CJLTNS Chapter 9

“Captain Jiang, we’ve received a report—someone died at a private residence in the western part of the city. The local police station found it suspicious and transferred the case to us.”

Jiang Chong was sitting in his office, looking at a photo of Zhao Xun, when Ma Pingchuan walked in.

Jiang Chong put away his phone, stood up, and walked out as he spoke. “Bring Tangyuan and head to the scene.”

Ma Pingchuan turned to leave to gather the team. Jiang Chong added, “And bring Li Fangfei, too.”

Three minutes later, five members from the Criminal Investigation Unit left in two vehicles for the crime scene. While driving, Jiang Chong asked, “Have the forensic team and trace examiners already gone ahead?”

Ma Pingchuan replied, “They’re already there.”

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Chong and his team arrived at the residential complex where the incident had occurred.

It was an old neighborhood with six-story walk-up buildings. Most of the residents were elderly people and renters. The area was filled with signs of daily life—clothes hanging out to dry and scattered household trash.

The crime scene was on the top floor, which had already been cordoned off with police tape by the local officers. Jiang Chong showed his ID and greeted one of the community station officers. “How was it discovered?”

Jiang Chong was considered a legendary figure within the Kangzhou City Public Security system. Under his leadership, Kangzhou had the highest case-solving rate in the entire country. And by the age of just thirty, he had already become the captain of the criminal investigation unit—a rank higher than many officers ever reached even at retirement.

The local police officer, startled to see his idol in person, became slightly nervous and quickly organized his words before speaking:
“We received a report from a resident. The caller lives across from the victim. This morning, when he went out, he noticed a foul smell in the hallway and assumed the neighbor hadn’t taken out the trash again. But when he went to knock, he found the door was ajar. He pushed it open and saw the deceased lying on the floor.”

“Old Ma, go talk to the person who reported it.”

“Yuan Kai, look into the victim’s identity and family background.”

“Tang Qijun, Li Fangfei, you two come in with me.”

Jiang Chong put on shoe covers and stepped into the crime scene. The forensic doctor, Fang Xu, and his apprentice were already examining the body, while the trace evidence team was collecting footprints and fingerprints.

Jiang Chong took a glance at the body. The deceased was lying on their back beside the coffee table in the living room, with the head facing the entrance and feet pointing toward the balcony.

“Fang Xu, what’s the situation?”

Fang Xu, dressed in a white lab coat, was squatting next to the body. “There are strangulation marks on the neck, particularly below the throat, with crossing ligature marks at the back of the neck. The face is swollen and shows a purplish-blue hue, with petechial hemorrhages. Preliminary findings suggest manual strangulation. The exact cause of death will need to be confirmed through an autopsy. Estimated time of death is around 10 p.m. last night. With the recent warm weather and this being the top floor, decomposition has set in faster than usual.”

Jiang Chong nodded and turned to instruct Tang Qijun and Li Fangfei, “Check the layout of the rooms. Look for clues.”

“Yes.” Tang Qijun and Li Fangfei split up, one entering the bedroom and the other the bathroom to begin their search.

Jiang Chong stood and scanned the room. To the right of the entrance was a full-length shoe cabinet about 1.2 meters tall. A few old, dirty shoes were scattered beneath it, while a dozen empty beer bottles were placed on top.

The sofa and coffee table in the living room looked quite old, like they were from a few decades ago. A few pieces of clothing were strewn over the sofa. A filthy ashtray with seven or eight cigarette butts sat on the coffee table, along with two mugs—one still half full of water, the other empty.

There were no visible signs of a struggle in the house. Normally, a person being strangled would struggle instinctively, leaving behind traces of resistance. But here, there was no such evidence—suggesting the killer had cleaned the scene.

By 1 p.m., the criminal investigation team finally returned to the office. Lunch hour had long passed, and the cafeteria was already closed. Just as everyone was about to make instant noodles, Ma Pingchuan’s mother arrived at the office with food containers in hand.

“I heard you were working on a case. You probably didn’t have time to eat, so I brought you some lunch.”

Ma Pingchuan’s mother frequently visited the police bureau to check on her son, so the team was used to it. Yuan Kai took the lunch boxes without hesitation. “Auntie’s here! Thank you, Auntie. Let’s see what delicious food you made today!”

As she tried to strike up a conversation with the others, Ma Pingchuan quickly pulled his mom into the hallway. “Mom, why are you here? This is the police bureau.”

“I know, but I was worried you wouldn’t have time to eat.”

Ma Pingchuan knew she meant well, but it wasn’t ideal to have civilians constantly showing up at the station. “Mom, we’re still busy. You should head back now.”

“Alright, but make sure you eat. Also, Aunt Wang from next door introduced you to a girl—she’s a nurse at the hospital. If you have time this weekend, I’ll ask Aunt Wang to set it up for you, okay?”

