Ji Xun, having overheard part of the conversation at the household registration office, had already developed a strong interest in this Qian Shumao. So he sent another message to Huo Ranyin: “An unexpected situation has come up. I now need a search warrant. Send one over.”
“I’ll have someone bring it to you in an hour,” Huo Ranyin replied. “Is this warrant-generating machine of mine useful?”
Ji Xun was amused: “Very useful. It would be even better if you could deliver it yourself.”
The efficiency of a police captain is high indeed. In less than an hour, just forty-five minutes later, Ji Xun got the search warrant he needed. Of course, it wasn’t brought by Huo Ranyin, who was still too busy to get away. The one who brought it was the bespectacled detective from Huo Ranyin’s team who was mainly responsible for technical work.
To send out an office-based technical specialist showed just how short-staffed they were.
But that wasn’t the important part.
What was important was that in the home of Qian Shumao, who was listed as single on the household register, lived two other people. A woman in her early thirties, and an eight-year-old child.
The child was sent into a room to play by his mother, while the mother herself, with a calm expression, sat on the sofa to receive them.
Ji Xun was not a police officer and had no desire to speak. He just looked around the house, leaving the task of communicating with Feng Jiamei entirely to the bespectacled detective.
The bespectacled detective began with routine questions: “Your name? What is your relationship with Qian Shumao?”
“My name is Feng Jiamei, and I’m in a cohabiting relationship with Old Qian. Your sudden visit… did…” Her face turned pale, her hands clasped lightly on her knees. “Did my Old Qian do something wrong?”
She was a young mother, and even more so, a young woman. When she was uneasy, a charmingly pitiful air revealed itself: “By the way, what should I call you, officer?”
“My name is Zhong Xiaojin,” said the bespectacled detective.
“It must be the ‘jin’ from ‘yánjǐn jǐnshèn’ (rigorous and cautious).”
“That’s the one.” Zhong Xiaojin became a little embarrassed.
The house was luxuriously decorated. A jade-carved Buddha statue was casually placed on a side table in the living room as a decoration. When they first came in, Ji Xun had also seen the chair in the study.
The world’s best chair brand; one ergonomic chair costs ten thousand yuan.
For decoration, some people spend over a hundred thousand, some several hundred thousand; this house probably cost several million.
He let his gaze wander around, leaving Officer Zhong Xiaojin to continue dealing with Ms. Feng Jiamei. Officer Zhong began to ask Feng Jiamei if Qian Shumao had been acting strangely recently, if he had made any enemies in his life—a series of routine questions.
Feng Jiamei’s answers were also generally routine. She didn’t know much about Qian Shumao’s work or friends. In their family, Qian Shumao rarely talked about work matters with her, and she didn’t like to ask, as she wouldn’t understand anyway. She usually just took care of the child at home, sometimes going out to play cards or get beauty treatments.
Suddenly, a door opened. The little boy who had been in the room ran out, heading straight for the closed study door. When his hand touched the doorknob, Feng Jiamei, who had been speaking amicably with Zhong Xiaojin, turned and yelled, “Don’t go into the study! Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear me tell you to stay in your room and do your homework?”
The child was startled by the shouting, sat down on the floor, and began to wail on the spot: “Waaah, Mommy yelled at me—”
“I’m sorry, Officer Zhong. My child is a bit spoiled; it’s because I usually don’t teach him well.” When she turned back, Feng Jiamei was once again gentle and warm.
Zhong Xiaojin clearly didn’t have much experience dealing with women. He was a bit embarrassed and blushing, shifting uncomfortably on the sofa. “No, no, sometimes children are just naughty…”
Ji Xun interjected at this point: “Why is he not allowed in the study? Is there another place in the house that must be kept secret from the child?”
Feng Jiamei smiled. “The study is where Old Qian works. The child is still young; I’m worried he’ll mess things up. After all, Old Qian has a bit of a temper.”
“Then can we go in and have a look?”
“Ah, maybe we should wait for Old Qian to come back…”
“Ms. Feng,” Zhong Xiaojin suddenly sobered up. “We have a search warrant. We must search every corner of the house.”
“—Of course,” Feng Jiamei said. “As you wish.”
Ji Xun walked in. The study was neat and tidy. Every book on the shelf was in its place, and there was no clutter on the coffee table or carpet. Only the desk in the study had some used pens and paper on it. If one were to say where the master of this room spent most of his time, it was undoubtedly at this desk.
Ji Xun walked to the desk and pulled open a drawer.
“Yo.”
He let out a whistle.
In the drawer lay a bottle of silver nitrate, a bag of milk candy, and a syringe.
A gasp came from behind. It was Feng Jiamei. She had followed them in and saw the contents of the drawer, her face full of shock. “How could these things be in the house?”
“I’m also very curious about that. If possible, I would also like to ask Mr. Qian Shumao to answer,” Ji Xun said.
“I’ll call him and tell him to come back quickly.” Feng Jiamei was a little uneasy, then she added, “It’s all over the internet now, maybe he was just curious… just curious, nothing else. Please don’t overthink it, officer.”
“But unfortunately,” Ji Xun cut in, “an hour ago, Mr. Qian Shumao died in a car accident.”
