Chapter 55: Don’t Anger Lin Jiangye
The charred liquor bottle and the unusual traces left on the floor—both proved this wasn’t an ordinary fire.
Lin Jiangye remembered clearly: the child he’d rescued was only a little taller than his waist. Judging by the kid’s age, he was probably in elementary school.
Was that man planning to claim the child had been drinking at home—and that everything was the child’s fault?
An elementary schooler getting dead drunk at home and then starting a fire?
Was he trying to take advantage of the fact that the dead couldn’t speak, so he could dump all the blame onto the child?
Lin Jiangye’s lips twitched, and he was just about to let out a contemptuous laugh. But the moment he lifted his head and met Shang Fuyan’s eyes, he suddenly couldn’t laugh anymore.
“No way…”
Shang Fuyan pressed his lips together. He understood the absurdity of human nature far better than Lin Jiangye did—this kind of thing wasn’t impossible.
“But why would the police believe him?” Lin Jiangye felt that excuse was something any normal person would have trouble swallowing.
Yet this time, Shang Fuyan and the fire captain beside him both shook their heads.
“Because he’s the child’s biological father.”
Because the man was the child’s real father, and because he wasn’t home when the fire started, he wasn’t automatically treated as a suspect. Under that premise, the police would usually believe what the father said.
As long as they couldn’t find decisive evidence, the fire would become an “accident.”
“Even if we confirm the child was an excellent student at school, the father can still claim the kid drank or smoked at home. That’s very hard for us to verify—unless we can find proof the child is allergic to alcohol and therefore couldn’t drink.” The more Shang Fuyan spoke, the more he felt grateful.
If Lin Jiangye hadn’t been there, by the time they arrived, the child would already have been burned to death.
Then the local station might have handled it as a routine accidental death. Even if they had doubts, without evidence they couldn’t formally open a case.
And besides, if the victim was dead and the family members were also the suspects, even if they wanted to open a case, they would first have to locate the child’s mother. If the child had no mother, or if she refused to pursue it, they’d have to go through the procuratorate.
But to persuade the procuratorate to approve a case, they would need key evidence in hand.
All in all, if the child had died in the fire, the process of opening an investigation would have been extremely troublesome—unless the family exposed their own suspicious behavior right away.
Shang Fuyan was thankful Lin Jiangye had saved the child. Once the child woke up fully, they’d be able to learn whether he ever drank alcohol at home.
And now, with the parrot directly telling them the fire was man-made, they didn’t have to keep guessing.
“He said he has an alibi…” That alibi had to be verified—true or false.
While Shang Fuyan was muttering to himself, Lin Jiangye lowered his head and rubbed his eyes. The stinging sensation seemed to be getting worse. Just now, when he stared at the floor, his vision had gone blurry.
Shang Fuyan turned and saw Lin Jiangye’s eyes were red. Instantly, he had no mood to keep investigating the scene.
The scene wasn’t going anywhere. And besides, Major Crimes had arrived—this could be handed over to them.
“Come with me to the hospital!” Shang Fuyan grabbed Lin Jiangye with force and dragged him away.
When the young man still refused, Shang Fuyan didn’t waste words. He wrapped an arm around Lin Jiangye’s waist and hoisted him up onto his shoulder.
Lin Jiangye: ???
As soon as they reached downstairs, he met the Major Crimes captain’s blank, stunned stare.
Shang Fuyan didn’t look embarrassed at all. Instead, he confidently issued instructions.
“We found a charred liquor bottle at the fire scene. I suspect the child’s father will claim the child secretly drank alcohol, got drunk, and started the fire himself.”
As soon as business was mentioned, the captain and the others snapped back to normal.
“Work with the firefighters and investigate the cause of the fire properly. I’m taking Consultant Lin to the hospital first—his eyes may have been damaged by the smoke when he went in to rescue the child.” Shang Fuyan’s expression showed a touch of worry and helplessness, and everyone’s attention immediately shifted to Lin Jiangye’s eyes.
“What happened to Consultant Lin’s eyes? Is it serious?” The Major Crimes officers genuinely liked Lin Jiangye. Having Consultant Lin around saved them a massive amount of work.
And what he had done before was truly admirable.
