Crimson Instinct

*Xin Lei*

Qi Qiang said, "Zhang Xiulan was sent to Scotland when she was eighteen years old. If there is a man who helped her come back to China without getting detected by the Zhang family, then I thought I could find something where she stayed for those six years. I got her address through Zhang family records, so I checked if anybody else popped up around her neighborhood within six months or one year of her stay. Maybe she got acquainted with somebody powerful there."

That was plausible. 

"It was hard to find out about him because his records had also mysteriously disappeared just like there are no records about Zhang Xiulan."

Bai Li asked, "What is it?"

"In the apartment next to hers, there was a man who moved in four months after her stay. He was of Asian ethnicity and, to be exact, Chinese. I think that he is her accomplice because first, he is Chinese, and second, he left Scotland around the same time Zhang Xiulan came back to China. A new tenant occupied his apartment just a few days after his departure."

I typed. "Do you know his name?"

"That is the problem. I could somehow get only his name, but when I cannot find him anywhere. It's as if he doesn't even exist. There are no records of him anywhere, and even his flight details and arrival date of when he returned, Beijing is wiped off."

"What is his name?"

"Sheng Yu Zhu."

I thought about it, but I didn't recall any influential family with the surname Sheng.

Bai Li furrowed his brows as well, while Luo Zhiqiang seemed to be in deep thought as well.

"I haven't heard about any Sheng family in politics or business that is influential enough to match the Zhangs." Luo Zhiqiang expressionlessly said.

Liao Huifang said, "It could be a fake name too. If he as has erased his records, then he can use a fake name too to deceive people."

I wondered the same. 

Bai Li slightly rubbed his chin. "It could be... Though the back of my mind says that it couldn't be too."

"I feel the same." Luo Zhiqiang said.

Liao Huifang and I glanced at them and then looked at each other in confusion. Liao Huifang asked, "Why do you think so?"

Luo Zhiqiang shifted his gaze at her. "You can say Instinct or experience."

"Yup." Bai Li nodded. "I have served fourteen years in the army. I have seen and handled thousands of cases and investigations, and with that experience, you get the hang of identifying between fake and real names. Almost every other drug pedlar or gun smugglers use fake names, but there have been people who have tried to fool us using their real names because they think that the cops would dismiss it as a fake name and wouldn't investigate it."

Luo Zhiqiang nodded. I agreed, as well. It was the same in my profession.

There are some conditions and illnesses which are difficult to detect because there are no symptoms, but there have been times when I could just say that it was there.

And it turned out to be right after doing more tests.

So yes, what Bai Li said was relatable.

"You can just say it's the experience that develops the knack to differentiate that something is wrong. For now, it could lead to an empty trail or nothing at all, and we could be very well wasting time but Qi Qiang."

"Yes, bro."

"I still want you to check if you can find anything about the Sheng family that may have anything to do with the Zhang family or may have any connections with their rival parties."

"Okay."

***

---

Dongcheng.

Rodey was lying on the couch, with his hand behind the back of his head, resting on the headrest.

The call from the boss was to remind him to quickly find another scapegoat for their fun until the time came when they would deal with Chu Jie. That was what he discussed, too, with the three clients at the bar that night when Ying Yue came to serve their drinks.

Rodey had carelessly left it to them to choose any person among the four-five photos and then inform him. But until now, he didn't get any call.

What are those fuckers doing? How much time do you need to fucking choose a person?

He glanced at Ying Yue, who was sleeping on the bed, covering herself with the duvet.

'Even if it's just 1%, there is a little goodness in you. That is much better than being 100% evil.'

He sneered.

What a foolish woman. If she can call me good, no wonder that cousin bitch of hers is exploiting her until now.

'Would you like to tell me about it?'

Rodey was surprised with himself. Well, it had been years since somebody bothered to ask him about his life. Not that he would have said anything either.

But if the boss's call had not come at that time, then he was almost about to say it. 

And that made him surprised and shocked.

Was I really about to tell her? Strange. Never felt like that before.

Nobody had asked him about it, so for a moment, he didn't know where and how to begin.

Forget it.

"Why do you kill people?"

Suddenly he heard Ying Yue's soft voice coming from the duvet.

Rodey smirked. "Why don't you kill people?"

There was silence.

"Legally, it could arise to many complications. I would go to jail and have to spend the rest of my life there. That could pose a problem for my mother. She has nobody to rely on other than me. The chances of my conviction could be above 70% since I will not be able to hide my crimes."

By now, Rodey had already expected this sort of stuff from her.

"What if you didn't get caught? What if you don't have to go to jail?"

"I cannot kill people."

He chuckled with an evil ring to it. "Of course, you cannot. That is the difference between us. A fucking useless thing called as morality. That is what makes you not kill people, and the absence of it in me makes me do the opposite. You don't have the heart to pull the trigger. But other than that, I kill people because I hate happy families. There is no such thing as that. A happy family is only an illusion, babe. People should actually thank me for it. I bring them to reality."

Ying Yue tilted her head. "Statistically, one out of five may have problems."

He snorted. "Babe, there are problems in those other four families too. They are just hidden behind their house's four walls."

"I have a happy family."

Rodey burst out in quiet laughter. "Living with your bitch cousin and Aunt can hardly be considered as 'happy.'"

"I am talking about my mother."

Rodey turned his face towards her and looked at her amusingly. "Just your mother? How are only you and your mother a family? And as long as those bitches stay with you, they are a part of it. See? All families are empty and broken. Your own cousin wants to steal everything from you."

Ying Yue seemed as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't.

"Now, before I make a hole in your head, sleep."

Rodey already shut his eyes, but he didn't sleep.

'There is still 1% goodness in you.'

Heh. What a joke.

---

Three hours later, into the night, Ying Yue heard the sound of someone groaning. She was a light sleeper, so that woke her up.

She saw Rodey breathing a little heavily. She got up and immediately checked on him.

Fever…He is sweating too. It must be because of the wound.

Ying Yue thought for a moment and went out.

The next morning as Rodey opened his eyes in a daze, he found Ying Yue kneeling beside the couch earnestly looking at him.

"Are you okay now?" She gently asked.

He had his guard up and narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"You had a fever last night."

Now he realized that he was feeling a little cold at his forehead. He touched it, and indeed it was wet. He saw a bowl filled with water and some cloth strips.

Then he looked back at her.

"Were you sitting like this for the entire night?"

She nodded. "You were feeling quite uncomfortable. You were also murmuring something in your sleep."

He raised his eyebrow questioningly at her.

"What do you mean?"

"'Mom don't hit me anymore... please stop…and-'"

Rodey froze and sprung on his feet. He suddenly grabbed her neck and dragged her up.

"Say that again," He said in an extremely quiet and dangerous voice that could send shivers down someone's spine.

Ying Yue's eyelids trembled, and her face paled a bit as he squeezed her throat. Her gaze slowly met his that had darkened in a dangerous glint.