NOS Chapter 3
by VolareChapter 3 Mopan Mountain (3)
It was already 2:30 AM when Guan Yao walked home under a sky full of stars.
He exhaled a breath of cold air and bent down to enter the Linchang Staff Family Compound through the large iron gate, which had unfortunately lost a corner due to disrepair over the years.
“Back?” A young man squatting by the roadside smoking casually asked when he saw him.
Guan Yao glanced at the young man: “What are you doing squatting here?”
“My mom’s having a man at home, kicked me out,” the young man sneered.
Guan Yao said nothing more and turned to walk in quickly.
When he got home and changed his shoes, before he could even take a sip of water, Guan Yao suddenly heard a “thump” sound from the bedroom. The noise startled him, and he almost picked up the umbrella behind the door to use as a stick.
“It’s me.” A guilty female voice came from the dark living room.
Guan Yao breathed a sigh of relief, then angrily said, “You didn’t say you were back, I almost thought there was a burglar in the house!”
Guan Yao’s niece, Guan Ning, giggled twice and hesitantly turned on the kitchen light: “I was afraid you’d scold me.”
“Scold you for what?” Guan Yao, using the orange light from the old-fashioned pendant lamp in the kitchen, saw the suitcase lying next to the sofa in the living room, “Skipping school again?”
Guan Ning stammered: “Not exactly…”
“If it’s not skipping school, what is it? Look, there’s still a week before the holiday.” Guan Yao pointed to the calendar on the wall.
“Uncle!” Guan Ning raised her voice and acted spoiled, “I didn’t skip school, it’s our practical training this semester, and I was assigned to Za Mu Er Municipal Hospital, so I came home.”
“Practical training?” Guan Yao’s tone softened.
But Guan Ning continued, “Uncle, why don’t you talk to the teaching teacher, I don’t want to do it anymore.”
“You don’t want to do what?” Guan Yao’s eyebrows, which had just relaxed, immediately furrowed again.
Guan Ning said softly: “I told you I don’t like being a nurse, but you insisted I learn it, and I can’t do that stuff well. As a result, I went to the City Hospital for practical training today and practiced injections. Oh my, my hands are as clumsy as feet, and I almost pierced the model.”
“Just don’t pierce the patients in the future, then it’s fine,” Guan Yao retorted.
“Old uncle, oh, I don’t want to study anymore!” Guan Ning shouted.
“What did you say?” Guan Yao’s expression hardened.
Guan Ning didn’t dare to speak.
She was raised by her great-grandmother and Guan Yao, her uncle. Now that her great-grandmother was gone, the only person she feared was Guan Yao.
Now, being glared at by Guan Yao, the little girl couldn’t bring herself to say that she wanted to drop out of school and go south to work.
Guan Yao looked at her: “When I signed you up for vocational school, I asked you whether to study nursing or accounting. You didn’t want to do math, and now you don’t want to be a nurse. What’s wrong, want to be a police officer with me?”
Guan Ning lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers.
“Forget it,” Guan Yao sighed, “It’s getting late, go to sleep.”
Guan Ning was relieved, and like a rabbit, she was about to jump back to her room, but halfway there, she remembered what she originally wanted to ask, so she returned to Guan Yao’s side: “Uncle, why are you back so late?”
“A case.” Guan Yao vaguely replied.
“Is it the case of wild animals eating people?” Guan Ning blinked her big eyes, curious.
Guan Yao paused and looked up at his niece: “Where did you hear that?”
Guan Ning rolled her eyes: “Auntie Wang downstairs told me. I ran into her when I came back. She said that your station had a big case, and someone in One Zero Three Forest Farm was attacked by a bear. The scene was terrifying.”
Guan Yao slapped the girl’s head: “You think you’re the Secretaries of the United Nations? Mind your own business, go to sleep.”
Guan Ning smiled and scurried back to her room along the wall.
