NOS Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Mopan Mountain (12)

Yu Chunming initially didn’t understand what Guan Yao meant by “losing face completely.” Before he could even ask, another commotion erupted outside.

“Where’s my brother? Where’s my brother, Xu Weijun?” a woman in her fifties shouted in the lobby.

Shortly after, two men in administrative jackets, clutching briefcases, walked in, looking rather embarrassed. “We’re Xu Weijun’s colleagues,” one said.

Guan Yao winked at Li Xiaotian, who immediately said loudly, “Xu Weijun caused trouble while drunk and even attempted to attack the police with a weapon at our station. If he hadn’t been subdued in time, and no one was injured, this would be a criminal case, do you understand?”

The woman in her fifties’ face changed, her voice sharp. “Xu Weijun caused trouble while drunk?”

“That’s right,” Li Xiaotian glanced at Yu Chunming, who was leaning against the door watching the excitement, and said sternly, “A few days ago, Xu Weijun was caught by his wife at the Yingbin Guest House for cheating and soliciting prostitutes, and she beat him so badly he was crawling on the ground. One of our colleagues went to handle the situation, sobered him up, and he signed a settlement agreement. But today, he came here causing trouble again after drinking too much, and even spread rumors about our colleague, saying his wife was having an affair.”

With Li Xiaotian openly stating the matter in public, the three people who came to get him exchanged glances. The woman who had been so high-spirited earlier also wilted a bit. She asked tentatively, “That can’t be, my Weijun has always been honest, how could he do such a thing?”

“How could he do such a thing?” Li Xiaotian’s short, thick eyebrows shot up. “If my colleague hadn’t stopped her that day, his wife would have sued him at his workplace. What, didn’t your family know about this?”

Clearly, not only did the people at his workplace not know, but his family didn’t either. The three stared at each other, until the old aunt who was now gleaning scraps at the cafeteria, and who had been on duty, spoke up. She “tutted” curiously, “Are you talking about the Xu Weijun who’s the deputy director of the finance department at the tax bureau? My nephew works in the same unit as him…”

Indeed, it was the tax bureau. The two colleagues of Xu Weijun that Li Xiaotian had notified were the chief of the finance department and the director of the office of the Za Mu Er Tax Bureau. This small town was too small; you could run into acquaintances every few people. Tonight’s commotion directly reached his workplace.

In a few days, the story of Xu Weijun soliciting prostitutes and being beaten by his wife and an unsuspecting girlfriend would spread throughout the unit. For him, the rest of his life in Za Mu Er would probably be spent drowning in this affair, unable to hold his head up.

After the people dispersed, Guan Yao raised his chin at Yu Chunming. “How about that? Efficient, right?”

Yu Chunming frowned. “Won’t he complain about you?”

“Complain? Complain about what?” Guan Yao asked, surprised.

“Complain that you violated his personal privacy, and disclosed the matter to outsiders without his permission. What if he uses the current ‘Regulations on the Procedures for Handling Administrative Cases by Public Security Organs’ to sue in court?” Yu Chunming asked.

Guan Yao laughed. “Officer Yu, in our area, no one except the people in this house has read the current ‘Regulations on the Procedures for Handling Administrative Cases by Public Security Organs.’ If Xu Weijun wants to keep his job and his family, he can only honestly go back and admit his mistake. Sue? Impossible.”

Yu Chunming didn’t speak.

Guan Yao continued, “Of course, if you feel that our small place doesn’t follow the procedures and doesn’t close cases according to the rules, you can complain to higher authorities, but… we probably won’t change.”

Yu Chunming twitched the corner of his mouth and turned to walk into the building. He really didn’t have the energy to argue with Guan Yao about these things today.

Just then, Han Chen led a group of people down from upstairs. He pointed at Guan Yao and said, “We’ve located Liu Bin’s employer’s offline address through the IP address of their social media account. Let’s go take a trip together.”

