Военный советник и принцесса

Глава 14

Yachalan... Yadan...

The name should be correct. Then, she racked her brains to confirm her background, including her key experiences so far—twenty years old, ran away from home two years ago, wandering the world with her beloved Xiao Hei, struggling in society using her special abilities and her identity as a Yao ethnic witch. Although she didn't know what her life's purpose was, seeing people believe in her abilities and entrust her with communicating with spirits gave her immense satisfaction. A few months ago, Xiao Hei was severely injured in a magical battle, and to alleviate its suffering, she ended its life. When burying it, she vowed to repay it. After that, she was truly alone. Seeking revenge, she arrived at this secluded inn a few days ago. Yes, the current situation began the moment she stepped into that inn.

The defeat in last night's magical duel left her severely injured. She still vividly remembers the final blow that left her completely defenseless and collapsed on the bed. The lingering pain in her lower abdomen is a reminder that her kidneys have been damaged. Even after a whole day, she hasn't been able to fully recover. She needs herbs, she needs rest.

…The hotel owner wasn't the fair-skinned man she'd met the previous two times she'd stayed there, so when she stumbled to the front desk, she wasn't sure she'd get any help. However, this burly man was still very enthusiastic, even though she knew he had ulterior motives. Beneath his fleshy face was a repulsive expression, his gaze slowly stripping her bare. But she didn't refuse his help; she even smiled and thanked him.

The moon slowly rose, and she now knew it was two in the morning, but she couldn't tell how long she had been lying there. From the initial state of being awakened by a nightmare, to now, after her consciousness and senses returned to her body, she began to feel an icy chill and a tearing pain in her lower body, a pressing sensation in her neck that she couldn't shake off, and scratches on her face. These sensations began to crawl up her body like ants, making her tremble in waves.

...His hands were large, and he easily subdued her with both of them. She struggled desperately, but was powerless to fight back. The pain from her internal injuries, combined with the weakness after the fight, left her completely at his mercy. Her mouth was gagged, and tears and snot almost covered her nose, making it difficult for her to breathe. The excruciating pain fueled her immense anger, and she spent a full hour in this state.

...Perhaps seeing the resentful and terrifying look in her eyes, he ultimately did not let her go, his neck tightly gripped until she lost consciousness. She thought she was going to die, and her soul even left her body for a moment, but she eventually woke up again.

...Was he not destined to die?

A rustling sound came from not far away, accompanied by the crunch of footsteps on the grass and the rustling of leaves; someone was walking towards them. Her nerves tightened instantly, realizing she was still in danger, but the overwhelming pain and weakness throughout her body left her with no choice but to wait helplessly for the final moment to arrive. She closed her eyes.

Footsteps, the clanging of metal, the thud of a bundle falling to the ground. Then silence returned. Was he observing? Was he confirming? Did he know I was awake? What would he do? How would he dispose of my "corpse"?

Footsteps approached slowly, accompanied by faint breathing. He was getting closer.

Closing my eyes wasn't an option, playing dead wasn't an option, because I was still breathing, and my eyes hadn't closed since he strangled me. He moved closer to me; he wanted to check on my condition one last time.

I hate him! I curse him! I want to take his life! I won't let him go even in death!

She suddenly opened her eyes, and he, who was shining a flashlight in their direction, immediately screamed in terror upon seeing her open her eyes. He dropped the flashlight, scrambled to the side, grabbed the handle of the axe, and with all his might, raised it high…

******************************

The burial site was well concealed; no one would suspect that a "resurrected" person was buried there. He straightened up, panting, wiping the sweat from his brow, and surveyed the area again. Willows, pines, and countless locust trees—he vowed never to return; the scene was etched into his mind. He hastily gathered his tools, only to discover her bag lying nearby. This infuriated him; it should have been buried with her. How could he have forgotten in his panic? The bag had been searched; only the phone held some value; everything else should have been gone forever.

He looked at the earth again, for he had a nagging feeling that she, buried beneath the soil, was not dead, but still struggling. Even though he had buried her deep, he had a persistent urge for her to break through the earth. Dew and sweat had completely soaked his clothes, and his trousers, stained with her blood, were unrecognizable, clinging tightly to his legs. Despite working for so long, he felt no fatigue. Although it had just rained and the soil was loose, this pit would have taken two workers half a day to dig, but he had finished in a few hours. Luckily, he had anticipated the difficulty of digging and brought an axe instead of a pickaxe; otherwise, things would have been very difficult.

What to do with the bag?

