The Yu Brothers’ Case Book

A faint sound rang out from the middle of the room.

The dim green light flickered in the dark of the night. It sounded like there were some adults discussing things outside, but he didn’t have any interest in leaning against the door to listen carefully.

It had nothing to do with him.

His footsteps across the wooden floor were very quiet. He looked around; this was a girl’s room. There were neat and tidy blankets laid out on the bed that had a faint scent to it. Some books laid next to the pillow, and there was some fallen jewelry on the ground.

The black figure melted into the darkness of the room, as silent as a snake wandering through the night.

He slightly bent over to pick up a notebook on the table. It contained what seemed like drafts of letters. There were quite a few cross-outs and corrections in them, which showed how careful and serious the author had been while writing.

He flipped through the notebook, his face twisting into an almost mocking sneer.

Hello:

The weather has gotten chillier recently. Has Mr. Yu been wearing some more layers?

I wanted to tell you that my classmates at school seem to be in a bad mood recently as the weather has gotten colder. I often see them fighting outside the bathrooms, so I have to circle around and walk a bit further. It would be great if it could be resolved.

I improved on the most recent test. I hope that I can one day become someone like Mr. Yu that can help many people.

Hello:

Thank you for teaching me self-defense for the special edition of the weekly publication. Although I kind of feel like you only accepted the interview because I complained to you last time, maybe it’s just me overthinking it.

I passed it around a few of my friends for them to read. Maybe they will find the time to actually go out and find a class to learn it. I am extremely grateful for your help.

School has still been the same as usual, although it’s a bit strange; some people are acting a bit odd…but I might just be oversensitive.

It is almost time for winter break. Hopefully I will do well on the final exams.

Hello:

If possible, I would really appreciate it if Mr. Yu could come and visit our school.

However, I know it is probably impossible. I sometimes feel like there is something wrong inside the school, and it makes me a bit afraid.

My junior said that I was overthinking it, and I felt the same.

But when I tried to break into these people’s circles, very strange things happened. I cannot say anything for certain at the moment; I will tell you at a later time.

It will soon be the end of the year. Is Mr. Yu going on vacation with the whole family?

I still remember that it was because Mr. Yu helped me so many years ago that I am still alive.

I hope that one day I can gather enough courage to thank you in person.

Some noises outside interrupted his flipping through the notebook.

“There seems to be someone inside Zǐzǐ’s ¹ room…”

“Really?”

“Isn’t Zǐzǐ staying late at school for self-study…”

“Let’s go in and make sure it’s not a thief!”

Back then, it was raining just like it was today. The rain outside drenched the transparent windows, blurring them so that it was impossible to see anything outside.

The unwashable sin and sadness was still spread all over the city – eternal and never-ending, insuppressible. Seemingly occurring in circles over and over, it was impossible for one to understand how to press the stop button and end it all, nor could a person ever understand that it was something that needed one to devote all their power into ending.

And so, in this way, the dark side of the world was formed. Indulgent while also being indulged. The shouts of men and women seemed to startle the ice-cold rain that continued to fall on the ground, the pattering drums inciting ripples in the water. But no matter how heavy the rain was, it could not possibly cover the ear-piercing noise that pierced through the entire world like a sharp blade, leaving only mutilated flesh in its wake.

They continued to argue, with the sounds of objects breaking just as sharp as their voices. The cacophony always invaded his ears, body, and even memories ceaselessly, during its countless occurrences.

The rain was pouring so hard that it was as if it would never stop. Just like how those things would never stop hurting him.

If someone had found him at that moment, everything would have been fine…

If just one person had found him…

***

“Ah Yin, did you oversleep?”

It was a bit past six in the morning. After Yu Tong finished preparing everyone’s breakfast alone, he put down the towel and glanced at the clock to discover that aside from Yu, who had been sitting in the living room watching TV for a while now, the other person that typically should have woken up a while ago had not yet come down. “Xia! Didn’t you also need to get up early today?”

Did those two plan to oversleep together?

Yu Tong crossed his arms and stood at the bottom of the staircase to shout upwards.

Approximately two minutes later, he heard thuds from upstairs as someone banged into something in their own room, then proceeded to bump into the door. The grumbling sounds transmitted through the air once the door opened.

