The Yu Brothers’ Case Book

“Jiu Shen, your data is on the table.”

One of Jiu Shen’s analysis group colleagues gave Jiu Shen a heads-up when they walked into the office and just happened to brush past Jiu Shen. “You left it behind in the lab yesterday, so I helped you grab it. It’s for Boss Xia’s case, right? Don’t carelessly leave these things lying around; it’ll be troublesome if anything bad happens.”

“Ah, thanks.” Jiu Shen turned around to grab his friend that was about to leave work, quickly taking out the watch he had taken from Yu Xia. “I have an urgent item that needs testing, could you help me do it, Ah Liu?”

“Isn’t that Boss Xia’s watch?”

The investigation officer on morning shift took the watch and flipped it around to examine it in confusion.

He remembered this watch; back when everyone had pooled together money and picked it, he had played a part as well.

“Yes, it’s very urgent. While you’re at it, could you also help me look into where the watch was sent for repairs, please? I’ll treat you to a meal, a movie, or even an EVA flight, whatever you want!”

Jiu Shen gave a pleading look to his good friend.

The investigation officer simply flicked the other’s forehead and rolled his eyes. “No need for a meal, just get two movie tickets with set meals included. My godson and I want to go watch a movie this weekend during his break.”

“I’ll get you guys the most luxurious ticket package. Thanks!”

Jiu Shen sent a flying kiss at the other person, and after watching him leave, he quickly ran back to his desk to skim through the analysis data he had just received last night. After seeing the information he had expected, he dropped the papers with a thud.

“How could this be…Could it be that it wasn’t…”

Jiu Shen furrowed his brows. He glanced around and stuffed the information packet into his drawer and locked it securely, then sat down at his computer to open some data that had been transferred over.

“Don’t tell me that the one on here is actually…”

As Jiu Shen concentrated on the computer, his eyes widened larger and larger. Then, the sound of a cellphone suddenly rang out, causing him to jolt in fright. Once his shock faded, he discovered that it was actually his own cellphone.

After inwardly scolding himself, “It’s nothing, stop scaring yourself”, he fished out his cellphone to see Yu Yin’s name on the screen. “Ah Yin, are you at the hospital?” As expected, he heard the owner of the cellphone on the other end of the line after picking up. Jiu Shen had seemingly overheard others say earlier that Yu Yin had run off with the ambulance, for once not wandering around the crime scene. “Grabbing a pen…Tang Zheng Wei?” When he heard this name, he completely froze.

“Yeah, I bumped into one of Jiang-dàgē’s co-workers. She said that Tang Zheng Wei and Jiang-dàgē don’t share any blood relation. Apparently, they used to be classmates. So I probably had it wrong from the beginning.”

“Wait…that name sounds a bit familiar to me.” Jiu Shen quickly pulled up the information related to the robbery case. As expected, he saw the name “Tang Zheng Wei” on the list of criminal suspects. However, there were notes next to it that said the person had not yet been summoned, and that their whereabouts were unknown. Following right after that was Jiang Zheng Hong, who had already been eliminated as a suspect. The two looked extremely similar to each other. However, even through the blurry photo of Tang Zheng Wei’s silhouette, one could tell that he was so skinny that his bones were slightly jutting out. At first glance, the two did not seem that alike, but after looking more closely, Jiu Shen noticed that the two looked as if they had been made from an identical mold. It was just that one of them had slightly changed shape. “This person suddenly disappeared half a year ago. He was once caught by another administration for selling drugs, but he went missing afterwards. His parents came to report his disappearance, but up until now, he still hasn’t been found. So he might be…” If he isn’t dead, he’s probably in a similar state.

Jiu Shen did not finish his sentence.

“I think that Tang Zheng Wei might be…that. Because the few times I visited Jiang-dàgē’s home, I saw on his ceiling boards…”

Jiu Shen immediately held his phone away from his ear. He had absolutely no desire to learn about what was on the ceiling boards; he had just been there recently!

Only after he heard several shouts over the phone did he finally place it back next to his ear.

Yu Yin evidently knew what Jiu Shen had just been doing judging by his highly amused tone. “Anyways, you guys should get some people to check those ceiling boards for any issues. I have already gotten the address of Tang Zheng Wei’s parents from Mr. Jiang’s co-worker. Copy it down, maybe you can find something out from it.”

