Volume One: First Scroll
Direction
With such a flame alive, the torch of justice will never be extinguished.
The car entered the highway. Song Yuhang, wearing sunglasses, glanced in the rearview mirror, the corner of her lips hooking into a slight smile.
“Looks like we’re being tailed.”
Lin Yan propped her head on her hand, rubbing her temples lazily. “Someone was following me last night at the Lin family estate.”
Song Yuhang shot her a slightly nervous glance. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I shook them off,” Lin Yan replied, chewing on a piece of gum as she watched the black car in the rearview mirror, which maintained a consistent distance from them.
“I held back at Auntie’s birthday banquet yesterday, but since they’ve followed us all the way here, they can’t blame me for not being polite.”
Song Yuhang’s hands gripped the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the road ahead as she navigated through the traffic.
“No rush. Let’s play with them for a bit.”
At the next service area.
Lin Yan started clamoring to go to the restroom again. Song Yuhang pulled over, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out with her.
Smoking a cigarette, she slung an arm around Lin Yan’s shoulder and walked her inside, catching a glimpse of the black car also pulling over to the side.
Song Yuhang patted her shoulder twice. “You go ahead. I’ll wander around over there and buy some snacks.”
Lin Yan understood and nodded, and the two of them split up.
The man in black following them craned his neck, looking around before pressing the micro-headset by his ear. “Report, they’ve split up.”
Lin Yan squeezed into the line for the women’s restroom. She plucked a baseball cap from the head of a lady engrossed in her phone, put it on her own head, slipped on her sunglasses, took off her jacket to hold in her hand, and pulled a mask out of her pocket to cover her face. Then, she blended in with a group of older ladies and walked out.
The man in black did a full turn but couldn’t see her anywhere.
Meanwhile, Song Yuhang was leaning against the counter, buying a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes. As the cashier was giving her change, she saw the man in black anxiously spinning around, likely having lost his target.
A small smile touched her lips, and she deliberately raised her voice, “And get me a bottle of mineral water.”
The man in black snapped his head around as if he had found his target. Song Yuhang led him through the corridor and toward the parking lot.
It was lunchtime, and the service area was crowded with tour buses and private cars. People constantly emerged from the parking lot, brushing past them.
The man in black followed her every step.
Song Yuhang weaved through the crowd, leading him toward the side where the tour buses were parked. The tall vehicle bodies blocked the sun, casting long shadows on the ground.
As she walked, she undid her cufflink with her teeth and circled around to the other side of the bus.
The man in black quickened his pace to follow.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey—”
He turned around, and Lin Yan smashed a fist straight into his face.
The man in black staggered back two steps, his back hitting the body of the bus. At the same time, he pulled a switchblade from his pocket and lunged for her throat.
However, before he could get close, he was sent flying by a kick. Song Yuhang pinned him against the bus by his neck, her eyes filled with viciousness.
“Talk! Who sent you?!”
Lin Yan picked up the switchblade, tapping it against her palm as she approached him. “Nice knife. Too bad the user is a bit stupid.”
The man gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint suddenly appearing in his eyes. He drove his knee into Song Yuhang’s abdomen. She subconsciously raised her arm to block, giving him an opening. He pushed against her shoulder and executed a standard counter-grapple.
“F#ck!” Lin Yan spat, pulling a collapsible baton from the small of her back and bringing it down on his head. The man in black was left dizzy and disoriented. She grabbed his collar, yanked him backward, slammed him against the bus, and reached up to tear off his mask.
Just then, Song Yuhang heard a faint pop, like a soda can tab being pulled.
A silencer!
Alarm bells screamed in her head. She threw herself at Lin Yan, tackling her into an embrace. The two rolled on the ground as a bullet grazed past their hair and slammed into the bus, sending sparks flying.
Another man in black ran out from the other side of the bus, helped his fallen accomplice up, and fled without any intention of continuing the fight.
“Song Yuhang!” A trace of panic was in Lin Yan’s voice as she lifted Song Yuhang’s head.
“Cough, cough… I’m fine…” Song Yuhang coughed out the dust in her throat and pulled her to her feet.
Lin Yan wanted to give chase but was pulled back.
