S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 73

The Lucky Murderer 04 – The Three Tigers of the Xu Family

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The man in the lottery shop was an older man with glasses. He looked up at the two men and was slightly surprised to see that they were not from his village.

Zhao Hu, who looked much more ruffian than Ma Han, rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "Old man, I heard that someone here has won a jackpot? We drove by and came to get some luck, we want to buy two tickets."

"Oh…" The old man spoke with a smile, "Alas, I'm not going to lie, the lottery centre insisted that I hang this banner, otherwise I wouldn't have wanted to!"

"Why?" Ma Han wondered, "How lucky is that?" 

"Gee, have you ever seen a lottery shop with two jackpots?" The owner shook his head, "It's a once-in-a-lifetime luck, there's no second time, so people who used to buy lottery tickets here have gone elsewhere."

"Is there such a thing?" Zhao Hu and Ma Han looked at each other, and Zhao Hu laughed, "I pick places with banners to buy from."

“However, I heard that the lieutenant general guy didn't go to claim his prize!" The boss whispered, "Did you hear? The prize was forfeited!"

"Tens of millions of dollars were forfeited?" Zhao Hu and Ma Han pretended to be surprised when they heard the news, "Is that guy out of his mind?"

"Hey, you guys are right, he's not normal!" The old man laughed and shook his head.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han raised their eyebrows at each other and reached out to pull out their IDs, "Uncle, please cooperate."

The old man was startled and stared at the two IDs, "Oops, you guys…"

Ma Han put the ID away, "Uncle, sorry about that, do you know about the murder that happened here?"

The old man lowered his head and whispered, "That, I was just talking nonsense… I don't know anything specific."

"Old man," Zhao Hu smiled and patted him on the shoulder, “if you don't report what you know, or if you help the murderer to hide it, you are so old, do you want to hold your grandchildren and enjoy your old age or go to jail?"

"No… it's not me, it has nothing to do with me!" The old man hurriedly waved his hand.

"Then who does it have to do with?" Ma Han asked him, "Who is the person who bought the lottery ticket?"

“Officer, I'll give an honest account, but you can't accuse me unjustly, nor can you take me back and beat me into submission, let alone…"

"All right." Zhao Hu looked at the sky, “Beaten into confessing… and tortured into confessing, you have seen too many TV dramas, just tell us honestly what you know and cooperate with the police investigation."

"Okay, I don't know the young man's real name, but people in the village call him Ah Mao. The man had a fever or something when he was a child, his mind was not clear and he was later sent to a mental hospital. Some time ago his mother said that he was getting better and might be discharged. That day, he came to buy a lottery ticket and he looked particularly sober, I even congratulated him… He bought a number that was particularly off, and bought thirty or so of the same number at once."

"Buying more than thirty of the same number in one go?” Ma Han was a bit surprised, "That's rare, isn't it?"

“That’s right!" The old man nodded, "It's rare, there are those who buy thirty or so consecutive numbers, but to choose a number that strange and then buy thirty cards, maybe a very rich person would do that, but that old man, his family has used up all the money for his medical treatment, and his daughter-in-law doesn't want him anymore, so it's just him and his mother."

"He's still married?" Zhao Hu wondered. 

"Don't tell me, the gods really don't have eyes these days. That girl was beautiful and capable, but she later ran off with someone else. She's a very good businesswoman and is said to have become a rich person, living in the city, with a house and a car."

"What about the other two?" Ma Han asked.

"Oh, I don't know, his friends, I think."

"They weren't from this place?"

"No." The old man shook his head, "I've lived here for decades. Those young men stayed here because they came to the hospital to see a doctor, and later became good friends with Ah Mao."

"Apart from you, who else knew that he had bought the lottery tickets?"

"Er… no one else." The old man laughed awkwardly and said, "I, how can I tell anyone about such things."

Ma Han snapped his fingers at Zhao Hu, "Take him back for a polygraph, and if it turns out to be incorrect, charge him with murder immediately."

"No way!" Before Zhao Hu could agree, the old man became anxious and hurriedly waved his hand, "All right I'll say it, I… have had people from the village come and ask since that banner was put up, I didn't dare to say no…"

"What kind of person would you dare not answer when asked?" Zhao Hu got a cola.

