Criminal Investigation Notes

Chapter 22:

Almost simultaneously, several prison guards rushed in and quickly subdued Song Rongjiang, pressing him onto the table and handcuffing him.

Su Hui regained his freedom and coughed a few times. He calmly straightened his clothes and spoke in a hoarse voice, "I understand now. Thank you for telling me. It's the walnut forest, where you almost got to do it with Tao Li all those years ago... You were completing the ceremony that you couldn't finish back then."

Back then, Tao Li only regarded Song Rongjiang as a normal friend. Every time he called her out, she would listen to his family problems and give him advice. All Tao Li ever wanted was to redeem him. They had climbed mountains together and even went to a temple once.

Sometimes, he would make physical advances towards Tao Li, but she thought he didn't understand the boundaries between men and women and still treated him as a good friend. When Song Rongjiang pinned Tao Li beneath him in the walnut forest behind the school, Tao Li was scared and cried. She had never felt death and fear so close to her. She fought back with all her strength against the boy who was several times stronger than her and kicked him, injuring him, before finally escaping in a panic.

That memory became her nightmare for the next ten years.

In fact, after Su Hui finished talking to Tao Li, they identified several suspected locations. Those places were all where she and Song Rongjiang had been, close enough to fit the location where the taxi appeared, making it difficult for him to determine.

So Su Hui deliberately provoked Song Rongjiang earlier. Now, Song Rongjiang's reaction has told him where Pei Weiwei is.

Su Hui looked at the vicious murderer in front of him and said, "She didn't belong to you when she was alive, and she won't belong to you after death."

Song Rongjiang went completely insane, his eyes turning bloodshot as he used his body to crash into the guards. Three of them almost couldn't hold him down. This crazy man had turned into a vicious demon and stared fiercely at Su Hui, wanting to tear him apart alive. "Fuckin hell, even if I become a ghost, I won't let you go!"

Su Hui smiled bitterly and said, "There are many people who want to kill me. You'll have to line up."

The prison guards quickly completely subdued Song Rongjiang and then took him out of the interrogation room.

The questioning was over, and Su Hui walked out of the interrogation room. It was only then that he felt a dull pain in his waist where he had been hit earlier.

The pain is strange. When still, it's just a lingering discomfort, but when moving, there are moments when a sudden burst of intense pain erupts from the waist, making him break out in cold sweat. Especially when he coughs, the shaking makes him feel like his back is about to break.

A kind prison guard led him to a rest area and poured him a cup of warm water. Su Hui thanked him and took the cup.

The guard noticed his complexion was not good and asked, "Teacher Su, would you like us to take you down the mountain?"

Su Hui shook his head and said, "It's okay. I just need to rest for a while. You guys continue with your work."

The warm water gradually calmed him down, but Su Hui didn't feel the joy of victory after the battle. Instead, he felt a sense of exhaustion and powerlessness.

Then Su Hui thought he should call Director Tan...

He took out his phone. During the interrogation, he had set his phone to silent to avoid interrupting the conversation.

He pressed the power button and found two missed calls from Lu Junchi...

Finally, Su Hui had time to deal with Lu Junchi's call. He dialed back, and the voice message was quickly answered.

Lu Junchi's calm voice came from the other end, "Hello, Teacher Su. We just found the Butcher and rescued the previously kidnapped waitress Ning Ke. We found him in the location you deduced before."

Su Hui could hear the urgency in Lu Junchi's voice. He knew Lu Junchi didn't just contact him to tell him this news. He asked, "Did he escape?"

A meticulous and organized serial killer may have prepared more than one escape route for himself. Once they missed him, it would be difficult to find him again in the city.

Yes, the police had been tracking his vehicle before, but shortly after the car was driven out, we found that he had abandoned it on the roadside. I suspect he may have switched to another car. Currently, we have investigated Fu Yunchu's residence and some places he may go to, but we have not found his exact location yet..."

"Fu Yunchu should have other car keys for scrap cars in his possession. He can unlock scrap cars throughout the city. In order to evade capture this time, he probably chose several cars and filled them with gas. Once those cars merge into traffic, it will be difficult to distinguish them."

