Po Sir's Police Affairs: The Hunter

When I got back to Jiangcheng, it was already 3 p.m.

Jiang Bo told Zhang Yuhang to drive directly to the Municipal Public Security Bureau. When he got out of the car, his legs felt weak. He hadn't slept much for two days and two nights, only managing to doze off briefly in the car. His eyelids felt like lead, and his temples throbbed, but he couldn't care less about that.

Tangyuan was also tired. After getting off the car, it lay on the ground for a while before standing up, shaking its fur, and following him inside. Its steps were also a little heavy, its tongue was sticking out, and it was panting heavily.

As Jiang Bo entered the office, Liu Tong was already waiting. Seeing him, Jiang Bo stood up, his expression somewhat grave. The light from the computer screen illuminated his face, deepening the shadows of his weariness.

"Bore Sir, I've found something."

Jiang Bo sat down opposite him and rubbed his temples.

"explain."

Liu Tong turned the computer screen around, revealing a map. Jiang Bo squinted at it; it was a map of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, stretching from Hubei to Anhui, from Jiangxi to Hunan, with winding rivers like veins crisscrossing the map. Several red dots were marked on the map, connected by red lines.

"These are the places your mother has visited over the years," Liu Tong said, pointing to the red dots. "Jiujiang, Yueyang, Jiangcheng, Huanggang, Nanchang. I've arranged them in chronological order; you can see this route."

Jiang Bo looked at the line, from Anhui to Jiangxi, from Jiangxi to Hunan, from Hunan to Hubei, and then back to Jiangxi from Hubei. The line was winding and meandering, like a maze with no exit, or like the trajectory drawn on a map by an invisible hand.

Jiujiang in 1995, Yueyang in 1998, Wuhan in 2003, Huanggang in 2008, and Nanchang in 2015. Each stop was a few years apart, and each stop was in a different province.

"Is there a problem?"

Liu Tong zoomed in on the map, pointing to the areas around the red dots. The map was very detailed; even towns and villages were clearly visible.

"Look at these places, they are all along the Yangtze River and its tributaries. Jiujiang is on the banks of the Yangtze River, Yueyang is on the banks of Dongting Lake, Jiangcheng is on the banks of the Qingyi River, Huanggang is on the banks of the Yangtze River, and Nanchang is on the banks of the Gan River. It has always been on the banks of the river and has never left the water."

Jiang Bo clenched his fist.

The riverbank. She's always by the riverbank.

He remembered what Lao He had said: "Your mother likes the riverside. That's where she met your father."

Jiang Yizhou also disappeared by the river.

"There's one more thing." Liu Tong pulled up another map, an overlay layer with more markings. "I checked the geographical locations of these places and found a pattern. Near every place she went, there was a J organization stronghold."

Jiang Bo was stunned and leaned forward.

"What?"

Liu Tong pointed to the marks on the map and explained them one by one.

"In Jiujiang, there is an abandoned shipyard on the banks of the Yangtze River. Before 1995, it was a training site for the J organization. We found this in Dong Zhenhua's notes; he recorded this location. The shipyard was ostensibly for ship repair, but in reality, they trained some special children there."

He zoomed in on the shipyard's location, which was a remote river bend with no villages around, only a dirt road leading out.

"In Yueyang, there is an abandoned warehouse by the water. Before 1998, it was a hideout for the J organization. Dong Zhenhua recorded that they detained some people here before moving them. The warehouse is still there, but half of it has collapsed."

As Jiang Bo looked at the red dot, a scene flashed through his mind: Xiuying standing outside that warehouse, looking at the dilapidated door, lost in thought.

"Jiangcheng goes without saying, but they've always been active around the old pontoon bridge. That house at the east end of the old pontoon bridge is where Ah Zhen lived, and it's also where Ding Laosan committed murder. It's only 500 meters from one of the J organization's strongholds."

Liu Tong pointed to the location of Jiangcheng, where the old floating bridge area had been marked out.

"There's an abandoned sanatorium in Huanggang, on the banks of the Yangtze River. Before 2008, it was one of their bases. The sanatorium was very large, with dozens of rooms. They used it as a place for recuperation, but actually did other things there. It was abandoned after 2008, but it should still be there now."

"In Nanchang, there's an abandoned dock on the Gan River. Before 2015, it was one of their operations. It was a cargo dock, usually deserted, especially at night. They used it to transfer goods and also to detain people."

Jiang Bo stared at the red dots, her mind racing. Five locations, five strongholds, and the timing all matched. Every place she visited was a place where the J organization had previously operated.

Her going to these places was not accidental. She was looking for them.

"How did she manage to find these places?"

Liu Tong shook his head, his brows furrowed.

"Logically, we shouldn't be able to find this information. We only recently compiled this information from Dong Zhenhua's notes, along with the special task force's files, to learn about these places. Ordinary people have no access to this information at all. Not to mention ordinary people, even regular police officers wouldn't know about it."

Jiang Bo remained silent for a few seconds.

"Unless someone tells her."

Liu Tong nodded.