They didn’t dare imagine what it would mean if Consultant Lin went blind while saving someone…
“I don’t know, which is why I’m dragging him to the hospital. If I’m not forceful, he won’t go at all!” As he finished speaking, Shang Fuyan felt someone pat his back.
Thankfully, Lin Jiangye didn’t use much force. Otherwise, with Lin’s strength, Shang Fuyan figured he might end up hospitalized too.
He quickly took Lin Jiangye away. On the way, he also gathered the three crows waiting outside into the car, then drove Lin Jiangye’s car to the hospital himself.
After they arrived and went through a series of tests, they learned it was only smoke irritation, and a few days of rest would be enough. Only then did Shang Fuyan finally relax.
“For the next few days, stay at home properly,” he said.
Lin Jiangye was about to argue, but Shang Fuyan cut him off.
“I know. If we need you, I’ll definitely call you. But at this stage, the main thing is investigating the fire scene. You’ve already done a lot. Now let the police do their part, okay?”
Lin Jiangye’s mouth, which had just opened, closed again. His eyes had been medicated and wrapped in gauze. Even if he wanted to help, it would be troublesome.
Walking out of the hospital, Lin Jiangye suddenly remembered: today’s task was to buy ingredients for the Border Collie’s recovery meals. But… he hadn’t bought a single thing.
Yet no one—human or animal—blamed him. Even the Border Collie didn’t think there was anything wrong with him saving someone.
Especially after Shang Fuyan brought him home, everyone and every animal saw the gauze over his eyes and felt heartache.
“I’ll handle the groceries! You rest!” Yu Anhe said he could go out with Jiang Xin to buy ingredients.
Even if they didn’t buy anything, it was fine. Their house had two fridges packed full of food—more than enough.
Lin Jiangye sighed helplessly, touching the gauze over his eyes. He wasn’t as panicked as everyone imagined.
He simply couldn’t see temporarily. It didn’t mean he was actually blind.
After seeing Shang Fuyan off, Lin Jiangye planned to go back to his room to rest. He had just stood up when a fluffy touch pressed against his hand.
[I’ll take you back. Hold my tail.] It was the German Shepherd. It bit its own tail and placed it directly into Lin Jiangye’s palm.
Lin Jiangye rubbed the tail in his hand, the corner of his mouth lifting. “Oh? You’re not staying with your wife?”
The German Shepherd looked at him helplessly. How could he still be so cheeky even after getting hurt? Last time he said Tourmaline was a little too sassy—turns out, like father, like child.
Lin Jiangye keenly sensed the German Shepherd’s speechless annoyance and faint complaint. He swayed the dog’s tail and pressed, “Say something, German Shepherd~”
German Shepherd: …
The German Shepherd refused to speak. After guiding him into the bedroom, it immediately left to return to its wife.
“Tsk tsk tsk.” The moment Lin Jiangye finished clicking his tongue, his shoulder sank—then a slightly weathered voice spoke.
[You should’ve gone to the human hospital earlier.]
It was Diamond.
“But I didn’t want that man to escape legal punishment. A father killing his own child—by modern standards, that’s no different from a beast.” Lin Jiangye’s voice was cold. If this went online, it would absolutely explode.
Lin Jiangye just couldn’t see right now. Otherwise, a quick scroll would show him the residents of that building had already posted it everywhere.
A father deliberately setting a fire to burn his own child to death—no matter how you looked at it, it was horrifying.
After the Major Crimes officers questioned the man, he realized the neighbors around him were staring with obvious hostility.
Whether the arson succeeded in killing his son was one thing, but his actions had undeniably harmed every resident in the building.
The thick smoke blackened the exterior walls and stairwell. Even the neighboring building reeked of lingering smoke, and some furniture had been damaged by the high heat.
The budgerigar’s owner was furious. “If that young man hadn’t been kind enough to save my precious baby, I would’ve fought you to the death!”
The old man didn’t like living with his children. The one who kept him company most was that adorable, well-behaved budgerigar.
Just thinking that his precious baby might have burned to death or choked on smoke made his heart ache.
His children rushed over soon and joined their father in condemning the man.
The man felt anxious, guilty, and furious all at once.