Another blind date. Over the past few years, Ma Pingchuan had gone on at least thirty, if not fifty of them. With the criminal investigation team’s workload, where would he find the time?

Ma Pingchuan nodded perfunctorily. “Alright, alright, we’ll see if I have time.”

Back in the office, he saw the lunchbox already empty. Yuan Kai and the others had oil still glistening on their lips. Furious, he scolded them, “You guys are unbelievable—ate everything and didn’t leave a bite for me!”

Tang Qijun let out a satisfied burp. “It’s because Auntie’s cooking was just too good. We couldn’t help it.”

Glaring at Tang Qijun, Ma Pingchuan resigned himself to fate and went to the office cabinet to grab a cup of instant noodles.

Just as Ma Pingchuan finished his noodles, Jiang Chong walked into the office. “Everyone done eating? Let’s start the meeting.”

Tang Qijun pinned a photo of the deceased on the whiteboard and began presenting the background. “The victim’s name is Li Gui, fifty years old, a local. He owned the apartment and lived alone. He worked as a courier at a local delivery point.”

“His parents and wife are deceased. He has a 27-year-old son who works at a company in the southern part of the city, but they don’t live together. According to the system records, six years ago Li Gui caused a traffic accident due to fatigue driving, but apart from that, he has no criminal record. His daily life revolved around work, drinking, and playing cards. Nothing unusual.”

“What about the informant, Old Ma?” Jiang Chong asked, looking at the photo on the whiteboard.

Ma Pingchuan took out his notebook and said, “The informant’s name is Wu Gang, a tenant who just moved in two months ago. He works as a network administrator at an internet café.”

“According to him, Li Gui had poor hygiene habits and often left trash outside his door, making the whole hallway smell. The two had argued about it several times. This morning, Wu Gang smelled something foul again and thought Li Gui hadn’t taken out his trash, so he knocked on the door. To his surprise, it was ajar. When he opened it, he saw Li Gui lying on the ground. After stepping inside and seeing that Li Gui was dead, he panicked and called the police.”

“What about his interpersonal relationships?”

Yuan Kai stood up and replied, “Li Gui worked at a delivery point near the entrance of the residential complex. I spoke with people there, and they all said he was lazy and greedy. He often delivered parcels late and frequently got into conflicts with customers.

The owner of the delivery point wanted to fire him several times, but every time Li Gui would show up drunk and cause a scene. The boss was afraid to provoke him, so he always backed down.”

“Li Fangfei, any results from trace analysis or the forensic team?”

“Captain, the trace team has results; forensics needs a bit more time. The trace team found two sets of fingerprints in the apartment. Most of them belong to Li Gui. But on the cup with water on the coffee table, there was a fingerprint that didn’t belong to him—it belongs to someone named Yu Xin.”

“Other than that, the only footprints in the room were Li Gui’s and Wu Gang’s. No one else’s. One unusual thing is that the living room seems to have been dragged clean—no dust or hair anywhere. The trace team found this very suspicious.”

“Yu Xin?”

Jiang Chong gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging with tension from how hard he was squeezing.

Ma Pingchuan slapped his forehead and quickly turned around to open a drawer. He rummaged through it and pulled out a business card. “The paparazzo who gave us the suspect’s photo a few days ago is also named Yu Xin. Isn’t that way too much of a coincidence?”

“Captain Jiang, my master said the autopsy results are ready,” Sun Xiaoyang, the apprentice of the forensic doctor Fang Xu, said as he stood at the door.

“Alright, we’ll head up right away. Old Ma, you’re coming with me. You three—go find the informant, the courier station owner, and… Yu Xin. Bring them in for questioning. See what they were doing around 11 PM last night.”

Jiang Chong strode out of the office quickly, with Ma Pingchuan following behind. As they passed a cabinet, Ma casually grabbed a few snacks and stuffed them into Sun Xiaoyang’s arms. “Xiaoyang, here—have some snacks.”

Sun Xiaoyang beamed with a wide smile. “Thanks, Brother Ma!”

The forensics department always got the autopsy reports out first—not just because of Jiang Chong’s personal relationship with Fang Xu, but also because Ma Pingchuan knew how to keep people happy. Most of the snacks in the forensic office had been brought in by Ma Pingchuan—though, of course, it was all paid for by Jiang Chong.

Jiang Chong walked into the forensic room and saw Fang Xu eating instant noodles nearby. He knocked on the door and said, “Fang Xu, you’re eating in the autopsy room again. If Chief Wu finds out, he’s going to chew you out.”

Fang Xu swallowed his noodles and pointed at Jiang Chong with his fork, grumbling, “It’s your fault. You wanted the report so fast I didn’t even have time to go to the canteen. And now you’re complaining? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be eating this. Besides, if you don’t say anything, and I don’t say anything, and Xiaoyang definitely won’t say anything, how’s Chief Wu gonna find out?”

