Chapter 1148: Manifesting Sageliness

The next morning, after everyone had eaten breakfast together and watched the lively antics between Wang Xin and Yao Yuling, they boarded the train from Ha City to Ningyang.

Naturally, the trio had not bought tickets; they simply freeloaded, sitting in the dining car during the day and sneaking into sleeping berths at night. Their case-handling funds were truly tight, so they saved where they could and spent where they must.

On the train, Wang Yan lived up to expectations and caught thieves once again.

No one knew who started the rumor that he had become a criminal police officer, but within just a few days, the trains were in chaos again.

With reform and opening-up now confirmed and economic development underway, even the sluggish Northeast had begun to feel a hint of the spring breeze.

Arbitrage and transporting southern goods northward gave rise to new phenomena, causing wealth on the trains to increase further. No matter how formidable Wang Yan was, he could not eradicate people's greed-driven willingness to risk their lives.

Let alone catching them; even when he was Emperor, employing executions and often confiscating property and exterminating clans, he still did not prevent others from making money.

The pickpockets naturally felt equally frustrated; with such fat meat sitting right there, visible yet untouchable, it was truly enough to drive one to death.

People still stole on the trains even when Wang Yan was present, let alone now that he had been transferred away.

Therefore, along the journey back to Ningyang, Wang Yan caught quite a few petty thieves.

In truth, Wang Yan and the others had never stopped catching thieves on trains and in stations; during holidays and festivals, when passenger flow surged and anti-pickpocket conditions became even more severe, they would also travel in plain clothes to catch thieves...

Upon returning to the bureau, unsurprisingly, Old Hu, who had no serious matters at hand, came forward to greet them.

"How did it go? Did you find any leads?"

Ma Kui smiled, explained the situation and the trio's conjectures to him, then said, "This matter still rests with you. As the leader, it is more convenient for you to communicate with them. In any case, the sooner the better; once we go through this list of eighty or a hundred people, we will most likely identify the deceased.

And once we confirm the deceased's identity and find their connection to Ningyang, this case will basically be solved. It's up to you, Leader; the sooner the better."

Ma Kui patted Old Hu's shoulder, speaking with earnest gravity.

Old Hu laughed and scolded, "Since when does anyone pat a leader's shoulder like that? I think you are the leader."

Wang Xin said, "Hurry up, Leader; we're all waiting for you to solve the case."

After a few more jokes, Old Hu hurried off to contact various units to request the lists.

This task was indeed difficult, effectively increasing the workload for other units out of nowhere.

Although everyone was a comrade, communication between police stations was sometimes not smooth, and crossing city boundaries made it even more strenuous; now, crossing provincial borders, the difficulty was naturally higher.

Cooperation was certain, but the key lay in speed; one week versus one or two months made a definite difference.

Old Hu was fairly reliable; after a round of communications, he managed to finalize the matter. Over the following week, stations along the route would successively send over the lists of those who bought direct tickets to Ningyang and those who purchased supplementary tickets on board to Ningyang, delivered via trains passing through Ningyang.

During this period, as lists arrived, they made call after call and sent telegram after telegram to verify each person's identity. The main points were to confirm gender, confirm age, and verify whether these individuals were still alive.

This was not difficult; it merely required a reply, and there was no need for Wang Yan and the others to personally visit and conduct investigations one by one.

However, not everyone was accounted for; during the verification process, a few individuals were found to be missing, which was an unfortunate matter.

But fortunately for Wang Yan and the others, either the gender did not match or the age did not match, so they did not need to verify those cases themselves.

When there were no lists requiring verification, the trio continued reviewing various cases that had accumulated because they could not be pursued for one reason or another.

On this day, Wang Yan was looking at a railway corpse-dumping case that had occurred on the section between Ningyang and Xishi.

The case details were simple: three years prior, on a rainy day, a track inspector discovered a body crushed by a train. After investigating the surrounding areas, they confirmed the deceased's identity and determined it was a crime committed by an acquaintance, but due to various reasons, it remained unsolved, and the Juan Sect had been piled up.

What Wang Yan was examining were photographs of the crime scene, all black-and-white film photos; criminal investigation photography and film preservation had become widely applied in the field of criminal detection following the invention of the camera.

