The Yu Brothers’ Case Book

“In short, we now know that there are a bunch of ghosts.”

It was morning. Yu Yin had been kicked back home and was organising his belongings before planning to drop by school. If he didn’t, his four years of education might actually end up turning into eight years. The only thing he was glad about was the fact that his classes had lessened after his third year. For most of them, he could just let his professor know he would stay at home to make his projects. It was more flexible, and timing could be adjusted. “Moreover, there are two groups of ghosts. One side is very fierce, constantly trying to prevent the skeletons from communicating with us.”

From a seat on the sofa, Yu nodded as he continued to read his book.

“I’ll ask Yi Tai again if he has any other information. I’ve asked for a classmate to help cover my shift at my part-time job. I’ll come back as early as possible; you two be careful at home by yourselves.” Yu Yin grabbed some clips to close up his backpack for now. He glanced at the staircase and instructed, “Those two are still on the run, so you and Dong Feng shouldn’t wander about. If you go out, call Dad or Uncle beforehand.”

Yu flipped a page and nodded to indicate that he was listening.

Although Yu Yin was still quite worried about leaving these two home alone, he seriously could not continue screwing himself over by skipping class. After saying a few more words, he picked up his backpack and left.

When the most talkative person in the house left, the entire space fell dead silent.

Yu casually turned on the television. The news channels headlines were currently eagerly reporting about the case regarding a prosecutor getting abducted while constantly criticising various shortcomings of the police and how they had intentionally hidden the truth, etc. It would likely all disappear after several days, and the fact that it had been controlled so that it had not been exposed until today was quite a difficult accomplishment already.

After another while passed, a voice came from the staircase.

“Did Ah Yin go to school?” Dong Feng rubbed his eyes and walked down the stairs while dragging his backpack with him. “I’m going back.” He had pretty much finished everything he had needed to do here. Everything afterwards was just a matter of handling things in time, which he did not care about. Actually, they should not have intervened these past few days either. It was obvious just from seeing that public prosecutor’s repeated inquiries. It was best to retreat as soon as possible before the explosive allegations turned everyone into gossip for entertainment.

Yu put his book down and blocked his path in the hallway. “No.”

“I don’t need anyone’s permission to go home.” Dong Feng pushed aside the obstruction with a cold glare before continuing forwards to the front entrance.

Yu stepped onto the backpack being dragged along the ground and watched a certain person nearly trip with back facing him. “No.”

Dong Feng yanked at his bag a few times. Upon discovering that he could not retrieve it, Dong Feng angrily threw the strap down on the ground. “Don’t get involved with my business.”

“I’m not.”

“Then what is your hand doing.”

Yu picked up the backpack from under his foot and walked back to the living room with it on his shoulders. “Don’t wander about.”

“What?!” It was best if he could wander about! Dong Feng had absolutely no idea when his actions had started requiring permission from others.

After accurately carrying out Yu Yin’s instructions, Yu placed the backpack down while taking his seat to continue reading his book.

Dong Feng’s wallet and cellphone were both in his backpack. Seeing that it was being controlled by the other person, undoubtedly making it hard to win his bag back, Dong Feng paced around twice in a circle from annoyance. “I can at least go see my senior, right?”

“Mn.” This did not count within the scope of wandering about. Yu took out his cellphone to send a text.

“Return my backpack.” Dong Feng reached a hand out, planning to find a time to escape.

Then, a card was placed in his hand.

Heading out now would be just perfect timing to board a bus at the street. Yu, who had memorised the bus schedule, placed his book into the backpack before stuffing his own everyday bag inside as well. He then calmly strode out to the veranda.

“…” Dong Feng glared at the transportation card in his hands but could only follow behind. “I’ve seen your case before. Why can you live as if you don’t care about the past…we both know that there will never come a day where people like us can forget. Regardless of what type of memory it is, everything remains clear inside our minds.”

Yu tied his shoelaces and tilted his head to glance at the person next to him. “I care very much.”

