SDT 69

Chapter 69 Yu Xiaowen Returns

The next day, the two boarded a bus bound for Shijia Valley. The mountain road was bumpy, and the injured Lu Kongyun’s face was as white as snow. In the light streaming through the window, he looked almost transparent. Yet he kept his lips tightly pressed together, not uttering a sound. Yu Xiaowen, however, watched him with constant worry, his complexion looking scarcely better than his.

By midday, they reached the mountain hollow where Yu Xiaowen had been before. Continuing onward brought them close to the abandoned house where he’d met the criminals two years prior. Following the address Ye Yisan had provided, they turned onto another fork in the road. After walking a short distance, they would see a small shack. At the entrance stood a large banyan tree. On the trunk, in a certain direction, there was a scar. Beneath that scar lay what Ye Yisan referred to as the “important thing.”

After walking for a while, they indeed spotted the small hut and the tree. Yu Xiaowen circled the tree once and found the scar exactly as described.

“Here it is!” he said.

In that case, regardless of whether that “important thing” was really important, at least this part was real, because Ye Yisan couldn’t possibly have made up something like this on the spot.

Under the burning sun, Lu Kongyun broke out in a cold sweat as he directed Yu Xiaowen: “Dig and see.”

Yu Xiaowen found a rusty, broken spatula in the hut, crouched down, and began digging. After a moment, he caught sight of a small box emerging among the tangled roots of the banyan tree. He dug a few more times and pulled it out to examine. It was a black object, sealed in multiple layers of plastic bags.

Peering intently through the thin plastic film, it appeared to be a memory device.

He turned around, held the object up for Lu Kongyun to see, and smiled: “Found it!”

Lu Kongyun looked at him and smiled back.

Yu Xiaowen stared at him for a moment before rising and approaching him.

Lu Kongyun’s smile faded. “Put it in your backpack. We’re heading back to Manjing immediately.”

“Wh… now? Why not rest a bit? We can go back tomorrow. It’s been two years, one more day won’t make a difference,” Yu Xiaowen said. “This road’s too bumpy. Your wound’s bleeding again.”

Lu Kongyun had already turned and walked away: “Don’t wait for someone else to catch you. It’s okay if it’s Lu Qifeng, but if anyone from the Ding family is still around here, who knows what might happen.”

….

The municipal bureau was in an uproar today.

Lu Kongyun, an inspector from the Military Intelligence Department, arrived at the Municipal Bureau’s entrance with Yu Xiaowen, the captain of the Third Squad of the Major Crimes Unit who had been missing for two years while on a mission. He reportedly brought evidence that could prove Yu Xiaowen’s innocence.

It was also reported that Lu Qifeng, the Military Intelligence Department official overseeing the case, was handling matters on Azalea Island and had not yet returned to the mainland. Consequently, before the Military Headquarters assigned interrogators, Yu Xiaowen was placed under temporary supervision by the Municipal Bureau on-site.

Lu Kongyun departed with the so-called evidence, accompanied by technicians from the Forensics Division and the Bureau Chief. Yu Xiaowen was instructed to wait in an interrogation room for further instructions from the Municipal Bureau.

Yu Xiaowen paced around this intensely familiar room, studying the traces he knew so well. Two years had passed quickly; some things simply hadn’t had time to change. A dent in the wall, left when that hot-tempered guy from the next group threw a chair, had been carefully patched layer by layer with chalk. It still looked surprisingly white. It felt like that incident, where the guy was publicly plastering the wall while getting chewed out by the logistics lady, had happened just yesterday.

He walked over to the window again, watching the swaying tree shadows outside.

Not even the shrubs had grown taller. Just like the last time he came to work, they looked as if they’d just been given a buzz cut by the city workers.

He felt complex emotions. After watching for a while, he walked back over. He first sat on the side where the officer was taking statements, but after a moment’s thought, he stood up and sat down properly on the side where the statements were being taken.

With a loud bang, the door opened. A group of people exploded into the room like popcorn, startling Yu Xiaowen, who had been lost in thought.

“Master!”

“Xiao Wen… Is it really you, Xiao Wen!”

It was Xu Jie, Chen Zihan, and several former colleagues. They charged toward Yu Xiaowen like starving zombies.

“Hey… Hey!” Yu Xiaowen was swept up in the tide, grabbed, and then a huge, glistening face was thrust right in front of him: “Master! How are you still alive?! Ah!”

