NOS Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Mopan Mountain (One)

Chapter 1 Mopan Mountain (One)

At the end of September, Za Mu Er had just experienced a frost.

Thin ice crystals knocked off the yellowish leaves at the treetops in the forest, leaving a layer of glistening white, spread across the connected ridges of fields in the suburbs. The weather was so cold that even a layer of broken ice had formed on the pond behind the house.

Liu Shuangxi held a hen in his arms, staggering as he walked into the house. He glanced at the row of people sitting on the kang, but before he could speak, a string of drool had already trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Guan Yao, leaning by the window, chuckled at the sight of him. “Kid, didn’t your old man take you to Songlan for treatment? Why are you still drooling?”

Liu Shuangxi tilted his head, struggling for a long time before finally uttering a sentence: “The… the doctor said… it can’t be cured.”

Guan Yao patted the child’s head before turning to his mother, whose face was full of worry, and asked, “Why can’t it be cured?”

Liu Shuangxi’s mother, Su Xiaoxia, the owner of the Red Mountain Store in Longgang Village, was sitting on the kang smoking. She glanced at her son and sighed, “His old man probably knew he couldn’t be cured, that’s why he ran away.”

Guan Yao laughed. “Don’t talk nonsense. Brother Liu has been working hard all these years. If he wanted to run, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until now?”

After speaking, he turned to his apprentice, Meng Changqing, who was sitting on a small stool taking notes, and said, “Finished writing? Let’s go back to the station for dinner when you’re done.”

The apprentice immediately put away his notebook, stood up and said, “Finished!”

Guan Yao, the captain of the Forest Farm Law Enforcement Team, and his newly acquired apprentice, Meng Changqing, were in a place called “Za Mu Er”, a declining small town in the far north. And Longgang Village was a declining small village outside this declining small town.

In recent years, the young people in the village had gone south to seek their fortunes, the elderly were left alone, some died, some fell ill, and the rest were mostly like the Lius, unable to move away even if they wanted to.

Su Xiaoxia ran a small store at the entrance of the village. Although she had a mentally challenged son to support, she was still able to make a living. But who knew that last Thursday, Su Xiaoxia’s husband, Liu Bin, had gone missing. Counting the days, he had been gone for almost five days.

“Such a healthy person, how could he disappear for no reason?” Meng Changqing, holding his notebook, followed behind his captain, turning his head every few steps.

Guan Yao was stuffing White Rabbit Candy into his mouth, and he replied vaguely, “Za Mu Er is only so big, where can he run to? Maybe he’ll be back in a couple of days. It’s not mushroom picking season, he can’t have fallen into a ditch, right? Go back and check the surveillance at the entrance of their village. I remember there’s still one that works.”

Meng Changqing said hesitantly, “What if he doesn’t come back?”

Guan Yao smacked Meng Changqing’s butt with his glove. “Can you wish for something good to happen?”

But then again, it was indeed strange for Liu Bin, who wasn’t crazy or stupid, to disappear.

He had always been honest and dutiful. When the No. 2 Timber Factory was still around, Liu Bin was the “go-to guy” in charge of the keys in the security department. After the No. 2 Timber Factory closed down, he returned to the countryside with his wife, opened a small shop in the village, and raised white pigs. Life wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. When a pervert who stole women’s underwear entered Longgang Village a few years ago, Guan Yao brought his officers to stake out the area, and he had dealt with Liu Bin from time to time.

How could such a person disappear for no reason?

Once in the car, Guan Yao flipped through Meng Changqing’s notebook with a rustling sound, and asked, “Where’s Yu Chunming? I didn’t see him at the station this morning. Did he leave early?”

As soon as Meng Changqing heard his own mentor mention Yu Chunming, his expression instantly became respectful, and he said with a smile, “Police Officer Yu was on duty last night. This morning when he was handing over, there was a police call about a brawl in the clothing district. I woke up late, so he went to the scene for me.”

Guan Yao snorted coldly and slammed the notebook shut. “How many times have you been late this month?”

Meng Changqing shrank his neck and didn’t dare to say a word.

