BL Ch83

The woman’s sobbing carried on the wind, sounding desolate and resentful.

One could imagine, if even these strong men found the climb arduous, how could a pregnant woman manage, let alone descend alone? A fall could mean two lives lost.

Clearly, she was being held captive by Bai Zhiming in this remote shack.

But the questions remained: How did she get up here? Why would Bai Zhiming live in such an inaccessible place with her? And how did he overcome physiological challenges to get her pregnant?

These were questions they did not yet have answers to.

They watched as Bai Zhiming approached the woman, whispering soothing words until she stopped crying and went back inside.

If one didn’t know he was a murderer, one might think he was a gentle, caring husband from his loving demeanor.

Now alone outside, Bai Zhiming didn’t immediately go back inside. He took out his phone, scrolling through something.

The surroundings fell eerily silent, with only the occasional call of an unknown bird echoing through the forest.

The six people hiding not far behind the house slowed their breathing, silent, their forms well-hidden behind the foliage, listening intently.

At this moment, Bai Zhiming seemed to dial a number, putting the phone to his ear, then pulled out a cigarette from behind his ear. The lighter clicked, and the cigarette tip glowed orange.

He sat casually on a stump, amidst the swirling smoke, and said, “Hello, President Pei, do you need me to make a move?”

His smoker’s voice was hoarse and unpleasant, but no one cared about that now; everyone was shocked by the clear “President Pei.” A wave of immense joy burst from everyone’s eyes.

Could King really be Pei Ming?!

Ji Lin’s first instinct was to record this, but his phone was in his backpack, and opening it would make noise.

In his anxiety, he saw Yu Duqiu signal him to be quiet and then pointed to his Nautilus watch: it was already recording.

One had to admit, in critical moments, this young master was an almost godlike teammate.

Completely unaware that his call had become key evidence for the police, Bai Zhiming brazenly revealed one shocking detail after another:

“Action tonight, right? Good, I’ll head to your place shortly.”

…

“These cops are really stupid, chasing us to our turf. We should give them a ‘warm welcome’.”

…

“Don’t worry, the last package incident was my mistake. Me not teaching Jiang Sheng and Shaojie well, their vigilance was too low, causing you trouble. This time, I’ll handle it personally. You’ll be satisfied.”

…

“Okay, then I’ll hang up. See you tonight.”

This call lasted nearly five minutes, with enough content to sentence both Bai Zhiming and Pei Ming to death five times over.

One case of drug trafficking by mail, one case of murder in a rainy alley, one case of poisoning by Yu Wencheng, one case of homicide by Huang Hanxiang, and one planned but not yet executed assassination of police officers.

The chain of evidence was now complete, the clues perfectly connected. Except for still not knowing who the elusive “Queen” was, all truths were laid bare. After capturing Pei Ming, more facts and suspects would inevitably come to light.

After half a year of hard work and relentless investigation, they finally reached this day.

Ji Lin’s excitement was clearly written all over his face, his expression exaggerated, silently roaring at Yu Duqiu: Did you record it? All of it?

Yu Duqiu nodded confidently, understanding his lip movements. Learning from the short recording of the rainy alley case which couldn’t identify the murderer, the watch had been upgraded to record for half an hour, capturing the entire five-minute call.

At that moment, Bai Zhiming stood up, tossed his cigarette butt, ground it out with his shoe, then shouted a few words in Burmese to the house before turning to descend the mountain. He navigated the terrain with familiarity and agility, half-walking, half-jumping, like a robust grasshopper, soon disappearing from sight.

Lou Baoguo watched in awe, whispering, “This old bastard keeps himself in good shape. I hope I’m like that at fifty.”

Zhou Yi shushed him, and they waited quietly to ensure no one else was in the house except the woman before resuming their conversation in low tones.

Yu Duqiu secured the recording on his watch and handed it to Ji Lin: “Once we’re down the mountain, copy the recording and send it back to China. Remember to have your people come to my house, remove the surveillance, and publicly apologize to prove my innocence.”

“…” Ji Lin suppressed the urge to punch him as he took the watch, his emotions mixed.

They had re-investigated the rainy alley case starting from this watch’s recording, through much hardship, and now the truth was revealed thanks to it, as if there was some divine intervention at play.

Regardless, the value of this watch now transcended mere monetary worth, carrying the blood and sweat of countless members of their task force, perhaps even the expectations of several wronged souls.

Ji Lin secured the watch clasp, pulled down his sleeve to cover it, but still not satisfied, he grabbed Yu Duqiu’s hair tie to wrap around his wrist twice, securing the sleeve so the watch wouldn’t be lost.

