A Psych Case Just Joined the Team Chapter 004

Bloodshed – 04

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The fleeting, nearly imperceptible expression that had just appeared on Xing Zui's face was, however, caught dead-on by Qing Ming, who was adept at reading people...

For some reason, as he looked at this properly serious senior seated in the car, Qing Ming, as if possessed by a mischievous impulse, suddenly felt a twinge of perverse amusement well up inside him... He bent down, draping both arms over the half-open car window, and deliberately put on a suggestive tone: "Being welcomed like this with a handsome man's private car service, I must say, I'm truly blessed... Mm... I'm finding myself growing increasingly fond of this place."

What should have sounded sleazy came across as pure as a bashful confession from a schoolboy when spoken by Qing Ming.

Xing Zui cast a glance at him, frowning slightly... Two days ago, he had received a notice; since last year, the criminal case rate in Dang City had risen, and the higher-ups had specially transferred a civilian officer from A City to his team for training. In other words, they were sending him extra hands.

It would've been nothing out of the ordinary, but the higher-ups had explicitly instructed Xing Zui to arrange for a colleague from the station to give the newcomer a proper welcome, so that they could feel the "warmth" of the Dang City criminal investigation team. As it happened, everyone else at the station was out on assignment. Left with only the "good-for-nothing" Fang Lai, who couldn't drive, Xing Zui had no choice but to come and fetch the newcomer himself.

"I was sent over from A City..." Qing Ming hadn't finished speaking when the trunk of the car automatically popped open...

Xing Zui raised an eyebrow. "Not getting in? Waiting for a parking ticket?"

In fact, before coming, Qing Ming had already been informed that someone would be welcoming him. Logically speaking, since he wasn't even a first-class officer, the one sent would most likely be a senior of similar rank. Seeing that Xing Zui didn't even bother with pleasantries and seemed a bit "hostile", he couldn't help but feel a little disgruntled.

He thought, What the hell... so grumpy just for picking me up?

Seated in the passenger seat, Qing Ming noticed that Xing Zui hadn't said a word since he got in, focusing solely on the road. Left with nothing else to do, he pulled out his cell phone from his coat pocket and began fiddling with it... all the while thinking, What's wrong with this guy? Is he miffed because he got stuck picking me up? Can't blame him, no one wants a thankless errand like this.

With that thought, he decided to ease the awkward atmosphere in the car, "Senior... your car... is rather nice!"

Xing Zui didn't react, eyes fixed on the road as he drove on in silence... Qing Ming refused to give up, "Handsome men need a handsome car to match, this must be an official vehicle from the station, right?"

This time Xing Zui replied, "The station in A City issues cars of this calibre?"

Qing Ming, seeing that he'd finally spoken, perked up immediately, "Normally, we're lucky just to get a battered old Santana when we're out on assignment. Yours is the latest model, just hit the market not long ago. If you can afford a car like this, your salary at the station must be pretty high, right, Senior?"

"What's it got to do with you?"

As he spoke, the car turned in a different direction and pulled into a parking spot. Just as Qing Ming was about to speak, Xing Zui switched off the engine and opened the door... "Go straight for two hundred metres then turn right. Be at the station tomorrow morning at seven-thirty sharp to report in."

Seeing Qing Ming frozen in the passenger seat, unmoving, Xing Zui knocked on the window with his knuckles. "What's? Planning to squat in my car?"

Qing Ming quickly got out, smiling, "I can go and report in today, Senior... Let me leave my luggage in your car for now... I'll find you after your shift?"

Xing Zui looked him up and down from head to toe with those sharp, unfiltered eyes of his. "Kid, dressed like that... you here on holiday or something?"

Qing Ming blinked, "Eh? Ki... kid...?"

Xing Zui shot him a strange look but didn't say anything else. He turned and headed off towards the station. Qing Ming gritted his teeth and stood there for a few seconds before following after him.

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Fang Lai had just filled a cup from the water dispenser and was heading back to his seat when Xing Zui pushed the door open and came in...

"Find a seat for this kid."

With that, Xing Zui went straight into his own office. Fang Lai was still a little puzzled when Qing Ming followed in through the door. As soon as he saw Fang Lai, he broke into his signature smile, "Hello, my name is Qing Ming, the new colleague from A City." As he spoke, he politely extended a hand.

Fang Lai looked at the outstretched hand for a few seconds, hesitated, then finally reached out with his free right hand, "Welcome. I'm Fang Lai."

Fang Lai found Qing Ming an empty desk, one just in front of his own. Qing Ming swept his eyes across every visible corner of the office, but didn't spot the aloof senior who'd brought him in. He turned and asked Fang Lai, "Brother Lai, where's that senior who picked me up earlier? Why haven't I seen him?"

Fang Lai pointed towards the direction of Xing Zui's office, "Wrong seniority, he's the captain of the Dang City criminal investigation team, Xing Zui... he's our boss."

Qing Ming instantly understood why Xing Zui had looked so sour earlier. "... Huh? Captain?... Looks like our captain's very... approachable with his subordinates, going to pick them up himself..."

"The captain is a good guy, not the arrogant type. He's part of our team, two of our others are out on an assignment, I guess they probably won't be back until the afternoon... And, no need for Brother, just call me Fang Lai."

"That's... too formal, I'll just call you Fangzi, it sounds more friendly."

