S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 10

The Innocent Murderer 10 - Purpose

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"Bring Pang Qing back!" Bai Yutang instructed the police officer on the side, "Detain him for forty-eight hours on the grounds that he is obstructing official duties. Don't let him run away!"

"Yes sir!" The officer went down in a hurry.

Bai Yutang turned his head and said, "There are two bodies, which means there are two victims!"

"Yes, the next thing to do is to determine the identity of the corpse and find out where Pang Xiaoqin's body went." Zhan Zhao shook his head, "Who kills so many people in one fell swoop? What is the purpose?"

Zhao Zhen was still a little confused. He put his arms around Xiao Bai Chi and fell asleep. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang said that there was nothing left to consult with him about, so Bai Chi took him aside to rest.

"Where is the person who brought the cake out?" Bai Yutang asked the police officer on the side, "Bring him over."

"Yes sir!" The officer left for fifteen minutes, then ran back and said, "Bai Sir, we have found that person but he is a bit strange."

"Strange?" Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other and asked, "What do you mean by strange?"

"The manager told us that the person he sent to deliver the cake was Chen Li. We found him, and everyone else said that he delivered it, but Chen Li himself said that he had never delivered a cake!"

"This is interesting!" Bai Yutang was amused, and asked the police officer, "Did you bring him over?"

"Come over here!" The police officer called Chen Li at the door to come in.

Zhan Zhao's memory is very good, almost perfect. At just a glance he recognized that the person in front of him was the waiter who had brought in the cake just now.

"Your name is Chen Li?" Bai Yutang asked, "Were you the one who brought in the cake just now?"

Chen Li blinked, touched his head in confusion, and replied, "What cake?"

Bai Yutang smiled, "Many people saw you just now, so it's useless for you to deny it!"

Chen Li was even more anxious, shook his head and asked, "What cake? I have never seen the cake before!"

Zhan Zhao stopped Bai Yutang who was a little annoyed, looked closer at Chen Li's eyes, turned around and said to Bai Yutang, "He is not in the right state of mind!"

"What do you mean?" Bai Yutang was puzzled.

Zhan Zhao called over the police officer next to him and gave a few instructions. The police officer nodded and left. Zhan Zhao turned around and continued to ask Chen Li, "Then, what were you doing about half an hour ago?"

Chen Li thought for a while, and said, "I was delivering food."

"What food?" Zhan Zhao asked, "Where did you deliver it?"

"I brought it to the guest room on the top floor." Chen Li replied, "It was a steak and a bottle of red wine."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao, "There is only one guest room on the top floor."

"Who received it?" Zhan Zhao then asked.

"I don't know. No one answered so I put the things down and left." Chen Li replied, "They were probably in the shower."

At this moment, the police officer came back with a cake in his hand and said to Zhan Zhao, "Dr. Zhan, is this all right?"

Zhan Zhao looked at it and nodded, "It's okay!" After speaking, he took it, held the cake out to Chen Li, and asked, "What is this?"

Chen Li glanced, "Steak and red wine."

Bai Yutang and the others were dumbfounded.

"What kind of room is this room?" Zhan Zhao asked Chen Li.

Chen Li looked around and said, "A hall."

Zhan Zhao shouted to the police officer at the door, "Turn off the lights!"

The light was turned off, and the surroundings instantly dimmed, leaving only the faint light from the doorway.

"Where is this place?" Zhan Zhao then asked.

Chen Li frowned, "What do you mean? This is the hall"

Zhan Zhao thought for a while and asked someone to play the music that was playing during the incident.

When the music sounded, Chen Li was stunned.

Zhan Zhao understood clearly, and asked in a low voice, "Where is this place?"

After a long silence, Chen Li said hesitantly, "It's... the guest room."

"Which room?"

"Just now... the guest room where the room service was sent..." Chen Li seemed a little confused. Zhan Zhao asked people to turn off the music and turn on the lights. The surroundings lit up and Chen Li took a breath, "Why... how come I'm back here..."

