Teng Wenyan, female, 16 years old, primary school education, shampoo girl in a third-rate beauty salon in Lingzhou City, S province.
In such a big city, there were countless small workshops, without certificates, licenses, or qualifications. Just after installing a few hair wash basins and massage beds, they dare to call themselves beauty salons, opening stores in small alleyways along the big streets, where many young people with no roots or background come and go between bus stations with their bags. Among these low-end groups with frequent movements, it was normal for a little girl to disappear. This incident couldn't even attract the attention of the neighbours in the slums, let alone the police.
But Teng Wenyan's disappearance two years ago was actually recorded at the police station.
This was because she disappeared together with the barber shop worker next door, who had taken half a month's salary in advance from the barber shop owner before disappearing — 800 yuan was the main motivation for the barber shop owner to spend most of the afternoon in the police station to make a report.
"Besides the words 'Teng Wenyan', I can't find any other information about her. Teng Wenyan may not even be her real name, because the proprietress of the beauty salon couldn't find a copy of her ID card — who knows if she even asked for a copy of her ID card. Gao Panqing held the materials that the Lingzhou City Bureau had just faxed and sighed a little: "The barber shop worker named Wang Rui has real identity information that can be investigated. We've already talked to the local police to hurry up, it's a case involving two lives after all."
Yan Xie and Qin Chuan put their heads closer, the latter's eyes were bloodshot because he had stayed up for more than 30 hours in a row.
"Let me think." Qin Chuan held a cigarette and said in a hoarse voice, "Both Wang Rui and Teng Wenyan belong to the lower class in society, and they are high-risk targets that can be easily targeted by criminals. It'll take too much time to check their household registration, which won't help with the case. It'll be better if we concentrate our efforts on Lingzhou City, investigate the whereabouts of the two people on the day they disappeared, and strive to find the burial site as soon as possible — that is, He Liang's execution site, what do you think, Lao Yan?"
Yan Xie crossed his arms, his expression was thoughtful.
Qin Chuan and Gao Panqing stared at him, and it took a while before they heard him suddenly say, "No, we must find out Teng Wenyan's background."
"Why?"
Yan Xie said in his mind: because she was the only one who wasn't a female student.
Jiang Ting had explained before that the ritual is usually an external projection of an inner picture. That is to say, when the King of Spades chose a little girl as a substitute, it was strictly based on Jiang Ting as the prototype; but there aren't too many requirements for boys, they are just a tool to sustain the execution complex.
Both Bu Wei and Li Yuxin are female students, and they are very well-behaved and conservative little girls with good grades, which are in line with the characteristics of Jiang Ting as a student in his youth. Only Teng Wenyan dropped out of school after graduating from elementary school and went to work. That is to say, the similarities between Teng Wenyan and Jiang Ting are likely to be in their background.
What kind of family did she come from? Did she wander from place to place, suffering from humiliation?
Which part of Jiang Ting does she overlap within the King of Spades' mind?
Yan Xie's phone vibrated suddenly and he received a new message: [Are you busy? I'm at the entrance of the city bureau. Come out to eat.]
Qin Chuan tilted his body forty-five degrees: "Who is it? Did you fall in love?!"
"No, an old friend from the police academy." Yan Xie replied immediately and hurriedly put the mobile phone back into his pocket. Then he pointed toward the information in Gao Panqing's hand: "——Teng Wenyan's identity and background may be related to how she and Wang Xingye knew each other. If someone around her was taking drugs, we might be able to fish out a nest of drug traffickers."
Gao Panqing's face was suddenly enlightened.
"In short, first notify the Lingzhou City Bureau to investigate. I'll come back after a meal." Before Yan Xie's voice could even fade, he had already rushed into the elevator: "Call me if you need anything!"
The two people who were left behind looked at each other, and Qin Chuan finally couldn't help but ask: "Is he in love?"
Gao Panqing: "..."
Qin Chuan seemed to have been injected with a booster called gossip, and all his fatigue was swept away: "Come, come and look!"
The south-facing window of the large office of the Criminal Investigation Division was propped open by a slit, and two heads rushed forward. Qin Chuan didn't even notice that his gold-rimmed glasses were squeezed by Gao Panqing. A few minutes later, Yan Xie's figure hurried out of the city bureau's gate, and under the excited gaze of the two people, walked towards a silver SUV across the road.
"F*ck…" Gao Panqing murmured, "Mercedes-Benz G65, the dream lover of all married men, a wife who's your soulmate…"
Qin Chuan patted his shoulder: "Prepare the red envelope."