February 3rd, 9:47 PM, Ning City.
Yuan Yue returned to Ning City. He was here to visit a person of great importance to the case—Sun Fujing, who was also a victim back then and went bankrupt directly because of the robbery and murder incident.
Sun Fujing, who was already forty back then, was now an old man in his sixties.
When he visited, only Sun Fujing was at home. Dressed in a traditional Chinese padded jacket and wearing Buddhist prayer beads, Sun Fujing had a fair complexion and a robust physique. He had deep smile lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth, indicating he was a cheerful and laughing person. He invited Yuan Yue to sit down and went to pour tea.
Yuan Yue noticed a statue of the goddess Mazu in the living room. In front of it was an incense burner with three sticks of incense burning, filling the room with the scent of sandalwood that emanated from the smoke coiling upwards.
“When I was young, I didn’t believe in gods. After I went bankrupt, I started praying to gods and Buddhas,” Sun Fujing said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Hoping that wealth is like a passing cloud, and my family will be safe.”
“The education institution your wife started should be doing well now, right?” Yuan Yue averted his gaze and asked.
Sun Fujing just smiled. “I’m a blacklisted debtor, I can’t manage these things anymore. My wife handles everything. Now I’m just a man who lives off his wife.”
Yuan Yue: “Mr. Sun, I’ve come to see you this time to ask you about a few things again.”
“What things are those?”
“The robbery and murder case from twenty-two years ago, do you still remember it?”
“That was the turning point of my life, how could I not remember?” Sun Fujing replied, but then added, “But after all, twenty-two years have passed. I only think I have a deep impression of it; I can’t guarantee I remember every detail perfectly.”
“Memory fading is inevitable.” Yuan Yue nodded. “Do you still remember what time they rushed into your house back then?”
“Around 9:30.”
“Why do you remember it so clearly?”
“Because I was wearing a watch. When I fell, I hid my arm under my face and saw the time.”
“How many people came in?”
“Two people.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“I heard them talking.”
“You said at the time their characteristics were…”
“One had a northern accent, and one had long hair and a tattoo on his arm.”
Twenty-two years had passed, but when speaking of these two distinct features, Sun Fujing was still clear and didn’t hesitate.
“We have now identified the two main suspects who killed Tang Zhixue, but they both have alibis for around 9:30,” Yuan Yue said slowly.
Sun Fujing was also very surprised. He looked down and thought for a long time. “Is it possible… that there weren’t two culprits back then, but four? Two went to Tang Zhixue’s house, two came to mine, and then they colluded to provide false testimonies for each other? I remember a video analysis that said the perpetrators were all construction workers. Those workers ate and slept together, so the possibility of them colluding is very high.”
Yuan Yue looked down and thought for a moment, seemingly convinced. He then asked, “So, Mr. Sun, you believe that because there were more people involved than the police thought, they could easily provide cover for each other, and transferring the stolen money was also very convenient?”
“Yes, that’s what I think.”
“Then, why choose those two people to transfer the stolen money? What if they…”
Sun Fujing seemed to interrupt Yuan Yue in confusion: “Officer, which two people are you talking about? I don’t quite understand your question. I watched the video and your police reports, and it seems neither mentioned this point?”
Yuan Yue apologized and didn’t continue the topic. Instead, he asked some more questions about Zhao Yuanliang’s and others’ private relationships with Tang Zhixue, asking Sun Fujing to recall if there were any motives for the crime other than wages.
They talked for a long time. Before leaving, Yuan Yue fiddled with the body camera on his chest and said, “Mr. Sun, our conversation tonight has been recorded as per procedure. I hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t, I understand.”
“Then if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. Thank you, Mr. Sun, for being so cooperative with us after all this time.”
Yuan Yue came out of Sun Fujing’s house and saw a familiar figure peeking from a distance. He was a bit stunned and called out, “Ji Xun?”
“Yuan Yue?” Ji Xun was equally surprised. “When did you get back to Ning City?”
“Half an hour ago. I came here to see a witness.”
“Sun Fujing, huh?” Ji Xun said. “Are you done seeing him? Do you have anything else to do?”
“There are still a few things…”
“Sustainable case-handling requires a balance of work and rest. I’m hungry. Come with me to a food stall for some grilled skewers first. We can talk about the case while we eat.”
Without waiting for an answer, Ji Xun dragged Yuan Yue away.
At ten o’clock at night, the busiest time for food stalls, Ji Xun pushed Yuan Yue into a seat, took a tray himself to pick food from the freezer for the owner to grill. Not long after he left, the phone on the table rang.
It was a video call.
From a very long name.
Yuan Yue looked at it, confused, and called out to Ji Xun, “You have a video call.”
Ji Xun: “From who?”
Yuan Yue: “The Sarcastic generous cheapskate.”
Ji Xun: “Oh—you can answer it.”
Only then did Yuan Yue pick up the phone and answer the video call. Both parties saw each other on the screen.
Yuan Yue looking at Huo Ranyin: “…”
The Sarcastic generous cheapskate?
Huo Ranyin looking at Yuan Yue: “…”
Yuan Yue is answering Ji Xun’s phone?
