S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 56

Ghost Murderer 24 - Foggy

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The arrest of Li Ying shocked Bao Zheng and Bai Yunwen.

When she was taken back, Li Ying was personally escorted by Luo Tian and Ma Han, and at the behest of Bao Zheng, she was put directly into a special prison. It was a separate cell, the location of which was kept secret, with three or four floors around it completely blocked off. Bao Zheng hated the fact that he could not send an armed force to guard the cell.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were standing at the entrance of the cell.

Li Ying hadn't said a word since she was arrested, and with her hands in two handcuffs, she sat quietly in the cell, her only action being to stare at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang.

Outside the prison, Bai Yunwen walked in.

He looked through the glass window and saw Li Ying.

The make-up on Li Ying's face had been washed off, and she was now the same extremely attractive beauty in the photo, only her hair was different and she was much colder, her eyes indifferent and distant. When she saw Bai Yunwen, the corners of her mouth picked up into a little smile.

Bai Yunwen stared at her for a long time, then turned back to Bao Zheng and said, "Make her talk."

"We can't use lynching." Bao Zheng shrugged, "Then again, she shouldn't be able to feel pain."

"There is someone who can." Bai Yunwen said, "It may not be necessary to lynch someone to make them talk."

"Dad…" Bai Yutang couldn't believe for a moment that Bai Yunwen would talk like that; forced confessions were something he had always been against, and the police department forbade it.

Bai Yunwen looked at him and said, "You have also killed people, you know that some people deserve to die in order to save others, right?"

Bai Yutang opened his mouth and couldn't say anything, but Zhan Zhao was a bit distressed. He pulled Bai Yutang aside and looked at Bai Yunwen with displeasure, muttering in a low voice, "He's your own son and not an enemy of the people, why are you so cruel?"

This time it was Bai Yunwen's turn to open his mouth and be unable to say anything, as he also felt that he might have been too anxious.

"Hehe."

At this time, in the room, Li Ying suddenly let out a laugh, watching Zhan Zhao and the others with interest.

"What's her real name?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Her Chinese name is Xie Tianlang." Bai Yunwen replied.

"That's such a masculine name." Zhao Zhen was lazing around and dozing off a little, and Bai Chi was a little distressed knowing that he hadn't been feeling well since the tour ended.

"She was originally a male." Bao Zheng spoke in a shocking way, causing the group to fall in disbelief.

"What?!" Zhan Zhao found it hard to believe, "Seriously?!"

"I'm shocked!" Zhao Hu kept shaking his head and pulled Ma Han to say, "Ai, he's even sexier than Jiayi, Ma Xin is practically a man compared to him…"

"I'll kick your ass! Ma Xin is hot, does she have no breasts and no ass?!" The force of the tug made Zhao Hu beg for mercy.

"A man… transgender?" Zhan Zhao asked, the technique was too exquisite, it was not really possible to see where this woman looked like a man.

"Xie Tianlang?" Bai Chi tilted his head to the side, "Tianlang? It seems…"

"Did you read the old newspaper?" Bai Yunwen asked Bai Chi.

"En." Bai Chi nodded, "Are they the same person?"

"That's right." Bao Zheng said, "If it wasn't for the sample of his hair that was left behind back then, and comparing it with the clues she left behind, we wouldn't have been able to find out."

"Chi Chi, what's the news about Xie Tianlang?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Chi.

"That was a long time ago." Bai Chi said, "He was an unknown detective, but his name was mentioned in the reports of a few cases in S City after the founding of the People's Republic of China."

"What?" The group couldn't help but frown.

"His name was among many others, and I hadn't paid much attention to it before." Bai Chi said, "But, there was an issue of the newspaper with a missing person notice for him in the center seam, so I remembered it."

"Heh." Zhao Hu couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, "The center seam…"

"She shouldn't have anything to do with your case." At this time, Bao Zheng spoke to Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "You guys go back and continue dealing with the case you have at hand."

