Chapter 117: Was She Doing It On Purpose?
Chapter 117: Was She Doing It On Purpose?
Ding ling ling, ding ling ling…
Li Zian just walked out of the alley when his mobile phone rang.
He smiled bitterly and swiped to answer.
“What do you mean? Answering the call but not saying anything! I asked where you are!” Liu Jun’s voice was full of anger. Even through the screen, it felt like you could sense the spittle flying.
Li Zian said, “Officer Liu, don’t get so worked up. I was chasing that White-clad Woman. The situation just now was very special; I didn’t dare make a sound because I was afraid of being discovered.”
“Did you catch up to her?” Liu Jun’s tone softened a little.
“No.”
“Are you messing with me?” Liu Jun roared from the other end.
Li Zian frowned and moved the mobile phone a little further from his ear, but his ear still felt a bit buzzy.
“Where are you now?”
“I’m heading back to the River Embankment. Where are you?” Li Zian asked.
“I’m right on the River Embankment opposite the gate of your residential area. Come over here. I think we really need to have a proper talk!” Liu Jun’s voice carried a hidden resentment.
Li Zian gave a wry smile, put away his mobile phone, looked left and right, and carefully crossed the street.
He could understand Liu Jun’s dissatisfaction. It was the middle of the night, a time when everyone should be in bed sleeping. If someone had a wife, maybe they were being affectionate with her, contributing to the continuation of Human Civilization. Then suddenly a call comes, summoning them here to stand in the wind. Wouldn’t that make anyone angry?
There were even fewer people on the River Embankment now. The shops by the roadside were mostly closed. The stream of cars that usually came and went during the day had also thinned out significantly, making everything seem deserted.
Li Zian walked back along the River Embankment and saw Liu Jun standing there from far away. He hadn’t come alone; he brought two other police officers with him. All three were in uniform, forming a noticeable sight on the embankment.
Liu Jun walked up to him, his face stern, expression serious, and his tone icy cold. “Where is she?”
Li Zian spread his hands. “Lost her. You can check the surveillance cameras from the residential area and the surrounding shops. I’m not lying to you. She really appeared, right over there, looking towards my window.”
He raised his hand and pointed to a spot for Liu Jun.
But Liu Jun moved closer to Li Zian and sniffed with his nose.
Li Zian took half a step back, curious. “What are you doing?”
Liu Jun said, “You’ve been drinking.”
Li Zian suddenly understood what he was getting at and responded, “My wife and I had a little wine, but I’m not drunk. I really saw that White-clad Woman. I took a picture of her with my mobile phone. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you.”
He took out his mobile phone, opened the photo album, and tapped on the photo he had taken of the White-clad Woman earlier on the River Embankment.
But after he opened it, even he was dumbfounded. He clearly remembered photographing that White-clad Woman, but she wasn’t in the picture. It was dark; you could vaguely see a person, but it wasn’t a woman in white. It was a man in shorts, and… with noticeable bulges.
The whole screen radiated awkwardness.
He quickly swiped to the next photo.
It was still the man in shorts, so blurry you couldn’t even see his face clearly.
He swiped to the third photo. This time, he saw a patch of white. It looked like a piece of a white garment, perhaps the lower part of a dress, fluttering up.
Liu Jun sneered, “You’re not going to tell me this is the White-clad Woman you photographed, are you?”
Li Zian suddenly remembered. Earlier, that White-clad Woman suddenly started moving and shifted sideways. She wasn’t running in a straight line but in a zigzag pattern. She was avoiding his mobile phone camera lens, and probably the surrounding surveillance cameras too. No wonder she had appeared twice, yet the nearby surveillance cameras never captured her. Surveillance cameras have blind spots, and she knew exactly where those blind spots were!
“Mr. Li, don’t you think you owe me an explanation?” Liu Jun’s voice held a hint of suppressed anger.
Li Zian said, “This white thing in the photo is part of her dress. I saw her. I even chased her across the street and into an alley. Later, she jumped into the small courtyard of a house. That’s when you called me…”
Liu Jun cut Li Zian off. “Are you sure you’re not drunk?”
Li Zian shot back, “Do I look drunk to you?”
Liu Jun nodded. “Yes.”
Li Zian: “…”
He couldn’t even be bothered to ask if Liu Jun had checked the residential area or the surrounding shops’ surveillance footage. That White-clad Woman could even evade his mobile phone’s camera; she definitely wouldn’t let the nearby surveillance cameras catch her. If the nearby surveillance cameras could have captured her, they would have done so the first two times. How could this time be any different?
“Go on, how do you explain this?” Liu Jun stared at Li Zian.
Li Zian spread his hands. “Explain what? I really saw her. Otherwise, why would I chase her? If you don’t believe me, check the surveillance. You might not see her, but you’ll definitely see me chasing her.”
“Are you saying the other party is a female ghost?”
“No. But she knows how to avoid surveillance cameras. The route she took to escape, she also used the pedestrians and obstacles on the River Embankment. She knows this area very well. She’s very smart.”