"That's what I think too. Someone is secretly guiding her to these places. And this person knows all of the J organization's strongholds and knows when she will go to where."

Jiang Bo clenched his fist.

who is it?

He Wu'an? Dong Zhenhua? Or someone else?

He stood up and walked to the whiteboard. The whiteboard was already covered with photos and clues, densely packed like a giant net. He wrote down each place name one by one, and then drew a question mark next to them.

Jiujiang—1995—Shipyard

Yueyang—1998—Warehouse

Jiangcheng—2003—Old Floating Bridge

Huanggang—2008—Sanatorium

Nanchang—2015—Wharf

Those red dots, when connected, form a line—a line tracking the J organization.

She wasn't wandering. She was investigating.

Zhang Yuhang pushed open the door and came in, holding a document in his hand, with a strange expression on his face. Jiang Bo recognized that expression; it was the excitement of discovering an important clue, but mixed with something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Officer, we've found out something else. The old lady who took your mother in during those six months in Yueyang was surnamed He."

Jiang Bo turned around.

"Surname He?"

Zhang Yuhang nodded and handed over the document.

"Yes. Her surname was He, and her name was He Lanying. She was over seventy years old and has passed away. She was Old He's distant cousin."

Jiang Bo was stunned.

Old He's distant cousin?

He took the document and quickly glanced at it. It contained He Lanying's basic information: female, born in 1925, from Yueyang, farmer, no children, passed away in 2001. A small note read: distant relative, He Jianguo (Qingshan Town).

He Jianguo is Lao He.

"Does Lao He know?"

Zhang Yuhang shook his head.

"I don't know. There's no such relative in Lao He's file. They must be a distant relative, someone he's never been in contact with. I checked Lao He's social connections, and he's never mentioned this person. If we hadn't investigated in reverse, we wouldn't have found out at all."

Jiang Bo walked back to the table and looked at the map. Next to the red dot representing Yueyang, a new name had appeared: He Lanying.

Old He's cousin took Xiuying in. Was it a coincidence, or was it arranged by someone?

He remembered what Lao He had said: "Your mother might still be alive. Someone is helping her."

Who is that person?

He Wu'an?

He picked up the phone and called Lao He.

The phone rang for a long time before being answered. Old He's voice sounded tired, as if he had just been woken up from a dream.

"Xiao Jiang?"

"Uncle He, I'd like to ask you something. Do you have a cousin named He Lanying?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. During those few seconds, Jiang Bo could hear Lao He's breathing, which was somewhat heavy, as if he was hesitating.

"Yes. What's wrong?"

"She's in Yueyang. In 1998, when my mother was in Yueyang, she was taken in by her."

Lao He remained silent for a long time.

Then he sighed. The sigh was soft, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, pressing down on Jiang Bo's heart through the telephone line.

"I know."

Jiang Bo clenched his fist.

"You know?"

"Wu'an told me. He said he arranged for someone to take care of your mother. That person is my cousin. He didn't say who it was, but I know. My cousin has no children and lives alone in Yueyang. Wu'an asked her to help take care of someone. She agreed."

Jiang Bo stood there, his mind blank.

It was arranged by He Wu'an.

He had been secretly taking care of Xiuying.

Where is he now?

Lao He's voice was very soft, as if it were drifting from a very far place.

"I don't know. He really won't tell me. He says the less he knows, the safer he is. Every time he contacts me, it's via a public phone or someone else relays a message. I've never seen him in over twenty years."

Jiang Bo remained silent for a while.

How did he know where my mother was?

Old He sighed again.

"He's been looking for her. Ever since the day you were rescued, he's been looking for her. He investigated all of the J organization's strongholds, going to them one by one. He found out all the places your mother went to. He told her to wait for him in those places. But every time he arrived, she was already gone."

Jiang Bo felt as if something had struck his heart hard.

He Wu'an is looking for Xiuying. Xiuying is looking for Jiang Bo.

The two people were in different places, searching for each other, but they always missed each other.

When was the last time he contacted you?

Old He thought about it.

Three years ago, he sent me a message: "We've found it almost."

We've almost found it.

Three years ago was in 2021.

Where was Xiuying back then?

Jiang Bo hung up the phone and looked out the window.

It was getting dark. The setting sun dyed the river surface a golden-red, a color like blood or fire. Boats came and went on the river, leaving long trails in their wake, but those trails quickly disappeared, as if they had never existed.

Tangyuan walked over and rubbed against his leg.

He crouched down and stroked its head. Tangyuan's fur was soft and warm, shimmering with a golden light in the afterglow of the setting sun.

"Tangyuan, someone is helping my mom."

Tangyuan called out.

That shout echoed in the quiet office.

Jiang Bo stood up and turned around.

"Liu Tong, continue the investigation. Find out the exact locations of these outposts, the more detailed the better. I need to know what she might have seen and experienced in those places."

Liu Tong nodded and began typing.

Jiang Bo walked to the whiteboard and looked at the names and clues.

Xiuying, He Wuan, Dong Zhenhua, Lao He, Jiang Yizhou.