After speaking, Han Chen saw Yu Chunming turn his head to look at him, and considerately added, “Chunming, stay here and watch the house.”

Yu Chunming didn’t answer, but picked up the pear syrup water that Guan Yao had made for him and slowly walked upstairs.

Na Fei was also upstairs, looking tired but forcing herself to stare at the computer screen. However, when she saw Yu Chunming come up, the young policewoman’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Did you find anything at the driving school?” she asked.

“Just what you guys found. Didn’t find anything else,” Yu Chunming said as he walked straight to the window. Guan Yao and the others were downstairs counting people and equipment, preparing to depart.

Na Fei chuckled, a mischievous look appearing on her usually gentle and quiet face.

Yu Chunming asked, “What’s the specific address you located?”

Na Fei answered with another question. “Are you worried about Officer Guan?”

Yu Chunming’s gaze, which had been fixed on Guan Yao downstairs, froze. He turned his head and replied without changing his expression, “What would I be worried about him for?”

Na Fei leaned back with her arms crossed. “No. 18 Beilin Village, about a forty-minute drive from here. That place is remote, sparsely populated. Some of the ethnic minority hunters in the village legally own guns. They’re going over there in the middle of the night with all kinds of equipment. It definitely isn’t safe.”

As she said this, the sound of a car starting came from downstairs. Yu Chunming immediately turned his head to look.

Na Fei couldn’t help but laugh. “Senior, you’re not acting normal.”

But the abnormal Yu Chunming didn’t say a word. He watched Guan Yao and his group until they left, the car and people disappearing around the street corner. Only then did he pull out a chair and sit down.

Na Fei asked, “How are you… doing here?”

Yu Chunming took a sip of the still-warm pear syrup water and casually replied, “It’s okay.”

“Is it really okay?” Na Fei said softly, “It seems like people here don’t really like you.”

Yu Chunming’s eyes flickered slightly. After a long pause, he replied, “It’s not that bad.”

“What about Guan Yao? Does he like you?” Na Fei asked bluntly.

Yu Chunming looked at her, his brow slightly furrowed. “Have you finished all your work?”

Na Fei smiled and closed the laptop screen. She spun her chair around on its casters and slid in front of Yu Chunming. “Senior, doesn’t he know who you are?”

Yu Chunming stared at Na Fei, narrowing his eyes, and then answered sincerely, “I’m your grandpa.”

Na Fei “tsk”ed. “My grandpa is a janitor at the Xiaoyang River Township government. When did you get demoted to that place?”

Yu Chunming was speechless. He deliberately asked, “How are you and Teacher Feng doing lately? Still arguing about divorce? Is his mother still pressuring you to have children?”

Hearing this, Na Fei pushed Yu Chunming. “Why do you have to bring up things that make me uncomfortable?”

“Oh, so the things you brought up are comfortable?” Yu Chunming asked unhappily.

But Na Fei stubbornly pursued him, “Can our situations be the same? Tell me, why don’t you tell Officer Guan?”

Yu Chunming wanted to drink water, but Na Fei pulled him so hard that he almost spilled water all over his pants. He helplessly put down the cup. “What would I tell him for? I don’t have anything to say to him. Also, stop pulling and tugging. Usually, you act like a lady outside.”

Na Fei chuckled. “Aren’t you going to wait for him to discover it himself? With his carefree personality, how could he figure it out? If you ask me, you should just tell him directly. All this other stuff, you’re good at it.”

Yu Chunming pulled his hand away, stood up, and started to walk out.

“Where are you going?” Na Fei asked.

“Smoking. If you want to inhale secondhand smoke, come with me,” Yu Chunming replied.

That night, the temperature in Za Mu Er dropped. At two in the morning, there was another frost. When the sky began to brighten at dawn, the people who had been out all night returned to the station late.

Guan Yao was carrying two toolboxes in his hands, and a cloth bag hung on his shoulder. He saw Yu Chunming smoking near the front door from afar, and immediately raised his voice and shouted, “Come over and help me carry something!”

