At the critical moment, Tang Jinglong raised his arm to block the incoming club.
With a crack, his raised arm went limp and fell, clearly broken. The intense pain caused him to scream violently. In the middle of his scream, Tang Jinglong frantically grabbed at the ground, throwing scattered flower petals at Zeng Peng.
Zeng Peng was slightly hindered, and his second swing missed.
These things obstructed Zeng Peng’s vision, causing his second strike to miss.
The surrounding people also snapped out of their shock and rushed forward, grabbing his arms and body, holding Zeng Peng tightly like an octopus.
Then, the patrol police also arrived. Tang Jinglong was sent to the hospital for treatment, and Zeng Peng was taken back to the station. As an eyewitness and semi-involved party, he also went to the police station—still the same old place, the territory of the Second Criminal Investigation Unit.
When entering the main gate, Ji Xun ran into Huo Ranyin and Tan Mingjiu.
When Huo Ranyin’s gaze moved from Zeng Peng’s face to his, the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
The two exchanged a look, communicating through their eyes:
It’s you again, and again, and again.
Yes, sorry, it’s me again.
“What happened?” Huo Ranyin asked.
The police officer who brought them briefly explained the situation. Huo Ranyin showed no particular expression; he always wore this false mask during work hours. He gestured towards Tan Mingjiu, and then took Zeng Peng into the interrogation room himself.
Tan Mingjiu walked up, his hands behind his back, and circled Ji Xun, looking him up and down, front to back. “Tsk tsk tsk, tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk, tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk.”
“Is your tongue tap dancing? Just say what you want to say,” Ji Xun pushed Tan Mingjiu away.
“The last time I saw you, you were all squeamish just looking at a crime scene. Now look at you, turning around and running off to fight thugs for clues. You think you’re still the guy who was number one in the fitness test, always the first to charge in? A reminder: if you’re fine, the department won’t give you a bonus; if something happens to you, the department won’t give you a pension either.”
“It’s about the fish-and-water relationship between the police and the people. What do we need bonuses or pensions for? Is this about money?”
“Is it then a matter of acting in a fit of rage for a beauty?” Tan Mingjiu dangled the evidence bag in his hand. From the transparent plastic bag, the conversation between him and Xia Youqing was playing.
“What ‘fit of rage for a beauty’?” A voice interjected from the side. Yuan Yue came over from behind.
Tan Mingjiu quickly put his hands behind his back, paused the playback, and stood at attention.
Ji Xun, however, was perfectly at ease and turned to speak to Yuan Yue, “Nothing, just joking around and gossiping with Old Tan.”
Even in the dead of winter, Yuan Yue was covered in sweat, still holding a person in his right hand. He looked at Ji Xun first, then cast a confused glance at Tan Mingjiu, clearly finding Tan Mingjiu’s nervousness a bit odd.
Tan Mingjiu grew even more nervous.
Ji Xun had to pull Yuan Yue’s attention back. “Who’s this? Since we ran into each other, do you want to grab dinner together tonight?”
Yuan Yue: “Ran into a robber on the way back, so I caught him. I have to go out again later.”
For a criminal investigator, it’s either overtime or on the way to overtime.
Ji Xun had expected this and waved his hand casually, “Go on then, we’ll meet up when you have time.”
The two watched Yuan Yue walk away. Tan Mingjiu turned to Ji Xun, “It’s been three years, but your mental fortitude is still so strong!”
Ji Xun grinned at Tan Mingjiu.
Tan Mingjiu then raised his hand and mimed zipping his lips. “Don’t worry, even gossipers have principles. I won’t say a single word I’m not supposed to.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
The two chatted idly as they walked into the office. Tan Mingjiu took out the MP4 player again, this time not for gossip.
“What’s the deal with this MP4 footage? Who do you have a grudge with, or who does Tang Jinglong have a grudge with?”