“I’ll tell Boss.” And then ask him to get some other scapegoat to go look.

As Jiu Shen thought to himself, he quickly wrote down the contact address. “Oh, right, what exactly have you been doing these past few days, Ah Yin? I feel like you’ve been a bit strange…”

Yu Yin doing strange things was something they were all already used to.

However, when Jiu Shen had last seen Yu Yin, he had felt that something was odd about the other person. Yu Yin had just looked off somehow, although Jiu Shen could not quite describe in what way.

“Nothing really. All I can do is wait until my Dad is okay, is that not so?”

Yu Yin’s tone suddenly turned so cold that Jiu Shen was momentarily unable to respond.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Just catch the culprit soon…”

Then, the line was cut.

Jiu Shen stared down at his already silent phone, his eyelid twitching as he had the vague sense that something was wrong. As he decided that he was probably overthinking, he gave a call to Yu Xia to inform him of the matter. After hanging up, Jiu Shen clipped the address he had written next to his table; he would go look for someone else to go pay a visit to the place with him later when they had the time.

When he looked back at the data on the computer again, he purposely chose clearer photos of Jiang Zheng Hong and Tang Zheng Wei, comparing the differences between the two that seemed similar.

“Weird, I feel like that photo is definitely more like Jiang Zheng Hong. How can I be mistaken…”

He took out the piece of paper he had given to Yu Xia. It was fairly recent.

After picking out a few of the surveillance captures, Jiu Shen noticed that the figure that had been caught on camera half a year ago had indeed been on the skinnier side. However, although the recent photo shared a resemblance, the body did not seem quite as slim anymore.

Moreover, Jiu Shen suddenly recalled that when the thief had re-appeared, his stealing methods had changed.

If the thief in the photo from half a year ago was Tang Zheng Wei, then why had Jiang Zheng Hong later gone out to steal things, pretending to be the other person?

“Strange.” Jiu Shen scratched his head. No matter how much he thought about it, he could not come up with a reason for why someone not lacking in money like Jiang Zheng Hong would replace this position.

After going through several dozen surveillance images, he sighed and decided to just record some things down before closing all the images. He then re-opened the data he had been looking at originally. Right now, he needed to focus on Boss’s case.

Soon after, the internal line rang.

“Ah Liu?”

“I helped you take apart Boss’ watch. The surface of the watch was cleaned extremely well, but there was a bloodstain behind the back of the needle. Also, the glass was not from the original manufacturer; the original lens should have been polished finely so that the glass is slightly curved. However, this one is flat. From what I can tell, it seems like a typical watch sold in the market. Do you want to come over and take a look?”

Jiu Shen closed his eyes.

Who had been the first to suggest the possibility of falling off the building as a result of fighting?

After opening everyone’s work reports from that day, he found that although several police forces had been deployed near the building at the time, there had only been one small group comprised of two individuals camped out in the first floor of the apartment in order to avoid being discovered.

Back then, Jian Jin Quan had left to check out the surroundings first after hearing some unusual sounds. After discovering that the wireless was not connecting, Liao Yi Ma did not report in as planned. Then, he heard something and saw “Yu Xia” race upstairs. Since he heard some more noises afterwards, he suspected that “Yu Xia” had likely bumped into the one that died, who had been on the sixth floor.

Then, since he heard the sound of footsteps, he pursued them upstairs as well. Before he had even reached the rooftop, there had been what he had suspected were the sounds of fighting and a gunshot. In the end, he only just managed to see “Yu Xia” and the one that died fall from the building together.

Jian Jin Quan caught up later, then went down to coordinate with the supporting forces that had arrived later to subdue the other targets that had been alarmed.

Within five minutes, the summoned ambulance had arrived at the scene. At the same time, the deceased had been declared as showing no signs of life, having died on the spot. As a result, rescuing the other one that had fallen from the building had become the number one task.

***

“Liao Yi Ma…”

Li Zi Hong tapped the paper with his finger. After comparing the reports with each other, only Liao Yi Ma and Jian Jin Quan had written that they had heard noises that they had suspected to be sounds of fighting. Jian Jin Quan’s account was more implicit, and it was later noted that he had heard Liao Yi Ma’s description of the scene.

“You think that person’s odd too, right?”