At this point, Lu Junchi tentatively asked, "Teacher Su, do you have time now?" He needed to grasp Fu Yunchu's movements more accurately and had to ask for Su Hui's help again.

Up to this point in the case, Su Hui's guidance had been indispensable, and he was the person who knew the Butcher (Fu Yunchu) the best and was closest to him.

"What is the Butcher's real name? His profession, as well as other related information..." Su Hui understood the meaning of Lu Junchi's request and asked.

Since he had become involved in the case, everything had become related to him, and this case was related to the safety of other people in the city, so he could not ignore it.

Lu Junchi said, "The Butcher is a painter named Fu Yunchu. I have already found all his information, but there is quite a lot of it. Teacher Su, where are you now? I will come and pick you up immediately."

Su Hui had just been thinking about how to get down the mountain, and after considering for a moment, he told Lu Junchi, "I am at Baihushan Prison."

Lu Junchi did not ask why he was there and simply said, "Okay, I'll contact you as soon as I arrive."

After hanging up Lu Junchi's phone call, Su Hui called Director Tan.

Director Tan attached great importance to the situation and after listening to Su Hui's account of his conversation with Song Rongjiang, he said, "Is it behind the walnut forest near the old site of Huadu Middle School? I will send someone to check it out immediately."

Su Hui said, "Director Tan, if you find the bones of that girl, please let me know."

Director Tan replied, "Don't worry, I will definitely let you know. Su Hui, I know you have done your best. Regardless of the outcome, I want to thank you on behalf of the girl's parents."

Upon hearing these words, Su Hui felt a warm sensation in his cold heart. He put down his phone, sat quietly in his chair, and looked down at his hands. All the sounds seemed to fade away, and he felt like a wind-up puppet, relying on these words and these things to feel the reality that he was still alive.

Su Hui thought that it might take a long time for Lu Junchi's car to arrive, but he did not expect him to come in less than half an hour and find him.

Lu Junchi had already had some dealings with the prison guards here, and his identity as the head of the Criminal Investigation Department made him unobstructed even here.

He walked directly to Su Hui, "Teacher Su."

Su Hui stood up and leaned on his cane, "Let's talk on the way."

Lu Junchi picked up Su Hui's bag and held it for him. The two of them walked out together. When Su Hui got in the car, his waist hurt for a moment. He gritted his teeth and didn't say anything to Lu Junchi. He just lowered his head and fastened his seat belt.

Lu Junchi handed him a thick stack of documents and said, "Hold on tight. I may drive a bit fast when we go downhill. You can read those materials after we get down the mountain. Let me first give you the basic situation."

Su Hui replied with an "okay," took the materials, and briefly flipped through them. Most of them were various drawings by Fu Yunchu.

The car flew down the mountain, and Lu Junchi drove very fast, but at the same time, he drove very steadily, making Su Hui feel much safer than on those buses.

As he looked at the drawings in the car, Su Hui's waist began to ache from the bumps. He couldn't help but furrow his brows slightly. Lu Junchi quickly noticed this and pulled out candy from the car, "Car sick? Have a candy to soothe it."

Su Hui thanked him and took the candy, putting it in his mouth. It was lemon-flavored, slightly sour and sweet, just enough to ease his discomfort. But it was a bit too sour, making his teeth feel soft, and the taste was somewhat familiar. Su Hui looked at the packaging again, which looked familiar, but he just couldn't remember where or when he had eaten it before.

The car arrived at a flat area, and Lu Junchi finished explaining the previous operation. Su Hui thought for a moment, then flipped through the materials again, "Is this the painting hanging in the hall?"

Lu Junchi looked over and nodded in agreement. It was a photocopy of the painting "Beloved." Su Hui gazed at the painting and could feel a chill emanating from behind it. The calm and peaceful scene seemed to reveal the painter's inner turmoil. Those boxes were like the eyes of countless victims, staring...

Then he opened Fu Yunchu's mother's information and pointed at it with his finger, saying, "His mother used to run a beverage shop."

Although it was not explicitly stated that it was a coffee shop, it is apparent that coffee was within her range of business.

