Куры и собаки летают в хаосе и возрождении

Глава 36

The woman smiled at me, waved her hand, and said...

"Long time no see." I'm sure I've never seen her before. Then she walked towards me step by step. I was scared and tried to throw things at her, but it didn't work. She stood in front of me, and I felt many eyes staring at me. Then... then... then I know nothing more. When I woke up, I saw you all.

Xia Chen then asked, "Do you remember what that woman looked like?"

Su Youqing thought for a moment and shook her head. "Her face was shrouded in a black mist; you couldn't see anything except her eyes. Tell me quickly, what happened? What did that woman do to me?"

"It's nothing. You were drawing before we came in." Xia Chen picked up a piece of drawing paper from the ground and handed it to Su Youqing. Her mental state was very unstable at the moment, so Xia Chen decided not to tell her about Zheng Yubing.

Su Youqing didn't believe it. "Is this my drawing? It's so ugly! Even a three-year-old in kindergarten could draw something better."

"Teacher Su! What are you doing here?" A middle-aged, balding man walked in. "Didn't I call you yesterday to tell you that a teaching evaluation team is coming to the school today? You're in charge of the art museum's guided tours, and they'll be here in half an hour. Look at you! It's true that artists are often a bit eccentric, but you're not usually like this. You'll scare the expert team. Go and tidy yourself up." This rambling man was Wang Shaoyi, the school's director of academic affairs.

Two indistinct and difficult-to-distinguish words escaped Su Youqing's throat, "...Xiao...Sheng..."

Xia Chen was extremely sensitive to those two words and immediately asked, "Teacher Su, what did you just say?"

Su Youqing's reaction was strange. "Did I just speak? I don't remember doing that."

Director Wang gave Su Youqing a complicated look, then pulled her aside. "What do you mean 'small'? This is a big deal. The principal has repeatedly emphasized that this is a serious matter and must be handled with care. I don't want to cause any accidents that would make the principal furious and deduct my year-end bonus. I was hoping to use that bonus to buy a new car, so, Ms. Su, please get ready quickly. I'll be waiting for you at the entrance of the college gallery."

Su Youqing followed Director Wang out of the studio. Before leaving, Director Wang and Xia Chen exchanged a glance. Luo Shimin saw a lot in their eyes. There must be something between them. Luo Shimin wanted to know, but she wouldn't ask. If Xia Chen wanted her to know, he would tell her sooner or later.

Only Luo Shimin and Xia Chen remained in the studio. Luo Shimin asked, "Teacher Su's mental state is very unstable. Can we believe what she says? Is the woman she's talking about Tian Zi?"

“I don’t know either.” Xia Chen shook his head. “Teacher Su has no reason to lie to us. Either she really saw a strange woman, or she’s hallucinating. The key is that we don’t have a way to verify what she said. We’ll talk to her again when she’s done with her work to find out more about the situation.”

"So what do we do now?"

Xia Chen glanced down at the trash scattered on the floor. "Let's clean it up; there's so much garbage here." He opened the window, letting fresh air in and dispersing the stench. Luo Shimin reached for a trash bag to put the garbage in, but Xia Chen turned around and saw that Luo Shimin's hand was bleeding, yet she didn't seem to feel any pain. "Shimin, what happened to your hand?"

"My hand?" Luo Shimin then noticed that his right hand was bleeding. There was a wound about four centimeters long on his palm, and it was very deep, almost cutting through her hand. Xia Chen covered her palm, and blood flowed from between his fingers. Luo Shimin then felt the pain, and Xia Chen pulled her towards the infirmary.

"Wait a minute, let me see what hurt me." Luo Shimin kicked away the trash on the ground. Underneath the trash was half a broken sword; it was what cut her hand. Xia Chen tried to pick it up, but the moment his fingers touched the blade, a cut appeared on his fingertip. A drop of blood fell onto the blade, rolled to the ground, and left no trace on the blade. Luo Shimin sighed, "What a fast sword! It's comparable to my brother's Great Xia Dragon Sparrow."

Xia Chen suddenly remembered some scenes from his dream and exclaimed, "This is the Crow Nine Sword broken in two! How did it get here?" This was a treasure! He found two wooden sticks and used them to clamp the broken sword. What kind of force could break such a sharp sword?

