Volume One: First Scroll
Leaving Prison
What could never calm down was her heart.
“Everyone, pairs of two, conduct a dragnet search1, spread out!” In the wilderness, an order was given, and the fully armed2 criminal police and armed police scattered.
A police dog lay on the ground, sniffing with its nose. It passed through the low bushes, then started barking excitedly, wagging its tail as it retrieved a shoe.
The handler took the sneaker from its mouth, opened his phone, and compared it with the clothing the criminal suspect was wearing when he escaped. Delight showed on his brow3. He placed the shoe near the dog’s nose again for another sniff, then gently patted its back.
The police dog was poised to strike4.
The handler released his hold: “Good boy, Zhuifeng5, go!”
A black shadow shot into the woods like an arrow loosed from the bowstring, followed closely by the armed police officers.
Not long after.
The phone on Zhao Junfeng’s desk rang.
He was holding a cup of hot tea, listening to the Deputy Director and the Criminal Investigation General Team report on the Aurora Action.
Before they could finish speaking, he slammed his teacup down on the desk, spilling scalding water all over his hand.
“What? Found him? Dead?!” He shot up, slamming his hand on the desk with a thunderous noise. “Investigate! Investigate thoroughly!!!”
The overall commander leading the team on site was the Deputy Captain of the Binhai Province Criminal Investigation General Team. He held the phone slightly away from his ear, waited for Zhao Junfeng to finish roaring, then immediately saluted and said, “Yes, sir! The forensic examiner has arrived on scene and is conducting a preliminary external examination!”
After hanging up, he also put on gloves and walked to the riverbank.
The body had already been recovered from the water. Several forensic examiners in white protective suits were working around the corpse.
The lead was the Forensic Director of the Binhai Province Criminal Investigation General Team’s Technical Investigation Section. Although not as exceptionally talented as Lin Yan, he was still an old hand with over thirty years of experience.
“Old Qian6, what’s the situation?”
The forensic examiner surnamed Qian pulled back the deceased’s eyelids, looked, then turned around. “Preliminary external examination findings are consistent with drowning while alive7. No external injuries. Sand and mud in the nostrils and under the fingernails, caused by struggling in the water. He undoubtedly drowned.”
The trace examiner8 also ran over to report: “No footprints belonging to a second person were found at the scene, except… except…”
He had thought catching “Vulture” would be a great merit, but who knew catching a dead man—what f%king use was that?
The Criminal Investigation Captain was already annoyed: “Spit it out! Except what? Finish your sentence!”
The trace examiner squeezed his eyes shut: “Except… except for your footprints, Captain!”
He had rushed over without putting on shoe covers. The Criminal Investigation Captain glanced behind him; the muddy riverbank was covered in a series of uneven footprints, his own and those of other search team members.
He raised his hand to strike— “I…”
The eighth day of the hunger strike.
Lin Yan hadn’t expected him to come.
Twenty-six years ago, he was just a junior police officer fresh out of the academy; now, a silver olive branch9 adorned his shoulder. He truly had steadily climbed the ranks.
The two faced each other coldly through the iron bars.
Lin Yan had been young then, and many things were hazy, but she still remembered that night of pouring rain. She and Lin Cheng had been kidnapped. In the factory in the suburbs, the ransom exchange failed, and the police rushed in.
The first thing they did wasn’t save her, but pull the trigger on her, barely clinging to life.
That year, she was six.
The darkness blurred everything. She was too weak to muster any strength, only able to vaguely make out the bluish stubble beneath his lowered cap brim and his trembling lips.
Rainwater dripped down his chin.
It was in that moment of hesitation that others rushed in.
“There’s a survivor, still alive!”
She was lifted up in a daze by a pair of hands. A police officer carried her, running outside. Lin Cheng’s cold body was also carried out.
The rain that night was torrential.
Even now, recalling it made his heart still pound.
In the dilapidated factory, raindrops hammered down like beans. Where the girl lay, a pool of pale red blood had already formed.
When they pulled the criminal suspect off her, the girl was unclothed from the waist down. A fatal dagger was embedded in the suspect’s chest.
She had saved herself, yet Lin Youyuan’s eldest son, Lin Cheng, whom he had desperately wanted to save, was dead.
He still remembered the look in the eyes of the girl lying silently on the ground—cold, despairing, a bone-deep hatred10.
Exactly like Lin Yan’s now.
The police officer standing outside the iron gate shivered inexplicably. He waved his hand, signaling the prison guard to unlock her handcuffs: “Medical parole11.”
When Lin Yan woke again, she found herself lying in her family’s sanatorium. The person attending to her was her personal butler.
