Chapter 3: Bloody Handprint

  Pangzi looked at Tian Qi and Qiu Shen, while they two were also looking at him.

  "Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong. Can't you see I'm wearing casual clothes?" the policeman explained with a smile.

  If it were another client, the fat man would definitely not care, but he said he was a police officer and even took out his police badge for fear of being suspected. Regardless of whether or not he committed a crime, it's definitely not possible to offend a police officer. Moreover, looking at this situation, they still need them, if they can establish a good relationship with a police officer, it's better than earning tens of thousands of dollars. The fat man has the most experience, his company has had dealings with them many times, sometimes having money is not as good as having someone who can be used.

  "I read about your company in the newspaper, let me show you what's behind my back," said the police officer, who looked to be over 50 years old with some gray hair on his temples, as he lifted up his clothes.

  "Ah!" The fatty just happened to see something on his back, it was a complete bloody handprint.

  His eyebrows furrowed slightly, his intuition telling him that this bloody handprint was definitely not simple, emitting an aura of death, as if it didn't belong to this world, but he had no idea what it specifically was.

  Tian Qi was also surprised, but he didn't see anything.

  They learned from the old policeman's account that it was actually caused by a death row prisoner.

  Ten years ago, a mysterious prisoner came to the prison, an old man with no criminal record. Three days after entering the prison, he was executed by extreme penalty. According to past conventions, before executing the death penalty, the prison would send someone to have a conversation with him and satisfy some of his simple wishes. The person in charge of talking to the old man at that time was him, Tian Qi, the old policeman in front of them, Zhang Xin.

  Zhang Xin paused for a moment, took a sip of water brought by Pangzi, and his memory returned to that night ten years ago.

  Although there was no record of the old man, he looked like he was over 70 years old, with a kind face and eyes that seemed to suggest he wouldn't commit any crime. With his many years as a police officer, Zhang Xin had developed an intuition about people. This person hadn't committed a crime, judging from his appearance and after chatting with him for a bit, it was clear that he wasn't the type of person who would do something bad, just like what they say about how you can tell a wicked person by their face.

  "At that time, the old man had no other wish, he just asked me to accompany him to chat for a while, because of his age, the old man was not bound by iron chains like other death row inmates."

  "What did the old man say to you?" Tian Qi couldn't help but ask.

  "In fact, there was nothing specific, the old man just asked me about my work and showed concern for me, I didn't think much of it at the time, thinking that maybe he was just lonely and wanted to chat with someone. But then, Zhang Xin's expression became puzzled, "I'm not sure if it was because of this reason, after chatting, the old man was taken away, when he left, he patted my back, at the time I didn't feel anything, but afterwards, I recalled that he had indeed patted my back in that spot, and then a week later, the bloody handprint appeared on my back, I could feel that it was where the old man had patted me, just don't know if it was because of him or just a coincidence."

  After listening to Zhang Xin's account, the three people furrowed their brows simultaneously, if it was really like that, it would be too strange.

  Tian Qi didn't ask if Zhang Xin had ever seen a doctor or what kind of illness it was, because he knew that after ten years, Zhang Xin must have already been examined. Otherwise, they wouldn't have found them.

  It seems that we still have to start from the source, that is, the old man. He thought of Zhang Xin and did a long investigation.

  "I later investigated and found that this old man had no records, as if he had never appeared in the world. But I later learned that this old man had actually volunteered to accept the death penalty, and he had not committed any crime." Because of his profession, the policeman obviously guessed what Zhang Xin was thinking.

  "Ah!" Fatso couldn't help but be surprised, and even Qiu Shen's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

  A person, without a trace to be found, with no records whatsoever, there are only two possibilities: one is that this person has great power and his news is almost inaccessible to others; the other is that he is beyond the scope of common sense, for example, he is not an ordinary human being at all.

  Things are getting more and more complicated, this mysterious old man must have a problem.

  Later, Zhang Xin left after paying a deposit of 1,000 yuan. Tian Qi actually wanted to wait until the reason was confirmed before collecting the deposit, but Paozi disagreed. Zhang Xin smiled and said it didn't matter.

  Tian Qi decided to ask his mentor first, maybe he could find a breakthrough.

  Dr. Wu Tianqi's Ph.D. supervisor, Yue Yanming, is a Chinese-American and a giant in the field of theology. Speaking of which, he and his student Wu Tianqi share similar personalities, both being somewhat eccentric, often making unexpected remarks and producing surprising research results. However, this does not affect his academic status; on the contrary, he has many followers, with Wu Tianqi being one of them.

  "This is a bit like the Western concept of divine intervention!" After listening to Tianqi's statement, Master Moon of the Ocean thought for a moment and said, based on his many years of research experience.

  God, Christ Jesus in the West, Buddha in the East and so on can be called God. However, what Yue Fengming said is not them, but human beings, a kind of people who live longer than ordinary people, even transcending the cycle of life and death.

  "Didn't expect the second business to encounter such a complicated one." He hung up the phone, Tian Qi's expression was somewhat solemn. If it were really like what the instructor said, it would probably not be solved for a while.

  There is strength in numbers. Tian Qi wasn't the kind of person who would keep things to himself and worry alone, so he told both Pangzi and Qiu Shen what their instructor had said, along with his own analysis. Qiu Shen was okay, although also a bit surprised, but after all, she had heard it from their instructor before. But for Pangzi, this was the second time in his life that he'd ever heard of such people existing, and it really turned his worldview upside down.

  Little did he know, things that would turn his worldview upside down would emerge one after another.

  "It takes the person who tied the bell to untie it. That policeman must have a problem." Tian Qi thought, this is both a challenge and an opportunity.

  Chou Shen didn't say a word, he wasn't sure if it was his own misconception, but the police seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally glancing at him while speaking, with an appearance of wanting to speak but hesitating. In his memory, he was certain that he had never seen this person before, maybe it really was just his own misconception.

  Having guessed the possibility, the three of them did not immediately contact the police officer. Tian Qi thought that they should investigate more information, how to respond and how to solve it, the more information they had, the better. He had never encountered such a situation before, even his mentor, who was known as the master of the academic world, had not personally experienced it.

  "Yingying, we might be going to China soon." Yue Yanming said with a smile during dinner.

  "Ah! Really? I've never been to China before, Dad's hometown!" Yingying sparkled with a pair of big blue eyes, her shoulder-length black hair shining, looking particularly excited. In fact, she had gone back to China once when she was very young with Yue Ming, but at that time she was too small and didn't have any memories.

  Yuè Yān Míng adored this daughter of his. He had spent years studying and didn't meet her mother until he was nearly forty. A year and a half later, they had this little sprite, a combination of Eastern and Western charm, a gift from heaven.

  "That's right, the phone call from Tianqi today, if my guess is correct, I'll be going to China soon." When mentioning Tianqi, Yuexuan emphasized it on purpose, he knew his daughter's thoughts. Back then when Tianqi was about to return to China, Yingying wanted to follow him, and if not for her unfinished studies, no matter how hard he tried to stop her, it would have been useless.

  "Daddy!" Yinyin's little face turned red as she ran upstairs.

  Yuè Yǎn Míng burst out laughing, but after seeing his daughter go upstairs, a hint of sadness flowed out from his eyes again. If only Rongrong's mom were still here, how great that would be.

  "Our daughter has grown up, have you seen her?" Yuelan Ming stood up and walked to the window. When their daughter was two years old, his wife had passed away. She was a nurse who accidentally contracted an illness during an epidemic. He thought that one day his wife would come back, and he would see her when she looked out the window. But there wasn't, all these years, his wife never appeared again, maybe only until the day he died would he see his wife again.