“Ah, yeah…” Probably can’t ever lose the memory no matter what. Dong Feng chewed on his lower lip, knowing that his words had been blurted out purely from irritation just now. “Sorry.”

“…Remembering the good makes it hurt less.”

Then Yu fell silent.

Seeing that the other person no longer planned on talking further, Dong Feng could only put on his own shoes and obediently prepare to follow Yu on the bus. The other still had his belongings.

As soon as they opened the front door, they simultaneously stopped in their tracks.

The two suspects being pursued were standing before the doorway.

“Hand it over.”

***

“Boss! We found something strange!”

Less than five minutes after stepping into the police station, Yu Xia spotted Xiao Wu and Jiu Shen run over while he was about to go interrogate Zheng Zhong Hui for some possible additional clues.

“Speak.” Yu Xia accepted the report Jiu Shen passed over and opened it to see a few photographs clipped inside. They weren’t of people, but of jewellery and gemstones.

“While searching Liu Guo Dong’s residence, we received his former wife’s current contact method from a neighbour. When we paid a visit this morning, the pretty dàzǐ told us something strange.” Xiao Wu coughed and ignored Yu Xia’s cold glare as he said, “Liu Guo Dong kept working temporary jobs after graduating, but when he proposed to Dàzǐ, he gave her a diamond ring…this was after he returned from that hiking trip. Dàzǐ said that he shouldn’t have had that much money back then, so she had always assumed it to be fake. But later, Liu Guo Dong got a large amount of funds from an unknown source to start a business. When she asked, he said a friend had invested in it, but Dàzǐ had absolutely no idea which friend it was. When she asked a bit more, Liu Guo Dong had blown up. She couldn’t make heads nor tails of this either, so I borrowed the diamond ring from her.”

“Then I spent the last two days inspecting the items on Hu Xin Lei’s body when she died. Although there’s only photos, look at this magnified part, Boss.” Jiu Shen used a tablet to further zoom in on the already enlarged image of the jewellery in the file’s photo. “The are two gemstones with traces of abrasion.”

“Re-inlaid.” Since the sign wasn’t very obvious, Yu Xia could only faintly see the subtle marks after the magnification. However, this was already enough to lower the gemstone’s value.

“After receiving the ring, I confirmed that it was real, and quite a high-grade too. That’s why we ran to check if there had been any news related to precious gems or money during that time, with the time range including the five years before and after. In the end, we found a case of theft from a jewellery centre around thirty years ago. They had lost quite a few items, including a diamond ring and two pieces of jewellery. Although these were re-inlaid, the colouring and grade are very similar to the missing items. About three hundred thousand dollars of cash at the time too…which counted as a huge sum back then. The shop owner had expressed that he had coincidentally had several gold exchanges [arranged], so he had prepared more cash for turnover, and said that he believed an inside traitor had committed the crime.” Having spent an entire night with Jiu Shen to handle this, Xiao Wu was excited as he clenched his fists. “The older records included an eyewitness that stated they had spotted a suspicious male and female walking around the store before the incident, likely the thieves.”

“Where’s the eyewitness?”

“Kicked the bucket,” Xiao Wu wrung his wrists.

“Then the shop?”

“It belonged to an old couple that both kicked the bucket a few years ago. They didn’t have kids, and their relatives claimed that they don’t know about the situation from that time. However, they said that if we track down the stolen goods, we should notify them.” Xiao Wu continued to wring his wrists and decided he wouldn’t tell those covetous relatives when they did find the taken items.

Yu Xia coldly looked at Xiao Wu as he returned the report to Jiu Shen. “Is there a possibility of it being a group crime?”

“Not sure yet. But there are several similar theft cases, though theirs is honestly quite old, so I’m currently in contact with other branches to help verify the related incidents.” Jiu Shen slightly raised his guard, following behind as Yu Xia started to walk again. “If you calculate backwards, these people were all very young in that year. This is really…”

“Wait until there’s concrete evidence before settling your opinion.” Yu Xia had the nagging feeling that something was odd, but he just added it to his list of things to consult to later. Hu Xin Lei had died that year, and there was a high chance that Liu Guo Dong would claim he had bought the jewellery somewhere. No matter what they did, some events were just long past the prosecution period. “You two continue investigating.”

