Chapter 95: Police-Civilian Cooperation
Chapter 95: Police-Civilian Cooperation
After breakfast, Yu Meilin said, “Zian, come with me to the company.”
Li Zian was clearing the dishes and said, “I did a divination for myself this morning. That Officer Liu will probably come to discuss the case with me today. I also want to talk to him, so we can catch the murderer soon. Then I can rest easy.”
Yu Meilin remained silent for a moment before saying, “Alright then. Call me if anything happens.”
Li Zian gave a nod, with nothing more to say.
He actually hadn’t performed any divination for himself; he simply didn’t want to go to the company with her.
Was he some kind of accessory attached to her that he had to follow her everywhere?
As soon as Yu Meilin stepped out, Li Xiaomei pestered Li Zian to perform a magic trick. Li Zian put a piece of chocolate in her little pocket. Not long after, Tang Qing arrived.
“Brother Zian, good morning,” Tang Qing greeted, but there was no smile on her face.
Li Zian felt something was off with her and asked, “Has something happened at home again?”
“No, that matter was already settled. Why do you ask?”
Li Zian said, “You seem unhappy today. You’re not usually like this.”
A smile appeared on Tang Qing’s face. “Do I? I’m very happy. Seeing you and Xiaomei makes me happy.”
But Li Zian could tell her smile was forced.
“Xiaomei, time for class,” Tang Qing said, not saying much more to Li Zian, and took Xiaomei upstairs for lessons.
She didn’t want to talk about it, so Li Zian didn’t pry. He said goodbye to the Old Matriarch and went out to buy groceries.
When he left, for some reason, his legs didn’t head toward the elevator lobby but instead went toward Mu Chuntao’s door.
Mu Chuntao’s door was closed; it wasn’t left open for him.
Somehow, he felt a bit unaccustomed to that.
Li Zian reached out to press the doorbell, but hesitated and put his hand down again.
Mu Long probably hadn’t gotten up yet. What would it look like for a married man from next door to knock and ask to see his daughter?
Li Zian turned and left, taking the elevator downstairs.
Ding ling ling, ding ling ling.
His mobile phone rang with an incoming call.
“Could it be Taozi calling me to her place? If she calls and asks me to go, then I’ll go.” Li Zian thought this as he took out his phone and glanced at it, then froze.
The call was from Liu Jun.
That morning, he had lied to Yu Meilin, saying Liu Jun would look for him, and now Liu Jun was calling.
He wondered, had his divination ability improved, reaching the level of foresight?
After a brief moment of shock, Li Zian swiped to answer. “Hello, Officer Liu.”
“Is this Mr. Li?”
“Yes, it’s me. What can I do for you?”
“Where are you right now?”
“I’m in the elevator, about to go out to buy groceries.”
Liu Jun said, “I’m outside your residential area. I’m driving a Harvard H6 police vehicle. You don’t need to remember the license plate; just look for the roof light. I’ll be waiting in the car.”
Li Zian felt inexplicably excited. “Officer Liu, have you caught the murderer?”
“We’ll talk when we meet.” Liu Jun hung up.
Li Zian quickly walked toward the main gate of the residential area, his mind guessing about the possibility of capturing the murderer. Once outside the gate, he immediately saw a Harvard H6 police vehicle parked by the roadside. There was indeed no need to remember the license plate—the roof light was a very noticeable marker.
Before Li Zian could get close, the passenger door of the police car opened.
Li Zian walked over, got into the passenger seat, and closed the door behind him.
Liu Jun was the only one in the car. He didn’t say anything about the matter; after Li Zian got in, he started the engine and drove off.
Li Zian said, “Officer Liu, what exactly is going on? You didn’t tell me anything, just started driving. Where are you taking me?”
“After checking the Sky Eye, we found several suspects. We’d like you to identify them,” Liu Jun said.
Li Zian was instantly excited. “Did you catch that White-clad Woman?”
