Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It was two in the afternoon at the Bai Ling Police Station, when Zhao Yu brought Cui Lizhu to the captain of the police detective’s room. The captain’s surname was Sun, and he was fifty-nine years old. Nineteen years ago, he was the one that had arrested Cui Fangyu.
As Zhao Yu and Cui Lizhu entered his office, Captain Sun immediately poured them a cup of tea and said, “Ah, you are just in time! If you were to have visited even a week later, I would already be retired! I heard about your working on a case that I was involved with twenty years ago!”
Then, Captain Sun passed a cigarette to Zhao Yu, but Zhao Yu refused it politely.
“Cui Fangyu, right? I vaguely remember this person.” Captain Sun took a seat and started recalling the distant past. “I remember that, not long after the court decided his punishment, he died from a myocardial infarction. In actual fact, there are many of the other details that I can’t remember. But, I do recall that Cui Fangyu was about my age!”
Captain Sun saw that the two of them were listening quite seriously, so he kept talking. “And, I do remember that he ran a company. They weren’t rich, but their company was obviously involved in some illegal dealings! The company was merely a front. Besides smuggling, they were also involved in money laundering, the reselling of cultural relics, and many other crimes.”
“Regarding those criminals, do you still know any of them now?” Zhao Yu asked. “More specifically, how can I find someone who would know more about Cui Fangyu?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone anymore. Soon after the bust went down, those illegal groups disbanded and everyone fled.” Captain Sun shook his head.
He then asked curiously, “Sir, I wonder, why are you interested in all of this? After all, he has been dead for many years! Oh….” He suddenly recalled something else. “Back then, as Cui Fangyu’s death was quite sudden the higher ups were worried that someone had killed him to shut him up. We investigated that too!”
He then added, “However, it was concluded that it was an accidental death. Although Cui Fangyu was young, he had always had heart problems! Also, the criminal gang had been taken care of, so there shouldn’t be any situation whereby someone would have tried to kill him to shut him up.”
“Then, what about his wife and his family?” Cui Lizhu couldn’t help but ask. “Do you remember anything?”
The old police detective creased his eyebrows as he thought long and hard for several moments. He then shook his head and offered, “How about this? Wait here for a minute, and let me make a few calls. I’ll ask a few of my old colleagues and see if they have any information.”
Then, Captain Sun started making calls to his former colleagues. In the end, only one of the colleagues had been able to tell him anything helpful. He told him that when Cui Fangyu was arrested, he had been alone.
This meant that his wife had died long ago! As for his child, no one knew about that. However, with Captain Sun’s continued assistance, they were finally able to find out about something that had happened after Cui Fangyu’s death.
Apparently back then, Cui Fangyu’s parents were still alive, and they were the ones that took care of the funeral. Also, regarding Cui Jinghao’s missing persons report, it was lodged by the two elderly grandparents! Unfortunately, the two passed away due to health issues a few years later.
As he was helping them, Captain Sun seemed very friendly. He used all of his sources to help Zhao Yu check out Ma Wenliang’s whereabouts. In the end, they found that Ma Wenliang had been arrested in a local police station after being involved in a fight. The record book even had his contact details and temporary address at that time!
As long as they could find this person, they could definitely find more clues! This excited everyone immensely!
“Thank you so much!” Before he left, Zhao Yu shook Captain Sun’s hand and the two men happily exchanged numbers.
Captain Sun said that he was free anyway, so he would be happy help to gather more information. He also promised that he would inform Zhao Yu and Cui Lizhu whenever he found any valuable information. They thanked him once again, then left the police station.
“After they left, Zhao Yu looked at Cui Lizhu and asked, “How’s that for a sunlit avenue? The power of the police team is strong and far better than any seedy source of information!”
“Team Leader, are you suggesting for me that I should take the bright path, like you?” Cui Lizhu teased. “I heard some hidden message behind what you just said! I was forced to take my dark path back then, but what about you? I see that you know quite a bit about the rules of the seedy scene! Would it be that you used to be a spy?”
“Hey, don’t drift away from the topic!” Zhao Yu immediately took out Ma Wenliang’s address, which he had copied from the record. “Let’s find this bast*rd!”
Investigating a case in a foreign place was different from investigating it locally. One example was that Zhao Yu had no car here, so he could only take the public bus with Cui Lizhu.
Even though they put a lot of effort into finding Ma Wenliang’s temporary residence, once they got there, the results were very disappointing. This was because there was no one at the temporary residence!
According to the neighbors, Ma Wenliang had been living there about a year ago. So, the address that he had left at the police station was clearly an old, fake address. They didn’t even bother to check the phone number, as they were certain that it was a fake as well!
“This is so depressing!” On the way home, Cui Lizhu said in distress, “Looking for this person took so much time and effort! I think it will be too difficult for us to complete this task within the allotted time!”
“Silly girl,” Zhao Yu patted Cui Lizhu’s shoulders. “An investigation isn’t as easy as a burglary! This is a job that requires patience and determination! Let’s go look for the local police station that detained him and see if there’s any reward being offered. According to my experience, the more difficult it is to find a witness, the more valuable he is!”
“Mm… Team Leader…” Just then, Cui Lizhu pushed away at Zhao Yu’s inappropriately placed hand.
She then creased her eyebrows and said, “I feel like your sunlit avenue ideal isn’t quite realistic. Why don’t we split up and both try our own approaches? Ma Wenliang is a gambler and a womanizer, so I’ll go to the nearby casino and entertainment venues that are near where he was arrested!”
“Mm… This…” Zhao Yu creased his eyebrows, clearly concerned as he was thinking about her proposal. “But, you’re a girl. Isn’t it inappropriate for you to go to those kinds of places? Why don’t we swap?”
“It’s okay!” Cui Lizhu smiled. “I’m no rookie. If I can’t even deal with this kind of a situation, I’d better not mix around with the special investigation group! Plus, you have legal documents, so it’s more suitable for you to go to the local police station, Mister Police Officer!”
“Then, at least let me buy you a phone, as we have to be in touch at all times!” Zhao Yu said, as he extended his hand into his pocket to get some money.
“It’s okay!” Cui Lizhu took out a white phone from her pocket and said, “I’ll contact you if there’s anything to report!”
“What the h*ck? Little Zhu, you can’t do that…” Before Zhao Yu could give her a lecture, she had already disappeared!
Phew…
Zhao Yu sighed, He had to admit that he was secretly glad that the smarty pants finally left. After all, it was much easier when he could simply do his own thing.
Zhao Yu flashed a treacherous smile and called a cab. Then, he took out his phone to call his most trusted people searching expert at the Rongyang Branch, Zhang Jingfeng!
“Hey, Zhang!” Zhao Yu greeted his colleague. He then lowered his voice and asked, “About that thing that I told you to investigate, how did it go? Have you found the location?”
“Yes!” Zhang Jingfeng replied excitedly. “I’m sending you the location now. But, when you arrive at the destination, you gotta look closely for it, as I only found Cui Family’s ancestral tomb’s address, but I can’t guarantee that the tombstone that you’re looking for is there!”