“Are you saying the person we need to catch is some super secret agent like Sean from ‘The Bourne Identity’?” Liu Jun was finding it hard to suppress the fire in his heart.
Li Zian said, “I’ve seen that movie too, but the White-clad Woman I’m telling you about is much more impressive than the Sean in the movie. I saw it with my own eyes. A wall over two meters high, and she went over it whoosh! I didn’t even have time to blink, and she was gone again.”
“Li Zian!” Liu Jun could no longer hold back his anger.
Li Zian responded seriously, “Hmm, what is it, Officer Liu?”
“Making false police reports carries consequences. Do you believe I’ll arrest you and lock you up for a few days?” This time, Liu Jun’s spit really did fly onto Li Zian’s face.
Li Zian wiped his face with his hand, somewhat disgusted, and said calmly, “I told you I saw that White-clad Woman, and you didn’t believe me. I told you I’m not drunk, and you didn’t believe me either. I was just trying to do my part to catch the killer of Ma Fuquan. If you arrest me and lock me up for a few days, then from now on, I won’t bother. Even if I find any clues, I won’t call you.”
“Are you threatening me?” Liu Jun’s gaze was cold.
Li Zian said lightly, “I have nothing more to say. If you want to arrest me, then arrest me. I’ll figure a way out after I’m in. If I can’t get out, I’ll accept being locked up for a few days.”
He stretched out his hands towards Liu Jun, as if waiting for handcuffs.
Liu Jun glared at Li Zian and swatted his hands away.
He understood better than Li Zian that Li Zian’s actions didn’t constitute making a false report. First of all, the White-clad Woman was the prime suspect. Upon receiving a tip, the police definitely had to respond. But if the person got away, wasn’t caught, or the surveillance didn’t capture her, what does that have to do with the informant providing the clue?
Besides, someone like Li Zian, who lived in Gaochen Yipin and was a Master, probably knew plenty of people with status and influence. If Li Zian made a call later, he’d get out, but Liu Jun could get criticized for improper procedure.
Li Zian said, “If you’re not arresting me, then I’m going home.”
Liu Jun rolled his eyes at Li Zian. “Why are you so petty? I drove all the way here in the middle of the night. One of my colleagues just got married three days ago. Do you think he wants to be at home having couple time with his wife? Another was getting an IV drip at the hospital; he pulled out the needle and came as soon as I called. None of us are complaining, so why are you in a mood?”
The anger in Li Zian’s heart subsided a bit. “If you’re not afraid of making another fruitless trip, I can take you to that alley to see.”
“Wait here then. I need to go talk to my two colleagues.” Liu Jun said, then turned and walked towards the two officers.
Li Zian waited where he was. He pulled up that photo again to look at it.
A blurry patch of white in the unclear photo. He was one hundred percent sure that was part of that White-clad Woman’s dress. But no matter how sure he was, it was useless. This photo couldn’t prove anything.
The image of that White-clad Woman involuntarily surfaced in his mind again. Those blue eyes were clear even through the veil, with a faint glow like blue gemstones, very eerie and strange.
“Could she really be a female ghost?” Li Zian recalled the chase earlier. The more he thought about it, the more chills ran down his spine.
Liu Jun walked over. “I told my two colleagues to look around the area and ask if anyone else saw anything. You take me to that alley you mentioned.”
“Alright, follow me.” Li Zian gathered his thoughts and led the way.
A short while later, Li Zian brought Liu Jun into the alley.
The alley was still quiet, with no one moving about. Even the stray cat from before was gone.
Li Zian led Liu Jun straight to the end of the alley. He pointed at the over-two-meter-high wall in front of them. “I chased her to here. Then she leaped over this wall in one jump. I climbed up the wall but didn’t see her.”
“What’s behind it?” Liu Jun asked.
Li Zian said, “Behind is a small courtyard, where a woman lives. You called when I was lying on top of the wall. The woman inside heard the mobile phone ringtone and came out to look. So I jumped down from the wall.”
“What did that woman look like? Could she be the White-clad Woman you mentioned?”
Li Zian shook his head. “I thought the same thing at the time, but no. The woman living inside is around 40 years old. Her build and eyes don’t match the White-clad Woman’s features.”
Liu Jun fell silent, seeming to ponder something.
Li Zian said, “It’s not easy for me to go in, but you’re a police officer, it’s much more convenient for you. We can go around. You can knock on the door, see the woman, and ask her some questions.”
Liu Jun looked up at Li Zian. “Assuming you really saw the White-clad Woman tonight, and you chased her here… From your perspective, why do you think she brought you here?”
Li Zian was momentarily stunned.
“You described her as so capable. Shaking you off should have been very easy for her. Yet she let you follow her for such a long distance. Don’t you think she might have had some purpose?” Liu Jun said.
Li Zian’s expression changed. “As expected of someone in criminal investigation. What you said makes sense. It would have been easy for her to lose me. Why did she let me follow for so long, and why specifically lead me here? Was she doing it on purpose?”