“How would I know?” Ji Xun said, lacking energy and leaning lazily in his chair, talking nonsense. “It’s not necessarily a grudge. It could be one of my fans for all I know.”
“This fan is really something. Not only did they get the surveillance footage from Sunshine Hospital in no time, but they also found out that Tang Jinglong is allergic to bee venom.”
“Instead of saying they’re capable, it’s more like they have considerable power.”
“You’re implying something,” Tan Mingjiu said.
“To get both the surveillance footage and Tang Jinglong’s secret in such a short time, besides Rao Fangjie, the vice president of Sunshine Hospital and Tang Jinglong’s wife, the most likely person would be someone inside the police force, right? Think about it, have any new forensic psychologists who like crime fiction joined recently? Usually in crime dramas, both of those professions have a sign on their forehead that says—’I have a problem’.”
Ji Xun finished speaking. Before Tan Mingjiu could respond, two gazes shot from the doorway.
One was Huo Ranyin’s, the other was a woman’s, whom he didn’t recognize.
The woman nodded at Huo Ranyin and left. Tan Mingjiu leaned close to Ji Xun and whispered, “Are you some kind of jinx? A new person just transferred to our forensics department a week ago. A beauty in this monastery of men is rare. Never mind her, I feel offended by what you said.”
“Ji Xun,” Huo Ranyin called him. “Come to my office.”
“Captain Huo, I’m halfway through my questioning here,” Tan Mingjiu quickly interjected.
Huo Ranyin didn’t turn his head. “Just in time to find out we have a mole in our department?”
Ji Xun stood up, patted the extremely embarrassed Tan Mingjiu on the shoulder, and followed Huo Ranyin into his office.
The detachment captain’s office was not very imposing. The furnishings were all simple. On the desk, besides the necessary office electronics and paper documents from above, Ji Xun didn’t even see a single pen for writing.
Having no style was the strongest style.
A particularly cautious person who doesn’t want to be analyzed.
Ji Xun thought this absentmindedly, then heard Huo Ranyin call his name again.
“Ji Xun.”
His gaze finally drifted to Huo Ranyin’s face. A heavy cloud of gloom had gathered on the face of the man standing behind the desk.
Ha, this person’s expression is far less composed than his habits, Ji Xun thought.
“Curious about what Zeng Peng confessed?” Huo Ranyin asked.
“What did he confess?” Ji Xun asked perfunctorily.
Huo Ranyin looked at Ji Xun for a moment, then a faint, cold smile spread across his face like a ripple in a pond.
“Zeng Peng said he found out about you through Xia Youqing and saw you talking from a distance. So he bought the content of your conversation from a cleaner. The cleaner couldn’t remember much, only the most shocking sentence.”
Huo Ranyin said, word by word.
“‘They said, it seems the killer is the one called Tang Jinglong’—and then, he followed you and Xia Youqing to Tang Jinglong’s workplace and attacked him in public.”
Huo Ranyin didn’t invite him, so Ji Xun found a seat for himself.
Since they weren’t in an interrogation room, he casually swiveled the chair, raised his elbows onto the armrests, and steepled his fingers.
“Is Captain Huo trying to say that the attack on Tang Jinglong is my responsibility? I didn’t kill Boren, but Boren died because of me?” He smiled and said in a flippant manner, “But Tang Jinglong was lucky, he didn’t die. Just looks like his arm is broken. A hundred days to heal from an injury to muscles and bones, so he’ll need to recover for two or three months.”
The meticulous inspector clearly couldn’t stand his attitude.
The man’s hands, pressed on the desk, tensed slightly. His long knuckles pressed against the wooden surface, like a switchblade about to spring open.
In the end, the switchblade did not spring open. Its edge remained sheathed, still gathering force.
Just like the scornful curl of Huo Ranyin’s lips.
“No, that was just a trivial prerequisite. How could it be your fault? Zeng Peng finding out about our conversation was an accident, and Zeng Peng following you was also an accident, but Zeng Peng attacking him in front of you…” he asked, “Why didn’t you stop him? If Tang Jinglong hadn’t been lucky, that one blow from Zeng Peng could have killed him.”