Watching the door close, Guan Yao, exhausted from the day, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He still lived in his parents’ old house. On the dining table facing the kitchen was a wedding photo of Guan Qiang and Xiao Liwen—a black and white, simple wedding photo without any joyful atmosphere. The man had a stern face, and the woman pursed her lips. They looked more serious than each other.
Of course, in Guan Yao’s memory, Guan Qiang and Xiao Liwen were not like this.
Looking at the two people in the photo, Guan Yao turned into the kitchen, opened the window, and took a bottle of cold soda from the windowsill with a security net.
Guan Qiang and Xiao Liwen unfortunately died in the No. 2 Timber Factory fire thirty-three years ago. Guan Yao was only four years old at the time, and Guan Na, the cousin who lived in their house, was just over eleven. The family had just finished a joyous dinner when, in an instant, the happy event turned into a funeral.
“A worker in charge of the warehouse mishandled something, and a cigarette butt fell into the machine. There was a big fire in the No. 2 factory.” Guan Qiang, who hurriedly came home and showed his face, said, “Your mother is still there. Your uncle and I will go and find her.”
After speaking, Guan Qiang left the staff compound with his brother Guan Xing.
Then, they never returned.
Fortunately, their grandmother was still alive, and the siblings were not left destitute.
Thinking of his sister, Guan Yao tilted his head back and took a sip of cold soda, suddenly feeling that life was just that. In the end, who knew whether they would die in the fire at the No. 2 Timber Factory, or in the wilderness of Mopan Mountain? Or jump off a bridge and never look back?
Guan Yao pressed his temples and focused his gaze on a group photo under the row of black and white frames.
The group photo showed two children, one big and tall, and the other small and thin. The two squeezed together, their expressions equally serious.
This photo was originally placed face down on the table, but for some reason, Guan Ning would always put it back up whenever she came home.
“Don’t even know how to smile.” Guan Yao looked at the small and thin child and said softly.
At this moment, a discordant song rang out from next door, a woman singing at the top of her lungs in the middle of the night. The noise made Guan Yao’s head hurt. He threw the empty can into the trash can and flipped the group photo face down on the table.
Before entering the room, Guan Yao hesitated and raised his hand, but he didn’t turn off the kitchen light.
The next morning, Guan Ning, yawning and looking miserable, was stuffed into Guan Yao’s almost-scrap red car. It was already cold, and the car wouldn’t start for a long time. Guan Yao fiddled with it up and down two or three times before finally driving Guan Ning out of the Linchang Staff Family Compound gate.
“Why did your school think of arranging practical training at the City Hospital?” Guan Yao asked, puzzled. “In our broken place, how many patients can you practice on? Why not stay in He Cheng?”
Guan Ning said drowsily: “It’s based on grades. The ones with good grades either stay in He Cheng or go to Lin City.”
“Oh, so you came back to Za Mu Er.” Guan Yao clicked his tongue.
“What’s wrong with Za Mu Er? Yesterday at noon, I saw a handsome guy in our department!” Guan Ning suddenly woke up and exclaimed excitedly.
Guan Yao was speechless: “All you have in your head is this, can you do injections well?”
Guan Ning deliberately said: “Handsome guys make people feel happy. If my colleagues, those ugly ducklings, could all grow up to look like you, old uncle, I’d definitely be happy to go to work.”
Guan Yao couldn’t help but smile at these words. He stopped the car in front of the City Hospital and urged her, “Hurry up, hurry up, stop embarrassing me in front of people.”
Guan Ning reluctantly picked up her bag, muttering, “It’s really annoying, a Songlan expert came to give us guidance in this broken place yesterday. When he saw my skill level, he gave me a good scolding and told my teaching teacher to give me a failing grade! Old uncle, what is a Songlan expert doing here?”
Guan Yao waved his hand: “Alright, stop dawdling, we even have a the Police Man from Song Lan that has arrived at our place, hurry up and get out of the car, I’m going to be late.”
Guan Ning pouted and walked away, looking back every few steps.