A voice rose in his heart: No one will pay attention to this little girl. No one cares whether she lives or dies. Otherwise, why would someone so young be running around instead of going to school, and why would no one look for her? Why would no one care about her serious illness? Now that she's disappeared from this earth, just leave her bag in the cabin. The staff will assume it's something a guest left behind. Hide the registration book later too; burning it now would only arouse suspicion. Dawn is approaching. I'll leave the hotel at dawn. I won't wait for Lao San anymore. I need to leave immediately. I can't think about her anymore.

What was her name again? Wang Ya?

My name is Yachalan-Yadang...

A faint sound rose from the ground in front of him, like a sharp sword piercing his heart. He howled, grabbed his belongings, and ran back. A branch tripped him, and the axe fell to the ground. He didn't pick it up; he got up, grabbed his bag, and kept running. As he passed through the bushes, the bloodstains on his trousers smeared onto the rain- and dew-kissed leaves. The bloodstains slowly spread, turning from dark red to bright red, until they disappeared into the distance with his frantic footsteps…

47. The Final Mystery - Who is the Murderer? (1)

Closing the diary, Li Hong and Zheng Zhihao exchanged a glance, a sense of victory in sight, and couldn't help but smile. Now, many things about Ya Chaolan's life were quite clear. By putting together all the evidence they could find (including ghost testimonies and Li Hong's dreams), they were able to clearly piece together what happened after Ya Chaolan left home.

Ya Chaolan left home at 18, wandering with her beloved cat, Xiao Hei, using her special abilities. She went to many places and experienced many things. In a magical battle during her last few months (Zheng Zhihao didn't understand magical battles very well, so he didn't explain much), Xiao Hei suffered severe internal injuries. To end its suffering as soon as possible, Ya Chaolan cruelly buried Xiao Hei in the bathroom of room 104. Because Xiao Hei had always been her assistant and possessed a high level of spirituality, the shock, disappointment, and pain in Xiao Hei's heart when it was buried alive with its throat cut greatly enhanced its soul energy. Ultimately, in the relatively enclosed, damp, and dark environment, it completed the black cat soul-collecting ritual (now Zheng Zhihao also admits that Ya Chaolan certainly didn't possess this ancient witchcraft, so this witchcraft must have been completed unintentionally).

Two months later, Ya Chaolan returned to the hotel to avenge Xiao Hei. However, she failed to achieve her revenge and suffered severe internal injuries, forcing her to recuperate at the hotel. There, she encountered the murderer (the details of their meeting are unknown). The murderer, lusting after her, took advantage of her weakened state and raped and killed her. (Zheng Zhihao added that if Ya Chaolan had been in good health, the murderer likely wouldn't have succeeded, as her diary contained records of aggressive black magic, suggesting she had mastered it.) The murderer then buried the body in a desolate forest under cover of night and fled alone. (Li Hong added that due to the lack of an autopsy and the limited scope of the dream, the primary crime scene cannot be confirmed as the murder scene; the murderer may not have directly attacked Ya Chaolan with an axe in room 104, but may have knocked her unconscious before moving to a secondary crime scene.)

Since the murderer did not return to the hotel at night afterward (he should have returned to the hotel during the day to steal the register, but later found that no one had noticed Achalan's death, so he only hid the register, and the cleaner accidentally found the register and provided a clue), Achalan's ghost continued to linger near the hotel until the black cat soul-collecting ritual took effect and triggered two strange suicides.

The two unjustly killed ghosts boosted Ya Chaolan's soul field energy, but Li Hong and Zheng Zhihao arrived and broke her ritual, preventing her from continuing to increase her energy in this way. In addition, Xiao Hei's soul field was entangled with Li Hong, so Ya Chaolan temporarily shifted her target, preparing to absorb Li Hong's soul to further increase her energy and ultimately seek revenge.

In fact, on the afternoon Li Hong met Zheng Zhihao, Zheng Zhihao noticed the unusual, sinister aura on Li Hong's face and issued a warning. This unusual warning made Li Hong pay even closer attention to the case; otherwise, she might have died at the hands of the "Cloth Shoe Monster" that very night. This simple warning completely changed Li Hong's fate. Li Hong had never believed in fate, but this time she had to believe that meeting Zheng Zhihao was indeed an arrangement of destiny.

As for Li Hong's dream, Zheng Zhihao analyzed that it was a special ability of hers, just like her innate ability to see ghosts (although it had not yet been activated). Li Hong is a person with high spiritual power. This dream played an extremely important role in finding the deceased and the murderer. Although there were some differences in details between the dream and reality (for example, Ya Chaolan opened her eyes at the end of the dream), it did not affect its guiding significance.