At this time, our country's film cameras were still adequate, with numerous brands and models such as Seagull, Mudan, and Pearl River; some utilized Japanese technology, while others employed Soviet technology.

Soviet technology was particularly robust because, after World War II, the Soviet Union occupied East Germany, gaining control over the personnel and technology of the famous Zeiss company.

Among this pile of scene photographs, several footprints were confirmed to belong to the perpetrator, and it was these footprints that Wang Yan was studying.

After staring for a while, he raised his head, glanced around the office at the personnel, and then called out, "Captain Zhang?"

Not far away, near an office desk, several people were gathered holding a small meeting.

One of them, hearing the commotion, turned his head: "What's up?"

"Come here for a moment."

Captain Zhang, confused about the reason, walked over; Wang Yan pointed at the photo and said, "There is something problematic about this footprint. The assessment at the time estimated a height of 1.70 to 1.75 meters and a weight of 130 to 140 jin. My assessment is a height of 1.81 to 1.83 meters and a weight of 135 to 145 jin."

Captain Zhang frowned: "I have an impression of this case; I was the one who analyzed the footprints. How did you reach your conclusion?"

"It rained those two days, making the footprints clear, and the force distribution on the forefoot..."

After Wang Yan delivered a torrent of professional analysis, he said, "Therefore, I judge that these shoes belonged to the deceased. The perpetrator likely had some awareness, knowing we would examine the footprints, so he swapped into the deceased's shoes to dump the body and mislead our judgment."

Captain Zhang had analyzed the footprints based on experience; hearing the barrage of terms and formulas Wang Yan spouted, he was already stunned into confusion.

Nor was he the only one; everyone in the office heard Wang Yan's words, all looked over here, and were completely awestruck.

When Captain Zhang came to his senses, he did not feel ashamed or annoyed that Wang Yan had overturned his judgment, but merely asked uncertainly, "Are you confident?"

Wang Yan smiled: "Who can say for sure? Why don't you send a few people over to take a look? If it's correct, we solve a case; if not, it only wastes a day, nothing major. Don't you agree, Captain Zhang?

If you are unwilling to go, shall the three of us make the trip to see?"

"I'll go, I'll go." Captain Zhang shook his head repeatedly, immediately grabbed the Juan Sect, and began assigning personnel, "Old Li, Old Four, did you hear that? You two hurry up, review the Juan Sect to refresh your memories, and go check if anything matches up."

He turned back and shouted loudly again, "If we solve the case, I'll treat you all to drinks!"

"Hurry up and go; I only just learned this kid knows how to analyze footprints. You verify it, and in the future, cases involving footprints in our squad will be easier to handle."

Ma Kui smiled and waved his hand.

After a flurry of chaotic activity, Captain Zhang's subordinates set off.

Wang Xin leaned over and asked, "Is it accurate?"

"Everything I just said was in vain; how can such things be stated so definitively?" Wang Yan shook his head with a smile, then added, "However, personally speaking, I do have some confidence."

Ma Kui chuckled: "You kid have many tricks up your sleeve; you must be certain, otherwise you wouldn't have said it, right?"

Wang Xin paused for a moment, realized what was meant, leaned in closer, and whispered, "Then why did you tell them, dear brother? We haven't even started our own business yet."

"We must unite the collective; my analysis of the footprints counts as our squad's achievement. We help each other, so when we are short-staffed, we can directly pull people in to work; being petty about it is meaningless. We cannot be too solitary, otherwise we won't get along well; surely you know such a simple principle, so use your brain occasionally. Just like this flash of inspiration today, the three of us are in sync; regardless of whether we solve the case, for us, it is a lead that has pushed things forward a step."

"Aren't you planning to use their labor to investigate the killer since investigating the deceased yielded no results?"

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows with a smile, then buried his head back into the Juan Sect.

Meanwhile, members of other squads within the unit began recalling cases involving footprints and silently started flipping through Juan Sects as well; their purpose was obvious—they wanted to see the results from Captain Zhang's side. If correct, then cases involving footprints would be given to Wang Yan to review again, perhaps leading to some progress or breakthrough.

Fate never fails those who cheat the system; although Wang Yan felt he hadn't cheated too egregiously, and that his skills were earned through burning the midnight oil studying, he had to admit that without his living father initiating his endless journey of transmigration, he would never have had the opportunity to study hard. Always harbor a grateful heart, always remember the great kindness of the living father.

