Chapter 1151: Imparting Techniques

The street was sparsely populated; Wang Yan and his two companions, holding a photo of the victim Feng Xiaoling, entered every shop and questioned everyone they saw.

The cinema was not far from Feng Xiaoling's home, less than a kilometer away. There was only this one direct route from the cinema to her house; taking a detour would have meant a much longer journey. Given the depth of winter, Feng Xiaoling most likely would not have taken a detour. Moreover, everyone knew the outside world was not entirely safe; Feng Xiaoling was no fool, and certainly would not have acted erratically.

The trio questioned people from morning till night for another half-month, essentially covering everyone who frequently operated in that area. However, the results were far from ideal.

Because too much time had passed, people simply could not remember clearly. As for having seen her, yes, they had certainly seen her, but when exactly they had seen her, that they could not recall.

Wang Yan and his trio did not become discouraged; tirelessly, they guided people to recollect. On which day, at which location, had they seen Feng Xiaoling? Had they noticed any man behaving suspiciously, carrying or hauling a woman on his back?

Especially those whose height and weight appeared roughly similar to the perpetrator's received extra attention.

Yet despite all these efforts, they still found nothing.

However, fate is unpredictable and always loves to play jokes on people.

That afternoon, the trio persisted unremittingly in questioning people on the streets, hoping to uncover some clue. Even if they could pull out just one thread, they could follow it down.

Ma Kui waved to stop a man riding a bicycle, approached, saluted, and flashed his identification.

He then took out Feng Xiaoling's photo and asked, "Comrade, have you seen this person?"

The man removed his glove, took the photo, his hand trembled, and then, without thinking, shook his head: "Never seen her."

He immediately slapped the photo onto Old Ma's chest, then, without bothering to put his glove back on properly, mounted his bicycle and tried to ride away.

Old Ma's eyes fixed tightly on this man; he had keenly captured the momentary panic and daze in the man's eyes the instant he saw the photo. Furthermore, the man's current behavior clearly indicated some involvement; naturally, Old Ma would not let him go.

He immediately yanked the man down, restraining him directly. Unwilling to surrender, the man struggled fiercely, while Old Ma pressed down on him with all his might, preventing any escape.

Just as the two grappled, Wang Xin, not far away, noticed the situation at Old Ma's end; he immediately shouted "Wang Yan!" toward a spot further away, then, without hesitation, sprinted over to assist Old Ma.

By the time Wang Yan jogged over, the man had already been subdued.

Old Ma breathed slightly heavily, his exhalations forming large clouds of white mist in the winter air.

He said, "He saw the photo and tried to run."

"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and take him back for interrogation." Wang Xin chuckled. "Sorry, comrade, but you'll have to come with us for an investigation."

"I haven't committed any crime! Investigate what? I'm not going! Let me go! The police are beating people! The police are beating people!"

Without another word, Wang Yan walked over and struck the man, causing him such pain that he could not cry out. Making no further fuss, he simply dragged the man away, taking a moment to check the footprints and confirm they matched this individual.

Old Ma stayed behind, patiently explaining the situation to the onlookers and calming the gathered crowd. Only then did he ride the suspect's bicycle, following Wang Yan and the others back to the station.

They escorted the man to the interrogation room, handcuffed him to a chair; Ma Kui led the interrogation, Wang Xin took the transcript, while Wang Yan sat aside, smoking and drinking tea.

"Name," Ma Kui said.

"I haven't committed any crime! Why did you arrest me? I want to see your leaders and report you! I'm going to file a petition!"

Wang Yan placed his teacup on the table, cigarette dangling from his mouth, and walked over...

Five minutes later, Ma Kui asked again: "Name!"

"Qin Zhongde," he replied weakly.

"Age!"

"Twenty-five."

"Work unit! Address!"

"No work unit; I live in Yu Hong..."

"Where were you on November 15, 1978?" Ma Kui asked the crucial question.

"I was... I was ice skating on the Hun River," Qin Zhongde said, head bowed, his words hesitant; anyone could tell it was a lie.

"Lift your head and speak up; I didn't hear you clearly."

Qin Zhongde raised his head, his gaze evasive and wandering, repeating once more that he had been ice skating at that time.

"Who did you go with?"

"Alone; just me by myself."

"Your home is so far away; you went ice skating all by yourself?"

"Who said one isn't allowed to go ice skating alone?"

Ma Kui continued asking: "Which date did I mention just now?"

"November 15th; I really did go ice skating that day."

Wang Xin laughed: "Your mouth is really stubborn. What, do you keep a calendar for your ice skating sessions? To remember so clearly?"

Only then did Qin Zhongde realize his mistake; he should have denied it immediately rather than continuing to answer based on that specific time. He was too nervous, too panicked, and had completely lost his composure.

This was thanks to Wang Yan De Gong, because it truly hurt, and he was truly afraid...