The basic outline of the murder case—time, location, and people involved—is now clear: Time: the evening of August 9th to the early morning of August 10th, 2006 (as evidenced by the diary and register); Location: a first and a second crime scene, the first being room 104 (as testified by Ya Chaolan's ghost), and the second being the woods (as seen in Li Hong's dream); People involved: the victim is Ya Chaolan, and the murderer is unknown. The motive was lust (as seen in the dream's depiction of the corpse). Finally, the murder weapon and the body are still missing.

Although many key points in the evidence Li Hong noted down in her notebook came from "ghost testimonies" and "dreams," she now had no doubt about their authenticity. Now, as long as the murderer was found, all problems could be solved. Li Hong believed that with Ya Chaolan's ghost's help, the murderer would confess everything. In fact, Zheng Zhihao had already surveyed the terrain near the hotel on the day he checked in. Because the hotel was located within a forest park, surrounded by dense woods, they couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the burial.

Li Hong eventually found Ya Chaolan's cell phone number in the address book of her diary. Following this number, Li Hong checked the call log and learned that the number had only made two calls after August 8, 2006, to cell phone numbers in Jinan and Rizhao respectively. The former call was made by Ya Chaolan (the address book recorded the number's owner as Ya Chaolan's employer); the second call was made at 8:00 AM on August 10th. Li Hong deduced that Ya Chaolan had already met with misfortune by then, and this call must have been made by the murderer. Checking the recipient's cell phone number revealed that the owner was Tian Weidong.

Li Hong let out a long sigh of relief—this Tian Weidong was none other than the owner of the hotel. Although the owner was not the murderer, he knew the murderer.

A glimmer of hope has appeared; the murderer is about to reveal himself...

48. The Final Mystery - Who is the Murderer? (2)

After comforting and returning Li Li, Li Hong spent the entire morning investigating the clue about Ya Chaolan's phone, while Zheng Zhihao followed the hotel owner and subtly inquired about his character and behavior. At lunchtime, Zheng Zhihao reported his findings. The owner had gone to the market that morning, and because he had purchased a large quantity, he didn't return to the hotel until close to noon, after which he stayed in his room. Zheng Zhihao later learned from the employees that the owner was a very good person and considerate of his staff. After visiting neighbors and other nearby hotels, he confirmed that the owner had a good reputation. These testimonies matched the initial impressions Li Hong and Zheng Zhihao had when they first met him.

Now only the final questions remain: who is the murderer to the boss, and where is he/she now? Does the boss know about the murderer's crimes? Li Hong briefly assessed the crimes committed by the murderer: rape and murder, which would certainly be a death sentence. And if the boss knew about it but did not report it, causing the case to remain dormant for a year, then the boss should also face 2 to 3 years in prison.

After finishing their meal, Li Hong and Zheng Zhihao went to the boss's room again.

He clearly hadn't expected the two policemen to come back, and hurriedly offered them tea and water. Zheng Zhihao, on the other hand, stated his purpose directly and wanted to know the murderer's name—this was actually something Li Hong and Zheng Zhihao had planned together; they could deduce whether Tian Weidong had any direct connection to the case from his expression upon hearing about the murder.

Tian Weidong wore an extremely suspicious expression; he simply couldn't believe that a murder had occurred in his hotel without his knowledge. It wasn't until Li Hong presented some relevant evidence that his suspicion turned to shock. Li Hong noticed his hands begin to tremble.

"Is this true?" Tian Weidong muttered to himself, "Is there really a wronged soul in 104?"

“Yes,” Li Hong said seriously. She was now standing next to Tian Weidong, carefully observing the subtle changes in his face. Looking at his face, Li Hong suddenly recalled learning in school how to accurately judge a person's age by looking at the wrinkles on their face. This thought gave her an urge to go up and touch the wrinkles—after a moment of distraction, Li Hong was certain that Tian Weidong knew nothing about the details of the murder.

“It’s been a year, and I can’t remember it right now…” Tian Weidong said anxiously, scratching his head. “Last year, I only remember that there were a lot of customers, and it was very busy and chaotic.”

“Think about it again, about what happened in early August last year,” Zheng Zhihao said, taking a sip of tea. They couldn't rush things; they knew nothing about the killer's identity and could only rely on the boss's recollections.

"Last August was the busiest time for customers." The owner leaned forward slightly, took out last year's account book, moistened his finger with saliva, and opened the book. "I was so busy every day that I barely had time to buy groceries."