She knew she was free.
Only then did she open her mouth and swallow, mouthful by mouthful, the hot porridge the butler brought to her lips. She ate eagerly, quickly starting to cough, tears welling up.
She was so hungry, so truly hungry, and cold.
She thought, there was probably nothing left in this world that could warm her.
The only person who could warm her had passed away many years ago.
How she wished that too had been just a dream.
Lin Yan sighed inwardly and closed her eyes again.
Sleep. If I sleep, I can see her.
“Lin Yan?!” Song Yuhang bolted upright in bed, gasping for breath, her forehead drenched in sweat. She wiped it with her hand, still shaken.
She had just dreamed, dreamed that Lin Yan was pointing a gun at her.
The scene was overwhelmingly red.
Song Yuhang wanted to return the words Lin Yan had given her.
Don’t die… don’t die.
She squeezed her eyes shut, swallowing frantically, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She fumbled under her pillow for her phone and started dialing Lin Yan’s number. The moment the number went through, she regretted it—Lin Yan’s phone had been smashed long ago.
But even so, she held onto a faint sliver of hope, waiting for the call to connect.
Until—
“Sorry, the number you have dialed is a non-existent number.”
Song Yuhang realized she had completely lost contact with Lin Yan.
Just as Ji Jingxing came in carrying takeout food, a figure in blue and white shot past her.
Song Yuhang didn’t even bother changing clothes. Ji Jingxing shouted after her, “Song Yuhang, where are you going?!”
Her steps faltered slightly. She turned, saw the medical staff chasing after Ji Jingxing, then turned back and ran.
A moment later, Ji Jingxing’s phone lit up. A message from Song Yuhang: Jie, I’m going to the detention center to see a friend.
“Forensic Examiner Lin? Left ages ago. Applied for medical parole yesterday.”
It was the same young prison guard.
Song Yuhang was still in her hospital gown, her shoes on the wrong feet. “Which hospital did she go to? Why did she apply for medical parole? Did something happen to her inside? How could it be serious enough to—”
The detention center had complete medical facilities and services; Lin Yan’s shoulder injury shouldn’t have been a problem.
Those eligible for medical parole were typically cases involving life-threatening critical illnesses.
In other words, only when an inmate was about to die would the police agree to medical parole.
Song Yuhang’s heart sank heavily.
The prison guard’s mouth opened and closed: “We wouldn’t know about that. Where she went isn’t our business. Hey, speaking of Forensic Examiner Lin, she’s quite something. I’ve been here for so many years, and it’s the first time I’ve seen someone try to commit suicide in prison, trying once, then twice… even went on a hunger strike! Really scared our warden!”
Before he finished speaking, his collar was grabbed, and he was slammed hard against the iron gate with a loud bang.
The alarm blared.
Song Yuhang’s eyes were bloodshot as she gritted her teeth. “What did you do to her?! What did you do?! Why would she commit suicide, why?!!!”
The armed police from the guard post quickly surrounded them. Someone fired a warning shot12. Song Yuhang released her grip, stumbling back a few steps, lost and distraught13, and was immediately tackled to the ground by the converging armed police.
“Well, well, what a fine Deputy Captain Song Yuhang of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau Criminal Investigation Detachment! Forcing your way into a detention center in broad daylight14 and injuring a prison guard! Even the Provincial Party Secretary called me to ask about it! You really know how to bring honor15 to me, to your Jiangcheng City Bureau Chief!”
Zhao Junfeng spat as he spoke, slamming the desk thunderously. “I see you’ve pretty much recovered. Since you want to keep Lin Yan company so badly, I’ll grant your wish! Men, solitary confinement! No visitors allowed except doctors! Until you realize your mistake!!!”
Clang— The iron door locked. Lin Yan was out, and Song Yuhang was in again.
When Ji Jingxing came to see her, she was doing physical therapy, supporting herself with one hand on the floor. A small window opened in the door, revealing Ji Jingxing’s face.
Song Yuhang scrambled up from the floor and ran over. “Jie, why are you here?”
“Bringing you some daily necessities,” Ji Jingxing said, her eyes reddening again as she saw the gauze peeking out from under Song Yuhang’s white short-sleeved shirt.
“You… what’s all this reckless activity? Your injury hasn’t healed, yet you insist on running out. Who is so important that they’re worth all this…”
Song Yuhang fell silent.
Seeing her quiet, Ji Jingxing added, “Yuhang, you were never this impulsive before. Tell me, who exactly is this Lin Yan?”
Song Yuhang’s heart skipped a beat.
Indeed, I wasn’t.
