The Yu Brothers’ Case Book

So, you’ve already died?

Where is the conviction I gave to you?

The person that took that conviction is probably the one I must find.

***

“We more or less understand the situation now.”

Yu Xia stowed his notebook away. He had a vague idea of who he should be hunting down to settle accounts with. He was willing to bet that the bureau chief knew about the entire sequence of events surrounding Wang Ke Zhi‘s transfer. “Oh, right, could you hand over the object in your possession for us to handle? Or else Kang Zhe Chang’s accomplices won’t give up easily.”

From the several attacks, he could tell that this object was extremely important, to the point where they could indifferently attack anyone. It was already almost at the stage where it was priceless.

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I actually have no clue about it either.” Ye Huan En coughed as he received multiple dubious looks and he awkwardly chuckled, “It’s true. I have absolutely no idea what the ‘object’ they refer to is. I’m also very puzzled…”

“It’s a list of names and accounts table.”

A voice interrupted the conversation inside the room. When everyone turned towards the source, they saw Wang Ke Zhi being wheeled in by a nurse. He thanked the nurse and closed the door before continuing, “He Shi Jun was originally assisting us on uncovering a group. Before he left, he sent me a message telling me that the information he had collected was in an extremely safe place. The only person that could find it was the one he trusted the most.”

“But your station had a mole that divulged the matter to the group, so the ploy was discovered and He Shi Jun was killed. All you managed to uncover was a small base.” It must have been a related personnel to immediately know that the informant was He Shi Jun, and then capture him the instant he had fled to the central district. Li Zi Hong solemnly stated, “Kang Zhe Chang’s people received the notification and wanted to find out where the leaked information was. They must have received the same answer, which resulted in them killing He Shi Jun in anger…But judging from their attacks that lacked any hesitation, they were certain that Mr. Ye was He Shi Jun’s trusted person. Your mole may be someone very close to the core members.”

“Right, so I used connections to transfer out first and let the senior officer clear things out.” Wang Ke Zhi pressed down on his slightly throbbing shoulder injury and let out a sigh. “Normally, a group would start to withdraw from locations once the list of names was leaked. However, considering how urgently they are searching for the information, there’s likely some names and locations that cannot be arranged to move on short notice. If we don’t find the information soon, they will have finished moving away and He Shi Jun’s death will have been in vain.”

“But I’m certain that I never received any information. Ah Jun never left anything with me. Maybe it’s someone else?” Knowing the apprehensions about this, Ye Huan En hurriedly added, “An ex-girlfriend, or maybe some of his friends from these past few years? I definitely remember him mentioning that he had gotten several good subordinates over the recent years.”

“He Shi Jun mentioned before that the only person he trusted was you.” Wang Ke Zhi’s face darkened. “The reason he assisted us as an informant was in hopes that he could make up for things. He felt that as a brother, he had let you down in too many ways, which was why he asked us if assisting as an informant would help you get a promotion. Who did you think had been providing you the intel behind your group’s high case breakthrough rate?”

Ye Huan En was silent for a very long time before he finally said bitterly, “…I just wanted him to live a normal life.” He had never wanted He Shi Jun to offer any kind of information to boost his achievements, even if he knew that He Shi Jun was a bit well-known in the local underground.

The atmosphere was tense for a moment.

“Um…you really didn’t receive anything? Letter, postcard?” Amidst this kind of scalp-numbing pressure from guilt, Jiu Shen scratched his head and broke the silence by resolutely changing the topic. “Email?”

“None.” Ye Huan En still shook his head

“Ah, speaking of emails, I sent you one a while ago, Ye-dàgē. I forgot to ask if you ever got it.” Yu Yin suddenly recalled his matter and switched the subject as well. “It was the day that Fish Jerky first came to our home.”

“I didn’t receive your email.” Ye Huan En shot a slightly puzzled look at the only person not part of the police force. “I checked my email, but never got any email from you…Wait, how do you have my email?”

“The one on the inside of the collar, wasn’t that a way to contact the owner?” Yu Yin was taken aback. He had instinctively assumed it was a means of contact back then. Thinking back on it now, it would be hilarious if it had been the email of a pet shop or a vet.

“No, I didn’t leave any contact method on the collars. They only have the names of the cat and dog.” Ye Huan En shook his head in denial.