“Then Boss, can I go out for ten minutes to eat lunch with my girlfriend in a bit?” After standing her up with a phone call yesterday, Xiao Wu had been constantly receiving selfies of his girlfriend with luxurious foods the entire time. His girlfriend had cruelly gone out on a trip to enjoy fine late-night cuisine by herself, unwilling to share even a bite with him.

“I just bumped into her outside. You two can eat in the break room. Don’t let any citizens see you.” Although Yu Xia really wanted to punch the other person, they did need time to eat and rest after all, so he just let it go. It was fine as long as it did not affect work.

“You’ll get cursed if you show PDA.” Jiu Shen prayed the other would get struck by lightning later while eating as he sinisterly stared at the fellow that was lucky enough to have a girlfriend bring him take-out.

“Senior Jiu Shen, that’s where you’re wrong. I’ll get cursed even without PDA. It’s just from being happy.” When Xiao Wu thought of how he would be able to eat a proper meal this afternoon, his mood lifted significantly.

“How long have you two been dating?” Jiu Shen was slightly curious. Xiao Wu had already had a girlfriend with him when he had come here. Since he wasn’t constantly on urgent call, they had likely dated for a decent amount of time for the woman to be so at ease.

“We were a class couple in senior high, although we did fight and split up once or twice.” Xiao Wu scratched his head in embarrassment and happily said, “Her job is very stable too. We agreed that we would wait two years for things here to settle down before marrying.”

“Then don’t betray her expectations and quickly scram to do your work seriously!”

After kicking the two guys that were still [casually] chatting, Yu Xia hurriedly went upstairs.

Zheng Zhong Hui still had not said anything. Just as before, he did not fight for a lawyer or to leave, and simply sat off to the side flipping through the sketchbook.

Yu Xia greeted Yu Tong, then directly walked into the room. “Do you know Liu Guo Dong?”

“He’s dead.” Zheng Zhong Hui very naturally stated this in a straightforward manner as he continued looking at the sketchbook. “Killed by him.”

Yu Xia furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes. He had not expected for the man to respond so quickly. From his observation, Zheng Zhong Hui lacked emotion while responding, as if describing someone else’s business. “What about Wang Qiang Ming?”

“Also dead, killed by him.”

“Who is ‘him’?”

Zheng Zhong Hui stopped flipping through the book to look up at the person in front of him with a serious expression. “I don’t know…but he’s always here. He’s been following since the beginning. He also told me that you guys don’t have proof, that you don’t actually have critical footage, that at most, you can only confirm I was tailing for a long time…He’s always watching everyone. I don’t want to harm you all, so don’t anger him. Or else he’ll kill others.”

“…Am I angering him right now?”

Zheng Zhong Hui cowered back and lowered his head, nodding ever so slightly. “You people, are too meddlesome.”

At nearly the exact same moment he said these words, a minor tremor came from the ground. Yu Xia raised his hand to see the table below his palms was shaking slightly, the legs making a faint noise as they knocked against the floor.

He pressed down on the table, completely ignoring the threat. “Do you know Yang Cai Qian?”

Zheng Zhong Hui shuddered and uneasily shifted his eyes to the side. “I don’t want to talk about this…he said you should be worrying about yourselves. One injured, one taken away. Once they go there, they will be the same as the others.”

Yu Xia felt that these words were strange somehow. Just as he was about to inquire further, he suddenly spotted Yu Tong send him an urgent hand signal from outside. Thus, he abandoned the person starting to play with the sketchbook again and swiftly stepped out of the room.

“Xiao Yu got injured.” As soon as the door closed, Yu Tong hurriedly relayed the call he had just received, “A nearby neighbour heard what they suspected was a gunshot and immediately reported to the police. The patrolling officers found Xiao Yu outside the front door. Fortunately, it was just a light injury. However, Xiao Yu seemed to have knocked down a person. From the description, it sounds like Wang Qiang Ming. His wounds are more severe. Both were already sent to the hospital. They did not see Liu Guo Dong at the scene; the neighbour said they saw a car speed away from the area, which is currently being pursued.”