After doing all this, he signaled downward: “Let’s go, to rescue her.”

Lou Baoguo was shocked, “What? Our mission is done, isn’t it?”

Zhou Yi also disagreed, “Captain Ji, let’s have the Myanmar police rescue her. We don’t have many people, and with a pregnant woman, if something goes wrong, it’ll be hard to get out safely.”

“I’m going even if you’re not.” Ji Lin was determined to save her, “This is a rare opportunity; we must take her away, or Bai Zhiming might use her as a hostage to threaten the police, even kill her. Yu Duqiu, are you coming with me or retreating with your men? I can handle it alone.”

Yu Duqiu seemed to have anticipated this, helplessly telling the others, “Let’s go with him. Make it quick; Bai Zhiming shouldn’t be back anytime soon. Old Zhou, you and your team keep watch outside.”

With his command, the others followed Ji Lin, cautiously emerging from their hiding spot.

Yu Duqiu was about to move when his arm was suddenly grabbed. He turned back in surprise to meet a pair of serious, deep eyes.

“Don’t let them go. Something’s off with Bai Zhiming.”

Yu Duqiu’s heart tightened, “What’s off?”

Bai Zhao couldn’t pinpoint it, only saying, “My intuition. Trust me. Let’s go down the mountain now, call Ji Lin back.”

Yu Duqiu: “We all know there might be a trap down there, but without a solid reason, he won’t listen to us. He still feels responsible for the deaths of Mu Hao, Huang Hanxiang, and Jiang Sheng, thinking he missed the chance to save them. If we don’t let him save this woman and she dies later, he’ll never forgive himself.”

“I don’t care.” Bai Zhao’s grip was tight, leaving clear fingerprints, “Forget them, come down the mountain with me.”

Yu Duqiu’s face showed a moment of confusion as he looked into Bai Zhao’s anxious eyes visible above the mask, trying to discern the reason for his insistence, but all he saw was a deep, bottomless darkness.

Xiao Bai was usually very self-controlled; things he wanted to express were clearly shown on his face. Things he wanted to hide, even if one could read minds, might not be discovered.

The current situation was clearly the latter.

Bai Zhao suddenly felt a cool sensation on the back of his hand; looking down, a slender, pale hand covered his, and Yu Duqiu’s voice was as cool as his touch, “Do you know why I’ve never fully trusted you? Because sometimes you seem… even colder than I am.”

Bai Zhao froze.

“My coldness comes from selfishness, but yours is a disregard for life, including your own. Such people are usually potential criminals. It seems Bai Zhiming has influenced you more than I thought. I won’t trust someone trained by a criminal to lie. You’re hiding something from me; I won’t listen to you.” Yu Duqiu said solemnly, “Besides, I don’t have many friends; I’ve already lost one, and I don’t want to lose another.”

Bai Zhao’s hand trembled, loosening his grip slightly but still holding on stubbornly, “I have no friends, no family, just one lover. I can’t lose him.”

Ji Lin, who had gone down seven or eight meters, looked back to see them still arguing. Anger flared, and he picked up a small stone, throwing it forcefully to get their attention, then silently mouthed: Come down quickly!

Yu Duqiu pried Bai Zhao’s hand off, standing up while replying, “Then protect your lover. I have no lover, no such concerns.”

Ultimately, the six of them went against their initial plan and moved to the most dangerous frontline.

Ji Lin crept forward, sticking close to the cement wall, peeked inside, then pulled back, signaling to the others behind him. He pointed to himself, then to Yu Duqiu and Bai Zhao, gesturing for them to go inside while the other three kept watch outside.

Yu Duqiu looked back, questioning the man behind him with his eyes. Bai Zhao seemed to have compromised, not arguing further, and stepped in front of Yu Duqiu, his broad back seemingly ready to shield him from all dangers.

Yu Duqiu wanted to pat him, to remind him to be careful, but as he reached out, Bai Zhao moved forward.

His hand fell through the air, and for some reason, his heart felt empty too.

Ji Lin had led raids against drugs, gambling, and prostitution before, but this was about rescuing hostages, not a brute-force entry. Moreover, the hostage was a pregnant woman; if he scared her into a fall that caused a miscarriage, even calling the doctor from the opposite mountain wouldn’t be fast enough.

The biggest problem was the language barrier; he couldn’t explain his intentions to the pregnant woman. If she thought he was a burglar and fought back, it would complicate matters further.