Yan Si placed the reports in his hand down onto the table and plopped down on an empty chair. “Just as I said before, there wasn’t a trace of being slapped or even a black eye, let alone a full-blown brawl. The only trace of contact on the corpse was the arm. Aside from gun wounds, the deceased’s arm also had many bruises, scratches, and a dislocated wrist from sudden force. In addition, Boss’s shoulder was dislocated. The two bodies had gotten bruises while falling from the building. Based on the damage at the scene, they had bumped into the canopies and balconies on the floors below. The investigation officers later said they found a few marks on the fifth floor balcony. That means Boss had probably tried to reduce their speed while falling, attempting to grab various things outside the building. But because he was holding onto another person, he could not…mm, smoothly execute it, as his palm and fingers have severe cuts, abrasion, and bruising.”

“They had only come into contact with each other the moment they fell off. It’s very possible that they only touched because [Yu Tong] attempted to save the other person. Nothing like a brawl occurred at all.” Li Zi Hong shut his report and stood up. However, due to a sudden bout of dizziness, he stumbled a bit.

“Oi oi, don’t tell me that just like Boss, you haven’t slept for two days either?” Yan Si watched his friend press his temples. Yan Si immediately thought of how there were still several others that had been stuck in the station for several days straight.

“I just stayed up through the night to finish reading through the other data…It’s not as if this is the only case I have to deal with. Holding up matters with other victims because of this would not be fair to them.”

After the feeling of discomfort passed, Li Zi Hong placed his other completed work into a sealed envelope on his desk, then called for others to come pick it up. He then began to make necessary preparations to head out.

“According to a professional doctor’s recommendation, you’d best go home and sleep at least six hours first. Otherwise, you will definitely make a wrong decision while absent-minded, which will either bring about a miscarriage of justice, or decrease your work efficiency.”

Yan Si swiped the other’s work bag away and glanced at his watch. It was long past his former roommate’s work hours.

“At worst, you might fall asleep while driving, and upon waking up, discover that you have already driven into the Taichung Harbor. Tell me, isn’t that dangerous?”

“Just sounds like nonsense to me.” Li Zi Hong frowned slightly, as he did indeed feel like his stamina was nearly at its limit. He glanced at the time as well and said, “I’ll sleep two hours, wake me up then…I need to go find Jiu Shen later.”

After this, he sat straight back down onto his chair and adjusted it so that it lay completely flat.

“What! Do you think I’m your alarm clock? If you’re not going to go home, at least go to a nearby hotel and book a room for three hours — Oi!”

Seeing that his friend had actually completely ignored him and instantly fallen into slumber, Yan Si knew his protests were useless. He rolled his eyes and set an alarm, then sat back down onto his own seat. A few minutes later, he lazily yawned, and closed his eyes as well.

The office instantly went silent; even the air seemed to quiet down as well.

A few minutes later, the office door was carefully pushed open by someone. The girl that had come to retrieve the documents discovered that the people inside were resting. She immediately shut her mouth, stopping herself from speaking. After making sure the two hadn’t been woken, she tiptoed inside to pick up the sealed, kraft paper envelope.

Just as she was about to retreat back out, she caught a glimpse of the phone that had been set with an alarm.

Two hours?

She glanced at the prosecutor, who had pulled consecutive all-nighters already, to the point where he had lost weight. She then looked at a certain forensic investigator that had also been diligently working recently, but still often brought drinks to them as treats. She suddenly felt that two hours was a bit too little; at least, for those that were sleep-deprived, it was not enough resting time.

Thus, she went ahead and adjusted the cellphone to vibrate on her own accord, while also cancelling the alarm. Then, she carefully placed the cellphone back to its original place. Waking them up before leaving work should still given them enough time.

As the girl thought this to herself, she left the room and also shut off the blinding lights in the office at the same time. After closing the door, she also kindly asked the people nearby to try their best not to disturb their rest, and to go in later if they needed something.

Time slowly continued to crawl by.

***

“There isn’t anything on the ceiling.”

Yu Yin smiled at the text on his phone. Jiu Shen had not told him the details, just the results. He opened a second text message from Xiao Hai. In it was Jiang Zheng Hong’s current ward where he was being observed; he was not yet out of danger. Since she had to return to cover for his night shift, she had asked a few trustworthy brothers to come protect the room in addition to the police, so that he would not be in any danger for now.

As for what kind of “brothers” these were, she did not say.

