Muchuan and Xiang Wan - Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Paradigm Shift

What? Her ex-husband?

Xiang Wan felt as if her blood had been frozen.

She stared directly at Bai Muchuan. “So is that goddess statue made specially for Sun Shangli by him?”

“Hm?” Bai Muchuan was still wearing a poker face without any emotion. “Only he would know.”

“…”

This fellow!

“Can’t you just cooperate and make a deduction?”

“?” Bai Muchuan raised an eyebrow. “You do it?”

“For example, when did Huo Shan took on this construction project? At that time, how was the relationship between him and Sun Shangli? If the two of them were still in their honeymoon stage, there was a high possibility that he would build a beautiful statue for his beloved woman right before the entrance of the building, so anyone could look up at her with reverence and marvel at her beauty. He would most probably snicker inside his head—’Hmph, this is my wife, all of you can only look’.”

“…”

“But, if they were not on good terms when he got this project, things would be very different when he built this statue. Who knows? The human tissue found inside the wall could be Sun Shangli’s lover? Huo Shan killed him and sealed him into the wall so he could see the goddess statue everyday which represents Sun Shangli. However, he would never be able to be with her. They could only look at each other everyday but will never be together. Tsk!”

Xiang Wan got goosebumps all over by her own description.

“The plot’s great!”

Huang He furrowed his eyebrows. “Teacher Xiang, that’s how you write your novel?”

Xiang Wan smiled. “Be it a novel or reality, the human heart is the same.”

She turned to look at Bai Muchuan. “Am I right, Detective Bai?”

A corner of Bai Muchuan’s lip curved upward. “I only believe in evidence. Any deduction without evidence is being irresponsible!”

“…”

Next, he asked Huang He several other questions on the details of the scene that night.

There were details which were not being recorded in the statement. His questions were tricky as well as detailed.

Some of the details were in the statement, but Bai Muchuan wanted a verification since there could be a possibility that a misunderstanding had led to a slight difference in the recorded statement.

Due to that reason, they spent another hour verifying the details before getting up to bid goodbye to Huang He.

“Old Huang, I’m afraid you might have to stay in there for a few more days. When I’ve settled all of these, I’ll come for you personally.”

Huang He was shocked for a moment and quickly got up from his seat. “Captain Bai, I…” Sigh! He said in an embarrassed tone, “What’s done is done. Please don’t get into trouble because of me.”

“I won’t,” said Bai Muchuan, “I’m responsible for what happened that day. If I didn’t treat you to drinks, things wouldn’t have come to this.”

“No, I don’t blame you.” Huang He scratched his head. “It should be… fate, I think! I’ve caught many people and put them in jail. Now, I have the opportunity to come in and have a taste of how it feels like. If I can still be a police officer in the future, this would be a good warning to me. If I can handle cases again, I would be even more cautious so that I won’t accuse an innocent person.”

Bai Muchuan gave him a disapproving glare. “You’ll be a police officer again!”

Huang He was not as confident compared to Bai Muchuan. He just smiled casually and stayed quiet.

Bai Muchuan did not say anything more and gave him a nod. “We’re off!”

The way men say goodbye would not be as mushy as women. Bai Muchuan took a glance at Xiang Wan before pulling the chair out and walked away.

Xiang Wan grabbed her bag slowly and couldn’t help to look back at Huang He.

“Do you want me to tell Yuanyuan the truth? Actually, you are you. Whether you’ve been to jail or not, if she likes you, she’ll still like you. If you keep on deceiving her, when she found out about the truth one day, she might really mind it.”

Huang He opened his mouth but said nothing about her suggestion.

“Teacher Xiang, hurry and go. Captain Bai is waiting for you.”

“…”

Still no courage to face up to it?

Xiang Wan puffed a sigh and left, catching up to Bai Muchuan.

“What are you walking so fast for?”

“I’m worried that you’ll lecture him on life again.”

“…”

He took big strides and Xiang Wan needed to do a little running before she could catch up.

“Am I wrong to say that?”