“That won’t do, you have to at least get chips implanted for them.” Jiu Shen said in a cautious tone, “Or else it would be hard to find them if they got lost or were taken by someone else.”

“Then whose email was that?”

Li Zi Hong’s question made everyone fall silent.

“I think Ye-dàgē mentioned before that the collars were made by He Shi Jun?” Yu Yin abruptly recalled their conversation from the day before.

“Yeah, he was quite good at handiwork, and could make a few things. I tried to persuade him to go study it, since it might have been a source of support.” Ye Huan En suddenly exclaimed, “Ah, I remember. The new collars were swapped about two months ago. Since I got injured afterwards and it was difficult for me to do things, I had asked the pet shop or friends to take care of Fish Jerky and Chicken Jerky during those two months.”

Yu Yin exchanged a look with Yu Xia and stood up to call Yu and let him check the inside of the collar.

Yu quickly texted back with a string of English containing the emails on the dog’s and cat’s collars.

Jiu Shen took out his phone and tried to use the English to log into email, and really did manage to open one. Aside from Yu Yin’s email, the account also contained several other emails. Opening them revealed scattered words that, when combined together, became three locations.

“Two in the northern district and one in the central district.” Li Zi Hong noted down the addresses and stood. “I will take my leave first.” He had to quickly verify if these locations had any important information or not.

As the driver, Yan Si could only call to cancel the afternoon tea while running after Li Zi Hong.

“I’ll go check what’s at the place in the central district.” Yu Xia stretched his limbs and turned his head to sternly warn Yu Yin, “You’d better obediently go home.”

“Ah, I’ll head home immediately.” Yu Yin had actually agreed to have a video game face-off against Yu tonight anyways. He hurriedly nodded and said, “By the way, how did things on Kang Zhe Chang’s end go?”

Yu Xia was quiet.

“Should be fine.” Ye Huan En shook his head. “People like them will have their own ways to handle things. My guess is that they’ve already had someone give himself up as a murderer.”

“Yes, two people turned themselves in this morning, each of them recounting the details of killing and burying the corpses of Song Hui Chun and Hu Shi Jun. Those two were among the subordinates you all captured one after another.” Yu Tong opened a notebook as he said, “Two have already admitted to having simultaneously attacked He Shi Jun. But it was due to personal grudges, not anything else.”

“What about that image?” Yu Yin glanced around at the others, somewhat at a loss. It seemed as if everyone in the room aside from him were not at all surprised by this conclusion. “[And] the blush?”

“Aside from that image and the footage provided by a neighbour of Song Hui Chun going in and out, we could not find anything else. All of Kang Zhe Chang’s video cameras were already wiped clean by someone; it’s unknown how much can get retrieved.” Jiu Shen helplessly said, “That image only clarifies that Kang Zhe Chang’s family had been there at the time. His house had been completely repainted, so there were no traces of Song Hui Chun’s activity to be found.”

“In reality, one of two that confessed candidly acknowledged that he fancied Song Hui Chun. After she continuously rejected him, he harboured murderous intent towards her, and killed her when she raced into the baby room that day. He then tossed her corpse. In order to divert our target, he mimicked Su Zhang’s work.” Yu Tong looked at his child and plainly described, “There was a similar confession regarding He Shi Jun. Moreover, the two voiced the entire process from the murder to the body disposal, so it’s unfortunately highly likely that they will be believed.”

“As if Li-dàgē would believe it…” Yu Yin frowned.

“That’s why we have to continue searching for more evidence in hopes that we can quickly deal with these people.” Yu Xia sighed. “That’s basically the gist of it. From here on out, these are our matters. You’d better be good and go back to school and your part-time job. Don’t look into things that aren’t your business.”

“Oh…”

Yu Yin rubbed his nose and nodded. The ghost didn’t seem to be looking for him anymore anyways, so it really should have nothing to do with him now. He could follow-up with questions later, once the task was complete.

Only after everyone had left did Jiu Shen realise with a start that he was the last person left behind.

“Ah, I should start heading out too…” In the end, what the hell did I come here to do? Jiu Shen had no idea why he had been the final one left, and was feeling so embarrassed that he directly jumped up from his seat and swiftly put away the bag of snacks. “Is there anything you need that would require our help? What about dinner? Or do you need to buy something?”

Ye Huan En shared a look with Wang Ke Zhi and chuckled, “Could I trouble you to bring me around so that I can familiarise myself with the new environment in the future?”

