Teacher Wang Ren said she couldn't teach me about the higher realms, only share what she knew and had seen in her time, leaving me to understand the peak of a schemer's mastery on my own.
I listened as Teacher Wang Ren recounted events from 1989, just like a serialized story. The setting was this very Wende Courtyard. Spring was in full bloom, and it had been about two months since the execution of the unseen executioner at Caishikou. Old Mr. Wende appeared increasingly frail and aged, sitting in a grand armchair by the entrance, leaning on his cane, watching the blooming peach blossoms in the courtyard.
At that moment, Wang Ren returned from the market with a live chicken. Seeing the expression on Old Mr. Wende's face as he sat in the armchair, she let out a helpless smile. "Who are you angry with this time?"
"Who else could it be?"
"You really are... sigh~ It's better when some people aren't around. Senior Brother takes care of you every day, yet you can never stand him."
"He is foolish."
Teacher Wang Ren didn't respond to that, instead calling out, "Xiao Shi, come kill the chicken."
Hearing no movement from the east wing, Teacher Wang Ren wondered, "What time is it? He's already run off again."
"Probably went looking for food," Old Mr. Wende chimed in from his chair.
"Xiao Shi has been here for over a year, and he's so undisciplined. Don't you care about him? He just sulks with Senior Brother all day. Isn't that favoritism?"
"Xiao Shi is intelligent; he understands with just a hint."
"He's a complete glutton. I haven't seen any intelligence in him."
Old Mr. Wende tapped the ground with his cane. "That's because you are foolish."
"Fine, we're all foolish. I won't talk about your precious last disciple anymore. How should we eat this chicken? Stewed, or braised?"
"Just have your Senior Brother handle it."
Wang Ren smiled. "So it still comes down to my Senior Brother."
A while later, Senior Brother Zhang Si emerged from the south gate room, carrying a washbasin filled with the family's laundry. Seeing Wang Ren massaging Old Mr. Wende's back, he smiled. "Junior Sister, you're back."
"Mm, Senior Brother, I bought a chicken."
"I'll handle it later."
Just then, Li Jiu returned from outside with his easel, Gao Xiaojuan trailing behind him. "Paint me today!"
"No," Li Jiu replied coldly.
"In the nude."
Li Jiu stopped. "Will you?"
"Yes!"
"Then I still won't paint."
* * *
With a clang, the door opened. Cao Shi rushed back in. "Gao Xiaojuan, I brought you the Shandong dumplings you love!"
"I don't want them!"
"I already bought them!"
"I'll eat them if Li Jiu paints me."
Upon hearing this, Cao Shi yelled at the top of his lungs, "Li Jiu, give me some face!"
...
Watching from the side, Wang Ren furrowed her brow and muttered, "What kind of a household is this? There's no discipline at all. Li Jiu, Cao Shi, come out and kill the chicken."
Senior Brother Zhang Si, who was still hanging clothes, heard Wang Ren's call. "Don't call them. I'll handle it later."
"How can that be? You're the Senior Brother, not a servant in this household."
Wang Ren, angered, was about to go inside and drag Li Jiu and Cao Shi out when Old Mr. Wende exclaimed loudly, "Third Girl, just let your Senior Brother handle it. Oh, and since you're back today, you and your Senior Brother will go see the doctor this afternoon."
Hearing Old Mr. Wende say this, Zhang Si quickly chimed in, "Master, I'm not going. I'm not sick. I still have to take care of you this afternoon."
Wang Ren, reading the situation, saw that Old Mr. Wende was about to get angry again and quickly said, "Yes, yes, we'll go after lunch."
After speaking, Wang Ren went into the east wing and called the three who had been evading the task to help out. Some killed the chicken, others boiled water.
The Shandong fried chicken lunch went relatively smoothly. In the afternoon, Wang Ren accompanied Senior Brother Zhang Si to see the doctor. Wang Ren was now married and living in Beijing, with her youngest daughter already in elementary school. She felt a deep sense of gratitude towards Senior Brother Zhang Si. Years ago, her husband's parents had opposed their marriage. Although Wang Ren had separated from her husband, who came from a scholarly family, she had given birth to their child and raised him alone.
At that time, Li Jiu and Cao Shi had not yet arrived, and she had only been in Beijing for two years. It was Senior Brother Zhang Si who had taken care of her, enabling her to raise her son single-handedly. Later, after her husband's parents passed away, they met by chance. Her husband then learned they had a son. He was also an unusual man; because his parents disliked Wang Ren, he hadn't married her. However, he hadn't married anyone else because of his parents. He balanced filial piety with love.
After they reconnected, with no obstacles from his deceased parents, they registered their marriage. They later had a daughter, and their marriage was fulfilling.
...
Although she had married and moved out, Wang Ren had not left Wende Courtyard. The west wing remained hers. Even when Li Jiu and Cao Shi came to study, they were accommodated in a renovated east wing. This year, when Gao Xiaojuan visited, Wang Ren, as a hostess, had given up her west wing to her.
Perhaps because she was married, or because she was Old Mr. Wende's only female disciple, she was the only one who dared to express dissatisfaction with her master. As part of the same family, why always favor the younger ones?
...
