Regarding the statement of the old butler of Building 6 in Fuk Oi Village, since the detectives determined that he called the police because he noticed that the Fang couple had not left their house for a long time, the midnight phone call mentioned in his statement was deemed to be fabricated.
The sit-in death case and the annihilation case have been completely reenacted and can be perfectly closed. No one should be concerned about the old butler’s obsession with ghost calls anymore, which is probably just a lonely old man seeking attention and crying out to society.
However, Fang Zhenyue is not someone to be easily misled by ‘irrelevant’ information. He asked a friend from the communications technology department to help investigate the time period mentioned by the old butler of Building 6, Fuk Oi Village, and to check the calls made to the butler’s counter number.
It turns out that there really were such midnight calls, coming from a public phone near the intersection of Ki Lung Street and Kweilen Street in Sham Shui Po, and another public phone near the intersection of Fa Yuen Street and Prince Edward Road West.
These locations are 800 meters and 1600 meters away from Fuk Oi Village, respectively…
Fang Zhenyue parked his car by the roadside, walked to the intersection of Fa Yuen Street and Prince Edward Road West, and circled around the phone booth that made one of the calls.
The night wind was chilly; he zipped his coat all the way up and covered his chin with the collar, finally feeling satisfied.
Near the phone booth, he saw no clues. Such a public phone booth in Sham Shui Po, even if it once had fingerprints or other evidence, has likely been covered by now.
He looked up, took a breath of the cool night air, and thought: It’s almost the season to wear wool coats, it’s really cold…
…
…
The Yi family of four closed their shop and returned to their new home. When they crossed from the roadway to the pedestrian street, there was a knee-high small fence.
Everyone had walked several meters past the small fence before realizing that Yi Jiayi, the eldest sister, had not kept up.
The three siblings turned around and saw Jiayi taking a few steps back to get a running start and then quickly jumping over the fence.
After successfully jumping over, she stepped back and took a run-up to jump back.
“Big sister, what are you doing?” Yi Jiaru watched his agile older sister and felt inclined to describe her with one word: playful.
“Jumping over the railing. It’s an essential skill for detectives, just practicing a bit,” Jiayi jumped back and forth a couple more times, and her siblings, Yi Jiajun and Yi Jiaru, also joined in the railing jumping.
Little Yi Jiajun, being short, jumped clumsily and grudgingly.
Although Yi Jiaru was a young girl, she had surprisingly good athletic reflexes. Following her big sister, she quickly became more proficient in her movements.
Such iron railings are common throughout Hong Kong, serving as barriers on stairs, dividing traffic on roads, and separating pedestrians from vehicles, generally all alike.
Knee-high, made of iron, fixed in concrete roads or concrete steps, one can easily jump over them, even young boys and girls like Yi Jiaru and Yi Jiajun can do it safely.
“I can be a detective too.” After completing a perfect jump, Yi Jiaru raised her arms like a gymnast who had just perfectly completed an event at the Olympics, signaling to her family.
“This is just one of the essential skills required to be a detective; others include skills like climbing walls, jumping through windows, chasing people into the sea and fighting them there, and stealth tracking…” Yi Jiayi listed them off like a treasure trove.
“Big sister, that doesn’t sound like something a good person would do,” Yi Jiaru frowned, expressing her doubts.
“Hahaha…” Yi Jiadong leaned against the wall, enjoying the spectacle, unable to contain his laughter.
The three siblings played for a while longer and finally decided on the rankings. Yi Jiayi easily took first place, while Jiajun, with his short legs, got the bronze medal.
“You’re bullying the little ones!” Jiajun protested. “When I grow up and get taller than you, I’ll be the one in first place.”
“Get bullied for a few more years, kiddo,” Yi Jiadong pressed a big palm on his head, then turned and led his siblings home.
Jiaru followed their big brother’s example, went behind Jiajun, and rubbed his head with an open hand.
“Don’t touch my head,” Jiajun protested, raising his fists.
Walking at the back, Jiayi watched her younger siblings laughing and playing, and she couldn’t help but join in the laughter.
She tried to mimic the relaxed and happy walking posture of characters in cartoons, with arms resting behind her head and body leaning back as she strode forward, only to find that this way of walking was not comfortable at all.
It even resembled how boys sometimes shoot baskets as they walk, a bit cringy. She couldn’t help but laugh at her own whimsical idea and quickly let her arms hang naturally by her sides, walking normally.
As the autumn wind blew, her short hair fluttered, and suddenly, Jiayi felt like wearing a skirt.
