S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 21

The Innocent Murderer 21 – Magic

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Zhan Zhao's words not only shocked Luo Yang, but also shocked Luo Tian and Bai Yutang.

Luo Tian looked at Luo Yang in surprise and asked, "Yang Yang... you..."

Luo Yang looked at the three adults staring at him blankly, and said, "What?"

"Where did you learn to ask questions like that?" Zhan Zhao asked, "Who taught you?"

Luo Yang shook his head and said, "No one taught me, I learned it by myself..."

"Who did you learn from?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Luo Yang hesitated, stretched out his finger, pointed at Zhan Zhao lightly, and whispered, "I learnt from Uncle Zhan."

When Luo Yang's words came out, several people were shocked.

"Me?" Zhan Zhao couldn't recover from the shock, and asked Luo Yang, "From my book?"

Bai Yutang shook his head, squatted down and reached out to touch Yang Yang's head. He said, "Yang Yang, do you often watch Cat talk to people? Is that why you subconsciously imitate it?"

Luo Yang nodded, "Mhmm... I think that although everyone in SCI is very good, Uncle Zhan is the best." Luo Yang said. He hid behind Luo Tian, and whispered, "Dad also said that it's like Uncle Zhan has magical powers when he speaks. I want to learn to speak with magic powers just like him."

Zhan Zhao was completely stunned. Bai Yutang sat on the sofa to the side and laughed. Luo Tian couldn't help but laugh and asked Luo Yang, "Then what about your behaviour just now? Explain why you were asking like that?"

Luo Yang nodded and said in a low voice, "Uncle Zhan always looks into people's eyes when talking to people, giving them the feeling that he is listening to them seriously. Then, Uncle Zhan will use his words to guide their thought process. Most of the time, it's not telling them what to remember, but rather bringing them back into the environment of those memories so they remember the details. Also, when Uncle Zhan speaks, he will sometimes rest his hand on their shoulder as he asks the questions, making them feel close... So I…"

Bai Yutang laughed on the sofa. He turned his face to look at Zhan Zhao who was sitting in front of Luo Yang, and laughed: "Cat... it's not at all what you were expecting."

Zhan Zhao flushed instantly and looked at Luo Yang a little apologetically, while Luo Yang hid behind Luo Tian and stuck out his tongue at Zhan Zhao, "So fierce."

"Yang Yang, it's impolite." Luo Tian looked back at Luo Yang, and Luo Yang pouted.

Bai Yutang walked over, hugged the embarrassed Zhan Zhao, and said to Luo Tian, "Stay with the two children for a while, we will come back soon." After speaking, holding Zhan Zhao who wanted to hide his face under his collar, they left the room and went to the stairwell.

Walking into the quiet stairwell, Bai Yutang gently placed Zhan Zhao on the steps. He squatted down to look directly at Zhan Zhao, and stretched out his hand to pinch his chin, "What's the matter with you, Cat? You're awesome; you have fans everywhere. From the young to the old, even little Yang Yang is your fan!" 

"Go away." Zhan Zhao glared at him. He bowed his head and didn't say anything else.

Bai Yutang lifted Zhan Zhao's chin slightly and said, "Also, what did you say back there? Our two genes are particularly good?"

Zhan Zhao nodded.

Bai Yutang laughed, "How can they be particularly good when you run slower than a tortoise?"

Zhan Zhao was angry. Raising his uninjured leg, he kicked Bai Yutang. Bai Yutang avoided, and sat next to him, "Dr. Zhan, why have you been so anxious recently?"

"You're the one who's anxious." Zhan Zhao glared at Bai Yutang angrily.

"Cat..." Bai Yutang touched his chin and said, "You know in your heart that no matter how good your genes are, without the efforts of yesterday, there would be absolutely no achievement today."

Zhan Zhao raised his face and looked at Bai Yutang.

"Also," Bai Yutang continued, "there are thousands of people with good genes in this world, but not all of them have necessarily achieved success."

Zhan Zhao nodded.

"You are afraid." Bai Yutang laughed and whispered, "You are afraid that it has something to do with Zhao Jue. You have been very sensitive to his affairs since the first time you saw Zhao Jue."

Zhan Zhao thought for a while and nodded. He looked at Bai Yutang, "Then what does this mean?"

"Hmm... it means that he is a very influential person, just like you." Bai Yutang replied.

"Do you think... that we have a problem?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Bai Yutang rubbed his chin, "So what if there is a problem? In this world, there is no one who is absolutely perfect."

After listening, Zhan Zhao thought about it. Then, the nervous expression on his face disappeared and he whispered, "Dead mouse, you're too clever."

"Didn't I say it before?" Bai Yutang said proudly. "You are an expert who studies people, and I am an expert who studies you."

Zhan Zhao glanced at him, then suddenly "Ah! I thought of something!"

"What did you think of?" Bai Yutang asked, "It is about how Lu Liang and Zhao Jing's parents know each other?"

