Stepping out of the interrogation room, the first person I wanted to see was He Bailing. I would no longer call her He Xiaoyu.
Knowing I had solved this case, my sister also felt immensely proud of me, though in reality, it was the result of our collective effort.
After this, my sister officially joined the Punishment of Sin group, with a formal position. He Jinghui, though not joining, reached an agreement to assist us and promised not to disappear suddenly again.
This put my mind at ease. I had already discussed it with the clan leader. Can't you be more professional?
This day, my sister and I came to our father's grave.
For some reason, the sky above the police cemetery was always shrouded in a layer of haze, as if mourning the fallen martyrs.
My sister and I knelt before our father. Facing the extremely pale, yet still smiling, memorial portrait, neither of us felt grief, because the mission was accomplished!
That's right! We had finally fulfilled our father's wish and solved the 115 drug trafficking case!
"Dad, Mom, you can finally rest in peace! I hope you are still happy in that world! Eternally happy!"
Actually, my mother's remains were also here. They were buried together after their deaths. Having endured all hardships together in life, they were now like birds of a feather in death.
I don't know if it was my imagination, but at this moment, I actually saw a crystal tear fall from my father's memorial portrait. This tear slid deep into the earth, nourishing the human world.
At this moment, the sky suddenly cleared after the rain. Bright sunlight streamed onto my sister and me. We looked up at the red sun, deeply inhaling the fresh air around us.
A month later, Ma Biao, the police officer who had introduced himself earlier, came to us by reputation. Naturally, I wouldn't let talent slip away. Although he couldn't join the Punishment of Sin group, it was fine for him to be in the criminal investigation team.
He said, "Regardless, Deputy Chief He, from now on, if you need anything, I'll always help. I'm generally average in other areas, but I do have some skill in identification!"
"Oh? Then I shall look forward to it. I hope you can make significant contributions to criminal investigation."
"Alright, Deputy Chief He, I will definitely work hard. I'll be going out now."
"Okay, keep it up! I have high hopes for you. You have great talent in this field!"
"Thank you, Deputy Chief He, for your praise."
After Ma Biao left, I sat alone in the office, lost in thought. I took a sip of coffee, and my mind didn't seem to have felt so relaxed. Perhaps it was because an important task was completed. I decided to let everyone rest for a while.
Of course, I also understood that although the 115 drug trafficking case was solved, there would be many more challenges waiting for us. After all, this time, the organization would likely become even more frenzied. We had eliminated one of their important sources of income.
But that was a matter for the future. That day, after work, I returned to my police dormitory, the apartment in that complex. Liu Yuning was already there. I thought she had gone somewhere else today, but it turned out she had come home to cook for me. I wondered if her cooking skills were still the same as before.
When we ate, He Xin was also with us. But now, there were two more people by our side: my sister and her master.
Eating together, five people, made the family incredibly warm. Even though we all liked different dishes, as long as we were together, it was the happiest.
Such peaceful times were rare. After eating, we wanted to return to the courtyard house to enjoy the bright sunlight in the courtyard. That was also when we were happiest.
Knowing that my sister hadn't returned to pay respects to our grandfather since her return to the ancestral clan, we all drove back there after dinner.
As soon as we arrived, my sister and I entered a阁楼 (ge lou - attic/pavilion). Our grandfather's memorial tablet was placed here. I hadn't been back for some time, and it was time to pay respects to the elder. We prepared incense and offerings. Facing the dust-covered memorial tablet, we cleaned the place together, removing dust from the offering table and wiping the tablet and incense burner. As we knelt down, my sister clasped her hands together in deep emotion and suddenly closed her profound eyes, saying, "Grandpa, we're back! I'm sorry. Due to certain circumstances before, I had to conceal my identity. I wasn't actually being chased, but I didn't want my brother to remember this. I knew he couldn't bear it at that time. But this time, he remembered it himself. It's unavoidable. So, let this matter develop naturally. Everything is by fate."
I knelt beside her. Then she kowtowed heavily on the floor in front of us, and I quickly followed. We kowtowed continuously, almost as if we didn't feel the pain in our foreheads. Our nerves were numb, or perhaps the grief and longing in our hearts made us forget everything. At that moment, time seemed to freeze, everything was fixed in the trajectory of this moment in space and time...
After the memorial rites were completed, I gave my sister a room and told her that from now on, this was her place and she could return anytime. She smiled calmly. I don't know what was going on then, but I noticed she seemed a little lost, which made me unable to help but ask, "Sister, are you alright?"
My sister said with slight embarrassment, "I'm fine, I'm fine. You go rest."
Despite her saying so, I still felt she seemed a little different. Could it be because she saw Grandpa again, so...
It was time to let her calm down on her own. I left her room and returned to mine. This time, Liu Yuning and He Xin didn't come back. It wasn't because of work, but because they didn't want to disturb us.
In the evening, my sister didn't come out to eat. I guessed she was tired and sleeping. Seeing that it was getting late, I went to bed.
Deep in the night, I don't know why, but I seemed to hear strange sounds from the adjacent room. However, I was sleeping very soundly and couldn't get up. At the same time, I thought it must be my sister getting up to use the restroom, nothing strange. Besides, what could happen to her? I chuckled bitterly in my dream and continued to sleep.
In the early morning, I sat up and stretched. Another good day. The originally hazy gray sky, which had just rained, had now turned azure blue. Leaving my room, I planned to wake my sister up and have her return to the provincial department with me to continue our work.
However, after knocking on her room door several times, there was no response.
I became curious. My sister wouldn't usually sleep in; she absolutely wouldn't. I remembered she liked to get up early to practice swordplay. Yet, after knocking several times, I received no response, which made me extremely curious. I couldn't help but want to push the door open, but at this moment, the room door opened by itself.