"What?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were a little anxious, "Bao Sir, are you tearing down the bridge after crossing the river?" (Angel: Tearing down the bridge after crossing the river, 过河拆桥, is an idiom that means that once you are successful, you no longer care about those who helped you.)

The SCI members were also not convinced. This person was clearly caught by them, and she was ambushing Zhao Zhen, so why does it have nothing to do with them?

"Still not going?!" Bai Yunwen looked at Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao with a very stern look. Zhan Zhao was taken aback. Bai Yunwen is indeed usually very fierce and serious to Bai Yutang and Bai Jintang but he has always been very polite to him. There is something wrong with the way he looked today.

"But…" Zhan Zhao was still unconvinced, it was so hard for them to find the clues, so why should they be told to just stop investigating!

"Cat." At this time, Bai Yutang pulled Zhan Zhao, gesturing for him to look at the doorway.

Zhan Zhao looked back, and saw that in the doorway, leaning against the door frame, there was a person standing there with familiar long hair, shallow wrinkles, and raised corners of his mouth.

Zhan Zhao frowned, Zhao Jue?!

Zhao Jue slowly walked in, and when he saw that Zhan Zhao was looking at him, he smiled faintly, "Children should not interfere in adults' cases."

Zhan Zhao's face chilled, and Zhao Jue hurriedly hid behind Bai Yutang, saying, "Your family's cat is getting wilder and wilder."

Zhan Zhao looked at Zhao Jue and turned to look at Bao Zheng.

Bao Zheng coughed and was somewhat speechless. He knew that Zhan Zhao was not happy, it was just that…

Without another word, Zhan Zhao turned and walked away.

"Cat." Bai Yutang chased after him, leaving the SCI members looking at each other in disbelief, especially the newcomer Qin Ou, who had no idea what was going on.

"You have worked hard this time, so go about your respective business." Bao Zheng said to the group. 

The group had no choice but to withdraw, but they were all a bit reluctant.

……

Back in the SCI office, everyone expected Zhan Zhao to lose his temper, but surprisingly, Zhan Zhao was quite calm. He poured a cup of milk tea and drank it, and after Bai Yutang comforted him a few more times, Zhan Zhao was fine.

"Captain," Zhao Hu poked his head around the office door and waved at him, "how did you find out that there was something wrong with Li Ying?

"That's right." Luo Tian didn't get it either.

Ma Xin came to join in the fun, " Ai… you guys knock it off, Jiayi's sixth sense is really good."

Ma Han was beside her and asked, "What sixth sense?"

"She said a long time ago that Li Ying might be a shemale!" Ma Xin said.

Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at her.

Bai Yutang was also a bit amused and asked, "How did she see that?"

"I don't know, she said it a long time ago, but both Le Le, Yu Yu and I didn't believe it." Ma Xin stroked her chin, "It's true that there are skills when it comes to looking at women. Be careful when you marry in the future. It's best to check her identity, otherwise when you finally marry her, once you take off her clothes, wow! Tragic…"

"Xin Xin…" The group looked at her helplessly.

Ma Xin smiled and did not go on.

"This time it was actually Yuan Lin who alerted us." Bai Yutang walked over to the sofa and sat down, looking at Zhao Zhen in the doorway.

Zhao Zhen nodded and went to sit down on the opposite side of the sofa, and Zhan Zhao came over with his milk tea, "… It happened accidentally, but there is someone who might have found out earlier than me."

"Do you mean Zhao Jue?" Bai Chi asked.

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Chi and suddenly dragged him over and forced him onto the sofa to pinch his face, "Chi Chi, I find you're getting smarter and smarter lately!"

"Aiya…" Bai Chi let Zhan Zhao pinch him hard to relieve his anger before he was saved by Zhao Zhen.

Feeling much less suffocated than he had just been, Zhan Zhao switched his mood and said, "Actually, Xiao Bai and I suspected Li Ying earlier."

"Why?" Bai Chi looked at Zhan Zhao in confusion, "She's quite normal."

