The Yu Brothers’ Case Book - Chapter 6

S1: Book 1: Chapter 6

His urge to laugh quickly faded.

The two thugs had been quite merciless with their strikes.

“Why are you here?”

Yu Yin asked as he waited to be treated at the hospital. Yu had supported him all the way there.

Yu took out a notebook and wrote a few words down on it before turning it around towards Yu Yin: “There was a bank robbery. The injured people were sent here. Tong came to collect some information, and I followed. I wanted to look at the arcade centre too.” At this point, he also passed over the piece of paper with the address written on it.

When Yu Yin read the words on the paper, he immediately blew up and ripped the piece of paper. “Bastard! You want to go to the arcade centre? Do you have any idea what kind of place that is! Over my dead body are you going in there while underage!” Fortunately, the thugs had only been targeting him today. What if they had hired more people to beat me up?

The sky-shattering roar that suddenly burst out startled all the other waiting patients nearby. They hurriedly changed their seats, trying to sit as far away as possible, afraid of accidentally getting involved into trouble.

Yu covered his ears and turned his face away as he was yelled at, showing no reaction at all as he remained calm and laid-back.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. You brat…Fuck! It hurts!” The yelling had jostled his injuries again, the pain so intense that Yu Yin couldn’t help but grimace, his face twisting sinisterly.

A nurse that had been drawn over by the noise saw Yu Yin’s eruption affect the other patients. As a result, the nurse walked over to frown disapprovingly at the source of disruption. “Mister, this is a hospital. I must ask you to lower your voice. If you continue to cause trouble, we will have to ask you to leave.”

Yu Yin fiercely glared at the imp next to him.

The nurse saw that Yu Yin likely would not continue making a ruckus, and left to continue working after giving the warning.

“It’s all your fault!” Yu Yin quietly hissed at the little demon next to him.

Yu turned his head away, paying absolutely no heed to Yu Yin.

Yu’s movement drew Yu Yin’s attention to the whistle again. His dad had likely been afraid of Yu running into trouble while alone, and had given the boy the whistle as Yu Tong was busy with work. If something did happen, the whistle could draw others over.

Yu Yin suddenly thought: Speaking of which, does Dad know that this brat secretly ran out here?

With this realisation, he immediately tried to give a call. However, when he took his cellphone out, he discovered that it had broken from being dropped while attacked in the alley. The screen was pitch-black.

Damn it all, now I need to pay a maintenance fee for the phone too! It’s all those people’s faults. They’d better not bump into me again, or else I’ll demand repayment from them one way or another.

“I’ll go use the public phone to make a call. You stay here and don’t wander around.” Yu Yin rummaged through his pockets and fished out a few coins. He then stood up so that he could go and contact his father.

But just then, there was a light tug on the corner of his clothing.

Yu pointed at the lit number on the screen. Yu Yin compared it to the waiting slip in the hand and noticed that it was already his turn.

“Alright, I’ll go and see the doctor first. You just be good and stay put right here,” he instructed. With the slip in his hand, he pushed open the door and walked into the treatment room.

The young, male doctor appeared to be only in his twenties. A female nurse stood next to the doctor as he was leisurely flipping through some forms. When he noticed Yu Yin walk in, he put his things down and said, “Take a seat here.” The doctor pointed at the patient’s seat in front of him and began to fill out forms as he asked, “What is the issue?”

“I was ganged up on just now on the street,” was Yu Yin’s deadpan response.

The air was silent for a second.

So silent that one could even hear the breeze coming from the air conditioning vent.

The nurse could not help but rub her arms. Today was truly a bit cold.

“Student, have you taken any drugs today?” The doctor seriously asked.

“I took painkillers.” Yu had gotten painkillers from somewhere and handed some to him earlier. However, they were absolutely useless, and he was starting to suspect if it had just been cold medicine.

“Excellent, a clear consciousness.” The doctor swiftly wrote down along string of English before turning around to say, “Please lay down on the bed there and pull your clothes up so that I can take a look first.”