"Those three ah, they are called the three tigers in our village! Always causing people to fight and kill."

"Fighting and killing?" Zhao Hu raised an eyebrow, "A small village like yours has a gang?"

"There are many young people, and it's hard to find a job nowadays, so they don't study properly and spend all day idling around, just playing mahjong and cards, and when they lose, they try to get money. In the beginning, it was small fights at the school gate to blackmail students, but recently, the school security has taken it seriously and they have no place to go. I heard that they started fighting… it seems that they are helping people collect debts or something. Don't tell anyone what I said, officers!"

"You told them it was Lieutenant General Ah Mao?"

“En." The old man nodded.

"Have they looked for Ah Mao yet?"

"I don't really know about that."

Zhao Hu and Ma Han finished their questioning and headed out. Ma Han frowned slightly, "Why didn't they call the police, there are gangsters."

"Ugh, Xiao Ma Ge, at a glance you're a kid who grew up in the city!" Zhao Hu smiled, "The nature of the village police station is similar to a neighbourhood committee. At most, it can mediate and conciliate, no one will care if no one gets killed. Besides, children in the village fight from childhood to adulthood, small fights when they are young and big fights when they are old, and nobody cares."

Ma Han shook his head.

"By the way, I grew up in the countryside, now you know. Where did you grow up?" Zhao Hu asked curiously, "You're from the S City?"

"You have so many questions." Ma Han glanced at him and pointed ahead, “Head and the others are here."

At that moment, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang happened to come out of the hospital and were walking towards the village. When they saw Ma Han and Zhao Hu coming, they waved.

"Any clues?" Bai Yutang asked.

The two told them what they had learned, and Bai Yutang frowned, "Then there is evidence to suspect that the three tigers killed him."

"Oh, their real names are Xu Gensheng, Xu Genfa, and Xu Genrong." Ma Han told Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "Their house is very close to the deceased Ah Mao's house, it's diagonally opposite. It’s said that Xu Genfa and Ah Mao had fought before, it seems that it was because Xu Genfa molested Ah Mao's wife."

"He has a wife?" It was new to Zhan Zhao.

"Like a child bride."

"There are still child brides in modern society?" Bai Yutang was shocked.

Zhan Zhao rubbed his head, "Oops, I seem to have gone back thirty years ago, it's better to move to modern society."

"Presumably a distant relative who was raised here as a child and later married at a very young age.” Ma Han continued, "This woman is now massively wealthy, but she has gone far away and doesn’t associate with Ah Mao anymore."

"Head, these three tigers know about Ah Mao and the other two dead people who bought the winning lottery ticket, they are very suspicious." Zhao Hu asked, "Shall we go and have a look?"

Bai Yutang thought about it and nodded, "Okay, let's go and meet those three tigers first, and then visit Ah Mao's mother."

Afterwards, everyone searched for the address given by the lottery shop owner.

But when they arrived at the door, they were told that the three tigers were not in and would not return home until midnight every day. Ah Mao's mother, who was diagonally opposite the door, was also not there. According to neighbours, she was approached by her daughter-in-law to live in the city.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang wondered, "Don't they say that they don't communicate with each other?" 

"Xiao Yao and that bastard Ah Mao don't get along, but she is very filial to her mother-in-law." The daughter-in-law of the family next door shook her head, "Ai, Xiao Yao's life is miserable, but fortunately she is capable and willing to endure hardships, so she won't be dragged down for life by that psychopath!"

Zhan Zhao and the others had made a trip for nothing, so they had no choice but to go to the tomb first. When they returned, they would find a way to find the three tigers.

The outskirts of the ancient tomb.

Bai Chi crouched on the ground to look at a footprint.

Qin Ou asked him, "Chi Chi, you haven't finished your paperwork yet? Is it okay to be out in the field?"

Bai Chi shook his head, "It's fine, Luo Tian is with Xin Xin, I will cover for him for a while."

Qin Ou nodded. In the distance, Wang Chao and Zhang Long were asking the archaeologists about the details of the situation. Bai Chi had just gone into the tunnels but they couldn't see anything, as the underground lights were not on. The archaeological team's generator seemed to be faulty and was being repaired.

