a business trip to Shanghai and hasn't been back for several days."

Jiang Bo's heart sank.

"When did she leave?"

The old lady thought for a moment and said, "About three or four days ago. That day she dragged her suitcase downstairs and said she was going to Shanghai on a business trip. I asked her how many days she would be gone, and she said about a week."

Three or four days ago. That was the time when Huang Binbin and Yang Tianzhen were killed.

Jiang Bo took out his phone and called Liu Tong: "Check Zhang Xiaoyu's whereabouts and see if she really went to Shanghai."

A few minutes later, Liu Tong called back: "I bought a train ticket to Shanghai, a D-series train, for 3 pm that day. But I didn't board the train. I was last seen near the train station, and then I disappeared. The surveillance cameras captured her entering the station, but they didn't capture her boarding the train."

Jiang Bo stood in the hallway, looking out at the gray sky.

The fourth person.

Fang Min, Huang Binbin, Yang Tianzhen, Zhang Xiaoyu. Are they all dead, or have they all disappeared?

He recalled a sentence in Yang Tianzhen's notebook: "Someone is watching."

Who is that person?

Zhang Yuhang said from the side, "Police Officer, if Zhang Xiaoyu also gets into trouble, then the killer's target is very clear—everyone related to Ah Zhen's case."

Jiang Bo nodded. But did Zhang Xiaoyu know about her background? Did she know she was Ah Zhen's daughter?

If she didn't know, why was she killed? How did the murderer know she was Ah Zhen's daughter?

Unless—the killer has been watching Ma Xiuying the whole time. Everyone Ma Xiuying contacted has been killed.

Jiang Bo quickly went downstairs and jumped into the car.

"Return to the Municipal Bureau. Have Liu Tong investigate all of Ma Xiuying's social connections."

The car sped down the street. Jiang Bo gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. His bad premonition grew stronger.

Ma Xiuying. She is the key to everything.

She protected Ding Lao for over thirty years. She knew who Ding Lao San's acquaintances were, she knew Xiao Ying's whereabouts, and she knew what Huang Binbin and Yang Tianzhen were investigating. Now she has disappeared.

Who is she protecting? Or who is she afraid of?

In the Municipal Bureau's Technical Section, Liu Tong was busy at his computer. He looked up when he saw Jiang Bo enter.

"Officer, we've found it. Ma Xiuying's social relationships are very simple; apart from those few victims, she hardly interacts with anyone else. But—"

He paused.

"I found out she has a son."

Jiang Bo was stunned.

"son?"

Liu Tong nodded: "Yes. She had a son when she was young, but he was given away when he was very young. We can't find out who he was given to. There were no online records back then."

Jiang Bo stood there, his mind blank.

Does Ma Xiuying have a son? She has never mentioned it.

"Is it possible to find out where that son is now?"

Liu Tong shook her head: "We can't find it. It's been too long, the records are all lost. All we know is that she gave birth in Wuwei County back then, and later sent the child to another place."

Zhang Yuhang, standing nearby, said, "Officer, could it be—that son is the murderer?"

Jiang Bo looked at him.

Why do you say that?

Zhang Yuhang said, "If Ma Xiuying's son knew his background and that his mother was involved in these cases, he might seek revenge. The people he killed were all connected to Ma Xiuying. Fang Min, Huang Binbin, Yang Tianzhen, and Zhang Xiaoyu were all linked through the Ma Xiuying and Azhen cases."

Jiang Bo remained silent for a while.

"Then why did he kill them?"

Zhang Yuhang said, "Perhaps it was to silence her. Perhaps it was to protect Ma Xiuying. Perhaps it was to—shut Ma Xiuying up."

Something flashed through Jiang Bo's mind.

Ma Xiuying has disappeared. She went to find that person. Could that person be her son?

He picked up the phone and called his colleague in Guangzhou.

"Has Ma Xiuying been found?"

The other party said, "We're still looking for her. She disappeared after getting off the bus; the security cameras didn't capture her."

Jiang Bo hung up the phone, stood by the window, and looked at the night sky outside.

There were few stars, but the moon was very bright, shining on the river with a silvery glow.

He remembered the newspaper clipping tucked in his mentor's notebook—a report on the 1999 case of the unidentified girl. One sentence in the report read: "The girl was wearing a hand-sewn floral dress, embroidered with a little figure jogging at night."

Who embroidered that little figure?

Ma Xiuying said that she would embroider clothes for Azhen's children.

She embroidered it.

The little girl who died by the river in 1999 was wearing clothes embroidered by her.

Who is that little girl?

A terrifying thought suddenly popped into Jiang Bo's mind.

If Xiao Ying didn't die, could the little girl who died by the river be Ma Xiuying's daughter?

Her own daughter?

He turned to look at Liu Tong.

"Check on Ma Xiuying's daughter. Besides the son who was sent away, does she have any other daughters?"

Liu Tong typed on the keyboard, and after a while said, "There's no record. She only has that son."

Jiang Bo walked to the whiteboard and looked at the photos. Ah Zhen, Xiao Mei, Xiu Ying, Fang Min, Huang Binbin, Yang Tianzhen, Zhang Xiaoyu. And that nameless girl from 1999.

What exactly is the relationship between them?

Zhang Yuhang walked over and said softly, "Bo Sir, maybe we should go find someone."

"Who?"

"Guo Deming. He knows a lot of things."

Jiang Bo thought for a moment and nodded.

"I'm going to the detention center tomorrow."

Outside the window, the river flows silently.

Jiang Bo stood by the window, gazing at the black river. He remembered his master's dying words: "Little Jiang, some things are more complicated than you can imagine. If you ever find out anything, don't rush to act; come find me first."

Master, what exactly do you know?

Tangyuan came over and rubbed against his leg. He squatted down and stroked its head.

"Tangyuan, tell me, how far are we from the truth?"

Tangyuan, of course, didn't answer. It simply licked his hand and then meowed.

That shout echoed in the empty office, like some kind of response.