Ji Xun leaned back in his chair.
“I couldn’t make it in time,” he said.
“Really? Your former colleagues always spoke highly of you, saying you had a quick mind and good skills. They said your most impressive achievement was single-handedly taking on three armed thugs with machetes without being at a disadvantage, and subduing them one by one.”
“Being a cop means you have to risk your life.” Ji Xun’s tone shifted. “But I’m not a cop anymore. What should I risk my life for? Captain Huo, you’re a cop, yet you keep expecting me, an ordinary citizen, to risk my life. How come I don’t see you sharing a bit of your salary with me to spend?”
The office door hadn’t been closed for long. Ji Xun left soon after, and then, Huo Ranyin saw Tan Mingjiu.
“Captain Huo, you were looking for me?”
“You’ve seen Zeng Peng,” Huo Ranyin said directly. “How likely do you think it is that Ji Xun couldn’t react in time when Zeng Peng attacked?”
Tan Mingjiu looked hesitant. “Ji Xun has been retired for three years, after all. If he hasn’t kept up with his training, it’s possible…”
“Then,” a cold glint appeared in Huo Ranyin’s eyes. “How likely do you think it is that Ji Xun instigated Zeng Peng to go after Tang Jinglong?”
As Ji Xun passed through the police station lobby and was about to leave, he ran into a travel-worn family. The father and son had faces full of grief, while the mother’s face was numb. They were being led in by a short female officer with a high ponytail.
As they passed each other, he overheard a snippet of conversation from the group.
“Lei Lei…”
It was Xi Lei’s family.
He didn’t stop. He left the lobby and soon found Xia Youqing not far from the police station.
Xia Youqing was holding a birdcage. The Java sparrow he had seen at the scene was resting inside. It was alright, but its feathers had lost their luster. It wasn’t strange for a bird that had lost its owner to weaken silently like this.
She sat on a bench by the road, her face a little pale. She said to Ji Xun, “The police officer inside gave me the birdcage. He said the examination was done. It was supposed to be given to Zeng Peng, but Zeng Peng has been detained again, so he gave it to me…”
“Didn’t they give it to Xi Lei’s parents?”
“I asked. The officer said he mentioned it, but Lei Lei’s father refused. He didn’t want to see the bird, saying the killer was willing to spare a bird, but not his daughter. He also told me that after they take the body back this time, they will hold the funeral…”
Too much had happened this morning, and Xia Youqing, sitting on the park bench, was clearly a bit dazed.
But even so, she had brought Ji Xun enough information.
After Ji Xun and Zeng Peng were taken away by the police, she had followed Tang Jinglong to the hospital and noted down the hospital and his room number. She had also used this time to get a result from searching for the bouquet picture Ji Xun had just given her.
Destiny Florist.
Located in Ning City’s flower and bird market, it was a flower shop ranked in the lower-middle tier on the platform’s app, with not many sales.
The probability of a killer specifically choosing a flower shop on an online shopping platform before committing murder was low, and Destiny Florist was not close to Xi Lei’s residence—in other words, the killer most likely bought the flowers from a shop near their own home.
Ji Xun was quite satisfied. “I’ll go to the flower shop to have a look. You should go home and rest first.”
“About Tang Jinglong…” Xia Youqing said.
“After this incident, Zeng Peng’s suspicion has been greatly reduced, and Tang Jinglong’s suspicion has increased proportionally. The police are probably eager to identify the sex of every mosquito that appears near Tang Jinglong now. It’s the same old saying: there’s no need for repetitive work. Youqing, you should trust the police,” Ji Xun said without looking up as he navigated to the flower shop.
Xia Youqing was already convinced by Ji Xun. She nodded meekly, “I understand. I’ll take this bird back first. Be careful with what you do next.”
“Don’t worry, nothing will happen.”
