Chapter 109 - 109 107 Investigation

Words : 1917 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

109: Chapter 107 Investigation 109: Chapter 107 Investigation Shan Nan Province, Qinghe City, Ningtai County, Wen Township. Jiang Yuan got out of the car and looked around at the somewhat familiar environment, feeling both affectionate and a sore butt. Driving hundreds of kilometers in a Great Wall Cannon was definitely a vibrational mistake. “Let’s go directly to the scene,” Liu Jinghui said. He was older, less energetic, his back was weak, and his body was no longer resilient or enduring. The fatigue from the drive would have had him wishing to find a hard bed and pretend to be dead if it weren’t for the case at hand. When he first saw Director Liu, he was refined and conceited like a national grade II protected animal, the Red-bellied Tragopan. Now, he was more like an old hen, caught by its owner and ready to have its feathers plucked. The young officer following them responded with a “Sure,” and then in a nervous and soft voice said, “Director Zhang is here!” Liu Jinghui looked up to see Zhang Tao, the deputy director of criminal investigation at the Ningtai County Bureau, getting out of the car and coming over to greet him. Liu Jinghui had to force a smile back on his face and moved forward to welcome him: “Director Zhang has arrived.” When working down from the provincial office, relying solely on competence doesn’t work, and brute force is even less useful. It’s better to be tactful, both firm and gentle. Jiang Yuan and the others waited patiently, his mind still on the case details. Then he was nudged in the arm by the young officer beside him, signaling him to look over. Jiang Yuan turned his head to see that Director Liu might have mentioned him because Director Zhang was looking his way. Being new, he felt a bit of tension, but the thought of his system and his father straightened him up almost instantly, making his posture even more upright. Director Zhang seemed to smile at them. His smile was warm yet ruthless. Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but be reminded of the beauty queen from his university days, his smile carrying a similar mystique, as if he were smiling just at Jiang Yuan. After a while, once the leaders finished their chat, the group began to ascend through the woodland. Compared to the dense forest of Mount Wulong, the woodland of Wen Township was like a little brother who hadn’t even begun to sprout. The fast-growing forest stood tall and dense, yet the undergrowth was not thick, so walking through was not only unobstructed but rather comfortable. Dappled sunlight, a gentle breeze. This left those who had just come from the old forest feeling a bit unaccustomed. After crossing a ridge, the woodland began to feel more enveloping, as years of growth had matured this area. Although climbing was inconvenient, there were wide mountain paths more than a meter across that were frequently traveled. “Starting a fire here is practically suicide,” Liu Jinghui commented as they walked. “That’s why the case was filed so quickly,” Director Zhang said. “It’s a pity we didn’t catch anyone in the end.” “There are always unsolvable cases. Our case hit a dead end, which is why we’ve sought your help,” Liu Jinghui took the opportunity to butter up a bit. “Don’t mention it,” Deputy Director Zhang Tao was clearly pleased, laughing heartily. Everyone else joined in the laughter immediately. The joyful laughter and satisfied expressions brought the mood to a climax, as if Liu Jinghui had made a dozen people laugh on his own, a remarkable feat. “Arson cases are always difficult to solve. Honestly, even if I were given a current arson case now, I wouldn’t dare to say I’m confident in solving it,” Liu Jinghui easily steered the conversation, saying, “We should all prepare ourselves for this one.” “Certainly, certainly.” After the simple talk, they arrived at the scene of the Wen Village Forestry Farm arson. By now, young saplings had sprouted, their tender, delicate greens begging to be touched. Jiang Yuan and several crime scene investigators treaded carefully among the plants and searched the area within the fire’s boundary, but they found no solid evidence. The previous arson had not covered a large area, but because it was an act of arson, it was considered quite significant. However, fingerprints extracted from the crime scene remained unmatched, and the case ultimately became a cold case. If it hadn’t been for Sun Jingyi’s murder case, this arson might have just disappeared in the cold case files. Regardless of the outcome of the original arson case, it was now linked to Sun Jingyi’s murder and the entire series of cases in Mount Wulong, ensuring the suspect couldn’t vanish. At this point in time, the origin and destination of that bottle of Nongfu Spring were all figured out – its production date was just a few months before Sun Jingyi’s murder, and neither its sales address nor its distribution channels could eliminate the possibility of the suspect’s involvement in Sun Jingyi’s case; all these signs and coincidences were enough to excite the “special task force.” Ever since the case of the wild man on Mount Wulong came to light, clues had been few and far between. Now, as new leads emerged and new murders were uncovered, the attention on the special task force had increased significantly, along with the pressure. At this moment, Jiang Yuan’s ability to link an old arson case to the current investigation undoubtedly reinvigorated everyone’s spirits. As for whether the arson had no connection to Sun Jingyi’s case, if solving the arson could lead to solving the murder, and thereby resolve the entire series of cases, then the problem would have been greatly simplified. Never mind the difficulty of an arson case