Knowing he was in the wrong, Jiang Chong let the food issue slide. “Alright, tell me—what’s the situation with the body?”

Fang Xu finished the last of his noodles, sipped the soup, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said, “The autopsy shows no wounds apart from the ligature marks on the neck. There were no toxins found in the stomach or blood. So we can confirm the cause of death is strangulation. The killer most likely came from behind and used a thin cord or something similar to strangle the victim. Normally, when someone is being strangled, there would be intense struggle, and the victim’s fingernails would often contain bits of the attacker’s skin or DNA. But the fingernails were clean—no DNA at all. So either the killer wore gloves or cleaned under the victim’s nails afterward.”

“Can we confirm the location where the body was found is the primary crime scene?”

Fang Xu took a pack of dried tofu snacks from his apprentice Sun Xiaoyang, munching as he replied, “Based on livor mortis, the room where the body was found should be the original crime scene.”

“Can you estimate the killer’s height based on the injury?”

“From the ligature marks, the killer was likely male, between 175 to 185 cm tall, medium to slightly muscular build. After all, even though Li Gui was only 163 cm tall, he did physical labor for years. He wasn’t weak. To strangle him to death, the killer had to be fairly strong.”

As they walked out of the forensics room and passed Chief Wu’s office downstairs, Jiang Chong stopped by to knock on the door and casually told Chief Wu that Fang Xu had something to report to him. Sure enough, within two minutes, they heard Chief Wu’s booming voice:

“Fang Xu! You’re eating in the autopsy room again?! I’m docking your performance bonus!”

Ma Pingchuan said a little awkwardly, “Captain, isn’t what we’re doing a bit… unfair?”

Jiang Chong suddenly stopped walking, and Ma Pingchuan almost bumped into his back. “Old Ma, we’re just upholding the regulations of the Public Security Bureau, understand?”

In his heart, Ma Pingchuan lit a stick of incense for Fang Xu, hoping he could survive the Bureau Chief’s Wu endless nagging.

“Captain, the informants Wu Gang and Yu Xin have arrived. The owner of the courier point is still on the way.”

Jiang Chong nodded toward Yuan Kai. “Old Ma, you and Tang Qijun go question Wu Gang and the courier shop owner. Yuan Kai, you’re with me — we’ll question Yu Xin. Li Fangfei, check the surveillance footage from 9 PM to 1 AM last night. See who went in and out of that building during that time.”

Jiang Chong never thought that just three days later, he would see Yu Xin again in the interrogation room at the police station. Through the one-way mirror, Jiang Chong saw Yu Xin sitting in the interrogation chair. His hair had been cut much shorter, revealing a bit of his eyebrows and the tips of his ears. He looked cleaner and more refreshed overall.

Yu Xin had finally changed out of his old T-shirt and was now wearing a new white short-sleeve shirt, khaki casual pants, and a pair of black canvas shoes.

Leaning back in the chair, Yu Xin had both hands resting on the table. He seemed rather relaxed, showing none of the nervousness most people feel when entering an interrogation room.

Suddenly, Yu Xin looked toward the one-way mirror. Jiang Chong knew Yu Xin couldn’t see him, but his heart still clenched with tension. Taking a deep breath, Jiang Chong entered the interrogation room with Yuan Kai.

Once Yuan Kai set up the camera, the interrogation began.

“Name?”

“Yu Xin.”

“Age?”

“Twenty-nine.”

“What were you doing between 10 PM and 12 AM last night?”

“I was at home sleeping.”

“Can anyone confirm that?”

“I live alone. No one can confirm it.”

People who live alone are the hardest to establish alibis for. But he didn’t seem worried. Jiang Chong stared intently at Yu Xin. His eyes were calm, not showing the slightest trace of nervousness or panic.

“Your fingerprints were found in the home of the deceased, Li Gui. How do you explain that?”

“I did visit Li Gui yesterday. Around 7 PM, I stayed at his place for about ten minutes and then left.”

“What were you visiting him for?”

“I went to talk to him about something.”

“What was it?”

“A personal matter.”

“What personal matter?”

“Officer, everyone has a right to privacy. Please respect mine.”

“Bang!”

Yuan Kai had been a police officer for six years. He had interrogated hundreds, if not a thousand suspects, but he had never encountered someone as brazen as Yu Xin. Slamming the table forcefully, he shouted, “Yu Xin, your fingerprints were found at the crime scene—Li Gui’s home. You’d better start talking and stop playing games with us!”

Jiang Chong reached out and pressed down on the agitated Yuan Kai, his eyes locked intensely on Yu Xin. The two men were more than a meter apart. Under the stark white light, Yu Xin’s face looked as pale as paper. He looked at Jiang Chong, and suddenly pulled up the corners of his mouth in a smile.

“Captain Jiang, long time no see.”