Chapter 349: Chapter 337: Good and Evil Are But a Thought Away_1
Mr. Zhao chuckled slyly and patted Mr. Qu on the back.
"A hacker, what’s that? He can catch hackers."
Cheng Xinghui’s eyes shimmered with tiny stars. By then, he had let his guard down and, at Mr. Zhao’s gesture, he sat down beside him. They chatted idly for quite a while, steering the conversation towards the matter at hand. When Cheng Xinghui heard that they were investigating a case that seemed similar to his childhood experience, the smile faded from his face, and his complexion turned a shade paler.
Zhou Ning noticed something was amiss and was about to speak when Mr. Zhao nudged him.
"Scaredy-cat, you were just a two-year-old baby back then, unable to protect yourself. Now you’re a young man; do you think you can still be easily kidnapped?
Actually, we didn’t bring you here expecting you to remember anything; we just want to take a look at the scars of your injuries and the condition of your severed fingers. Did you see that handsome brother over there? He’s a forensic doctor. By examining the remnants of the details, he can determine what kind of weapon inflicted your injuries and also analyze whether these two cases are connected. Got it?"
Cheng Xinghui nodded vaguely, somewhat understanding. Yet his gaze became firmer, and only after looking towards the door did he speak up:
"To be honest, I’m afraid of worrying my dad. Ever since I was little, I’ve had this one dream, not every night, but occasionally it recurs. I can’t tell if it’s real or just my imagination. I don’t mind talking to you about it, but I can’t guarantee its truthfulness."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ning approached. The description resonated with him too well. After all, it was under the guidance of a psychologist that his tormenting dreams had become progressively clearer. Thinking of what Doctor Shi had said, Zhou Ning replied:
"Don’t worry, just relax. Pretend you’re just telling us about your dream. If this position is uncomfortable, feel free to sit in that armchair, relax your body, and try to recall as much as you can. We’ll just listen to it as a story, no pressure, okay?"
Cheng Xinghui nodded, gaining confidence from the seriousness and validation he was given.
"When I was little, I told my dad about it, and he said it was just a fright, that it was hysteria. He took me to a healer’s house where they pasted talismans and chanted prayers, and after that, I never spoke of it again. But I knew in my heart, it wasn’t hysteria.
In the dream, I’m wearing very thick cotton clothes with one of those floral bibs over it, the ones you tie at the back, kind of like an apron. When I was a child, that’s how kids in my village were dressed.
In the dream, as soon as I open my eyes, I’m being held by my cotton-padded coat, the bib choking my neck. I struggle continuously, and then I’m hit hard on the buttocks, not with a hand but with something like an iron rod; it just hurts so much.
I dare not cry. The person hitting me is wearing a hooded hat that covers his mouth as well, like in those Flying Tigers movies, but with two long slits for the eyes.
The hooded man and Dagang kept talking; Dagang was the young helper my dad hired, big enough to work in the shop. I don’t remember what they were saying, but on the table, there was a dark green, elongated bag with many zippers and pockets, and lots of red writing in the middle, along with five-pointed stars.
They started talking peacefully, but then began to argue. Dagang tried to come and take me, the hooded man disagreed, and they fought. Then the hooded man dragged me by the bib, snatched me away, and raised something black towards my hand and chopped down; I didn’t know anything after that.
Of course, now I know my fingers were chopped off. That kind of pain is indescribable; I shudder whenever I think of it. When I came to, everything was pitch black, and Dagang was lying in front of me, crying and saying sorry, bowing to me repeatedly.
But as a door opened, the hooded man returned, threw down a red and blue plaited bag heavy on the table, opened it, and started stuffing bundles of money inside the green bag. Pointing at me, Dagang bowed to the hooded man who kicked him over and lifted that black object towards me again.
But Dagang, seemingly crazy, rushed over, holding me as he hid in a corner. The hooded man spat out a curse, and continued stuffing the money. After he finished, he slung the bag over his shoulder and left. Once the hooded man was gone, I, starving and in immense pain, started to cry.
Dagang covered my mouth. I heard lots of noises then; Dagang stuffed me into a grimy wardrobe, kept repeating he was sorry, and then ran out. Afterwards, it was like fireworks; two blasts sounded.
That’s where the dream ends. Of course, each time I have this dream, I can make out a bit more of their conversation, but I don’t know if it’s all in my head or if it really happened. Brother, I’m not sick, am I?"
Cheng Xinghui looked hopefully at Zhou Ning, seeming to seek answers in his expression.
However, this narrative left everyone filled with questions. Liu Yongxin and Mr. Zhao were somewhat prepared, knowing about Zhou Ning’s similar experiences, but Zhu Xingxing and the rest had their eyes wide open.
Zhou Ning felt the hair on his back stand up. According to the boy’s account, if this was real, then as Liu Yongxin initially surmised, the mastermind behind the case remained at large, and Dagang was merely an accomplice.
Perhaps he provided information about the Cheng Family or was momentarily greedy for external wealth. When faced with temptation, it isn’t as simple as choosing not to be swayed; good and evil are just a thought apart.