“Huh? Huhhhh?!” Jiu Shen was stunned.

“In reality, the one that should have been transferred into the inspector’s office this time was me.” Ye Huan En rubbed his neck and slightly adjusted his pillow. “Reporting next month. The case should be almost done too. Ke Zhi-dàgē just used connections to buy into the spot first, while investigating Ah Jun plus other related matters and putting the mole at ease.”

“I’ll be retiring in these next two months or so.” Wang Ke Zhi let out a slow exhale and he wheeled himself over to the refrigerator to search for drinks. “I’m old now, and I really should be retiring.”

“Then-then-then-then…then why do you keep looking to stir up trouble with Boss?” Jiu Shen automatically asked in shock before realising how blunt his question was.

Wang Ke Zhi chuckled dryly, not seeming the least bit offended. “I’ve heard many things about Yu Xia, including his various violations of regulation and such I wanted to confirm if he and those by his side were actually trustworthy.”

“But he really does look young. Back when I first saw the photo at Yu Yin’s home, I didn’t realise it was them.” Ye Huan En shook his head in amusement. “In the flesh, he seems even younger than in the photo. How could there be such a big contrast with his age…Yu Tong looks a bit more mature.” In the end, it was Yu Yin that seemed more like the adult despite being the son.

“I don’t understand…” Jiu Shen stared at the two before him in confusion. He was nowhere close to a mood for jokes. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Boss or Prosecutor Li, they’re all good people. You guys really can trust them. You can ask others as well; everyone would say the same.”

“That’s indeed correct, and my conclusion after this period of time is the same. I won’t be able to do anything about the future, but at the very least, I wanted to give Xiao He a final confirmation.” He needed to help ensure Ye Huan En’s safety on He Shi Jun’s behalf, so he had left first to verify things. Wang Ke Zhi studied the investigation officer that he had also observed for a very long time. “You won’t tell others about our exchange just now, will you?”

Jiu Shen was stunned for half a second, momentarily unable to comprehend the other person’s meaning. At the beginning, his intuition thought it was about the case they had just discussed, but he abruptly realised it was now about the conversation the three of them were currently having. “We didn’t talk about anything that can’t be shared though?” Yu Xia and the others had long known that Ye Huan En had been transferred over, it didn’t matter if he spoke about it or not.

“Then just don’t say anything at all.”

It finally came to an end with Wang Ke Zhi’s words.

After confirming once more that he could not help them do anything, Jiu Shen left the ward in complete bewilderment.

Unlike Yu Xia and the others, he had not interacted much with Wang Ke Zhi or Ye Huan An, and didn’t understand anything about their matters. As a result, he found them a bit strange no matter how he thought about it, yet could not point his finger on what exactly. However, he was certain that they were both good people. Aside from not really trusting them, there weren’t any major issues with the two…Jiu Shen was pretty confident in his own ability to judge people.

When he walked out of the hospital, his cellphone range. A single glance told him it was Ah Liu calling.

When the line connected, his colleague in a faraway lab said, “That paper of yours came back.”

“Huh?”

“That paper inside Song Hui Chun’s body. Didn’t you ask someone else for help because there wasn’t enough time? It just got sent back.”

“Oooh, right, I was so busy I almost forgot.” Since he had been quite pressed for time recently, the instant Jiu Shen had found traces of that paper having been intentionally destroyed, he had pulled some connections and requested for a senior to help him analyse it. Jiu Shen rubbed his face and stopped in his tracks as he watched the people wandering around the street in the daytime. Suddenly, he felt like it had been a very long time since he had last gotten a proper look at a road. “What was on it?”

“Let me check…” Ah Liu paused for a moment before the voice rang out from the cellphone once again. “The time of Ms. Song’s regular prenatal examination.”

“Ms. Song’s?”

“Yes.”

“The clinic knew she was Song Hui Chun…they fabricated the records to give the child to Kang Zhe Chang.” Jiu Shen hurriedly hung up and quickly strode to the nearby parking lot while he dialled a number to notify Yu Xia about this matter.

Before the call even started, an ear-piercing screech of car brakes flew past extremely close to him.

Jumping in shock, Jiu Shen dodged to the side practically on instinct before he got a clear look of the modified motorcycle that had nearly crashed into him. Its body was painted red, and there were several shiny accessories hanging on the mirrors. A pair of ice-cold eyes stared straight at him through the cover of the safety helmet.