Bai Muchuan suddenly halted that Xiang Wan nearly bumped into him.

Tsk! She turned sideways, away from him. “What are you doing?”

Bai Muchuan turned back without much expression. “I’m in a hurry. You’re too slow, Teacher Xiang!”

“What’s so urgent?” Xiang Wan was confused, unable to understand the sudden change.

Bai Muchuan waved his mobile phone. “They’ve arranged a meet-up with Sun Shangli’s ex-husband.”

“What!” Xiang Wan’s eyes lit up. “Can I go with you?!”

“He’s not a tall, wealthy and charming looking man like Zhao Jiahang. You won’t be interested!”

“Tch! Am I so skin-deep?” Xiang Wan snorted. “Besides, which tall, wealthy and good-looking man can match up to you, Detective Bai?”

That was some unexpected compliment.

However, that worked on Bai Muchuan, for his eyes seemed to be smiling.

However, the next moment, Xiang Wan added, “Even a tall, wealthy and handsome man like you is not to my liking, why should I be interested in others?!”

“…”

Someone was “wounded”.

Bai Muchuan instantly pulled a long face.

“Walk faster, Little Short Legs!”

“…”

D*rn!

That’s a personal attack!

Anyone else would have described her as a beautiful, fair woman with a pair of long legs.

He was the only one to call her short, and now “Little Short Legs”!

“Don’t look at me if you have guts!” She gulped.

Bai Muchuan walked in front. His lips twitched but he did not retort or said anything.

He did not give a definite answer if she could go with him or not.

After both of them got into the car, he suddenly spoke to her in a casual tone “You can go with me, but you need to answer a question.”

“Hm? What is it?” Xiang Wan was puzzled.

Bai Muchuan narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her. “From what you’ve known so far, give me a description of what kind of person Huo Shan is.”

Ah?

Ten minutes later while on the way back…

“He is a mediocre man with average looks,” said Xiang Wan slowly, “he’s not highly educated but ambitious. He has limited ability as he lacked of foresight and focused on petty gains. He should be a selfish, mean, narrow-minded and vindictive person. His success should be hugely attributed to luck and riding on the bandwagon due to changes in the economic policies.”

…

Criminal Investigation Unit.

Xiang Wan had been treated and looked upon as a suspect when she came here during the 720 case. Now, she had a different feeling coming here this time.

Of course, the gazes of the uniformed police officers in the unit were also different when they saw her appearing together with Bai Muchuan.

In the office, Xiang Wan had not managed to meet Huo Shan but saw Cheng Zheng’s female assistant, Mei Xin.

This lady had always been very reserved. Even though Xiang Wan had met her several times, they hardly spoke to each other. Therefore in her mind, Mei Xin was still a stranger.

“Captain Bai, this is the report from the Institute of Forensic Science.”

She was here to give him the report on behalf of Cheng Zheng.

Bai Muchuan had asked for a temporary transfer back to Jin City and was now still the Captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit.

Being the Captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit was equivalent to being the leader of all the units.

“Hm.” Bai Muchuan slowly looked through the file.

The DNA results of the human tissue within the walls was out. But there was no match in their database.

A person who was being sealed in the wall for unknown reasons.

“Didn’t your Captain Cheng said he wanted to have a DNA software created where he could reconstruct the face just by using DNA samples? So we can have a look at how the First Emperor of Qin, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Taizu of Song looks like?”

Well…

Mei Xin knew that he and Cheng Zheng were at loggerheads.

“For this, this technology is still subject to scientific concerns and accuracy.”

Bai Muchuan grunted a laugh and handed the report back to her.

“Fine, get him to continue the investigations! I trust him.”

Trust him? Mei Xin had a speechless expression. “… Yes.”

She walked away. Her thin, lonely back view somehow gave a feeling of coldness.

Xiang Wan was beside Bai Muchuan the whole time and felt a little sympathy toward her all of a sudden.

No wonder she never laughed.

It would be strange for someone who worked around Cheng Zheng every day to be able to laugh and smile!