She planned to wear a long dress to go shopping for autumn clothes in a few days.
It was perfect—changing seasons is a great excuse for a big shopping spree. And with the bounty reward from the King of Thieves, it was time for a major splurge. She could buy a stylish vest for her brother, along with a nice sweater, shirt, and a small tie; he would look very handsome.
She could also get a comfortable, lined shirt for her older brother, who liked rugged styles; grey and black would look sleek on him.
For Jiaru, she would buy a long pleated skirt paired with black Mary Jane shoes and white socks, topped with a white sweater and a checkered sweater-vest, and tie it all together with a bow—she would look just like a doll.
And maybe she could also dress up the cool, pale-skinned hottie Sun Xin and the young Ding Baoshu.
Haha, by doing so, their Yi’s Diner could turn into a beauty hotspot—wonder if that would affect their revenue.
With a mischievous smile, the family of four crossed the alley and entered the Yongfa Garden Community, stepping onto the smooth pebbled walkway. Jiajun spotted a stray cat, muttered “meow meow,” and chased after it, his leather shoes tapping a rhythmic sound on the stone path.
Accompanied by the idle chatter of his brother and sister, it created the happiest melody in the world.
If only the BB-call on her waist hadn’t suddenly screamed, the evening would have been perfect.
…
…
After bidding farewell to Fang Zhenyue, Sanfu entered his own community.
Standing downstairs and looking up, his family’s window was dark, surrounded by other warm yellow lit windows, making it appear especially desolate.
He stomped his feet twice on the spot and decided to just start running around the neighborhood.
One lap, two laps, running over a kilometer—farther than from Yi’s Diner to his home—before he finally slowed to a walk.
If Fang Zhenyue knew, he would regret having driven Sanfu and wasted both time and gasoline: “If you had running needs, you should have said so earlier. Why not just run home from Yi’s? Wasting your dad’s gas money.”
Thinking of what Brother Yue might say, Sanfu chuckled to himself, flapped his jacket a couple of times to cool down after a run, and then turned towards his apartment building.
But just as he had taken a couple of steps, his waist BB-call rang.
He stopped fanning his jacket, unclipped the pager and opened it, walking under a street lamp to read:
【“At the corner of Tai Nan Street and Shek Kip Mei Street in Sham Shui Po, by the stairs in the alley, one person dead, Lin Wangjiu…”】
Sanfu’s pupils suddenly constricted as he read the limited text on the BB-call, and he began running again against the night wind.
His sweat hadn’t dried yet, and as he ran, the cold wind made him shiver uncontrollably. But the cold didn’t make him stop; instead, he ran faster and faster.
Unable to hail a cab, Sanfu had no choice but to sprint all the way to Sham Shui Po, arriving nearly 20 minutes later.
The staircase alley was already cordoned off with police tape, a police car turned off its siren, only leaving its red lights circling and flashing.
Sanfu threw himself against the police car, one hand on the car wall, the other clutching his chest, panting heavily while his eyes rapidly scanned around. Seeing Uncle Jiu sitting on the stairs with his eyes open, he suddenly exhaled, closed his eyes, frowned, and slowly swallowed his heart back into his stomach.
When he saw Jiayi lifting the police tape to get a bottle of mineral water from beside the police car, Sanfu, out of breath, asked:
“What happened? Who died?”
Jiayi looked into Sanfu’s eyes for a few seconds with a solemn face, then said softly, “Xi Ming.”
“?” Sanfu stared in disbelief.
Everyone familiar with Uncle Jiu knew Xi Ming.
The man who once directly caused Uncle Jiu to be demoted and his partner unable to continue as a frontline detective.
Xi Ming was always a knot in Uncle Jiu’s heart, everyone thought he had long died…
How could it be Xi Ming?
Wait, Sanfu squinted his eyes, looking at Jiayi and then at Uncle Jiu sitting head down on the distant steps, then his gaze drifted to the forensic officer, Sir Xu, and others crowded around the body sprawled beside the stair railing…
His eyes widened, and he muttered:
“Xi Ming is dead? Then… who is the killer?”
Jiayi held two bottles of mineral water in her hands, preparing to walk back into the crime scene inside the police tape, but stopped and turned back when she heard Sanfu’s question.
The cold gleam of the crescent moon blended with the penetrating yellow light of the street lamps, casting clear shadows on Jiayi’s face, making her features appear more pronounced and her expression even more solemn.
Sanfu parted his lips, suddenly unable to ask any more questions, just took a deep breath, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, and followed Jiayi.
Lifting the police tape, they stooped to enter and headed straight to the crime scene.