Luo Shimin exclaimed with delight, "What a treasure! I'll call my brother and ask him to turn the broken sword into a dagger."

"Before your brother arrives, I'd better get your hand wound treated first. He'll go crazy if he sees it." Xia Chen led Luo Shimin towards the infirmary. After treating Luo Shimin's wound, the two waited for Su Youqing at the gallery entrance, but she didn't show up. After explaining things to the assessment team, Su Youqing was taken to have dinner with them and drank some alcohol. When the two found Su Youqing again, she was completely drunk. After taking Su Youqing home, she mysteriously disappeared.

At that moment, Ye Cheng made a significant discovery.

011 Ye Cheng's Discovery

Police station, archives reading room.

In front of Ye Cheng was a small mountain of files, most of which were yellowed and had a faint musty smell.

After seeing Xia Chen and the others off, Ye Cheng and Li Xiao returned to the archives. Ye Cheng said, "We should do something. We can't let that little girl die like this. She's still young and doesn't know anything."

"How can we save her? We have no leads."

Behind Ye Cheng were rows of filing shelves, which he could see with just a turn of his head. These filing shelves gave him inspiration.

"Go and find all the files and documents related to Yishi Academy, including criminal records, police reports, household registration information, etc. Find everything that has the name 'Yishi' on it. The murderer has been active for so many years, so he might have left some clues. We need to find them."

Li Xiao thought for a moment and said, "This is a huge project that will take a lot of time; it's like finding a needle in a haystack."

“Anyway, we don’t have any cases on hand, we have plenty of time.” Ye Cheng gave Li Xiao a push. “Do it, do as I say, my girl.” And that’s how the scene at the beginning came about.

Watching Li Xiao repeatedly place boxes of files on the table, Xia Chen's head was spinning. Each box of files could keep him looking at it for five or six hours; there were at least thirty boxes in front of him. Li Xiao put down one box, turned, and left. Ye Cheng asked, "Are there more?"

Li Xiao smiled slightly, revealing eight white teeth. "There aren't many left. There are only three boxes left outside. I suggest you start reading now. If we work hard and read quickly, we might be able to finish before midnight."

Ye Cheng wiped the thick layer of dust off the file box with his hand, took out a thick stack of documents and started reading. After Li Xiao finished moving the last three boxes of documents, he moved over a more comfortable soft chair and quietly started reading the documents.

An hour later, Ye Cheng roared, "This is a theft record. You found it just because the suspect lived near Yishi School, and it happened twenty years ago."

Li Xiao grinned mischievously, "You told me to find all the information containing the name 'Yi Shi,' and I did it. No need to thank me, just treat me to a meal."

Ye Cheng put down the documents in his hand and picked up another stack of documents.

Two hours later, Ye Cheng was exhausted from looking at the documents but hadn't found any useful clues. He put down the folder and saw that Li Xiao was still intently studying the documents. His eyes lit up, and he said, "These documents are useless. Maybe we should look at the classified police documents. Perhaps the clues we're looking for are in there."

Without looking up, Li Xiao said, "Your police rank is too low. If you work hard for five years, we might be able to see the lowest-level documents in the classified files."

Ye Cheng lowered his head, trying to look into Li Xiao's eyes. When someone lies, their pupils dilate. Ye Cheng's head was almost touching the table, and he could only see Li Xiao's eyelashes moving; she was blinking, but that didn't prove anything. Ye Cheng pressed on, "Where did you find the information you gave me? I want to see it."

"Here it is, take a look." Li Xiao seemed to have been prepared, pushing a stack of documents on her left to Ye Cheng without looking up, and her tone of voice was unremarkable.

Ye Cheng took the file box and retrieved the documents inside. The paper was slightly yellowed, and the ink was old-fashioned. The content was exactly the same as the one Li Xiao had given him; everything was so realistic it could easily be mistaken for the real thing. However, as a veteran police officer with three or four years of experience, Ye Cheng noticed something amiss. He held the paper to his nose and smelled it; a pungent odor lingered on it—the smell of chemicals. The paper had been artificially aged. "What's that smell on this paper? It's awful."