This little girl was sixteen this year and was the daughter of Guan Yao’s sister, Guan Na. That year, Guan Yao was still in the army. Guan Na gave birth to her and jumped from the Ning Nie Li Qi River outside the city. By the time she was found, she was already a cold, floating corpse.
Guan Yao looked at Guan Ning’s face, which didn’t resemble her mother much, and sighed silently in his heart.
The car turned the corner, and the morning market next to the police station had already closed. Several vegetable farmers pulling their sheds saw Guan Yao’s red car and shouted greetings: “Officer Guan, going to work!”
Guan Yao raised his chin: “The vegetables look pretty fresh today.”
“Still a little left, want me to send some to your house?” One of the old men laughed.
Guan Yao waved his hand: “My house doesn’t get used for cooking for half a month at a time, why don’t you send it to our station’s cafeteria, and I’ll have Old Fang settle the bill for you.”
“How can we take money from our station?” The old man picked up a few bags of vegetables and followed Guan Yao into the Linchang Police Station, “Take them, take them.”
“What am I taking? I’m telling you to send them to the cafeteria.” Guan Yao pushed back while waving to the logistics officer.
While the two were pulling and pushing, a voice came from upstairs: “The forensic doctor has a preliminary Analysis report.”
Guan Yao stopped and looked up, only to see Yu Chunming leaning on the railing, looking down at him.
This person didn’t seem to have slept much the night before. His face was slightly blue, and he looked more haggard than the forensic doctor who had worked all night.
Guan Yao asked, “Did you eat breakfast?”
As usual, Yu Chunming didn’t answer, as if he hadn’t heard.
Guan Yao felt bored and walked into the office, asking Meng Changqing, who was hunched over the table eating a bun, “How’s the forensic doctor’s report?”
Before Meng Changqing could answer, a woman’s wail suddenly rang out not far away: “Impossible, how could it be him!”
Guan Yao turned around and saw Su Xiaoxia.
The day before, he had just finished a case in Longgang Village in the morning and ran into scattered corpses all over Mopan Mountain at noon. At this time, he hadn’t reacted yet, wondering what Su Xiaoxia was crying about.
Meng Changqing came closer and said softly, “Yesterday, Deputy Director Shu led colleagues from the household registration department to investigate missing persons, and they investigated their home. Master, now everyone suspects that the victim on Mopan Mountain is Liu Bin.”
“Liu Bin?” Guan Yao repeated.
“Just now, Officer Yu has already pulled up the video monitoring at the entrance of Longgang Village. Liu Bin left home five days ago, and judging from the direction he was walking, he should have gone to Mopan Mountain.” Meng Changqing added.
Guan Yao put down his bag and looked at Su Xiaoxia wiping away tears in the distance, without saying a word.
“It may not be Liu Bin.” At this time, Yu Chunming, who hadn’t spoken, opened his mouth, “We still need to wait for the DNA test results. The bureau only sent the equipment over at six o’clock this morning, and it will take a while to get the results. Before the results are out, we can’t accurately determine who the victim is.”
These words could not stop Su Xiaoxia’s crying.
Guan Yao rubbed his face: “You say this now, and people can’t listen to it.”
Yu Chunming looked at Guan Yao: “I’m saying it to you.”
Guan Yao was stunned.
Meng Changqing explained next to him: “Because the incident occurred in Mopan Mountain, which belongs to the jurisdiction of our Linchang Police Station, Captain Han of the bureau’s criminal investigation detachment suggested that the Task Force be set up here, and you and Officer Yu are also transferred to assist in the investigation.”
After speaking, the young man looked envious: “I also want to follow Master into the Task Force to see the world, but unfortunately, Captain Han doesn’t want me.”
Guan Yao couldn’t help but slander in his heart, how could a case that looked like a wild animal killing someone suddenly become such a big deal, even a Task Force was established?
Yu Chunming seemed to see through Guan Yao’s thoughts. He said: “When the forensic doctor was examining the body last night, a large number of epithelial tissues were found in the fingernails of the severed hand. At the same time, the back of the hand and the palm of the severed hand had varying degrees of scratching damage. This damage was not caused by wild animals, and it is very likely to be man-made.”
