Ji Tian City was at its hottest this year. In the morning, the burning sun was igniting everyone's skin, but in the evening things were always getting warmer little by little. At that part of that exhausting day, numerous beaches were welcoming the loudest parties. Many people and youth were rewarding themselves after a long day of working by celebrating on the sand. Multiple artists, singers, and musical groups found it a good chance to gather more fans, so they always welcomed the crowds of youth with their loudest songs. Phonk, Rock and Roll, Rap songs… All the colored crazy beats were shaking the ground beneath the excited spectators who were enjoying their long warm nights in every possible way.
"What a good song, man!" Feng Xuan said to Lao Yi in the middle of the dance floor. He pushed him jokingly as he added, "Why didn't you tell me that this group is too cool? Huh? You are a big traitor, aren't ya?"
His friend danced as he got closer to him and said in full excitement, "I've always told you that! You are the one who never tried to come and try it. Tell me, do you wanna drink beer? It'll be my treat tonight!"
Feng Xuan danced as he nodded at him, "Of course! Go bring it, man!"
With that, Lao Yi went to buy two bottles of beer.
Between the huge excited crowds, there was a young man who was watching Feng Xuan without anyone's notice. Unlike all the youths there, he was standing coldly without moving a single finger. He was wearing a cap and a black Medical muzzle. The man walked toward Feng Xuan as he wore a cunning smile under that piece of clothing.
Feng Xuan was dancing, so he didn't pay so much attention to him until that last one bumped him. Feng Xuan was about to fall so he turned around and pushed him away angrily, "Hey! Are you blind or what? You were about to make my fucking ass kiss the mud!"
The man bowed in front of him as he talked in English, "I'm so sorry, friend… please don't be angry." he stopped for a while and added, "It's just that I wished to ask you to guide me to a place. I'm an American tourist and that's my first time at such a place. I'm too clueless."
The young boy was good at English, so he understood him easily and answered with a gentle smile, "Is that so? Oh dear god! I'm terribly sorry. It's nothing, man. I may guide you. However, if it was somewhere too far from here I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to take you right away. My friend is with me, so I must wait for him a little."
The young man nodded at him and said warmly, "No, it's near here. It's just the backstage room." The man took out a VIP card from his black jacket and said, "I don't know where to find it, this card cost me so much money, so I don't want to waste it. You can even call your friend later so we could stay with your favorite artists together."
The young boy's eyes shined immediately when he saw that golden card between his hands. He smiled at him more brightly and nodded, "I know its place! It's just behind the stage. I'll guide you there, buddy. No trouble, no trouble" Feng Xuan walked first and waved at him happily, "Follow me"
The young man smiled as he went behind him unhurriedly.
When they reached the room, it was empty. Feng Xuan raised a brow as he asked, "I wonder if there is someone else here as well…" He turned around and asked the man, "Tell me, buddy, are you the only one who has got a VIP card?" He was about to add something else when he saw the young man taking an injection out of his jacket. Feng Xuan's heart skipped a beat as He walked backward slowly. He asked in a doubtful tone, "Hey, buddy? Why are you keeping that thing on you?"
Without speaking a single word, the man finally removed his cap to show him his cunning curved-up eyes as he spoke in Chinese, "Did you believe that I'm an American this fast? Too stupid of you, little silly boy"
Feng Xuan's eyes widened. He wanted to push him and run away, but the man charged toward him quickly and pressed him against the wall. He closed his mouth with a piece of clothing, So even if the young boy tried to fight back with all his might, still, he lost consciousness in the end.
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The next morning, the beach where the party occurred last night was surrounded by four police cars. One of the youth policemen was standing next to Feng Xuan's dead body while wearing a sad expression. He watched it merely for a long while before he heard another car parked next to theirs. He turned around and saw a tall man coming out from a black q7 Audi. The man was no one other than Detective Ye.
Sing Tao and Ying Yang Li were both females from his team. They walked towards him hurriedly as long as they saw him parking his car. Sing Tao was holding a blue file between her hands as she stood next to him and started announcing all the things on it in a single breath. On his right side, Ying Yang Li stood there and handed him two plastic gloves.
Ye Xiao Xie wore them as he listened to the report, "The victim's full name is Feng Liang Xuan. He was found dead by a passing woman at 9:38 AM. He is a student from Guangxi University, 19 years old." Sing Tao handed him the file and added, "That information was extracted from his national card."