But he still argued back: "My memory is quite good; I was very happy skating that day, so I remember it clearly."

"With such a good memory, why didn't you get into university? Why don't you have a job?"

"Who stipulated that having a good memory guarantees getting into university or finding a job?"

"Enough." Ma Kui slammed the table. "You can't even fabricate lies anymore; what are you still arguing about? Confess freely, and we'll close the case quickly; let's not waste each other's time. Let me put it this way: if you don't clarify this matter, you won't be leaving. Do you understand?"

"The point is, I didn't do anything; what am I supposed to say?"

"Still not telling the truth? Fine, then let's continue chatting," Ma Kui said. "You claim to have a good memory; then tell us, what time did you leave, and what time did you return?"

"Left a little after ten o'clock; returned at four in the afternoon."

"Returned where?"

"Home."

"And that night?"

"That night, of course, I was sleeping."

"You think your parents will surely cover for you, right?" Wang Yan shook his head with a smile, placed his teacup on the table once again, and said, "Let's not waste effort; let's be direct. What I did just now wasn't even the most painful; let me let you experience the real thing."

"Don't come over! Don't come over... Ah!"

Wang Yan targeted specific acupoints; externally, not a single wound was visible. He could cause a person to die quickly without injury, or inflict an incurable disease that would kill them months later. By this day, his methods could already be described as baffling.

So, unsurprisingly, ten minutes later, with Wang Yan's help, Qin Zhongde's stubbornness was cured, and those memories he dared not mention were recovered; he was now thoroughly obedient, answering whatever was asked and confirming whatever was said.

According to his confession, on the afternoon of the incident, he and an accomplice were wandering aimlessly on the street. Since there were few people around and Feng Xiaoling was walking alone, they harbored malicious intent. The two of them dragged Feng Xiaoling into an alley.

They originally intended to rob her of money, but Feng Xiaoling resisted fiercely, forcing them to knock her unconscious. Then the other accomplice conceived an even more evil plan. They found a sack and rope, bound her, stuffed her inside, transported her via bicycle to an abandoned house in the suburbs, and then both men raped Feng Xiaoling.

Furthermore, fearing that Feng Xiaoling might escape and report them to the police, leading to their execution by firing squad, they decided to go all the way. They simply strangled her to death on the spot and dumped the body by the railway overnight.

Naturally, he also revealed information about his accomplice. Afterwards, the trio of Wang Yan launched a direct operation and captured the suspect. During separate interrogations, the two turned on each other like dogs fighting, leading to the discovery of all evidence. After an investigation compiled into a written report, the two could line up for execution by firing squad...

Although the process of solving the case was somewhat dramatic, the outcome was ultimately good: the culprits were punished, the deceased and her family received an account of justice, and Wang Yan and others established new merits once again.

People had already reached a consensus that the trio of Wang Yan could solve cases. Thus, there were no major ripples; at most, people merely sighed that their ideas were clever and their luck was good.

Even Old Hu no longer eagerly rushed over, as he had long grown accustomed to it; sitting firmly like an angler on his fishing platform, his role was simply to ensure logistical support.

Of course, while people felt little excitement about the trio solving another homicide, another matter stirred them up. That was Wang Yan's identification of the deceased's bones during the investigation of this case, which narrowed the age range to within two years with precise determination.

This undoubtedly excited all the comrades. They deeply understood just how accurate Wang Yan's level of footprint identification was; he had already been hailed as an authoritative expert. Although the Procuratorate and the Court could not yet treat Wang Yan's judgments as concrete evidence, they did not deny his assessments either.

According to Wang Yan, the level of age identification via bone analysis was not much inferior to footprint identification; it could pinpoint the age range within one or two years, rather than the usual three or four years typical of ordinary forensic doctors—a difference that was simply too vast.

Just like in this rape-murder case, many unsolved cases could be handled similarly to identify the deceased. In these times, confirming a deceased person's identity was no simple task; even if the corpse still had a face, verification was quite difficult, let alone when the face had been destroyed.

Wang Yan stated that bone identification lagged behind footprint identification only due to a lack of practical experience. Since they knew deeply Wang Yan's level of footprint identification, they naturally held high expectations for his equally skilled bone identification.

So what else was there to say?

Once this rape-murder case was confirmed solved and the news spread, but before the case was fully closed, someone had already placed an urn containing ashes before Wang Yan, asking him to perform an identification...

After Old Hu imagined the scene of their brigade's territory filled with rows of ash urns, he cheerfully escorted Wang Yan to the funeral home, instructing him to stay there. Those in need would naturally go to the funeral home to find him, bringing the ashes directly to the site.

The staff at the funeral home were amazed; apart from the deaths of certain leaders or celebrities, they had never witnessed such a lively situation, moreover one of sustained bustle; they had never seen so much vitality.