Today, Wang Ren accompanied her senior brother to see the doctor. Because of Old Mr. Wende, her senior brother rarely left the courtyard. It didn't seem so at home, but upon coming out, Wang Ren realized her senior brother was also approaching sixty. Such a person was still diligently taking care of this entire household.
Approaching sixty, Zhang Si was physically fit due to his martial arts practice, but Wang Ren knew his mental state had always been problematic. Her senior brother suffered from dissociative identity disorder; in the morning, he was a martial artist and cook, and in the afternoon, a learned scholar.
This time, they were going to a place called Dongyang Private Psychological Clinic. Wang Ren had accompanied her senior brother Zhang Si to this clinic three times, and Zhang Si himself had only been five times, showing his reluctance. However, Old Mr. Wende insisted that Zhang Si seek treatment here.
Psychology!
Although the concept didn't exist then, Wang Ren knew that her master, having experienced the battlefields of World War II, was no stranger to psychology. She couldn't understand why her master didn't use his own psychological knowledge to treat her senior brother's dissociative identity disorder, instead opting for this clinic, which had previously been a veterinary hospital.
This was because Wang Ren herself was a leader in psychology, and therefore, she always harbored some doubts about Duan Shan's medical methods. Duan Shan was a graduate of a vocational school, which was considered a good education for a doctor in that era. He had previously specialized in cardiology and neurology, which was not unusual. However, Duan Shan's specialization was Western medicine's cardiology and neurology. After leaving the hospital, he increasingly relied on acupuncture and herbal decoctions to treat psychological illnesses.
Wang Ren didn't know the treatment effects for others. But she believed that such a treatment method would be ineffective for her senior brother's dissociative personality. Yet, Old Mr. Wende persisted. Wang Ren didn't believe that something she couldn't comprehend, her master would also fail to understand. Therefore, she had been diligently trying to discover the aspect she was missing. Currently, she hadn't identified anything particularly special about Duan Shan's methods.
The entire journey, Senior Brother Zhang Si remained silent. Wang Ren knew he was reluctant to go to the psychological clinic but dared not defy his master's orders. Wang Ren sighed. "Senior Brother, I know about filial piety and respecting teachers, but you can't just not say a word. Master is an old man in his eighties, and even he can have his moments of confusion. Can't you just..."
"Junior Sister, precisely because Master is old, I cannot go against his wishes. Filial piety comes first in all things. Now that the world is at peace, the least I can do is ensure Master enjoys his twilight years."
Hearing this, Wang Ren sighed. This Senior Brother, it seemed, had only learned stubbornness from his master over thirty years.
As they spoke, their bus arrived at the stop. They disembarked and walked into Dongyang Private Psychological Clinic. After the reform and opening up, many new things had emerged, but psychological clinics were still uncommon.
Today, the place was different. The usually gentle, plump, smiling old doctor had been replaced by a young man in a brand new white coat. This young man had a middle part hairstyle, wore glasses, and looked refined and educated.
"Dr. Duan is not here?"
"My father has been taken away by the police. He is suspected of murdering my stepmother, Zhuang Jing."
This news stunned Wang Ren. Could the old doctor, who was always smiling, be a murderer?
Duan Shan had a young wife, everyone knew that. This wife was more than ten years younger than Duan Shan and not much older than Duan Shan's son, Duan Dongyang. A marriage between an old man and a young woman was something to be envied. How could such a thing have happened?
...
Wang Ren intended to go back, but Zhang Si said, "We know them. Since Doctor Duan is in trouble, let's help out. Wang Ren, why don't you go back first? Someone needs to pick up the child from school."
"It's alright. My husband works in a government office and gets off work early. He can pick her up. I'll go with you."
...
It wasn't until they arrived at the police station that they learned this case was related to a serial murder case being investigated by the first criminal investigation team and had been transferred to them. Because they knew Wang Zeyì from the first criminal investigation team, Wang Ren and Zhang Si hurried over.
Wang Zeyì, who was swamped with work, made time to see Zhang Si and Wang Ren when he heard they had come. Upon hearing Wang Ren ask about Duan Shan's case, Wang Zeyì looked troubled.
Wang Ren, observing his expression, asked, "Is it something you can't talk about?"
"Not exactly, it's just... this case is a bit long-drawn-out."
Zhang Si smiled. "Officer, you must be tired. I see a teahouse nearby. Why don't we have some tea and chat? You can also relax a bit."
Wang Zeyì looked embarrassed. "Old Mr. Wende is playing a trick on me, Senior Brother Zhang. Please don't tease me. Just call me Xiao Wang."
Wang Ren seized the opportunity. "Xiao Wang, let's go have some tea together. You won't refuse us, will you?"
"Of course, of course!"
...
The three of them entered the teahouse, ordered Jasmine tea, and began to talk slowly.
This was indeed an old case, twelve years in the making. Every spring, there was such an incident. The twelve victims ranged from old to young, male and female. The only commonality was that the perpetrator meticulously cleaned the scene and took the victim's hands.
This year's victim was Zhuang Jing. When the case was transferred to the first criminal investigation team, Wang Zeyì's colleagues were quite frustrated. This difficult case seemed designed to crush the police's confidence.
Unexpectedly, not long after the case was transferred, the killer surrendered.
The killer was Zhuang Jing's much older husband: Duan Shan.