…

Huo Shan’s appearance was somewhat a shock to Xiang Wan.

She had thought that a man whom Sun Shangli had chosen, even if he might not be good-looking, would not be anything less than the average man.

However…

Huo Shan was totally different from being plain or average that she had expected. She could directly use the word “ugly” to describe him.

He had a protruding face with chin like an ape. His facial features were alien-like, and he was so skinny that he barely looked human.

Xiang Wan was standing outside the interrogation room separated by the one-way mirror, and was nonplussed by what she saw.

“This can’t be true, right?”

She muttered and could not resist touching the mirror. “Captain Bai, does this mirror make one appear out of shape?”

Bai Muchuan replied, “Did you see Tang Yuanchu out of shape?”

Nope.

Tang Yuanchu was sitting directly opposite Huo Shan and he looked the same as always.

Therefore, if there was no problem with the glass, that meant the problem lied in Huo Shan’s appearance.

“Hur! You didn’t judge correctly?” Bai Muchuan laughed with sarcasm. “And, didn’t you say Sun Shangli was married to love?”

“…”

Hearing his sarcastic remarks, Xiang Wan was stunned for a few seconds before she snorted a laughter.

“Who said that love depends on looks? Shallow! So people who ain’t beautiful can’t have love?”

“…”

The two of them looked at each other for a moment.

Bai Muchuan gave her another casual glance before he pushed the door of the interrogation room.

Xiang Wan pouted and followed along.

“Captain Bai.” Tang Yuanchu as well as another detective were interrogating Huo Shan together. When they saw Bai Muchuan enter the room, they got up from their seats.

Bai Muchuan signaled for them to sit down. He sat down at a side together with Xiang Wan.

“You may continue.”

Tang Yuanchu pushed the statement on the table to Bai Muchuan. “We’re almost done! Captain Bai, is there anything you want to add?”

Bai Muchuan took the statement.

He was reviewing the statement seriously, while Xiang Wan was studying Huo Shan seriously.

… Was this man a drug addict?

… How else can someone reduce himself to only skin and bones?

… And, why did Sun Shangli marry a man like this and even had a kid?

… Or Huo Shan was not what she had expected that he was not only an ordinary man with good luck, but had some kind of charming personality that she did not know of?

Her scrutinizing gaze alerted Huo Shan.

He noticed the woman who stayed quiet and sat in a corner.

… A pretty woman.

Huo Shan’s eyes seemed to lit up slightly but immediately went back to being gloomy.

… A pretty woman who sat together with the police.

That thought made him realize something. He looked away from her and continued to wait.

Xiang Wan was acutely aware that he was uneasy as his buttocks kept on moving ever so slightly which was not noticeable unless one scrutinized him.

It was a sign of great uneasiness.

“According to you, you have not seen Sun Shangli for six months. Why did you suddenly send her such a message?”

Bai Muchuan’s sudden question grabbed Xiang Wan’s attention.

Huo Shan suddenly looked miserable when he heard the question. “After we divorced, she’s been acting crazy. We don’t allow her to come visit our child as we have the child’s welfare at heart… As you know, a mother like that is certainly not good for a child. Therefore, we did not have a good relationship. We haven’t seen each other for a long time. That day, I came to know that she… she was doing that kind of shameless job! I couldn’t hold my anger and sent a message to give her a piece of my mind, surely that’s nothing? If it were anyone else, I don’t think they would have a better temper than me. How in the world would I know she would take her own life?”

With regards to Sun Shangli’s suicide, Xiang Wan did not see much sympathy on his face.

Was it because they had been divorced for so long that there were no lingering feelings between them? Or was he too eager to deny his responsibility in this matter?

Xiang Wan pursed her lips as she mulled over her deductions.

Bai Muchuan was flipping the statement when he suddenly asked, “Who’s the person that got blended into the cement?”

He had asked so naturally, taking for granted that Huo Shan would know for sure. Huo Shan was so shocked that he jumped up from his seat.