Yu Yin glanced to his side to see the nurse preparing a treatment bed.

Honestly speaking, he did not really want to lay down, because a transparent little girl was currently jumping on the bed.

“Is something the matter?” The doctor noticed that Yu Yin did not make any move, and stopped his writing to add, “If you’re afraid that lying down will hurt, you can just stay in your seat and pull your clothes up higher, and I can check it that way first.”

“Ok.” Yu Yin nodded and straightforwardly removed his top entirely.

The doctor narrowed his eyes.

From the reflection in the mirror across from him, Yu Yin was also able to see the horrible bruises covering his body. The more serious ones were even split open and beading with a few droplets of blood…Those damn thugs were seriously ruthless! If I find out who they are, it won’t be as simple as beating them up in return!

“Student, are you sure this isn’t from domestic violence?” The doctor surveyed the bruises and cuts all over his body, then took the medicine from the nurse to perform basic treatment. “If you were ganged up on, you need to notify the police. Quite a few people have been sent here after being ganged up on recently, I’ve heard that it has to do with the arcade centre nearby.”

“Oh, got it.” There were two cops at home, he could report the incident as soon as he went back. “There are often people getting beaten up around the arcade centre?” Yu Yin automatically asked after catching the doctor’s comment.

The doctor paused, as if suddenly having recalled something and chuckled dryly, “It’s a secret, a secret. I didn’t say anything at all. Just don’t go hanging around there, that’s this doctor’s advice to you. Trust me, you’ll live longer that way. That’s just about all there is to it.”

Yu Yin pondered over the doctor’s words and began to build suspicions towards the arcade centre.

If people from that place are often sent here, then…

He suddenly recalled seeing a large number of illegal machines inside.

Wait, but logically speaking, that kind of business shouldn’t be acting like this on their own territory, or else it would they would easily attract the attention of the police, right? From Yu Yin’s knowledge, the typical action would be to drag these people off to other places to discipline them.

Then why…are there often people getting beaten up near the arcade centre?

Because the staff members are all youngsters?

Yu Yin thought back to everything he had seen inside the game centre, including Wang Hong. Nearly all of them were youths around Yu Yin’s age, or only a few years older.

What does that indicate?

“Mr. Yan, your substitution shift is almost over. Another doctor will come and switch with you soon,” the nurse softly reminded after noting the clock on the wall.

“Alright, I understand.” The doctor nodded and continued performing treatment. “Student, your injuries are quite severe. It may be difficult to sleep for the next few nights, and suddenly waking up in the middle of the night from the pain will be expected. That just means you forgot to take painkillers before going to sleep. Also, did the people who beat you up know the Iron Palm technique? There’s even handprints here.”

“Handprints?” Yu Yin stared blankly. “What handprints?”

“Miss Wang, could you grab two mirrors over?”

The nurse quickly brought over two round mirrors. The young doctor propped one up carefully, then passed the other one over to Yu Yin. “There, on your right.”

Yu Yin squinted at the reflection in the mirror. As he studied it closely, he was shocked to discover that there was indeed a bruise on the right side of his back that very closely resembled a palm, and the bruising was horrendous.

“These seem to be a bit older. Were you ganged up on twice?” The doctor inspected it for a moment before asking in an odd tone, “Student, you really shouldn’t provoke martial arts experts. If you keep getting struck by the Iron Palm technique, you’ll end up in the ER instead of slowly waiting in this ward.”

“Yeah, okay.” Yu Yin had a general idea of where the handprint had come from. During the past few days, aside from being ganged up on, there had also been He Mu Yan’s incident that night…

“I’ll prescribe some medicine for you. Make sure to redress your injuries every two days, and if there is any swelling or the pain continues, remember to come back for another visit.” The young doctor generously scribbled down a long chain of words. “Do you need a medical claim?”

“Yes please, thanks.”

Just as the treatment was about to end, the door was suddenly pushed wide open.