Liu Jun drove while speaking. “The suspects waiting for you to identify are all white-clad women. Whether the one you mentioned is among them depends on your identification.”
Li Zian recalled the appearance of the White-clad Woman in his mind. He felt a bit confident that if she was among the suspects, he would definitely recognize her.
“Officer Liu, did you inform Professor Kang?” Li Zian asked another question.
Liu Jun said, “Professor Kang never saw that woman. Why call him?”
“That’s true. It’s better to keep him out of this kind of thing.” Li Zian thought of Ma Fuquan again; he definitely didn’t want Kang Haichuan to become the next victim.
Liu Jun glanced at the grocery basket on Li Zian’s lap, his tone somewhat meaningful. “Mr. Li, you actually go grocery shopping yourself?”
Li Zian was surprised. “What’s wrong with going grocery shopping?”
Liu Jun said, “Yesterday, I talked with Professor Kang and his student Kang Xin about you. They both said you’re a very impressive Master. Someone of your status going grocery shopping strikes me as a bit odd.”
Li Zian smiled. “Not only do I shop for groceries myself, I also eat meals myself. You eat meals yourself too, right, Officer Liu?”
Liu Jun: “…”
The police-civilian topic ended.
The car arrived at a police station. After parking, Liu Jun led Li Zian to a room.
This room had a large glass wall, a table with a display screen, a microphone, a camera, and other equipment.
A young female officer sat behind the table, looking at Li Zian with curiosity—perhaps at the grocery basket in his hand, or perhaps at his face and figure.
Being too handsome had this drawback; even carrying a grocery basket could make people find you striking.
Li Zian was long accustomed to being stared at by women; it didn’t even cause a ripple in his heart. His gaze fell on the glass wall. Through the tinted glass, he could vaguely see another space behind it, but it wasn’t clear.
Liu Jun said, “Mr. Li, in a moment, several suspects will appear in the room behind the glass wall. You’ll stand in front of the glass to identify them. Once you’ve confirmed a suspect, tell me the number.”
Li Zian nodded.
Liu Jun spoke into the microphone. “We’re ready on this side. You can begin.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the room behind the glass wall suddenly lit up. The previously unclear scene became sharp and distinct.
It was an empty room. Against the wall opposite the glass wall stood five women. The oldest was in her fifties or sixties, the youngest around twenty. Their builds varied too, from tall to short, plump to thin. They all wore white clothes—some in white long dresses, some in white trench coats, some in white dance outfits like those for plaza dancing. Judging by their attire, they were indeed all white-clad women.
Li Zian looked at each one in turn. None was the White-clad Woman he had seen. That White-clad Woman had a very distinctive feature: her eyes were blue. These women all had black and white eyes.
“Any matches?” Liu Jun asked.
Li Zian shook his head. “No, they’re not her.”
“Look more carefully. Don’t let the real culprit slip by,” Liu Jun reminded him.
Li Zian said, “The White-clad Woman I saw had blue eyes—probably Caucasian—and she was holding a very long sword. None of these women match those two features. How did you find them?”
“The sword could have been discarded. Eye color could be changed with colored contacts. Even facial features could be altered with makeup. These women were all near the crime scene during the time Director Ma was killed. They had the opportunity. So please take another careful look. Don’t overlook any suspect.”
Li Zian looked earnestly again at each unfamiliar face.
The five women stood in a row, each looking somewhat nervous.
Two minutes for each woman; this time, Li Zian looked for a full ten minutes before finishing.
“No, none of them is that White-clad Woman,” Li Zian said.
He wanted to catch the murderer too, but he couldn’t randomly identify someone who wasn’t the culprit.
“Not a single one worth suspecting?” Liu Jun wasn’t ready to give up.
Li Zian said, “You’ve seen that surveillance footage too. Can’t you use the Skynet System to track her movements and capture her?”
Liu Jun was silent for a moment before saying, “I’ll be honest with you. Only the convenience store’s surveillance camera captured the White-clad Woman you mentioned. None of the surrounding surveillance cameras caught her. We even checked the Skynet System and traffic system cameras, but none recorded that woman.”