It was early morning. He was sitting at his front door.

There was nobody in the vacant house.

The street was quite lively. Figures in the mist would pass in front of him every once in a while. He sat there and watched as a humanoid silhouette appeared in each section of glass lit up by the glowing street-lamps.

Like a shadow puppet show, the black residents showed on the white backdrop.

When he first saw this, he did not realise what it signified. However, now his understanding could not be any clearer. Each figure in the glass came and went, as the time that had already seemingly come to a halt here continued to pass over there.

He thought of some other things. There had been a period of time while he had been a young child when he would always sit with his mother in these kinds of places. When the male head of the house was out for the whole night or had encountered an important case, she would sit with Yu Yin next to the guard’s office door, holding his hands. Sometimes, the two of them would fall asleep against each other, and stay there until daytime. When he would be lightly patted awake, his mother or father would have already carried him upstairs and placed him in his cold quilts.

The woman’s face was very gentle and soft, as well as beautiful.

No matter how many years passed, he would still be able to recall that familiar yet unfamiliar face.

The shadows slowly escaped through the air. Like a photograph being exposed, layer after layer of colour, both light and deep, began to surround him from all directions. The black faces he could not discern all had identical, crimson mouths.

“Even if you find me, I am just one person. You guys can no longer leave that place.” Yu Yin looked at the black shadows and stretched out his hand. More than half of it had already been dyed black, the same color as those things before him. “I never sympathised with you guys since I first saw what you were. Why should I go search for the culprit?”

Only now did he finally understand why those ghosts waiting for death substitutes were not pitiful at all. They had originally had the chance to ascend, yet had decided to stay in that place, resentfully watching the murderer’s end. Then, they had dragged other unrelated people under to become scapegoats.

At that time, all he had wanted to do was find his other classmates. Thus, he had uncovered someone else’s hidden secret. Even now, those things from the “secret” were following behind him, waiting to drag him down with them.

Yu Yin was now just starting to understand why Yu Xia always told him not to get involved with such matters.

Because he had no way of fixing them.

He had only thought of what he could do, but not how he had no way to “continue” doing anything.

The scarlet slits – the black things’ mouths – emitted a rotting odour mixed together with the stench of blood and the stink of dirt. The smell slowly pervaded the air.

Then, they slowly grew faint…

In the early morning, a black recreational vehicle sped down the lane and came to a sharp halt on the asphalt road. The black fog instantly dispersed, vanishing from sight entirely.

A pair of exquisite, black leather shoes that had been rubbed to the perfect shine appeared in his vision.

He slowly raised his head to see a stranger standing in front of the car. The man wore a brand-name suit and a gold watch with inlaid gems. The man was in his fourties or fifties. The aged scars on his face gave an uncomfortable, oppressive aura. It was obvious at first glance that not only was this person someone that couldn’t be trifled with, but also someone up to no good—

Yu Yin could see several bodies dripping with fresh blood in the back seat of the black, recreational vehicle.

“I have returned.” The middle-aged man coldly smiled as the finger wearing a gold ring lit a normal, unsuspecting cigarette that gave off a faint, familiar sweet scent.

“What’s your relationship with Wang Hong?” Yu Yin did not find this [encounter] unexpected, as he knew that this person would come looking for him sooner or later. Or rather, he had mentally prepared himself after seeing the cat on the door; he had known that this matter was directed towards him.

The man snuffed out his cigarette, and the thin butt was dropped onto the floor, still burning. “He’s my son. You really have guts…You think that just because you’re protected by the cops that you’ll be fine?”

“If I haven’t done anything, why would I need them to protect me?” Yu Yin crossed his arms as he looked at the piles of mutilated flesh stuck against the windows inside the car. He knew that this person was not a virtuous person, so words would not be of any use against him. “Is Wang Hong not dead yet? So many people died, yet he’s still alive?” He had thought that after becoming like that, it would be difficult to recover even if that person survived.

The black leather shoes stomped on the cigarette. The man bent over slightly, grabbing onto Yu Yin’s shoulders. “Today is my son’s fourty-ninth day.”

Yu Yin looked down at the hand gripped onto him, then pointed his gaze back onto the man with unusual calm. “Then what? Is he going to reincarnate?”

“My son has been calling for me to bring you to him to keep him company every night. What do you think?”

