Good and Evil Chapter 104: A Case Shrouded in Doubt

Based on the testimonies of the four people present and the on-site investigation, the police have tentatively identified the suspects as Zhu Hongfang and Yang Xuewen.

Firstly, at the scene of the death, a blood-stained brick was found. After examination by the forensic department, it was determined that this brick was the murder weapon that caused Shen Jun’s death. Fingerprints of Zhu Hongfang, Yang Xuewen, and the deceased Shen Jun were all found on the brick; no other fingerprints were detected.

Next, blood samples were taken from the clothing of Zhu Hongfang and Yang Xuewen and compared with the blood of Shen Jun. The comparison confirmed that the bloodstains on their clothes were indeed Shen Jun’s.

From this, it was clear that the murderer was either Zhu Hongfang, Yang Xuewen, or both. However, during interrogation, both Zhu and Yang insisted the other was the killer and claimed their own innocence, leaving the Criminal Investigation Unit Two at an impasse.

Under normal procedures, with physical and testimonial evidence, they could be convicted. Yet, it remains unclear whether Zhu Hongfang alone, Yang Xuewen alone, or both together committed the murder. Many doubts persisted at this stage of the investigation.

First, who left the notes for Zhu Hongfang, Yang Xuewen, and Shen Jun? This person had never appeared throughout the investigation.

Second, who was responsible for drugging these three men when they arrived at the abandoned factory? Was it the same person who left the notes?

Third, it was certain that Shen Jun was killed by someone else, but who exactly—Zhu Hongfang or Yang Xuewen? Despite finding the murder weapon and having two witnesses, the motive remained unclear. If it was for those few boxes of strong homemade liquor, none of the three men had ever seen those boxes, nor were they found during the police search. This made such a motive implausible.

Fourth, if neither Zhu Hongfang nor Yang Xuewen killed Shen Jun, then who did? Could it have been the person who left the notes, or the fourth person who drugged the three men upon their arrival? But why would this person want to kill Shen Jun? If the intent was solely to kill Shen Jun, why lure Zhu and Yang there as well? Was it to frame them? But if so, why involve both? It would have been easier to implicate just one, allowing the fourth person to frame that individual directly. This would have prevented the current deadlock in the investigation.

The most critical question remained: what was the motive? Whether premeditated or passionate, every murder has a motive. The reason investigators could not determine who the killer was came down simply to this: what was the motive behind killing Shen Jun? To find out, they needed to start by examining the social relationships of the three men.

The first person Ning Yanran and her team investigated was the deceased, Shen Jun.

A few months prior, a body was found in a public restroom near Caihua Road. That case was solved quickly, but now another murder had occurred on Caihua Road, this time in a double-locked room, drawing much attention from local residents.

Soon after Shen Jun’s body was discovered, his family came to the police station for identification. At first, they did not recognize him because his face was horribly battered by the brick. Eventually, it was Shen Jun’s wife who identified him by a birthmark on his neck.

To confirm the identity, the police extracted DNA samples from Shen Jun’s son and compared them with the deceased’s DNA. The results verified beyond doubt that the body was Shen Jun’s.

Shen Jun was a forty-nine-year-old male, a longtime employee of a nearby machinery factory.

After confirming the identity, the police brought Shen Jun’s relatives to identify Zhu Hongfang and Yang Xuewen, asking if they recognized these two men. The police had initially assumed the family would know them, but to their regret, Shen Jun’s family said they did not know either man; this was their first time seeing them.

Since Shen Jun’s family could not identify Zhu and Yang, the police sent them home and began a deeper investigation into Shen Jun himself. This inquiry quickly uncovered many issues.

First, Shen Jun was also a factory worker nearby, but not at the same machinery processing plant where Zhu Hongfang worked; he worked at a different factory, and indeed, he did not know Zhu.

Second, Shen Jun had a criminal record at the police station. Despite working for many years and performing well, he had a bad habit of stealing small items from the factory for personal use, even secretly selling some factory parts. The factory management caught him and sent him to the local police station, where he was detained for several days and made partial restitution. However, because he was a senior worker with good skills, he was not dismissed but allowed to continue working.

Third, recently Shen Jun had quarreled with another senior worker named Meng Yongkang, aged fifty-two, a few years older than Shen Jun. They had joined the factory around the same time but had clashing personalities. Meng was honest and straightforward, while Shen Jun was inclined to petty theft. They often argued about work and never got along.

Based on this clue, the police found Meng Yongkang.

At the station, Meng admitted his strained relationship with Shen Jun and acknowledged the recent argument over Shen’s continued theft of factory parts. However, he firmly denied any involvement in Shen Jun’s death.

Of course, the police would not believe a suspect’s denial without an alibi. Fortunately, Meng had a solid alibi for the night of Shen Jun’s death: hundreds of coworkers could confirm he was on the night shift at the factory, while Shen Jun worked the day shift. Meng was at work the entire time.

Thus, although Meng had motive, he lacked the opportunity and was cleared of suspicion.

After the dead end in Shen Jun’s investigation, the police turned their attention back to Zhu Hongfang and Yang Xuewen.

Yang Xuewen was the owner of a restaurant near the factory. Interviews with frequent patrons described Yang as somewhat business-minded but not a bad person, with decent cooking skills. He was fond of drinking and was known to source homemade rural liquor, which attracted a clientele who appreciated such drinks.

