Chapter 429
I woke up from my nightmare, soaked in cold sweat. In the dark, a pair of eyes approached, "Song Yang, are you okay?"
I screamed at the top of my lungs, only to realize it was Xiaotao.
At the moment, I was lying in a hospital bed. "Turn on the light!" I cried.
When Xiaotao turned on the light, I scanned the room. This wasn’t Song Xingchen’s ward. "Why am I here?" I asked.
Xiaotao smiled, "I asked the nurse to put you in a special ward so you can rest. The room is quite nice. Would you like to watch TV?"
I shook my head and said apologetically, "I"m sorry you have to see this embarra.s.sing side of me."
"Don"t apologize. No one would be alright after going through all that,” comforted Xiaotao. “The fact that you haven’t been defeated makes you a strong person! In fact, I have had an experience like this. When I first joined the force, I killed a gangster in an operation. For a long time afterwards, I would see his soulless, dead eyes as long as I closed my eyes. I had to turn on the TV and lights every night just to fall asleep."
I held her hand, "Xiaotao, you have to believe me. I am still Song Yang. I haven’t been brainwashed."
Xiaotao patted me on the back of my hand, "I believe you, just like you believed me at the beginning!"
Xiaotao climbed into bed and hugged me from behind, gently humming the Three Little Bears song. Her gentle voice lulled me to sleep, and even after falling asleep, I could still hear her humming so my nightmares no longer haunted me.
The next morning, when I saw the sun outside the window, I felt much better. Xiaotao slept with her clothes on, hands under the pillow. I leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead.
Right then, Song Xingchen entered the ward. Surprised, I asked, "Can you get out of bed already?"
"The Song family’s Golden Cure is really effective. My wounds have stopped bleeding. From now on, I will not leave your side!"
"You"d better rest today. I have to go to therapy. I’m really sorry for yelling at you last night."
"No, it’s my fault!" Song Xingchen seemed unconcerned.
A while later, Xiaotao woke up. We headed out for breakfast together and strolled down the bustling streets.
"After being detained for two days, I realized how precious our ordinary daily life is," remarked Xiaotao.
"I hope I can accompany you every morning from now on,” I said.
"Let’s go. I"ll take you to the psychologist!"
When we arrived at the clinic arranged by Sun Tiger. Xiaotao handed me over to the doctor and left. The doctor was a kind middle-aged man who spoke slowly. He took me in and started with some tests.
After the test, he asked some questions and explained that I had post-traumatic stress disorder and needed psychological counseling for a period of time.
"I have read some books on psychology so I can fix this little issue on my own!" I insisted.
The doctor smiled, "I know you’re smart, but psychological problems are like colds. You need to prescribe the right medicine. In fact, we psychologists can also have problems after consulting for a long time and need psychological counseling. There’s nothing to be afraid of."
When the doctor suggested hypnotherapy, I was very much against it. It was only with the doctor"s patience that I gradually entered the right state. After two hours of counseling, I felt some improvement.
As soon as I left his office, I heard smas.h.i.+ng coming from next door. A woman was yelling, "Go away, I don"t need any treatment!"
Then, Duan Yunjie stormed out of the room and froze at the sight of me. It turned out she was also receiving treatment here. She stared at me and walked towards the entrance of the clinic. The doctor immediately made a phone call to Sun Tiger.
I had only been tortured for a few hours and already it left such deep mental trauma. I couldn’t imagine the severity of Duan Yunjie’s psychological problems.
But being distrusted by the people around you made everything worse.
Over the next few days, I returned to the clinic to receive psychological counseling every morning and headed to the station in the afternoon. The special task force was taking a two-p.r.o.nged approach: collecting evidence of the Dog Trainer’s personal involvement in crime and investigating the missing persons in Nanjiang City for the past ten years. They were also finding out more about the hostages in his hands and preparing for future attacks.
When I arrived at the station today, Xiaotao was ready to head out. "Has the Dog Trainer committed another crime?" I asked.
"I just got a call from Sun Tiger informing me of a murder case in Taoyuan District. He’s asked you to go to the scene. I was just planning to look for you," she explained.
"I don"t have my equipment with me, but it’s alright,” I said, waving my hand. “Let’s look at the crime scene first. If necessary, I’ll ask Dali to fetch my equipment."
We rushed to the crime scene which was situated in a bar. All personnel had been evacuated and several officers were taking statements from the witnesses. Sun Tiger walked out of the bar and said, "Song Yang, you’re just in time. Come on!"
The bar was divided into two floors, with a private room on the top. Sun Tiger explained as we walked upstairs, "This case may have nothing to do with the Dog Trainer, but I promised you that I would inform you when a similar case happened."
Upon hearing this, my heart pounded like a herd of stampeding bison as I tore my way upstairs.
I was greeted by the sight of two male corpses lying in a private room, both around forty years old. There was a bottle of alcohol and two gla.s.ses in front of them. The cigarette in the ashtray had been burned to the b.u.t.t but the ash hadn’t yet fallen off the cigarette.
The dead men looked ruddy, as if drunk, leaning on the sofa with vacant eyes.
At first glance, I noticed no trauma on their bodies. I was too familiar with this method of killing. "Are you sure it’s him?" I asked with widened eyes.
"Most likely," replied Sun Tiger.
I asked Xiaotao for her a.s.sistance in moving one of the bodies over. Sticking my ears to the victim’s chest, I found one organ–the heart!
In order to confirm my deduction, I asked for a pair of scissors. Although I was in a hurry, I didn"t forget to check the victim’s clothes for any items that could identify him. The victim had a wallet and cell phone in his pocket as well as his ID card. There was some wear and tear on the cuffs which seemed to be left by long-term driving.
When I removed the victim’s clothes, I was presented with a completely undamaged body, just like my grandfather"s.
Heart pumping with excitement or perhaps fear, I looked up and shouted, "My grandfather’s murderer is back!"
"How can it be? Would the Jiangbei Daggers show up again now?"
"In fact, he’s not called the Jiangbei Daggers, the organization is! The words left on the wall that year–Jiangbei Daggers, Protect The People, Condemn The Corrupt meant the organization he belongs to."
"So that’s what it means," muttered Sun Tiger.
"That is to say, he and the Dog Trainer belong to the Jiangbei Daggers,” summarized Xiaotao. “And the organization now realizes that the Dog Trainer may be in danger and sent him for support!"
Sun Tiger sighed, "It seems like a b.l.o.o.d.y storm is coming to Nanjiang City!"