Yu Yin slapped the other’s hand away and stood up, noting another person twisted around the other side of the car. “I think it’s best you pass him a message to not to think too much. Otherwise, he’ll end up like some other things that are still unable to leave. It’s a pretty lamentable outcome for anyone.” That thing had once been human. Half of it was black; its caved in, rotting skull and face appeared as they had been when facing death’s door. The cloudy, grey eyes that lay amidst the mangled flesh glared in his direction.

“…We’ll see later; just you wait,” the man replied. He turned to walk back to the backseat of the car. After opening the door, a strange stench came out from the inside, nearly choking Yu Yin.

He watched the black car filled with resentment disappear off to the other side of the road.

The early morning sky slowly began to brighten.

The glow from the streetlamps started to gradually fade as they were replaced with natural light. As usual, the sounds of people waking up and preparing for the day could be heard from various residents in their respective homes. There were the noises of pots and pans being shifted in the kitchen, the sound of the gas stoves being lit…

A second person appeared before him.

“Go home.” Xiao Yu had appeared in front of him at some point without Yu Yin noticing, and he quietly said, “You can’t touch…that person…he’s the drug dealer…”

Xiao Yu bent down to carefully pick up the slim cigarette that still had a faint, unusual aroma. A bunch of black embers fell from the burned out cigarette tip.

“You mean the person you saw on the street before, the one that sold the incense to your family?” Yu Yin looked up to see that Xiao Yu fiddling around with the snapped halves of the cigarette.

Xiao Yu absentmindedly tossed the cigarette. The usually untalkative Xiao Yu then turned to look at Yu Yin with an extremely serious and grave expression. “Yes. You may end up getting injured…I need a conclusion…you guys shouldn’t be dragged in…”

Yu Yin stood up and gently patted the other’s head. He then turned around to gaze at the deserted house.

“Complete; until it’s complete…”

Xiao Yu took a step forwards and bit his lip in hesitation.

After it was complete, he…

***

Jiu Shen opened all his test reports.

“The overly clean clothes…” He flipped page after page until he found that section, while also pulling up the photo records. “Liao Yi Ma…how could that…” Based on the test reports, nearly everyone had ended up with traces of the drug material from the apartment stuck onto their clothes that day. Even those that had washed them still had remnants left. The only exception was Liao Yi Ma’s clothing.

The clothing he had submitted had not been the set he had worn that day.

“I’ve already analysed the bloodstain inside the watch as well. It’s definitely Tong’s.” Ah Liu, who was sitting next to him and had likewise stayed up the entire night, tapped sealed envelope containing the evidence on the table. “The other parts have already been cleaned, but he overlooked some details. Also, with regards to the glass surface, I looked into it for you as well. The original manufacturer had no records of having repaired it, but a watch company in the southern district received this watch two days ago as an urgent item. The one who had received it that day had been Jian Jin Quan, and the one that had brought it for repairs had been Liao Yi Ma. They paid double the price, asking the watch shop’s owner to fix and clean it as soon as possible, so the owner remembered it pretty well.”

“So, this is the glass of the lens from the original manufacturer.” Jiu Shen looked at the small, round piece of glass he had personally found at the crime scene. The two of them exchanged a glance. “I’ve asked the original manufacturer to check it; the manufacturer’s letters are engraved in small letters on top, which should be identical to Ah Tong’s. These two watches were a pair of limited edition watches that have identical serial numbers. All we have to do is grab Ah Tong’s to verify it.”

“I’ll go over and grab it now.” Ah Liu tidied up the things on the table and stood up. “Oh yeah, how are the injuries on your neck and face? I kept asking you for days but you refused to say…If you were hit by a speeding car, don’t forget to report the incident. Those damn brats have been increasing in number recently. My home is in a more remote area, and I often see a bunch of children speeding past on their vehicles.”

“It’s not [from that]. I was attacked by the person involved in the case. Boss and the others said to not publicly disclose it.” Now that Jiu Shen thought about it, it was clear that Yu Xia and Li Zi Hong had suspected an insider from the beginning. Jiu Shen unconsciously rubbed his neck with an extremely heartfelt emotion.

He did not know why Liao Yi Ma would stand with the opposite party, nor why the other party would have Liao Yi Ma act. After all, the person he knew was a sympathetic colleague, a hard-working person that would occasionally bring snacks as a show of appreciation for everyone.