Li Zian felt both surprised and puzzled. “Then how did the convenience store’s surveillance camera capture her?”
“I don’t know either.”
Li Zian suddenly remembered something and said, “Then did you check the surveillance cameras near Gaochen Yipin?”
“We did, but we didn’t see the White-clad Woman you described either.” Liu Jun stared straight at Li Zian, his gaze sharp, as if trying to see through him.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m really not lying. Didn’t the convenience store’s surveillance camera capture her too?” Li Zian said.
Liu Jun said, “If it weren’t for that convenience store’s surveillance camera capturing her, we might be having this conversation somewhere else.”
Li Zian was slightly taken aback. “Officer Liu, what do you mean by that?”
Liu Jun said, “No one can avoid all surveillance cameras. Facial recognition technology is very advanced now. Even if she changed clothes after the crime, we could still find her. But aside from that one image from the convenience store’s camera, no other surveillance camera captured her. Tell me, did she fly in from the sky? And after committing the crime, fly away again?”
“Could she be a ghost?” Li Zian felt inexplicably nervous.
“Or could there be a ghost in your heart?” Liu Jun also asked.
Li Zian: “…”
“That symbol came from you. Someone died because of that symbol. You tell me you don’t know what it means either. Should I believe you?”
“I really don’t know. Didn’t I tell you before? If I knew, why would I ask Professor Kang to decipher it? Plus, I didn’t even know Director Ma before, let alone about their archaeological work at the ruins back then.”
Liu Jun looked sharply at Li Zian. “That part makes sense. But you shifted the investigation’s focus to that White-clad Woman. You said you saw her on the river embankment next to Gaochen Yipin. Then why is it that after checking all the surveillance cameras nearby, I found no trace of the White-clad Woman you mentioned?”
Li Zian thought he was being unreasonable and didn’t feel like being polite anymore. “You’re asking me, but who should I ask? Are you suspecting that I killed Director Ma? If so, and if you have evidence, then arrest me.”
Liu Jun stared intently at Li Zian. “You’re hiding something from me.”
Li Zian put on a serious expression. “I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone else.”
“Go on.”
Li Zian lowered his voice. “I like to eat peaches.”
Liu Jun immediately frowned. “This is a murder case! What kind of joke is that?”
Li Zian put away his jesting attitude—not because he feared Liu Jun’s anger, but because it truly was a murder case. Ma Fuquan’s bones weren’t even cold yet; he couldn’t joke about it just because of some irritation.
After a brief silence, Li Zian suddenly remembered something. “That’s right, there’s an auntie who often hands out flyers on the river embankment opposite our residential area. She’s plump, in her fifties, calls everyone ‘handsome.’ She also saw that White-clad Woman. I went to find Professor Kang because I saw the flyer for the National Academy’s art exhibition she was handing out. Go ask her; she’ll confirm that the White-clad Woman appeared near our place.”
Liu Jun picked up a pencil and a notebook from the table. “Describe her facial features. I’ll sketch her.”
Li Zian nodded and began describing the auntie’s appearance.
Over ten minutes later, Liu Jun finished a sketch and showed it to Li Zian. “Is this the auntie you mentioned?”
Li Zian looked at it and said, “Very similar. That’s her.”
Liu Jun gave Li Zian a glare. “Alright, you can go buy your groceries now. Also, keep your mobile phone on 24/7. I’ll contact you anytime.”
Li Zian said, surprised, “Officer Liu, aren’t you driving me back?”
Liu Jun said irritably, “Should I take you back in a prison van? Want to ride in that?”
“Never mind then. I’m leaving.” Li Zian turned to leave but added at the door, “Officer Liu, remember to eat your meals yourself, okay.”
Liu Jun stared blankly at Li Zian. For some reason, he really felt like reaching out and strangling Li Zian’s neck.