“What about Ah Yin?”

“Ah Yin went to school today. Earlier, I received a text from Xiao Yu saying that he and Dong Feng were going to go see Prosecutor Li. But Dong Feng wasn’t anywhere at the scene. I’m going to go over to check on the situation.”

Yu Xia watched his brother leave, then rubbed his face and took a deep breath.

He knew what he had to do.

He pushed the door open to re-enter the room.

“Where is the one taken away going?”

***

While the suspect sent to the hospital had slightly heavier injuries, he was not in any critical danger.

Yu was in a seat next to the ER, quietly letting the nurse bandage his arm injury. He then waited as Yu Tong walked over after inquiring about the situation.

“The license plate indicates that it’s a stolen car. It was abandoned next to the road, and Xia has already notified various police stations to help search.” Yu Tong greeted the [other] officers and then sat down next to Yu. “What happened?”

Yu took out a notebook and used his uninjured left hand to write down a string of words.

Yu Tong carefully read the words. In summary, it said that as soon as Yu and Dong Feng had stepped out, they had been suddenly blocked off by the runaway Liu Dong Guo and Wang Qiang Ming who had showed up at the front door for unknown reasons, claiming they wanted some object.

Then, as a result of the various trainings from Yu Xia, Yu had smoothly counterattacked. After knocking down Wang Qiang Ming, he discovered Liu Guo Dong had pulled out a gun to shoot at them. However, it only struck the surrounding walls. Noticing that the situation was amiss, Dong Feng had stopped the man and directly stated he knew where the item was, and that if the man wanted it, he had to stop attacking.

Then while Liu Guo Dong had been considering this, the police cars had arrived. Using the last of his time, he had grabbed Dong Feng and run, while the injured Wang Qing Ming had been unable to stand up and was immediately seized.

“Did they mention what the item was?”

Yu shook his head.

Despite knowing they had seemed to be searching for something, Yu Tong had no idea what this object was. Naturally, there was a high chance that Dong Feng did not know either, and this had likely been an act to lure Liu Guo Dong into halting the attack. It was uncertain how long Dong Feng could maintain this for.

Just as Yu Tong was about to first notify his brother about the current situation, an officer on standby rushed over to tell him that Wang Qiang Ming had already been dealt with. The doctor had given around a dozen stitches, and the man was clearly conscious.

Yu Tong shot Yu a glance before heading straight into the treatment room.

Unlike the photos or sketches, Wang Qiang Ming looked significantly older than Yu Tong had expected. Perhaps his mentality after being captured made him seem more aged. His entire body was curled up in a corner, trembling slightly, having lost all impression of strength. It looked like he really was just a very ordinary person.

Judging from the conversations Li ZI Hong had heard while semi-conscious, Yu Tong now knew that Wang Qiang Ming was the follower, which was why the gun was in Liu Guo Dong’s hands. Since the main controller had fled, going up against the follower was much easier.

The doctor nodded at Yu Tong before retreating out of the treatment room.

Yu Tong shut the door and pushed his glasses up as he sat down. “Do you know Yang Cai Qian?”

Wang Qiang Ming showed faint shock, then shakily said, “W-we’re victims…my son, was killed…”

“Who killed your son?”

“That psycho you guys captured, the one named Zheng. He’s always wanted to kill us, starting from our sons…I just wanted to protect myself…” He swallowed, and seemingly noticing that Yu Tong was not aggressive and not very old, Wang Qiang Ming slowly straightened up to leave the corner. “You guys still haven’t gotten things straight. That lunatic killed many people. He would always lie in wait near different schools for an ambush. Cai Qian, my son, my friend’s son…maybe Hu Xin Lei was killed by him too. That psycho is always chasing after us…sooner or later, he’ll kill me too!”

