Animal Detective

Chapter 142: The Yanling Cold Case

"What about the knife?" Sun Zhao pressed.

A flash of impatience crossed Sun Yongxi’s eyes. After a moment’s thought, he suddenly turned and walked straight into the main room.

He turned abruptly.

It was as if they had just been chatting when the other person suddenly turned and walked away. Zhao Tianxing was completely caught off guard.

By the time he realized he should stop him, Sun Yongxi had already entered the main room. Under Zhao Tianxing’s watch, he took two steps to a low table against the wall and snatched up a cleaver that was lying on it.

It seemed this was where he usually cooked.

"Don’t move!"

Zhao Tianxing shouted, his hand immediately going to his waist to draw his gun.

Shen Xin also drew his gun at once.

Given the uncertain situation and the fact that he was a murder suspect, all four of them had brought their guns.

The problem was, even with guns in their hands, whether or not they could actually shoot was another question entirely.

Zhao Tianxing backed into the yard, flanking Sun Yongxi with Ding Yuwei to corner him.

The colleague from Li Qiao Town who had stayed outside also rushed in, pulling out an extendable baton.

Clutching the cleaver, Sun Yongxi walked out of the main room as if he didn’t see them. He pointed the blade at Sun Zhao and yelled, "Are you ever going to stop? What the hell do you want?"

Sun Zhao held his gun with both hands, motioning to Shen Xin with his eyes as he yelled, "Sun Yongxi, I’m just asking you some questions."

"You already asked them all!" Sun Yongxi was still visibly impatient.

Shen Xin kept backing away.

Shen Xin understood the look in Sun Zhao’s eyes.

In a situation like this, a gun was really less effective than a can of pepper spray.

And as it happened, they had some in the car.

After taking a few steps back, Shen Xin immediately spun around and bolted out of the yard.

Outside, Liu Dan was terrified. "Officers," she said frantically, "he’s... he’s not in his right mind! Please don’t kill him!"

Shen Xin had no time for her. He yanked open the glove compartment, grabbed the pepper spray, and hurried back.

Back in the yard, Sun Yongxi was brandishing the knife, telling Sun Zhao and the others to get out.

Seeing Shen Xin return with the pepper spray, Sun Zhao quickly gave Zhao Tianxing and Ding Yuwei a look.

Shen Xin didn’t hesitate. He took aim and fired a full blast of pepper spray.

With a pained scream, Sun Yongxi instinctively brought his hands to his face.

Zhao Tianxing and Ding Yuwei lunged forward at the same time.

Zhao Tianxing, quick and deft, went for the arm holding the knife, while Ding Yuwei went for his legs.

One high, one low, they took Sun Yongxi down in an instant.

"What are you doing? My eyes!" Sun Yongxi struggled violently, but Zhao Tianxing held him down firmly.

Shen Xin rushed forward, kicked the cleaver away, and pulled out his handcuffs to restrain Sun Yongxi.

"This guy..." Zhao Tianxing started to curse, but he immediately shut his mouth when he felt Sun Zhao’s sharp gaze on him.

Sun Zhao glanced at the struggling and screaming Sun Yongxi, then motioned for Ding Yuwei to take him to the car.

"Zhao Tianxing," Sun Zhao said, glancing around. "I’m leaving this place to you. Do your best to find the murder weapon."

Six years had passed. A small knife could have been lost anywhere by now.

Besides, no knife had been found on Sun Yongxi when he was previously taken into custody.

But they still had to search.

"Captain Sun, I was wrong." Seeing the yard full of trash, Zhao Tianxing’s face fell, and he immediately started pleading.

Sun Zhao ignored him, turning to Shen Xin. "Xiaoshen," he asked, "let me test you. Do you have any thoughts on this?"

It seemed Sun Zhao had noticed the issue as well.

Shen Xin immediately replied, "Captain Sun, even if Sun Yongxi has a fundamental disregard for human life, he acted far too decisively. And after the murder, he hid the body and rummaged for valuables. Do you think the Xiao Hong case might not have been his first murder?"

Sun Zhao smiled and clapped Shen Xin on the shoulder. "Not bad. You’ve got a quick mind. We’re on the same page."

From behind them, Zhao Tianxing hurriedly chimed in, "Captain Sun, I thought of that too."

Sun Zhao paid him no mind, simply pointing at the house to indicate that he should get to work instead of standing around.

Sun Yongxi was quickly taken back to the station.

Meanwhile, backup from the station arrived to assist the forensics team in searching the scene for evidence.

Which meant more rummaging through trash.

In any case, when Zhao Tianxing returned, he reeked of garbage, and his face was considerably paler.

"Find anything?"

Shen Xin, who was writing up the case file, asked with a laugh.