It seemed that ever since meeting Lin Yan, her emotions had found a new outlet. Whenever something involved her, it was always difficult to remain calm.
At first, she thought it was Lin Yan’s arrogance, disrespect, and condescension—anyone would find that unbearable.
Until later events unfolded: Lin Yan walking towards her holding a wine glass, each step like a blossoming lotus16.
Lin Yan leaning weakly against her shoulder due to drunkenness.
The fight in the rainy night.
The two of them sharing cigarettes on the rooftop.
Lin Yan lying across the car seats, her defined abs17 exposed, and the nape of her neck.
Lin Yan facing four opponents fearlessly, yet smiling the moment she appeared.
Lin Yan gripping her hand and saying, “Don’t die.”
What could never calm down was her heart.
Song Yuhang vigorously rubbed her face. “I…”
“Don’t talk. Answer my question.”
Ji Jingxing pressed against the iron bars, only able to see the lower half of Song Yuhang’s attractive chin.
For some reason, her own voice sounded a bit strained. “Fang Xin told me you were injured because you got distracted trying to save her?”
The sharp chin nodded slightly.
“You ran out repeatedly to find her?”
Song Yuhang mumbled an affirmative “Mm.”
“And you hit someone because of her?”
“I didn’t expect him to be so easily knocked out, he fainted right away…” Song Yuhang’s voice grew quieter, finally nodding.
“I guess so.”
Ji Jingxing asked one last question: “Do you regret it?”
Song Yuhang considered for a long time, then shook her head firmly. “No regrets.”
Ji Jingxing gave a wry smile and said no more, a flicker of loneliness crossing her face where Song Yuhang couldn’t see.
“Jie, I’m sorry… This time… I was impulsive. Tell Mom I’m recovering well and will be home in a few days. Don’t tell her I’m in confinement, lest she worry unnecessarily.”
This time it was Song Yuhang pressing against the iron bars, looking at her.
Ji Jingxing looked at the face that bore a strong resemblance to Song Yicheng, her smile somewhat forced. “Okay, I know. It’s getting late, I should go.”
Song Yuhang knew she was likely allowed in only by Zhao Junfeng making an exception.
She swallowed, glanced left and right—no one around—then beckoned Ji Jingxing closer with her finger. When Ji Jingxing leaned in, Song Yuhang slipped a small piece of paper into her hand.
“Call this number. He’ll know what to do.”
Ji Jingxing’s heart was pounding18, confused by this deliberately mysterious act. “This… what is this…”
Song Yuhang had already pushed her away gently. “Jie, take care.”
She mouthed the words: Read it outside.
Ji Jingxing turned back, half-believing, half-doubting. She didn’t unfold the note until she had walked out of the detention center gates.
The fingernail-sized piece of paper was damp and crumpled, who knows how long it had been hidden on her person.
With difficulty, she deciphered a phone number. Turning the paper over, she saw three crookedly written characters: Find Lin Yan.
Ji Jingxing pressed her lips together tightly, crumpling the note in her palm, and continued walking. As she passed a trash can, the note accidentally fell out.
Who would notice such a tiny piece of paper? She hailed a taxi and got in.
“Shifu, the train station.”
Calling it medical parole was essentially an acquittal and release.
Lin Yan had won herself a way out through sheer ruthlessness.
During her recovery period, the Aurora Action officially concluded with the death of “Vulture.”
A massive anti-pornography/vice campaign19 swept through the streets and alleys of Binhai Province, from the provincial capital down to the prefecture-level cities and major towns. The police deployed over ten thousand personnel, over five hundred police dogs, and several thousand staff members from various other departments. They conducted unified investigations into entertainment venues, KTVs, massage parlors, bars, and private residences, arresting sixty-one individuals involved in the 6.1 Case, including two government officials who had provided convenience and a protective umbrella20 for “Vulture.”
He Miao’s uncle-in-law was among them.
With this, the 6.1 Case was declared solved.
As for other venues involved in illicit activities21, those that should be shut down were shut down, those to be sealed were sealed, and those needing arrest were arrested, all handled as separate cases. An exploitative industry22 primarily targeting female victims was completely dismantled.
The People’s Daily23 featured the story prominently on its front page, reporting on the matter with high praise, but blurring the names and details of the two police officers who made outstanding contributions.
Lin Yan turned a page of the newspaper in her hand, a faint smile tugging at her lips. As she took off her glasses, preparing to sleep, her gaze fell upon the Legal Affairs section.
Her brow furrowed, and she put her glasses back on.
The headline, in bold Song typeface24, read: “6.1 Case Ringleader ‘Vulture’ Dies from Accidental Drowning After Falling into River While Fleeing to Escape Punishment.”