“Don’t chase them. They have a gun and an accomplice. The two of us can’t take them.”
She crouched down again, examining the bullet deeply embedded in the bus’s chassis.
Lin Yan also leaned over, watching as she forcefully pulled the bullet out.
“This is…” Studying the tip of the bullet, a flicker of shock appeared in Lin Yan’s eyes.
“That’s right. It’s a rubber bullet,” Song Yuhang said through gritted teeth, clenching the bullet tightly in her palm.
The service area’s patrol officers heard the commotion and ran over.
“Over there, over there, it’s over there!”
The sound of chaotic footsteps grew louder.
Lin Yan pulled her down low, and they weaved through the parked cars, making a run for it.
She casually dropped the baseball cap on a passerby’s head, took off her sunglasses, and squeezed onto a minibus1 headed for the provincial capital with Song Yuhang.
The two sat in the swaying back row and passed their fare to the attendant.
Song Yuhang: “What about your car?”
Lin Yan thought for a moment, then took out her phone and sent a text to a mysterious contact. “Someone will come and drive it away later.”
“Okay.” Song Yuhang nodded, squeezing her hand tightly. The scene just now still left her with lingering fear.
Lin Yan tilted her head and smiled. “Are you scared?”
Song Yuhang smiled back, pressing Lin Yan’s head onto her shoulder. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you well enough.”
The minibus was crowded, stuffy, and small. Lin Yan mumbled quietly, “I don’t need your protection. I can protect myself. I want to stand with you and face our enemies together.”
Song Yuhang smiled and ruffled her hair without a word. Worried she might get motion sickness, she patted her head again, signaling for her to close her eyes and rest for a while.
“Go to sleep. We’ll be there when you wake up.”
The Guo family lived in a remote suburb of the provincial capital.
After getting off the highway, they took a coach bus and traveled for over an hour on a cement road to get there.
The storefront was tucked away in an alley, with a sign that read “Guo’s Sweet Soup Shop2.” It was just about to open for the evening. A sturdy, lean young man was busy moving tables and chairs out of the shop.
There was a lot to move, and he was bustling about by himself, a pure white towel hanging around his neck. He had a slight limp, and when he accidentally bumped a table, the plastic chairs in his hand toppled over.
Song Yuhang quickly reached out and steadied them for him.
The man let out a sigh of relief, a grateful smile on his face. “Thank you.”
However, in the next moment, his smile froze. Lin Yan stepped out from behind her and flashed her police ID.
“Police. We need to ask you something. Do you know Zhu Yong?”
Of course, he remembered that woman’s face.
The day Zhu Yong was arrested, he had run after the police car for several li. A skinny young girl had suddenly burst out of the crowd, lunging forward with unexpected strength, shoving the police aside, and raining kicks and punches on the handcuffed Zhu Yong.
The police swarmed her, pinning the girl to the ground.
His father had been howling in pain, half his ear literally bitten off.
And the girl, even as she was being pulled up by the police, was still screaming through her tears, “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! Murderer! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”
Lin Yan hadn’t really changed much over the years. If anything, she had just become more mature, more alluring.
The memory was still fresh.
The moment he saw her, his legs began to tremble and he swallowed frantically. He turned his back and limped into the house.
“I… I don’t know you. You’ve got the wrong person.”
Lin Yan took two steps in pursuit. “Guo Xiaoguang3, your name is Guo Xiaoguang, right? I’ve been looking for you for years. Your father…”
At the mention of “father,” Guo Xiaoguang suddenly flew into a rage, throwing the chair in his hand to the ground.
“I said I don’t know you, what more do you want?! What father? My dad is dead! I’m an orphan! I don’t have a dad!”
Lin Yan was taken aback. Guo Xiaoguang was panting heavily, like a beast on the verge of collapse.
She reached for the collapsible baton at her waist, ready to resolve this with force if necessary.
Song Yuhang grabbed her wrist and shook her head gently.
The da-da sound of a cane tapping on the floor came from inside the house, and an old woman walked out, her steps faltering.
Her hair was completely white, her back was hunched, and she reached out, fumbling her way forward. She was actually blind.
