To prevent them from grieving further, we waited behind them, offering silent comfort with our warmth. After an indeterminate amount of time, they seemed to sense our presence and gradually recovered, their sobs subsiding. They turned to look at us, and in that moment, the two sisters appeared identical...
However, Zhang Huihong’s pupils held a trace of cloudiness, a permanent stain from her past trauma. Beside her stood Li Zhiliang. He glanced at me, suggesting we should take her away for now, as hypnosis might be necessary later.
After we left the police cemetery, I apprehended the aunt who had been looking after Liu Yuning. While many might not understand my actions, this was a joint effort between Liu Yuning and myself. The aunt was unaware that her collusion with the Les club had been discovered. Liu Yuning had actually recovered long ago, and had merely been acting in front of her.
With the last member of the Les club apprehended, Xia Xiaoling officially joined the Punish Crime Squad. However, she brought someone else with her: Dao Zhiyong, a handwriting expert, whom I promptly assigned to the Document Examination Department.
And so, our Punish Crime Squad gained two more eccentrics.
One day, Dao Zhiyong entered my office. "Director He, these are two documents I've recently meticulously copied. Would you care to examine them?"
"Certainly, Zhiyong. Can you tell me about your family?"
"Certainly, Director He. Actually, my grandfather started learning document examination from his generation. In the past, without surveillance, fingerprints, or DNA technology, solving cases was quite difficult. However, with the aid of document examination, the police could identify certain culprits much faster. My father inherited this skill, and now it comes to my generation, and I'm also quite proficient in this area."
"That sounds interesting. Dao Zhiyong, you're a bit like me. My grandfather was actually a coroner back in the day..."
"I know. Your grandfather was that renowned coroner, wasn't he? No one in all of China doesn't know of him. And your father..."
"Yes. Your copying is quite good. Is this something document examination experts usually do?"
"Yes. Frequent copying allows us to greatly improve our ability to identify various handwriting styles. Although modern science offers many machines for assistance, a successful document examiner must possess an eye that can discern all nuances of ink, much like my own." Dao Zhiyong puffed himself up with a touch of arrogance, pointing to his eyes.
He resembled me in build, not muscular, with fair skin and somewhat rough hands. He looked rather handsome in his police uniform, with a buzz cut and thick, 300-degree glasses. Sometimes I wondered if his severe nearsightedness was a result of constantly scrutinizing documents. It must have been quite arduous.
However, I could tell he was very capable, so I said with anticipation, "I hope you can make a significant contribution to the police. I'm busy now, please excuse yourself!"
"Yes, Director He!" As he finished speaking, he produced a piece of betel nut and placed it on my desk. "Director He, have one!"
"This..." Before I could reply, he turned and left.
I managed a wry smile, picked up the betel nut, and put it in my mouth. It's said that people in the north are fond of this, their plant-based chewing gum. I found it quite palatable, and my stuffy nose immediately cleared up.
However, the sudden burst of stimulation made me cough a few times. I took a sip of water, and He Xin entered. I initially thought there was a new case, but she simply said, "Father, it's time for lunch, but I'm going out today!"
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at a restaurant near the provincial hall. The father and daughter sat together, eating steak. The meal was going well until, as we were finishing the last piece of steak, a commotion erupted nearby.
He Xin and I didn't hesitate. We left the restaurant and went outside. We found ourselves near a hospital, where a crowd was gathered, buzzing with discussion. Several family members were shouting, "What's going on here? We received word from the funeral home that my daughter wasn't dead, yet you declared her deceased! If we hadn't discovered it in time, she would have been cremated, do you know that?"
"That's right! You incompetent doctors! I'm going to sue you! You killed her, no, you almost killed my daughter! She's perfectly fine now, and I've already arranged for her to be transferred to another hospital!"
A couple was berating several doctors outside the hospital. This was our Jiahao Hospital in Fuming City, not far from the provincial hall. We had not expected to witness such a scene after a simple meal.
We approached the group and, displaying our police identification, revealed our identities. I used the Punish Crime Squad identification, as I didn't want everyone to know I was the director immediately.
Upon seeing the police arrive, the man said, "Officers, you've come at the right time! It's these incompetent doctors who almost killed my daughter!"
"Please calm down first. Tell us the specifics of the situation!" I said.
"The situation is this: a month ago, my daughter was admitted to the hospital due to heart problems. After a month of treatment, the day before yesterday, this Dr. Liang declared her dead and had us send the body to the funeral home. However, during the cremation process, my daughter actually sat up! The funeral home staff were terrified, but it proved my daughter wasn't dead. They notified us immediately, and we went to the funeral home to bring our daughter back. She looked quite lively at the time, and I was furious because Dr. Liang had told me she was dead!!"
Hearing the man's account, both He Xin and I were quite astonished. A dead person sitting up during cremation? There must have been some error in the hospital's diagnosis then, otherwise, how could such a thing happen?
I looked at Dr. Liang, who quickly explained, "No, Wu Bingqiu genuinely had no vital signs at the time! That was the result of the machine's readings. How can you shift the blame onto me?"
"A machine? Then as a doctor, wouldn't you check manually? Feel for a pulse, check the eyelids, and so on! I say, are you even a doctor? Are you some kind of self-taught doctor with no experience?" The woman also began to scold him at this point.