"Does it smell strange?" Li Xiao took it and smelled it. "It might smell like mold because it's damp."

The explanation was a bit far-fetched, and Ye Cheng didn't want to confront Li Xiao directly yet, so he continued to probe.

"I asked some veteran officers at the bureau, and a similar case happened at Yishi Academy a few years ago. The person who was attacked was from the Xia Group, I think his name was Xia Guangxi. How come he's not in this file?"

Li Xiao's expression changed drastically. She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, and her voice trembled a little, "How would I know? I didn't enter the files. It's possible that the Xia Group didn't want to leave a record with the police. They bribed someone or pressured their superiors to not leave a record. With the Xia Group's status, that's easy for them to do."

Ye Cheng stared at Li Xiao and said, "Do you think there might be people from the Xia Group in our police force?"

"Perhaps." Li Xiao quickly regained his composure. Xia Chen was certain that Li Xiao was no ordinary person; his ability to strictly control his emotions suggested he had received relevant training. This kind of training wasn't easily accessible, and even with the Xia Group's wealth and power, it couldn't send its own people to undergo such training. Combining this with Li Xiao's actions, Xia Chen concluded that Li Xiao harbored a major secret. "One day I will uncover this secret. Right now, I should focus on finding clues to save people," Ye Cheng thought, picking up a stack of documents and intently reading them.

At 11:10 PM, after Ye Cheng and Li Xiao's tireless efforts, only one box of documents remained from the mountain in front of them, and they hadn't found any useful information. Ye Cheng's backside was aching from sitting in the chair all day. Li Xiao rubbed his eyes, glanced at the time, stood up, stretched his stiff body, and walked towards the door. "What are you doing?" Ye Cheng asked.

“Go back to sleep. It’s already eleven o’clock. I’ve been working for more than ten hours straight without any overtime pay. Lack of sleep will make your skin rough. So, I won’t help you look at the last box of documents. They’re all household registration documents anyway. You can look at them by yourself. I’m sure you can finish them quickly.”

"There's an old Chinese saying that goes, 'What begins must end.' If we watch it together, it'll be over in less than two hours. But if I'm left to watch it alone, it'll take me three to four hours. You'll have to work a little longer."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but beauty is of paramount importance to a woman. Before you leave, I'd like to offer a friendly reminder: when you're alone in this huge archive room, it's best to turn off all the overhead lights and use a desk lamp instead. The director is currently promoting energy conservation; if he finds out, you might have your bonus docked." Li Xiao swayed smugly as she walked out of the archive room, casually turning off all the overhead lights.

"Damn it!" Ye Cheng turned on the desk lamp. He had already read through thousands of documents, and regardless of their usefulness, he had to finish this last box. He couldn't stand by and watch an innocent girl die. Even if he couldn't save Zheng Yubing, he had tried his best to save her.

At 1:23 AM, while most people were fast asleep, Ye Cheng's eyes were bloodshot. Under the dim light of his desk lamp, he was reviewing the last file in the folder. He had given up all hope; once he finished this file, he could wash up and go to sleep. He hoped that tomorrow would bring a clue to save that poor girl.

"What is this?" Ye Cheng's eyes widened at the sight of an old file. "No...it's impossible...how...how...could this be!" Overwhelmed with surprise, he tilted his chair backward and fell to the ground with a thud. The fall was quite hard, but ignoring the pain, Ye Cheng got up, folded the old file, and put it in his police uniform pocket. "I need to tell Xia Chen this immediately." Ye Cheng dialed Xia Chen's cell phone, but Xia Chen was fast asleep, and the phone was on silent mode. He dialed three times without getting through. Ye Cheng then dialed Luo Shimin's cell phone, but it was switched off. After much hesitation, Ye Cheng dialed Hu Rongrong's cell phone.

Thank goodness, the call connected this time. Hu Rongrong's voice was muffled; she had been woken from a deep sleep and was somewhat annoyed.

"You damn cop, what's the matter that you have to call in the middle of the night? I'm exhausted after a long day, and I just had a chance to sleep for a bit."

"You're not at Yishi Academy? Where are you?"

"I'm taking care of Zheng Yubing and Shui Lan at the hospital. What do you need? Is it related to Zheng Yubing?"