“Xiaoguang, who is it? Why are you arguing with people again? Didn’t I tell you to do business peacefully? Just let it go if it’s only a few dimes.”
Guo Xiaoguang threw the towel from his neck onto a table and went to support her. “Mom, it’s nothing. I’m not arguing. I can handle things out here by myself. You go rest.”
This must be Guo Xiaoguang’s adoptive mother.
Song Yuhang’s lips moved, and she took a step forward.
Someone outside shouted, “Old Guo, two bowls of sweet soup and a wonton noodle4!”
Guo Xiaoguang answered with a call and pushed past them to walk outside.
“Ladies, I have a business to run. If you’re not ordering, please leave.”
An idea sparked in Lin Yan’s eyes. She pulled Song Yuhang down into a seat. “Boss, we’ll also have two bowls of sweet soup, and one of all your signature snacks.”
Guo Xiaoguang stumbled, looking at the two of them, neither of whom looked particularly large.
“Can you finish all that?”
Lin Yan leisurely pulled a pair of disposable chopsticks from a bamboo holder and broke them apart. “Whether I can finish it is my business. If you don’t make it for me, I’ll file a complaint with the Consumer’s Association5 and have your shop shut down for good.”
Guo Xiaoguang gritted his teeth. Helpless against them, he limped into the kitchen.
A short while later, he brought out two bowls of sweet soup and slammed them angrily on the table.
“Here! Eat up and get the hell out!”
After sitting in a car all day, Lin Yan was genuinely hungry. She took a sip and found it quite good. She always had a fondness for these soupy dishes and narrowed her eyes in contentment.
“Not bad. I’ll have another one to go.”
Song Yuhang couldn’t help but laugh, pushing the purple sweet potato from her own bowl into Lin Yan’s. “Alright, that’s enough. Hurry up and eat. Stop teasing him.”
Lin Yan bared her teeth at her, signaling her to stay out of it.
For every dish Guo Xiaoguang served, Lin Yan would add another, refusing to order all at once. She was deliberately testing his patience, making him run back and forth on his bad leg.
Finally, in a fit of rage, the young man slammed the menu down. Mindful of the other customers, he lowered his voice and roared, “What on earth are you two trying to do? Even the police don’t get to bully people like this!”
They had ordered so much that even Song Yuhang, who had only taken a small bite of each dish, was starting to feel full. She let out a burp and wiped her mouth with a low-quality napkin, placing it on the table.
“We’re not trying to do anything. We just want to ask you a few questions. If you keep avoiding us, we have plenty of patience to wait you out right here.”
One played good cop, the other played bad cop6. Song Yuhang was the one reasoning with him, while she was the one being a shameless pest.
“Exactly. If you don’t tell us, we’ll come today, we’ll come tomorrow, we’ll come every day. I’ve got plenty of time and plenty of money. Or, we could just go and ask—”
She jutted her chin toward the interior of the shop. “—the old lady inside.”
Guo Xiaoguang spun around and yelled, “Don’t you dare touch my mom, or I’ll fight you to the death!”
Lin Yan shrugged nonchalantly. “Do you think you can beat me? Or, do you think I’ll listen to you?”
Guo Xiaoguang clenched his fists, his chest heaving. He was holding back a lungful of anger with nowhere to vent it when a voice from a table near the entrance called out, slapping the table to pay.
He had no choice but to leave them for now and hurry over.
“Mao-ge, four bottles of beer, five bowls of sweet soup, two plates of crayfish, and a plate of edamame. The total is one hundred and forty-two yuan.”
He was bowing and scraping. The thug7 with tattooed arms took a drag from his cigarette and blew a smoke ring in his face.
“What? Didn’t hear you. Say it again.”
Guo Xiaoguang put on a fawning expression and repeated himself. “Ge, the total is one hundred and forty-two yuan.”
The thug flew into a rage and threw his cigarette butt at him.
“Motherf#cker! You dare ask Mao-ge for money?!”
Guo Xiaoguang was singed, a hole burning through his clothes. He staggered back a few steps and bumped into the table and chairs behind him.
“No, Mao-ge, I… My shop’s profits are thin, and you still haven’t paid the tab you ran up last month…”
A few of his yellow-haired lackeys also stood up, pointing and jabbing their fingers at him.
