Pristine Darkness Chapter 20

It seems as if the case against Yao Yuange is in the bag, but new developments turn up, in typical Ding Mo fashion. Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan also have to manage the effect the case has had on them. For Jian Yao, some disturbing memories resurface . . .

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Chapter 20

In the darkness, someone was laughing. The sound was light, yet sharp. Angry. Arrogant.

Jian Yao frowned and grabbed the bed sheet under her.

He moved towards her, then closer yet. He treated her like an animal, softly petting her long hair. Then, he crooned to her like a lover, "Such beautiful skin. Don't worry, although I will use a whip, I will definitely not damage the skin on your back. So beautiful!"

Jian Yao violently forced her eyes open and saw only the same old boring guesthouse ceiling. It was already daylight. Her entire body was covered in perspiration.

She sat on the bed for a while before getting up to wash her face and rinse her mouth. She felt completely awake, but discovered that Bo Jinyan was not in the room.

Once again, he had gone out to run around on his own.

She gave him a call. "Hey, where are you?"

"I'm with Fang Qing." Bo Jinyan's voice was calm and placid. "There were some things I had to follow up on. Did you sleep well?"

Jian Yao replied, "Very well."

"Come on over, they've bought back a sumptuous breakfast. They even specially bought me some cakes made with little prawns. It's probably out of admiration for and grat.i.tude to me. However, they really didn't have to."

Jian Yao couldn't stop herself from laughing. She asked, "So, did you eat the prawn cake?"

". . . I finished it." Bo Jinyan said.

Jian Yao smiled faintly, but her brow was still furrowed, and she fell into a contemplative silence for a while without realising it. With his acute sense of perception, Bo Jinyan observed this unusual occurrence. His tone changed, and he asked her softly and gently, "What is it?"

Jian Yao said, "Jinyan, I would like to spend some time with you alone."

He was quiet for a moment before replying, "I'll be at your side immediately."

"En."

The morning sun was warm, and the street was clean and quiet, with hardly anyone around. Jian Yao only had to wait briefly under a tree before she saw Bo Jinyan walking towards her from the police station opposite. Today, he was wearing a rarely-seen outfit: dark blue-green T-shirt and black trousers, which emphasised his black hair, pale skin and eye-catchingly handsome appearance. Naturally, this was all the effect of Jian Yao's 'post-marriage transformation programme'.

He walked to her and faced her. Taking her hand, he said, "Let me guess, you had a dream again?"

"En." Jian Yao did not have to hide her occasional vulnerability from him.

With a swift move, he hugged her shoulders tightly. They walked along the curve of the river.

Actually, Jian Yao was already dreaming much less about the 'flower ogre'* and the time he had imprisoned her. Moreover, this demon had already become a pile of bleached bones. Bo Jinyan had also praised her for adjusting much better than most people. It was just that what she had seen the day before in Yao Yuange's eyes was so similar to what she had seen in the eyes of the 'flower ogre', as well as in the crazed eyes of many other perverted killers. She thus could not help the chill that spread through her heart.

*T/N the 'flower ogre' was the villain in 'Love Me if You Dare' (他来了请闭眼), the book before 'Pristine Darkness'

Perhaps, for those in the police force, there were some scars that could never be erased in their lifetime.

The two of them walked along the river for a while and found a little cafe to breakfast in. With hot food to warm the stomach, the body also feels warm. Bo Jinyan did not try too hard to comfort her or talk her out of her mood. As a psychologist, he knew very well that what his wife most needed at this time was companionship and tranquility. With those, the murky ripples that had been set off in her heart would eventually dissipate and disappear in the light of her own firm and persevering character.

Sure enough, after a while, the woman by his side unconsciously relaxed and appeared to have returned to her customary bright liveliness. She even drank a large bowl of hot soup, and her face was red.

"What were you busy with at the police station?" Jian Yao asked.

"There's been some new developments," Bo Jinyan said. "Ming Lan has gone mad."

