Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Arrest
「September 2nd, 6:30 PM.」
A group of people in raincoats arrived outside a church. They looked up at the building, jarringly out of place with its surroundings, then moved under a sheltered spot to take them off.
This was a church.
It was a religion from a foreign country, but unlike those overseas, this church had gradually been localized.
Although the Sunday service was still called a service, its significance had changed.
Services abroad were considered quite important, but here, the significance of the Sunday service had blurred with the gatherings on Mondays and Tuesdays. The attendees considered the weekday activities to hold the same meaning as the Sunday service.
By that logic, you could go to a service every day in Jiangdong District.
Originally, not many people came here. However, it became more popular after they started giving out apples on Christmas Eve and peanuts on Christmas Day, gradually becoming a source of spiritual solace for many lonely and widowed elderly people.
Those who were pained, tormented, lonely, and suffering were the most easily drawn to the church.
SWOOSH!
A man undid his all-black raincoat and gave it a quick shake, flinging a spray of water into the air.
The men didn’t say a word. Dressed in plainclothes, they walked silently toward the church’s main hall.
It was Tuesday, and the rain was still falling, but a fair number of people were already at the church. Most were elderly, with some seven- and eight-year-old children gathered around, playing and roughhousing.
The group entered, scanned their surroundings, and then sat down in different sections, splitting into pairs.
One of the young men walked to the back pews.
The back of the church was spacious and dark, usually a playground for the children. However, even the kids were afraid of the deepest, darkest corners, so only two were back here.
There was another young man there, with ordinary, clean-cut features and a numb weariness in his eyes.
THUMP.
Two men sat down on either side of him. One of them sniffed.
A faint, stale odor drifted into his nostrils.
But he paid it no mind.
The young man didn’t pay the two any mind either.
Soon, the service began.
The one leading the service from the stage was a priest. He had an aged face, looking to be at least fifty, and held a Bible in his hands. His name was Zhao Kang.
Zhao Kang would say a line from the stage, and the people below, hands clasped and eyes closed, would repeat it.
"Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread..."
The voices grew solemn. Sensing the change in atmosphere, the roughhousing children stopped their mischief and shrank back timidly.
Soon, the chanting died away.
「8:30 PM.」
The crowd gradually thinned out. The elderly left with the children on their tricycles. For a moment, the main doors were completely jammed, but the bottleneck cleared shortly after.
After everyone had gone, the three people in the back also stood up.
The young man walked ahead in silence. He had neither an umbrella nor a raincoat and plunged headfirst into the rainy night.
The two men followed silently behind him.
After a while, their numbers began to swell. Three became five, five became eight, and eight became ten.
Their footsteps quickened, leaving a trail of fresh splashes on the wet ground.
Suddenly...
SHING!
With a sharp sound, the young man in front suddenly brandished a knife. He glared, his eyes bloodshot and his face twisted into a ferocious snarl.
He crouched, pointing the tip of the knife at the people surrounding him.
"Piss off!"
"Get the hell away from me!"
An enraged roar escaped his lips, the killing intent in his eyes so sharp it felt tangible.
"Move in!"
Li Jianye bellowed the command without a moment’s hesitation, and the men surrounding the youth immediately lunged forward.
He had wanted to make the arrest inside the church, but the presence of the two children in the back had stayed his hand. Fortunately, all bystanders had now left.
"Back off!"
The young man slashed wildly with his knife, the blade slicing through the falling raindrops.
But he was surrounded. Seizing an opening, a Police Officer behind him kicked the knife from his hand and tackled him.
THUD!
Both of them crashed to the ground. The others immediately piled on top without hesitation.
The young man’s face was a mask of fury as he lay on the ground. He struggled, writhing and trying to break free.
But it was no use...
"We need you to assist us with an investigation."
Xu Huo spoke as he squatted down, looking at the young man on the ground, who was staring daggers at him with dark, sullen eyes.
The young man said nothing, merely grunting. A hint of mockery and resentment flickered in his eyes.
He struggled even harder, veins bulging on his skin, until...
"It’s about a cold case."
"Penglai City. February 16th, 1999. The night of the Chinese New Year. A cold case involving a ruined temple on a mountaintop."
Xu Huo stated slowly, watching the man’s face.
’It’s the cold case... not the one at the crossroads...’
In that instant, the man on the ground froze. His taut muscles went still for a moment. No one knew what was going through his mind.
After a long moment, his body went limp, as if all the fight had drained out of him.
The Police Officers pinning him down felt the resistance vanish, and they exchanged puzzled looks.
Xu Huo waved a hand, signaling for them to get off him.
But when they stood up, the young man on the ground didn’t get up or try to run. He just remained lying there, silent and still.
CLICK!
The crisp, sharp sound of handcuffs locking echoed in the quiet night.
Li Jianye glanced at the dim scene around them—the silent officers, the quiet young man on the ground. After a long moment, he let out a heavy breath and said grimly:
"Take him away."
...
...
「September 3rd.」
「12:30 PM.」
"How’s the case from four years ago?"
"We’ve pretty much figured it out, but..."
"But what?"
"There’s still a puzzling aspect to this homicide case..."
Jiangsan City, Jiangdong District Criminal Investigation Division. Two men spoke intermittently as they ate in the cafeteria.
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow at Li Jianye. He finished chewing and swallowing the food in his mouth, then said:
"Elaborate."
"The kid’s an orphan named Sun Jiang. He’s been on his own for as long as he can remember. The victim back in ’99 was his sister—not by blood, though. She was one year older than him."
"You know the rest. The Penglai City case file, combined with your deductions, pretty much lays out the whole process."
"But the suspicious part is..."
Li Jianye paused, then continued:
"Sun Jiang came to Jiangsan City four years ago. Over the years, he met Li Ermao often enough to be considered an acquaintance. That’s why Li Ermao wouldn’t have been on guard against him as a stranger."
"And the timing... he arrived in the city almost right after the eventual victims did. He was only thirteen at the time. How he got here, or how he even tracked them down... those are all suspicious points."
"And the biggest mystery is..."
Li Jianye swallowed the food in his mouth, thought for a moment, and said:
"He laid low here for four years and didn’t make a move."
"But on September 1st, he finally did."
Looking at Xu Huo, Li Jianye continued slowly.
"August 31st was the birthday of one of the four victims."
"By September 1st, all four of them had come of age."
"And on that very day, all four of them died..."
Xu Huo paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And Sun Jiang?"
"We don’t know," Li Jianye said.
’We don’t know...’
Xu Huo fell into deep thought.
There was a lot to process in that information. The two men were silent for a long time, until...
"Chief, the homicide suspect wants to see Mr. Xu."
A voice broke the silence. Li Jianye looked up to see a Police Officer standing there.
The officer looked at Li Jianye, his gaze darting occasionally toward Xu Huo.
"Uh, it’s a request. He doesn’t have to see him, of course," the officer added quickly.
Li Jianye paused. Just as he was about to speak, the man across from him stood up.
Xu Huo’s expression was placid. He placed his food tray in the designated rack and started walking out.
A theory had already formed in his mind.
"I’ll go see him."
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