“What? Mao-ge gracing your place with his presence is giving you face. Don’t be so shameless. How dare you ask Mao-ge for money?! Hey kid, have you paid this month’s protection fee?”
One of the yellow-haired thugs with a cigarette dangling from his lips saw a few loose bills in his apron pocket, reached out, and started counting them.
“Yo, two hundred yuan. Business is good today, huh? Consider it confiscated.”
Guo Xiaoguang’s face flushed red as he reached for the money. “Don’t… don’t… Mao-ge, Mao-ge, I still have to pay rent and utilities, and my mom’s medical bills. I’m begging you, leave me a little. I’ll pay the protection fee later, just give me a little more time.”
The thug with the tattooed arms kicked him squarely in the stomach. “It’s the same excuse every time. Can’t you come up with something new?”
The group of hooligans roared with laughter. Beads of sweat dotted Guo Xiaoguang’s forehead. His hand reached for a nearby chair, but before he could make a move, someone had already charged forward with a collapsible baton.
He stared blankly as the woman brought the baton down on the back of the thug’s head, smashing him face-down onto the table. Bottles and dishes overturned, shattering on the floor.
The thug clutched his head and groaned, “F#ck… goddamnit… where did this crazy b#tch come from? Get her!”
The others grabbed beer bottles and swarmed forward, only to be systematically taken down by Song Yuhang and tossed out the door.
She walked over, snatched the money from the yellow-haired thug’s hand, and returned it to Guo Xiaoguang. “They’ve been collecting protection fees from you all this time. Why didn’t you report it to the police?”
Guo Xiaoguang counted the money—not a single cent was missing—and carefully tucked it back into his apron pocket with a bitter smile. “I did. It was useless. I’m a cripple, my mom’s a blind woman, and we’re not from around here. These local thugs8 get arrested, locked up for a few days, and then come out to collect even more protection money. If we don’t pay, they smash up the shop and beat the customers. It’s better to just swallow our pride and have a few days of peace…”
Lin Yan tightened her grip on her baton, her knuckles turning white.
“Those sons of b#tches are real scum.”
Song Yuhang turned away and made a phone call. A moment later, a patrol car from the vicinity arrived.
Several police officers jumped out. Seeing the hooligans lying all over the ground, they looked at them with disappointment. “How is it you guys again…”
“Yo, his head’s bleeding. Who did it?” one officer asked, flipping over the lead thug’s head to take a look.
Song Yuhang walked over, her expression unreadable.
“I did. I also called it in.”
The officer gave her a strange look, as if he thought she was being a busybody, and lazily took out his notebook.
“Name, ID number. You’re going to have to take responsibility for beating someone up like this.”
The corner of Song Yuhang’s lip twitched. She pulled out her police ID and handed it over.
“And you’re going to have to take responsibility for your long-term inaction, and even your condoning, of illegal and criminal activities.”
The moment the officer saw the black booklet, he glanced at her. “Yo, a colleague. Nice moves.”
He thought she was some new beat cop, but when he opened it, he saw her police ID number actually started with a 09!
A cold sweat broke out on his back. He compared her face to the photo several times before snapping to attention with a salute, stuttering so badly he could barely speak.
“Cap… Captain Song, good evening!”
“At ease.” Song Yuhang took a cigarette from her pocket, flicked it a few times, and lit it.
“I’m out on vacation, no need for the ‘Captain Song’ formalities. These local gangsters are involved in collecting protection fees, loan sharking, running up tabs, vandalizing shops, and assaulting customers. Any single one of those charges is enough to lock them up for a few months. I will report this matter truthfully to Director Zhao. Cuff them.”
The officer looked like he wanted to cry. “But, Captain Song…”
She shot him a cold glance. “What, do you need me to do it myself, and then compensate them for their medical bills too?”
She rarely used her rank to pressure people, and was usually quite approachable. That sudden icy glare even gave Lin Yan the creeps.
The young officers’ scalps tingled. They knew she was genuinely angry. They had all heard of her famous exploits in cracking the “Aurora Case” and the “White Whale Case,” and knew she was Director Zhao’s star subordinate and the second-in-command of the Jiangcheng City Bureau. Not daring to offend her further, they respectively cuffed the lowlifes and put them in the police car.