“We don’t know how different every person’s actions are with their thoughts.” Ah Liu studied Jiu Shen for a few seconds and shook his head. “Let’s just finish our work properly. To us, ‘why’ is something we cannot ask until the very end.”

“I know.”

After his co-worker left, Jiu Shen looked the electronic door.

It was early morning, when there was nobody else present.

When he raised his head, he saw Liao Yi Ma standing on the opposite side of the glass door.

***

He had always remembered that incident.

Amidst the darkness, the plastic rope had disappeared at an unbelievably quick speed. The dark road lit by the dim reflection from the yellow lights had appeared to stretch on forever, as if the place had extended all the way to another world that could not be touched.

Shadows had stood on both sides of the small road, one after another, waving their hands at him. Some had possessed familiar voices, while others had seemed to be familiar silhouettes, all using the faces of his classmates. He had continued to walk forwards without hesitation, without stopping his footsteps.

After waking up, he had completely forgotten this matter for a very brief period of time.

Once the sun set, those things were there waiting for him again.

There was nobody waiting for him on this path, and nobody accompanying him either. He saw endless darkness, heard eternal silence. Having arrived in this place alone, he would end up leaving alone.

The door standing straight before him was filled with whispers he could not make any sense of, the green eyes welcoming him without ever blinking.

The place was filled with coldness and sorrowful resentment.

They were discontent with the fact that others could be alive, stepping all over the land where they had died. They hated the fact that these living people could still laugh and run, while nobody remembered them. After a fleeting mention in the newspaper post-fire, they had turned into a casual topic over a cup of tea. Thus, they continued to sleep in the dirt forever, waiting to absorb other lives.

Getting body substitutes was just a pretext for their jealousy.

The instant he’d opened that door, he had understood this.

Those things had instantly smiled at him with the greatest amount of malice possible. As a result, he had known that even if they had captured enough people, they would still continue hunting for the next batch of victims. Over, and over—

That was why they were still there, unable to leave.

They carried with them a hatred that gave them pleasure in watching others die, harboring expectations for people to die miserably and painfully in a different, uninhabited place where they would not be found.

When Yu Yin woke up with a start, the sky was already bright.

He raised his hand in pain to discover that something had left behind a huge cut on his left arm. The already slightly numb wound was still leaking out crimson blood, and he had accidentally left behind a trail of blood along the path he had walked.

At some point, he had unknowingly crawled out of his comforters after barely sleeping for two hours. Wearing a T-shirt and jeans, he stood above a dike he had never seen before. With just one more step, he would be able to jump down into the large, dark gutter that seemed quite filthy.

It was morning time. Several primary students wearing yellow hats stood on the side of the road, lined up in preparation to go to school. They watched him with eyes wide in what seemed to be confusion regarding his actions.

Yu Yin jumped down from the dike while pressing down on his still bleeding wound. Puzzled, he tried to discern his location, but his surroundings were foreign to him…Fortunately, he had put on sneakers before walking out. He did not know how far he had walked already. After examining all the various scratches all over his body, he confirmed that the most serious one was still the one on his arm.

He wasn’t quite sure why those things were not satisfied with torturing him just once. After all, constantly tormenting him like this was a pretty significant waste of time…were they waiting for a specific hour?

Wait, that might actually be possible. Otherwise, why would those things keep acting against me constantly rather than kill me directly?

As he studied his wound with a baffled expression, the primary school students all stepped away from him on the streets. Only one boy ignored the street guide’s calls, his gaze fixed onto Yu Yin.

By the time Yu Yin noticed the other had approached him, the boy was handing over a clean handkerchief and tissues. A faint voice with emotions Yu Yin could not discern came from below the yellow hat. “…Teacher.”

“Little Class President…?” Yu Yin was stunned for a moment. He saw the boy half his height slowly take off the small hat to show a face that Yu Yin should not have ever crossed paths with a gain.

“There’s a clinic nearby,” the boy said as he pointed to a street a distance away, before pressing the handkerchief against the injury.

“What are you doing here?” Yu Yin studied the boy who had seemingly grown a bit while allowing the boy to go ahead and lead him down the street. After turning the corner, he saw a very mundane-looking, small clinic signboard at the end of the street. However, he was not sure if they were open for business so early.