“Your Police Officer Yu is easy to talk to,” Guan Yao said with a displeased expression.

Everyone in the Forest Farm Police Station, from top to bottom, called Yu Chunming “Police Officer Yu”, not because of his rank, but because he was a cultured man from Songlan, the provincial capital, with a master’s degree in criminal investigation from the police academy. It was said that he used to be a “star” investigator in the Songlan Municipal Bureau.

–The reason it was said that way was because no one in the Forest Farm Police Station had ever interacted with anyone from Songlan. The most impressive person in the entire station was Guan Yao. He had been recognized for his meritorious service when he was in the army, and he had received a commendation three years ago. At that time, the director of the Security Bureau of the Jin A Lin Mountain Area personally pinned the big red flower on him.

Therefore, in the eyes of most people around Guan Yao, what was Yu Chunming? He looked like a young lady. If something really happened, could he run faster than Guan Yao?

As for Guan Yao himself, although he had never said it explicitly, anyone with eyes could see that he didn’t like Yu Chunming at all.

Especially the way that person acted, always wearing a stern face, looking down on everyone, as if he didn’t put anyone in his eyes. Who was he putting on airs for in this remote and poor place?

Thinking of this, Meng Changqing chewed and swallowed the White Rabbit Candy that Guan Yao had just casually thrown over, and then fastened his seat belt. He asked curiously, “Master, do you especially dislike Police Officer Yu?”

“Do I dislike him?” Guan Yao said nonchalantly, “Drive your car properly.”

Meng Changqing quickly shut up, turned his head, and meekly turned the steering wheel.

In fact, Guan Yao was right to dislike him, because everyone in the Forest Farm Police Station knew why Yu Chunming, such a prominent figure, would come to Za Mu Er, a small border town, to be a police officer at a police station.

The reason was simple: he had made a mistake.

The scenery outside the window flew by, and countless brown-yellow ridges flashed past in the distance.

Longgang Village was not close to the police station. They had to first cross Mopan Mountain, where the One Zero Three Forest Farm was located, and the birch forest at the foot of the mountain, and then pass through the once prosperous, but now dilapidated, No. 2 Timber Factory.

As the car drove past the field ridges at the foot of the mountain, Guan Yao’s gloomy mood gradually improved.

But just at this moment, Meng Changqing, who lacked tact, said, “Master, did you know that Police Officer Yu, although he looks very foreign, is actually a native of our One Zero Three Forest Farm? Maybe you even saw him when you were a kid.”

“Who?” Guan Yao frowned. “Yu Chunming’s family is from One Zero Three?”

“That’s right,” Meng Changqing said as he turned the steering wheel.

“Isn’t he from Songlan?” Guan Yao asked suspiciously.

He had been in the army in his early years. Before Yu Chunming was transferred, his comrade-in-arms who worked in Songlan had specifically inquired about what kind of background this person had.

Although Guan Yao wasn’t curious, his comrade-in-arms still said mysteriously, “Do you remember what the vice director in our department in charge of major criminal cases is named?”

“His name is Yu,” Guan Yao said casually, and immediately understood.

The vice director in the department in charge of major criminal cases was named Yu, and Yu Chunming was also named Yu. Did they need to ask further about their relationship?

So, since it was related to Vice Director Yu, then it was impossible for him to be from their One Zero Three Forest Farm.

Guan Yao educated Meng Changqing, “Don’t spread rumors about people behind their backs. You’re always gossiping and stirring up trouble everywhere.”

Meng Changqing retorted, “Police Officer Yu told me this himself on the day he reported to the station!”

Guan Yao raised his eyebrows slightly. “Told you himself? He said he was from the One Zero Three Forest Farm?”

“That’s right, but what’s written on Police Officer Yu’s Resident Registration isn’t that,” Meng Changqing replied.

“Resident Registration?” Guan Yao frowned. “You look up any person’s residence?”

