Chapter 804

"Yan Ge, any ideas about this dismemberment case?" Zhao Jiwei asked from the passenger seat.

"No. Last month, during our door-to-door visits, I ran into someone who used to work for the victim, so I figured I'd take the time to visit again and see if I could find any new leads."

"Last time you said something almost exactly the same—and then you cracked the case."

Wang Yan chuckled and shook his head: "Thirteen years. I've flipped through the case file countless times—how easy do you think it is to solve? Even last case took over a month of intermittent work, and that was just luck. Their method wasn't sophisticated at all—Zhao Changyi just drew attention. This case is different. Nothing. The killer's bold. How easy do you think it is to crack?"

The two chatted idly as they drove straight to the home of Yan Fulin's wife, Liu Mei. Liu Mei, of course, wasn't short on money—she lived in a seaside vacation villa, with excellent scenery and even better conditions.

The gangster's wife was still quite attractive. Liu Mei had gotten together with Yan Fulin at twenty, bore him two children, and enjoyed only a couple years of good life before he was sentenced to over a decade in prison. After his release, he spent another three years scheming, just as fortune seemed within reach, when he was murdered—he was thirty-six then. Thirteen years later, at nearly fifty, Liu Mei still looked quite alluring, thanks to good care.

"Officer Wang, come in, come in!" Liu Mei, having received the call, greeted them warmly and ushered Wang Yan and Zhao Jiwei inside.

Everyone sat down. A housemaid brought tea. Liu Mei said: "I've heard so much about you, Officer Wang—I even saw you online. Are you reopening the investigation into Lao Yan's case?"

"We're just from the Balihe Police Station gathering information. Yan Fulin's case—whether ten years or twenty, we owe the public a conclusion. We must bring the killer to justice."

Wang Yan smiled: "Tell us again—anything unusual before or after the incident?"

Liu Mei shook her head: "You know my situation. He kept two mistresses on the side, drank, gambled, chased women—I barely saw him for long stretches. You're certain it happened on March 15? He hadn't come home for seven or eight days then—I truly had no idea what he was doing."

"He didn't come home often, but the kids were mine alone. Those two mistresses couldn't get pregnant, so every ten days or so, he'd come back for a week to bond with the kids. That's how I noticed—he'd been gone over half a month. I called him, no answer, so I asked Liu Hu. He tracked down the two mistresses and other friends, and only then did we realize he was missing. That's when I reported it."

"Then you cops showed up, took my son for a DNA test, and only then did we learn he'd been dismembered…"

As she spoke, Liu Mei's tone was ordinary. That was normal—she'd only lived with Yan Fulin for a few years. He'd spent most of his time either in prison or absent, even when free. If she were weeping now, that'd be strange.

Wang Yan nodded, then asked: "You know the other two mistresses. Tell me about them."

"There's nothing to say, Officer Wang. I'm just a woman. Lao Yan was caught in the 80s crackdown—he'd be dead now even if he hadn't been killed, swept up in the anti-gang campaign and executed. With a man like him, even if I knew about his mistresses, I wouldn't dare speak up."

"But I didn't care. My three of us suffered a bit during those ten years he was inside—we had no money. I didn't dare remarry. I feared the kids would suffer, and I feared he'd come back and punish me. After he got out, things improved. Even after his death, he left behind assets, letting us live comfortably ever since."

"Those two mistresses came after his release—he chased after them. When I found out, I made a fuss, but then I let it go. As long as he gave money, let him do whatever he wanted. Dead, no one cared for him."

"When he really died, those two mistresses had the nerve to try claiming his estate. Liu Hu gave each of them twenty thousand to shut them up. I never even met them—I don't know what they're like. If you want to know, ask them."

Liu Mei expressed deep contempt for the two women's attempt to claim property—undoubtedly mixed with resentment toward Yan Fulin.

"Tell me about Liu Hu."

Hearing Wang Yan's question, Liu Mei smiled: "I know what you're thinking, Officer Wang—you're wondering if Liu Hu did it, right? He had no reason. Lao Yan treated me poorly, treated the kids average, but he truly cared for his brothers."

"He treated Liu Hu better than anyone. They went to prison together. Liu Hu got out two years earlier. He handled all our family matters. Liu Hu once took a knife for Lao Yan. After Lao Yan's release, Liu Hu led the crew to pick him up. He helped raise the capital for Lao Yan's car-trading business."

"Lao Yan trusted Liu Hu—he took him everywhere. Among their group, Liu Hu was second-in-command. He had zero motive to kill Lao Yan. And even if Liu Hu did it, why dismember and dump the body? Just make Lao Yan vanish—that'd be easier. Isn't that right, Officer Wang?"

"Also, I admit—after Lao Yan died, I slept with Liu Hu. But what choice did I have? I'm just a woman with two young kids. Could I manage Lao Yan's business? If Liu Hu had bad intentions, it wouldn't have stopped at sleeping together—we might all have disappeared."

Liu Mei had little education, spoke plainly—but it was the truth. Liu Hu might be loyal and righteous, but he was still a gangster who could kill. She found herself a protector, raised her children safely, and enjoyed a comfortable life—fine by her.

Wang Yan said nothing more, only nodded: "You knew nothing about the incident, noticed no other abnormalities, correct?"

"Yes, Officer Wang. I truly didn't know. I didn't even know what business he was in—he made many enemies, and I hadn't seen him for ages. I really don't know anything."

Every two or three years they asked her to think hard—she was tired of it.

"Alright. Think carefully when you have time. If you remember anything, come straight to the Balihe Police Station. We won't disturb you further."

Wang Yan left her with the same reminder, then left with Zhao Jiwei, heading to the next household.