"Because she gave us the threatening letters that Zhao Zhen received!" Bai Yutang said.

Everyone was puzzled, and Zhan Zhao looked at Zhao Zhen, "You also started to have suspicions about her from that time, right?"

Zhao Zhen nodded

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, Ma Xin asked, "It's within her role as an agent, what's wrong with that?"

"It's inappropriate simply because she's a top agent." Zhan Zhao explained to the crowd, "She also knows the backgrounds of Brother, Da Ding, and Xiao Ding, so how could she tell us the information directly without discussing it with them first? If we were going to be told, it would be Da Ding and Xiao Ding who would secretly explain to us how to deal with it, right?!"

Everyone looked at each other – saying it like that, indeed.

"Even if it was discovered that we were close to Zhao Zhen, that doesn't prove that it wasn't against common sense for her to do so." Bai Yutang said, "Since that day, Cat and I have talked about how Li Ying is a bit suspicious."

"And then what?" Bai Chi asked.

"She intentionally brought Yuan Lin to our attention, arousing our suspicions for a second time." Bai Yutang continued, "Remember that time she told us about Yuan Lin's background and past."

"There was also the time she mentioned being in a brokerage company with Yuan Lin before." Zhan Zhao smiled faintly, "There is a subtlety in all of this."

Everyone nodded, and Luo Tian said, "There is indeed something wrong, but what about the decisive evidence?"

"Because of the suspicion, we posed a very simple hypothetical question." Zhan Zhao said, "First of all, assuming Li Ying has a special status, why does she stay by Zhao Zhen's side? What is the purpose?"

"That's right." Bai Chi had been suspicious of this as well, "Zhen doesn't really have anything about him to pry into, so could it be to get close to us through Zhen? To inquire about the case we are investigating?"

Bai Yutang shook his head, "Although Zhao Zhen is on good terms with us, he is not directly involved in our case investigations. Besides, the case we have been investigating at hand recently is bizarre but does not involve too many hidden secrets. Li Ying has been around Zhao Zhen for a long time for some reason, and with all the time and effort she has put in, she must have bigger intentions."

"Bigger intentions?"

"With all due respect," Zhan Zhao rested his chin on one hand and looked at Zhao Zhen somewhat critically, "all of the substantial threats you've encountered so far, outside of a few unrequited perverts, have mostly had something to do with one person. "

Zhao Zhen nodded helplessly, "En, indeed."

"He's here for Zhao Jue?" Zhao Hu sat down on the arm of the sofa, "Trying to find Zhao Jue through Zhao Zhen?"

"Not necessarily to find him personally, but… she wants something." Bai Yutang smiled, "Didn't you see that light of excitement in her eyes when Zhao Zhen said he remembered something and wanted to go back to the old mansion?"

"This is one place where her cleverness backfired, and a key point where we saw the problem." Zhan Zhao said, "It can be said that her behaviour today has created an inconsistency with the character she has been playing for so long."

The group looked at Bai Yutang, who spoke as he sipped his coffee, "What Cat means is that she's contradicting herself."

"Oh…" The group nodded.

Zhan Zhao glanced at Bai Yutang, who smiled and patted him on the shoulder, signaling for him to continue.

Zhan Zhao turned around and continued, "Most human reactions are made subconsciously or unconsciously. If you want to be someone who doesn't resemble yourself, you will become scrupulous, and the more natural it is, the more unnatural it becomes, especially when you are hiding some kind of strong intention."

The group pondered and appreciated the meaning of Zhan Zhao's words.

"So to say, Li Ying leaves every time we want her to leave, appearing to be smart, yet she appears when we want her to appear, seemingly always ready." Zhan Zhao laughed, "Before, everything we had on her was just speculation, we couldn't capture her because she was smart! However… later she got anxious, more and more anxious, and finally revealed herself."

"Why did she get anxious?" Zhao Hu wondered.