“…My grandma brought me over here afterwards. There were reporters at that school and on the streets every day. They continued for a long time, so I transferred schools,” Ji You Yin indifferently stated, as if he were discussing another person’s matters. He then said, “The school, and everyone else all said the teacher killed somebody, that Mama was a homicidal maniac. Desks and chairs were thrown around and broken. Nobody here knows, so it’s quieter.”

Yu Yin’s gaze remained locked onto the tiny, black-haired head. He was filled with a multitude of complex emotions, unable to decide what to say first. The boy’s matter had more or less remained at the bottom of Yu Yin’s heart this whole time. He could not say anything comforting, and asking how the other felt seemed stupid. Expressing his sympathy on the boy’s lifestyle would be too excessive.

From a certain perspective, Yu Yin had been one of the main forces that had pushed the boy into such a predicament.

“Why is Teacher here?” The boy briefly paused in his steps and tilted his head up to look at Yu Yin.

“That’s…a long story. Probably because of something unclean.” Yu Yin grimly smiled at his black hand. “It might be because I was too meddlesome.” He eyed the signboard near them. Luckily for him, he had only run to the neighbouring district. It seemed like such a short amount of time was not enough for him to walk out of his own county, which to him, was a sort of consolation.

Ji You Yin tilted his head to look at Yu Yin and stopped walking. As expected, the clinic had not yet opened. The sign said that they would not start business until nine.

“It’s a pretty far walk to the hospital.” The boy knit his tiny brows together as he glanced down at the injury that was still bleeding non-stop, having already dyed the handkerchief scarlet. “Teacher, do you want me to call an ambulance?”

“No need, I’ll just walk over.” Actually, I should be calling a police car. Yu Yin thought to himself in slight amusement: Maybe I’ll bump into some officer I know. After all, his uncle was famous near and far, so he recognized quite a few officers from other districts.

As if afraid of Yu Yin actually bleeding to death, Ji You Yin rummaged through his things to find a clean set of gym clothes to wrap around Yu Yin’s arm. Then, he dragged Yu Yin towards the main road in quick strides.

Since it was early morning, the air was somewhat cleaner after being silent for a whole night.

He had never imagined that there would be a day where he would have an awkward encounter with someone on a foreign street.

Ji You Yin seemed to be even more anxious than Yu Yin was. After the boy glanced around repeatedly without finding any adults to request help from, the large hospital finally appeared in their sight.

“Ah, I don’t have money or a health insurance card on me.” Yu Yin used his other hand to pat his body down, belatedly discovering that he had not even brought his cellphone. It seemed like he would really have to call someone to come and help him after all.

“I have money. We were supposed to submit fees for teaching materials today.” Ji You Yin pulled out a wallet to show Yu Yin the two large bills inside. “So, you don’t need to worry, Teacher.”

It seemed like the boy had not changed, speaking in a young adult-like tone. Yu Yin unconsciously smiled and patted the boy’s head. “Thanks to you, I’m saved.” He felt his mood alleviate a bit from all aspects.

If meeting Ji You Yin again had been arranged as his final moment, Yu Yin suddenly felt that this [event] was not bad at all.

Before he even stepped inside the hospital, a sharp-eyed nurse ran out with bandages to stop his bleeding. Then, she led them into the emergency room, where other injured or ill patients were standing or sitting. Each one of them shot a look towards their direction, before lowering their heads in disinterest to continue waiting or doing their own things.

A vacant seat was arranged for them to sit and wait for the doctor’s examination.

Yu Yin looked around the foreign hospital filled with strangers. He could still clearly see the detestable otherworldly residents wandering back and forth.

He had never contemplated why he could see these things.

He had gradually become able to see them after the car accident, as Yu Tong’s vision had weakened. He had once suspected that the vision had been transferred to him.

However, that was just a laughable guess.

Now, Yu Yin probably understood why he could see them.

His eyes had been hurting less frequently. After the previous flare-ups, he had been able to see more and more of those things.

He might never be able to turn back again.

The cost for his comprehension was his current appearance and plight.

Ji You Yin suddenly grabbed his arm from the seat next to him, breaking Yu Yin’s train of thought.

The boy lowered his face as much as possible, curling up his other hand into a fist to rest on his leg, so tense that his fingers had started to whiten. It seemed as if he was struggling over something. After a short while, he cautiously opened his mouth to say:

“I’m doing very well now.”