Bai Yutang frowned and looked at him, then turned to ask Zhan Zhao, "Cat, what the hell is wrong with him?"

Zhan Zhao gently shook his head and said, "He was hypnotised!"

Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows, and other police officers also found it magical.

"It's not easy to be able to hypnotise a person to this extent..." Zhan Zhao sent people to isolate Chen Li first. He didn't know what other instructions he had been given, so letting him go might be dangerous.

"Cat, there aren't many people who can do this, right?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao.

"There shouldn't be that many." Zhan Zhao nodded, "Though it may be a self-taught genius."

"Why do you say that?" Bai Yutang was puzzled.

"Using steak and wine instead of cakes, and using guest rooms instead of halls... They aren't very different." Zhan Zhao touched his chin and said, "It may be a coincidence, but it may also be that his abilities are not good enough."

"Cat... I have an idea." Bai Yutang said suddenly.

"What is it?"

"Guess who he said 'catch me' to?" Bai Yutang asked with interest.

Zhan Zhao was taken aback and shook his head.

"In the entire hall, only Zhao Zhen can recognize his magic. However, the murderer used tricks to make Zhao Zhen fall asleep. That is to say, his purpose is not Zhao Zhen. Then in the entire hall, who can hypnotise people?" Bai Yutang asked.

Zhan Zhao stared at him for a while, and pointed his finger towards himself, "You mean me?"

"And the 'I LOVE YOU' previously." Bai Yutang added.

"It's still not certain whether they were done by the same person." Zhan Zhao frowned.

"I think they are." Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows and pointed at Zhao Zhao's heart. "Don't you think so?"

Zhan Zhao was speechless.

"Some things are strange!" Just as the two were looking at each other, Gongsun suddenly said, "This corpse is very young!"

"Young?" Bai Yutang stepped forward and asked, "How young are they?"

"At most twenty years old," Gongsun looked at the corpse, "maybe even younger."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other and shook their heads.

The subsequent evidence collection work proceeded in an orderly manner. After the on-site evidence collection was completed, Gongsun and the police sent the corpse back for further examination.

"Boss," Zhang Long came back and said, "everyone has been registered."

Bai Yutang nodded, "Have you found any suspicious people?"

Zhang Long shook his head, "We didn't find a suspicious person, but some strange things were discovered."

"What strange things?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both asked with interest.

"The people from the cake company just came to deliver the cake." Zhang Long said.

"What?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced at each other and saw Zhang Long beckoning to the door, and a cake company staff member with a list in hand ran in.

"Why are you here to deliver the cake now?" Bai Yutang looked at the list and asked him.

"It was supposed to be delivered at seven o'clock, but then someone who claimed to be the hotel manager called to say that the delivery should be delayed by one hour!" The delivery man replied.

"Where is the cake?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Outside!" The delivery man said. He went out the door and pushed the cake in.

Everyone looked at it and found that it was exactly the same as the original cake that had the corpse inside. Bai Yutang winked at Zhan Zhao, picked up the cake pieces that had been collected on the ground just now, and asked the delivery man, "Are these two the same?"

The delivery man looked at the cake that was smashed and put out a finger with a little fresh milk and tasted it. He shook his head and said, "It's not the same. This cake is of such bad quality, our cakes are much better than this!"

"Oh..." Bai Yutang nodded. The few people around him thought about how there was a corpse hiding in that cake, and yet the poor unsuspecting delivery man just took a bite of it. If he finds out, he might be very depressed.

"Is this style only available in your store, or is it available elsewhere?" Bai Yutang then asked.

"Hmm..." The delivery man thought for a while and said, "This cake is very difficult to make. It's a classic style of wedding cake. It should be made by an advanced cake master. And, to make such a cake, you would need to order it at least a month in advance!"

Bai Yutang nodded, let him go back, and turned to look at Zhan Zhao, "Cat, do you want to cut the cake?"