“Ah Si, you…”

Then, frozen silence.

“Hi Dad.”

Yu Yin waved his hand, very naturally greeting the person that walked in.

The person standing at the entrance stared blankly for a moment before remembering to close the door. “Ah Yin? Didn’t you go see Ah Guan?” Yu Tong narrowed his eyes and frowned as he immediately noticed the injuries covering Yu Yin’s body. “Who did you fight with!”

“I was ganged up on by a bunch of strangers while on the street.” Yu Yin shrugged helplessly. It wasn’t like he had wanted to get beaten up.

“Go and write up a record later. Xiao Yu is outside, bring him home first.” Yu Tong then swiftly spun around to face the young doctor, his tone now completely professional. “Ah Si, you didn’t even inform us before running off on your own. I’ve been urgently looking for you to give me a test form. I need to send it out immediately.”

“I just happened to see you on the phone in the laboratory, so I figured I could come over here and cover a shift for half an hour to earn some money for drinks.” The doctor shrugged and tapped his pen on the table as he said, “It’s hard to earn even the funds for drinks these days; if I don’t earn some small commissions, I’ll die of thirst.”

“If you die of thirst, you’ll be the greatest joke of the year,” Yu Tong immediately retorted as he pushed his glasses up.

“Sigh, don’t you know that jokes are the easiest to turn into reality?” The doctor continued to reply as he put his pen away.

Yu Yin raised an eyebrow at how familiarly the conversation was. “Dad, do you two know each other?” Weird, I’m pretty close to all of Dad and Uncle’s friends, how come I’ve never seen this person before?

Yu Tong turned around, a faint smile on his face. “Oh, let me introduce you. This person here is a forensic investigator from outside the county, Yan Si.” Yu Tong paused for a moment, thinking over what to say before finally continuing, “Wang, the forensic investigator we’ve been working with recently, went abroad to further his studies and will not return for another year or so. As a result, this person came last minute as support under the introduction from another police station.”

“Hi, nice to meet you, student that was ganged up on.” Yan Si stuck his hands in his pockets and grinned. “Who would’ve guessed that you’d be Mr. Yu’s son? You two don’t look alike at all. I’ll be in your care from now on.”

“Likewise.” Yu Yin glanced at the doctor, automatically ignoring the sentence that was not part of the greeting. “Dr. Yan…you’re a forensic investigator?” His gaze locked onto the white doctor’s coat.

“I haven’t officially reported in yet. I had some free time today so I was looking for people to chat with, and just took a shift while I was at it.” Yan Si tugged at his white coat, finding nothing wrong with it. “Don’t look at me like that. I have five internationally recognised licenses, you know. Taking a shift isn’t illegal.”

“Oh?” Five?

For a moment, Yu Yin really wanted to ask what exactly these five licenses were.

“Alright, the chit-chat ends here. Ah Yin, once you file a report, go home and get some rest. Since there’s a robbery case today, neither I nor your uncle will be back for dinner. Make sure you and Xiao Yu eat properly.” Yu Tong appeared to be quite rushed, and he dragged Yan Si outside, ignoring how the latter still wanted to talk more.

“Yeah, I know!”

Yu Yin accepted the medical form from the nurse and walked out as well. The sign in front of the treatment room behind him immediately changed to say: “On Break”. It seemed that he was the last patient for this period.

The number of patients waiting outside had significantly decreased.

Yu Yin looked around.

Didn’t I tell that brat to wait outside earlier!

Where did he run off to?

“Yu!” He circled around the area, but did not see any trace of the little demon.

Crap, don’t tell me he really did run off to the arcade centre!

Just as he was about to return to the game centre, he felt a light pull on the corner of his clothes. He lowered his head to see the transparent little girl that had been jumping on the treatment bed earlier now smiling at him.

“I don’t have time right now, go play somewhere else.” Yu Yin replied with little patience.

The little girl giggled and raised a finger to point at the staircase.