“I’m innocent, Detective! How would I know that the wall contained… contained human tissues? I don’t even dare to think about it, much less do it. I’m a legitimate, law-abiding businessman, why would I kill someone and mutilate a corpse? I’m really innocent, you can go investigate. All these years, I don’t even dare to evade taxes, how would I dare to kill someone!”

Huo Shan was very anxious to explain himself. From the way he spoke, he was just like what Xiang Wan had deduced—he wasn’t highly-educated and was unlike what the rumormongers had claimed. He wasn’t a legendary wealthy businessman who could “support” Sun Shangli that she was willing to give up her career and be a homemaker.

A female celebrity born in an erudite family, yet she married a man like this?

Was it really because Huo Shan had pursued her and spent too much money on her?

How contradictory!

Xiang Wan started to doubt her previous deduction that Sun Shangli had married to love.

She even felt that Sun Shangli might have been married to “conspiracy”. From the moment she took that path, she was doomed to tragedy.

Whereas Huo Shan…

She looked at the man who was eager to absolve himself from the case. Watching how his eyes had turned red as he tried to prove his innocence, he did not really look like the mastermind behind the case.

Bai Muchuan did not interrupt Huo Shan when he was talking.

The whole time, he quietly watched Huo Shan’s nervous, flustered state and waited for him to finish before he raised another question.

“Who’s responsible for construction of ‘The Palace’?”

Huo Shan was so nervous that his forehead was filled with perspiration. “Back then, my company was still in its early stages. Though it made some money, but the internal management was still a bit chaotic. At that point in time, I feel that it seemed a bit risky for a person to take on such a big project. So after I won the bid, earthworks, pile foundation, foundation works, concrete masonry, and the like were all subcontracted out. To put it plainly, I’m only earning the middleman fees…”

Bai Muchuan frowned. “You’re only earning the middleman fees, and yet you can put the statue of your wife in front of the building?”

Huo Shan turned pale and looked at him dumbfounded.

Before this, no one had said that the goddess statue was Sun Shangli.

The dancing posture was hers, but as the facial expression was being sculpted, nobody could tell who it was just from the appearance alone.

However, it was really a statue modeled after Sun Shangli.

“You… How did you know this?” Huo Shan asked.

“She’s the one who told me.” Bai Muchuan swept a gaze at Xiang Wan and asked Huo Shan another question in a cold tone, “Tell me, why did Sun Shangli choose to die on her own statue?”

“How… How would I know?” Huo Shan was still perspiring.

“You know. Back when you’re pursuing her, you’ve spent a huge amount of money and used all kinds of wooing tactics to get her to marry you. When your company undertook the construction of ‘The Palace’, you were still newlyweds. You wanted to express your love for her and decided to build a statue for Sun Shangli right in front of the entrance and named the building as Li Hill County. You were planning to run the business yourself and enter the leisure entertainment industry. Nevertheless, the relationship of both of you hit the rocks before the construction was finished…”

When Bai Muchuan put on his cold expression, there was a natural, chilly and harsh aura that could fill one with dread uncontrollably.

“Therefore, you have specially built the statue but sold the building which you had originally wanted to run your new business with. Why did you sell the whole building away after your emotional conflict with her, wouldn’t you know that?”

Huo Shan looked at him, his mouth quivering a little, as if he had something to say but eventually didn’t say it.

“I… I don’t know. I don’t remember. Too many years has passed…”

“It may have been years, but you won’t forget this matter.” Bai Muchuan took a glimpse at Huo Shan’s left hand. “In that quarrel, you were so excited that you cut off one of your fingers. How could you forget something so major?”

He spoke with conviction.

As if everything was under control.

Huo Shan seemed more tense than before in face of such absolute confidence.

“No, it’s really not me, it’s really not me. I didn’t kill anyone. I don’t know…”

Perhaps he was under too much pressure from Bai Muchuan that his forehead was covered with cold sweat. He started to speak incoherently; he was in a state of dissociation and mumbled to himself for a long time. Suddenly, with both hands holding his head, he lowered himself and shook his head violently as if he was struggling.