Zhan Zhao frowned, "You're still making trouble!"

"Look at it, maybe the other half of the body is in here." Bai Yutang smiled and picked up the cake knife on the side.

"Such a good cake." Zhan Zhao stretched out his hand to stop him, "What a pity it's broken!"

Bai Yutang wanted to cut it, but Zhan Zhao wouldn't let the knife go. The two of them held the cake knife and didn't let go. After all, Zhan Zhao couldn't beat Bai Yutang in terms of strength, and the knife was inserted into the cake.

At this time, they heard a click and there was a flash of light.

When the two turned their heads, they saw the twins holding a camera and grinningly saying, "Haha! A hundred years of happiness!"

Both of them were taken aback for a moment, but they immediately realised that they were both dressed up and they were cutting an engagement cake together...

"Let's go print this!" Da Ding turned and ran.

"Don't run!" Zhan Zhao wanted to chase him, but Bai Yutang grabbed him and shouted at the door, "Print lots of copies! I want some too!"

"White mouse!" Zhan Zhao was angry. "You..." 

They were bickering when they heard a cough outside the door. When the two looked back at the same time, there was a person standing at the door; it was An Youdao, Uncle An, who was in charge of investigating Fang Wo's case before.

"Uncle An, what's the matter?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Uh... I heard that the body and head are not from the same person?" Uncle An asked in a low voice.

"That's right." Bai Yutang nodded. He looked at Zhan Zhao, and said in his heart that it was one of the young police officers who had told him.

"Then... that corpse, do you know who it belongs to?" An Youdao asked.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao suddenly thought that Uncle An seemed strange. The whole person looked much older than before, with deep sunken eye sockets, thick dark circles, and chapped lips.

"Uncle An, do you have any clues for us?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Uncle An shook his head, was silent for a while, then said, "You... can you show me the corpse."

Bai Yutang was taken aback, and replied, "The body has been taken back to the police station for the autopsy."

"Oh... I see." Uncle An nodded and walked out in a daze.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao both felt strange. They went up together and called, "Uncle An, wait!"

"What happened?" Bai Yutang asked.

"..." Uncle An sighed and shook his head.

"Why don't you tell us so we can help you?" Zhan Zhao thought for a while, and asked in a low voice, "Do you know that corpse?"

"I... I'm not sure..." Uncle An became agitated suddenly, his eyes flushed.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were taken aback, unsure about this reaction.

"What the hell is going on?" Bai Yutang moved a chair, helped the old man sit down, and asked, "Tell me!"

Uncle An took a deep breath before saying, "Last night... my daughter didn't come home after school."

Zhan Zhao frowned upon hearing this, "How old is your daughter?"

"She... nineteen, just a freshman in college. She comes home every week... She was supposed to come back yesterday but she didn't show up. We called her dormitory and her roommates said that she left that afternoon. She left the dorm with a big bag and a small bag, telling her roommates that she was going home."

"Uncle An... you suspect?" Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao and said quickly, "Maybe she went out to play or went to a friend. Have you checked it out?"

"No..." Uncle An shook his head, "My daughter is very good; she won't run away without saying anything... and... and."

"And what?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"When my daughter set off firecrackers when she was a child, she ran a little slower and got a small burn on her back..." An Youdao said, and there were already tears in his eyes, "and there was one on the back of the corpse just now..."

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were shocked. They comforted Uncle An. Some people are similar, but they understood in their hearts; how could such a coincidence happen.

A few police officers were arranged to take An Uncle back to Gongsun to identify the corpse. Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were relatively speechless. Uncle An devoted himself to work and worked as a policeman for a lifetime. This was his baby girl... God wouldn't be so cruel.

While frowning, Luo Tian hurried in and said in a low voice, "Captain, something has happened!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other and followed Luo Tian outside. They walked through the long corridor, and came to the viewing platform on the top floor. From there, they saw everyone surrounding something. 