“There aren’t any personal grudges between you all?” Yu Tong narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms and continued his questioning.

“No!”

Upon receiving the instantaneous response, Yu Tong warmed his tone after a few seconds’ thought. “There is no need to be so anxious. We know that Liu Guo Dong manipulated some matters, and that it was also him that took the initiative to attack the two in the alley. He has a gun, and you were only pressured to follow him. We have tapes as proof, so there’s no need to be so worried.”

“Yes, yes…I was forced. That madman has been coming after us the entire time. We noticed after my son disappeared. He’s often near us…”

“Then was the other person you attacked his accomplice? I mean, an accomplice in committing murder.”

Wang Qiang Ming hurriedly shook his head. “I don’t know him, and neither does Ah Guo. We were afraid that madman would come kill us, so we followed him when he came here and discovered he was constantly meeting up with that other person. When he suddenly appeared that day, we accidentally injured him. But it was that lunatic that attacked us first…it seems like they have to be accomplices. They definitely are. My son’s death likely has an irrefutable relationship with that person. You cops shouldn’t frame good people. Go quickly capture those two instead!”

“We’ll handle this part. By the way, you probably haven’t seen the news today yet, have you?” Yu Tong’s smile did not reach his eyes as he spoke lightly to the person that now looked relieved.

“Not yet…” Wang Qiang Ming saw the smile and began to relax. “I will cooperate with the police. I was forced by Ah Guo. I’ve urged him multiple times not to do these things, but I couldn’t do anything since he had a gun. Plus, that lunatic and his accomplice will definitely have to pay the price for murdering my son.”

“I understand. I have children myself as well, so I know that feeling very well.” Yu Tong continued to maintain his smile as he jotted down notes in his book. “However, I also understand that you are very nervous. Do you still not recognise my face?”

Wang Qiang Ming froze and carefully scrutinised Yu Tong, then let out a fearful cry. “You-you’re that police officer that went to look at the room—”

“People often say that I look more mature with glasses, though you’re actually the first to take this long to recognise me. It seems that you truly are very nervous.” Yu Tong patted the other person’s shoulder and continued to ask his questions in a friendly tone, “So, please cooperate with me. Why did you two attack those two affected people today?”

Wang Qiang Ming’s eyes darted around in all directions as he stammered back in reply, “One-one of them…with another one…as in, the two involved students with you that day…they knew the lunatic’s accomplice…”

“You saw them rescue the accomplice from the scene of the fire while constantly talking with him, didn’t you.” Yu Tong chuckled as he guessed why Yu Yin and Yu had been connected with everything too.

“We were just passing by…that madman often went in and out from there, so we just went to take a look…the fire or whatever had nothing to do with us…” Wang Qiang Ming hurriedly added while evading the other’s gaze. “We-we just wanted to find that…wanted to know what that lunatic wanted to do…He must’ve said something to frame us. We definitely did not do anything. Don’t believe those perpetrators…you already saw that room. Who knows what that madman would do…”

“Zheng Zhong Hui informed us that the suspected accomplice is his younger brother.”

“Impossible!” Wang Qing Main’s shocked response was extremely quick, and he immediately changed his words. “I mean, that crazy man is an orphan, isn’t he? I’ve heard that he came from an orphanage. That’s likely just more lies to deny his crimes. That lunatic can say anything.”

“I understand. You don’t need to be so tense.” Yu Tong stood up and opened the door to inform the officer outside to bring this person back [to the station]. He then smiled as he leaned against the doorframe. “Oh right, I truly do sympathize with the feeling of your children getting harmed. The ones you were targeting were our children…both are, or you could even take it as all three of them. I don’t mind if our household livens up a bit more.”

Wang Qiang Ming’s eyes widened on shock.

“In addition, you should watch the news today. The ‘accomplice’ you two severely injured is a prosecutor.”

As Wang Qiang Ming collapsed against the wall, Yu Tong walked out of the treatment room to make a call.