“Upstairs?” When he looked down to ask further, he discovered that the little girl had already vanished completely.

Upstairs?

Although he was somewhat suspicious, Yu Yin still began to walk up the stairs. After a few flights, he spotted the imp that had secretly run off standing in the corner of the third level. “Yu!” You naughty brat!

Yu, who was standing on the platform, immediately raised a finger to gesture for him to be quiet.

Yu Yin quietly walked up the steps and grumbled in a low voice next to Yu’s ear, “What the hell are you doing up here?”

Yu pointed at the staircase above them, and glanced up before giving Yu Yin a look.

Yu Yin had no idea what Yu was trying to pull. When he listened closely, he heard two voices coming from above. One was very familiar; he had just recently heard it but could not recall who it belonged to at the moment.

“Wonder how long Ah Guan will take to wake up.”

“Who knows? Boss wants us to keep a close watch here now, so we should just do exactly that. Also, you’d best be more careful. Don’t forget that Boss has your home address too. If you don’t work properly, you might just end up like the person from last time.”

“…I know, but Ah Mu already…”

“Just shut up!”

After sharply interrupting the other person with a shout, the silence lasted for a long while.

“I know.”

After agreeing, the other person’s voice quietly responded.

“Don’t bring up Ah Guan and Ah Mu anymore,” the person that had interrupted softened his tone slightly. “You know that Boss would blow up if he heard about those things right now. We’re all still held in his clutches, so we need to be more careful.”

“Mm.”

“That’s just how it is, so don’t speak out of line anymore.”

“Alright…”

The pattering of footsteps grew distant.

The weaker voice had sounded quite familiar, but Yu Yin just could not recall where he had heard it before.

Once everything quieted down, a figure appeared at the staircase, walking down. Yu Yin and Yu, unable to flee in time, ended up directly facing the other person.

It was a blonde-haired youth.

When Yu Yin first met Wang Hong, there had been four other people.

He Mu Yan (who had already died), Zhao Yu Heng (who Yu Yin only suddenly recalled after seeing him earlier), a red-haired person (that Yu Yin did not know the name of), and finally this blonde-haired youth standing before him.

“Ah, aren’t you Ah Guan’s classmate?” The blonde youth instantly recognised Yu Yin as well. “You came to see Ah Guan again?”

“Yeah. You too?” Yu Yin smiled, and casually added, “I just visited the arcade centre. I heard the news of Ah Mu’s death yesterday, so I had dropped by to see if there was anything I could do to help.”

“Ah Mu, huh.” The youth let out a cold, humourless chuckle. “Who knows what he was thinking? Actually killing himself was pretty idiotic.”

Yu Yin did not continue the topic, shifting the subject instead. “By the way, I still haven’t asked you for your name.”

“Oh, I’m Zhu Yi, you can just call me Ah Yi.” Zhu Yi candidly answered, “I’m just like Ah Guan and the others – I’m also a staff member at the arcade centre.”

“I’m Yu Yin, everyone I know calls me Ah Yin.” Yu Yin also introduced himself. “You can call the one next to me Ah Yu.” He pointed at Yu standing off to one side.

“Hehe, you should come by and visit more when you’re free. We’re quite short on people now, so I could help you get a spot if you want a part-time job, especially since we’ve lost a few members recently. The salary’s pretty good.”

Zhu Yi is quite a straightforward character. This was Yu Yin’s first impression.

However, Yu Yin was pretty sure that Wang Hong would be unwilling to give him a spot, especially after today’s visit.

“Oh, right, there was a cool Dàgē with red hair last time too. How come he’s not here today?” Yu Yin leaned against the staircase railing as he chatted, casually commenting, “Since I saw you all together last time, I figured you guys always moved together.”

“You mean Li Yu? I have no idea either. He’s been missing for a few days now, who knows where he ran off to fool around. That guy does this often.” Zhu Yi was clearly used to this already. He snorted, “He’s not easy to get along with. If you spot him again, it’s best to keep your distance. He sometimes flares up when he sees someone that’s unpleasing to his eyes. He’s already caused quite a few incidents, and since he’s too oblivious to back off, he’s drawn the attention of the cops to the arcade centre recently.”