"What are you doing?!" Bai Yutang frowned, but heard an old voice shouting in the distance, "You killed my daughter and took my son away. You have colluded with the government and businessmen to harm my family. I may not be alive after today but I'll become a ghost and I won't let you go!"

Upon hearing this sound, everyone frowned, and saw a grey-haired old man sitting on the railing outside the viewing platform – it was Pang Ji.

"Didn't he go to the hospital?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"No... he just woke up. When he heard that his son had been taken away, he went crazy for a while, and then he ran over here." Luo Tian whispered, "He kept crying and yelling. He said he wanted to jump down, and also said that he would be buried with Brother Bai and Yan Li."

"Where is my brother?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Boss has been travelling all day and is now resting." The twins said indifferently. "This old man is not a good person. If you are going to die, then you should just die. It would be better for everyone."

Bai Yutang glared at them, "There have already been enough deaths. One more and this building will turn into a haunted house." After speaking, he took off his suit jacket, waved to Luo Tian, and the two walked to the crowd. Outside, he bent down and slowly made his way along the railing, approaching Pang Ji from behind.

Zhan Zhao didn't dare to approach him because he was afraid of irritating Pang Ji. He just watched Bai Yutang and Luo Tian nervously.

"Have Bai Jintang come out! Have Yanli come out, I want them to die with me!" Pang Ji still yelled like crazy. He saw that Bai Yutang and Luo Tian were already close to him, they could grab him if they reached out. Suddenly, a strong wind blew across the roof.

Old man Pang was already very weak, and he was suffering from the loss of his daughter. As soon as the wind blew, he screamed and before he could react, he fell off the railing.

"Watch out!" Bai Yutang leaped forward and grabbed Pang Ji's collar. While reaching out to grab him, half of Bai Yutang was already hanging over the railing. Pang Ji's body was very heavy and the weight dragged Bai Yutang further over the railing.

"Grab him!" Someone yelled.

"Captain!" Luo Tian rushed over and stretched out his hand...

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. They saw Luo Tian grabbing onto the railing, reaching his hands down, and staring down intensely... At this moment, no one knew whether he had caught Bai Yutang or not...

Standing outside the crowd, Zhan Zhao felt buzzing in his ears, his head was almost empty, and his whole body was cold from the top of his head to the feet... Xiao Bai.

At this moment, everyone stopped breathing. They heard Luo Tian suddenly gritting his teeth and yelling, "Hurry up and help me!"

The crowd woke up. Zhan Zhao was the first to run over. When he looked out, he saw that Bai Yutang's one hand was holding Luo Tian's hand, and his other hand was still holding on to Pang Ji.

Pang Ji was fat and heavy. Fortunately, Luo Tian's strength was amazing, otherwise Bai Yutang and Pang Ji would have inevitably fallen from the top of the twenty-floor building.

The crowd flocked to help Luo Tian pull Bai Yutang back. Bai Yutang climbed up the railing and slammed Pang Ji to the ground. Pang Ji had already passed out from shock.

"Huh... this old man, he's dead weight!" Bai Yutang let out a sigh, waved his hand to look at Luo Tian, "I'm okay thanks to you." Before he finished speaking, he was hugged by a person.

Bai Yutang was slightly surprised, then he smiled. He gently patted the shoulders of the person in his arms, and said softly, "Cat, I'm fine, I won't die. Even if I fall, I'll be fine. I can fly, remember. I'm a flying mouse!"

"You're still messing around!" Zhan Zhao's head was placed on Bai Yutang's shoulder and he refused to lift it up. Bai Yutang hugged him for a while, then leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Cat, I know where the other half of the body is."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

I would not have eaten the cake that had the corpse in it; not even a piece that was untouched by the corpse. ( >︹<)

Even though I knew that Bai Yutang would be fine, him going over the railing still made me so nervous. (⋟ ﹏ ⋞)

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

Translated: March 15, 2021

Re-edited: December 7, 2023