At this point, the leading officer approached again, offering a cigarette. “Captain Song, look, this is just a big misunderstanding10. How about this…”
He touched her wrist. “Let’s just forget about it. The boys and I will treat you to dinner.”
Lin Yan, tapping her shoulder with her retracted baton like a massage stick, watched him with a slight smirk. His smile was still there, but the words that came out were impartial as iron.
Song Yuhang tapped his body camera. “Don’t turn it off. Inviting a superior officer to a banquet constitutes bribery. That’s another charge on top.”
The officer’s face went from pale to green. Knowing this person was incorruptible, he gritted his teeth in frustration, turned, and left with his men.
“Damn it!”
Only then did Song Yuhang walk over to help Guo Xiaoguang right the fallen tables and chairs. “Sorry, we’ll compensate you for everything that was broken.”
Guo Xiaoguang stared at her blankly, then at Lin Yan, feeling that they were somehow different from ordinary police officers.
“You guys…”
Because of the incident, all the customers had left. His business for the night was a total loss.
Lin Yan pulled a stack of yuan from her wallet and placed it on the table. “I’m paying. For everyone tonight.”
Guo Xiaoguang swallowed, his eyes fixed on the stack of cash. It was enough not only to cover the entire night’s revenue but also more than enough for the month’s rent.
He managed to tear his gaze away. “Even so, I won’t tell you anything.”
Song Yuhang’s expression grew serious. She patted his shoulder. “You don’t want to spend the rest of your life walking on thin ice, branded with the name of a ‘murderer’s son,’ do you?”
“Tell us what you know. We will definitely clear your name, and your father’s.”
Guo Xiaoguang’s jaw tightened, his eyes reddening. He shoved her away. “Where were you fourteen years ago?! My dad is dead! Dead! He’s not coming back! He couldn’t possibly have killed anyone! Why didn’t you investigate properly?! Why?!”
“For these fourteen years, I’ve been hiding, running. I didn’t dare go to school, didn’t dare fall in love, didn’t dare get married! All because I was afraid… afraid… of being recognized as a murderer’s son, as Zhu Yong’s son! My leg was broken by those people!”
“When my father was wronged and humiliated, when everyone was screaming for my head, treating me like a rat in the street, where were you?! And now you show up, putting on this fake, self-righteous act. It’s disgusting! Pei!”
Watching his hysterical breakdown, Lin Yan seemed to be struck by some painful memory of her own. She turned her face away slightly and sniffled.
Song Yuhang’s throat moved. She lowered her gaze, her eyes red as she bowed her head.
“On behalf of the entire Jiangcheng City police force, I offer you our most sincere apologies. At the same time, I promise you, the tragedy of fourteen years ago will not be repeated. Justice may be late, but it will never be absent.”
“Because—” Her gaze shifted to Lin Yan. “—standing right beside me is also a party involved in the ‘Fenyang Pier Dismemberment Case’ from back then. What I want to say is, although hope may seem dim, there are still people willing to fight for justice and fairness for their entire lives.”
Like a firefly drifting in the darkness. Even if it is alone and insignificant, it can ultimately become a guide for those who are lost.
With such a flame alive, the torch of justice will never be extinguished.
Lin Yan stood up straight and looked at him. “That’s right. The one who died back then… was my best friend… Not long after she died, her mother couldn’t handle the shock and went mad. For fourteen years, just like you, I haven’t had a single good day. I have to rely on medication and alcohol just to fall asleep. I completely understand how you feel. But if your father didn’t do it, then why should you be the one to pay with your youth, with the price of your family’s ruin, to atone for the killer?”
“The one who truly deserves to die, the one who should pay the price, is the murderer.”
Lin Yan’s soft-spoken words struck his heart like a heavy hammer.
Guo Xiaoguang clenched his fists. A man does not shed tears lightly. He gently wiped the corner of his eye. Just as he was about to speak, the curtain to the back room was pushed aside.
The old woman stood trembling in the doorway. “Xiaoguang, close the shop. Let the guests come inside to talk.”
Re-translated on June 14, 2025
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