that has gone unsolved for years – that is based on the premise of the arson case itself. When the arson case became the key to a series of serial murders, its complexity simply did not exist in the minds of Liu Jinghui and others. After briefly examining the arson site, Liu Jinghui didn’t consider employing any elaborate schemes. With a grand gesture, he said, “Director Zhang, could you fingerprint every cadre and resident in Wen Township?” The permanent population of Wen Township was only twenty thousand. Fingerprinting them all wouldn’t take much time or effort. For solving murder cases, there are ample instances of DNA matching being done for all adult residents of a town; fingerprinting costs much less by comparison. Of course, if anyone could now suggest a clever method that could save the station and Ningtai County from spending millions on the investigation, they would certainly earn a big red flower or even several. But no one, including Jiang Yuan, made any noise. Cold cases are not so easily cracked with cleverness. If money can solve a case, one should be thankful. Collecting fingerprints naturally couldn’t be justified under the guise of solving a case, but such matters no longer required Liu Jinghui’s attention, as the local government had plenty of mature and calm deception... clever plans. By the afternoon. The banner proclaiming “Advanced Township in Provincial Fingerprinting Work” had already been hung up, and not a single word was false. Liu Jinghui had secured this one and only quota for the entire province. Everyone in Wen Township was exhilarated. It was a provincial-level commendation, and the word “advanced” clearly hinted at progress. As for the part in the middle, was it important? To show its importance, Wen Township’s government office distributed a truckload of apples, which were set beside the busiest intersection. After fingerprinting, everyone could take an apple and were allowed to choose it themselves, which caused hundreds of meters of queueing. Liu Jinghui of the provincial office instructed on the scene, “We must learn from the Baiyin case and resolutely prevent fingerprints being taken on someone else’s behalf...” Wen Township promised, “We will closely monitor and make good use of the basic-level cadre’s familiarity with the local populace. For migrant workers and permanent residents, we will adopt a system where the unit takes charge, and responsibilities are subcontracted...” Ningtai County also mobilized almost all of its staff, rushing to Wen Township and monitoring all the roads, especially the routes leading into the mountains. For such cases, Liu Jinghui had his own ideas and experience. He didn’t believe that covert investigations would be smoother. It’s true they would cost less, but as a criminal policeman, why would he spend everyday calculating such economical details? He would deal with the chief’s reprimand when the time came. At this moment, Liu Jinghui believed that striking like thunder would increase the chances of catching the criminal. Even if fingerprinting the whole township yielded no results, for Liu Jinghui, it significantly narrowed down the scope. Because Wen Township was remote and still quite a distance from Mount Wulong. The local forestry farm had no direct connections to the one at Mount Wulong. At this time, if fingerprints from both places matched, Liu Jinghui didn’t consider it a coincidence. In fact, his intuition told him that this person was the murderer and there was a high possibility that they were from Wen Township. Old hunting trails on Mount Wulong weren’t exactly inaccessible, but typically only herb gatherers, hikers, and “hiker-targeting gangs” frequented them. It was too coincidental for an arsonist to be near the victim’s grave site during a coincidental time. And the attractiveness of Wen Village Forestry Farm was even lower than Mount Wulong, lacking even the potential for poaching or smuggling. Liu Jinghui’s plan was, if they couldn’t obtain the person’s fingerprints, to start checking the household registration in Wen Township, begin with video collection, exclude migrant workers, and the remaining people shouldn’t be too many. Such an approach would naturally be a massive effort, but Liu Jinghui had been through and organized much larger-scale searches, so he wasn’t concerned. The collected fingerprints were to be handed over to trace analysts for entry into the fingerprint database for comparison. By the next afternoon, there was no news of the prime suspect in the arson case, but several petty thieves had been caught... Director Liu was feeling some pressure. Jiang Yuan was also feeling some pressure. But he still made sure to rest, prioritizing sleep. The next morning. The laughter and play of the children next door at the guesthouse woke Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan sluggishly got up and sat by the window. Watching the innocent and cute children outside, he felt a sense of relief. So, he took out his pen and notebook he always carried with him and made a brief record: Income: Accompanying Provincial Officer Liu Jinghui on a business trip, subsidy of 3,600 yuan. Additionally, during a WeChat conversation, father transferred a meal allowance of 10,000 yuan (eat well), and during the same conversation, sent 20,000 yuan as a bribe (for wining and dining leaders), and a bank transfer for work allowance of 10,000 yuan. Total: 43,600 yuan. Expenses: Treating leaders to water, 20 yuan. Spending 800 yuan at a farmhouse for treating a leader to chicken. Online purchases of protective suits, masks, mosquito nets, and other work necessaries, 6,100 yuan. Individually improving meals, 4,800 yuan. Total: 11,720 yuan. New surplus: 31,880 yuan.

Chapter 109 - 109 107 Investigation

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