"What?"
"The only one who can drive the concubine is the legal wife." Qin Chuan pushed up his glasses, reflecting a wise light: "Your Brother Yan most likely has a partner."
After hearing the sound of the passenger seat door closing, the legal wife raised his head from his game of online chess: "So fast?"
Yan Xie buckled his seat belt, then raised his head and smiled at Jiang Ting.
——Yan Xie was just this type of person, as long as he wanted to, he could just laugh and all the high-intensity pressure at work and the gloomy and violent emotions could be hidden without any leakage; of course, including the cold and heavy doubts that had formed two hours ago.
"Isn't this because I'm afraid that you'll get hungry?" Yan Xie said smoothly, "What do you want to eat? Don't go too far."
Jiang Ting started the car, turned around on the lights, and said, "Let's have some porridge. After eating, I'll send you back to work overtime. "
"Switch with me at the intersection ahead, are you okay with driving?"
"Why, is there something wrong?"
Yan Xie leaned on the passenger seat comfortably: "Don't get me wrong, there's no trust issue between us in this regard. The main reason is that the family education I received since childhood is that when a man is with his wife, he can't let his wife drive."
The green light came on, the G65 slowly moved forward with the traffic, and Jiang Ting glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
"Why are you peeking at me?"
"I didn't." Jiang Ting suddenly started feeling a little amused, "I was just thinking that your family's education is quite unique, what else is there?"
"Hmm…" Yan Xie thought for a moment, but couldn't think of any of the ideas that his father and mother had instilled in him since childhood that were unique to ordinary people. Then he said seriously: "Does it count that you mustn't marry a woman who continues to babble beside her husband when he's driving?"
The smile in Jiang Ting's eyes deepened, and he said, "Then why do you still dare to talk nonsense?"
Yan Xie also burst out laughing and pinched the inside of Jiang Ting's thigh: "Still haven't passed through the door[1], yet you dare to try to get the upper position, but that won't be happening."
Jiang Ting hurriedly moved his legs inward and looked up to observe the traffic in the front and back.
His driving was very different from Yan Xie's. Yan Xie was an old driver in the literal sense. When driving, his posture was completely relaxed, leaning on the back of the seat. Except for the sharp turns where he used both of his hands, he usually only used his right hand to turn the steering wheel. However, Jiang Ting was leaning forward with his upper body, sitting up straight while holding the steering wheel with both hands. He raised his eyes slightly to look at the rear-view and side-view mirrors about once every ten seconds. His driving was so standard that it was enough to be taken directly to the driving school as a teaching model.
Just over two months ago, he was still a patient with PTSD symptoms induced by accidentally witnessing a car accident. Many people who've been in a tragic car accident are unable to drive for a few years or even a lifetime, but he was able to force himself to overcome psychological barriers in such a short amount of time.
Yan Xie looked at Jiang Ting and thought that he might have some kind of strength in his heart that forced him to correct his behavior at all times.
But where does that strength come from?
Yan Xie finally did what he had been thinking about for several days — letting Jiang Ting eat "real" seafood porridge.
Jiang Ting said helplessly: "Don't order more, you still need to go back to work after you finish eating. Why are you forcefully putting geoduck into my seafood porridge? Taking the opportunity to force me to eat huh?"
Yan Xie returned the menu to the little waitress, and when the beautiful young girl in a satin cheongsam left, he smirked at Jiang Ting: "What are you talking about, how can I let my wife pay? How could I make it look like you've lost by marrying into my Yan family?"
"Who married into…"
"And you won't be able to stand it anyway if I ate freely," Yan Xie said maliciously: "Let's talk about this topic behind closed doors at night at home, okay, darling."
Jiang Ting got up immediately: "Waiter! Where's the bill!"
Yan Xie hurriedly pulled him back into his arms: "Hey, I'm just kidding, Captain Jiang, Teacher Jiang, Great God Jiang… Sit down, the case has progressed today, and I'm counting on you to provide clues. Don't make a fuss. Come back, help me take a look."
Jiang Ting didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was dragged back to his seat by Yan Xie, who wrapped his arms around his shoulders and took out the domestic device issued by the city bureau, and opened the most recent photos in the album: "Here, I found it this morning at Amber Mountain Villa, one of Wang Xingye's secret strongholds. The originals have been handed over to the Technical Unit of the City Bureau for processing."