The main reason was that Wang Yan was currently still conducting footprint identifications. When personnel from various units in Ningyang came to seek him out, they learned that Wang Yan was now stationed at the funeral home providing technical support: examining bones during the day and analyzing footprints at night.

Bit by bit, the news spread, reaching outsiders as well. However, since ash urns were difficult to transport, and people also wanted to observe the power of this new skill Wang Yan demonstrated, they hesitated.

Then, while queuing at the funeral home, they felt it: constantly, people arrived grinning broadly to report good news. Once various units learned of this, they each began to hatch their own plans...

Wang Yan now had many more subordinates: some from the Provincial Department, some from the Municipal Bureau, others from the railway systems across the province, and technical personnel from other municipal bureaus. They either knew footprint identification or possessed forensic autopsy skills.

These were personnel arranged by various units after superior leaders had spoken with Wang Yan; it was equivalent to opening a training class.

Consequently, Wang Yan could no longer handle cases himself; instead, he began training technical reconnaissance personnel to improve overall combat effectiveness. Furthermore, after he finished scanning all funeral homes in Ningyang and identified all the bones requiring his expertise, arrangements made jointly by the railway system and the Provincial Department sent him to thirteen other prefecture-level cities besides Ningyang to provide technical support.

Much like Confucius traveling with his disciples, Wang Mou also went out accompanied by a large group of students, effectively forming an expert technical team. Under the comprehensive coordination of superior units and leaders, they launched a province-wide campaign focused on breaking through backlog cases.

This development did not exceed Wang Yan's expectations, because talent was scarce; all kinds of talent were scarce. How much energy did one person have? This was an inevitable outcome.

In fact, even without formal organization, those who came to him to examine footprints were already people capable of footprint identification. Every time he made a judgment, he would also take the opportunity to explain things to them.

It was just that this time, he was conducting dedicated classes, systematically teaching relevant knowledge.

In short, this was a successful operation. Cases in various regions were solved, the deceased and their families found peace, the police and units handling the cases earned merits, superior units and leaders received credit for their coordination, and those who accompanied Wang Yan learned techniques and made progress. Wang Yan himself naturally accrued even more merit; it was just that he was the most exhausted.

Of course, he did not feel tired; after all, he possessed abundant energy and firm ideals, so he remained perfectly composed without any other thoughts.

The only unfavorable point was that wherever he went, he lodged at a funeral home, staying for ten days or half a month; this feeling was somewhat lacking...

As for Old Ma and Wang Xin, they continued handling cases; without Wang Yan, efficiency dropped significantly, but just like in the original drama, they still solved some cases and achieved results.

Time passed while Wang Yan inspected funeral homes across the province; in the blink of an eye, spring returned with warmth and blooming flowers.

On this day, the courtyard became lively once again: Cai Xiao was getting married.

Wang Yan once again resumed his old trade, acting as the head chef; early in the morning, he busied himself processing various ingredients.

Wang Xin joined in the excitement beside him: "Take a look, Cai Xiao is getting married; how much longer are you going to wait?"

"How many times must I say it? I'm waiting until Ma Yan graduates."

"That doesn't prevent you two from getting married."

"These two years won't make a difference."

Wang Yan shook his head with a smile, not dwelling further on the matter, and instead asked, "How have things been with you and Old Ma recently?"

Same as usual. Lately, another child went missing on a train; a few days ago, the two of us went on another trip. We didn't find the child and nearly got beaten to death. A merchant selling goods came to our aid, which is why we returned unharmed. Oh, and we also solved a case. A man murdered someone; his younger brother witnessed it and was so terrified he went mad. We learned about it from the younger brother.

This man ran a small shop. At the time, Old Ma and I didn't think much of it; we just bought some items to gather information, but this guy panicked..."

Wang Xin chattered on for a while, then asked, "How about you?"

"I haven't finished yet. This is Cai Xiao's wedding, so I came back to rest for a few days; afterward, I have to go out again."

"When will you be done?"

"Still a few more months."

"You're not having it easy either. I was thinking the three of us could continue partnering up, but looking at it now, there's no hope."

"It'll be soon. Once I've taught this batch of people enough, it'll be easier. In the future, anywhere within Liaoning Province will have my disciples and grand-disciples."

"No wonder you're so awesome. How come I can't see it..."

Wang Xin felt somewhat depressed, but only for a moment.

Wang Yan said with a smiling expression: "I heard Niu Dali is coming back?"

"Let him come back if he wants; what else can be done? I haven't wronged him. Besides, Yu Ling has already borne me a son; what hopes could he still harbor? I haven't even held it against him for fancying my wife."

"True, you're magnanimous." Wang Yan shook his head amusingly.

"But it's still tough; supporting a family is hard. Luckily, my father earns quite a bit too."

Wang Xin couldn't help but start chattering again...