Chapter 1: The Shocking Blood Case

  The first New Year's Eve of the 1980s. The dormitory of the Public Security Bureau of Yijiange was very lively. Just after that disaster, people's lives had improved a bit, without the "tightening spell" of class struggle, this Spring Festival seemed more joyful.

  The happiest was Yu Xin Yuan's family. His wrongly accused case had been thoroughly redressed, and he received a substantial salary that was back-paid to him. He was also promoted to be a member of the party group in the bureau and the captain of the criminal investigation team, so he no longer needed to work as hard as before. His wife, Shu Fang, was transferred from a remote school to the central primary school in the city, and finally, they could live together as a family. The bureau also allocated a 40-square-meter apartment for them, which was truly a "four joys arriving at the door". Therefore, this New Year's Eve was especially joyful. After the two children set off a string of firecrackers, the whole family was busy making dumplings, with the filling made from leek, egg, and minced meat emitting a strong fragrance. The stove was burning fiercely, and Yu Xin Yuan was rolling out the dough while Shu Fang, wearing an apron, had flour all over her hands as she wrapped the dumplings. They were celebrating the New Year with great joy.

  "Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock!!!" A hurried knocking sound. "Old Yu, Old Yu!" Someone outside the door was shouting loudly.

  "Isn't it too early to come and pay New Year's greetings? How annoying!" Xiu Fang was very unhappy, but still wiped her hands on her apron and went to open the door. Along with the cold wind that came in were the Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Municipal Government and the Director of the Public Security Bureau!

  The two men looked grim. Obviously, a major case had occurred.

  As a public security family member, Shufen was not surprised by such things, but during the Chinese New Year, such a big shot personally came to the door, even Yu Xin, this old detective, was also taken aback.

  "Lao Yu! Please go to Leijiang County immediately, the bureau has assigned a Jeep and two assistants for you. Set off now!" Director Zhao of the Provincial Public Security Bureau was a demobilized military officer and spoke in a concise and efficient manner.

  Yu Xin knew that there must be another shocking case! Otherwise, it wouldn't have caused such a stir and had the two top leaders personally come to invite him to go to the front line.

  His long military and police career had made Yu Xinfang accustomed to obeying orders. He put down the rolling pin, turned to his wife and said: "I'll go prepare the criminal investigation kit in my office, you get ready some daily necessities for me!"

  Before leaving, the deputy secretary of the travel agency and also the former director of the Public Security Bureau, Xie Yuquan, smiled apologetically at Shufang and the children, "I'm sorry to disturb you during the Spring Festival, I feel really bad! Happy New Year!"

  After a while, Yu Xin Yuan knocked on the door of her home.

  "Hello, sister-in-law!" Behind him emerged his two assistants. Shufen knew them both: one was tall and sturdy, named Li Jianjun; the other was slender and fair-skinned, named Zhang Guoqiang. They were all newcomers to the criminal investigation team. Shufen handed each of them a big handful of watermelon seeds and said, "Be careful!"

  Yu Xinyuan took over the travel bag and the car started. At this time, two children rushed to the door: "Dad, the dumplings are cooked, let's eat the dumplings before leaving!"

  "Stay home and listen to mom, I'll be back soon!"

  Shu Fang was still leaning against the door, gazing out. The wheels rolled on and on, and in a little while, they left behind the city with its sky full of fireworks and lights from every household, and entered into the vast darkness of night.

  The fourth day of the first month. The first working day after the New Year, and the festive atmosphere still lingers on people's faces. But in the meeting room of Leijiang County Public Security Bureau, smoke fills the air. Many people have red eyes, looking exhausted, probably due to staying up all night for a long time.

  Although it was just a case briefing, the leaders of the Provincial Public Security Department's Criminal Investigation Division, the Administrative Office of the Public Security Bureau, and all members of the Leijiang County Party Committee and county government attended. In this atmosphere, everyone looked serious and no one dared to speak lightly.

  "Lao Yu, you first tell us about the case?" Zhao Bureau Chief of the Municipal Public Security Bureau broke the silence.