“Dad, couldn’t you have called me earlier…damn it, the constant rain recently has made it too easy to sleep deeply.” Yu Yin tugged at his disheveled hair that looked as if it had just gone through an explosion. He had completely overslept, and he raced down the stairs after having been shocked awake while complaining half-heartedly. “I’ll bring my breakfast to school and eat it there. Does Yu want to go together with me?”

“You can head out first, I’ll bring him later.” Yu Tong watched his son grab a lunchbox and quickly stuff the breakfast inside before rushing into the bathroom to try pulling at his hair a few times while shouting, “This explosive hair is so hard to tame.” Finally, after using a massive amount of hair gel to set it in place, he charged back out and hurriedly ran to the front porch. Yu Tong said, “Ah Yin, it’s still raining outside, so don’t forget to wear a raincoat.”

“Ok, got it.”

After putting on his shoes, Yu Yin seemed to suddenly think of something. He quickly turned back and strode straight through the living room with his shoes on.

Yu, who was still sitting on the sofa watching TV, turned to look at him.

What was different today from usual was that Yu was wearing the white high school uniform that belonged to the school right across from Yu Yin’s university. It was also the one that Fang Yi Xun was currently attending.

The new semester was starting. As expected, Yu had easily passed the transfer exam with extremely high marks, and after being welcomed by the school board, was going to officially enter the school to continue his studies.

Today was the first day of classes.

It was still raining outside, yet it was a good day.

“Good luck! If anyone tries to block you, give me a call and I’ll immediately get some people to come across with me and help discipline any reckless high school students.”Yu Yin, who had recently heard that there had been quite a bit of violence at the school, gave Xiao Yu a hard pat on the shoulder. He then sincerely said, “Don’t worry, even if it’s last minute, I should be able to round up around five people. Even a group scuffle won’t be a problem.” Ah Guan also knows quite a few people that play around like that, so we could charge over anytime.

Yu stared back at Yu Yin for a few seconds before lifting a finger to point behind him.

Without even looking, Yu Yin could already sense the murderous aura behind him that made him want to do anything but turn around.

Yu Tong stood behind him with a forced smile, his veins visible. “Ah Yin, how many times have I told you not to wear your outdoor shoes inside? Do my words go in one ear and out the other?”

“I, I’m off to class, bye!” Yu Yin covered his head with his hands and raced out the front porch in less than a second.

“You had better mop the floor when you come back from school today, you hear me?” Yu Tong shouted out after the person hurriedly fleeing. He then shifted his focus back.

A while later, the sound of a motorbike and its escaping owner came from outside.

“The brat left?”

Soon after Yu Yin had gone, another person came down the stairs. However, he wasn’t as frantic and rushed as the person before him had been.

“Mmm, ah, he just left. Didn’t you say you were going to go over with him today? Why come down so late?” Yu Tong turned around to ask his twin brother as he also pushed at Yu to start eating breakfast.

“Yeah, I decided to head over first before changing.” Yu Xia had actually been ready for a while now. With a backpack slung on his shoulder, he jumped over the last stair and landed straight on the ground below. “Damn it, why am I the one that has to go instead of you?”

“Because you picked the wrong stick.” Yu Tong innocently smiled and answered, “When we all gathered last week to draw lots, you drew the marked stick, so obviously you have to go. Don’t worry, we’ll be supporting you nearby.”

Seeing the happy expression with a smile that glittered as brightly as the sun on his twin’s face made Yu Xia feel the urge to slam the backpack into that face for a second. “Why not just switch out with me? This is way too ridiculous, someone will definitely find it fishy.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. There probably will not be anyone that notices. Moreover, we already sought approval beforehand. Anyways, eat breakfast first. We can head out together afterwards.” When Yu Tong thought of the bag of things Yu Xia was carrying, he felt that he would be in a great mood all day today.

“Hey, I…”

“Alright, just hurry up and eat. Otherwise, we’ll be late.”

Yu watched Yu Xia sit at the dining table with an extremely unpleasant expression. After studying him for a few seconds, Yu lowered his head to continue eating his breakfast. Although today was his first day of classes, he had heard that all he would have to do was to report in before the first class, so there wasn’t anything really nerve-wracking.

