Good and Evil Chapter 106: Two People Locked in a Deadly Standoff

Xu Lang was puzzled—not because he had uncovered any new clues, but precisely because he had found nothing at all.

Based on Ning Yanran’s account of the case and Xu Lang’s own inspection of the scene, this was indeed a locked-room murder. Only three people had been inside the sealed room at the time: Zhu Hongfang, Yang Xuewen, and the deceased, Shen Jun. The door had been locked from the outside, making it impossible for any of them to leave. Xu Lang had confirmed this beyond doubt. According to Ning Yanran’s narration, after the three awoke, despite the door being locked from outside, they had locked it internally with a latch as well—so no one could enter from outside, and none inside could exit. Ultimately, it was Zhu Hongfang’s wife, Qin Yumei, and the head of security, Liu Maocai, who discovered this double-locked room, roused Zhu and Yang, and used bolt cutters to snip the wire locking the storeroom door, allowing Zhu and Yang to open the door from within and finally escape.

If this account were true, then the murderer of Shen Jun must be either Zhu Hongfang or Yang Xuewen, or perhaps both acting in collusion. Yet, if one were to conclude this, the case would circle back to square one: what was their motive? Without clarifying that, closing the case would be difficult.

“Ah…”

This time, the scream came not from Ning Yanran but from Xu Lang. Standing before the door, arms crossed, one hand stroking his chin, his brows deeply furrowed as he pondered the case, he had unknowingly stood there for quite some time.

After the initial panic and fear, Ning Yanran had gradually adapted to the enclosed environment. It was then she realized she had unknowingly wrapped her arms tightly around Xu Lang from behind. This gave her a strange sense of security amid the confinement, mingled with a shy, feminine bashfulness. At first, she thought Xu Lang had done it deliberately. But as he fell into contemplation, she understood he must have had his reasons. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed that he had shut the door without a word. So after loosening her embrace around his waist, she pinched the soft flesh there sharply.

“What are you doing?” Xu Lang winced in pain and snapped back to reality, turning his head with a look of irritation aimed at Ning Yanran.

Faced with his scowl, Ning Yanran pouted and snapped fiercely, “Who told you to close the door without warning? Do you know you nearly scared me to death? And you took advantage of the chance! Tell me, was that on purpose?”

Hearing her unreasonable words, Xu Lang rubbed his sore side, opened the door, and strode out briskly. He was too sore and annoyed to waste words on her.

Ning Yanran watched him leave, rubbing his waist and looking a little disheveled. Something crossed her mind, and a faint smile curved her lips. Whether because of Xu Lang or some other reason, for the first time, she felt that a closed room wasn’t so terrifying after all. Yet, upon stepping outside into the sunlight, she exhaled deeply, and her tension finally eased.

Xu Lang and Ning Yanran exited the crime scene one after the other, heading toward where they had parked. Just as they were about to get into the car and leave, Xu Lang noticed a middle-aged man in a security uniform, a baton hanging at his waist, walking toward them.

When they saw each other, neither paid much attention at first. But when the man spotted that Ning Yanran was the driver, he quickened his pace and greeted her cheerfully.

“Captain Ning, back to inspect the scene again? Why no uniform today?”

“Oh, Captain Liu, you’re here too?” Ning Yanran recognized him and chatted naturally.

“I’m the head of security patrols in this area. A few days ago, a murder happened here. Since this is an abandoned factory, I worry something else might go wrong, so I come by often to check.”

Sitting in the passenger seat, Xu Lang guessed the man’s identity—it was Liu Maocai, the head of security who, along with Zhu Hongfang’s wife, had helped rescue Zhu and Yang from the locked room.

Xu Lang instinctively sized Liu Maocai up: a man in his forties, lean-faced, dark-skinned, eyes bright and sharp, dressed in a neat uniform and looking vigorous.

Liu Maocai, in turn, glanced at Xu Lang from the corner of his eye. Although he didn’t know Xu Lang’s exact identity, seeing him at the murder scene meant he was either a police officer or closely connected to one. Since Ning Yanran wasn’t in uniform, Liu guessed Xu Lang might be her boyfriend. This thought changed the look in Liu’s eyes slightly.

Whether it was because Ning still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock in the storeroom or because she hadn’t noticed Liu’s gaze, after some brief conversation, she drove away.

Watching from the rearview mirror, Xu Lang saw Liu Maocai standing still. Once the car disappeared, Liu sighed, glanced once at the abandoned factory, then resumed his patrol.

On the way to the Public Security Bureau, Xu Lang leaned back in the passenger seat, lit a cigarette, and smoked slowly. Between puffs, he asked, “That security guard just now was Liu Maocai, right?”

Ning Yanran nodded while driving. “Yes, he is. Why? Is there something wrong with him?”

Xu Lang shook his head. “No, I was just asking.”

“Oh.”

She made an affirming sound and continued driving.

The car moved steadily down the road. Each of them was lost in thought, their minds occupied with different things.

Xu Lang first considered the locked-room murder. Though he had inspected the scene personally, he found no useful clues. The case details came only from Ning Yanran’s retelling—no corpse, no physical evidence, no suspects or witness statements were seen by him. He dared not make any rash judgments.

All deductions and guesses must rest on evidence and information.

Xu Lang’s thoughts then turned to the incident in the storeroom. He didn’t know Ning Yanran’s background. Though she had never disclosed her identity, Xu Lang guessed it must be complex. Otherwise, why would such a young woman be transferred from the Provincial Public Security Department to S City after he left the Criminal Investigation Second Squad? Over their previous interactions, Xu Lang found Ning very different from other female detectives.

