[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner":3,"chapter-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-44":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm Not Crazy—This Is the Emperor's Banner",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2291384,4480,"Chapter 44","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-44",44,"\u003Cp>“Captain, aren’t you coming back with us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I’m going to the Yuxiu Police Station ahead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, then we’re heading back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Xia Baokun’s team members quickly got into the vehicles behind, while the one in front was naturally left for Xia Baokun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Doctor Sun, please trouble you tonight to finish the forensic report.” Xia Baokun added, addressing a man who looked like a forensic expert.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Doctor Sun nodded and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll have the results tonight for sure.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With three murders already committed, all with similar methods, it was clearly a serial killing case; the municipal bureau was highly concerned, everyone was under immense pressure, and no one dared slack off—they all hoped to apprehend the killer quickly to prevent the news from leaking and causing public panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing them leave, Xia Baokun drove to the Yuxiu Police Station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably because Lin Guoliang had notified them, Chief Guan Xueming was already waiting at the entrance; as Xia Baokun’s car pulled in, he immediately stepped forward to greet him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Xia.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chief Guan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Baokun quickly greeted him in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lin Guoliang told me everything—it’s already reached your team, so this case must be serious.” Guan Xueming shook Xia Baokun’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, a serial killing case with extremely negative impact. The bureau leadership is pushing us to solve it quickly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The pressure is heavy.” Guan Xueming sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes cases just can’t be solved on demand, but the superiors above didn’t care about that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who can deny it?” Xia Baokun pulled out a cigarette and offered one to Guan Xueming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky had fully darkened, but the entrance of the police station was as bright as day; the two didn’t go inside, instead standing at the door, smoking and chatting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xia Baokun only gave a general account of the three serial killings, revealing no further details—before the case was solved, much information had to remain confidential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The killer has extremely high anti-investigation awareness, and after every crime, he calls us to report it—this is practically a provocation against our Binhai City police system…” Xia Baokun said with visible resentment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If this killer can stump Captain Xia, he must be quite intelligent,” Chief Guan joked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he dropped his cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with his shoe tip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who can deny it? That’s why we’ve found no useful leads so far—but today, a little girl came to your station to file a report. This might be a breakthrough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Xueming nodded and said, “After Lin Guoliang reported back to me, I had them pull the surveillance footage. I imagine it’s ready now—let’s go watch it together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Xueming led the way into the station, and Xia Baokun hurried to follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outermost area of the police station was the service hall, mainly for receiving visiting civilians; the computers were only used for checking and registering information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All surveillance footage was stored in a room at the very back, where one could access surveillance data from all traffic cameras in the jurisdiction, including those of the Yuxiu Police Station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when Guan Xueming led Xia Baokun through the door, they found three men inside, sweat on their foreheads, faces filled with terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were three because the room contained not just Lin Guoliang and Jiang Xiyue, but also the surveillance room’s supervisor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s going on?” Guan Xueming asked, startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chief~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue, hearing the voice, hurried forward in small steps, her face pale with panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue couldn’t find the words to explain; she even doubted whether her mind was playing tricks on her—if it was all just her imagination, then how could they have found the corpse?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Lin, what’s going on?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Xueming turned his gaze toward the more composed Lin Guoliang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Guoliang took a deep breath and said, “We didn’t see the girl who filed the report in the surveillance footage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean? The camera didn’t capture her?” Guan Xueming asked, surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weren’t they supposed to have met her at the station entrance? Was there a blind spot in the surveillance at the entrance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take your time, don’t rush.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Baokun tried to comfort Jiang Xiyue, helping her calm down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue took a deep breath and continued, “No, Chief—the camera captured me, but on the other side of the screen, there was no one. I was talking to myself alone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the end of her sentence, her voice trembled; she seriously doubted her own sanity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Xueming felt the same shock—he glanced at Jiang Xiyue, who was on the verge of tears, then quickly turned his eyes to Xia Baokun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s watch the footage first,” Xia Baokun said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two approached the surveillance equipment; the computer was already playing the video, and indeed, only Jiang Xiyue appeared, speaking to empty air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Xueming frowned and said, “Xiao Mo, play the footage from the beginning for us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Mo immediately dragged the progress bar back to the moment Jiang Xiyue rode her motorcycle into the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they watched as Jiang Xiyue slowed her motorcycle upon entering the yard, as if noticing something, and slowly approached the station entrance, as if speaking to someone; then she turned off the engine and removed her helmet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Right here—this is where the little girl should have been.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue, walking over, pointed to the position just to the left front of the motorcycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I saw she was a girl around twelve or thirteen, so I asked her what she wanted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She called me ‘Police Uncle.’ I told her I was her sister and asked her to speak slowly…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue, beside them, explained aloud, matching the video’s progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exchange didn’t last long; then Jiang Xiyue suddenly got off her motorcycle, ran toward the courtyard entrance, looked around, and rushed back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately after, Lin Guoliang appeared at the station entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Guoliang, standing beside them, added, “I saw her blocking the entrance with her motorcycle, so I casually asked—Jiang told me a little girl had come to report a crime…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two then left the station together, and the surveillance video ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao Jiang, are you just too tired lately? Maybe I should give you a few days off so you can rest properly?” Guan Xueming looked at Jiang Xiyue, his face full of concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chief, I… I’m not tired, I’m fine,” Jiang Xiyue quickly protested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t mind resting—but she didn’t want people to think her mind was broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside them, Xia Baokun rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, “If your mind really is impaired, then why is there a corpse in the unfinished building?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone turned to look at Jiang Xiyue; her face turned instantly white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It wasn’t me! I didn’t kill anyone! It really was a little girl who came to report it!” Jiang Xiyue was on the verge of tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Calm down, Xiao Jiang, we all believe you,” Chief Guan said soothingly, trying to steady her crumbling emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t panic, Xiao Jiang—we know it wasn’t you,” Lin Guoliang, her master, added his reassurance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But right now, you’re the prime suspect,” Xia Baokun suddenly said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Xueming and Lin Guoliang both glared at him with displeasure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Baokun acted as if he hadn’t noticed and continued, “If you’re not the killer, then the case doesn’t make sense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue, who had just regained her composure, felt herself about to collapse again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t panic—you’re a police officer, how can your mental resilience be this weak? Back when your father had a gun pointed at his head, he stayed calm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You knew my father?” Jiang Xiyue asked, voice trembling with tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she remembered Xia Baokun had asked earlier if she was Jiang Haitao’s daughter—so he must have known him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xia Baokun didn’t answer that question; instead, he pressed on: “If the camera didn’t capture her but you claim you saw her, then do you remember what she looked like?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Xiyue nodded quickly, “Of course I remember.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, she was a police academy graduate—quickly memorizing a person’s facial features was basic training.\u003C\u002Fp>",1347,"2026-06-20T03:53:08.657Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0d297706e7423c9b69ab60d73810d43fdb5a3672428d886ccb1771a7d5910250","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-45","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-43",623,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-cover.jpg"]