Yu Chunming stubbed out his cigarette and walked over. “Didn’t catch him?”

Guan Yao wiped the sweat off his forehead and sized up the person in front of him. “Didn’t you go back to sleep?”

Yu Chunming naturally couldn’t tell Guan Yao that he had spent the night sitting upstairs watching Na Fei organize the scene investigation report, and going outside to stand in the cold wind waiting for people. He took the things and asked, “What is all this stuff? Why are there so many bottles and cans?”

“Hey, be careful!” Guan Yao saw that Yu Chunming didn’t grab it firmly and hurried up to support it. “These are all highly dangerous chemicals, be careful not to break them again.”

Yu Chunming was surprised. “Chemicals?”

“That’s right,” Guan Yao stepped aside to make way for the other members of the task force who were out on field duty. “Look, it’s not just what I’m carrying.”

In addition to the two boxes in his hands, the people following behind were carrying a lot more, including not only bottles and cans, but also some powdered substances.

“No. 18 Beilin Village, that place is just an abandoned bungalow. The wiring inside is so bad, I tripped as soon as I went in,” Guan Yao said. “There were five or six computers on the table, a few ID cards under the bed, and a warehouse full of chemicals in the backyard.”

Yu Chunming frowned and looked down at the contents of the box. “Ammonium nitrate?”

“There’s also toluene and ammonium perchlorate,” Guan Yao replied. “All flammable and explosive materials. I don’t know where this guy got them.”

Yu Chunming didn’t say anything. He sent the chemicals to the laboratory, and then pulled Han Chen over with a serious face. “Besides those flammable and explosive chemicals, what else did you find?”

Han Chen’s face also looked bad. He prevaricated, “Didn’t Guan Yao tell you? There were five or six computers and a few ID cards.”

“Let me see those ID cards,” Yu Chunming said.

Knowing what he wanted to ask, Han Chen directly replied, “That person isn’t among them.”

Yu Chunming frowned and looked at him.

Han Chen took a deep breath. “I said he’s not there, and he really isn’t. They already scanned them with the police app on the way back. Three of the ID cards were reported lost and reissued last month. The remaining two weren’t scanned, so they’re probably fake.”

Yu Chunming didn’t say anything, his expression still extremely solemn.

Han Chen said softly, “I know what you’re thinking, but the suspect’s modus operandi and methods in this case are completely different from that person’s. Besides, you can’t just assume that this case is related to that case just because the information we previously investigated involved Za Mu Er.”

Seeing that Yu Chunming was still silent, he continued, “Besides, how could that person appear wherever you go?”

As soon as these words came out, Yu Chunming suddenly raised his head. “He sent me that letter…”

“Are you still going to say that letter was sent to you by him?” Han Chen immediately raised his voice to interrupt Yu Chunming before he could finish speaking.

The attention of the busy crowd was immediately drawn to them, and they looked up at the two.

Han Chen rubbed his numb face and forced a smile. He pulled the man into the research and evaluation room, and lowered his voice, “Chunming, I understand that you care about that case, and I understand that you want to bring that person to justice, but… but that case is no longer our responsibility. You’re reaching too far, and it will violate the rules. Have you forgotten what Master said? Don’t always attach some irrelevant clues to that case.”

Yu Chunming listened silently.

Han Chen said again, “And that letter, Chunming, don’t deceive yourself anymore. Since you couldn’t use that letter to keep us both at the Songlan Municipal Bureau, then don’t mention it again.”

After speaking these words earnestly, Han Chen thought he had convinced Yu Chunming, but who knew Yu Chunming would say, “Last night, Na Fei calculated the height, weight, and walking posture of three people based on the footprints outside the driving school lounge. One of them is highly consistent with that person.”