"Uh... I'll talk to Xia Chen instead. You get some rest." Ye Cheng hung up the phone, rubbed his butt, and ran out of the archives. He muttered to himself, "This discovery is too important. I have to tell Xia Chen immediately. It seems I have to make the trip myself. I've done a great service, but it's a pity I can't report it to the bureau and ask for a reward."

After waiting for half an hour outside the police station, Ye Cheng finally got a taxi and headed straight for Yishi Academy. In the taxi, Ye Cheng felt a strong sense of unease. The closer they got to Yishi Academy, the stronger the feeling became. Ye Cheng believed that people in certain professions had a special professional intuition, like flight attendants who had certain premonitions before a plane crash. Ye Cheng was certain something bad would happen to him tonight. Just in case, Ye Cheng sent Li Xiao a text message: "I've made a major discovery in the household registration files. I'm going to Yishi Academy now to tell Xia Chen about this major discovery. If everything goes smoothly, I'll have solved the mystery of Zheng Yubing's coma and the long-standing bizarre murder case by tomorrow morning. From now on, call me Detective!"

"We've arrived at Yishi Academy. Twenty-one yuan and fifty cents, thank you. Would you like a receipt, officer?"

"No need." The bureau chief definitely wouldn't reimburse him; he'd have to pay for the travel expenses himself.

The taxi stopped at the entrance of Yishi Academy. The campus was shrouded in darkness, and the night wind, carrying a chill, seeped into Ye Cheng's clothes. Ye Cheng shivered and cursed, "Damn it, how can the wind be so cold in the summer?" The various terrifying stories circulating in this academy and his encounter with the eerie made him feel a little comfortable. In all his years as a policeman, this was the first time he had experienced such a situation.

His discovery was important and he had to tell Xia Chen. Ye Cheng glanced at the security guard who was fast asleep in the duty room, nimbly jumped over the iron gate, and stepped into Yishi Academy. His leather shoes made a crisp sound on the campus's cement pavement. Ye Cheng disliked hearing footsteps at this time; it always made him feel like someone was following him in the dark.

The campus was shrouded in a hazy, gray gloom!

The old building leading to Xia Chen's dormitory is a path leading to the pilgrimage route, and Xia Chen dislikes the gloomy atmosphere of the old building.

The old building was right in front of him, and a chilling night wind suddenly began to seep into Ye Cheng's body. A very bad feeling suddenly rushed into his heart. He saw a figure dart into the old building!

Ye Cheng rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things; there really was a figure walking into the old building.

Thief? Impossible. The old building has a bad reputation, and there's nothing valuable inside. Anyone who goes into the old building so late must have something up their sleeve. It's not too late to wake Xia Chen later. Xia Chen followed him into the old building.

Ye Cheng gripped the doorknob and slowly pushed it open with a piercing creak. A hazy, still-present silence filled the air. The old building's corridor was unusually cold and lifeless. A furry creature scurried past Ye Cheng's feet, startling him and making him jump.

It was a large rat, staring at Ye Cheng, its tiny, bean-sized eyes gleaming eerily.

Ye Cheng stomped his foot hard, trying to scare the rat away. The rat wasn't afraid at all, staring intently at Ye Cheng without moving, which only frightened him more. The rat's mouth moved, making a human-like smile, then it turned and ran away, disappearing into the darkness of the old building. Ye Cheng was stunned!

After a while, Ye Cheng laughed and said, "I was startled by a big rat like a girl!" After his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, Ye Cheng walked into the corridor.

As Ye Cheng reached the stairs, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if the source of terror was all around him, yet he couldn't find it. It was as if, somewhere in the building, a pair of eyes were watching him, but he didn't know whose eyes they were, or what kind of eyes they were!

Ye Cheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and shouted into the darkness, "Who's there? Come out now, I'm a policeman!" His words had no effect. Ye Cheng took out his phone, and the instant the screen lit up, a figure silently appeared beside him, illuminating his face. Ye Cheng cried out in surprise, "It's you!" He took two steps back in shock, but when he opened his mouth again, no sound came out!

The phone light shone on his face, revealing his eyes. Ye Cheng suddenly felt suffocated, unable to breathe, and his body began to tremble, as if the world had stopped. His eyes were the most terrifying thing Ye Cheng had ever seen.