Meng Changqing didn’t think there was anything wrong at all. He said, “Yeah, after Police Officer Yu said that, Brother Li Xiaotian and I were curious, so we logged on and checked. As a result, we found out it wasn’t true. Police Officer Yu’s Resident Registration is not only still registered in Songlan, but it’s also cleaner than my wallet. There’s only him on it. Hey, but ah, Master, do you know who Police Officer Yu’s father is?”

Guan Yao wasn’t interested in listening to gossip. He slapped the back of Meng Changqing’s head. “Don’t do anything that violates discipline by casually looking up any person’s residence.”

Meng Changqing shrank his neck and smiled. “If I didn’t violate discipline, where would I get so much inside information to tell you, Master?”

Guan Yao withdrew his hand and looked out the window, but couldn’t help but wonder in his heart, that Yu, so mysterious, why does he only talk to kids like Meng Changqing?

Before he could figure it out, the car had already driven into the courtyard of the Forest Farm Police Station.

Guan Yao, holding his notebook, lowered his head and went up the steps, but he bumped into someone right at the entrance.

“Ouch!” It was a woman with a high-pitched and thin voice.

This woman looked no more than thirty years old, her hair was permed into big waves, her lips were painted bright red, and she was wearing a pair of delicate high heels. When she looked up and saw Guan Yao’s unapproachable appearance, she was so frightened that she took a step back. “What is this? Where did this wanted criminal come from?”

“Who are you calling a wanted criminal?” Guan Yao took out his Police ID from his inner pocket and held it in front of the woman. “Captain of the Forest Farm Law Enforcement Team, what are you here for?”

As soon as the woman heard that he was a police officer, her expression immediately improved. She said with a smile, “I’m here to find someone.”

“Who are you looking for? How can you just casually enter the backyard? Who’s on duty at the gate today? Didn’t they even register…”

“Registered, registered,” the woman moved closer to Guan Yao and said softly, “I’m here to find Yu Chunming, Police Officer Yu. Do you know him?”

Guan Yao’s expression stiffened. “What are you looking for Yu Chunming for?”

The woman blinked a few times. “I’m the one who went to the Yingbin Guest House to catch my husband with another woman a few days ago and got into an argument. Police Officer Yu took the call at the time, so I came here today to thank him.”

“Thank him?” Guan Yao looked at Meng Changqing. “Catching someone at the Yingbin Guest House?”

Meng Changqing hurriedly replied, “A few days ago, when Police Officer Yu was on duty, he received a police call about a disturbance. The person who called was the hotel front desk, saying that two women were fighting with a naked man in the lobby.”

“Oh, that’s me!” The woman with the big wavy curly hair smiled a little embarrassedly. “Police Officer Yu helped me a lot, so I wanted to bring him some fruit or something. Is he on duty today?”

Guan Yao frowned. “How did Yu Chunming help you so much?”

“Police Officer Yu just…” The woman suddenly stammered, unable to say exactly how he had helped her so much.

After all, Yu Chunming, who had only been at the Forest Farm Police Station for a little over a month, had only routinely answered the call and handled it according to standard procedure. He couldn’t beat up the adulterer or show favoritism to the two women who were fighting. How could he have helped?

Maybe he helped with his face.

Guan Yao said coldly, “Go back quickly. Don’t interfere with our work here.”

“But, Police Officer Yu, he actually…”

With a “bang,” Guan Yao had already closed the outer door that was always wide open.

Meng Changqing explained with a smile, “Our Police Officer Yu is working the night shift this week, so you might have to… come over in the middle of the night.”

After speaking, he hurriedly chased after his master.

But before he could even get into the office, Meng Changqing saw Guan Yao standing stiffly in the corridor, as if he had seen a ghost.

“Master, you…” Meng Changqing stepped forward and was also stunned. “Eh, Police Officer Yu, why are you still here?”

Yu Chunming, a man described by Guan Yao’s colleague Li Xiaotian as “like a young lady,” was actually sharp and handsome. He was about the same height as Guan Yao. Other than his exceptionally fair skin and exceptionally long eyelashes, he didn’t have a trace of femininity.

But for some reason, Guan Yao always felt that this person looked unpleasant.

