The Truth

It was already 5 p.m. when Huang Xiaotao drove me back from the orphanage to the city. She took me to a grilled fish restaurant for dinner.

During dinner, she was constantly on the phone - the team leader of a special case squad seemed quite busy.

When she finally hung up, I asked, "Any progress?"

"No substantial progress so far," Huang Xiaotao frowned. "The best chance to crack a murder case is within 48 hours of the discovery of the corpse. The body was found too late in this case. I'm worried it may turn into a prolonged battle!"

"It would be great if we found another body..." Wang Dali said.

Huang Xiaotao and I glared at him. Wang Dali awkwardly explained, "That's always how it goes in movies - bodies keep turning up one after another, leading to the real murderer."

"Jinx!" Huang Xiaotao scolded angrily.

"But Wang Dali may not be wrong. This is not a crime of passion, more like targeted serial killings! In seven days, I'm afraid another victim may have already appeared in some corner of the city," I said.

"Baiye is avenging his mother who abandoned him, so he specifically targets prostitutes - this is somewhat like Jack the Ripper, isn't it?" Huang Xiaotao remarked.

"Yes, I feel the same," I nodded.

"What if, like the Jack the Ripper case, this one also remains unsolved?" Wang Dali asked.

"Do you spit ivory from your mouth?" Huang Xiaotao glared at him.

"Alright, I'll shut up now. Can't I even eat in peace?" Just then, the server brought over the milkshake Huang Xiaotao had ordered. Seeing it, Wang Dali was probably reminded of the autopsy yesterday. He covered his mouth and rushed to the bathroom.

"What a wimp!" Huang Xiaotao laughed out loud.

After the meal, Huang Xiaotao was going to drive us back, but it was already dark by then, and the police station was quite far from our school. I didn't want her to make an extra trip, so I told her to head back first. Wang Dali and I would take the bus.

As we were leaving, Huang Xiaotao said, "I still need to comb through the available clues. I'll call you when I need your help."

"Sure!" I replied.

The next two days were uneventful. That night, Huang Xiaotao suddenly called. She sounded especially serious as she said, "Song Yang, there may have been another victim tonight. Can you come over?"

"What happened?" I asked.

"I've asked Wang Yuanchao to pick you guys up. Wait for him at the school gate." With that, she hung up.

Wang Dali had just gone to bed. I shook him awake. He was very reluctant. "Why is it always at night? This woman really is a night-roaming vampire..."

"Come or not? I'll go myself if you don't!" I said.

"Coming, let me get dressed!" Wang Dali tumbled out of bed.

We sneaked out of the dorm and waited at the school gate for a while until Wang Yuanchao pulled up. I asked what had happened after getting in the car, and why Huang Xiaotao said there 'may' have been a victim tonight.

Wang Yuanchao calmly replied, "You'll see when we get there."

As we drove on, I realized we were going towards the orphanage. When we got there, I saw many police cars surrounding the building. The aunt I had met last time was also there. Huang Xiaotao stood with her hands on her hips, scolding two policemen, "How could you mess up like this? Someone died because you lost track of them - who will take responsibility?"

"What happened?" I walked up and asked.

Huang Xiaotao explained that the last two days they had searched hospitals around the city, finding dozens of stroke patients matching the profile. But after eliminating them one by one, they still came up empty. So they expanded the search and finally found the orphanage director's medical records at a hospital in a neighboring city that specialized in stroke treatment. He had been treated for a stroke there a year ago.

Huang Xiaotao immediately grew suspicious - the director was highly likely to be the accomplice!

So she ordered the officers tailing him to take control of the director quickly. But he had already escaped through the orphanage's back door. According to the people at the orphanage, the director hardly ever went out, so he was likely out helping the murderer.

I suggested, "Let's check the director's office first."

"Right!" Huang Xiaotao nodded.

We went to the director's office and found the light on inside. One of the policemen who had botched the job mumbled excuses: "From a distance, we saw the office light was on, so we thought he was inside. We got careless..."

Huang Xiaotao sighed and shook her head: "It was my mistake. I should have deployed more people around the orphanage."

I examined the room. There was a Bible spread open on the desk, along with a fountain pen. The ashtray next to it contained some burnt scraps of paper. One of the forensics guys was about to pick it up when I called out, "Wait!"

Those paper bits could contain vital clues. They had already been burnt to ash - one shake and they would crumble. I told Wang Dali, "Go buy a squid and some linseed oil."

"Fuck, where do I go buy that stuff this late at night?"

Wang Yuanchao said, "The nearest supermarket is 3 km away. Let me drive there."

"Good, I'll leave it to you," I nodded.

After Wang Yuanchao left, Xiao Zhou walked over and surreptitiously tapped my shoulder. "Song Yang, there's something I want to tell you."

"What is it?" I asked.

"There really are vampires in Nanjiang City!" Xiao Zhou whispered mysteriously.

I nearly spit blood. Was this guy a wooden-head? Why was he still obsessed with this?

Seeing I didn't believe him, he promptly took out a yellowed case file from his briefcase and handed it to me.

Huang Xiaotao said with exasperation, "Xiao Zhou, have you only been researching vampires these last two days instead of analyzing the videos properly?"

"I believe this is a vital clue to cracking the case," Xiao Zhou stated confidently.

Huang Xiaotao's cheek twitched. If they weren't colleagues of equal rank, she probably would have showered him with curses.

I opened the file. It documented a bizarre murder case from eighteen years ago. The victim was a 37-year-old prostitute, found dead in her rented apartment. Nearly all her blood had been drained.

The file also contained a photo of the corpse. She was wearing a red dress and sprawled on the bed, her skin as pale as paper. Another close-up showed the neck - there was a small bite mark, much smaller than the gaping wound in our current case.

Seeing the photo, my mind buzzed. I swiftly put the pieces together: "Red dress...Prostitute...Eighteen years ago...Orphan..."

Xiao Zhou didn't notice my reaction. He asked, "Well, isn't this file very important? It proves vampires have long existed in Nanjiang City!"

"Yes, it's very important. Thank you!" I nodded again and again.

Xiao Zhou looked confused, clearly not expecting me to thank him. I told Huang Xiaotao, "If I'm not wrong, this dead woman from eighteen years ago was Baiye's mother!"

"Are you sure?" Huang Xiaotao asked.

"Extremely sure. Eighteen years ago he killed his own mother, so the director lied to us that day - Baiye wasn't abandoned, he went into hiding after committing murder." I spoke rapidly.

"Why would the director cover for him?" Huang Xiaotao wondered.

"I don't believe for a second he's some saint who'd shield even a killer. There's only one explanation - the director is his biological father!" I said coldly.

Everyone present was stunned for a moment. I calmly analyzed - when the director was young, he didn't properly adhere to the church's precepts but went out womanizing. That was how he met Baiye's mother.

It was unclear whether theirs was a fleeting affair or secret love. In any case, Baiye's mother later got pregnant and gave birth to him.

As the orphanage director, he absolutely could not acknowledge this son. And given her profession, Baiye's mother likely could not properly fulfill a mother's duties either. An abandoned woman bearing such a freak - naturally she harbored deep resentment, which she took out on Baiye.

It's easy to imagine how growing up in such an environment would warp Baiye's mind, making him extremely twisted, dark and full of hatred for his own mother.

So one day, he killed her. The director had probably been watching him all along, and chose that moment to appear and take him in, helping him escape imprisonment...