“Bullshit! Isn’t it great to be alive? Shut up!” It was Chen Zihan’s voice, choked with emotion. He grabbed Yu Xiaowen’s shoulders and shook him violently: “Yu Xiaowen! How the hell did you survive that knife wound? Huh?”

Wailing like a cow, a figure stood behind the crowd, face buried in hands, mooing and sniffling. It was Old Wang, the teammate who’d taken Chen’s place on the Shijia expedition back then. “Wonderful, just wonderful… Moo… Is this really true? The captain is alive…”

His tears turned to laughter, like a fool. But as he laughed, he grew angry. How dare Xu Jie curse his master: “Yu Xiaowen! You bastard! How could you just disappear without a word? I cried every single day after work for months, you know that! What the hell was going on with you? Huh?”

Yu Xiaowen：“……”

He was speechless. His throat tightened, and finally, he swallowed the lump of bitterness and forced a smile. “No one’s been cleaning up after you these past two years. Have you learned to do it yourself yet, kid?”

Somehow, those words struck a nerve with Xu Jie. He pulled Yu Xiaowen into a tight embrace, his resolve crumbling as he began to sob uncontrollably.

“Brother.”

“Get up, don’t hog the whole thing.” Another colleague from the Third Squad nudged Xu Jie, but to no avail. Xu Jie said, “This is my mentor. You guys are just colleagues.”

“Get up!” Chen Zihan yanked his collar, but still couldn’t budge him. Everyone started shoving again.

Noise erupted at the doorway again. Glancing over Xu Jie’s shoulder, Yu Xiaowen recognized Lu Kongyun, the military officer, along with several colleagues from the Municipal Bureau, including the Chief. Their expressions were impossible to read, leaving him wondering how they’d reacted to the evidence. Yu Xiaowen greeted the Chief first.

“Chief Li.” Yu Xiaowen, remembering the 178,000 yuan he owed him, gave a sheepish grin. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone around randomly taking on godfathers. Not only did I not get the pension, but I ended up costing you a fortune!”

“You little rascal!” Chief Li walked in, his eyes red, and gave him a hearty hug first. Then he turned to Lu Kongyun and the military personnel behind him and said, “Keep that man under city bureau supervision for now.”

The military officials nodded in agreement.

Yu Xiaowen was not transferred to a detention center or any other facility; instead, he was placed within the municipal bureau. He was temporarily housed in a makeshift detention cell. His colleagues had made the otherwise spartan room quite comfortable. The iron bed within the steel isolation bars was piled high with blankets, and books and newspapers were scattered about. The bars remained unlocked, allowing him to walk freely within the detention cell and even visit the adjacent detention cell. Daily meals were specially prepared by the logistics department staff from the unit’s cafeteria, ensuring two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes were always provided.

Xu Jie, on the very first night Yu Xiaowen stayed, rushed back covered in dirt after finishing a job site. He insisted on staying over to keep his mentor company. Yu Xiaowen had to practically drag him out, pushing his head away with his hands.

The other inmates, crammed into a single cell, always looked over with curiosity whenever he was there.

Three days later, someone went to the municipal bureau to find Yu Xiaowen.

Yu Xiaowen was eating a boxed meal, standing in the hallway holding it while chatting away with the suspect next to him: “Huh? You were close with him? Damn, that guy still owes me money. What’s he up to now? What? He got married? They even had a kid!? When did that happen? Seriously? He found someone from his class? Yeah, yeah… I’ll just consider that money my wedding gift. Hey, you should learn from him too, stop… Ugh, cough cough…”

As he spoke, ate, and turned his head, he spotted Ms. Chen staring at him from a few meters away. Rice nearly shot out of his nose.

She was the daughter of Director Chen of the Military Affairs Bureau. Two years ago, when Yu Xiaowen was apprehending a criminal, he happened upon her and Lu Kongyun heading to the parking lot after dinner. The two had even chatted in Lu Kongyun’s car. Yu Xiaowen certainly remembered this beautiful Omega.

The second encounter occurred when Yu Xiaowen and Lu Kongyun dined at the top-floor luxury restaurant, where they crossed paths with Ms. Chen and her brother, Chen Jian. Overhearing their conversation, Yu Xiaowen learned Ms. Chen liked Lu Kongyun. However, based on his experiences at S House, Chen Jian insisted Lu Kongyun was a pervert and forbade his sister from associating with him.