After some thought, Ji Lin took out his phone, entering a sentence into a translation app: “Don’t scream, I’m a police officer, here to rescue you, come with us down the mountain.”

The app generated Burmese, though he wasn’t sure about the grammar, it would have to do for now.

Once everything was prepared, Ji Lin rounded the corner to the window, quickly glancing inside to see the woman’s sorrowful figure, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

No one else was inside.

Ji Lin signaled the others: I’ll go in first.

Yu Duqiu nodded, watching him drop his backpack, then swiftly and nimbly move from under the window to the door like a gazelle.

The woman hadn’t closed the door when she entered, too caught up in her grief to notice someone approaching from behind. As she stood to grab a towel to wipe her face, she turned around—

Only to come face to face with Ji Lin who had sneaked up behind her.

Both froze for a moment, staring at each other.

In this desolate wilderness, a tall, strong stranger suddenly entering her home would terrify any unarmed woman.

The woman’s swollen, teary eyes went blank for a second before fear spread across her pale face, her tongue and throat momentarily frozen. After a second, her trembling lips parted: “…Ah!!!”

Ji Lin quickly covered her mouth to muffle the scream.

He tried to show her the translated message on his phone, but she was like a frightened bird, struggling wildly, not in the mood to look at his phone.

Ji Lin couldn’t control her with one hand, so he used both, and in the struggle, she accidentally slapped his phone onto the cement floor.

He seemed to hear the sound of the screen shattering, his heart aching.

That’s an eight hundred dollar screen…

Her face, wet with tears, was slippery, making it hard for him to keep her quiet without being too rough. Just then, Yu Duqiu and Bai Zhao pushed the door open.

Seeing herself surrounded by three men, the woman’s eyes filled with despair, as if resigned to her fate. She stopped struggling, trembling, making muffled, hoarse sounds, seemingly begging for mercy, tears streaming down.

Yu Duqiu raised his hands in surrender, slowly approaching her, speaking in a gentle tone in Burmese.

Ji Lin looked at him in shock.

Though he didn’t understand, after staying here for a few days, he could tell from the tone and intonation that it was Burmese.

“You can speak Burmese? Then why bring a translator?”

Yu Duqiu shrugged nonchalantly, “I learned for ten days after deciding to come here, only know some simple sentences. Don’t interrupt, I’m telling her we’re here to rescue her.”

But the woman, even after hearing this, still didn’t believe them, crying and shaking her head in disbelief.

Yu Duqiu, out of options, hooked his arm around the neck of the man beside him, giving him a brief, public kiss before pushing the stunned Bai Zhao aside. He then spoke another sentence to the woman.

The woman was so shocked that she forgot to cry, surprisingly calming down.

Ji Lin was taken aback by this audacious move, asking in disbelief, “Are you fucking sick? Showing off at a time like this?”

Who was he, where was he, and why did he have to witness this? Was this considered a workplace injury??

Yu Duqiu wiped the residual moisture from his lips, saying, “She’s afraid we’re here to assault her. I told her we’re all into men, just proving it.” He also intended to placate the sulking Xiao Bai.

A minute later, after recovering from her terror, the woman finally believed they meant no harm. She wiped her tears and agreed to go down the mountain with them, muttering something under her breath.

Ji Lin couldn’t understand a word, and Yu Duqiu’s rudimentary Burmese wasn’t good enough for seamless communication with the locals. He didn’t bother with it, planning to take the woman down the mountain first.

However, the woman grabbed them, looking anxious as she pointed inside the house, speaking rapidly, seemingly repeating the same phrase.

Ji Lin was confused, “What is she trying to say? We need to hurry; we don’t know when Bai Zhiming will be back.”

Yu Duqiu thought for a moment, asked a question in Burmese, to which the woman shook her head. He asked another, and she nodded.

Yu Duqiu’s brows furrowed, his expression turning strange.

Ji Lin was curious, “What did you ask her?”

“First, I asked if there’s anything inside. Then, I asked if there’s anyone inside.”

At this revelation, the expressions on the other two changed abruptly.

There’s someone else? How many? Friend or foe? Why hadn’t they come out after all this time? They should have heard the noise.

The woman shakily raised one finger, then turned to walk into the inner room.

It seemed like there was just one person, probably not dangerous, perhaps another victim held captive here.

Since they were already here, they had to find out. Ji Lin followed the woman inside, with Yu Duqiu right behind.