“Man-made?” Guan Yao’s forehead twitched.
“In addition, the forensic doctor also found that the severed hand was the right hand, and the joints were thick, and the finger bones were slender. There were obvious thick calluses on the inner side of the tiger’s mouth and on the fingertips of the thumb, index finger, and middle finger. The victim should be a man engaged in physical labor or perhaps a driver who needs to drive for many years. Although the precise time of death is currently difficult to estimate, judging from the degree of corruption, it should not exceed seventy-two hours.” Speaking of this, Yu Chunming looked at Su Xiaoxia, “But Liu Bin was just a clerk in charge of keys at the No. 2 Timber Factory back then. Later, when he returned to the countryside, his wife, Su Xiaoxia, did all the heavy work at home except for squatting in the small store to count money and keep accounts. Counting money can’t produce calluses in the tiger’s mouth and on the fingertips. In that case, the possibility of him being the owner of the severed hand is not very high.”
Guan Yao frowned and looked at him: “How do you know so much about Liu Bin?”
Yu Chunming replied expressionlessly: “I was responsible for questioning Su Xiaoxia when she came to the police station just now.”
“Oh,” Guan Yao nodded, “So that’s why she was crying so hard when I came in.”
Yu Chunming did not deny it, and Meng Changqing quickly shrank his head.
But Guan Yao didn’t say much this time, perhaps because there were too many outsiders in the station. He just stood up and patted Yu Chunming on the shoulder: “You should take some time to practice this… the art of language.”
“Does interrogation require the art of language?” Yu Chunming was not a person who would bow his head.
Guan Yao smiled: “Look at what Officer Yu is saying. Is she a suspect you want to interrogate? Did she kill someone or set a fire? You’re interrogating her with the methods used to interrogate criminals. Su Xiaoxia is a member of the public who has lost her husband and came to the station to cooperate with the investigation. Do you know what cooperating with the investigation means?”
Yu Chunming didn’t speak.
For a criminal police officer who had only handled criminal cases, how to question members of the public who cooperated with the investigation was not unfamiliar, but Yu Chunming rarely did it himself.
The most he did was sit in the interrogation room, looking at the suspect whose hands had been handcuffed to the interrogation chair, and then sternly and forcefully pry the truth out of their mouths.
As for the evidence obtained through cooperating with the investigation, it was all done by the police at the grass-roots police station, and then the ready-made records were sent to him. Yu Chunming never bothered to worry about how they found or asked these things, because in the past, he indeed rarely dealt with innocent and kind people.
“Don’t cry, have something to drink.” Guan Yao randomly took the soy milk that Meng Changqing hadn’t had time to open, “I just asked, and it’s not certain that your old man is the victim, so relax.”
Su Xiaoxia tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn’t stop sobbing.
Guan Yao continued to ask: “Where’s your son? Sent him to the neighbor’s house?”
Su Xiaoxia nodded.
“That kid will cry and howl if he doesn’t see you for a day, so don’t sit here, go home.” Guan Yao said.
Yu Chunming stood aside, wanting to stop her, but for some reason, he closed his mouth again.
Su Xiaoxia asked with tears in her eyes: “Old Guan, can it really not be Shuangxi’s dad who died in the mountains?”
“It can’t be,” Guan Yao comforted, “Don’t worry.”
Su Xiaoxia stood up and thanked everyone around her. Seeing that Shu Wen was about to send her out, she wiped her tears clean.
But who knew that at this moment, someone stepped out of the laboratory.
“It’s confirmed, it’s not Liu Bin.” Han Chen, the captain of the First Brigade of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Jin A Lin Mountain Area and now the deputy leader of the Task Force, said, holding up the report card in his hand.
Su Xiaoxia’s eyes lit up, and she was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
But who knew that Han Chen had the next sentence: “However, the epithelial tissue in the victim’s fingernails matches Liu Bin’s DNA.”