“Ah, I see. Thanks.” Yu Yin nodded, silently committing all this to memory. “Ah, we still need to go up and check on Ah Guan. Talk to you later.”

“Alright.” Zhu Yi waved and began to descend down the stairs.

Yu Yin furrowed his brows as he watched the other person leave.

Based on their conversation just now, it sounded as if they had come to monitor Ah Guan’s recovery status. But why would they be doing so? Logically speaking, even if Ah Guan was a part-time worker at the arcade centre, was it worth wasting time doing such a thing because of an unexpected car accident?

Yu tugged at him, snapping Yu Yin out of his thoughts.

“Whatever, let’s head home first. Staying around here won’t help me come to any conclusions.” When Yu Yin remembered that he still need to submit a file [for the attack], his head started to hurt.

Seriously, why in the world did they have to gang up on me for no reason!

Yu nodded and followed him down the stairs.

As Yu Yin was walking, he continued to contemplate the relationship between these people.

Wait, was that voice earlier a bit like Zhao Yu Heng’s?

“Shouldn’t Zhao Yu Heng by working at the arcade centre right now? What did he suddenly come to the hospital for…?”

Just as Yu Yin was questioning the other’s purpose for the visit, a shadow came out of nowhere and dashed past his feet.

The leopard cat crossed over his feet and then turned around to look at him from the ground of the first level, its penetrating gaze seemingly warning him not to meddle. After pausing for just that one second, the leopard cat instantly disappeared off to the right.

Instinctively knowing that something would happen again, Yu Yin abandoned his slow trek down the stairs, instead quickly sliding down the banister to jump off at the first level and run off to the right.

This was outside the hospital’s main entrance. As he chased after the cat, he just happened to spot Zhu Yi’s retreating figure.

The leopard cat waved its tail as it slowly followed Zhu Yi. It then turned its head to shoot another glare at Yu Yin, causing goosebumps to form all over his body—a premonition of disaster.

“Ah Yi! Wait!” Without even thinking, Yu Yin blurted out these words, not caring about how the cat would react.

Zhu Yi stopped a few steps away from the hospital entrance and turned around in confusion. “Did you need something else?”

A second later, the extremely loud screech of brakes came from outside the hospital walls.

Just one step away, a cement truck had urgently slammed on the brakes, whizzing past and skidding for another hundred metres or so before finally coming to a stop.

A single step’s difference.

Zhu Yi’s expression paled as he watched the scene. If Yu Yin had not stopped him just now, the cement trunk might not have simply travelled a hundred metres, but dragging his corpse along with it.

The leopard cat let out an indignant howl at Yu Yin.

“Are you alright?”

Yu Yin quickly ran over to Zhu Yi. If he had called out to him just a second later, this possibly questionable person might have died right in front of Yu Yin’s eyes. He glanced around, but the leopard cat had already vanished entirely.

“I-I’m fine.” Zhu Yi’s face was white from shock, and it took him a while to regain his senses. People were starting gather outside to get a look at the cement truck’s mishap.

The cement truck had come to a stop a decent distance away from the hospital, leaving long, terrifying marks on the ground from the sharp braking. From this, one could tell just how close the situation had been.

“Did you do something bad?” Yu Yin frowned. If the leopard cat had jumped onto Zhu Yi, there was definitely an issue somewhere.

Could it also be related to Lin Xiu Jing?

Yu Yin had the sinking feeling that there wasn’t much time left.

What exactly did the cat’s appearances represent?

Zhu Yi started, then immediately shook his head in denial. “What are you talking about? I was nearly run over just now. What are you trying to ask!” Once his mind cleared, he threw up his guard, no longer as friendly as before.