First, Ning was afraid of corpses. Handling various bodies is inevitable for every detective. No one can remain calm and unaffected upon seeing a corpse for the first time—except Xu Lang. His father was a detective, and he had grown up in the police bureau. At five, he had seen his mother’s corpse; at fifteen, his sister’s dismembered body. So, after joining the Second Squad, he was unfazed by dead bodies. But Ning, sent from the Provincial Bureau, was afraid of corpses—why?

Second, at work, although she assigned tasks and set investigative directions well, she still panicked in emergencies, showing a lack of experience. If she were an ordinary detective, this wouldn’t be unusual. But as captain of the Second Squad, this was problematic.

Third, Ning feared the dark—not night itself, but being confined in a closed, pitch-black space. Xu Lang had only just discovered this.

Clearly, Ning’s complicated background was paired with a past she wished to forget, leaving deep psychological scars.

While Xu Lang pondered Ning’s situation, she herself was reflecting on the storeroom incident. Though outwardly focused on driving, her eyes furtively studied Xu Lang from the corner of her vision.

To Ning, Xu Lang was an enigma—one never fully solved, yet constantly surprising. His meticulous reasoning, bold hypotheses, and extraordinary acuity made him a rare detective talent. She couldn’t understand why he had resigned due to assaulting a suspect.

Before coming to S City, she had reviewed Xu Lang’s file. Although it seemed simple, it was also complex. His family and work history in the Second Squad were clear, but his four years at the police academy were a blank slate—extremely unusual. Though cadet files were encrypted, her Provincial Bureau rank allowed her access. Yet Xu Lang’s records were empty. This intrigued her greatly.

Furthermore, the reasons behind Xu Lang’s resignation and his appointment as a criminal investigation consultant for the S City Public Security Bureau puzzled her. Assaulting suspects, while uncommon, did happen occasionally, especially in grisly cases where offenders were brutal and inhumane. Detectives were human, after all, with emotions. Usually, officers involved were suspended and reprimanded but could return after reflection. Xu Lang, however, was suspended, psychologically tested, and then resigned altogether—this was odd.

Ning’s interest in Xu Lang was not due to his looks—detective squad one’s captain, Wu Yong, was more handsome. Xu Lang was mysterious, full of riddles and surprises, like the mathematical constant pi—never-ending to compute. That was her impression so far, and she longed to unravel the mystery he embodied.

The car arrived at the Public Security Bureau. Xu Lang and Ning entered one after the other. Their presence surprised no one. Even Wu Yong, initially uneasy, had grudgingly accepted Xu Lang after he helped solve the public restroom corpse case. Yet, their interactions remained frosty.

As Xu Lang stepped into the bureau, he met Wu Yong in the hallway. Both stood still, staring each other down. Neither spoke or yielded; they were about to collide head-on, yet neither made a move to pass.

“Thud.”

Ning Yanran, following behind, heard the dull impact and saw Xu Lang and Wu Yong pressed face to face, bodies tight against each other. To an uninformed observer, they might seem close friends. But those who knew them understood the fierce antagonism between these two men.

The hallway spectacle was soon noticed, but onlookers merely glanced and returned to their work. As long as they didn’t fight, there was no excitement. In fact, everyone hoped the two would come to blows someday, but since Xu Lang joined the Second Squad, that wish remained unfulfilled—a pity, indeed.

Ning Yanran, having been at the bureau for a while, knew of the feud between Xu Lang and Wu Yong. Worried they might start a fight, she intended to intervene—only to witness something that left her dumbfounded.

After the tense collision, the two men stopped, then silently parted ways without a word.

Wu Yong, passing Ning, should have greeted her, but this time he didn’t. His expression was strange—furrowed brows, flushed cheeks, and twitching mouth corners, almost like a stroke. Yet his stride was steady.

Curious but not dwelling on it, Ning focused on solving the locked-room murder. She hurried to catch up with Xu Lang, only to find his face bore the same strange expression as Wu Yong’s. Her curiosity deepened.

Together, they reached the Second Squad’s office area. Xu Lang collapsed into a chair, rubbing his chest and swearing loudly.

“Wu Yong, you pretty boy, every time you punch my chest, damn it, you’re gonna bruise it to pieces, damn you…”

For the next five minutes, the office echoed with Xu Lang’s endless stream of curses, resembling a market vendor’s tirade. Ning Yanran’s jaw nearly dropped, while the others in the squad paid no mind, accustomed as they were to his outbursts.

Li Lei, who had been about to report to Ning, smiled and said, “Brother Lang just bumped into Wu Yong, didn’t he?”

Ning looked shocked. “How did you know?”

Li chuckled, glancing at Xu Lang still cursing. “Every time Brother Lang rants like this, it means he crossed paths with Wu Yong. We’ve gotten used to it. You’ll get used to it too.”

Ning could only stare in silence, utterly speechless.

Meanwhile, in Squad One’s office, the scene was similar. Wu Yong’s team heard his cursing and knew their captain had encountered Xu Lang and lost his composure.

After a few minutes, perhaps tired of cursing or out of words, Xu Lang fell silent, requested the case files on Shen Jun’s murder, and began reading.

The case details matched Ning Yanran’s earlier account, differing only in some wording—testimony to her good communication skills. Xu Lang found no major inconsistencies in the files. But rather than resolving his doubts about the scene, the documents raised even more questions.

After reviewing the files, Xu Lang went to the morgue to see Shen Jun’s body with his own eyes.