Chapter 101 - How Much Do You Know?
"Zhi Ruo, it's a no man's land. Crimes, borderland disputes, poverty, death...it's literally a hell on earth. Only very few people were able to escape that place, but wherever they go their identity as a Zhi Ruoan native makes them nothing but a third class citizen in the mainland or even worse," Pei Zhi spoke as if he was giving a lecture to a bunch of students, who are very much interested to know the unexplored history of the land they live and a toxic culture they were part of.
"Why is this brutal discrimination towards Zhi Ruo...the world has already moved ahead and why do you even discriminate human beings?" Lao Yating harshly spat out those words which are his brain alive,
It took nearly four hours for the eagle team to reach the west Gui Xiang town even after using the quickest route to travel.
Since they left imperial in the early morning, most of them were asleep during the travel and only woke up once they reached the coastal town.
The local police team and the special investigation team who handled Song Jia's missing team was already waiting for the eagle from the imperial as per the notice from higher-ups.
"Thanks for arranging such a meeting on short notice. I'm Wan Yi Jun, the chief investigator in charge of the Rising Raven murder case. Nice to meet you all," Wan Yi Jun warmly introduced himself to the small group of police officers who gathered before him, who looked at him in utter confusion.
"Some of you might have wondered why we are having such a meeting with officers who are not part of this case." He paused for a second to study the curious faces before him. Most of the officers were either older than him or younger, creating the perfect balance of experience and excitement to work together.
"While pointed towards another missing case reported in this town six years ago."
"Are you talking about Song Jia's case, officer? Isn't it closed?"
"Yes, but we are planning to reopen it."
"We were the one's investigated that case officer, but we couldn't find any lead even when we reopened the case when we got the skeletal remains."
"Were you able to identify it?"
"No. The DNA didn't match any of the samples from the database."
"Not even the missing cases reported in other stations."
"No sir, since lots of illegal immigrants come here for work...including women from disputed lands and Daisun, we really don't have a proper database. During that time, they used to work in illegal brothels and no one really cared whether they lived or not."
"We tried our best, but couldn't find anything to solve that missing case."
"Shu Lili was the last person who saw Song Jia on the day she went missing and Hu Geng Xin is the person who was Shu Lili's alibi. Did it came to your knowledge that these there might share some relationship?"
"Relationship? No I don't think so. Those there are different from each other so much. There is no way that they could be together."
"Shu Lili and Song Jia were in the same classroom."
"But sir, how can a high school delinquent and a top scorer be friends with each other?I still remember their class teacher's words, inorder to improve Song Jia's grades, she had grouped miss Song with the top students in the class. Even after Shu tried her best Song Jia continued act like a ship wreck and even threw a fit at Lili for being the perfect."
"What about Hu Geng Xin?"
"He is the most eccentric person we have ever seen. Since he also grew up enduring abuse, he never wasn't good with his social life. He is just there... that's it. Nobody knows what exactly happen in his life."
"But they lived in the same neighborhood, right? Block D and E?"
"He is also an immigrant? From Daisun?"
"No. Zhi Ruo. Zhi Ruo will never be treated as equal as the mainlanders or the Daisunese immigrants."
"What did they do wrong to endure such a harrowing and miserable life?"
For a moment, Wan Yi Jun's mind wandered back to the memories of the night when he talked to Ming Yue about her family, how she was abandoned to a faraway land like junk.
"The world must have changed, but the people and their stories and beliefs are still the same. Whoever knows the history of Zhi Ruo, treats it's people as filth, a generation born with the worst possible genes... absolute filth." Pei Zhi instantly paused when he noticed the conflicted looks on the faces of eagle team members.
"I'm sorry, I skipped away from our topic...what were we talking? Ah, Hu Geng Xin...he and his father were treated the same... obviously not everyone is included in it....some traditionalists....some old people who still can't accept the fact that they are indeed human beings...just like you and me..."
"Hmmm...." Wan Yi Jun faintly hummed as he failed to speak a word after knowing a clear picture of Zhi Ruo, something ten times brutal as the image portrayed by Ming Yue.
"Do you mind If I ask why you are interested in Hu Geng Xin, officer? You know, he is just a nameless guy who barely talks to anyone." Pei Zhi suddenly asked. However the one who responded to his question was Han Ze Min who understood the meaning of Wan Yi Jun's silence.
"Do you know where is he right now?" He asked just to deviate Pei Zhi from probing more,
"I just heard that he went to the city for a better job...I'm not sure, though,"
"Better job? What was he doing here?" Han Ze Min's eyes narrowed down as he looked at the possibility of hearing the word "Sanitation worker" from the other person. However the reply he received was unexpectedly expected.
"He used to do all these petty jobs in the village...from working in the fish market to the gatekeeper of the church cemetery...he literally did everything." Pei Zhi refreshed his memory and shared everything he knew about Hu Geng Xin,
What did the even expect from a person like Hu Geng Xin who tried hard to survive in this twisted world?
"As we told you earlier, he was the one who helped us to dig out the skeleton from the mountain." One of the officers reminded all of a sudden,
"Do you know where he might have gone? Or does he have any friends, here?" Han Ze Min inquired without loosing his hope,
"Not really. First of all, he talks to nobody...secondly nobody talks to him due to his lineage. Ahhh, maybe if you talk to Elder Mao, you might get some details. He was the only person whom treated Hu Geng Xin a little better than others."
"Where can find elder Mao?" Wan Yi Jun who finally regained his composure, inquired in an indifferent tone,
"He lives next to the place where you are going to stay tonight. So if you are planning to meet him, I will send him a word."
"That would be great. Any way, thank you for your co-operation, officers for today." Wan Yi Jun quickly wrapped up the meeting when he realized that they have already exceed the time limit. They came here for a short period with an elaborate plan to gather as much evidences to solve the mystery.
"It's a shame that you came here as part of the investigation otherwise, Gui Xiang is a nice vacation spot for people from imperial city." Pei Zhi disappointedly added as he stood from the seat.
"We will come back again to enjoy a nice vacation. Any way, see you tomorrow, officer Pei,"
"This place is a hell hole with criminals and injustice, and he wants us to come here again. Sorry, I'm out."
"I'm not even getting proper signals. Does your phone have signals?"
"Yes, then can you lend me your phone? I have to make a quick phone call,"
"Oh, sure."
"Did you make up your mind?"
"What's happening wrong with officer Han? He was on his phone all day. I saw him giggling at his phone,"
"Did he has a girlfriend?"
"Oh please, don't start."
"Can we go then?"
"Yes, captain."
The local police team left in the evening after arranging accommodation facilities for the eagle team members in a nearby guesthouse in the village. Since it wasn't a town big enough to have huge buildings and hotels, the place where Wan Yi Jun and his team stayed was a beach cottage owned by one of the villagers for tourists.
After making sure that everyone settled down in their respective rooms, Wan Yi Jun picked up his phone and walked out the balcony,
"How are you, miss Ming? Is everything alright? He called you, when? Just block him. I will take care of it."
"I hope everything is according to your likes, sir."
"Yes,"
"Who lives there?"
"Nobody lives there, now."
"It looks so beautiful."
"Yes, But no one goes there. It's notoriously known as devil's den."
"Devil's den?"
"Many people died over there, either falling into the sea or hitting the head on the rock."