Lu Junchi also noticed this, but he could not confirm whether all of this was related to Fu Yunchu's current behavior. "That was when he was around five to ten years old. As far as we know, after he turned ten, he never lived with his mother again, and they never even spoke on the phone. Do you think his killings are related to his experiences during this time?"

Between the ages of five and ten, that was also when Fu Yunchu was sentenced to his father. Su Hui nodded, "It's very likely that he suffered psychological trauma during this time, and the lack of maternal love exacerbated his abnormal behavior. Have you conducted any blocked investigations?"

"The wanted order has been issued, and all train stations, bus stations, airports, and highway toll stations have been strictly inspected," said Lu Junchi. "I thought Fu Yunchu would try his best to escape after being discovered. This is also the normal thinking of most people."

"No, he wants to go kill someone..." Su Hui looked at a photo of Fu Yunchu's mother in the information, and then turned to look at the painting named "Beloved." "Serial killer Edmund Kipu killed his own mother before surrendering to the police. Her head was also his totem. I think the painting 'Beloved' should be Fu Yunchu's mother. And she is standing in front of those boxes containing bones, which means she may be his ultimate target. However..."

"What?" Lu Junchi asked. He felt uncomfortable looking at the painting, but he couldn't decipher its meaning.

Su Hui hesitated for a moment and tentatively suggested, "He is searching for answers, maybe we have a chance to save her."

"Fu Yunchu's mother does not live in Huadu but in Ancheng," Lu Junchi turned his head to look at the map. "There is a national road and a waterway leading to Ancheng. If Su Hui's guess is correct, Fu Yunchu may have already escaped their encirclement."

After recalling the scene he saw in the basement, Lu Junchi still felt a little scared. He took a deep breath and said, "Understood. I will drive there immediately and request the cooperation of the Ancheng police. The rest of the personnel will continue the search in Huadu."

Fortunately, they were near Baihushan, and there was a shortcut from Baihushan to Ancheng that would be much faster than the others.

Lu Junchi changed direction and drove all the way to Ancheng...

As the sun was setting, Fu Yunchu parked his car under a residential building. He had never been to this place before, but he remembered the door number firmly, and he could never forget it.

This was no longer Huadu but Ancheng. Even if the police were smart, they wouldn't be able to react so quickly.

Fu Yunchu was dressed in women's clothing, and although he was tall, his features were androgynous, so he didn't look out of place. To prevent himself from being tracked down, he changed his appearance after switching to this abandoned car. These disguises could also buy him some time.

He was fortunate that the police had not found this relatively new abandoned car, allowing him to escape.

Wearing high heels and covering the wound on his arm, Fu Yunchu walked all the way to the upstairs of the building and knocked on the door. The door opened soon after.

It was his mother, Yan Xue. Since the divorce, she had never remarried and had been living alone in Ancheng.

In Fu Yunchu's memory, Yan Xue was beautiful, severe, and cold. If he didn't do well, he would be scolded or beaten.

Now that he saw Yan Xue, he was still nervous, but the woman standing in front of him was hunched over and aged. He didn't know when there had been a change between them, but the memories of his childhood...

Yan Xue listened to Fu Yunchu's words, lowered her head and looked at the knife he pointed at her. She then looked at his left arm, which was already roughed up with blood stains. It was hard to imagine that he drove all the way from Huadu in this condition.

Yan Xue understood that Fu Yunchu wasn't joking. Things had indeed come to this point. She asked with a trembling voice, "Are you here to... kill me?"

"Yes, even if I die, I will drag you with me!" Fu Yunchu held up the knife and questioned her, "I came here today to ask you why you turned your son into a murderer, turned him into such a monster?"

Yan Xue took two steps back and sat on a chair, looking at her son whom she had not seen for many years. She smiled bitterly and said, "Oh, monster... Is that what you call yourself?"

She raised her head and looked at the child she gave birth to. After so many years, he had grown up and become a stranger. Yan Xue asked, "Then, how do you think you became like this?"

Fu Yunchu held the knife tightly, his eyes bloodshot. "I... I remember... When I was a child, you always hit me, and scolded me. Other children could receive their mother's love and embrace, but you always criticized me! You left me alone in the drink shop when I was only a few years old, letting me play by myself!"

