Chapter 383

Qian Mingyu met Jiang Yuan at the provincial bureau.

He was a fingerprint expert from Miaohé County, roughly LV2.5 level, qualified to participate in provincial fingerprint operations, and performed his duties exceptionally well, solving many major cases. Yet in such fingerprint operations, he rarely had a chance to stand out.

But after Jiang Yuan matched a fingerprint from Miaohé County, Qian Mingyu immediately contacted the captain of the county police criminal unit, and within the fastest possible time, solved a long-unsolved homicide case.

As a result, both Qian Mingyu and his captain, Xu Xuewu, were deeply impressed by Jiang Yuan.

This time, when Jiang Yuan spread word that he wanted to come to Miaohé County to solve a few cases—the kind that get solved—Xu Xuewu immediately took interest.

These days, who doesn't have a few unsolved cases lying around? Miaohé County, like Ningtai County, has limited annual funding and must still find ways to save a little to tackle cold cases.

If Jiang Yuan could help solve one or two cold cases, Xu Xuewu would welcome him with open arms. What's the point of coming to Luyang City?

He'd even let Jiang Yuan grow wrinkles in his brain if needed.

Eagerly awaiting Jiang Yuan's arrival, Xu Xuewu immediately showed great humility, bowing from afar with a formal gesture.

Compared to the several criminal unit captains Jiang Yuan knew well—such as Huang Qiangmin from his own county or Hou Lejia from Longli County—Xu Xuewu stood out most in appearance; "dignified and imposing" was an apt description.

It is widely known that in Chinese traditional etiquette, the effect is especially powerful when performed by a handsome, elegant man—equivalent to a critical hit. When performed by an average-looking but graceful man, the effect is decent—ordinary. When performed by someone lacking in appearance, it's called disrespect.

Thus, in ancient times, officials with square faces were top-tier, those with triangular or "by"-shaped faces second, while those with "shen," "field," or "fu"-shaped faces struggled even to become proper magistrates.

Xu Xuewu was precisely the kind of person entitled to perform such bows—his facial features were perfectly balanced, and his physique was outstanding; in ancient terms, he belonged to the "Sun" type among the Four Immortals of "Moon, Field, Guan, Sun," meaning he had a well-proportioned and upright posture.

Jiang Yuan glanced at Xu Xuewu from afar and couldn't help but smile.

Among the Four Immortals' body types, apart from the "Guan" type—broad-shouldered and muscular—the other three were all well-proportioned, the very build favored by forensic specialists.

"Captain Jiang," Qian Mingyu called out from afar, then introduced: "This is our captain, Xu Xuewu. Captain Xu heard you were considering coming to Miaohé County, so we came over specifically to pick you up."

Xu Xuewu feared Jiang Yuan might be snatched away by someone else.

Such things were too common. Back when computers were first becoming widespread, he happened to get a college graduate in computer science; one moment he wasn't watching, and the city bureau of Changyang took him away. By the time he got him back, the kid had already earned a correspondence master's degree.

Jiang Yuan, such a valuable, free super laborer, was like the big blue ox of the production team—anyone who borrowed him benefited.

Of course, the household using the ox had to give extra fodder to the ox-keeping team—that was only fair. Compared to solving cases, such expenses were negligible.

If Ningtai County hadn't already exhausted every case Jiang Yuan could handle, Huang Qiangmin would never have said, "Just give him some hay, and we'll use him."

Jiang Yuan wanted to come to Miaohé County to check on Cai Yan's child and sister. As for cases, he didn't want to take on too much. He told Xu Xuewu frankly: "I want to come to Miaohé County first. Whether I can solve cases, or what kind—I haven't decided yet."

"No problem. Just having you come for a visit makes us very happy," Xu Xuewu said smoothly. At that moment, Zheng Tianxin and a group of police officers from the criminal brigade who had just finished drinking also came down.

None wore uniforms; as plainclothes officers, they were a crowd of strong, rugged men surging forward, forcing passersby to scramble aside.

"Captain Jiang, you can't leave!" Zheng Tianxin lunged at Jiang Yuan, who dodged nimbly. "Captain Jiang!" Zhou Yuanqiang charged—also dodged.

The Luyang City police desperately tried to keep Jiang Yuan.

Case 805

Across the province, it might have been ordinary—only two dismembered bodies found.

But in Luyang City, Case 805 drew completely different attention—truly unprecedented. The case's details, from start to finish, were nearly all known by the officers present; some participated on the periphery, others worked frontline.

But regardless of their role, the convoluted course of Case 805 had deeply impressed everyone with Jiang Yuan and his team's formidable investigative ability and boldness.

Jiang Yuan politely declined each request.

Criminal investigators were a simple, straightforward profession. Unlike police in precincts or public order units, detectives lived collectively and acted together during investigations. After handling so many criminal cases, their values differed slightly from ordinary people's.

Xu Xuewu and Qian Mingyu were also deeply surprised.

From their perspective, it was like receiving nothing but glowing reviews—every user who had tried it said it was excellent. What kind of experience was that?

"Captain Jiang, let's get in the car," Xu Xuewu seized the opportunity of the drunken crowd, carved out a path, grabbed Jiang Yuan, and ran off.

Miaohé County.

It was a very clean small city.

The main urban area nestled within the embrace of Miaohé River, which curved around it in a vast arm-like bend.

Along one side of the bend lay numerous parks built beside the river; across the river were hills and depressions—natural wetlands and vast farmlands.

To Jiang Yuan, all these were security blind spots in urban planning, requiring extensive camera coverage.

But in reality, as a county-level small city, Miaohé County had few surveillance cameras—it couldn't afford the hardware or the manpower—and thus its public security situation remained severe.

Previously, during the fingerprint operation, Jiang Yuan had matched a fingerprint from a roaming sexual assault case, but based on his brief observations en route, Miaohé County's backlog of unsolved cases clearly went far beyond that.

Cai Yan's sister, Cai Mian, lived in an urban village on the city's outskirts.

The urban villages of Miaohé County looked clean enough, but the tangled, chaotic wires and pipes, uneven roads, and shoddy buildings undermined any impression of cleanliness.

Cai Mian's main job was as a cleaner—sweeping streets and managing roadside temporary toilets. Her side job was selling scrap, which brought unstable income and occasional fines.

She was only five years older than Cai Yan, yet she looked ancient. Upon hearing Jiang Yuan's purpose, Cai Mian fell into long, silent thought.