Chapter 2

By the time the preliminary processing of the crime scene by the creek was completed, it was already the dead of night. Most of the onlookers had dispersed, leaving only a few villagers and the village committee leaders.

Truth be told, there hadn’t been many tourists who came after hearing the news tonight. People came here for vacation and relaxation, only to run into such an unfortunate incident. Who’d want to see a dead body in the middle of the night? But for the locals, it was a different matter. Having lived in Da’an Village for decades, they were accustomed to nothing more than natural births, aging, and deaths. Murders were unheard of—even losing a chicken was rare. Now, with two homicides occurring within a month, the entire village was on edge.

“Officers, take care on your way back…” The Da’an Village Party Secretary, a man in his fifties with a receding hairline and simple attire, followed them to the police van with a worried expression. “We hope the Public Security Bureau can catch the killer soon. If word gets out, our village will—”

The villagers nearby wore identical expressions of concern. With the peak tourist season approaching, this unresolved case would undoubtedly affect this year’s tourism revenue—and without visitors, they’d have no income.

After offering a few words of reassurance, Cai Chengji boarded the same police van they’d arrived in. On the way here, the forensics team had squeezed into this vehicle, but Jiang Li had given them his car for the return trip, leaving only four people in the van—including Su Yan.

Su Yan naturally took the driver’s seat again. Cai Chengji eagerly claimed the passenger seat, and as the van traveled along the unlit highway, he chattered nonstop. Su Yan had only been transferred to the Special Task Force two days ago, and with everyone usually busy, this was Cai Chengji’s golden opportunity to learn everything about her—maybe even find himself a girlfriend in the process.

But most of the time, it was just Cai Chengji’s endless monologue, punctuated occasionally by Su Yan’s brief responses, which grated on Xiang Yang’s nerves in the backseat. He glanced at Jiang Li, who was resting with his eyes closed beside him, then out the window before finally speaking up: “Hey, sis, there’s no speed limit on this road. You can go faster.” At this snail’s pace—probably not even 60 km/h—the forensics team’s car had long disappeared. At this rate, they wouldn’t get back to the station until well past midnight.

Su Yan’s pale fingers tightened around the steering wheel. After a pause, she replied, “It’s too dark outside. I think safe driving is most important.”

“…” Xiang Yang was momentarily stunned by this unexpected answer. As Cai Chengji immediately jumped in with sycophantic agreement, Xiang Yang—unwilling to argue with a young woman—could only sulk and mimic Jiang Li by closing his eyes. Served him right for not knowing how to drive stick shift!

The clock on the dashboard had already passed one in the morning. As time slipped by, the car regained its quiet. No matter how talkative Cai Chengji was, he couldn’t resist the power of his biological clock. His head nodded intermittently; if not for his stubborn effort to maintain a good impression in front of the person beside him, he might have dozed off long ago. Meanwhile, Xiang Yang in the backseat had already tilted his head back, mouth agape, snoring loudly, completely oblivious to the world.

Jiang Li suddenly opened his eyes. Through the rearview mirror, he could see the upper half of Su Yan’s face in the driver’s seat. After a few seconds, he spoke up, “Pull over ahead. I’ll take over.” After all, the other person was just a police academy intern. Although their bureau had never been known for humane treatment in staffing matters and didn’t prioritize special care for female colleagues, they still couldn’t let someone who hadn’t even officially started the job develop a sense of ‘despair’ toward the profession.

Su Yan blinked, taking a moment to realize Jiang Li’s words were directed at her. She initially wanted to say she wasn’t tired, but recalling the stunned expressions of the others when she had caught the corpse barehanded earlier, the words on her lips changed: “Alright.” As she spoke, she raised her left hand, intending to run it through her short hair, only to feel an unfamiliar texture. Realizing her mistake, she quickly pretended to tuck a loose strand behind her ear.

She remained silent, and Jiang Li wasn’t one for small talk either, leaving the atmosphere subtly awkward. The van continued for another two minutes before entering a wide main road. She then turned on the hazard lights, pressed the brake, and prepared to pull over. Out of habit, she glanced at the rearview mirror but was momentarily blinded by the high beams of a rapidly approaching sedan behind them.

Xiang Yang groggily opened his eyes at this point, pressing his face against the window to peer outside, muttering, “I thought we were back at the station… Why are we stopping here?”

Jiang Li unbuckled his seatbelt. “I’m taking over for her.”