The gaze made Jiu Shen shudder. “Hey, you…”

Before he could even finish speaking, the rider suddenly floored the accelerator, provocatively brushing right past Jiu Shen and instantly vanishing off on the other end of the highway.

There had only been enough time for Jiu Shen to notice that the vehicle had lacked a license plate. He watched the back of the motorcycle disappear with a baffled expression.

“What the hell…”

***

A few days later, Yu Yin heard the related information from various parties in succession.

Apparently, the doctor at the clinic had gone missing.

Upon receiving this news, Yu Xia had brought people over to raid the clinic, but they had been late by one step. The doctor they had talked with at the beginning had already disappeared. The nurses had been swapped out too, and there were absolutely no records left behind.

The people left at the clinic knew nothing about the previous matters when asked, and had then pulled down the metal gates to close down.

After investigating the person responsible for the clinic, they discovered that said person had already been missing for a very long time and had still not appeared.

Since there was no direct evidence and some people had given up confessions of their own coalitions, the prosecutor could only sue for part of the matters with the current proof.

Li Zi Hong and Yu Xia had split up to retrieve a large amount of data from the three locations. All the data had been protected by passwords and were currently being investigated separately.

The baby was quickly settled down somewhere.

“Kang Zhe Chang’s wife had slight mental impediments. That bastard’s only good point was that he treated his wife well, which was why he got a child for her to play with.” Yan Si yawned and sat on the veranda of his new house, watching the large dog running around in the courtyard while the cat paced the fence. He inexplicably felt like he had retired.

Sigh…if only things could truly be so relaxed.

“I just keep feeling more and more powerless recently.” Yu Yin bit down on the spoonful of pudding as he glanced at Yu currently lying down on the other side of the veranda under the sun, flipping through a book. “I want to help somehow, but in the end, everything…Is this really right…?”

“There will always be a few instances like these. The longer you’re around, the more you’ll encounter.” Yan Si stretched his back as he reached an arm out to have the cat jump down next to him. “Student that was ganged up on, don’t be too greedy. Perfect endings aren’t found every day, especially in current society. If you want to live this profession, you’ll have to get used to it sooner or later.”

“…I don’t exactly want to live this profession,” Yu Yin replied with an unwavering gaze. “I just feel a bit regretful.”

“There are people feeling regret all the time in this world. That’s why it’s better to live a happier life.” Yan Si patted the other person’s shoulder and stood up. The cat immediately leapt aside. “Like we’ve said, there’s nothing that can be accomplished perfectly, and not every person can be saved. You just have to try your best and treat others with honesty, and that’s enough…Actually, in my opinion, you guys are plenty conscientious already, voluntarily seeking things to do when you’re free. Seriously, there will eventually come a time when the entire team will die together from overwork.” He sincerely believed this. This group of friends completely had the potential to suddenly die due to work. They even had children…How terrifying, overworking is probably contagious.

“That’s all that can be done.”

Yu Yin stretched out a palm to rub Fish Jerky’s head as he pensively contemplated.

But…if I can do more, and more…

What if some things could be changed or redeemed?

The ringing of a cellphone interrupted the brief moment of silence.

Yu Yin took out his phone to see that it was mail from Li Lin Yue with an image file attached. When he opened it, he saw that it was a photo of a girl. She had a neat and tidy appearance with a somewhat bashful smile. She looked to be around his age. Her long hair was tied back into a ponytail, giving a comfortable feeling as a first impression.

The mail also contained some words that Li Lin Yue had wrote:

Come out and play when you’re feeling distressed. Although I don’t know what you’ve been up to recently, if you keep letting your thoughts wander, I’ll tell this excellent mèimèi that Ah Yin-dàgēgē is a lolicon. Cheer up! -Your future child’s mother.

For some reason, Yu Yin suddenly laughed out loud. In that moment, the feeling of helplessness lessened significantly.

After replying with the words: Fuck you, he stowed his cellphone away and looked out at the beautiful little courtyard. Then he raised his head to gaze at the clear sky and began to ponder whether if he should respond to a few of the other people’s invitations to hang out these days.

He wanted to do more, and more.

But before that, he…

The doorbell rang again.

He had no idea how many times it had gone off today already. Slightly annoyed, he stabbed the carving knife into the table and stood up.