—On the phone screen were the first three pages of Wang Xingye's notebook.
The three girls stared at Jiang Ting against the same bright red background. Each of them had immature but delicate facial features and a pair of black-and-white eyes. They come from different places, have different surnames, and have completely different experiences and backgrounds; they seem to have no connection except that they are all victims, but only Yan Xie knows that under the hidden front of their clothes, they all have that cursed red mole on their shoulders.
If three girls were lying side by side, their red moles might only be merely two inches apart.
Jiang Ting looked at the phone, there wasn't any emotion on his face, he only narrowed his pupils slightly. After a long time, he finally tapped the screen with his thumb: "Why doesn't this girl surnamed Teng have an address?"
At this time, the porridge, noodles, and side dishes were all served. Yan Xie used a white porcelain spoon to stir Jiang Ting's bowl of porridge with a four-digit price while talking about the information of Teng Wenyan investigated by Lao Gao and the situation explained by Little tattooed arms. He didn't mention the details of finding Jiang Ting's photo in the notebook: "We're currently focusing on investigating Teng Wenyan's background, trying to find out the connection between her and Wang Xingye. Wang Xingye was a broker and has a connection with the big drug lord. With him as the centre, he has created a network involving drug trafficking, kidnapping, killing people for money, and other crimes. We can't just limit ourselves to this kidnapping case, we have to knock down the entire criminal network."
Jiang Ting glanced at him: "Wang Xingye's criminal network is obviously beyond the scope of S province. You, a person from the Jianning City Bureau, want
to wipe him out? So motivated? Hmm…" Before he could finish his sentence, he was fed a spoonful of seafood porridge by Yan Xie.
The taste of seafood porridge really matched the price. It was so delicious that one could swallow their tongue. Jiang Ting was caught off guard, and was fed several mouthfuls by Yan Xie before he waved his hand to block the next wave of attacks: "Put it down, I'll do it myself…"
Yan Xie glanced back. The five-star hotel restaurant was luxuriously decorated, and there were spending requirements associated with eating here, so there weren't many people around. He waited for the moment the waiter turned his back and took a mouthful of porridge, leaned over, and quickly fed it to Jiang Ting. The delicious taste mixed back and forth between their lips and tongue, and Jiang Ting swallowed it all down unconsciously.
Just as the waiter turned around, the tip of Yan Xie's tongue immediately rolled across the top of Jiang Ting's mouth, and then he sat up straight with a serious face as if nothing had happened.
"..." Jiang Ting blushed from cheek to ear, and the waiter asked attentively, "Do you two gentlemen want some ice water?"
Yan Xie smiled and said, "No, he's not hot, he's just too excited."
The waiter didn't understand and left in doubt.
Jiang Ting wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin without raising his head: "In broad daylight…"
"The civil servant has once again openly flirted with his stay-at-home husband." Yan Xie replied, "After flirting, he still has to go back to his office to work."
Jiang Ting: "..."
"If I don't work, how can I completely destroy Wang Xingye's criminal gang?" Yan Xie looked at him playfully, and pointedly said, "If I don't kill Wang Xingye completely, how can I follow the vines and approach the King of Spades, and reveal all the secrets of this drug lord to the world?"
Yan Xie didn't know if he was mistaken, but Jiang Ting seemed to have paused for a moment.
"What's wrong?" Yan Xie asked sharply without giving him any time to react.
Jiang Ting's hands were still holding the napkin, only the top half of his face was exposed, and a pair of black pupils glanced at Yan Xie. Just as Yan Xie was waiting for him to find an excuse to cover up, he saw him raise his chin to the photo album on his mobile phone. He put down the napkin, and his whole face looked as usual: "I'm looking at this girl."
It was Bu Wei.
"What's wrong with her?" Yan Xie asked with a smile.
Jiang Ting frowned, as if he didn't feel the strangeness of Yan Xie's voice at all, and said, "I feel that she is not the same as Li Yuxin and Teng Wenyan."
——It was indeed different, after all, Bu Wei was the only one who looked like him and was called out by the King of Spades to be worth two hundred million.
Did he find out? Yan Xie's cheek muscles involuntarily tightened slightly.
However, in the next moment, Jiang Ting whispered, "Because she is the only one laughing."
In these three two-inch headshots, Li Yuxin stared blankly at the camera — that was because when Wang Xingye pressed the shutter, she knew that her mother was taking drugs, and she also knew who was taking pictures of her. The cold expression was followed by resentment and alienation towards her biological mother.