Yu Tong sat down on the other end and seemed to remember something. He opened his mouth to say, “Xiao Yu, if possible, try to have Ah Yin pick you up after classes to head home together. Otherwise, take a public bus. Just don’t go anywhere alone…I’m not referring to the media; we have already completely closed off all media sources with regards to your situation, so currently nobody knows what school you are attending.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Recently, several incidents have occurred near your schools. Apparently, three students have already gone missing.”

Yu stopped to turn and look at Yu Tong. He then grabbed the notebook next to him and wrote: “I know, it was on the news.”

“The school says that they might have collectively run away, since the three missing people are well known for being bad students, and often skipped class and ran away from home. This isn’t their first time. However, the duration this time is too long. In addition, their friends all said they do not know of any plans. The families have also reported to the police for handling, so we are currently investigating. But just one week ago, a fourth person disappeared. This matter has not yet been made known to the public and media. The fourth person isn’t the same as the others, but an extremely academically outstanding student. We currently suspect the situation is not as simple as it appears, so be a bit more careful while at school.” Since Yu Tong could not drive him back and forth every day, he told Yu, “If something happens, please make sure you always tell either us or Ah Yin.”

Yu raised his head to look at Yu Tong and slowly nodded.

Yu Xia chewed on a piece of bread while leaning all the way back against his chair. “Kids these days are really pitiful; not only do they need to be afraid of getting beaten up at school, they also have to be afraid of being unable to go home. It’s really too dark.”There were apparently a lot of cases the juvenile crimes group was responsible for. Moreover, the number seemed to still be growing. I really wonder how kids today keep going wrong.

Yu Tong eyed his brother and barely kept himself from blurting something along the lines of, “Pretty sure you were the one beating others up before.”

He remembered that back when they were in high school, there had been another campus nearby so the students from both sides that had nothing better to do would often break into fights. There would always be people facing off after school every day.

In the end, there was a time when Yu Xia had passed by a fight between the two sides and, since both somehow rubbed him the wrong way, he instantly beat up both sides. In the end, they found out that he had originally wanted to go into the pharmacy area to buy some fever-reducer, and since they had blocked the entrance, he’d let out his anger by hitting them first.

Yu Tong later wondered: His habit of impulsively hitting people didn’t come from that time, did it?

Yu Tong returned from his thoughts to look at the two people currently eating and couldn’t help but smile faintly.

That was already a matter of the distant past.

“A breakfast full of love has arrived~”

It was early morning. Yan Si, who had lined up his vacation days and had nothing much to do, loudly stepped into a certain person’s office while carrying a large bag of fast food breakfast. “Oho, did you stay here last night instead of going home?” The moment he entered the room, he could smell the heavy aroma of coffee. Since his previous roommate did not really smoke, aside from the coffee mug on the desk, there was also a pile of candies—the refreshing, mint flavour kind.

Li Zi Hong, who was studying the documents in his hand, eyed the guy who had been blessed enough to have vacation yet had still run over here. On the other hand, he had been buried in work and ended up staying in his office the entire night.

Yan Si shrugged and after sweeping off the empty candy wrappers into the trash can, took out the hamburger and steaming drink to place on the desk. “Which case are you looking at…the fourth floor one?” He studied the data packet that, after lying around untouched for a long time, had been reopened and spread across the desk.

Because they had found bloodstains and skeletons behind the fourth floor walls of a certain building, the media had exploded and the incident from three years ago was re-embellished. In order to protect the child, the sole survivor, from any external influence, the police was actively intervening to prohibit the media from accessing any secret information for the sake of digging up some news.

After all, sometimes the emotional support was just missing that final push. If those from the outside stepped inside, what had already been established could very easily be destroyed.

“Bloodstains were discovered behind several of the walls after the wallpaper was torn off, but what does not make sense is that the newly built wall should not have blood, because it had been built after the two children had died. After testing all the walls, it was discovered that those bloodstains were not from only one person, and they were from varying time points. The comparative analysis showed that the old walls had the blood of all three children and the parents. The blood amount was not enough to be fatal. The strangest part is that aside from the mother’s blood, there was also blood that did not match that of any family members.” Li Zi Hong put the papers down and rubbed his face. He reached over to grab his coffee mug but discovered that the liquid inside had long gone cold. Thus, he could only take the paper cup Yan Si had brought over instead. After opening it to see the insides were still piping hot, he furrowed his brows and drank it.

