Po Sir's Police Affairs: The Hunter

Zhang Xiaoyu's disappearance has made the case more complicated.

Jiang Bo ordered a city-wide search, but to no avail. Liu Tong reviewed all the surveillance footage around the train station and discovered that Zhang Xiaoyu hadn't come out after entering the station. It was as if she had vanished into thin air. The last frame of the surveillance footage showed her wearing a white coat and carrying a black backpack, disappearing into the crowd.

Three days later, a female corpse was found downstream of the Qingyi River; it was swollen and white from being submerged in water. DNA testing confirmed that it was Zhang Xiaoyu.

The method of death was the same as before—strangulation, with hands folded over the chest.

Jiang Bo stood before the autopsy table, looking at Zhang Xiaoyu's corpse. Thirty-one years old, as young as Yang Tianzhen. She didn't know she was adopted, didn't know her birth mother was A-Zhen, didn't know someone was looking for her. She was just living a normal life, and then suddenly she was murdered.

Why?

Su Min took notes and said softly, "The time of death was about four days ago, which matches the time of disappearance. The killer's method was very skilled, and there were no extra wounds."

Zhang Yuhang said from the side, "Officer, the murderer is silencing witnesses. He wants to kill everyone who knows the truth about Ah Zhen's case."

Jiang Bo nodded. But how much did Fang Min, Huang Binbin, Yang Tianzhen, and Zhang Xiaoyu know? They had only found some clues and hadn't had time to announce them yet. How did the killer know they were investigating?

unless--

The killer was right next to them, watching them intently.

A thought flashed through Jiang Bo's mind.

"Liu Tong, check who these four victims contacted before their deaths and see if there were any connections."

Liu Tong replied to the message quickly.

"They did have some connection. They both contacted the same person—Ma Xiuying."

Jiang Bo was stunned.

Ma Xiuying? It's her again?

"Does Ma Xiuying have contact with all of them?"

Liu Tong said, "When Fang Min was investigating her cousin Xiuying's whereabouts, she contacted Ma Xiuying. Huang Binbin is Ma Xiuying's niece, and they often visited each other. Yang Tianzhen got to know Ma Xiuying through Huang Binbin and interviewed her at her home. Zhang Xiaoyu—is Zhang Xiaoyu Ma Xiuying's adopted daughter?"

Jiang Bo gripped his phone tightly.

"What did you say?"

Liu Tong said, "I just found out that after Zhang Xiaoyu was adopted, her adoptive parents changed her name. But her adoption record has a blank space for her birth mother. However, the old staff at the welfare home said that the person who brought Zhang Xiaoyu there was Ma Xiuying."

Jiang Bo stood there, his mind blank.

Ma Xiuying. She saw Xiao Ying off, and then contacted her again? Did she tell Xiao Ying the truth? Did Xiao Ying know about her background?

If Xiaoying knew, then why was she still killed?

unless--

Ma Xiuying is lying.

Jiang Bo turned and walked out. Zhang Yuhang followed behind.

"Go find Ma Xiuying."

Jiang Bo knocked on Ma Xiuying's door for a long time, but no one answered. He asked the property management to open the door, but the house was empty. Ma Xiuying's luggage was gone, and the wardrobe was empty, as if she had left in a hurry.

Jiang Bo looked around the house. In the living room, Ah Zhen's photo was still on display, but the incense burner was gone. On the coffee table was a note with a line written on it:

"Officer Jiang, I'm sorry. I lied to you. I've gone to find that person."

There was no signature or date.

Jiang Bo held the note, a feeling he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him.

Who did Ma Xiuying go to? The "acquaintance" that Ding Laosan mentioned?

Zhang Yuhang said from the side, "Officer, Ma Xiuying might know who the murderer is."

Jiang Bo nodded. She probably always knew, but just didn't dare to say it. Now that her daughter was dead, she finally decided to go find that person.

"Liu Tong, check Ma Xiuying's whereabouts and see where she went."

Liu Tong quickly replied: "The last thing I saw was at the train station, where I bought a ticket to Guangzhou. But after boarding the train, I lost contact with them."

Guangzhou.

Ding Laosan was arrested in Guangdong years ago. Was that "acquaintance" also in Guangdong?

Jiang Bo stood at the window, looking at the street outside. The sunlight was bright, but it couldn't penetrate his heart.

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

"Tangyuan, tell me, who is that person?"

Tangyuan, of course, didn't answer. It simply licked his hand and then lay down at his feet.

Zhang Yuhang walked over and said softly, "Bo Sir, I have an idea."

Jiang Bo looked at him.

"Perhaps the killer isn't a single person. Maybe it's an organization."

Jiang Bo was stunned for a moment.

"organize?"

Zhang Yuhang nodded: "You see, all four victims are related to Ah Zhen's case. The clues they found all pointed in the same direction. But every time they found crucial information, they died. This shows that someone has been monitoring this case. This person, or these people, have the ability to obtain information about the police investigation's progress and the ability to silence witnesses in advance."

Jiang Bo stared at him.

"You suspect there's a mole within the organization?"

Zhang Yuhang did not avoid his gaze.

"Ding Laosan said he has an acquaintance in the bureau. That acquaintance might still be alive."

Jiang Bo remained silent for a long time.

He recalled a sentence in his master's notebook: "The river can carry away evidence, but it cannot carry away sins." Before his death, his master had also said something else: "Little Jiang, some things are more complicated than you can imagine. If one day you find out something, don't rush to take action, come to me first."

