Alma Espejo Antigua

Capítulo 5

Chen Chen peeked out from behind the computer screen, saw him, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes. He pointed to the chair in front of him and said, "Da Xu, come and sit down." He was in his early fifties, and his good lifestyle made him look energetic, with a physique that he still had when he was young. However, his appearance was extremely serious, and even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were very rigid, giving people the illusion that he was in a bad mood.

Xu Haicheng saluted him and sat down properly in front of him.

Chen Chen looked him over, frowning slightly. "You don't look well."

Xu Haicheng smiled wryly, thinking that no one could have nightmares every night and still be full of energy.

"Dr. Huo said you never tell him anything, and he can't do anything about it." Chen Chen tossed a cigarette to Xu Haicheng, lit one for himself, leaned back in his chair, and exhaled a string of smoke rings. "Xu, you keep everything to yourself; that's not a good thing."

Xu Haicheng remained silent.

"How can one possibly do everything right in life? Just be true to yourself."

Xu Haicheng said sadly, "Chief, I just can't say I have a clear conscience. If I had been able to control things back then, the brawl wouldn't have happened, and those four people wouldn't have died..."

Chen Chen waved his hand, stopping him from continuing. "The special investigation team has issued a report saying that the situation was complex at the time, and no one was responsible for the melee. The troops stationed in Jingyun City also agreed to close the matter. As for those four people... didn't you also get shot three times and almost die? When you were transported back to Nanpu People's Hospital, you were barely recognizable as a human." A thought struck him, and he narrowed his eyes, staring at Xu Haicheng. "You don't have other plans, do you?"

Part One, Section 10: Chapter Two, Part Two of the Formation of Calamity (4)

Xu Haicheng's heart skipped a beat, but he said aloud, "What other plans?"

"Da Xu, you can't fool me. You still want to go for a stroll in the deep mountains of Jingyun, don't you?" Seeing that Xu Haicheng no longer had any doubts, she pointed at him with a cigarette, "I knew you had this bad temper; you wouldn't give up."

Xu Haicheng took a deep drag on his cigarette and said sadly, "Xiao Zhang and...she's both there..." He couldn't finish his sentence and just kept smoking.

Mentioning Xiao Zhang, Director Chen also looked somber, sullenly smoking a cigarette: "I actually miss that kid Zhang Xiaofeng quite a bit."

The air pressure inside the room dropped so low that the two of them were struggling to breathe.

After a long silence, Director Chen said, "It's the dead of winter, and it's not convenient to go into the mountains. I'll definitely give you leave early next year, and you can go then. But don't come back looking like a dead man." He paused, then added, "Go back to the team now. Staying idle at home all day will only make you overthink things." His tone was still authoritative, but Xu Haicheng understood the underlying care and concern. He looked at the graying temples of Director Chen and nodded emphatically.

Director Chen rarely smiled, and said, "Alright, that girl named Pan Xiaolu will be your assistant."

Xu Haicheng was slightly taken aback, thinking to himself, "When did the director start managing the personnel arrangements for the Criminal Investigation Brigade?"

"This young lady is doing an excellent job at the branch office. Mentor her and nurture her into a promising talent." Seeing Xu Haicheng still standing there with a puzzled look, Director Chen waved his hand and said, "Go on, the comrades in the Criminal Investigation Brigade are eagerly awaiting your return."

Xu Haicheng nodded, left the bureau chief's office, and went downstairs to the large office of the Criminal Investigation Brigade. As soon as he entered, he heard someone excitedly shout, "Captain Xu, you're back!" Then everyone put down their work and swarmed around him, some patting his shoulder and others hugging him.

Xu Haicheng felt an indescribable surge of emotion. During his illness, he had considered leaving the police force, but at this moment he immediately realized how foolish that thought was.

Amidst the commotion, Pan Xiaolu simply stood on the sidelines, watching Xu Haicheng smile. She was an outsider in this reunion. When she transferred to the Municipal Bureau, Xu Haicheng was pursuing a research team from Nanpu University into the remote Jingyun Mountains, so they missed each other. Later, when Xu Haicheng was hospitalized, she visited him with colleagues, only exchanging a brief greeting. However, being in the Criminal Investigation Brigade, she frequently heard Xu Haicheng's name. For example, when a case came up, someone would say, "What if Captain Xu were here?" Or, at colleague gatherings, she would always hear tales of Xu Haicheng's heroic deeds. She had long admired this key figure in the Criminal Investigation Brigade, and today's enthusiasm made her truly feel everyone's love for him.

Surrounded by everyone's enthusiasm, Xu Haicheng inadvertently met Pan Xiaolu's smiling eyes, paused for a moment, then smiled back. Given the heavy workload, everyone joked around for a while before dispersing and returning to their work. Xu Haicheng also returned to his office; he hadn't been back in a long time. His last visit had been brief, without time to tidy up, and the office remained exactly as it had been six months ago.