This page was entirely black and white, the picture pixelated25, so blurry it was impossible to see clearly.
Lin Yan held out her hand: “Magnifying glass.”
The attendant butler brought it over. Lin Yan spread the newspaper flat on her lap, took off her glasses, and moved the magnifying glass inch by inch across the page.
She was observing the body.
Clothing intact, one shoe missing—the newspaper said it fell off during the escape. The face was pixelated, making specific external features invisible.
Smaller details like fingernails were even harder to discern. Lin Yan stared intently at his body type, mentally calculating the ratio between the picture and reality.
Long limbs, streamlined body, broad shoulders, tall and sturdy26—he very likely knew how to swim!
A jolt went through her, and she sprang up from the bed. “Get my clothes, I need to go out!”
During her month-plus in solitary confinement, Song Yuhang hadn’t been idle. While doing rehab, she began working on repairing Lin Yan’s mechanical baton.
After all, she wasn’t imprisoned, just confined, so she had certain freedoms. She had two hours of activity time each day, which she spent in the library. She also managed to contact an old classmate who was now a nationally renowned firearms expert.
After sending him the pictures, he quickly replied: Cannot be repaired. Needs to be melted down and recast.
Song Yuhang sat at the detention center’s old desktop computer, typing: How to melt it down?
He sent back a long string of detailed diagrams] with text.
Song Yuhang downloaded them. A prison guard came over calling, “Recreation time27’s up, time’s up.”
Song Yuhang shut down the computer, glancing back repeatedly as she walked away, still thinking about the diagrams.
As soon as she returned to her confinement cell, she turned on the desk lamp and began sketching from memory.
Day after day.
Zhao Junfeng took a sip of tea, then put it down. “What has Song Yuhang been doing lately?”
“Drawing.”
“Oh?” He looked up slightly.
“Seems to be drawing some kind of diagrams.”
Zhao Junfeng lowered his head back to the newspaper. “Look at her, living a more leisurely life than me, the Director.”
Feng Jianguo, who had finally made it to the provincial department to report on work, was completely overwhelmed28. “Director Zhao, you might be taking it easy, but we grassroots units29 below are running our legs off30.”
The implication was clear: Hurry up and give my person back.
Of course, he didn’t dare say it so bluntly, but the meaning was evident.
Zhao Junfeng naturally knew that the wrap-up phase was the busiest.
Without a capable general like Song Yuhang, the Jiangcheng City Bureau would descend into chaos31.
He had been waiting for Feng Jianguo to come ask for her, feeling proud inwardly but without betraying a hint of it.
“Go, tell that damn brat to get her butt out here and work! How can the leaders be running around ragged every day while she’s off drawing pictures, slacking off!”
When the incident with Song Yuhang first happened, Feng Jianguo, though furious, felt there were extenuating circumstances. If it were him, he’d be angry too if even an inmate, let alone an old colleague, committed suicide in prison. Besides, the prison guard wasn’t seriously injured, and Song Yuhang, already wounded, had taken quite a beating from the converging armed police.
His suggestion had been a Party warning32 and suspension without pay, just to make a point. Who knew Director Zhao would be even harsher, sending her straight to solitary, unstoppable.
Song Yuhang’s merits and demerits cancelled each other out, yet she still received disciplinary action.
What was she thinking!
Bureau Chief Feng couldn’t figure it out. Forget it, forget it. Then came the conclusion of the Aurora Action and the progress of various anti-vice operations. After a busy month, he finally had time to come to the provincial department to ask for his person back.
Hearing Zhao Junfeng hinting at releasing her, he quickly clasped his hands. “Thanks, old brother, you’ve really helped me out.”
When Zhao Junfeng was the Bureau Chief in Jiangcheng, Feng Jianguo had been just a beat cop33 under him. He deserved this address of “old brother.”
But hearing it reminded the old Director of their former eventful years34, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to liven up, a faint smile touching his lips.
“Don’t thank me just yet. You still need to temper her properly, teach her to guard against arrogance and impatience! Look how impulsive she got this time when agitated. How can someone like that achieve great things? Don’t let her betray the expectations her father and brother had for her.”
Feng Jianguo felt a chill. Director Zhao has high hopes for Song Yuhang.
True, she’s been in the deputy position at the Criminal Investigation Detachment for many years. There are no more rewards to give, unless…
Feng Jianguo’s expression also turned serious. “Rest assured, Director Zhao. When we get back, I will definitely knock some sense into her.”
“Captain Song, Officer Song, you’ve worked hard this time, really hard.”
