Chapter 14: Origins

2022-05-20

“Lai San isn’t someone you can catch overnight. Let’s talk about you now.” Team Leader Shao gently placed Lai San’s file on the desk, picked up his old mug and continued, “I told you, as long as you helped me solve the case, I’d get you out of the psychiatric hospital. Now you’re free.”

Gu Chen and Mary stood on either side of Team Leader Shao, their eyes fixed on me. Xiao Liu, who had just learned my identity, blurted out, “Wait, you’re mentally ill?”

“You can go now,” Team Leader Shao said, “you’re free.”

Before I could respond, Mary chimed in, “Shao Shilin, that’s just not like you. You’re not the kind to kick someone to the curb once you’ve used them, are you? Sure, this lunatic makes people want to smack him sometimes, but he’s done us a huge favor. Without him, we’d still be scrambling for the killer.”

“So here’s what I think.” Mary hopped up and sat on the edge of Team Leader Shao’s desk. “Let him stay as a temp. If something goes wrong in the future, we can always use him as a scapegoat.”

I’d mentioned to Mary before that if I managed to find Lin Shu, she’d put in a good word for me with Team Leader Shao. Looks like she really meant what she said.

Team Leader Shao tapped his mug lightly. “Already chummy, huh? How long did that take?”

Mary snatched the mug out of his hand. “What’s that supposed to mean, already chummy?”

Team Leader Shao just shrugged and pulled another file from the drawer. The name on the front was clear—Wu Meng.

It was a file all about me.

“Wu Meng. Found abandoned at about a year old. When they found you, your skin was already purple from the cold. Roads were blocked by heavy snow, so getting you to the hospital in time was impossible. The doctors weren’t there that day and the staff had no idea what to do. All they could do was cover you in thick blankets and wait for you to die.”

“But then someone spoke up and said she had an idea.” Team Leader Shao looked at me as he slowly unfolded my story. “She grabbed a few kettles, filled them with hot water, then placed them around your stomach and body.”

“It was a last-ditch effort, treating the dying like the living. She wasn’t even a doctor, just someone who’d seen on TV that for severe frostbite, the usual heating or soaking did nothing. This was the only method she knew.”

“Everyone thought you wouldn’t make it through the winter,” Team Leader Shao said. “The snow wouldn’t quit that year. The wind howled through everything.”

“But somehow, against all odds, you survived.”

“That place usually meant nothing but death. And yet—there you were, a tiny spark of life where there should have been none. Everyone around was quietly overjoyed. To celebrate, they let everyone stay up all night watching TV—usually only allowed at New Year’s.”

“They finally breathed easy, and that’s when they found a note in your clothes. It read: ‘This child is yours. I waited as long as I could, but I can’t wait anymore. I’ve named the child Wu Meng. Ever since you went away, my nights are haunted by nightmares. I only hope this child will never have bad dreams.’”

“It was clear whose son you were supposed to be, but in truth, your mother had the wrong place. There were people with the surname Wu there, but none had married. In the end, every man took a DNA test and none were your father.”

“So that put everyone in a tight spot. Where were they supposed to look for your father? Still, seeing you so pitiful, this middle-aged man—forty years old, with no children of his own—took you in and raised you like his own. He taught you to read, sent you to school. Your childhood was a simple routine—home and school, back and forth.”

“Your arrival brought a new kind of life. You called them Mom and Dad. They stood by the window, night after night, quietly weeping, saying, ‘My son should be about this age too.’ To them, you were everyone’s child.”

“They showed you things most people would never experience in a lifetime.”

“You grew up day by day, and realized that if you went on living with these people, sooner or later, you’d end up the most cunning, tricky, and impossible to catch among them. That’s why they recommended you to the local police. You became an unofficial member of the team.”

“You understood all their tricks, knew how they thought. That helped you crack case after case. But that’s also when you began showing signs of a split mind—specifically Guilt Delusion. Every time you caught a criminal, your guilt got worse.”

“Eventually, during one case, the killer set a chain of puzzles that you couldn’t solve. Unable to figure out who they were, you turned the suspicion on yourself. You confessed—said you did it all. But the evidence completely cleared you.”

“After a psychiatric evaluation, you were diagnosed with schizophrenia and sent to Qingcheng Psychiatric Hospital. If we hadn’t brought you out of there, honestly, you might’ve spent your whole life inside.”

Xiao Liu muttered on the side, “That’s just kicking a guy when he’s down.”

Team Leader Shao ignored his grumbling and went on, “Back when you were an unofficial member, you always hoped to officially join the force. But to be honest, with your unusual background and mental condition, it’s just not going to happen.”

“Not even the slightest chance?” I clung to one last thread of hope, looking at Team Leader Shao, praying for the answer I wanted to hear. But thinking it over, I knew it was never really possible. My past and my state made it clear there would never be a day like that for me.

“Impossible,” Team Leader Shao replied, firm as stone.

Seeing the look on my face, he asked, “There’s something I’ve asked you before—why do you do this?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

There’s always something a person chases with reckless abandon, even if he doesn’t know why. Maybe time can answer it. Maybe not.

“Then why’d you even bother bringing him out?” Mary snapped, clearly upset. “Might as well have left him to rot in that hospital.”

I knew she was being sarcastic—standing up for me in her own way. But Team Leader Shao wouldn’t have gotten me out unless he had a bigger plan. To be real, only part of his decision was about my skills. The rest, who knows?

“Mary, Team Leader Shao didn’t pull me out just for something so simple. Even without me, he could’ve solved Ye Zi’s case quickly. Maybe this one was just a test, to see if I met his standard. Am I right, Team Leader Shao?”

I said my piece, slowly laying out my thoughts.

Team Leader Shao shook his head, took the mug back from Mary and said, “Mary, you’ve worked with me almost ten years, but Wu Meng sees farther than you. If I just needed Wu Meng for one case, I’d have no business leading this team.”

Mary frowned. “Then why bring Wu Meng in? Don’t tell me it’s…”

Team Leader Shao nodded, signaling Xiao Liu to close the door. Only then did he speak: “A few months ago, Wu Meng landed in the psychiatric hospital after getting stumped on a locked-room murder case. That case ended up on my desk. My investigation led me to believe our old friend was behind it.”

“Old friend?” I was puzzled.

“Remember I told you about a certain genius?” Team Leader Shao asked.

It clicked. Back in the car, he had brought it up before. I nodded. “Didn’t he get put away? Are you saying he did it?”

Team Leader Shao shook his head. “No, not him. But someone close to him. When we caught him years ago, one of his people escaped. I suspect she’s the one behind the locked-room case. I know her methods, but I can’t figure out her motive.”

That locked-room murder case—I’d worked on it. But the killer’s identity and their motivation always slipped through my fingers. The price I paid for that weighed heavy on me. Hearing this now, I realized there was far more to it.

“But I’ve crossed swords with her too many times,” Team Leader Shao said, watching the tea swirl in his cup. “She’s got my tricks all figured out. That’s why I need you.”

“Why me?” I asked, pointing at myself.

Team Leader Shao set his mug down with a thud. “Exactly. You’ve got sharp instincts and a mind for deduction—a lot like I was ten years ago. But, truth is, the higher-ups aren’t too keen on letting someone with your mental record take this on.”

“So how’d you convince them?” I asked.

Team Leader Shao grinned. “I told them: if we don’t keep you in our hands, you’ll end up another genius we can’t control.”

“So you want me to track this person down? Who is it?”

“Zhao Mingkun,” Team Leader Shao replied. “A cunning woman.”