Focused on persuading the woman earlier, they hadn’t paid much attention to the house’s interior. Now, going deeper, they realized the place was like a haunted house with almost no lights, narrow, dark corridors filled with bricks, stones, and cement bags, looking like leftover materials from a shoddy renovation. Moisture seeped through a large hole in one of the windows, causing moss to grow on the inside walls.

This place was hardly livable.

Ji Lin and Yu Duqiu exchanged a look, each understanding the other’s thought: this didn’t seem like Bai Zhiming’s permanent residence; it might be a trap.

The journey had been too smooth; they weren’t fools and had mentally prepared for this. But even if it was a trap, they had to go in.

Ji Lin’s sense of justice wouldn’t allow him to leave hostages and escape alone, and Yu Duqiu was fearless, knowing they had elite bodyguards both up and down the mountain to back them up, giving them the courage to face any peril.

As they went deeper, a foul, indescribable stench filled the air. When the woman opened a creaking, moldy wooden door, the stench intensified, hitting them like a wave, almost making Ji Lin vomit.

“Is this a cesspit or something… it’s too foul… urgh…”

Yu Duqiu, anticipating this, quickly took Bai Zhao’s mask to wear and pinched his nose, doubly protected, and calmly said, “Seems like there’s someone inside.”

The small room had no windows or lights, more like a concrete cage than a room.

With only the weak light from outside, they could barely make out a ragged, filthy figure lying on a tattered mat, motionless, gender and condition unknown. Black shackles were around the ankles, chained to the wall.

The woman, accustomed to the smell, fanned the air to disperse some of the stench, pointed to her head, and spoke a few words.

“What… did she say… urgh…”

“I can’t understand well, but it seems she’s saying the person inside has a mental problem.”

“Even if they were normal, being locked up here… urgh… would drive anyone mad…”

Nevertheless, since this was a victim, Ji Lin couldn’t stand by. He covered his nose with his sleeve, blocking some of the smell, turned on his phone’s flashlight, and cautiously walked in.

Just as he stepped in, there was a crunch under his foot. Looking down, he saw it was a broken glass syringe.

These must be the ones Bai Zhiming bought from the pharmacy.

The colorless liquid residue inside suggested an unknown substance.

The slight noise disturbed the person in the corner, who trembled slightly, looked up with caution, curling up, the chains clinking.

The person was alive. Ji Lin felt a bit relieved and continued to approach slowly, trying to communicate in English, “Hello, don’t be afraid, we’re here to rescue you.”

Whether the person understood was unclear; their long, dry, messy hair covered most of their face, with only one eye visible, deeply set in a grayish socket, unaccustomed to such bright light. They turned away from the flashlight.

Ji Lin dimmed the light, enduring the increasingly nauseating smell, and moved closer. He estimated the length of the chain to keep a safe distance in case the person, possibly mentally unstable, lunged at him.

He guessed the person might not understand English, so he shouted to the door, “Yu Duqiu! Tell him I’m a policeman, not a bad guy!”

To his surprise, upon hearing this, the person sharply turned their head back, their unfocused eyes darting around, seemingly searching for something. But Ji Lin’s figure blocked the narrow doorway, and the flashlight intensified the surrounding darkness, making it hard for the person to find what they were looking for.

Yu Duqiu, from a distance, saw the person’s head turning wildly like a headless fly, sensing an intuition: “He seems to understand what you’re saying.”

“Really?” Ji Lin was skeptical, trying, “If you understand Chinese, respond with one word.”

The person let out a hoarse, unclear “Ah.”

It was a man.

Why would Bai Zhiming imprison a man here? It wasn’t like he could give birth to pass on the throne.

Regardless, understanding Chinese made things much easier, and this man seemed mentally sound, just disoriented, capable of communication.

Time was pressing; they had already been in the house for nearly five minutes. They needed to leave.

Ji Lin turned back, “Yu Duqiu, ask that woman if she knows where the key to these shackles is.”

“Hiss… you overestimate me.” Yu Duqiu had to use a translation app; after the woman nodded, she led them to another room. Yu Duqiu took Bai Zhao with him, telling Ji Lin, “Wait for me, calm the guy down.”

“Okay, be quick.”

Once they left, Ji Lin looked again at the disheveled man before him, certain the foul smell in the room came from him. It was clear Bai Zhiming treated him like a slave, starving him to this skeletal state, without proper care.

But for some reason, Bai Zhiming hadn’t let him die; the few grains of rice on the mat suggested he was fed enough to keep him alive. As for the syringes… they might be sedatives or tranquilizers to keep the man from resisting.

Ji Lin tried to gather more information, “Are you Chinese? If yes, nod.”