Ye Xiao Xie took the file between his hands and read it attentively. He moved his sharp lips calmly, "That's the second victim of his this summer…" He handed the file back to her and ordered, "Go tell Xiang Wen Tian to gather every single piece of information about the party of last night. When did it start, and when did it end… I want to know the groups and artists that participated here one by one as well. Not only that but I also need to know every single spectator's background. I want everything to be on my desk in no time."
Sing Tao nodded at him in acknowledgment and stepped away.
Ye Xiao Xie hurried to the corpse before the scientific police would take it and Ying Yang Li followed him up. He squatted next to Feng Xuan's body. After a while of analysis, he declared, "There are no stabbing or beating traces on him…" He put his hand on his neck and observed it. He added, "No traces of strangling as well."
He looked at one of the scientific policemen and requested them, "Turn the corpse around, please."
He extended his hand towards his back and watched the bruises with high attention.
Ying Yang Li's gentle voice came from above him, "Also his head is not damaged. XTDX killed him Just the same way he killed all his victims."
Ye Xiao Xie narrowed his eyes as he muttered, "Not necessary. However, it's obvious that it's poisoning again…" He rolled his eyes towards his feet and said, "That Jordan is original… I wonder how much it costs a university student like him to buy such a thing…"
Ying Yang Li, "..."
He stood up and asked the wide-eyed girl, "Have you taken pictures of all his outfits including the shoes?"
Ying Yang Li nodded, "Yes, I did. Everything is included."
He extended his hand and patted her head fast, "You are a very good girl."
Ying Yang Li's face became red as she muttered angrily, "I just fixed it this morning! Stop it, Detective Ye!"
Ye Xiao Xie smiled at her and took out a cigarette from his outer jacket as he watched them taking the body. He looked at the corpse's back one last time as he gave Ying Yang Li the significance to leave and said, "Alright little girl, go to work now, the hair could be fixed later"
Ying Yang Li rolled her eyes and left as she murmured under her breath, "What an old freak!"
The young policeman didn't leave for that whole period. Even if they took the dead body, he kept looking at its original spot coldly as if he was thinking of something.
Ye Xiao Xie noticed his odd behavior, so he called him over. The young man walked towards him drunkenly.
"Why do you look so sick? I think that there is no blood here, Mei Han?" He inhaled his cigarette slowly and added, "Stop overthinking. This is life. People die and people arrive. That's the right cycle of this world" He released the smoke gently and put his right hand inside his trousers' pocket as he looked at him. He added, "Plus, you are a policeman, so you must get along with those views. You'll see things that are even worse in the future…"
Mei Han Fei looked down as he asked, "It's XTDX again, isn't he? The summer is already here and the way he killed him is also…"
Ye Xiao Xie released the smoke again and answered him as he watched the blue sky with an unreadable expression, "...Yes, it's him. But fear not, I'm sure that we'll catch him this time."
Mei Han Fei was silent for a while. He gathered his hands into two angry fists and then asked him, "You said we will catch him this time, didn't you?" he halted a little and added sharply, "Tell me then, why didn't you say those words when the one that was lying dead on the sand was my little sister?"
Upon hearing that, Ye Xiao Xie's cigarette stopped halfway next to his mouth. He closed his eyes for a while and took a deep breath. He looked at Mei Han Fei for a while before he answered, "I told you already. We didn't have much information at that time… Your sister was between the first victims, so we…"
"Stop lying to me! You've had enough information, but you didn't want to reveal it for two years!" Mei Han Fei cut him off, "I joined the police to protect people, not to help in killing them! You are a liar! If you were hiding the truth, then you are no different from a criminal! You…"
Ye Xiao Xie raised his hand towards the sky and, Pah! Mei Han Fei shut up immediately.
The angry man threw his cigarette and stepped on it. He frowned at Mei Han Fei who didn't say a single word after receiving that slap and kept looking down. After a while, the youngster apologized in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" He wasn't able to stop his tears from coming out, so he sniffed and started wiping his eyes with his blue sleeves, "I didn't mean to say those words like that, it's just that I wasn't able to take it…" he sobbed and added "It's just seeing people die here and there as we are unable to do anything that made me say those words… I'm sorry, Gege…"
Ye Xiao Xie gave him a side gaze as he handed him a paper napkin.