Teng Wenyan was restrained and fearful, her shoulders were shrunk cautiously — that was because she only had an elementary school education, went out to work early, and knew the hardships of life. No matter how Wang Xingye approached her to take this photo, it was normal for her to feel nervous, fearful, and afraid of offending Wang Xingye.
Only Bu Wei was smiling.
That smile wasn't obvious just by looking at the corners of the mouth. Apart from the corners of the mouth, there was also an indescribable look that seeped out from the bottom of the girl's eyes, layer by layer, unstoppable, just like a pearl from the deep sea. Even if it was placed in the dark, it could emit a gentle halo that artificial pearls could never have.
Under what circumstances did Wang Xingye take this photo of her?
What was behind the camera during the shoot that made her smile so happily?
"I see." Yan Xie said without raising his head while eating, "But this situation is more complicated. First of all, when Bu Wei was photographed, her parents had passed away for some time, and Wang Xingye appeared in her life as an adopter instead of a persecutor; Secondly, she was the youngest, only thirteen years old, and had yet to understand everything, unlike Teng Wenyan and Li Yuxin, who were sixteen or seventeen years old."
Jiang Ting stared at the smiling face of the girl on the phone screen. He closed his eyes, opened them after a few seconds, and returned the phone to Yan Xie: "She was smiling so much that I feel like something isn't right."
"Well, I originally planned to go to the hospital to chat with her tomorrow morning. Do you want to come?"
"Why are you asking me to go?"
Yan Xie didn't say a word and didn't mention Bu Wei's strange behavior several times in the hospital. He picked out the star anise from the fried beef and threw it on the table, smiled, and raised his eyebrows at Jiang Ting: "You're a little wife who has just passed through the door and hasn't received the certificate yet. How can you rest assured when your husband is visiting a female victim by himself, shouldn't you hurriedly follow him?"
Jiang Ting took a deep breath: "Vice-captain Yan, I have to…"
Before he could finish speaking, the phone rang, it was Ma Xiang.
Yan Xie raised an index finger and smiled, giving Jiang Ting a clear signal to shut up, with the words "I have the final say" written all over his face.
"Hey Ma Xiang, your Consultant Lu is sitting on my lap, acting coquettishly. What's the matter?"
"In broad daylight when the sound is very clear, Consultant Lu is openly taking liberties with our civil servant. Is it a moral distortion or a loss of human nature, or is it that Brother Yan, you finally decided to sell your body in order to solve the case?" Ma Xiang shouted, walking quickly: "If you really want to sell, do it quickly. If unfortunately that grandson surnamed Wang is arrested tomorrow, there will be no reason for you to sell the beauty you have treasured for more than 30 years!"
"F*ck you, are you testing my spirit as the nation's policeman? We still have to arrest Wang Xingye." Yan Xie asked, "What are you doing? Any clues?"
"No!"
"Then…"
"Two months ago, during Ding Jiawang and Hu Weisheng's drug case, a sniper detonated the crime scene on the night of the operation. After the incident, comprehensive ballistic recovery, public security monitoring, eyewitness testimony, and DNA test of the bloodstains at the crime scene and so on were carried out. You asked the technical team to reconstruct the 3D image of the suspect's face, and handed it over to the provincial department for data tracking…"
Yan Xie interrupted him: "Are you trying to say that the provincial department can't find out anything, and can only submit it to the Ministry?"
"The Ministry just sent a matching result to our city bureau." Ma Xiang paused for a while and then asked mysteriously: "Guess why the provincial department couldn't find this person before?"
Yan Xie put the phone to his ear and frowned.
He could feel Jiang Ting's eyes staring at him from the side, but as if he didn't see it, he tapped the edge of the table with his middle finger. After pondering for a while, a certain guess gradually became clear in his mind, and he couldn't help taking a deep breath:
"…He is a foreigner?"
"Yes!" Ma Xiang said frustratedly: "After so long, it turns out that that son of a bitch isn't Chinese at all. He is of Burmese-Chinese descent. He has left a large number of criminal records in Myanmar for murder and smuggling. He's a f*cking professional recidivist!"
"Send his criminal record information." Yan Xie ordered immediately and then brought out a sentence as if he was saying casually: "It happens that your consultant Lu is here. Let him help us take a look, maybe he knows other clues."
Jiang Ting's fingers on the table shrank back slightly.
Translator's Note:
(1) Passed through the door: got married.