He had forgotten that this roommate of his liked extremely sweet things. If he had known earlier of the visit, he would have asked his roommate to bring something sugarless.

“In other words, aside from the family of five, there should have also been another person?” This was very surprising. Yan Si felt as if he had just heard an impressive explosion, a very large one.

This was a point that not everyone could learn of. If he was someone that valued money over anything else, he would immediately sell the information to the reporters and be able to get himself a banquet with the money.

“Mm, there is at least a person that was injured. The amount of blood lost wasn’t high, so if they were not wounded in a fatal place, they might still be alive,” Li Zi Hong said as he continued to read the examination report.

“Moreover, his blood is on the new wall. That means during the time between when the children had first gone missing and when the parents’ bodies were discovered, at least one person had come to their home and noticed the situation on the walls.” Yan Si chewed on a hamburger as he reached over to grab the examination report. After scanning its contents, he said, “So there is one more body, either dead or alive.”

That meant their top priority now was to find out who that was.

This was why he liked this job; there were often unexpected surprises, even if the person dealing with them was not him.

“Based on the information from the examinations before, there were traces of violence on the child that was found at the end, while the parents’ corpses had knife wounds…the water destroyed a lot of evidence so it is impossible to completely confirm anything. Back then, the investigation group suspected it was a vengeance murder. However, after finding the murder weapon and some evidence, the conjecture was overthrown. Instead, it was determined to likely be the father’s evil scheme, especially with the fact that the neighbours often heard sounds of arguing…but there was also no direct evidence for that either. So the case had been paused without any progress.” Li Zi Hong picked up another examination report from his desk to pass it over to his friend and said, “This just came out.”

Yan Si took it and flipped through it and looked over the photos of the bones and muscles. “Knife wounds, blunt force injuries, fractured bones, dislocations. Fatal injury was a blow to the head by a heavy object that shattered the skull in a circular area. Based on how it shattered, they likely died on the spot. The knife wounds on the body also tested positive for bleeding, so it is projected that they were inflicted prior to death, not after.” He flicked at a magnified photo while swallowing his last piece of bread. “Between a stick and a hammer, I choose hammer.”

“I used that hammer to knock down the walls. After testing, it turned out there were traces of it having been fiddled with, so there weren’t any residual residues found on it. However, the investigation group disassembled the hammer and found a bloodstain in a corner that couldn’t be washed. The hammer also matches the injury on the skull.” Li Zi Hong stretched his back and stood up. “So the request I submitted for the re-investigation to be taken over by me was accepted.”

Yan Si eyed his friend with a dumb smile on his face. “The fact that both you and Boss Yu Xia are workaholics is pretty terrifying. The subordinates that stay under the two of you will definitely be worked to death.”

“Doing this is only proper.” Li Zi Hong tidied up the things on the table a bit before opening another documents folder. “Yu Xia is going to investigate the case of the four missing high school students today.”

“Pfft—”

As soon as he heard this, Yan Si nearly spat out his drink. He then proceeded to laugh wildly without caring about his image at all.

Li Zi Hong, who was being laughed at for seemingly no reason at all, asked in a very puzzled tone, “What are you laughing at?”

“No-nothing. I just suddenly felt like I should go over to Boss Yu Xia’s place tonight to play.” As soon as he thought of the person that had drawn the marked lot a few days ago, Yan Si couldn’t help but erupt into laughter again.

Despite being on vacation, he was extremely willing and very excited about running over and reporting to Yu Xia, but he really could not wait today.

Whose fault was it for him to just happen to get caught red-handed on that day our group happily drew lots? If Yan Si did not go and join in on this world’s most hilarious event, he would be failing his own name.

“What does that mean?” Li Zi Hong was completely lost and had no idea what Yan Si was saying.

“Nothing really. Anyways, aren’t you eating too little? I bought two portions, yet you only ate half!” Yan Si shouted out and casually changed the topic as he opened the paper bag to look inside.