"No." Zhan Zhao waved his hand. "Just now, Yang Yang said that he learned the way of asking questions from watching me. There was also a bit of hypnotism that happened, right?" 

"Mhmm." Bai Yutang nodded, "I have said that you are very influential... Ah~~ Cat, I understand." Bai Yutang nodded and said, "You mean, Yang Yang was able to learn it from being around you for a while. That means that among the people who used to be around Zhao Jue, there should be at least one person who was able to learn it from him. 

Zhan Zhao nodded, "The key is that the person isn't imitating a murder and they don't have an obsession with psychology. Instead, what they have is an obsession with Zhao Jue himself.

"So, we only need to check if there is anyone related to Zhao Jue in this case... Wait, Zhao Jue told us to be careful about Yan Li. In other words, we should check to see if Yan Li is related to anyone who was around Zhao Jue back then, right?"

Zhan Zhao smiled and shook his head. He turned his face, stretched his hand out to touch Bai Yutang's cheek and whispered, "Xiao Bai, do you know, if we talk about genes... Brother, Bai Chi and I are all excellent in one aspect, However, you are perfect."

Bai Yutang grabbed Zhan Zhao's hand and leaned over to kiss him, "No matter how perfect I am, I will always belong to you."

......

When the two returned to the room, Luo Yang was still playing with Zhao Jing while Luo Tian was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine.

"Luo Tian, you take Yang Yang home first." Bai Yutang said, "I will go see Lu Liang with Cat."

"Okay." Luo Tian thought for a while and said, "I will send Yang Yang home first, and then go to Lu Liang's clinic to wait for you." Then he glanced at Zhan Zhao's injured foot.

Bai Yutang knew that he was worried that it would be inconvenient to take the injured Zhan Zhao into action alone, so he nodded and agreed. The four moved separately. 

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang went to Lu Liang's clinic.

"Woah..." Bai Yutang raised his face and looked around, "This clinic is very impressive."

Zhan Zhao laughed, "Lu Liang is also a well-known psychologist in China and he runs a private clinic. As such, he makes a lot of money and has taught many students."

"Let's go upstairs and take a look." Bai Yutang took out a wheelchair from the trunk and pushed it to Zhan Zhao's side.

"This... isn't this the wheelchair from the nursing home?" Zhan Zhao was surprised, "When did you get it?"

Bai Yutang shrugged, "I will send it back when your leg is better."

Zhan Zhao wrinkled his nose: "Thief mouse!"

......

As the two entered Lu Liang's clinic, the front desk hurried to welcome them and politely asked, "Do you have an appointment?"

Bai Yutang showed her his ID badge and said, "We have something to talk to Lu Liang about."

"Oh..." The front desk nodded quickly and picked up the internal phone to call Lu Liang. After that, Lu Liang came downstairs in person and was startled when he saw Zhan Zhao in a wheelchair, "Dr. Zhan, what's the matter?"

"Oh..." Bai Yutang didn't wait for Zhan Zhao's answer, "He wasn't careful when he was walking."

"So careless." Lu Liang said as he invited the two of them to the office to sit down. He poured tea and got fruit for them, then said with unspeakable enthusiasm, "Speaking of which, I haven't had a chance to thank you for saving my life."

Bai Yutang smiled slightly and said, "Don't mention these. By the way, Dr. Lu, I want to ask you something."

"Oh." Lu Liang also sat down and nodded, "Is it about the Ripper case?"

"No." Zhan Zhao shook his head and said, "Do you know Zhao Qi and his wife?"

Lu Liang was taken aback for a moment, "Zhao Qi?" He nodded, "I know them, they are my patients. However, they haven't been here for a long time. What's wrong?"

"They are your patients?" Bai Yutang asked, "Both of them? What do they come to you for?"

"Oh..." Lu Liang stood up and searched for a while in front of the bookshelf. He found a piece of information and handed it to Zhan Zhao, saying, "Their condition is rare, but it's not serious."

"Occasional memory confusion?" Zhan Zhao glanced at the two cases and looked up at Lu Liang in surprise. "These cases are indeed rare."

"Right?" Lu Liang also nodded, "So I deliberately took on their cases so that I could use them for a research topic. It's a pity that they suddenly disappeared."

"What kind of condition is occasional memory confusion?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Hmm, how do I explain it?" Lu Liang thought for a while and said, "I'll explain it with an example. Let's say in the morning, a husband tells his wife that he went to the supermarket and he saw something interesting. However, if you ask the wife that night, she will tell you that she went to the supermarket and saw the interesting thing."

"So strange." Bai Yutang was surprised, "In other words, confusing another person's memory with your own?"

Lu Liang was taken aback, and then he laughed, "Captain Bai's comprehension and summarization skills are very good. You only need to say one sentence after I said a paragraph. It is much easier to understand than what I said."