"Just tell me how old are you? Already twenty and you're still crying like a baby… Stop that shit and get to your car. Who told you that we're unable to do anything/We'll have so much work at the PS so hurry up…"
(Fast note: PS= Police station)
Ye Xiao Xie reached his car but before he could open the door one of the policemen put his hand on his shoulder.
Ye Xiao Xie found it too weird because no one of his mates had ever dared to touch him, so he turned around and asked, "Do you need any…" He wasn't able to complete his words when he saw the policeman holding a piece of paper in front of his face. He froze in his place as long as he read it. The policeman seized that opportunity and took out a knife, as he tried to stab his neck. Fortunately, Ye Xiao Xie came back to his senses fast and jogged him. At least he was fast enough so he was only stabbed in his shoulder.
"Argh! You bastard!" Ye Xiao Xie wailed and pushed him away with his foot.
When Mei Han Fei heard his enraged tone, he directed his eyes to their direction to see them fighting. Therefore, he rushed to them.
"Ge Ge!"
Ying Yang Li wasn't that far either, so she was able to hear Mei Han Fei calling in a fearful tone. She put down her camera and ran towards them with the other men.
Even though Ye Xiao Xie's arm was injured, he was still able to take down that rough man just before everyone reached him. He sat on him as he placed his hands behind his back and threw the saber away with his injured arm. He asked him hatefully, "Who sent you? Talk!"
Mei Han Fei and Ying Yang Li both reached him and started watching them with a big surprise.
Ye Xiao Xie glared at them and shouted, "The hell are you looking at?! Hurry up and cuff this shit up!"
Mei Han Fei hurried along with the rest and cuffed the policeman.
Ye Xiao Xie put his hand on his shoulder as he tried to stop the bleeding and Ying Yang Li hurried to bring the first aid box from his car.
They were about to take the man away, but Ye Xiao Xie stopped them. He faced him as he asked, "Who forced you to do this?"
The policeman was silent for a while and then he started laughing loudly. "why would you think that someone forced me? Are you sure that you wanna know who is in front of all those people?"
Ye Xiao Xie frowned at him and asked anew, "Stop messing around and answer the fucking question!"
The policeman kept laughing and said mockingly, "You didn't notice Fei Wang's absence today and you're still calling yourself a detective? How stupid! Hahaha..."
Upon hearing his words, Ye Xiao Xie caught him by his collar as he uttered, "What have you done to him, you bastard!? Where is he now?"
"Nothing major, he is just sleeping in his house soundly, forever..." He looked at his feet and added, "I found it so good that his shoes fit me."
On the other side of the road which no one paid attention to, there was a red luxurious Ferrari. A handsome man was leaning comfortably inside it as he watched everything silently. He was fiddling with his long black hair while playing with an antique pocket watch between his slender fingers. His car tablet was playing a calm Chinese song when his phone rang suddenly. He took it and read the name "Professor Hiu".
A hypocritical smile didn't hesitate to form on his sharp pink lips.
At those instants, Ye Xiao Xie pushed that man away and took that piece of paper from the ground. He hurried to his car and ignored his stabbed shoulder. Ying Yang Li called for him many times but Ye Xiao Xie turned a deaf ear to her.
When the man inside the Ferrari saw him leaving at high speed, he finally answered the call in a hoarse voice, "Hello, old man~ what's up?"
"Hello, my ass! Where are you now, Professor Qian Deming? Everyone is waiting for you at the auditorium! I'm tired of covering your damned absence today. The inspectors and the University director are here waiting for you, so I have no choice but to tell them that you're not here!" Professor Hiu was so angry that he wished to slap him through his phone. "Just tell me where on earth are you now?"
Qian Deming giggled and said in a hot hoarse voice, "Alright, just calm down. I'll be there in five minutes, it was just that I've found an interesting show so I stayed to watch it for a while. I'll see you there soon. Just keep on covering." Professor Hiu was about to add something, but Qian Deming hung up and turned on his car immediately.
"What a hard knight… I'm so curious to know how you're planning to handle it." He put his hand on the gearshift and added sarcastically, "Who said that police are the only ones who could do justice, hm? Like hell, they are…" He put on his transparent glasses and added, "I mean, what does an ex-gang leader have to do with righteousness, anyway?"
With that, the red Ferrari went off with a rumbling sound and Ying Yang Li was the only one who noticed it leaving.
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Author's notes:
Just so you do not get confused, the name XTDX will be explained later. Also, the main leads are Ye Xiao Xie and Qian Deming (the ones on the cover), so don't confound things. thank you for reading ❤️