"Probably because Zhao Jue is here." Bai Yutang smiled and looked at Qin Ou.

Qin Ou was stunned and responded, "Oh… no wonder Zhao Jue sent Xiao Yi to me instead of taking him to be protected, he was giving Li Ying a signal that he was coming."

"En." Zhan Zhao nodded and looked at Qin Ou rather appreciatively, "As expected of someone who is valued by Bao Sir, smart!"

"It's just a suspicion that I've always had." Qin Ou shook his head, "I never understood why he sent Xiao Yi over, and always felt that the reason he was teaching Xiao Yi was far-fetched."

"That's right, Zhao Jue's arrival made Li Ying… rather Xie Tianlang anxious." Zhan Zhao said, "She was anxious to get out, and at the same time, don't you guys think that Zhao Jue's arrival was rather coincidental?"

Everyone was stunned, and Zhao Hu said, "Don't say it, I got goosebumps when I heard that Zhao Jue was coming. He wouldn't come if it wasn't a big deal, and there's bound to be trouble when he does!"

"En!" Zhan Zhao pointed his finger at Zhao Hu, "Hu Zi, you're definitely a smart man!"

Zhao Hu laughed and rubbed his head, knowing that Zhan Zhao was genuinely complimenting him.

"Zhao Jue doesn't come for no reason, and when I spoke to him earlier, he seemed to be very busy." Zhan Zhao smiled, "However, the fact that he suddenly came here means that there is something special here that attracts him!"

"We've thought about it for a while and have come up with many points." Bai Yutang said, "The ghost killer, Qin Ou, Zhao Zhen's threatening letter, and even the robbery of Chen Yu's parents came to mind… but none of them felt right."

"So, you guys suspected Li Ying?" Bai Chi asked.

"We suspected that it was a certain detail that we hadn't discovered yet," Zhan Zhao smiled, "so we listed all of the suspicious points that have appeared since Zhao Jue last left last time, and Li Ying was one of them."

The group nodded and wondered in their minds – so that's what the young couple were pondering every night, how dedicated they were!

"The meeting with Yuan Lin fully exposed Li Ying." Zhan Zhao laughed, "The first instance was the time Yuan Lin scared us with a gun!"

"Gun?" Everyone was taken aback.

"That's right. It's certain that Yuan Lin already knew our identities," Bai Yutang said, "so who did he take out a gun to scare?"

"He was scaring Li Ying?" The group was surprised, "Yuan Lin found out Li Ying's identity?"

"I think he just has a bad personality and wants to test our abilities." Zhao Zhen said from the sidelines.

"Heh." Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, "And so, an unexpected effect was produced."

"What effect?"

"The two of them should have known each other originally." Bai Yutang said, "It was stated that they were from the same company, but the problem was that Li Ying was pretending to be someone else, and so was Yuan Lin."

"So it felt awkward, the tone and manner of speaking was very rusty." Zhao Zhen nodded, "And the fact that Li Ying was scared out of her wits when Yuan Lin took out his gun was also odd."

"Afterwards, we had her leave and she left." Zhan Zhao smiled, "We told her to come back and she came back again. Zhao Zhen concealed the matter of the threatening letters from Yuan Lin, and intentionally revealed to her that Yuan Lin was a police officer… her reactions were all too reliable."

"En," Zhao Zhen nodded, "this just shows that she is very anxious."

"There is bound to be something important in Zhao Jue's old house that she wants but can't find." Bai Yutang said, "Of course, the most direct evidence is the change in her posture after hiding the weapon."

"So we checked in with each other to make sure we knew what each other meant." Zhan Zhao said, "Zhao Zhen hinted for me to send a text message to Bai Chi, so I sent a text message."

Zhao Hu moved over and asked Bai Chi, "The text message you got yesterday that told us to go and ambush?"

Bai Chi grinned and took out his phone, "Brother said 'There's something very important at the old Zhao family residence, do you understand?'"

"So what?" Zhao Hu blinked, "What does that mean?"