“I am full.” Li Zi Hong picked up the other folder and quickly shifted his focus.

Yan Si leaned over and tilted his head to scan the report as well. Nothing particularly stood out. Actually, he had flipped through this data at work too, so he had a good idea of what the contents were. “These are the four high school students where the first three were thought to have run away from home, while the fourth had no relations to the others and allegedly just disappeared one day after school. They did not find anything when searching his usual patch home.”

According to the initial investigation results, the first three students were the problem students that most schools had. They were rebellious students that would often skip school and drive away from home. Moreover, they had been reported in the juvenile crimes group’s register before. In the beginning, the families of the missing children had assumed it was just the usual, and only after all this time where they had not been able to contact their children had they reported to the police one after another.

“The fourth was an outstanding student whose exam scores were in the school’s top ten and had originally been recommended to a famous school.” Li Zi Hong studied the delicate and pretty girl in the photo provided with the data and began to ponder all the possibilities. “She did not display any strange signs before disappearing. Nothing in her home went missing, she had not packed her things, nor had she associated with people outside the school. Her computer did not show any suspicious online friends either. Her life was extremely simple and regulated. According to the information from her friends, she was extremely obedient to her parents as well. As soon as she got out of school, she would immediately return home without going anywhere else to study and finish homework, as well as help her family business.”

“Oh, an outstanding student going missing is always a pretty big deal.” Families with problem children might not notice for a while, but families with children that were good students always had major repercussions. As a result, the pressure on the police was higher.

“The only common point was that the place where the first three missing students were often seen loitering around was also where the female student always passed through on her way home. There is still a possibility that something went wrong along that path.”

“Oh…so Boss went over there to investigate today…hahaha…”

Li Zi Hong furrowed his brows at the person in front of him that had begun to laugh like a madman again. “Why are you acting so strangely today?”

Have you lost your mind?

***

“Yu—”

It was morning. After getting off Yu Tong’s car and rejecting his suggestion to look around the place together, Yu stepped inside the school grounds to report in. While he was walking through the hallway packed with students, he was ambushed.

Fang Yi Xun, who had been hiding behind the corner for who knew how long, very excitedly threw herself onto his back and stuck very closely to him without being excessively intimate either. She nearly knocked him down onto his knees entirely. “This is great! Luckily you arrived before morning self-study, otherwise it would have been impossible to catch you once class started.”

Yu struggled to straighten himself up with much difficulty and immediately noticed the inquisitive gazes of the students around him. He dragged the girl around the corner of the staircase to evade the countless people and then took out the notebook he always carried with him. He wrote on it:“What are you doing?”

“Nothing at all, I just finished class and wanted to see if you had arrived or not.” Fang Yi Xun fiddled around with the bow on her uniform and smiled cutely, “As expected, my sixth sense is very accurate without any room for error. Don’t you need to go report in…I can bring you over~”

Yu shook his head, indicating that there was no need. He looked at the school map in his hands and confirmed his current location. Before he could finish studying it, the map was whisked away by the other person.

“There’s no point in looking at this. I’m a living map right here. Let’s go.” She folded the map into a paper airplane and tossed it to fly off one side while pulling the person towards their target destination.

Although Yu did not really like being dragged around like this, he did not really resist. Besides, resisting did not seem to have an effect. Thus, he let the girl pull him along under the baffled gazes of a bunch of students.

This private high school was not very large. As Yu Yin had said, it was a branch of the university he attended, and they were on either side of the road. The school campus was not very large; it did not have much aside from the handful of buildings and a sports field. There were some small spaces here and there that had flowerbeds or small gardens. It was obvious that most of the students’ active areas were in the university campus across, including the dining hall.

“The school’s dining hall food is very normal. If you don’t want to eat there too much, you can go to the other private restaurant over there.” As Fang Yi Xun explained to the person she was forcing around, she pointed towards the other direction. “There’s a restaurant on the other side of the road that sells a lot of delicious foods. But it uses up lunchtime and because there are a lot of university students next door, there are more people there. I recommend you just buy take-out and bring it here to eat.”