So, unsurprisingly, that afternoon, Old Li and Old Four from Captain Zhang's team returned, escorting a person back. The murderer had broken into the room at midnight, knocked the victim unconscious, and then thrown them onto the railway tracks to be crushed by a train; sure enough, the murderer had changed shoes in the victim's home before leaving.

Then Wang Yan was surrounded, with a pile of case files spread before him, all involving footprints, the earliest dating back twenty years. While he buried his head in the files, continuously writing data analyzing footprints on slips of paper, on the other side, Old Hu held a large enamel mug, drinking water with a blissful smile...

It was secure, everything was secure.

The Wang Yan trio were his people; now that Wang Yan had demonstrated his footprint identification abilities and directly solved a case that had been pending for several years, with so many cases involving footprints awaiting identification, as long as Wang Yan maintained this level, solving another three to five cases shouldn't be a major problem. Thus, Old Hu, having done nothing himself, reaped the credit for several cases and also gained the goodwill of the detectives who originally handled those cases.

After this maneuver, Old Hu was now a proper leader within the bureau, because his words carried weight, and he had supporters beyond just the Wang Yan trio.

So, since his surname is Hu, he is happy.

Wang Yan never disappointed; he worked overtime, reviewing every case involving footprints, while the brigade's forty-plus members also operated at high intensity, leveraging Wang Yan's new identifications to strike out in all directions; ultimately living up to expectations, in the following few days they solved thirteen backlog cases in one breath, all homicide cases.

This made the already famous Wang Yan renowned throughout the Ningyang police circle. Even the Government Gongan Bureau communicated with them, sending over some case files from the Juan Sect, hoping Wang Yan could assist with footprint identification.

Wang Yan continued working overtime, living up to expectations, and solved many more cases. The types of cases at the Gongan Bureau were varied, including arson, theft, murder, and so on.

After this campaign, Wang Yan became famous across half the sky...

And all this was accomplished in just ten days. Watching this made Comrade Xiao Wang extremely envious, so he began researching footprint identification himself. Old Ma didn't mind, watching with a chuckle.

Ten days had passed, and the final batch of passenger information finally arrived. Although it exceeded a week, it was understandable; after all, that wasn't an order, just a rough estimate, so the fact that various units along the route cooperated was a great thing in itself.

This final batch of passenger information came from Jinan; Wang Yan and the others, filled with hope, continued their verification.

The next morning, Comrade Xiao Wang made a routine phone call: "Hello, Comrade, this is Comrade Xiao Wang from Ningyang who called yesterday; how is the verification regarding Liang Lihong progressing?"

"What? Missing? Are you sure?"

"Good, good, good, please tell me their home address.... Many thanks, many thanks... Let's leave it at that for now, goodbye."

Comrade Xiao Wang excitedly hung up the phone, looked up at Wang Yan and Ma Kui, and said: "Found her, found her, uh, most likely found her. It's Liang Lihong; the age matches, she's from a county town below Jinan, she's the most likely match. Shall we go?"

Ma Kui shook his head: "There are still a few others; it doesn't matter if we wait these couple of days; let's verify them first before deciding."

Old Ma was still steady, not as anxious as Comrade Xiao Wang.

And so, everyone waited another two days until everyone else was verified, leaving only this one unique candidate. Thus, the trio boarded a train heading south to Jinan...

First by train, then by bus, the trio followed the address to find Liang Lihong's home.

"It's right here."

In front of a single-story house, the trio came to a halt.

Old Ma let out a long breath and shouted loudly: "Hello, is anyone home?"

Shortly after, a woman in her fifties walked out, looking at the three with vigilance: "Who are you looking for?"

"Is this Liang Lihong's home?"

The woman paused for a moment, then instantly realized something: "You are..."

Old Ma nodded, pulled out his identification from his pocket, and said: "Ningyang Railway Police, here to understand the situation regarding Liang Lihong. Old sister, are you Liang Lihong's mother?"

"I am."

"Is there anyone else in the family?"

"There's my grandson, three years old, my old man, and my son will be back tonight; whatever the matter is, just tell me, I can handle it." The woman stepped aside, "Come inside and talk; you've come from far away, have some tea."