“Perfect timing. I need to take a leak,” Xiang Yang said, shivering as he pulled open the door. Usually, the Special Task Force was full of rough-around-the-edges men who spoke without filters, and for a moment, he forgot the current situation was different.

Noticing that both people in the back had gotten out, Su Yan leisurely unbuckled her seatbelt to make room for Jiang Li. Just as her hand touched the door handle, the sedan that had been speeding up behind them suddenly slowed down and flashed its high beams repeatedly.

Her pupils contracted slightly from the bright lights. Su Yan frowned, then heard the sedan’s engine roar abnormally and the screech of tires against the pavement. She could even smell the exhaust fumes in the air.

“Get back in the car!” Her expression changed as she shouted.

Xiang Yang, who had been about to duck into the bushes to relieve himself, jumped at her sudden yell. Jiang Li reacted faster—with a glance at the approaching car, he reached out with a long arm and yanked Xiang Yang back. Opening the door, tossing him inside, jumping in, and slamming the door shut—it was all done in one fluid motion.

Cai Chengji, now startled awake, turned to look at Xiang Yang, who was rubbing his head where he’d bumped it from being thrown in, grimacing in pain. “What the… What’s going on…?”

Before he could finish speaking, Su Yan, with a grim expression, shifted gears and stepped on the accelerator. With a roar, the somewhat aged police minivan shot forward like an arrow from a bow. Cai Chengji experienced the sensation of being pushed back into his seat, his spine aching from the sudden force. Xiang Yang had it even worse—he had just struggled up from the floor to return to his seat when he was thrown against the window again, adding a fresh bruise to match the one on the opposite side.  

“Holy shit, Captain Jiang, what’s—” Xiang Yang rubbed his head and blinked open his eyes, only to realize their minivan was now speeding ahead at more than double its previous speed.  

Jiang Li remained expressionless, his cold gaze fixed on the sedan relentlessly pursuing them. The distance between the two vehicles had never been great to begin with, and given their respective performance, the gap was closing fast.  

Though Cai Chengji and Xiang Yang didn’t fully grasp the situation, it was clear the car behind them was targeting them. Xiang Yang slapped the back of the driver’s seat. “Step on it, sis, or we’re gonna get rear-ended!”  

Su Yan glanced swiftly at the rearview mirror and shook her head. “The accelerator’s already floored. That car must be modified—its performance far exceeds a regular sedan. We can’t outrun it.”  

“Then… then…” Xiang Yang stammered before finally blurting out, “Should we bail?” A minivan was too big a target—basically a sitting duck. If they split up and took cover on foot, they’d have a better chance. He was suddenly grateful they weren’t with the Forensics Team—those lab rats would never be able to protect their precious evidence.  

As far as he and Cai Chengji were concerned, the pursuing car might be connected to the Da’an Village case. After all, the Special Task Force hadn’t handled any other major unsolved cases recently—though other possibilities couldn’t be ruled out.  

“Hold on tight,” Su Yan said calmly, ignoring the suggestion to jump. Her tone betrayed no urgency, but she suddenly slammed the brakes, shifted gears with practiced ease, and spun the steering wheel sharply with one hand.  

Screech—  

The tires screeched against the asphalt as the police minivan, which should have been speeding forward, executed a sudden Dragon Tail Swing, turning to face the pursuing sedan head-on before accelerating in the opposite direction.  

The occupants of the sedan clearly hadn’t anticipated this move. By the time they reacted and tried to mimic the maneuver, their driver’s drifting skills proved less than perfect, leaving them lagging behind.  

Even with his seatbelt on, Cai Chengji was momentarily dazed. Xiang Yang fared worse—he tumbled back to the floor and simply stayed there, deciding dignity was overrated as long as he didn’t get hurt again.  

Jiang Li, however, reacted instantly to the sudden stop, steadying himself effortlessly. His gaze lingered on the driver’s pale profile, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

Su Yan successfully used her earlier technique to put some distance between her car and the one behind, but given the performance gap between the two vehicles, she had no choice but to keep executing dangerous maneuvers like drifts and sharp lateral movements on the wide road to widen the gap.  

Xiang Yang, meanwhile, clung silently to the seat beside him amid Cai Chengji’s startled cries and the van’s overworked engine roar, just trying not to roll around like a ball. From his angle, if he looked up, he could see the back of Su Yan’s head—half of it, anyway—peeking above the seat, her hair tied in a neat bun.  

Echoing in his ears was her soft, earlier reply: *”…I still think safe driving is the most important…”*  

What was that saying again?  

*A woman’s words are a devil’s lies.*  

Heh.