He didn't pay attention at the time. Now that he thinks about it, did his master know something?

And then there's his special skill. When did he develop that ability to see fragmented images by touching objects? Ten years ago, while handling a drowning case, he touched the deceased's clothing and saw images for the first time. At the time, he thought it was a hallucination, but later discovered it wasn't. His master knew about this, but never asked much, only saying, "Some things, don't tell others."

Where did this ability come from? And why him of all people?

Jiang Bo stood up and walked to Ah Zhen's photo. Looking at her smiling face, he said softly:

"What did you see? Before you died, you wrote, 'They are all dead.' Did you mean Xiaomei and Xiuying, or someone else?"

Ah Zhen in the photo is smiling, but she doesn't answer.

Jiang Bo turned around and said to Zhang Yuhang.

"Back at the station, hold a case analysis meeting."

In the conference room of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, Dong Jianjun sat in the main seat, listening to Jiang Bo's report. His expression was very serious, and his brows were furrowed.

"All four victims are connected to the Ah Zhen case from thirty years ago." Jiang Bo pointed to the photos on the whiteboard. "Fang Min investigated the death of her mother, Xiu Ying; Huang Binbin investigated the death of her cousin, Ah Zhen; Yang Tianzhen helped her investigate; Zhang Xiaoyu is Ah Zhen's daughter. They were all killed when they were close to the truth."

Dong Jianjun asked, "Who is the murderer?"

Jiang Bo shook his head: "There is no direct evidence. But there is a common contact person—Ma Xiuying."

He recounted Ma Xiuying's situation.

Dong Jianjun was silent for a moment, then said, "Ma Xiuying has disappeared?"

Jiang Bo nodded.

"Investigate. Find her at all costs." Dong Jianjun stood up. "Four people have already died in this case. We can't afford to lose any more."

He walked up to Jiang Bo and patted him on the shoulder.

"Xiao Jiang, I know you're under a lot of pressure. But the more pressure you're under, the more you need to stay calm."

Jiang Bo nodded.

Dong Jianjun left. Jiang Bo stood alone in the conference room, looking at the photos.

Tangyuan lay quietly at his feet, keeping him company.

Zhang Yuhang pushed the door open and came in.

"Officer Bo, Liu Tong has found something out. Ma Xiuying used to work at the welfare home."

Jiang Bo turned around.

"What?"

Zhang Yuhang handed over a document: "Ma Xiuying worked as a caregiver at the welfare home from 1985 to 1993. She was the caregiver on duty when Zhang Xiaoyu was brought in."

Jiang Bo took the documents and looked at the information on them.

Ma Xiuying worked at the welfare home for eight years. She saw Ah Zhen's daughter off, and then contacted her again. Was it intentional, or a coincidence?

"Check Ma Xiuying's whereabouts after leaving the welfare home. When did she come to Jiangcheng, and who did she contact?"

Zhang Yuhang nodded.

Jiang Bo walked to the window and looked at the night sky outside. There were few stars, but the moon was 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.

A strange feeling welled up in Jiang Bo's heart—Ma Xiuying knew everything. She knew how Ah Zhen died, how Xiao Ying survived, and how Xiuying died. She knew everything, but she never said a word.

Now she's run away.

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

My phone rang. It was Liu Tong calling.

"Bro, Ma Xiuying's train ticket has been checked and it goes to her final destination: Guangzhou. After she got off the train, she went somewhere."

"where?"

"Zengcheng. The prison where Ding Laosan served his sentence."

Jiang Bo gripped his phone tightly.

Was Ma Xiuying going to find Ding Laosan's cellmate, or to find that "acquaintance"?

"Send someone to Guangzhou to find her."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Bo stood by the window, looking at the Yangtze River in the distance.

The river flows slowly, just as it did a hundred years ago, just as it did a thousand years ago. It carries away countless pieces of evidence, but it cannot take away the sins.

Now, sins are about to surface again.

He recalled his master's dying words: "Xiao Jiang, some things are more complicated than you can imagine."

Master, what exactly do you know?

Tangyuan stood up, walked to his side, and looked up at him. Jiang Bo squatted down and stroked its head.

"Tangyuan, do you think Master is also involved in this case?"

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.

Jiang Bo stood up and walked out of the conference room.

Zhang Yuhang walked towards me in the corridor.

"Polish Sir, I've found something out."

Jiang Bo looked at him.

Zhang Yuhang lowered his voice: "In the prison where Ding Laosan was imprisoned, there was a prison guard surnamed Dong."

Jiang Bo's heart skipped a beat.

His surname is Dong.

"What's his name?"

Zhang Yuhang shook his head: "Can't find it. The file is encrypted."

Jiang Bo remained silent for a long time.

Then he said, "Keep investigating. Be careful."

Zhang Yuhang nodded, turned around and left.

Jiang Bo stood in the corridor, looking at the night sky outside the window.

The moonlight was very bright, shining on the river surface like a silver road.

What lies hidden at the end of that road?

he does not know.

But he knew he had to keep going.

The phone rang again. This time it was Liu Tong.

"Officer Bo, Ma Xiuying has been found. She's in a small hotel in Zengcheng, and our men have her under control. But she won't speak, she only said one sentence—"

"What did you say?"

Liu Tong's voice became very strange.

She said, "Tell Jiang Bo that his master's death is related to this case."

Jiang Bo stood motionless in the corridor, holding his phone.

Outside the window, the river flows silently.