She slowly raised her hand, and Ye Cheng felt a cold breath enter his body; his eyes felt itchy. "Oh, no..." Ye Cheng tried to cry out but couldn't, collapsing onto the stairs.

012 The Comatose Policeman

ah!

Xia Chen stretched, feeling utterly uncomfortable after his nap. He'd had several nightmares, and couldn't remember anything about what happened in them. Xia Chen noticed his phone beside him. Around 2 AM, Ye Cheng had called him three times, clearly having made a significant discovery. Xia Chen called back, but no one answered. "That kid's definitely sleeping," Ye Cheng thought. He got out of bed, washed up, went to find Luo Shimin for breakfast, then went to the hospital to take care of the patient, letting Hu Rongrong get some rest.

After having breakfast with Luo Shimin, the two walked hand in hand towards the school gate. Luo Shimin's other hand was wrapped in thick white bandage. As they passed the old building, they saw many students crowded in the corridor looking at something. Xia Chen stopped a student and asked, "What happened in the old building again?"

"A male police officer collapsed next to the steps and couldn't be woken up no matter how much they called him."

Xia Chen had a bad feeling, "Could it be Ye Cheng? He called me three times last night."

“We’ll see when we get there.” Luo Shimin walked towards the old building. Xia Chen dialed Ye Cheng’s number again, and the familiar ringtone came from the crowd. Xia Chen exclaimed, “Oh no, it really is that kid Ye!”

The two tried to squeeze through, but there were too many students watching, and Xia Chen wasn't strong enough. Luo Shimin shouted angrily, "Get out of my way!" Seeing that Luo Shimin was angry, the students obediently made way for them.

"Ye Cheng!" Xia Chen rushed over, but no matter how loudly he called or how hard he shook Ye Cheng, he couldn't wake him. Even pinching his philtrum didn't work. Luo Shimin dialed the emergency number. Five minutes later, the ambulance arrived and took Ye Cheng, Luo, and Xia to the hospital. Ye Cheng's symptoms were similar to Zheng Yubing's, but slightly different. The EEG monitor on his head showed no response. He was also admitted to the intensive care unit, right next to Zheng Yubing's, and the two became neighbors. His treatment was slightly worse than Zheng Yubing's; there was no sterile room, no oxygen, no vital signs monitoring, and the medical staff weren't even sure if the police would reimburse Ye Cheng's medical expenses.

Li Xiao also rushed over, and everyone stood in front of Ye Cheng's bed. Xia Chen said remorsefully, "It's all my fault. He must have found some clues. He couldn't get through to me on the phone, so he came to Yishi Academy to find me."

“He did discover something. He sent me a text message, but he didn’t tell me what he discovered.” Li Xiao took out his phone, found the text message, and showed it to everyone.

Hu Rongrong said sadly, "He also called me, wanting to say something to me, but I didn't give him the chance."

Xia Chen asked Li Xiao, "What did you investigate yesterday?"

"After seeing you off, the two of us went to the archives and found all the files related to Yishi Academy. We looked at them together until after 11 o'clock. There was only one box of household registration files left, and then I left. Did you check his pockets? The files might still be on him."

Xia Chen said, "We would have done it long ago without you reminding us. His phone and wallet were all there, but we didn't find any useful information. You're a police officer too, what clues do you think we could find in the household registration information?"

“I’m a trainee police officer,” Li Xiao reiterated her identity. “Household registration files usually only record things like changes in household registration and name. It’s impossible for them to contain important clues. Before coming here, I went to the archives and looked at the last folder Officer Ye looked at. It was full of files from twenty years ago, some parts were missing, and there were no backups, so it’s impossible to determine what clue Officer Ye found.” Xia Chen frowned and said, “Could Ye Cheng’s discovery be related to names? What kind of name information would make him so anxious to see me at dawn?”

Li Xiao looked at the unconscious Ye Cheng and said, "Only he knows now. He even texted me, why didn't he tell me?" Luo Shimin hesitated, but Xia Chen gave her a look, and she remained silent.

Hu Rongrong suggested, "Why don't we bring Meng Po over again? Maybe she can find out what that stinky cop found."