Bai Chi smiled and replied, "Zhen's old house has that secret room, it's hard to find and people don't know about it, so I assumed that's where they wanted us to go."

"Heh…" The group couldn't help but glance at each other, what a brilliant mind.

"Also, Xin Xin," Zhan Zhao suddenly asked Ma Xin, "if it's the middle of the night and the three of us take you to a basement where it's dark below and dark above, and you're afraid and don't want to go down, what will happen?"

"I would drag someone to accompany me even if I died!" Ma Xin said seriously.

Zhan Zhao nodded, "En, but Li Ying was anxious to go down with us. So, with one word from Zhao Zhen in the middle of the night, her true colours were revealed, because before when we were talking to each other, she was already suspicious as to whether we had unmasked her identity."

"But this operation of Li Ying's is really risky!" Bai Yutang seemed a little puzzled, "Why was she in such a hurry?"

"Heh." Ma Han sneered, "If she's Xie Tianlang, then she was born before the founding of the country. She'd be over seventy years old, how could she not be in a hurry."

"That's right." Bai Chi couldn't help but frown, "How awful!"

"Perhaps… she has some urgent matter to attend to." Zhan Zhao said, "I'm wondering if it could have something to do with one of the three cases we came across."

"Three cases?" Ma Xin counted on her fingers, "Well… the ghost killer case, the case of the inexplicable bomb involving Chen Yu's parents, and the case where Zhao Zhen was threatened, those three?"

"En…" Zhan Zhao nodded and suddenly looked up at Qin Ou.

"What's wrong?" Qin Ou was a little puzzled.

"That day when you defused the bomb for Chen Mi, what else did he say besides expressing his love to you?" Zhan Zhao suddenly asked.

Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at Qin Ou, who was somewhat helpless, and Zhan Zhao hurriedly said to the crowd, "Don't tell Yang Fan, pretend that you don't know!"

"Oh!" Everyone nodded their heads.

Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "Cat, what's so special about what Chen Mi said to Qin Ou?"

"Think about it, why would they kidnap Chen Mi?" Zhan Zhao said, "Who is Chen Mi?"

Everyone looked at each other.

"Oh…" Bai Yutang nodded in understanding, "so that's how it is."

"Boss?" Everyone looked at Bai Yutang eagerly.

"Chen Mi is the head of the bomb disposal team!" Bai Yutang said, "Even he couldn't disarm the bomb on his body, but Qin Ou did."

"That's normal." Ma Han said, "Everyone in the police station knows that Chen Mi is definitely not as good as Qin Ou technically. Qin Ou was a legend in the police station before, in this world, there is no bomb he can't defuse!"

Qin Ou was taken aback… and suddenly remembered that on that day, Chen Mi had said the same thing to him – in this world, there is no bomb you can't defuse.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang saw Qin Ou's face and looked at each other, sure enough! Qin Ou's value lies in – his ability.

……

In the special cell of X Prison, the light was dim.

Zhao Jue elegantly stood up, stretched out his long slender fingers to gently brush Xie Tianlang's whiter-than-paper face, wiping away the cold sweat from his cheeks, and smiled at the man's extremely contracted pupils, "Is it painful?"

The sound of a crisp finger snap sounded.

Xie Tianlang jerked back to his senses, only to feel as if he had gone through a cataclysmic experience and was exhausted. His eyes widened in horror at Zhao Jue, "What did I say?"

Zhao Jue smiled, "I asked you to speak, do you think you can hide it?"

"Zhao Jue…" Xie Tianlang's face was miserable, as if it was the end of his days.

Zhao Jue took out a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped his hands, picking up the corners of his mouth and smiling, "Sixty years, right?"

Xie Tianlang looked at Zhao Jue in a dumbfounded manner.

"Unexpectedly, there comes a day where you too have become an outcast" The smile on Zhao Jue's face turned icy cold, "Old immortal, it turns out that you can die too, what a pleasure."

‿︵‿︵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: January 3, 2022