The originator of this pervert rumor was none other than myself. His blackmailing forced Lu Kongyun to carry out tasks for him at S House in order to escape the blackmail.

All in all, he had only met Ms. Chen twice, while she had only seen him once. Now that she suddenly appeared here, it felt out of place, leaving Yu Xiaowen feeling confused.

Because no matter how he thought about it, the only connection between them was that one person.

They returned to Yu Xiaowen’s single room. Glancing at the bare wooden bench, Yu Xiaowen immediately invited the other person to sit on the bed: “Please sit over here. It’s cleaner.”

Ms. Chen sat on the bed. Yu Xiaowen brushed the dust off the long wooden bench, sat down, and sat up straight, looking at her.

“Officer Yu. It’s been a while,” Ms. Chen said.

Yu Xiaowen felt awkward. “I’m no longer an officer. Just call me Yu Xiaowen, Director Chen.”

Ms. Chen studied him. “You look much healthier than you did two years ago.”

“My health has improved considerably these past two years.” Yu Xiaowen didn’t elaborate, instead asking politely, “Ms. Chen, what brings you here?”

After a few seconds, Ms. Chen inquired, “Lu Kongyun brought back a USB drive that’s supposedly very important. But the data is corrupted and hasn’t been recovered yet. You know about this, right?”

Yu Xiaowen froze. “What? The USB drive is corrupted?”

“You didn’t know? No wonder.”

Yu Xiaowen instinctively clenched his legs, his heart sinking deeper by the second.

Ms. Chen suddenly asked, “Are you very close with Lu Kongyun?”

Yu Xiaowen paused for two seconds, carefully choosing his words before replying, “We know each other.”

Ms. Chen looked at him for a moment before saying, “Over the past two years, Lu Kongyun has been spending more time with my brother. I used to think he was doing it to get closer to my family and my father. Maybe it had something to do with me too… That’s what I believed before.”

Yu Xiaowen said nothing, responding only with a smile.

“Yesterday, he nearly split Chen Jian’s skull open. I was right there when it happened.”

“Wh-what…”

Ms. Chen: “Afterwards, my brother said Lu Kongyun had been searching for evidence of Ding Qi’s collusion with foreign illegal organizations. My brother feared getting involved in trouble and always avoided him. Yesterday he suddenly demanded my brother hand over S House’s long-term drug supplier and reveal everyone in his network connected to Ding Qi. Before, his threats were just about applying for search warrants on S-House’s drug approvals. Yesterday, he said if my brother didn’t cooperate, he’d shoot him dead, and if necessary, he’d go to prison himself.”

Yu Xiaowen stood up from his chair, stood for a moment, then sat back down. His mouth tightened into a straight line as he watched Ms. Chen, trying to appear detached while waiting for her to continue.

“Before, when my brother said he was mad, I didn’t believe him. Now I do.” She laughed.

“When he gets worked up, my brother can handle him. But this guy was so calm, like it had nothing to do with him, like he could just start shooting at any moment. That really scared my brother stiff. He said, ‘I told you the Lu family were all madmen, but you wouldn’t listen. You’re never allowed in the Lu house again.'”

Yu Xiaowen recalled Lu Kongyun’s expression on Banana Mountain when he’d said, “I can jump” and instantly understood why Chen Jian had backed down. Compared to that memory, the heavy weight of hearing that Ye Yisan’s evidence had been destroyed felt almost lighter.

His heart began to climb again, lodged in his throat and making him queasy, while cold sweat broke out in waves across his back.

Ms. Chen surveyed the “private room” once more.

“After Lu Kongyun took the files, I went out to ask around. That’s when I heard the original suspect in Ding Qi’s case had actually returned, alive.” Ms. Chen withdrew her scrutinizing gaze and fixed it on Yu Xiaowen. “So it was you all along.”

“…It was me.” After a long pause, Yu Xiaowen finally managed to answer.

Ms. Chen: “I just wanted to ask you, you really are innocent, right? So the bad guys are really Ding Qi and his crew, the military department people. You’re being framed.”

Yu Xiaowen sighed softly: “Yes.”

“Alright.” She exhaled in kind, yet her mood was the opposite, as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders.

Her expression seemed to convey a shared understanding, then she stood up and chuckled.

“Alright. I understand.”