Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ji Zhou Province, Chang Ming City, Martyr Cemetery
A funeral procession took place at 10:00 a.m. After numerous requests from the Criminal Department, the local government approved Wu Fangfang, leader of the department, to be buried next to Shi Hai’s tomb. The pair of heroes would finally be able to rest in peace next to the person they loved, giving everyone a sense of closure. Even though Wu Fangfang’s death was not as tragic as Shi Hai’s, her contributions through the years had been outstanding.
The Criminal Department held a grand memorial service for Wu Fangfang at the procession. The head of the department had written a eulogy and joined in the mourning. Standing in the crowd, Zhao Yu was distracted. When he saw how her children mourned and seemed to feel the weight of all of the sadness in the world, it was as if he was transported back in time to Leader Qu Ping’s funeral. Even though the two officers possessed different characters, they were dedicated to their jobs and comrades, and their premature deaths were a waste.
Sigh! Zhao Yu couldn’t help but let out a sigh while listening to the eulogy Chief Jiao gave. He suddenly thought of Wu Fangfang back in Bai Ling city when she had too much to drink at the restaurant. Back then, he had felt that she was violent and annoying—if only he knew how much pain and emptiness she had inside her heart! Whenever he thought about this, he would regret what he had done to her at Jin Ping. He shouldn’t have judged a book by its cover. He probably wouldn’t have hated her so much if only he had understood her story.
Following Chief Jiao, Zhao Yu took part in Wu Fangfang’s funeral as the sole representative of his team. Miao Ying and the remaining team members were still handling Cheng Lingfei’s case. “Uhm…” While looking at Wu Fangfang’s tomb, Zhao Yu whispered to Chief Jiao. “Although it’s an honor to be buried in the Martyr’s Cemetery… will her parents object to her not being buried with her family?”
“This was her parents’ wish!” Chief Jiao replied. “They said that when Wu Fangfang was alive, she mentioned that her biggest regret would be if she wasn’t able to be buried with her beloved Shi Hai, so…” Zhao Yu nodded. He had a newfound respect for Wu Fangfang’s dedication.
“Leader Zhao…” A few police officers came up and greeted Zhao Yu. It was Liu Zhanbing and Xu Hai. They had been Wu Fangfang’s subordinates.
“Leader Zhao!” Liu Zhanbing shook hands with Zhao Yu excitedly. “We’re really thankful for you! Without you, our leader Wu… sigh…”
“What?” Zhao Yu didn’t understand what Liu Zhanbing was trying to say.
“Yes, yes!” Xu Hai said, wiping his tears and nodding. “When I saw the photographs of sister Fang and Jiang Ke, I felt like my brain was going to explode! That was the infamous thief Jiang Ke! Sister Fang’s reputation was ruined, and if the photographs hadn’t been clarified, everything would have been a mess!” Only then did Zhao Yu understand why they were thanking him.
“It’s all thanks to Leader Zhao,” Liu Zhanbing continued. “If you hadn’t found out the truth, sister Fang’s reputation would have been ruined! And not just that, she’d be suspected of being in cahoots with a thief, which would have tarnished her name further!” While they were speaking, a few of the remaining team members shook hands with Zhao Yu.
“If it weren’t for you, sister Fang wouldn’t have been able to be buried here in the Martyr’s Cemetery with Brother Shi Hai! All of this was because of your efforts!” Xu Hai said.
“Leader Zhao!” Another colleague chimed in. “Saying thank you isn’t enough. From now on, if you need us, just let us know! We’ll help you without question!” With that, they bowed to Zhao Yu as a show of gratitude.
“Ah, don’t, don’t,” Zhao Yu hurriedly waved his hands. Bowing felt inappropriate at such an occasion. “Brothers, I appreciate your good intentions. Let us be closer in the future!”
“Yeah!” Chief Jiao said, nodding. “Next time, everyone must mirror Leader Wu Fangfang’s attitude and handle cases seriously. That will be the best way to honor her!”