"Right here in the courtyard is fine; there are benches right here, and it's a bit cooler." Ma Kui walked over directly and sat on a bench, "Do you have any photos of Liang Lihong at home?"

"Yes, wait a moment, I'll go get it right now."

A short while later, the woman returned from the room with a photo, busied herself pouring tea, and finally sat down holding her grandson.

Upon seeing the photo, both Ma Kui and Comrade Xiao Wang looked simultaneously at Wang Yan; for no other reason than that the sketch looked exactly like her. From this, it could be deduced that the portrait of the murderer was also correct, and had even been confirmed by two passengers.

The woman said: "Two days ago someone came asking about Lihong's situation, so I knew you might have found her; Officer Comrades, is she gone?"

"Please accept our condolences." Ma Kui nodded.

"Previously, when she wanted to go to Ningyang, we disagreed, but she insisted on going desperately; no one could stop her. You say, from childhood to adulthood, when has she ever traveled far? Sigh..."

Comrade Xiao Wang asked: "Auntie, do you know why she wanted to go to Ningyang?"

"We have a relative over there, a leader at a chemical plant; she must have gone to seek refuge with him. Later we contacted them, and that relative said Lihong never showed up at all."

"'Must have'? So you aren't sure either?"

"Yes, there is only that one family of relatives in Ningyang. He is a younger brother-in-law on my aunt's side, named Huang Guodong; not close, but not distant either, some connection exists. Back when times were hard, we even borrowed money from him; he's a good person. Wait a moment, I'll go get you his photo."

A short while later, the woman brought out another photo: "This was taken when he came to visit relatives the year before last. It's this person."

The trio all looked over; it was not the murderer.

The woman asked: "How did Lihong die?"

Ma Kui fell silent for a moment, then said: "She was harmed by someone. Old sister, please tell us carefully; were there any unusual circumstances with Liang Lihong before she left home?"

He changed the subject.

Although they held photos of the scene, for a mother, seeing her child in pieces, here a bit, there a bit, unable to even piece together a whole body, unable to recognize the face, was truly a cruel thing.

Although this woman did not cry and her emotions seemed stable, her eyes were already red, and her legs were already trembling. When she was missing, there was still hope; now that she was truly gone, she was in despair.

Old Ma still cared for the woman's feelings, planning to let the stronger men of the family bear all this.

The trio did not disturb them excessively; after asking a few more questions, they left, went to the county guesthouse to settle in, and then went out to find a place to eat.

Unlike the Northeast Three Provinces where food is largely similar, here they had crossed provincial borders, so the trio indulged luxuriously, ordering deboned chicken, braised pork belly, and other dishes to the table. With grease dripping from their mouths, the three still did not forget to discuss the case.

"I reckon the murderer isn't this Huang Guodong, but he can't be entirely disconnected from this. If we go back and find this Huang Guodong, I estimate we can solve this case," Comrade Xiao Wang said.

Ma Kui nodded: "Everything is clear now; did you need to say it? Didn't we leave a copy of the sketch? Don't wait until we return; call Old Hu in a moment, tell him the situation, and have him arrange for someone to find this Huang Guodong. If it really isn't an issue on that end, then we'll have to stay here for a few more days to investigate Liang Lihong's situation further."

"No, currently everything aligns with our judgment; the murderer is ninety-nine percent likely in Ningyang. At this time..."

"Can the credit run away?" Ma Kui glanced at Comrade Xiao Wang. "Be generous; the clues were dug up by us, the victim's identity was confirmed by us, and the final murderer was identified by us. Isn't that enough credit?"

"It's not complete," Comrade Xiao Wang muttered, then added, "I feel actually nothing has changed; the only times we're happy are when we find a clue, and when we solve the case; the rest of the time, we're just keeping our heads down investigating."

"That's because Wang Yan is capable; do you think you're better than the comrades who handled this case before?"

"What of it? Wang Yan is my own brother; if he's capable, it means I'm capable."

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement: "There's nothing wrong with what you said."

After the meal, Old Ma contacted Old Hu. That same evening, Old Hu called back; the case was solved.

Also that evening, Liang Lihong's father and brother arrived at the guesthouse. Upon seeing the photograph, the father and son burst into loud weeping.

The next day, the trio, accompanied by Liang Lihong's brother, began their return journey; Brother Liang was going to bring back his sister's remains...