“Listen, He Mu Yan once came looking for me and told me a bit about…Lin Xiu Jing.” Yu Yin closely monitored the other’s reaction as he probed, “Don’t tell me you have no idea.”

“He-he said what?!” Zhu Yi instantly flared up in response. “Ah Mu, that bastard, if you’re going to die, don’t drag others down with you! Just go die by yourself!”

He definitely knows something!

“What do you mean by that?” Yu Yin immediately pressed, “You’re also related to Lin Xiu Jing’s matter too, aren’t you! You’d better say it now, or else who knows how you’ll end up dying!” As he seemed on the verge of grasping a clue, a chill crawled down his spine.

“So annoying! Jing has nothing to do with me, I don’t know anything!” Zhu Yi tried to escape as he burst out angrily, “Cut the bullshit about all this. Move aside!”

“You’re lying!” Yu Yin quickly grabbed the other by the shoulder. “Do you have any idea how complicated this matter is now? If you don’t hurry up and talk, you could also…”

“If you don’t want to be forcefully shut up, you should just mind your own business!” Zhu Yi ripped Yu Yin’s hand away and furiously shot him a glare before spitting out, “You’d better watch yourself!” He then stalked away.

“Zhu…”

As he was about to call the other person to stop, Yu Yin suddenly felt a burst of pain from his leg. He lowered his head to see the leopard cat viciously biting his leg, its sharp teeth pierced through the denim pants.

“Get lost!” He shook the leopard cat off so that he could catch up to Zhu Yi. But he had only managed to take one step before he froze.

Just then, a scream rang out from outside.

“Watch out!”

“Get out of the way…!”

Time seemed to slow as the scene unfolded before his eyes.

He saw Zhu Yi, who had left the hospital grounds, standing still with eyes as wide as saucers in shock, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

And in that moment, an enormous shadow crashed into Zhu Yi. The slowed down movements could not be any more distinct.

The cement truck that had already come to a stop suddenly slid back in reverse, ramming into Zhu Yi who was standing behind, and then dragging him underneath the vehicle. The living human body burst open like a cheap fruit. Carried by the momentum, the cement truck continued to drag the body, coming to a stop only after colliding into the hospital walls.

With a tremendous bang, a large hole formed on the hospital wall. Blood splattered everywhere, spreading like blossoms, a sight that nobody could dare to look at. Zhu Yi, who had been crushed, lay on the ground. The lower half of his body was a mutilated mess. Aside from the blood freely gushing out and the shredded flesh, there were also horrifying solids oozing out.

The colour of blood…was endless.

Yu Yin’s entire body went cold.

It’s impossible to escape.

That was how he knew that the situation was more complicated than it seemed.

The person involved was spasming on the ground, eyes wide and staring blankly at the sky.

“Hang in there, someone will be here in a minute to help you!” Yu Yin quickly arrived at the person’s side, and after close inspection, took his jacket off to cover the crushed lower half of the body so that it would not get pierced by any more stray shards.

Zhu Yi’s eyes remained unblinking, the pupils gradually expanding.

There were multiple people in the background screaming, “Call ER now!”

Zhu Yi opened his mouth, and the blood gushed out. A faint, weak voice came out from the trembling lips.

“Jing…Jing…really…really wasn’t killed by me…”

Then, everything suddenly stopped.

With eyes still open, Zhu Yi’s movements ceased completely.

His pupils dilated, then came to a standstill and no longer showed any response.

Yu Yin pressed fingers against the neck. There was no pulse or sign of breathing.

He subconsciously looked up and saw a long-haired female standing behind the crowd of onlookers. Her black hair covered her face, and her tattered clothing was full of old bloodstains and dirt.

She slowly lifted her head to show a white, swollen face with distinctly visible veins. Her ash-coloured eyes bulged out, and she had various wounds all over her rotting skin that would no longer bleed again.

The leopard cat paced around her feet, its meowing particularly ear-piercing amidst the noise of the crowd.

Those turbid, ash-coloured eyes locked onto Yu Yin.

A victorious grin.