Li Hong's gaze fell on the ledger. She couldn't understand it; it was filled with neatly written numbers. Looking at the date, it was indeed a transaction record from August of last year. Tian Weidong flipped through the pages one by one.

"Wait a minute." Li Hong suddenly reached out to stop him from rummaging through the documents. "Did you memorize all of this?"

"Yes, I do all the bookkeeping; we don't have an accountant here."

"Did you memorize all of the previous pages?" Li Hong asked, flipping back to the previous pages.

“Yes.” Tian Weidong was a little confused.

"Who wrote these pages?" Li Hong flipped back to where she had left off and pointed to the handwriting. The handwriting on this page had changed drastically; it was no longer the neat, tiny characters of the past, but rather a stiffer Song typeface, and the characters weren't as beautiful as Tian Weidong's.

“This…” Tian Weidong paused for a moment, then took out his reading glasses. Li Hong saw that the date on this page was August 6, 2006. She casually flipped through a few more pages. This stiff Song typeface suddenly disappeared after August 9, 2006. On August 10 and 11, there were two unfamiliar fonts. It wasn’t until the 12th that it returned to Tian Weidong’s tiny regular script.

"You do your accounting at night, right?" Li Hong asked.

"Yes."

Did you go out in early August last year?

“No, I’m so busy, how could I leave? But this handwriting is definitely not mine…” Tian Weidong’s finger slowly slid down, finally stopping at “Recorder: Tian Weiguo”. “It was my second brother who wrote it down.” He took off his reading glasses and said.

“Tian Weiguo…” Li Hong nodded excitedly to Zheng Zhihao, her intuition telling her that Tian Weiguo was highly suspicious.

“Oh, I remember now…” Tian Weidong scratched his head. “Last August, because the hotel was too busy, I asked my second brother to help manage it. Besides, he already had shares in the hotel, so he was practically the owner. It was only right to ask him for help.”

"So, back then, you and your second brother were the two bosses, right?"

"Yes, even the waiters call him boss."

Li Hong nodded in sudden realization, recalling that the cleaner had mentioned the registration book was hidden by the boss when providing the clue. They had always thought the boss referred to only Tian Weidong, but now Li Hong realized that there were actually two bosses, the other being Tian Weiguo. The cleaner hadn't made it clear at the time, which led Li Hong and Zheng Zhihao to suspect that Tian Weidong was the murderer. However, when they visited Tian Weidong's place, they didn't get any clues, and Ya Chaolan's ghost hadn't contacted Tian Weidong either. The reason for all this was because there were two bosses.

"Do you have a photo of him now?" Li Hong asked.

“There is one, but it’s a family photo.” Tian Weidong took a photo frame from the table.

Despite having prepared herself mentally, Li Hong was still overjoyed upon seeing the photo. Yes, it was him. Although she hadn't seen the murderer's face in the dream, she immediately recognized Tian Weiguo among the three Tian brothers. He was a burly, typical Shandong man, exactly like the figure she'd seen in her dream. "Is it him?" Li Hong asked, pointing to the person in the photo.

“Yes, he’s my second brother,” Tian Weidong said, then he asked cautiously, “My second brother is a murderer?”

"No, that's not it," Li Hong said with a smile. "We just wanted to find out about what happened last year. Hasn't he been here for a long time?"

"Yes, I only came once during the Chinese New Year this year."

"You came during the day and didn't stay overnight, right?" Li Hong asked again.

"Yes, they came to pay New Year's visits, and left after their meal."

That makes sense. Li Hong thought to herself, the murderer came to the hotel at this time for two reasons: to pay a New Year's visit and to steal the registration book. The old registration book had just been replaced with a new one (the new registration book started in January 2007), and he had the most convenient means to steal the registration book, so he completed the task very smoothly.

"Where is he now?" Li Hong asked casually. "We want to ask him about what happened last year. We don't have enough clues yet. We suspect that one of the customers from that time committed the crime."

"I see." Tian Weidong seemed a little relieved. "He lives in the city, about 40 miles from here."

Li Hong began to recall the name of the forensic doctor she had met when she first arrived. Although there was no conclusive evidence yet, the facts were very clear, and it was necessary to subdue the murderer. Tonight, they could bring the murderer to Ya Chaolan for identification, and she believed that he would reveal the truth then. After finding the body, the rest could be handed over to Zheng Zhihao.

Li Hong glanced out the window; it was about 2 p.m. The sun had already made the willow tree by the door wilt. She then turned to look at Zheng Zhihao and saw that he was also looking at her and nodded slightly.