"Yan Ge, I feel our door-to-door visits are useless. What that Liu Mei just said—it's basically nothing."

"You realize that now? This case is hard to crack. When we meet others, you'll hear the same stories. I just want to see if they're lying. I won't be certain they're clean unless I see them myself."

"But I think they're all clean. You've read the file. I also asked Lao Gao. The special task force investigated everyone with a grudge against Yan Fulin thoroughly—even gathered evidence against some, made arrests. Under these circumstances, I believe the killer isn't among those listed in the file. But I must meet them all to be sure."

"After all, it's not the one-in-ten-thousand you fear—it's the one-in-ten-thousand you overlook. If someone among them knows something and we skip them, we'll waste everything. So we must never slack off on a case. Any detail ignored can derail our judgment."

Yan Fulin's case was heinous—the police had poured massive effort into it. When it happened, though the killer wasn't caught, the special task force arrested many others, including some sentenced to life or death—but none were Yan Fulin's killer.

Just as Liu Mei said it wasn't Liu Hu, the same logic applies: no one would go to the trouble of dismembering and dumping the body. Those people could make a corpse vanish easily—no need to be so elaborate and deliberately provoke the police. It made no sense.

So Wang Yan agreed with the special task force's judgment: none of the investigated individuals were the real killer. The true killer remained outside their sight, still at large.

Zhao Jiwei nodded, saying nothing more.

Soon, they arrived at the next house—a beauty salon in Yuhua Tai District. Yan Fulin's mistress, Ma Junlan, worked here.

Ma Junlan was twenty-three when Yan Fulin died. She'd been with him since twenty-two—now she was only thirty-six. Clearly, she was younger and prettier than Liu Mei—otherwise Yan Fulin wouldn't have kept her.

A year after Yan Fulin's death, Ma Junlan briefly dated someone for a few months. The next year, she found a wealthy patron. Later, she opened a flower shop, then a coffee shop, and only two years ago started this beauty salon. She had strong crisis awareness—knew beauty wouldn't last, knew she had no skills, and kept trying to build her own income.

All this was recorded in later case files. Now she had some status—when she heard Wang Yan was investigating, Song Ju had Luo's team send him the files. Song Ju's intent? To distract him with these murders—keep him from stirring up trouble. He was afraid…

"Officer, you're still investigating Yan Fulin's case?" Ma Junlan asked, smoking a slim cigarette, sounding weary.

"Why else would we come to you? Tell us what you know."

"I really don't know." Ma Junlan shook her head. "You set the date of the incident as… what was it again?"

"March 15, 2005," Zhao Jiwei replied.

"Ah, right—March 15. He stayed with me for the two days before. I heard nothing unusual. I did hear him call about withdrawing twenty thousand—he said someone was meeting him to 'cross the bridge.' Then he left the next day—and died that day. I know nothing else. Officer, you should ask Liu Hu—he knows more."

Wang Yan nodded. They already had this information—the reason for the twenty thousand was clear. The man who was supposed to 'cross the bridge' was still in prison.

He changed the subject: "I heard you dated someone after Yan Fulin died?"

"That has nothing to do with Yan Fulin! Even if he were alive, we weren't married. I know you think I'm a gold-digger, look down on me—but isn't that my freedom?"

"You misunderstand. This case has stalled for thirteen years. We've only pursued robbery as a lead, but found no similar cases. So we wondered—could your beauty have attracted admirers who developed twisted feelings? Or did Yan Fulin ever clash with someone over you, causing a grudge? Think—did anything like that happen?"

Being called beautiful by a police officer pleased Ma Junlan—she lived off her looks and figure. But after Wang Yan's next words, she froze, pupils shrinking, frowning as she recalled events from over a decade ago.

Seeing her reaction, Wang Yan knew he'd struck something. He didn't press—just quietly sipped tea. He was certain Ma Junlan had no direct role in Yan Fulin's death—but as he'd said, a deranged stalker could be deadly.

After a long silence, Ma Junlan spoke: "If you put it that way… yes, something did happen. It was when I first got together with Yan Fulin. He bought a house in that neighborhood. There was a man I kept running into—he looked at me in a way that was… clearly wanting to sleep with me. Once, walking with Yan Fulin in the compound, I saw him again and told Yan about it."

"You know Yan Fulin was a gangster—bad temper. But after his ten-year sentence, he'd calmed down. After I told him, he went over, spoke a few words to the man—basically told him to stay away, stop staring at me. I don't know what the man said, but Yan Fulin beat him. After that, I never saw him again."

"After Yan Fulin died, Liu Hu gave me twenty thousand to leave. He also kicked me out of the house. Nothing else happened after that."

Wang Yan asked: "Do you know anything about that man?"

"No. Even if I had known, I'd have forgotten by now—it's been thirteen years. Who remembers that clearly? But he was definitely from that neighborhood."

"Anyone else? Any men you dated later who had conflicts with Yan Fulin?"

"That's all, just this one—I don't know anything more. Ask her, she's not bad-looking either, maybe she's had something like this happen too, and might even catch the killer."

Ma Junlan patted her chest, which quivered heavily, "Now that you mention it, you've scared me stiff—what if it really is just like you said? Didn't I just walk through the gates of death?"

"Even if it's true, they must've liked you for your beauty—why would they destroy something so lovely? Don't scare yourself." Wang Yan continued, "What about the men you dated afterward? Did any of them know you when you were with Yan Fulin, or even earlier? Did they ever show you romantic interest? And before Yan Fulin, how many men had you dated? This is relevant to the case—you must tell us clearly, because we'll need to investigate."