Xu Haicheng surveyed everything, both familiar and strange. Dust covered the corners, a book lay open on the desk, and one of his clothes hung on the coat rack… Six months ago, upon hearing of the accident involving the expedition team, he and Xiao Zhang rushed to the Jingyun Mountains. He was then seriously injured and transported back to Nanpu City People's Hospital, where he lay in bed for five months, undergoing twenty major and minor surgeries. After being discharged, he frequently had to go to the hospital for psychological rehabilitation, and even then, his right hand was no longer flexible. Many times he thought he would never return to this office, but when he actually stepped inside, he felt as if he had never left.

He walked to his desk and sat down, casually flipping through the book lying open on it, "Ancient Sacrificial Culture." It was a book about various sacrificial rituals; he had recently borrowed it from Fang Li to study a case involving the sacrificial practices of ethnic minorities. On the title page was a sentence: "A person's life is nothing more than a series of sacrificial rituals."

He then asked Fang Li what the sentence meant, and she said, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is for worshipping the Moon Goddess, the Lantern Festival is for worshipping the Taiyi God, and the Little New Year is for worshipping the Kitchen God. Chinese traditional festivals are all days of worship. A person's life is made up of sacrifices, both big and small. This sentence means that life is a kind of sacrifice."

In the lower right corner of the title page was a line of small print: "Purchased by Fang Li on July 6, 2004." Her handwriting was as delicate as she was. He gently stroked the two characters "Fang Li," and a certain part of his heart became unusually vulnerable.

A soft knock on the door interrupted Xu Haicheng's thoughts. He composed himself, watched Pan Xiaolu enter, saluted sharply, and said, "Team Leader Xu, Pan Xiaolu is here to report for duty."

Xu Haicheng looked at her in surprise, puzzled.

Pan Xiaolu was also taken aback for a moment, then said, "The director said he wants me to be your assistant."

Part One, Section 11: Chapter Two, Part Two of the Formation of Calamity (5)

"Oh." Xu Haicheng suddenly realized. Things had happened so suddenly that he didn't know what to say for a moment. He just thought he needed to get Pan Xiaolu's file later and talk to Director Chen about which direction he wanted to cultivate Pan Xiaolu. Suddenly remembering what happened at the subway station yesterday, he asked, "What was in that wooden box?"

Pan Xiaolu was taken aback. "What wooden box?"

"It's the wooden box that Xu San stole."

"Xu San?" Pan Xiaolu asked, full of doubt. "Who is that?"

Xu Haicheng was taken aback, looking up at her closely; her puzzled expression seemed genuine. Pan Xiaolu, feeling embarrassed by his gaze, said, "Captain Xu, should I go ask who arrested Xu San?"

Xu Haicheng shook his head. "Don't you remember what happened at the subway station yesterday afternoon?"

Pan Xiaolu was very surprised. "What happened at the subway station? Does it have anything to do with me?"

Xu Haicheng pondered for a moment, then asked, "Alright then, what were you doing around 4:30 yesterday afternoon?"

"Yesterday I took the day off to take my parents to the train station, around 4 PM."

"Then what?"

"Then I took the subway home and got home at 6:30." Pan Xiaolu, who had been looking surprised, suddenly became expressionless and said the sentence very crisply, but her tone was very rigid and monotone, which was not like her usual tone of voice at all. It sounded more like she was reciting a book.

Xu Haicheng vaguely sensed something and said, "Say it again, what happened next?" He deliberately used "next" instead of "then".

"Then I took the subway home, arriving home at 6:30." Pan Xiaolu remained expressionless, answering very crisply and deliberately, with the same pace and intonation as when she said the same sentence earlier, even using the same words, even though Xu Haicheng intentionally used "later" to lead the conversation.

Xu Haicheng's heart sank, but still clinging to a sliver of hope, he thought for a moment and asked, "Were there any other people at home at the time?"

"No, my parents went to another city." Pan Xiaolu's tone returned to its previous tone, and even her expression returned to slight surprise.

"So that means no one can verify exactly what time you got home?"

Pan Xiaolu was taken aback, then said somewhat displeased, "Captain Xu, what do you mean by this? Are you treating me like a suspect?"

"Xiaolu, let me tell you what happened in the subway station last night..." Xu Haicheng recounted the events at the subway station in a few words. Pan Xiaolu became more and more surprised as she listened, raising her eyebrows high and saying, "Did all these things really happen? Did I meet you last night?" There was still a hint of doubt in her tone, which was understandable, as she had no recollection of what Xu Haicheng was talking about.

Xu Haicheng sighed helplessly and said, "Yes."