"I often looked up and couldn't find you. I panicked and cried... I was afraid that you had abandoned me and didn't want me anymore!"

"The waitresses in those drink shops were afraid of you on the surface, but because of your harshness, they would talk behind your back and bully me. They would tease me and spit in my food..."

"One time, when I couldn't find you, I went to the kitchen to look for you and collided with a waitress. The scorching coffee spilled on my back. The waitress's first reaction was to curse at me loudly. My body was left with scars that could never be erased and the smell of coffee that couldn't be washed away!"

"But...but when you found out, you didn't comfort me, but blamed me with others! It seemed like everything was my fault! Later on, you just didn't want me anymore!"

"You left me with my father...you never asked about me or looked at me again! You were eager to get rid of me, as if I was some dirty thing!"

"Your speech speed is fast, your hand trembling," Fu Yunchu said. "You always hit me, scold me, blame me, and complain about me. In my memory from childhood to adulthood, you never gave me any love!"

"You ask me why I don't hug you, why I don't give you maternal love. Today, I'll tell you the answer..." Yan Xue looked at him and said softly. These words had been pent up in her heart for so many years, and now she finally had the courage to look directly into Fu Yunchu's eyes. "Because I'm afraid of you, my child."

"Although I gave birth to you, for so many years, I've been in a nightmare. I don't understand you."

"When you were a child, you were so small and cute, like a little meatball. Sometimes you would cry, sometimes you would laugh, and you looked like a little meatball. At that time, I thought I would give you everything I had! Later on, when you grew up a little bit, from the age of three, you were incredibly smart. Whether it was speaking or walking, you were much earlier than ordinary children. You don't know how proud I was at that time, how much I loved you. And I found that you had a talent for art. You could draw beautiful pictures and use colors skillfully. Your art teacher praised you endlessly..."

At this point, there was a hint of timidity in Yan Xue's eyes. "But you always did cruel things unconsciously."

"I remember when you were three years old, you started catching bugs to play with, butterflies, beetles, earthworms, and even fish. Later, it was birds."

"Regardless of which kind of animal it was, you were happy to separate their heads from their bodies, and then watch them struggle to death while you smiled in satisfaction."

"I tried all kinds of methods at that time. I told you stories, I told you it was wrong, I educated you to love small animals, and I sternly rebuked you. I wanted you to be like other children. Every time you played with other children, I would be worried, guarding against what shocking and outrageous things you might do!" "I admit that it was my negligence that deprived you of a perfect childhood, and it was also because I didn't take good care of you that you got burned. But there was also a reason for that."

"I sent you to those early education classes, and the teacher would quickly come to report that you were not sociable and had conflicts with classmates."

"I took you to see doctors, to research institutes, and to all the places that could help you. But it was all useless."

"I put you in my beverage shop, but that was the only place where I could still monitor you while working. I would watch you from behind the crowd. I thought you were just a little bit eccentric and strange, and that you would gradually become normal as you grew older. But I was wrong. One day, I saw your sketchbook...I saw your drawings..." Now, just thinking back to the contents of those drawings, Yan Xue still shuddered. She helplessly covered her face with her hands...

Yan Xue spoke and grabbed Fu Yunchu's wrist with her bony hand. ''But Yunchu, after you kill me, please turn yourself in... I beg you...''

The conversation had reached this point when suddenly there was a commotion outside. Fu Yunchu turned to look and saw fully armed special police officers and snipers aiming their guns in their direction.

The police arrived surprisingly fast!

''You're just stalling for time!'' Fu Yunchu turned to look at Yan Xue.

''I'm not... I didn't know you would come or what you've done...'' Yan Xue shook her head. 'If I had called the police, why would I ask you to turn yourself in...'

Fu Yunchu took out his gun from his bag and pointed it at Yan Xue's temple. ''You're just selfish, you've always only thought of yourself, you've never considered me!''

At the bottom of the apartment building where Yan Xue lived, Lu Junchi's car finally stopped. He had driven quickly and taken a shortcut to arrive so promptly.

The police had already surrounded Yan Xue's building.

Yang Sheng, the head of the Ancheng General Bureau, had attended several meetings with Lu Junchi and knew him. He greeted Lu Junchi when he arrived.