The fates of these people were like a net, entangling him in the middle. He stood in the center of the net, watching the threads connect one by one, forming a vast labyrinth.

He suddenly remembered one thing.

"Liu Tong, check Jiang Yizhou's file."

Liu Tong was taken aback: "Who is Jiang Yizhou?"

"My dad."

Liu Tong paused for a moment. He looked at Jiang Bo, a flicker of something in his eyes, but he didn't ask. He just nodded and started typing.

A few minutes later, a file appeared on the screen.

"Jiang Yizhou, born in 1960, joined the police force in 1980, and went missing in 1992. Before his disappearance, he was an investigator in the Criminal Investigation Division, investigating a case. The case number is 920315."

Jiang Bo clenched his fist.

He disappeared in 1992. He wasn't even born that year. Soo-young had just become pregnant with him that year.

"Where are the case files?"

Liu Tong checked it out, and his expression changed.

"It's been sealed. We need Director Dong's approval to move it."

Jiang Bo stood up.

"I'm going to find Dong Jianjun."

Dong Jianjun's office was on the fifteenth floor. When Jiang Bo knocked and entered, Dong was standing by the window, looking at the river view outside. The setting sun shone on him, gilding his silhouette with a golden edge.

Hearing the noise, he turned around.

"Xiao Jiang, how's the investigation going?"

Jiang Bo briefly explained the situation, from Xiuying's whereabouts to the J organization's stronghold, to He Wu'an's arrangements, and to Lao He's cousin. Dong Jianjun listened in silence for a long time.

Then he went back to his desk, picked up a pen, wrote an approval document, and handed it to Jiang Bo.

"Go ahead and investigate. I support you in getting to the bottom of this case."

Jiang Bo took the approval document and saluted.

"Thank you, Director Dong."

Dong Jianjun waved his hand.

"Don't thank me. My brother's case also depends on you."

Jiang Bo nodded and turned to leave.

As he walked out of the office, he glanced back. Dong Jianjun was still standing by the window, looking at the river view outside. The setting sun cast a long shadow of him on the floor, like a silent statue.

The archives were on the second floor. The administrator was an elderly man nearing retirement, surnamed Sun, wearing reading glasses and with gray hair. After looking at the approval document, he slowly stood up and went into the storage room.

After a long time, he brought out a dusty cardboard box and placed it on the table.

"The case file for 920315 is all here. You're the first person to come and access it in over thirty years."

Jiang Bo opened the cardboard box. Inside was a thick stack of materials, the paper yellowed and the edges curled. On top was a photograph, an old black-and-white photo, showing a young policeman in an old-fashioned uniform standing by the river, smiling brightly in the sunshine.

Jiang Yizhou.

His father.

Jiang Bo picked up the photo and looked at it for a long time.

That person's eyebrows, that person's features, that person's smile—they were exactly the same as his. It was as if he were looking at himself thirty years ago in a mirror.

He put down the photo and began to look through the case file.

The case file was thick, recording all the details of Jiang Yizhou's investigation in 1992. He was investigating a series of disappearances, all involving young women who had vanished along the riverbank. The file contained crime scene photos, interview records, and case analyses.

Jiang Bo flipped through the pages, seeing Jiang Yizhou's neat and tidy handwriting, each stroke precise and deliberate. He had found Ding Laosan, Dong Jianping, and the J organization.

At the end of the case file was a handwritten report. The handwriting was messy, as if it had been written in a hurry, and in some places you could even see the pen tip tearing through the paper:

"December 20, 1992. Today I found some important clues. The J organization has been operating in Jiangcheng for many years, specializing in taking in orphans, training them, and then sending them to various places. Their leader is a man who calls himself 'Mr.', over seventy years old, speaks slowly, and has cold eyes. I haven't found out his real identity yet, but I know that he has connections with some high-ranking officials in Jiangcheng."

I'm being watched. Someone's following me. When I got home today, I saw someone standing downstairs, wearing a hat so I couldn't see their face. They saw me, turned around, and walked away. They were walking with a slight limp in their right leg.

If you see this report, it means something has happened to me. Please continue the investigation. Don't let them get away with it.

Sooyoung, if you see this, I'm sorry. I promised you I'd come back, but I might not. If the baby is born, tell him his father is a policeman. Tell him his father loves him.

Below is Jiang Yizhou's signature.

Jiang Bo held the report, his hands trembling.

My father was being watched. A lame man stood downstairs watching him. Then he disappeared.

Limping.

He's limping again.

Who is that person?

He put down the report and closed his eyes.

An image flashed through my mind: a young policeman standing by the river, smiling brightly in the sunshine. Little did he know that a few months later, he would disappear from this land.

Tangyuan walked over and rubbed against his leg.

He opened his eyes and looked at the glutinous rice ball.

"Tangyuan, my dad is also a policeman."

Tangyuan called out.

That shout echoed in the quiet archives room.

Jiang Bo stood up and put the case file away.

Night had fallen. The city outside the window was ablaze with lights, neon signs flashing, and traffic flowing like a river. But his heart was ice-cold.

He was going to find He Wu'an.

No matter where he is.