49. The Soul Returns (Volume 1, Ending 1)

"This is the receiver, which needs to be attached to your chest. It will be very discreet and won't affect your movement. This is the receiver, which you put in your ear. The main unit can be clipped to your pants."

Yue Ling glanced at his colleague explaining the use of the wireless communication device to Li Hong, then looked at the sky outside and couldn't help but feel anxious. It was already getting dark; if everything went smoothly, they probably wouldn't arrive at the burial site until around 8 or 9 pm. Darkness would be more troublesome for the police officers protecting the victim. Even with some less-used but good equipment, controlling the situation at night would certainly be much less convenient than during the day.

Li Hong was wearing the same shirt she'd worn the last time he'd seen her. He guessed that her long hours at work had left her no time to pay attention to her personal appearance; after all, she'd only been there a few days, yet she'd uncovered a year-old wrongful murder case, which he couldn't help but admire. However, he was still angry with this tall woman. Why did she have to be in such a hurry, and why did she have to lead the suspect to find the body at night? What annoyed him even more was that Li Hong pleaded with the police not to approach, only allowing her and her assistant to search for the body with the suspect; the police only needed to be nearby. Wasn't this just causing trouble? It seemed more like absurdity. But in the end, he agreed to this outrageous request because he simply couldn't stand Li Hong's persistent pleading and cajoling.

Yue Ling went to great lengths to persuade the captain, who finally reluctantly agreed to her request. If the deputy director had known, he certainly wouldn't have approved of her doing this. He knew the deputy director too well; "safety first" was his mantra.

The suspect, Tian Weiguo, is currently locked in a van, and he can't be seen through the windows. It's said the suspect is the hotel owner's brother. To avoid a disturbance and unnecessary crowds, the captain is operating covertly, only taking four colleagues on the mission, all in plainclothes, and without using any bureau vehicles. The two vehicles are currently parked in front of the hotel, and the captain is discussing an emergency evacuation route with his four colleagues. Unlike previous operations, this time the captain's primary concern is an emergency retreat, rather than the confident deployment he used to make. He knows this is because the captain is still unsure whether the enemy they face is a criminal or a corpse buried in the ground—it sounds rather insane. Yue Ling sighed inwardly. "Li Hong, Li Hong, what are you up to? Why can't you give us a convincing reason? If it weren't for my mediation, this operation codenamed 'The Wedding' wouldn't have happened."

How ridiculous, he thought, that the search for the body had such a name.

He took out a cigarette, lit it, and turned around to see another person involved not far away. This was Li Hong's assistant. Yue Ling didn't know the man's name yet, but judging from Li Hong's attitude towards him, this person seemed to be someone of importance. Yue Ling was a forensic doctor, but he also knew that allowing this civilian without a police rank to participate in the operation was against regulations. Moreover, this guy gave off a mysterious aura, as if he were the mastermind behind it all. Although Yue Ling didn't particularly dislike him, he had an inexplicable sense of unease.

"Sound check, sound check, action team, can you hear me?" came the captain's voice through the earpiece; they were using channel 3.

"Number 1 received." "..." "Number 4 received." The voices of the four action team members came from behind. Yue Ling only had three colleagues in front of her now, and she didn't know where the other one was.

"Falcon 1 and Falcon 2, responses received." The captain then asked on channel 5. Channel 3 could listen to channel 5, but channel 5 couldn't hear the conversations on channel 3. Only the captain could switch between the two channels and relay messages. This was also to allow "Falcon" to focus on its mission.

"Falcon 1 received." Li Hong's voice came through, sounding exhausted.

"Falcon 2 received." The mysterious man's voice came through, sounding very excited.

"How is Pigeon doing?" — Pigeon is the suspect, Tian Weiguo.

"normal."

"Old Yue stayed behind as the boss."

"Understood," Yue Ling replied. He threw away his cigarette butt, switched the receiver to his left hand, opened the car door, and got into another Santana. It was already dark.

"I'm the team leader. Number 2 is now 'getting married'!"

The van door was opened, and Tian Weiguo was led out. Yue Ling noticed that he wasn't handcuffed.

"Why isn't the pigeon wearing a bracelet?" the captain asked.

"The Falcon 2 has a special requirement that pigeons should not wear bracelets."

"Why does the Falcon 2 require that bracelets not be worn?" the captain asked, switching to channel 5.

“You don’t need to wear the bracelet, you can leave it to me,” the mysterious man replied.

"Then you should be careful. In the future, you should tell me in advance about things like this."

"Okay, I understand. Let's go."