"It’s not an illness. I had a similar adverse memory when I was young, but it wasn’t until I grew up that I slowly remembered. At first, I thought I had a psychological illness, but it turned out those weren’t dreams, but actual experiences. When you talk about it, the pressure and torment diminish somewhat.
I’ll talk to your father later; you should have a good conversation with him. Once the knot in your heart is untied, you’ll let it go. The dream might still appear, but you won’t be as afraid anymore because you’ll know that in the end, you were rescued.
As for whether Dagang is dead or the hooded man got away, that’s irrelevant to you. By collaborating with him to kidnap you, he bears inescapable responsibility. Even if he regretted it halfway, a crime is a crime."
Cheng Xinghui nodded vigorously, showing Zhou Ning a smile.
"Thank you, Uncle!"
Zhou Ning glanced at his hand, from this angle, it was not visible which finger was missing.
"May I take a look at your hand? I need to take a picture to determine whether the cross-section of the severed finger is similar to another case."
Cheng Xinghui nodded, raising his left hand which had half of the index finger missing. The skin flap was done very beautifully; the remaining part of the finger still had some functionality, clearly the work of an absolutely professional hospital.
However, such a neat incision with such surgical traces meant that the value of comparison wasn’t significant.
Zhou Ning had thought that the severed finger was closer to the base since generally, injuries to the hand don’t opt for amputation at the joint; joint capsules secrete synovial fluid, which can affect wound healing and cause swelling at the stump. Usually, the plane of amputation is determined by the condition of the finger injury.
Seeing Zhou Ning’s close examination, Cheng Xinghui pulled his hand back and opened his backpack which was behind him. Inside were some very old X-rays. Zhou Ning was somewhat surprised that Cheng Xinghui had brought these. Cheng Xinghui said:
"Dad said that you wanted to see me, to see if the bad person who harmed me had committed another crime. You needed to compare my wound, so I found these things. I don’t know if they are useful because my finger has undergone surgery, the cross-section isn’t neat, and I needed some sort of skin flap."
Zhou Ning smiled.
"You kid, you’ve been watching plenty of crime dramas, huh? Impressive that you even knew to prepare the materials yourself. Not bad, quite meticulous. We especially need the various X-rays taken before the initial surgery."
With such praise, Cheng Xinghui also smiled, no longer the tense look he had when he arrived. Zhou Ning looked at the X-rays; Zhu Xingxing took him to have them rescanned and photographed.
Zhou Ning asked Mr. Qu to process the X-rays, after all, they were old and not very clear. After reprocessing them, Zhou Ning carefully examined the fracture surfaces on the front and side views.
Surprisingly, just like in the case of the three victims from the 4.14 case, the ends of the phalangeal bones showed step-like features. On the sloping 30-degree fracture surface, there was a bone defect spanning the longitudinal direction of the phalangeal bone.
Mr. Qu adjusted the image, overlaying the measurements of the triangular bayonet against the scars on the skin and bone. Both lengthwise and crosswise, they matched perfectly!
He hurriedly demonstrated his findings to Zhou Ning. Zhou Ning’s expression, however, was calm. He looked over it once and nodded slightly, then put the X-rays back into the bag. As he did, the sound of a palm-sized bottle rattled inside.
Zhou Ning reached out and grabbed the bottle. Mr. Zhao glanced over unintentionally and was shocked to find a section of an index finger inside. The severed finger was small and ominously pale; on closer inspection, there seemed to be an even smaller segment of bone inside. The sight gave Mr. Zhao a start and he looked at Cheng Xinghui in astonishment.
"Is this your finger?"
Cheng Xinghui nodded.
"My dad said that life, sickness, and death should be complete, without any deficiencies. But the finger was severed a long time ago, and I was too young at the time, so reattachment was impossible. Thus, someone prepared a formalin solution for preservation. The part of my finger that was surgically removed is also in there. I don’t know if this could be of any help to you."
Zhou Ning nodded vigorously, but Mr. Zhao looked on with skepticism.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, it’s soaked in a formalin solution. Do you really intend to treat it like a fresh sample and go to Mrs. Cui to extract DNA from the residue? How could DNA possibly be extracted from that? Isn’t that a joke?"
Having said that, Mr. Zhao’s face was full of disbelief. Zhu Xingxing and the others all turned their gaze to Zhou Ning, as if hoping to discern the answer from his face. After all, this case happened in 2000, and the sample had been soaked in formalin for twelve years. Extracting DNA from it now, and not just from the severed limb but searching for any residual traces on it, seemed far-fetched.
Surprise showed on each face, but Liu Yongxin wasn’t surprised at all.
"My precious apprentice, you should first ask the lab department; although formalin doesn’t damage DNA and doesn’t denature proteins, theoretically, if it’s well-preserved, your idea could work. However, this is as likely as winning a lottery. Whether the finger was severed by that masked man, whether his hand even touched it, everything is unknown."
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Of course I know that. Since the boy has preserved his severed finger, it’s as if fate is giving us a chance to catch the perpetrator. They say that the end of Western medicine is traditional Chinese medicine, and the end of traditional Chinese medicine is metaphysics. We’re the same; when progress halts, why not try something new? Perhaps there will be unexpected gains."
Before Zhou Ning could finish, Cheng Zhi’s shout came from behind.
"I disagree!"