Recently, since he had been absorbing other food and nutrients, it somewhat lessened the symptoms of anaemia or dizziness from suddenly standing. Despite this being the case, he still got nauseous with various foods.

If he ate something, he would throw it up. That feeling of disgust would never be alleviated no matter what.

He knew that there were serious problems with himself that he had never changed since that day up until now. However, if he could free himself like this, it might be for the best. It was just that human life was so tenacious, always surpassing one’s expectations.

When he opened the door, he was not surprised to see a face that had frequently appeared recently.

Annoying, so annoying.

“Your complexion looks better than before.” Li Zi Hong stepped inside with a large, heavy bag in his hands, automatically shutting the door to block out the noise outside before walking into the living room. “Seems like you have new neighbours.”

When he had arrived just now, he had seen another resident moving things in. He remembered that the place had previously been vacant for a while. It was likely a couple, as most of the things brought over by the moving company had been in pairs, with a youthful style.

“Even if the neighbours end up getting involved with a familicide, it has nothing to do with me.” Because of the moving, he had nearly reached his tolerance limit from his doorbell being rung by the manager, the neighbours, and the moving company that had mixed up the homes.

“Why not try to greet the neighbours?” Li Zi Hong lifted the bag up and began to place some essential items in the kitchen cabinets. It had been a while since he had last come, so only a few vitamins remained in the cupboards. He had no doubt that his junior brother would eat everything he bought, but had no idea of knowing how much was absorbed. Li Zi Hong could only hope that his junior brother would eat as much as possible. Fortunately, Yu Yin and Yang De Cheng had also started visiting in turns, and Dong Feng’s appearance was already significantly better than before.

Now, Li Zi Hong could only bet on Dong Feng continuing to stay here from laziness of not wanting to move.

“If they want to become like that family,” Dong Feng coldly replied. He forcefully stabbed the carving knife into a thick crevice on the table, immediately destroying the vague silhouette that he had made. “Could you guys stop bugging me.”

“You could choose not to help Yu Yin, couldn’t you?” Li Zi Hong took out the empty vitamin bottles and sighed as he continued to remove more.

“…If I leave him be, won’t he die sooner or later?” Dong Feng paused for a moment before realising that he had revealed concern. He frowned and tossed aside the blade in his hand. “I’m tired of you people. I’ll leave tomorrow.”

“What if I accept that case?”

Dong Feng stopped his motions to leave.

“I phoned your parents. They also hope you can be relieved from that incident. How long has it been since you went back to see them?” Li Zi Hong walked out of the kitchen and glanced at the dust-filled room. “You send money back periodically, but what they need isn’t money. Everyone is very worried about you living outside alone.”

“They don’t have any relation to me; there’s no need to be worried about anything.” He closed his eyes and turned his head to look at the person that had never retreated from his anger these past years no matter what. “I’m already very tired. Humans will all experience eternal rest eventually. There’s no longer any need to pursue that case. The person that should have received justice is no longer here. The person that should be given justice won’t support you pursuing it. What’s the point in digging up an old case and asking for trouble? I just don’t want to be disturbed anymore.”

“I believe that there are still people that haven’t been properly accounted for. Regardless, the truth of that case will come to light one day.” Li Zi Hong stared straight at the other person. “This is why I studied law. You as well.”

“…Do whatever you want. Remember to close the door when you leave.”

He laid down on the table. Once he heard a sigh behind him, followed by footsteps and finally the door closing to shut off the noise, the room returned to its former tranquillity.

There were many things in this world that could never go as expected. Even with the possession of an absolute “righteousness”, it was impossible to perfectly obtain the desired result.

He believed that there weren’t actually many differences between ghosts and humans. Song Hui Chun and He Shi Jun were the same.

Because punishment was impossible, they could only try their best to ensure those important to them would receive the best help. Even if they had already lost everything, it did not matter.

Perhaps in the distant future, their justice would come one day.

Those important to them would gain a better life under this protection.

And, without bodies, they did not possess hearts that would continue to ache.

In some ways, maybe the “people” that had already disappeared could be completely healed faster than the “people” that still existed.

However, what about those that did not have another existence important to them?

Would these people have to drift around this world forever?

***

In the end, you really will sink into the mud for eternity.

At this time next year, emerge from the depths of the darkness to face upwards towards the light and bloom with the purest flowers.