Zhao Tianxing just gave him the middle finger.

"By the way, did that son of a bitch confess? Has he killed anyone else before?" Zhao Tianxing asked.

Shen Xin nodded.

After Sun Yongxi was brought back to the station, he was interrogated immediately.

Just as with the Xiao Hong murder, Sun Yongxi confessed without hesitation. Before killing Xiao Hong, he had indeed committed another crime.

It was in November of 2010.

He had been released from prison at the end of 2006 and had started living as a vagrant in 2007.

He started out in Yanling.

He wandered through shopping malls and train stations, drifting from place to place.

During that time, he was frequently looked down on and bullied.

Then, in September 2010, an incident occurred.

"A few local thugs, probably drunk and looking for trouble, decided to bully him. Not only did they beat him, but one of them also urinated on his head."

Shen Xin sighed softly.

Zhao Tianxing immediately frowned. "So he retaliated?"

Shen Xin nodded. "On November 3rd, 2010, he committed the murder at the Flying Dragon Internet Cafe in Yanling City."

That night, at a little past eleven, the victim, Deng Xiaojun, was leaving the internet cafe. Less than fifty meters from the entrance, he was stabbed to death in the middle of the road.

This was back in 2010. There were few surveillance cameras on the roads, and the Flying Dragon Internet Cafe was an unlicensed establishment on a remote side street, so no witnesses were found at the time of the crime.

Deng Xiaojun didn’t die instantly. He had been stabbed nine times and managed to crawl for more than ten meters before succumbing to blood loss.

The Yanling police had investigated this case from multiple angles.

Because Deng Xiaojun was a petty hoodlum with a complex social life, he had made a great many enemies. After a long investigation, they still couldn’t find the killer, and it eventually became a cold case that was shelved.

Who would have thought that the killer was Sun Yongxi.

It was around that time that he had acquired a folding knife.

After killing Deng Xiaojun, he left Yanling and came to the adjacent city of Nanjiang.

According to him, with a knife in hand, he had also threatened other vagrants to take their money and belongings.

Then, after the Lunar New Year, he murdered Xiao Hong, stealing over four thousand in cash and a cell phone.

He sold that phone near the train station for five hundred yuan to a passing traveler.

"Well, it’s a good thing we caught him then," Zhao Tianxing snorted, then suddenly sat up straight. "He doesn’t have a mental illness, does he?"

At the mention of that, Shen Xin seemed a little vexed.

During the interrogation, it was obvious that Sun Yongxi wasn’t entirely normal.

It was possibly related to his mother’s death and the long years he spent cooped up in the house as a child, which made his personality overly reclusive.

"I can only say I hope he’s not declared mentally ill," Shen Xin said.

Zhao Tianxing nodded. "So, does this mean we’ve solved two cold cases? The folks over in Yanling owe us a big thank you, don’t they?"

A case from 2010—it had been seven years.

Shen Xin nodded.

The Yanling police had already been notified. Someone from their Criminal Investigation Detachment would be coming over tomorrow.

Zhao Tianxing stood up and stretched. "Anyway, a solved case is a good thing. I’m out of here. Time to clock off and get some sleep."

With that, he walked away briskly.

Shen Xin took a deep breath and continued writing the report.

Just as Zhao Tianxing had said, no matter what, solving the case was a good thing.

For everyone involved, it meant there was finally some closure.

The next day, Xiong Yongjian, the Deputy Captain of the Yanling City Criminal Investigation Detachment, arrived at the station.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties, with graying temples and weathered skin.

He and Sun Zhao seemed to know each other well. He hadn’t come empty-handed, either; he was carrying two bottles of fine liquor.

Sun Zhao accepted them without ceremony but still wasn’t satisfied.

"To solve this case, we put up a two-hundred-thousand-yuan reward. Shouldn’t you guys in Yanling show some appreciation, too?"

Xiong Yongjian immediately played dumb and changed the subject. "Sun Zhao, you guys are really something else. How did you even think of offering a reward online? And the crucial part is, you actually managed to find a witness from six years ago."

"Our Director Li told me I had to come learn from you guys, to pick your brains."

Sun Zhao smiled and beckoned to Shen Xin, who was standing nearby. He clapped Shen Xin on the shoulder and said, "You want to learn? Learn from this kid here. This was all his idea. That short-video account? He’s the one who built it up."

At the mention of the short-video account, Xiong Yongjian’s eyes instantly lit up.

"So young and promising!"

Xiong Yongjian enthusiastically grabbed Shen Xin’s hand, his face blooming into a wide smile. "I follow that account too! Tell me about those three police dogs in your videos. Did you train them yourselves?"

At the mention of police dogs, Xiong Yongjian’s eyes were practically glowing.