''Yang, what's the situation inside?'' Lu Junchi asked.

''We just evacuated the residents. The suspect was talking to his mother earlier and was very emotional. He has a knife and a gun... The terrain inside the building is complex, so it's difficult to snipe him,'' Yang Sheng said.

''How long have you been in a standoff?'' Lu Junchi asked.

''We've been here for ten minutes. The special police are guarding the entrance, and we've already issued a warning, but it hasn't had any effect...'' Yang Sheng looked a bit embarrassed.

Lu Junchi turned to open the car door and asked Su Hui, ''Teacher Su, what should we pay attention to when we're negotiating?''

Su Hui thought for a moment and said, ''Don't give him any external stimuli, don't mention his guilt, and don't mention the women who were killed...'' He paused and lowered his head. ''There are too many points to consider. Can I just talk to him directly?''

Negotiating and managing the scene were responsible tasks, and Lu Junchi had not expected Su Hui to volunteer. He hesitated for a moment.

Yang Sheng heard their conversation and said, ''Captain Lu, you brought a negotiation expert? That's great. We need a professional for this...''

Lu Junchi hesitated for a moment, considering whether to tell Yang Sheng that Su Hui was not actually a negotiation expert. But he looked at Su Hui and decided to trust him.

At the moment, there was no one better than Su Hui to talk to the butcher.

Lu Junchi handed Su Hui the walkie-talkie.

Su Hui unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. His waist was still a bit sore, but fortunately, there were no serious complications.

The two followed Yang Sheng to a rooftop platform of a nearby building, which faced Yan Xue's apartment and was about twenty meters away, allowing them to see inside.

Snipers were arranged on both sides of the platform, but because Fu Yunchu had been hiding and was very close to the hostage, it was impossible to take a shot."

Su Hui stood by the railing and said to Lu Junchi beside him, "I will try to lure him to the window. When the time is right, you can take control of him."

Lu Junchi nodded and pulled out his gun.

Su Hui greeted Fu Yunchu inside, "Hello, Fu Yunchu."

Fu Yunchu appeared in the corner of the balcony, shouting excitedly, "Get out of here! I don't need to talk to you! If anyone comes over, I'll kill her."

The police could only see a corner of Fu Yunchu through the window, and he was still wearing bloody women's clothing. He held a knife in his left hand and a gun in his right, huddled behind the wall.

"I've seen your paintings," Su Hui continued to probe.

"Get lost! Get the fuck out of here! I don't want to hear your bullshit! If you don't retreat, I'll kill her right away!!!" Fu Yunchu's words elicited a strong response, and he kept the knife at Yan Xue's throat.

However, Su Hui remained calm and said, "Killing your mother won't make you feel any better."

During the commission of the crime, the motive is constantly changing, and Su Hui quickly judged that Fu Yunchu's motive had changed.

Fu Yunchu had driven for dozens of kilometers to get here, and although Su Hui didn't know what had happened, he felt that Fu Yunchu's hatred for his mother had weakened. Therefore, he did not immediately kill his mother but chose to take her as a hostage.

Su Hui judged that Fu Yunchu's motive had wavered.

Before the cursing could escalate, Su Hui continued, "It's like the bread you loved to eat as a child. When you go back to eat it, you find that the taste and memory are completely different."

"Shut up!" Fu Yunchu made a slashing motion.

Yan Xue was frightened by the gesture, but it wasn't directed at her. Instead, it was aimed at Su Hui and the police, and Fu Yunchu briefly exposed himself to the police's guns because of his excitement. However, it was only for a moment, too brief for anything to happen.

Lu Junchi tightened his grip on his gun and looked at Su Hui beside him. Recklessly shooting would not only fail to subdue the assailant but would also anger him or hurt the hostage. He had to be extremely cautious.

Su Hui remained calm, and his expression was still indifferent, which also calmed the tense atmosphere on the scene.

Su Hui narrowed his eyes and continued, "You love her, and this has nothing to do with her."

Su Hui saw the Oedipus complex in Fu Yunchu. In his paintings, many female images were reflecting Yan Xue, and perhaps Fu Yunchu himself had not yet realized his attachment to his mother.