“Yes, yes, yes…” The small crowd nodded. If it wasn’t a funeral, they would probably have been clapping. Zhao Yu felt relieved. Although he had suspected Wu Fangfang of wrongdoing initially, finding out the truth had ultimately helped her.
“Leader Zhao!” Liu Zhanbing came forward and spoke to Zhao Yu quietly. “To tell you the truth, a long time ago, Leader Wu sent us to investigate Cheng Lingfei!”
“Oh? Really?” Zhao Yu asked, surprised.
“Yes!” Liu Zhanbing said. “It was a really long time ago and was meant to be a secret mission. Sister Fang wanted to check if Cheng Lingfei was doing anything illegal. Such a pity. Back then, we thought it was just business cases and didn’t really notice anything else, so we concluded that nothing was going on. We didn’t know there was this much going on behind the scenes! I didn’t expect it. I think back then, although sister Fang didn’t know the extent of Cheng Lingfei’s evilness, she probably already had some suspicions. If only we had known, we would have investigated further!” Liu Zhanbing shook his head helplessly.
“You guys cannot be blamed,” Zhao Yu said. “Leader Wu recognized that the guy who took the photo with her was Jiang Ke, so she suspected Cheng Lingfei and Jiang Ke were in cahoots. Hence, the investigation. But, Cheng Lingfei… this woman was always on guard and had been watching Wu Fangfang’s every movement, as well as watching all of you. She knew in advance, that’s why you weren’t able to find anything!”
“It seems like when it comes to personal gain, feelings mean nothing,” Xu Hai said sorrowfully. “They were such close friends, but, in the end, she still did this to sister Fang. How cruel!” Conversations continued among various people, and when the funeral ended, they all saluted the tombstone and left separately.
Chief Jiao took the opportunity to introduce Zhao Yu to several superiors over a meal. As they sat around the dining table, the higherups had nothing but praise for Zhao Yu—praise for solving the unsolved cases, praise for having both brains and brawn. Zhao Yu also took the opportunity to show off as much as he could.
After dinner had finished, Chief Jiao’s secretary took Zhao Yu about his planned schedule. The schedule was not too intensive because of his injuries. Providing training to officers meant plenty of time to rest. The first stop on the list was for him to return to Qin Shan to do paperwork training. He could take that opportunity to visit his family and friends.
After bidding goodbye to Chief Jiao and the others, Zhao Yu started on the journey home alone. Taking the high-speed rail was the best option for Zhao Yu, as the airport was remote. While waiting in the hall, his phone rang. The call was from Li Luoyun.
“Officer Zhao, there’s something I have to report!” Li Luoyun said. “Jiang Ke has woken up!”
“Oh? Really?” Zhao Yu’s eyes lit up. “That’s great! Quick, ask him about Cheng Lingfei and see if we missed anything!”
“Uhm… I’m afraid that might be difficult…” Li Luoyun said awkwardly.
“Huh? Why?” Zhao Yu could tell something was wrong. “What’s the problem?”
“Jiang Ke is awake, but…” Li Luoyun hesitated. “He lost his memory. He can’t remember anything—not even his own name!”
“What?!” Zhao Yu was shocked.
Li Luoyun had switched to a video call to let Zhao Yu see everything for himself. A confused Jiang Ke was in the middle of the white ward, pacing up and down, continuously touching things. He stopped in front of a white switch and kept flicking it on and off, a sickly curious expression on his face.
“D*mn it!” Zhao Yu couldn’t believe it.
“I was worried he was faking it, so I got the doctors to observe him for a while before reporting to you,” Li Luoyun said. “The doctors have already confirmed that not only did he lose his memory, but his mental state might also be compromised!”
“Will he get better?” Zhao Yu asked.
“It’s hard to say,” Li Luoyun said. “The doctors couldn’t guarantee whether he would get better, but in his current state, it probably won’t be any time soon!”
Sh*t! Is this a cruel prank being played by God? Zhao Yu wondered as he watched the now mentally slow Jiang Ke on his screen. Perhaps this was all fate. Tao Xiang from the south and Jiang Ke from the north—one was a thief, the other a bandit, yet they had suffered a similar outcome!?