Jian Yao was dumbfounded.

"At the start of the interrogation, she persistently refused to speak. Then, she suddenly started laughing, and spoke incoherently. Whatever was asked of her, she didn't know anything. The doctor has already been sent for, but it doesn't look good."

Jian Yao found herself unable to express any emotions, and could only sigh.

"Apart from that . . ." Bo Jinyan continued, "Tong Sheng's skeleton still has not been found. Moreover, because of the long lapse in time, repeated cleaning, and the fact that the bloodstains, from different people, combined to a high degree with each other when splashed on the walls, the conditions for a definite identification were severely compromised. None of her DNA was extracted from the bloodstains. No CCTV picture of Ming Lan abducting her has been found, either. Therefore, theoretically, we cannot yet conclude that Tong Sheng was abducted by them."

"But . . . it's definitely them!" Jian Yao said.

Bo Jinyan did not look happy. "Zhao Xia died and Min Lan committed suicide. The only person in the know left is Ming Yue, who is now insane. Although we now have evidence, and the Yao family is under the greatest suspicion, we don't have any definitive evidence. Thus, we are unable to close the case. There are two possibilities. One, Tong Sheng was the most beautiful among the girls, and she may have had a different significance for Yao Yuange. Consequently, her bones are hidden elsewhere. Two, Tong Sheng's abductor was someone entirely different."

Jian Yao bit her lips and did not speak. The scene just before Xie Min's death suddenly surfaced in her mind. Although Xie Min was another murderer, and therefore hateful, she was also an extremely pitiful mother. Could Xie Min's final wish before her death not be realised? Unless Ming Yue returned to her senses and told them the location of the burial site, wouldn't Tong Sheng's case be perpetually unresolved?

At this point, Bo Jinyan said, "I will find Tong Sheng."

His tone was light yet firm as he declared the promise he had made to a criminal before her death. Jian Yao was startled.

Of course, after a relatively long period of time, due to Bo Jinyan's perseverance, the local police finally located Tong Sheng's skeleton at a more secluded spot on the mountain. At the conclusion of the case, they buried her skeleton with her mother, Xie Min. This is another story.

At the present moment, both of them were silent for a period of time. Jian Yao said, "I still have one area of doubt. Although Xie Min had suffered long-term psychological stress, what on earth did Fu Wei do to trigger her off, such that she would kill him first? After all, apart from his lecherous nature, there doesn't seem to be anything at all connecting him to the entire situation."

Bo Jinyan smiled indifferently.

"My skills in criminal psychology come into full force when faced with the totally unrelated events that the world throws up," he said. "Do you still remember the hint I gave to you alone the very first time we entered the Yao household?"

Jian Yao pondered for a moment. Then, it came to her.

That day, the two of them had acted upon the plan they had discussed with Fang Qing and pretended to 'lose their way' in the Yao compound. As a result, they had met with an extremely ferocious dog, and also met Zhao Xia and Tong Min for the first time.

Jian Yao thought for a bit, and her face flushed a little. She nodded and said, "Yes. At that time, you said, 'You have already become a part of me. So, if you have any thoughts or opinions that you are not sure about, just tell me alone.'"

She looked at him with a pair of bright eyes, and Bo Jinyan also gazed deeply into her eyes. In that split second, both of them felt unexpectedly carefree and relaxed. Oh, he thought, he was once again overwhelmed by emotions. However, he merely smiled coolly, and said, "I'm very happy. You've remembered my declaration very clearly. However, when we're investigating a case, we had best be a little more focused."

" . . . Did you say it or not?!" huffed Jian Yao.

At this, Bo Jinyan pursed his lips. A cold expression slowly appeared in his eyes.

"What I said was, 'In the investigation records, a few, very small events, in some mysterious manner, have become interconnected. The truth of the situation that has been concealed by death and time is now smiling mockingly at me.'"

Translator: Ting, shl

Translation Checker:

Editor/ Proofreader: shl