Fang Lai scratched his head a little awkwardly, in comparison to Qing Ming, he felt more like the newcomer.

Qing Ming sat at his desk the entire afternoon, bored, spinning a pen between his fingers and occasionally adding a few strokes to his sketches on a blank sheet of paper. The pen and paper had been borrowed from Fang Lai. Around seven, Cui Jingfeng and Xie Xun returned.

Cui Jingfeng went straight into Xing Zui's office, while Xie Xun, spotting a new face, greeted him. Not long after, Cui Jingfeng came back out and said to everyone, "Fang Lai, Blindy, meeting... New guy, you too."

In the meeting room...

Xing Zui lifted his chin slightly, "Kid, I'll give you ten seconds, introduce yourself."

Qing Ming said, "My name is Qing Ming, not the Qing Ming as in the Qing Ming Festival, but the Qing Ming that means 'pure and clear all on one's own'... My best quality is that I'm really easy to get along with."

When he finished, silence fell across the room...

It was Xie Xun who first broke the stillness, "Good name!" he said, then gave an awkward laugh and clapped... clap clap clap.

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Xing Zui: "Alright, let's begin."

Cui Jingfeng said, "Today I went to where Lin Datong lives, and according to his neighbours, Lin Datong's persona seems to be different from what Li Li described. Lin Datong apparently really dotes on his wife and child, the neighbours say they've never seen him abuse his family."

Xie Xun: "So... Li Li is lying?"

Cui Jingfeng: "Not necessarily. We've confirmed from his coworkers that Lin Datong does gamble and drink. And last Sunday, there were sounds of a quarrel coming from his home."

Xing Zui lowered his gaze, seemingly deep in thought. At that moment, Cui Jingfeng recalled an important clue and continued: "Boss, you mentioned before that Li Li claimed to have an old cough and needed Chinese medicine. I saw a traditional medicine shop near her place, there's only one in that whole area. The shop owner's been running it for ten years, and he remembers every regular customer, but he said he's never seen Li Li come in to buy any medicine."

Xing Zui: "Good work, Fengzi, go on."

Cui Jingfeng continued: "I also got another important lead from the shop owner. Last Sunday, that's the 8th, at around eight in the evening, Lin Datong went to his shop. The owner also treats minor injuries like bruises and sprains, and Lin Datong wasn't there to buy medicine, he went to have something applied."

Xie Xun: "Applied?"

"According to the owner, Lin Datong had a knife wound. When he came in, the wound was already infected, swollen, and inflamed. Any later, and it would've turned into tetanus."

Xie Xun: "Wait a minute, Fengzi, what date did you just say that Lin Datong went to the clinic?"

Cui Jingfeng replied, "October 8th."

The meeting room fell silent... only Qing Ming still hadn't grasped what was going on.

At this moment, Fang Lai asked, "Is that Chinese medicine shop owner certain that Lin Datong went to get treated on the 8th?"

Cui Jingfeng answered, "Yes, the owner keeps a habit of recording transactions. I asked him to check the ledger, and he confirmed that Lin Datong had wound cleaning and disinfection done at his shop on October 8th, and also took some anti-inflammatory herbal medicine for external application."

Xing Zui popped a candy into his mouth and said, "Lin Datong's body was discovered on October 10th, and the forensic report put the time of death four days earlier, which means October 6th. According to Li Li, Lin Datong went missing on the 7th. According to the current investigation, he was seen on both the 7th and the 8th. There are now only two possibilities: first, the body isn't Lin Datong. Second, the forensics team got the time of death wrong."

Cui Jingfeng: "The first possibility is very unlikely, the DNA from the body matches Lin Datong."

Xing Zui: "Unlikely doesn't mean impossible. Pinpointing Lin Datong's exact time of death is key to solving this case. Fang Lai, how's your end coming along?"

As he flipped through his thick notebook, Fang Lai said, "On October 7th, Li Li dropped her son off at school and went to work. She got home around seven in the evening, then left again around eight to do overtime at the factory. Their shifts finish at ten o'clock at night, so she probably didn't get back until around eleven. The same happened on the 8th and 9th. I checked that factory, it had staff working overtime on the 7th, 8th, and 9th this month. She likely didn't have the time to commit a crime... No new leads at the moment."

Xing Zui: "Since Li Li spent most of her time at the factory, go with Xie Xun tomorrow and check out her workshop, see who she normally interacts with. Li Li is our main suspect, so keep a close eye on the people around her, especially those of the opposite sex."

Cui Jingfeng: "Boss, should I keep looking into Lin Datong's residence?"

Xing Zui: "Stay here at the station. Tomorrow I'll head to Lin Datong's hometown."

Cui Jingfeng: "Lin Datong's hometown is quite a way from our city, what're you going there for, Boss?"

Xing Zui shifted the candy in his mouth to the other side, leaned back against the chair, and said, "Li Li must be hiding something from us... That might also be key to solving the case. Lin Datong's hometown might just be another angle worth investigating."

Cui Jingfeng: "Need someone to go with you?"

At that moment, Qing Ming, who had been sitting next to Fang Lai, suddenly spoke up, "I'll go with Senior."

As soon as he said this, everyone in the room turned to look at him...

‿︵‿︵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: June 29, 2025 by Angel

Edited: July 22, 2026 by Angel