“Chunming…” Han Chen suppressed the anger that surged to the top of his head, and said patiently, “How long are you going to dwell on that matter? I’ve already explained it to you countless times. The reason I did that was because…”

“I’m not dwelling on that matter because of you,” Yu Chunming said sternly, “Whatever you did before has nothing to do with me now. I’m not willing to let go because three of our colleagues sacrificed themselves in that explosion, and Zhang Lei is still in the ICU in a coma. And I have to give them an explanation.”

“Yu Chunming, is it your turn to give an explanation?” Han Chen slammed the table.

However, at this critical moment, a knock on the door came, and Guan Yao stood outside and said, “Deputy Han, Team Leader Liang is calling you to report the seized chemicals.”

Han Chen left, and the people outside who were craning their necks to look inside also scattered. Guan Yao glanced at Yu Chunming, suppressing the impulse to ask what was going on.

He smiled and interjected, “Xiao Meng just went to the cafeteria to get breakfast. He asked me to ask you if you want soy milk or tofu pudding.”

Yu Chunming didn’t answer. He held on to the table, his gaze fixed on the footprint analysis report spread out in front of him.

Guan Yao hesitated for a moment, and then opened his mouth, “Is there anything wrong with this?”

“There’s nothing wrong,” Yu Chunming replied sullenly, “There are many men who are about 185cm tall, wear size 46 shoes, weigh 87kg, and walk with their feet straight without turning outward.”

“What?” Guan Yao didn’t understand.

But Yu Chunming suddenly closed the report and turned to look at him. “I want to interrogate Liu Bin again. Do you want to come with me?”

Yesterday afternoon, Liu Bin had been formally arrested by the People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and suspected death, and was transferred to the Za Mu Er Detention Center last night. This morning, Su Xiaoxia, having heard the news, brought her son Liu Shuangxi to the gate of the detention center, begging the police to let them in to see Liu Shuangxi.

When Yu Chunming and Guan Yao went to interrogate Liu Bin, they happened to see the two kneeling outside the duty room, wiping away tears. In the deep autumn season, Su Xiaoxia and her son were so cold that their lips were pale and they were shivering, but they still refused to get up.

“What’s going on?” Guan Yao got out of the car and was about to pull them up. “Before sentencing, no one can see him. Go back.”

Su Xiaoxia took out two packs of cigarettes from her cloth bag and stuffed them straight into Guan Yao’s hand. “Please, Lao Guan, please…”

“It’s not that…” Guan Yao sighed, “Begging me is useless, this, this, you quickly take these cigarettes back.”

“Lao Guan,” how could Su Xiaoxia give up? She stubbornly grabbed Guan Yao and refused to let go. “How could Lao Liu kill someone? He wouldn’t kill anyone!”

“No one said he killed anyone, no one said he killed anyone!” Guan Yao glanced at Yu Chunming, who was standing aside with a look of indifference, and said, “Did you see him? He’s a leader from Songlan. If we let you in, what if the leader deliberately gives your Lao Liu a heavy sentence when the time comes for sentencing? What do you say? What should we do?”

Su Xiaoxia was frightened by these words. She timidly looked at Yu Chunming, wondering if she remembered the questioning the day before, and felt lingering fear in her heart. “Really?”

Guan Yao said with certainty, “Of course it’s true.”

Su Xiaoxia was a woman who had never been to school, so she naturally believed whatever Guan Yao said. She wiped away her tears, pulled the tottering Liu Shuangxi, and slowly walked away.

After they left, Yu Chunming spoke up. “When did I become your leader?”

“Yeah, when did you become my leader?” Guan Yao flicked his hair, and glanced at Yu Chunming with some disdain.

Yu Chunming raised an eyebrow. He walked closer to Guan Yao and smiled jokingly, “It’s not impossible for me to be your leader if you want.”

Guan Yao was first stunned by the man’s smile, and then the man’s breath was sprayed on his face. However, until Yu Chunming walked past him, Guan Yao didn’t realize what this sentence meant.

“Is he crazy?” he muttered. “I’m the captain of the Law Enforcement Team.”

[The author has something to say]

As we all know, “leader” sometimes has another layer of meaning.