Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After drinking with his old colleagues, Zhao Yu and the gang went to a KTV they used to frequent and sang until they were satisfied before returning home. It was already late and Zhao Yu had no intention of disturbing Jiang Dafeng’s family. The house he had rented had been left to gather dust for some time and would be uncomfortable to sleep in. In the end, he chose to stay in a nearby hotel rather than return to Shun Feng Street. After checking in, he took a shower, gave Miao Ying a call, then went to bed.
With no cases to work on, Zhao Yu thought he’d be able to get a good night’s rest. Alas, after tossing and turning, he was unable to fall asleep. Earlier that day, after teaching Liu Changhu and Wang Shengyu a lesson, Zhao Yu had intended to see their family. However, such information was confidential and he would have had to request permission from the higherups. According to regulations, the earliest he could see them was the next afternoon.
Before this, Zhao Yu had already made plans. Following the dissolving of Cheng Lingfei’s group, he would lift the protection order on his family so they could once again be free. They had been under guard for way too long. Any longer and his parents would grow sick of that lifestyle. That wasn’t to say there would be no protection. Zhao Yu had already made arrangements through a reliable source for professional bodyguards to be on standby at all times.
Opening his eyes, he stared at the dark ceiling. His heart was in knots. He had punished Liu Changhu and Wang Shengyu cruelly, but when he had seen them vomiting, he felt that everything he had done was meaningless and he regretted his actions. In the past, Zhao Yu would have been thrilled. Why did he find it boring now? Could it be because of Cheng Lingfei’s influence? Was his hatred being overcome with love?
After some serious thought, Zhao Yu finally understood! The reason was that he had matured. Through solving the various major cases, he was no longer the arrogant hooligan detective he used to be. The process had taught him humility and improved his character. If he had been the old him, he would have no qualms about torturing Liu Changhu and Wang Shengyu to death. Now, he didn’t want to give those scum any attention. Competing with them would just mean he was lowering himself to their level! But this also made him feel like a boring man.
After thinking about how he had changed, Zhao Yu began thinking about his future plans. At that time, out of the five major country cases, only the Huayun Mountain Massacre Case remained. Naturally, solving it would be the next step for him to have proper closure. Unlike in the past, the higherups understood and supported Zhao Yu’s endeavors. But because he had accepted the three-month suspension, getting permission to reopen the case would be impossible.
Miao Ying could apply for the case even though Zhao Yu couldn’t. If she was successful, Zhao Yu could act as the mastermind behind-the-scenes and still take part in the investigation! But she was also very busy and judging by the current situation, it would take another two to three months to clear up Cheng Lingfei’s case. By then, his suspension would be over anyway.
Was Zhao Yu supposed to wait three months? No. His engagement to Miao Ying was in three months, he would be preoccupied by then. Should he wait until his engagement was over? Or… could he investigate this secretly?
No. Thinking about past consequences, Zhao Yu scrapped the idea. He was already the center of attention and many people were watching him. He could no longer cause trouble. But even if he didn’t investigate, just reading about the case shouldn’t be a problem, right? Huayun Mountain was about 2,000km away in Fu Lai Province. This wasn’t in his schedule, so how was he supposed to get to the crime scene? Zhao Yu thought about this for half a day and still couldn’t come up with an idea. In the end, he dozed off into dreamland.
Despite sleeping late, Zhao Yu got up early the next day and drove away from the hotel. He decided that he would visit Leader Jin in the morning. Since the yellow notebook was written by Leader Jin, he figured he should discuss the final case with him.
Two of Miao Ying’s vehicles had been parked at Qin Mountain. Ever since returning from there, Zhao Yu had been driving the Phaeton. While driving towards Jin Zhenbang’s residences, he recalled two things. First, he realized that his current location was very close to Qin Mountain Middle School. As it was a school day, he could visit his goddaughter! Ever since Jiang Ke’s prison break, Zhao Yu had been thinking about her. Since he was passing by, he figured why not stop in?
The second thing he realized was that it had been a long time since he opened the last hexagram. Since the time the system had locked itself down, he had been injured and mentally exhausted so he had not tried to open it. Since he was planning to discuss the Huayun Mountain case with Leader Jin, it was the perfect chance to turn it on and mess around with it. If he opened a good hexagram, he’d be able to receive clues about the case. That would be wonderful!
Thinking about the possibilities, Zhao Yu eagerly opened the system and then opened a hexagram without hesitation. He had felt refreshed and comfortable, but after opening the hexagram, he immediately felt odd. There were only two words in the middle of the system – Gan Li!
God d*mn it! In that moment, Zhao Yu felt like everything had shifted to black and white. He cursed in his head. Stupid system! Why are you screwing with me! After not touching you for a few days, the minute I turn you on you play games with me? Is this real? Gan Li Hexagram… what on earth is this?!
Zhao Yu realized he had never seen this combination before. The ‘Li’ represented friends and friendship and sometimes represented a man. It even represented criminals like Dou Zili. Did that mean the ‘Li’ represented Leader Jin? But ‘Gan’ meant getting back together. Was it predicting that something big would happen after seeing Old Jin?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt like it would never end. Just then, he saw the sign for Qin Mountain Middle School. In his heart, all he wanted was to see his goddaughter and make sure nothing would happen to her.
He turned the steering wheel and drove towards Qin Mountain.