“The gun is Liu Guo Dong’s. They set fire to the building. This group has known Zheng Zhong Hui since a very long time ago, and even know the reason he was in the orphanage.” He paused, but before Yu Xia could say anything from the opposite end, he continued, “Zheng Zhong Hui hates them. A major event occurred between them that caused Zheng Zhong Hui to constantly chase after them to kill their group. This has been going on since he was taken in, at least twenty years or more ago. The first victim should indeed be Hu Xin Lei.

“Also, regarding Zheng Zhong Hui’s younger brother…”

***

“Got it.”

Yu Xia ended the call and looked up. “Xiao Yu’s fine, just flesh wounds.”

Yu Yin had been waiting on the side and finally felt a wave of relief at this.

After finishing his classes this morning, he had originally wanted to take advantage of his free period in the afternoon to look for Yi Tai and see if there was any other information. However, both Yi Tai and Ah Fang couldn’t be found, and they didn’t answer their cellphones either. Later, he found Ah Fang’s friend at the basketball court, who mentioned that the pair frequently missed school these days. However, they were just waiting to graduate in the first place, so this was pretty normal.

What frightened Yu Yin was the fact that the student said Yi Tai had left them a message for Yu Yin: to tell Yu Yin to quickly go home when they saw him.

He then rushed back and saw the police at his front door. When he called Yu’s cellphone, it was turned off, so he had raced over to the police station for news.

“Didn’t I tell you not to randomly skip class?” Yu Xia stowed his phone away and pulled Yu Yin by the year. “What about your afternoon classes?”

“Ow, ow, ow—the class in the afternoon is practical training. I told the professor that I would go home to work on my product.” Yu Yin ducked away and rubbed his throbbing ear. “Will Xiao Yu and the others head over here? I bought some food on my way here…”

“…Xiao Yu will come here.” Yu Xia had no intentions of going into detail about the situation. He glanced at Yu Yin and said, “You go wait in the office. Don’t run about.”

Yu Yin had no idea why his uncle was so pressing, only sensing that there something wrong with the mood. Thus, he obediently picked up his backpack to walk into the office.

The second he shut the door, he felt the temperature around him abruptly drop and a wind carrying an abnormal smell brushed past him.

He turned his head around to directly meet malicious red eyes. A small black human shadow stood atop the desk; its dark-red eyes that looked on the verge of bleeding out were viciously glaring at him. The stench of rotting flesh gradually intensified from its position, while the smells of dirt and blood silently corrupted the specific space.

Yu Yin pinched his nose because the smell was seriously too strong, causing the urge to retch surge through him. Yu Yin was no stranger to this smell and had even experienced it several times in the past. It was the stench of a corpse.

The shadow opened its mouth to make a low hissing noise.

There was resentment, warning, and powerful rejection towards them, who had come from outside. “He” did not wish for outsiders to intervene in these matters, because this was their grudge that would eventually be settled one day.

Because those people, needed to pay back.

Yu Yin knew that those skeletons were related deceased victims and what they might have encountered. However, the shadow in front of him was beyond furious at the skeletons.

Thus, he finally understood who was obstructing them.

This was why that person kept resentfully saying it wasn’t him.

His meaning was not that the people hadn’t been killed by him. Different from Zheng Zhong Hui’s approach, he spoke much more simply.

Li Zi Hong was not him.

That was why the figure that had knocked on the door had looked so enormous. Because the person watching from behind the door had not been an adult, but a child.

“You’re Zheng Zhong Hui’s younger brother, aren’t you.”

The shadow let out a piercing scream and the entire office began to shake, causing such intense rocking that the document files on the desk were scattered all over the ground by the tremors through the table.

Yu Yin covered his ears, his head spinning from the shrieks boring into his head. After much difficulty, he finally managed to steady his feet, but that shadow had already vanished. However, a larger shadow stood up from the desk’s other side.

When he got a clear look at what it was, he just felt extreme dread and doom. The person standing up was actually Zheng Zhong Hui. The person that should have been under watch had physically appeared right in front of him.

Two seconds later, Yu Yin heard commotion from outside. Even without much thought, he could guess that it was probably a result of the person before him having suddenly disappeared.