When Qin Ou saw a few villagers helping to pick up the rock and soil nearby, he patted Bai Chi, "I'll go and ask about the situation."

"Oh, okay." Bai took pictures of the shoe prints on the ground, thinking there might be some clues.

Just as he was taking the picture, he felt someone standing behind him.

Bai Chi stood up and turned around, and there were three people standing in front of him. The three men were nothing serious at first glance, wearing tank tops and jeans, each with dyed hair and tattoos on their bodies.

"Little brother, you're from the archaeological team, aren't you?" The first one asked him.

Bai Chi looked gentle. He was wearing an aqua blue sweatshirt, was pale and had a student haircut, and had a nerdy air about him; he really did look like a college student.

“En…" Bai Chi has been working on cases for so long and is already very experienced, so he did not move, nodded and smiled at the three, "What is it, brothers?"

"Oh… we heard that someone died in this ancient tomb!" The man at the head of the group said, "I wonder if I can go in and take a look?"

"Oh, that's not possible." Bai Chi hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Ancient tombs are not easy to enter."

"Cut it out! What's wrong with going in and having a look? Do you have a work permit? Take me in." One of them, a particularly sturdy one, said fiercely.

"I do have a work permit, but…"

"Hey, this is our territory you know, you don't want to get mixed up, right? You archaeologists all have to look at me with respect!"

When Bai Chi saw them playing dirty, he said, "The body was removed long ago, what are you looking at?"

"I know it's been moved, so I want to go in and take a look, that's not okay?" The men had a fierce look on their faces.

Bai Chi still shook his head.

"You brat! You don't know how to fight!" With that, the leader of the group raised his hand and punched Bai Chi.

Although Bai Chi wasn't very athletic and didn't have much work, he had learned from Bai Yutang very seriously. Zhao Zhen was afraid that he would be in danger when working on a case, so he always taught him some extra practical fighting skills.

When he saw the man's fist coming, Bai Chi shifted his head and elbowed him on the inside of his forearm.

“Aiyo…"

The man jumped in pain. Bai Chi looked at him a few times and kicked him in the left side of his ribcage between the second and third ribs.

This is the first time that Bai Chi has been in actual combat. The other party had little defence and was hit right away, rolling on the ground holding his ribs and crying out in pain.

The other two looked at him and said, “Oh ho, you've practised!" They wanted to fight together.

Bai Chi beat someone for the first time and was a bit dumbfounded when he won the fight. When he saw that the two were about to rush over, he was a bit panicked and didn't know what to do.

The two gangsters rushed forward and before they could throw a punch, they felt the back of their necks being grabbed by someone with a strong hand. The pain caused them to retract their necks, and then they felt someone kick them in the knee… their legs went limp. They felt like they were being slapped together face to face.

“Aiya.” With a cry, he covered his nosebleed and was thrown to the side. Just as he tried to stand up and fight again, the black muzzle of a gun was pressed against his head… Qin Ou stood in front of their eyes, frowning, "Assaulting a police officer in broad daylight?" 

"They want to go into the ancient tomb." Bai Chi said to Qin Ou while kicking the guy who was kneeling on the ground trying to get up again.

By this time, Zhang Long and Wang Chao had arrived and hurriedly handcuffed the three men. They were horrified by what they had just seen. It was lucky that Qin Ou was close, for if they had hurt Bai Chi, Zhao Zhen would have let Lisbon bite them.

“Nice, Chi Chi." At this time, Zhan Zhao and the others also walked over from behind.

Bai Yutang looked at the three who looked somewhat alike and smiled slightly, "The three tigers of the Xu family, right? I was just looking for you guys."

The expressions of the three changed, and they regretted it… They had just thought he was a student, they hadn't expected him to be a police officer.

Zhan Zhao winked at Bai Chi – Awesome!

Bai Chi touched his head in embarrassment – Really? Ha ha.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Hey guys! I'm feeling much better now and am almost finished my semester at school. Once I submit my last assignment by the end of this week, I will resume posting Case 4 as well as Binding the Dragon for the Empress.

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

Translated: March 24, 2022 by Angel