After scanning him from head to toe, Officer Guan politely spat out three words: “Working overtime?”

Yu Chunming was putting on a black leather jacket. He nodded and replied, “Yeah.”

“Yeah?” Guan Yao narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling on a bluish-purple mark below his left neck.

Below this bluish-purple mark, there was a scar that stretched diagonally from the root of his left ear all the way to his spine. The scar was wide, hideous, and rough, and still somewhat red, as if it would bleed if touched.

Guan Yao had noticed this scar from the first day Yu Chunming had arrived here.

“Was the clothing district case until now?” Meng Changqing, who was embarrassed about being late this morning, laughed a few times and said, “Police Officer Yu, I’ll treat you to a meal later.”

Yu Chunming obviously looked unwell and didn’t bother to respond to Meng Changqing’s words. He hung his belt in the cabinet and gestured to Guan Yao. “I’m leaving.”

Guan Yao didn’t say a word, but his gaze always followed this person, unable to move away.

He remembered that in the first week that Yu Chunming had come to the Forest Farm Police Station, he had had a big fight with him. The cause was a small matter, and now, Guan Yao himself couldn’t even remember it clearly, but at the time, the two of them had almost torn the roof off the police station.

Because Yu Chunming seemed cold and aloof, but in reality, he had a bad temper. He had never done grassroots work and didn’t seem to interact much with the neighbors. A casual sentence he uttered could kill someone. And Guan Yao, who had been in the Forest Farm Police Station ever since he retired from the army, had worked his way up from the grassroots to where he was today. What he couldn’t stand the most in his heart was Yu Chunming’s arrogant face.

“These two people obviously don’t get along,” Station Chief Zhang Hui had said secretly behind their backs.

So, it wasn’t until the person had walked far away that Meng Changqing dared to step forward, waving his hand in front of Guan Yao’s eyes. “Master, what are you looking at?”

Guan Yao snapped back to his senses and blurted out, “What’s the matter with the wound on his neck?”

“Ah?” Meng Changqing was stunned. “Wound? What wound?”

Guan Yao cleared his throat a little unnaturally. “It’s that…”

“That what?” Meng Changqing asked sincerely.

Guan Yao closed his mouth and sharply knocked on Meng Changqing’s head. “Go get lunch.”

The High-Heeled Lady at the police station entrance had already left, and Yu Chunming, who had worked overtime for most of the day without eating breakfast or lunch, had also left. Guan Yao was standing upstairs, watching him leave through the small window next to his desk.

Where does this person live? Is it in the police family building, or somewhere else? Guan Yao asked in his heart.

Is he really from the One Zero Three Forest Farm? How come I don’t remember there being such a person in One Zero Three? Guan Yao thought again.

He held his lunch box, chewing listlessly on the potato ribs stewed in the cafeteria that day, staring blankly at the bare concrete ground in front of the police station.

It’s so annoying, Guan Yao thought, why does my heart feel inexplicably annoyed whenever I encounter Yu Chunming? He slowly withdrew his gaze from downstairs, sat down again, and suddenly felt that even the potato ribs stew had become dull.

And just as he hadn’t finished this dull meal and had finished hating the innocent potatoes, Shu Wen, the deputy director of the Forest Farm Police Station, suddenly walked in quickly. This middle-aged female officer, who had to comb her hair smooth and shiny every day, shouted loudly, “Old Guan, stop eating! Something big has happened!”

Guan Yao had just spat the last bone into the trash can. He raised his head and asked coolly, “Did your rooster lay an egg?”

“No!” Shu Wen stomped her foot. “A human hand has been found on Mopan Mountain.”

Guan Yao’s face changed. “A human hand?”

[Author’s note]

The original name of this article was “A River from Spring”. I still think the original name is better. (whispering

This is a criminal investigation story where the case and plot are not at all fashionable and even a bit old-fashioned (actually, it’s not much of a criminal investigation, the whole book spends a lot of time talking about love, with a lot of family matters and nonsense…

If anyone is reading, please collect, comment, and give starfish~

The author is paste, the full text is free, support Changpei genuine~

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