Bai Yutang glanced at Zhan Zhao, "You're too polite. It's easy to learn how to do this with enough practice."

Zhan Zhao glared at him.

"Are the husband and wife both suffering from this condition?" Zhan Zhao asked Lu Liang.

"They are." Lu Liang nodded, "This is what makes it so strange."

"With all due respect," Zhan Zhao said, "a majority of memory-affecting conditions are caused by physical trauma to the brain, not by psychological problems."

Lu Liang smiled. He nodded and said, "I have doubted this before as well. But what's interesting is that the two underwent a comprehensive brain examination and there was nothing unusual."

"That is..." Zhan Zhao fell into deep thought, and listened to Lu Liang continuing, "In addition, two people having the same condition at the same time proves that it is not genetic but rather it has a specific cause. In this case, the relationship between the two people is close, so it is likely that they both experienced the cause of the condition together. For this reason, I once stayed with them for a period of time in an attempt to determine the cause of the condition, but I was unsuccessful."

"I see." Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other. This could explain why Zhao Jing is so fond of Lu Liang.

"Right," Bai Yutang said, "since you have lived with them, you must know their daughter Zhao Jing, right?"

"Oh... Zhao Jing? Of course, I know that the couple love their daughter very much," Lu Liang replied.

"Do you think Zhao Jing is a little unusual?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Hmm..." Lu Liang hesitated for a while and nodded, "This kid also has this condition."

"You mean that she also has memory confusion?" Bai Yutang was surprised.

"It's not obvious in the early stages." Lu Liang replied, "However, she has serious forgetfulness."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other – That explains why she couldn't answer any of our questions.

Zhan Zhao wanted to ask another question. At this moment, someone knocked on the door of the office. The lady from the front desk opened the door and asked Lu Liang, "Doctor, the police officer came with his wife, do you want them to wait first?"

Lu Liang looked at his watch and said, "Ah... it's so late, I forgot to notify them and postpone the appointment..."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other, and asked Lu Liang, "Police officer?"

Lu Liang nodded, sighed, and said, "Oh... the life of that police officer is simply a tragedy."

"Let them wait a while." Lu Liang told the receptionist, "Just say I have an important patient..."

"No, it's okay." Zhan Zhao said suddenly, "We are not in a hurry, let the police officer come in first." After speaking, he asked Lu Liang, "Why did the police officer come and bring his wife?"

Lu Liang shook his head and said, "You will find out when they come in later."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at the door suspiciously, and heard a miserable woman crying in the corridor, her voice was old, and she was crying, "My child... my child..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had a strange feeling in their hearts. After a while, they saw Uncle An helping a trembling old lady enter the office.

The few people looked at each other, and Uncle An suddenly shook. Looking at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, he said "You..."

"Uh..." Bai Yutang stood up, "Let me ask you something about the case... Uncle An, you..." Then he looked at the grey-haired old lady next to Uncle An.

"Heh..." Uncle An said with a wry smile, "This is my wife."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's eyes widened – Uncle An is indeed not young anymore, but this old lady seems like she could be his mother.

"A white-haired person sending off a black-haired person." Uncle An shook his head. "It can't be helped. She couldn't stand the stimulation and her hair turned white."

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang didn't know how to react. Uncle An's wife had been crying ever since they entered the door; crying for a while, she kept calling out to her child by herself. It was a depressing sight to see.

"Mrs. An was over-sorrowful and it caused a mental breakdown." Lu Liang said, "I am trying to calm her down."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded. They couldn't stay in this situation, so they left first as if escaping out of the clinic. Luo Tian was already waiting in front of the car.

Seeing the two come out, Luo Tian hurriedly said, "Captain, Officer An just brought an old lady up..."

"We know." Bai Yutang nodded and helped Zhan Zhao into the car. He also sat back in the car and fastened his seat belt, letting out a long sigh.

For a long time, Zhan Zhao sat there without making a sound. Bai Yutang turned to look at him thinking that Zhan Zhao would be sad, but when he was Zhan Zhao, he was frowning. It looked like there was something that he couldn't figure out.

"Cat?" Bai Yutang asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhan Zhao hesitated for a moment, and looked at Bai Yutang, "I don't know if I'm overthinking it..."

"Overthinking what?" Bai Yutang was puzzled.

"Um... I think." Zhan Zhao turned to look at Lu Liang's clinic, "Uncle An's wife... it didn't seem like she just went crazy."

"You mean..." Bai Yutang thought and nodded, "That's right. It looks like she has been crazy for more than ten years!"

The two were puzzled, and Bai Yutang's cell phone rang.

Jiang Ping was calling. Bai Yutang put it on speakerphone and Jiang Ping's voice could be heard at the other end of the call; "Boss. We have seen all the videos; the ones from the parking lot of the banquet and the ones from the police station."

"What did you find?" Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao asked.

"You should come back soon. We found some very interesting things."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: March 17, 2021

Re-edited: December 21, 2023