Further inquiries with friends and relatives of Yang and Shen Jun confirmed that Yang did not know Shen. Shen Jun had never dined at Yang’s restaurant, preferring the factory cafeteria or home meals.

These findings supported Yang’s claim that he did not know Shen, but they could not explain the presence of his fingerprints on the murder weapon or Shen’s blood on his clothing.

The investigation into Zhu Hongfang yielded similar results. Zhu was a longtime worker at the machinery processing plant, usually eating at the factory cafeteria during work. After work, he went home to eat and drink. Police found some bottles of strong homemade liquor at his home, but these were old and purchased from rural relatives long ago, a fact confirmed by Zhu’s wife and friends.

Thus, Zhu also did not seem to be lying and did not know Shen. At this point, the investigation hit a deadlock.

After Ning Yanran’s report, Xu Lang pondered briefly and asked, “Do Zhu Hongfang and Yang Xuewen know each other?”

Without hesitation, Ning replied, “We investigated this before coming here. Zhu and Yang did not know each other; they only met the night of the murder. Many people can confirm this.”

Hearing Ning’s certainty, Xu Lang asked no further questions. He picked up a cigarette from the table, lit it, and contemplated the entire case.

First, Zhu Hongfang, Shen Jun, and Yang Xuewen did not know each other; they were all drawn to the abandoned factory by a note.

Second, though Shen Jun was murdered and the bloody brick weapon was found with his, Zhu’s, and Yang’s fingerprints, this did not prove Zhu or Yang killed him. According to Ning’s account, on the night of the murder, the three arrived at the factory separately. After arrival, someone drugged them, and they awoke in the warehouse, frightened. They found a brick to defend themselves, touching it and leaving fingerprints then.

Third, since the three were strangers, there could be no personal vendetta or crime of passion. The only plausible motive was money—in this case, some boxes of strong homemade liquor. But this explanation fell apart: neither the scene nor their homes contained these boxes, and the liquor was worth at most a few thousand yuan. Zhu and Yang had no reason to kill over such a trivial amount, and the liquor was nowhere to be found. Thus, they had time but no motive.

Fourth, if neither Zhu nor Yang was lying, then a fourth person must have been present—the one who left the notes and drugged them.

Xu Lang shared these thoughts with Ning Yanran, who nodded in agreement but then frowned, looking at Xu who was smoking, and asked, “So, according to you, neither Zhu Hongfang nor Yang Xuewen killed Shen Jun?”

Before Xu could answer, Ning mused aloud, “If Shen Jun wasn’t killed by these two, then who? The fourth person at the scene? But that was a double-locked room, and only the three of them were inside. There was no fourth person.”

Seeing Ning’s worried expression, Xu exhaled a smoke ring and smiled slightly. “Captain Ning, have you noticed you overlooked something crucial?”

“What?” Ning asked, puzzled.

“The note,” Xu said.

“The note?” Ning echoed.

“Zhu Hongfang’s note was burned by his wife Qin Yumei, and Yang Xuewen’s note was lost. So where is the note now?”

At this, Ning’s eyes lit up. She looked at Xu and said excitedly, “You mean the note Shen Jun was holding?”

Xu nodded.

Ning slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Smack!”

The sharp sound startled Xu almost out of his seat because Ning had slapped his thigh, not her own, with considerable force. Xu, dressed in just underwear and thin casual pants, knew a bright handprint would be left.

“You idiot, if you want to slap someone, slap your own thigh. Why mine?” Xu grumbled, rubbing the sore spot and stamping out his cigarette.

Embarrassed, Ning wanted to explain but couldn’t find the words. Then she frowned again, puzzled. “Wait, we didn’t see the note in Shen Jun’s hands at the scene, and when his wife came to identify the body, we asked her about the note, but she knew nothing.”

Xu raised an eyebrow, equally puzzled. Yang’s note was missing; Zhu’s was burned by his wife. Logically, Shen Jun’s note should still be there. If he came because of the note, it should have been with him. If not, then why did he come? To steal scrap metal? Impossible—the factory was abandoned, and anything valuable would have long been sold off. Only rusty heavy machinery remained, and Shen Jun could never have moved those alone.

To get to the truth, they needed to revisit the scene for a firsthand look. Xu said, “Let’s go. Guesswork won’t get us anywhere. We need to see the site ourselves.”

“Great! Let’s go!” Ning said eagerly, standing to leave.

But as she rushed to the door, Xu stopped, watching her impatient retreat.

Ning turned back, puzzled, “Aren’t you coming? Why aren’t you moving?”

Xu’s dark eyes studied her face for a long moment before he slowly said, “You came to me so I’d come with you to the scene, right?”

Ning’s face flushed with embarrassment; indeed, she had wanted Xu’s company in the hopes he might find something useful.

Seeing Xu still rooted in place, Ning smiled warmly and grabbed his arm, shaking it. “How about we eat before we go?”

Dizzy from the shaking, Xu shook off her hand and said gruffly, “Stop it. I’m scared of you. Let’s just go. The sooner we finish, the sooner I can have some peace.”

With that, Xu headed to the door.

Ning watched him change shoes, a charming smile playing on her lips—though Xu never noticed.

Once ready, they left together, Ning driving them to the murder scene on Caihua Road.