  He cleared his throat, took a sip of water, opened his notebook and said:

  "Ladies and gentlemen, according to the preliminary investigation, the situation is as follows: At 12:30 on New Year's Eve, Director Ge of the Provincial Foreign Trade Department was preparing to have lunch with Japanese businessmen who came to our county for inspection, and then return to the provincial city with them. After calling the Japanese businessman's room several times, no one answered. So I asked the service staff of the guest house to open the door, but found that the businessman had died by the bed."

  Ge Chu Chang immediately reported the case to the Leijiang County Public Security Bureau. It has been confirmed that the deceased is the chairman of the board of directors of Japan's Nichibō Spinning Co., Ltd. Passport information shows that the deceased, Yamada Jirō, male, born in 1918, resides in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. He entered China from Shanghai on February 6, 1980, and came to Leijiang County on February 12 to inspect textile factory investment matters.

  "How did he die? Is there a forensic doctor?" asked Vice Secretary Xie of the County Government.

  The forensic expert, surnamed Han, was a veteran of the Public Security Bureau. Nobody knew his real name, and he was called "Old Academician". He had studied in England and America in his early years and had been engaged in forensic work for over 50 years. He was a national treasure in the field of forensic science. Over 70 years old, with white hair and beard, he was still spirited and had a loud voice. He opened his notebook and said: "The deceased was found at 13 o'clock, and I rushed to the scene from home at 10 o'clock that night. At that time, the limbs and face of the deceased were completely stiff, with obvious livor mortis. From the residual material in the intestines, it can be inferred that death occurred about 4 hours after dinner, around 10 pm on the 14th. The deceased had been poisoned, but this was not the cause of death. A large amount of vomit was found in the toilet, and the toxic substance was insufficient to be fatal. The direct cause of death was a severe blow to the chest with a conical object, resulting in comminuted fractures of the rib bones, which pierced the heart and caused death. There were no obvious signs of struggle at the scene. The deceased's ** had been completely cut off, and their whereabouts were unknown!

  The scene suddenly fell silent. This situation was far beyond the expectations of those present.

  "What was used as a murder weapon?" asked Li Minzhen, deputy commander of the Provincial Criminal Investigation Detachment.

  "Judging from the serrated wound, it doesn't seem like a sharp knife, but rather something sawed off with a saw blade," said the forensic expert.

  "Has the murder weapon been found?" Lee Min-jeong asked further.

  Yu Xinyuan shook his head, "No iron tools or suspected murder weapons were found at the scene or nearby."

  "Is it robbery or murder? Old Yu, continue speaking!" Director Zhao continued to ask.

  Yu Xin Yuan said: "From the scene inspection, it cannot be ruled out that it was a robbery; there were two Japanese sake cups on the scene, seemingly used to entertain guests. Except for the deceased himself, no fingerprints were left at the scene, and there were no lip prints on the cups. The murderer used local special products of Chinese herbal medicine as the poison, proving that the murderer may be a local or someone familiar with the local situation, with knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine. A footprint was left on the windowsill, and two footprints, one deep and two shallow, were found on the low wall below the window, and the grass under the low wall had been trampled, not ruling out the possibility that the murderer was a duo. From the fact that the deceased's **was cut off, it is more likely to be a revenge killing!"

  "Has the footprint been inspected?" Director Zhao asked.

  "After technical appraisal, the footprints on the windowsill and the low wall are consistent, and the footprints are relatively complete. Based on the footprints, it is estimated that this person is about 1.7 meters tall and has a relatively robust physique; Both shallow footprints only have half of the forefoot, one facing forward and one backward, and they partially overlap with each other, making it difficult to extract effective information."

  "Have all the waiters and chefs at the reception been controlled today?" Director Zhao continued to ask.

  Yu Xin Yuan said: "They were all isolated in the guest house, first for convenience of inquiry, second to claim to the outside world that they were receiving foreign guests and staying in the guest house for overtime work, so as to prevent the case from being leaked."

  Although there were many people in the conference room, there was no extra noise except for questions and answers.

  Two clerks were quickly recording on their notebooks because it involved the nature of the case and the direction of investigation, so everyone spoke with great caution.