The man’s earlier movements seemed to have drained his weak body; he leaned against the wall, dazed, his dull eyes moving slowly before giving a barely perceptible nod.

Ji Lin, enduring the stench, moved closer, squatting down, “I’m Chinese too. What’s your name? Where’s your home? How did you end up here?”

After firing off three questions, Ji Lin realized he might be too hasty; the man, not having spoken for a long time, might struggle to respond. So he introduced himself first, “I’m Ji Lin, a police officer. You can trust me; I’ll take you home.”

Upon hearing this, the man’s eyes widened suddenly, and he raised his thin arm with difficulty, waving it in the air as if to clear the flashlight’s glare to see Ji Lin’s face.

This person’s behavior was strange, but it seemed… harmless.

Ji Lin cautiously moved past the safe distance, stopping less than half a meter from the man.

The phone light illuminated both their faces.

Ji Lin gave a gentle smile to show he was no threat.

In the dim light, the man’s black eyes stared unblinkingly at him, somewhat eerie. After a moment, he seemed to return a faint, tired smile, though obscured by his hair. His cracked, scabbed lips moved, softly uttering a few unclear words.

Ji Lin paused, an odd feeling stirring within him. Almost instinctively, he reached out to move the obstructive hair aside, leaning in to ask, “What did you say?”

The man’s other eye then came into view under the weak light, followed by his nose, cheeks, and jawline… so emaciated he looked like a skeleton, with a bluish-black complexion, yet the facial structure was still discernible.

Ji Lin’s hand froze mid-air, his pupils constricting sharply.

The man was indeed smiling, although his mouth drooped due to weakness, the gentle look in his eyes couldn’t hide a faint smile. It was as if he was gazing at an old friend after a long separation, or witnessing a destined encounter.

“…Little… Ji…”

Yu Duqiu had retrieved the keys, twirling them around his finger, and instructed the three men guarding the door to escort the pregnant woman down the mountain first. The remaining three would handle getting one half-dead man down; that should be enough.

Back at the door of the original room, Ji Lin was still inside, crouched in front of the man, doing something. Yu Duqiu called out, “Comrade Ji Lin, come and get the keys; I’m not going in there.”

After calling out several times with no response, Yu Duqiu took a step forward, “Captain Ji?” He suddenly noticed that Ji Lin’s usually straight back was slumped, his shoulders shaking violently, and there was the faint sound of suppressed sobbing.

Yu Duqiu exchanged a look with Bai Zhao, guessing what might be happening. Yu Duqiu tried to comfort, “It’s okay, if he’s dead, he’s dead. We’ll have one less person to take down the mountain, making it easier for us.”

Bai Zhao: “…” 

This was completely ineffective comfort.

Ji Lin shook his head, his back to them, his breathing becoming heavier and more urgent, his neck bobbing up and down as if he couldn’t catch his breath, his throat choked up, unable to speak a word.

Yu Duqiu finally sensed something was seriously wrong and asked in a low, serious tone, “What exactly happened?”

Ji Lin rarely laughed, and even more rarely cried. At least since the first time Yu Duqiu saw him on the surveillance footage in the alley behind the Yiqing Bar, until now, no matter how harsh or desperate the situation, Ji Lin had never shed a tear.

It was unclear whether this was due to his astounding willpower or his stubbornness to the point of self-deception.

They waited patiently, and after nearly half a minute of silence, Ji Lin finally turned his head slowly — his teeth clenched on his trembling lips, tears uncontrollably streaming from the corners of his eyes, his chest heaving with rapid breaths, and he hoarsely shouted, “Yu Duqiu…”

Yu Duqiu, hearing his name called, paused, “I’m here.”

“It’s… him…”

Yu Duqiu was a bit puzzled and couldn’t hear clearly, so he took a couple more steps into the repugnant room, “Who?”

Suddenly, Ji Lin acted like a man who had lost his sanity, punching the hard cement floor with a desperate, mournful howl, “It’s him! Yu Duqiu! It’s him!”

“‘He’ who? You’re not saying a name, how should I…” Yu Duqiu abruptly stopped talking, as if sensing something, straightening his previously slouched posture, “You’re joking, right… how could that be…”

“It’s him…” Ji Lin, holding the man’s skeletal hand, his eyes red as if he were crying blood instead of tears, “He’s alive… he’s alive!”

The man standing at the door froze, the key ring slipped from his fingers due to inertia, flew out, hit the wall with a smack, and fell with a clatter into a pile of syringes at the base of the wall.