The post was published this afternoon.
The attention it received wasn't very high.
Yet, the number of replies to the post was quite a lot!
"Yang Lake Phantom? Damn, isn't this from many, many years ago? It's reappearing?"
"Yes! Last night a woman hanged herself in a village near Yang Lake, reportedly exactly like the Yang Lake Phantom incident back then!"
"But what's up with the detective captain Xie Wensheng fainting from shock?"
"Xie Wensheng, you don't know him, do you? He's a seasoned detective in our division, has been sitting in the captain's chair for who knows how many years, with no progress at all!"
"Exactly, if it weren't for an investigator coming from Jiang Province for the recent serial murder case, Xie Wensheng would likely have been dismissed!"
"Yes, yes, I was there at the scene that day too. I think he's called Chen Xiao, right? Xie Wensheng investigated for days without making any progress, while the guy told reporters he'd solve the case in three days and caught the killer on the last day!"
"Xie Wensheng was so embarrassing. How can soone like him keep sitting in the detective captain's chair!"
...
Chen Xiao looked at every reply.
A third was shocked by the reappearance of the Yang Lake Phantom.
Half were cursing Xie Wensheng.
Another two-tenths were discussing Chen Xiao.
Looking at the posts, Chen Xiao fell silent.
From those posts, Chen Xiao felt the sentint of "well-intentioned efforts"!
No wonder Xie Wensheng suddenly went silent these past two days.
Turns out there's a similar case appearing!
But was Xie Wensheng really scared?
Possibly many people in this city would be scared, but not Xie Wensheng!
Because that's his regret!
But why did Xie Wensheng do this?
He was deliberately belittling himself to pave the way for Chen Xiao!
Now Xie Wensheng would be harshly criticized.
Once Chen Xiao investigates and reveals who is pretending to be the Yang Lake Phantom, the attention and fa Chen Xiao will gain will skyrocket!
After reading the posts, Chen Xiao took a deep breath: "Lin Yao, I'm going to the hospital."
Lin Yao, unaware of the reason, asked: "Are you going to see Captain Xie?"
"Yes, he's waiting for
too."
Lin Yao acknowledged with a sound and didn't ask more as Chen Xiao already went out, driving to the hospital.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Chen Xiao quickly found the ward where Xie Wensheng was.
Upon entering, Xie Wensheng lay quietly on the bed, with only his wife sitting beside him, red-eyed and dazing.
"Sister-in-law," Chen Xiao called out.
Xie Wensheng's wife turned her head, and the person on the bed, Xie Wensheng, moved slightly.
That movent made Chen Xiao realize Xie Wensheng was just pretending.
"Chen Xiao, you're here. Old Xie is fine, the doctor said it was just prolonged fatigue, and he will recover quickly with so IV fluids."
Chen Xiao grinned slightly: "Sister-in-law, I need to talk to Brother Wensheng alone."
No matter what Xie Wensheng was motivated by.
Just for Xie Wensheng's sacrifice to bolster Chen Xiao's reputation, it's not too much to call him Brother Wensheng.
Xie Wensheng's wife exited the ward, taking the door along.
Chen Xiao glanced at Xie Wensheng: "There's no one left."
Xie Wensheng opened his eyes, chuckling.
Chen Xiao maintained a serious expression: "Is there really a need to go to such extres?"
Xie Wensheng showed indifference: "I'm soone destined to leave the police force, so reputation or no reputation doesn't matter."
"But if you're cured, you can still work in the police force in the future."
"Yes, but do you think anyone would entrust
with major responsibilities? Afraid that even if I return to the force, it would just be a aningless position. In that case, how am I different from occupying a position without doing anything?"
Multiple interactions with Xie Wensheng had given Chen Xiao a good understanding of his character.
Xie Wensheng's principles were very strong.
This often could be terd as lacking smoothness.
Being unsmooth for Xie Wensheng's future was quite fatal.
Perhaps Xie Wensheng was influenced by his father Xie Yan, so when Xie Wensheng felt he could no longer frequently think or engage in many tasks requiring physical action.
His first choice would definitely be to leave the police force.
Chen Xiao sighed deeply: "You doing this makes
feel the burden is too heavy, hard to bear."
"If it hadn't reappeared, I would have hesitated about your ability to uncover the truth. But now it's resurfaced, so Chen Xiao, this is an opportunity!"
Chen Xiao understood his aning.
So he didn't say anything wishy-washy either.
"Then tell
in detail, how did this new incident happen?"
Xie Wensheng: "Exactly like back then, the scene fully represents a suicide scenario."
"What evidence can prove it's the Yang Lake Phantom?"
"The Yang Lake Phantom case had no specific traits! But the reason my father suspected the possibility of murder was that the three suicide victims knew each other, but the event leading to their deaths was never discovered!"
"Moreover, during the period before they died, they were all very normal, the only abnormal thing was that the three had once fallen into Yang Lake together!"
"As for the incident that happened last night, the deceased was the daughter of one of them, she had just reached the point of discussing marriage with her partner, and only days ago found out from the hospital that she was pregnant! So now I suspect that soone is targeting those three families, to make sure they have no continuation!"
Chen Xiao couldn't help but furrow his brows:
"What kind of hatred would it take to ensure the descendants of three families have no continuation."
"Exactly. Therefore, with this new case erging, I'm increasingly convinced that there was sothing very serious behind what happened to those three families back then! Chen Xiao, a series of cases wouldn't stump you, right? Moreover, you're skilled at finding connections between them. Possibly, my father almost uncovered it, which is why that sort of incident happened."
"Now that he's resurfaced, I believe you can surely uncover the truth!"
Chen Xiao's expression remained unchanged: "Let's not talk about that for now. I'm just wondering how one can make a police officer's death completely resemble the signs of a suicide by hanging!"
When Chen Xiao asked this question, Xie Wensheng answered:
"The differences between suicidal hanging and strangulation have been thoroughly argued since ancient tis. But after investigation, all signs pointed to suicide, including my father."
"Additionally, all three victims fell into Yang Lake, and there's so vague way it was reported that long, long ago, soone also hanged themselves after falling into the water, and saw strange shadows. Thus, the legend of the Yang Lake Phantom was born."
"The so-called phantom bewitched people's minds, leading them step by step to the gallows! By the ti they woke up, the noose was already around their neck, and the footstool had been kicked away."
Listening to Xie Wensheng, Chen Xiao replied: "Is it first necessary to make the target lose the ability to struggle to achieve these artificially?"
Xie Wensheng chuckled bitterly: "The Yang Lake of the past wasn't the Yang Lake of today, after that case, aside from my father, few paid attention to it. Moreover, the forensic and criminal investigation techniques back then were incredibly backward, so Chen Xiao, I've always had a conflicting thought."
"I really hope the killer using the Yang Lake Phantom will strike again, only through another strike could modern thods find him. But if it happens again, it ans more people will die, do you understand my aning?"
Chen Xiao nodded slightly: "Your aning is, regardless of the investigation or forensic records back then, they're just selectively referable, right?"
"Correct, it's best to start everything anew!"
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