Yu Yin wanted to turn around and try to escape first, but in the end, he discovered a worse tragedy; the door was tightly locked…Or rather, the door wasn’t locked but firmly stuck, shutting him into this room together with this massive criminal.

The lights began to flicker. As shadow and light jumped around, he spotted the small black figure climb up Zheng Zhong Hui’s back and to stick close to Zheng Zhong Hui and whisper into his ear. Then, Zheng Zhong Hui’s expression began to turn more and more abnormal, even flashing with unconcealed fury and murderous intent.

“You should all die.”

Zheng Zhong Hui spat out these cold words and slowly began to approach.

Yu Yin instantly saw the delight in the shadow’s eyes. It tangled together with wrathful hatred, a distorted and intense reaction.

Then, he saw a sketchbook fall from Zheng Zhong Hui’s hands. The moment the sketchbook dropped to the ground, the person that had originally been heading towards him suddenly stopped responding, seemingly swaying before looking down to pick up the sketchbook.

The sketch in the book looked very familiar.

“If you continue causing trouble here, Li-dàgē will be unhappy too.” Yu Yin turned the doorknob, but it still would not open, so he could only gather the courage to save himself.

Zheng Zhong Hui raised his head, a sliver of doubt bleeding into his face. “I’m protecting him, I’ll protect him forever…We haven’t done wrong. The ones that should die are them, and you guys…outsiders should all die…”

“Did your little brother tell you these things?” Yu Yin watched the shadow on the man’s shoulders as an idea gradually formed in his mind. “He’s always been telling you this?”

“No…that person, it’s that person that said…my little brother is at the hospital…you guys said you were protecting him…it was that person that killed, not me…”

The shadow let out a roar.

“Who’s that person?” Yu Yin took a step back and bumped into the door as he endured the piercing noise.

“Don’t know, I don’t know. He’s always there, he knows everything…” Zheng Zhong Hui also began to retreat backwards in slight panic as he tightly clutched the sketchbook. “No, no, no…he’s not wrong. My little brother won’t be happy. This person’s words aren’t wrong…he can’t get injured again…they’re not bad people…”

Noticing that Zheng Zhong Hui’s last few words were directed at the air, Yu Yin confirmed his thoughts. The other person could more or less hear and see it. “That person will harm your little brother. Have you seen the bruises on your little brother’s body?”

“I saw…that’s wrong…my little brother has nothing to do with these things. He’s still alive, he’s still properly living…”

“Through what means did you confirm that Li-dàgē is your little brother? There are many people in the world that look alike. Besides, you two hadn’t seen each other for a very long time.” Yu Yin stared at the shadow turning more anxious as a result of Zheng Zhong Hui’s refusal; it was constantly whimpering or hissing into his ear, and the stench grew stronger as well. Yu Yin was uncertain whether he was betting on the correct approach, but he could only grit his teeth and force himself to continue talking.

Zheng Zhong Hui turned his head to stare straight at Yu Yin as he confidently stated, “My little brother once fell down from a tree when we would often go into the mountains together before. He has a scar on his leg. I confirmed it, Li ZI Hong is my little brother. His leg has an identical scar.”

The shadow let out a furious roar.

“If you’re really certain Li-dàgē is your brother, then you should be protecting him. You can’t listen to the words of ‘that person’ anymore.”

The room violently shook, and the glass cabinets storing case files exploded completely. The shards flew in all directions, and Yu Yin quickly protected himself. “You have to discern who is important! Who is the most important to you?”

“My little brother,” Zheng Zhong Hui loudly replied.

In that instant, Yu Yin heard an anguished wail of despair filled with various levels of dissent and resentment that flooded through his brain like a wave. For a second, he practically couldn’t breath under the assault of these emotions. Then the shadow dropped from Zheng Zhong Hui’s body and immediately shrank to a very tiny size, struggling to crawl along the floor.

Finally, the shadow wormed into a corner and disappeared.

“Your little brother is a prosecutor. You should help us.”