The prison guard came to escort her out, returning her belongings, including her phone and backpack.
Song Yuhang took them, opened the backpack, and saw the mechanical baton was still inside. She breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at him. “Hitting you last time, that was my fault…”
As she spoke, she raised her right hand in salute. “I’m sorry. I formally apologize to you.”
The prison guard was taken aback. Her rank was far above his; he was momentarily stunned, stammering as he returned the salute, “Ah… no… it’s… it’s… okay… okay.”
The person sent from the Jiangcheng City Bureau to pick her up was Duan Cheng. There hadn’t been any major homicide cases recently, so work was light and people were idle. He had been waiting at the detention center gate early and started honking when he saw her emerge.
“Captain Song, over here.”
Song Yuhang ran over. Having not seen sunlight or spoken to people much for over a month, everyone looked friendly.
“Why is it you? Is Forensic Examiner Lin back at work?”
Duan Cheng clutched his chest dramatically like Xi Shi35. “Ah, I feel heartbroken for all the police officers of our Jiangcheng City Bureau. The Captain Song we’ve been thinking of constantly, who made us lose all appetite for food and tea36, only has Forensic Examiner Lin in her heart.”
Song Yuhang laughed and scolded playfully, “Get lost. You guys must have had it easy while I was gone.”
Duan Cheng opened the car door for her. “Easy, easy, so easy that even the kitchen staff37 almost got sent out for the anti-vice campaign. How could it not be easy?” he said listlessly.
Song Yuhang wanted to smile, but the smile eventually faded from her face. She didn’t speak again.
As Duan Cheng drove, he glanced sideways at her, seeming to know what she was thinking. He said softly, “Forensic Examiner Lin took extended leave. I heard… heard she was injured quite badly. The official red-header document from above says… says her merits and demerits cancel out. They won’t pursue criminal liability, but she has to bear corresponding civil compensation, and received a Party criticism, recorded a major demerit, and is suspended without pay.”
Song Yuhang pressed her lips together tightly, her hands clenched into fists on her lap. After a long moment, she opened her closed eyes and let out a long breath. “Do you know which hospital she’s in?”
Duan Cheng shook his head. “No idea. Nobody knows. Forensic Examiner Lin’s secrecy is too good.”
The car pulled into a gas station to refuel. Duan Cheng hopped out and ran to the convenience store. “Captain Song, I’m grabbing some snacks. It’s still a few hours back.”
Song Yuhang got out too. “Okay, go ahead. I’ll walk around nearby.”
There was a small newsstand next to the convenience store. She walked over, casually picked up a newspaper, and flipped to the Legal Affairs section. Her brow furrowed. She made a call to the Provincial Public Security Department Criminal Investigation General Team office to verify.
“This is Song Yuhang, police ID number is…” She crisply stated her name and position, covered the mouthpiece, and walked further away.
“Did you perform an autopsy on Vulture’s body? What was the cause of death? How could a vicious villain make such a basic mistake as accidentally falling into water?”
The operator answering the phone had practically talked herself hoarse answering similar questions recently. “It’s absolutely true38. The provincial department organized dozens of forensic experts, including judicial personnel and social scholars, to conduct the autopsy together. The results couldn’t be more certain. He genuinely died of drowning, and there were absolutely no signs of homicide.”
“Okay, thank you.” Song Yuhang hung up, still feeling uneasy.
She took out her phone, intending to call Director Zhao to request reopening the investigation, but halfway through dialing, she hung up.
No, I can’t call. Without evidence, Director Zhao won’t believe me. Besides, this whole thing seems too coincidental.
Her and Lin Yan’s trip to the provincial capital was on the spur of the moment, without telling anyone.
The series of coincidences on the road—Lin Yan’s car breaking down, her own car stalling—fine, let’s call them coincidences for now.
But then, how did that scar-faced man recognize Lin Yan?
She had been disguised, wearing sunglasses and a mask, even carrying a vegetable basket. She had walked quite a distance without being recognized. How could Scarface possibly pick her out?
It was far too much of a coincidence.
Song Yuhang gritted her teeth at the thought.
Unless he had seen Lin Yan before, or seen photos of Lin Yan—studied them hundreds, thousands of times—to be able to recognize her instantly in a crowd, or…
A possibility occurred to her, and a chill instantly rose from the soles of her feet.
Song Yuhang threw down the newspaper and ran. Just then, a bus heading back to the city passed by. She rushed to the roadside, waving her arms, and successfully boarded. By the time Duan Cheng came out of the convenience store with his purchases, the gas station was empty.
LP: Re-translated on April 07, 2025
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