“…”

“Ah, and because the school actually forbids students from leaving campus during school hours, you’re supposed to make sure you order any outside food so that you do not leave the grounds in the afternoon. So if you want to sneak out in the afternoon, please use the back door.”

“…”

As Yu was being dragged by Fang Yi Xun, he looked around and then tugged at her to walk off to the side. Luckily, the class bell also rang just then, and the few people that had just started watching their actions immediately scattered like birds the instant the bell went off. Soon, the entire hallway was completely empty.

After being led to a small, inconspicuous garden nearby, Yu quickly wrote in his notebook and turned to show it to the other person. “What exactly are you trying to do this early in the morning?” There was no way he really believed the other had simply wanted to bring him around to familiarise with the surroundings. Fang Yi Xun shrugged and sat down on an artificial rock on the side and swung her pale legs back and forth. “Of course it’s to help you get to know the place. If you don’t know these critical places well, how are we supposed to make any progress?”

Yu tilted his head to study the girl’s beautiful face before taking a step back to lean against the tree trunk behind him and narrowed his eyes.

“Just as I told you before, I want you to look around my school. But she started taking sick leave starting from three days ago, and I don’t know why. I usually don’t have any issues visiting her place, but recently it’s been very weird…I was just planning on making a trip today after school.” She tugged at her short hair and lowered her voice to say, “This school has the clues we need. Didn’t they say recently that three students went missing…those three were the lackeys of a guy the people here nicknamed ‘Big Camel’. My senior had some interactions with them previously, and has been all weird ever since, but there’s no clear reason why either.”

The three disappearances had sent the entire school abuzz, but her point of concern was definitely not those guys.

“That’s why you asked me to enter sooner?” Yu looked at the girl in understanding and put down his notebook, having finally realised her objective. “To mingle in with those people?”

“Mm, because they wouldn’t dare to provoke me. But I noticed that they recently go after average students or new students. If we wanted to continue figuring out the internal workings of the matter, you had to come in and help me, just like how I have my connections to help you analyse that thing you found last time.” She flashed an adorable and sweet smile and stood up before reaching her hand out. “Everyone benefits, and it’s easier for you to explain to the Yu family. If you don’t go to school at your age, they’ll say you’re antisocial and have mental issues.”

Yu stared at the girl’s seemingly harmless face before pulling out a kraft paper bag and carefully placed it in her waiting hands.

“Fish help the water, and water help the fish.” Fang Yi Xun tightened her grip onto the item and said, “I’m the only one that knows what you’re actually like. Your original personality is difficult and dangerous, yet it’s now completely buried. You don’t even dare to speak anymore, nor do you care to maintain your state of mind. Are the Yu family members not important to you? Do you not trust anyone else?”

Yu shook his head and looked down at the notebook in his hands but did not write anything.

“Because of your family’s matter?”

The violet eyes suddenly widened, but only for a short instant. The girl continued to speak, not having noticed any changes. She just kept blabbering on, “In my opinion, your brother is as fearless of death as a cockroach. Moreover, the ones that adopted you are cops, so you shouldn’t be afraid of them becoming like your family…”

Yu abruptly stood up, interrupting the girl’s words. He pushed up the glasses on his face then indifferently wrote a few words on his notebook to show her.

“Class started a long time ago.”

An instructor that had noticed there were still people here was starting to walk down the hallway towards them.

“You two over there! Class has already started, what are you doing here instead?!”

***

The air was wet and humid.

The weather after raining was always annoying, especially when it would stay cloudy for indeterminate lengths of time. The rain intermittently alternated between heavy and light, making it hard and tiring to cope with.

“It rained this morning…my shoes are soaked.”

“Yeah, it’s super annoying…”

“Oh right, I heard that someone from the class next door was hit by a weird auntie with a broom in a nearby alley…”

Class had not started yet. Yu Yin bored as he chewed on a popsicle that he had grabbed earlier, listening to some of the girls in his class chatting as usual, occasionally hearing some strange gossip mixed in like how a nearby store had done something or how an incident had occurred in a random place recently.

He sometimes felt like girls were basically a living intelligence network. They always had new things to chat about, whether it be fake or true, or whether it had been proven or not. It appeared to him that discussing these rumors was their favourite hobby.

“Oooh, I’ve also heard of t