Su Hui showed no mercy...

Su Hui ruthlessly pointed out this point, continuing to undermine Fu Yunchu's motives.

"You don't know anything! You police... you will never understand my pain..." Fu Yunchu retorted through gritted teeth.

"I know that some people like your paintings, many people like your work, you're just... different from a lot of people," Su Hui paused before continuing, "you're not alone."

"You're lying to me! You police are all lying to me. You just want to arrest me, kill me!" Fu Yunchu became agitated again, waving the knife in his hand.

"I'm not lying to you, I've seen your paintings, I like one of them," Su Hui said after a pause, "that painting is called 'Undercurrents', it's the life you yearn for."

As Su Hui said this, Fu Yunchu froze, his body halfway out of the window. He was stunned for about a second, and at that moment, half his body was outside the window.

Previously, Lu Junchi had also seen that painting. He remembered that the painting was from an overhead perspective, depicting a young boy sitting alone on a boat, looking at the lake below with various reflections of buildings, crowds of people, and high-rises.

When he saw it before, he didn't find anything unusual about the painting, but obviously, the painting meant something different to Fu Yunchu.

Suddenly, Lu Junchi understood. He had thought that Fu Yunchu had never painted men before, but in fact, he had only never painted adult males. The figure in this painting was a boy.

He also remembered that there were no warm-colored pictures among Fu Yunchu's other works, but this one had a sunset, casting a dark red glow over the boy and his world.

It was the only painting in his oeuvre that depicted childhood life. The boy in the painting, rather than looking at the water and fish, seemed to be looking at the surging crowds in the city, watching the sunset refract his own reflection.

'Undercurrents' represented the surging waves of Fu Yunchu's inner feelings, representing his yearning for a normal life. At that moment, he abandoned all his madness and cruelty.

But at the same time, the boy's eyes were filled with despair.

He was always an outsider, looking at those people...

He was a monster...

A bloodthirsty monster...

In an instant, Fu Yunchu seemed to be back in his childhood, looking at the crowds through the glass of a drink shop, yearning to become an ordinary member of them.

Fu Yunchu involuntarily looked at Su Hui, his momentary trance lasting only a short second, but the opportunity was fleeting.

A gunshot rang out, and it was Lu Junchi who decisively fired the shot. He stood beside Su Hui, in the best position to observe, even better than the sniper's position.

His hand was steady, like shooting a bullet out of a million times of practice. Lu Junchi had excellent marksmanship and psychological resilience. Every time the bullet broke through the air, it would hit the bullseye.

Time seemed to stand still, as the bullet flew through the air and accurately hit Fu Yunchu's chest, spewing out a burst of red.

At the same time, Yan Xue heard the gunshot. She gasped and instinctively protected her child...

At the same time, Yan Xue also heard the gunshots and let out a cry, instinctively making a motion to protect her son.

Blood flowed out as Fu Yunchu slowly fell to the ground.

It all happened too quickly, and it wasn't until later that the other police officers reacted. The SWAT team waiting outside quickly entered the room and separated Yan Xue and her crying son.

Soon, a message came through the radio: "The suspect is only injured and not dead. He has been subdued, and the hostages have been rescued."

Su turned his head towards the direction of the room, his vision blurred. He knew that a young man had once stood there, and he deserved his punishment; justice had been served.

He had deceived him, and once those monsters had broken free from their cage, their lips stained with blood, they could no longer live among ordinary people. They would be condemned by the masses and punished by the law.

The meaning represented by that painting was just a delusion he had created for himself.

From the moment that cruel person raised the chainsaw, there was only one way out for him to pay for his crimes with his life.

TN:

Is it weird that I actually feel sorry for Fu Yunchu. I can just picture the lonely little boy wanting nothing more than to fit in. Which begs the question, is Fu Yunchu a psychopath or a sociopath? Psychopaths are born while sociopaths are made. So where does he lie? 

Okay so this is the start of the VIP chapters and it would make me feel less guilty if you could support the author by purchasing the raws on jjwxc, please. Here's the link to the novel and how to do it. And a drive document on how to support the author. It's actually not that expensive so if you can then head on there and SUPPORT.