“Don’t force me! I really don’t know, really don’t know…”

It was really quiet inside the interrogation room.

Everyone was as though the audience as they looked at him in a composed manner.

Huo Shan performed alone for a long time before he slowly lifted his head.

“Detective, I don’t know. I really don’t know who killed him.”

A shadow from the lights flashed past Bai Muchuan’s cool, dashing face. “Who is he?” He asked coldly.

Huo Shan pouted his mouth and suddenly cried piteously with his head in his arms. His expression seemed like he was being abandoned.

“He was Sun Shangli’s first love, her college classmate… That wretch, I love her so much that I can give up anything for her… Yes, that goddess statue is modeled after her. I did all I could to please her, but she doesn’t love me at all. She’s a woman who doesn’t know her place. Our child is not even three-month-old, and she’s already spending her nights with her lover outside.”

Huo Shan was so upset that even his snot flowed out from his nose. Tang Yuanchu furrowed his eyebrows and gave him some tissue.

“Thank you!” He wiped his nose as he recounted what happened. “She went to a hotel with her lover. A hotel room with two beds. She left our two-month-old baby on one bed and just left him there crying. While she and that man were on the other bed, making out… They were so wild. Totally ignoring my son who went hoarse from crying…”

“So, you killed her lover?”

“I didn’t!” Huo Shan started to give an account with snot and tears. “I only spent a little money to have that man beaten up and chased out of the city. As to where he had gone to, I didn’t know… As for Sun Shangli, don’t blame me for being cruel, I’ve given her a chance. Even though she had been f*cked by another man, I still want her back. ‘She’s the mother of my child’, I kept telling myself that. I’m willing to patch things up with her as long as she’s willing to repent. But, she disappointed me too much…”

“What happened to her?” Tang Yuanchu creased his eyebrows at Huo Shan’s agitated state.

“She searched for that man behind my back, all over the city. She thought I didn’t know about this, but I f*cking know everything…” Huo Shan stared at Tang Yuanchu with his red eyes when suddenly, he slapped several times on his own chest so heavily that everyone could hear it clearly. “It hurts! My heart hurts! Do you understand my pain?”

Then, he looked at the detectives in the room with a hideous expression.

“Everyone said that I drove her out of the house. Truth is, she was the one who initiated the divorce. She insisted for a divorce! Even when I told her that she could only leave without taking a single cent, she was willing to do that. I got angry and did not allow her to visit our son. Is that wrong of me? Tell me, am I wrong?”

The interrogation room was silent for a long time.

If what he said was true, he really did seem to have done nothing wrong.

A man who tried ways and means to win over his goddess.

A man who loved his wife and made a statue of her in front of a building.

A man who still hoped his wife would repent and patch things up after being unfaithful to him.

Pathetic, woeful and unfortunate!

Everyone fell silent.

Bai Muchuan broke the silence once more.

“Why are you so sure that the dead person must be him?”

“Aren’t you the one who hinted me that?” Huo Shan was taken aback.

Bai Muchuan raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Did I?”

Huo Shan looked a little comical with tears on his face.

He was in a daze after Bai Muchuan’s reply. A long while later, he sniffled his nose heavily and gave a light slap on his forehead.

“The way you asked made me thought it was him out of reflex… This was because Sun Shangli was searching for him like a mad woman. A long time passed, and she still never managed to find him. Consequently, she wanted a divorce as she claimed I’m the one who harmed him. I had thought she meant that I sent men to beat him up. After we separated, when I noticed that she did not get together with that man, I was slightly puzzled too. Now that you asked me about all these, I thought… I thought it was him.”

The few detectives exchanged glances.

“Captain Bai…”

Bai Muchuan thought for a moment. “We’ll call it a day for now.”

When he was out of the interrogation room, he instructed Tang Yuanchu, “Two tasks. First, investigate Sun Shangli’s lover! Secondly, find out the person who was in charge of the concrete masonry project of ‘The Palace’ to see if Huo Shan is lying…”