He was anxious because he’d planned to disguise himself as a victim, but his son hadn’t died. In an instant, his status flipped from “victim” to “perpetrator.” That wasn’t how his plan was supposed to go.
His guilt didn’t need explanation—he never expected the police to take notice from the very beginning. Now, no matter what, the police were involved. Either they’d convict him—or clear him.
And his anger… was directed mostly at Lin Jiangye.
After going online these days, he finally learned why that young man could be a “consultant.”
His earlier mockery now only made him look ignorant.
While Lin Jiangye was recovering, the police uncovered a lot: for example, the victim had a personal accident insurance policy, and they also found the other suspicious person the budgerigar mentioned—the one who had been discussing the plan with the man.
“Who is it?” Lin Jiangye gripped Shang Fuyan’s arm tightly.
Shang Fuyan had come to the Lin house specifically to report everything they’d discovered so far.
After one day of rest, Lin Jiangye could remove the gauze. At the follow-up exam, the doctor also said his recovery speed was far faster than ordinary people.
So Lin Jiangye produced the doctor’s report and insisted on participating in the investigation.
Shang Fuyan sighed, feeling helpless. But in the end, when he left the Lin house, he still brought Lin Jiangye along.
“We suspect the person who planned the murder with the suspect is the witness who provided his alibi at the fire scene.”
“And… we also suspect the relationship between this witness and the suspect isn’t ordinary.” In plain words: they suspected an affair.
“Huh??” Lin Jiangye blurted out from the passenger seat.
That suspicion wasn’t baseless. They’d checked a camera not far from the building. From that angle, they could see a sliver of the suspect’s doorway.
On the footage, they saw that female witness entering and leaving the suspect’s home multiple times.
And each time, it happened after the child had gone to school and left the house.
It was hard not to think more.
Shang Fuyan took him to the place where the residents had gathered for the event on the day of the fire—the same place where the suspect had stayed for a long time.
After getting out of the car, Lin Jiangye asked about the suspect’s alibi.
Shang Fuyan pointed to a small building by the edge of the square. “The suspect says that when the fire happened, he was chatting with the female neighbor from the ground-floor unit right there. People passed by from time to time. Everyone saw him here from the moment the event started.”
Today the weather was lovely—but the downside of weather being too lovely was that Lin Jiangye had to squint whenever he looked at anything.
The next second, a shadow fell over his head. Shang Fuyan took out a hat and sunglasses he’d prepared long ago and placed them on the young man. “Be careful with your eyes.”
Lin Jiangye’s lips curled unconsciously. With his eyes protected, he could observe his surroundings much more clearly.
The two of them went to the spot where the suspect and the so-called witness had been chatting. It was behind the mahjong room, with no cameras around. But when the fire happened, there were people everywhere, and everyone had a deep impression of the pair.
According to what others said, seeing a man and a woman chat for so long would naturally spark a bit of gossip, so people would pay some attention.
Especially since the man was divorced and the woman was unmarried. Seeing them suddenly become close, everyone grew curious about their relationship.
“Suddenly?” Lin Jiangye caught the word Shang Fuyan used.
Shang Fuyan nodded and continued. “People said they barely interacted in daily life. That’s why them talking for so long this time drew attention.”
In other words, the man’s “eyewitnesses” weren’t just that female neighbor. Everyone who passed by was also an eyewitness.
From the time the event started to the moment people saw smoke coming from the residential building, the man had stayed here the whole time without leaving.
But the exact time the fire truly started was still under investigation. The only thing they could confirm was that when the first flame appeared, it had to have been before the event began.
Now they were waiting for the fire team’s results. Once they identified what caused the black scorch mark on the floor and confirmed the material involved, they would know the precise time the fire began.
At that point, the man’s alibi would be worthless.
Lin Jiangye nodded, then asked about the case filing for the child.
“The child’s biological mother rushed over as soon as she saw the news, and insisted the case must be formally opened and investigated.” When the mother arrived, everyone at the station had let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Thank goodness the child had been saved. Thank goodness the child still had a responsible parent.
This father could no longer be relied on. The child was still a minor—if the mother didn’t take responsibility either, then he would have to be sent to the grandparents. But according to the file, the grandparents didn’t seem to like this grandson very much…
Lin Jiangye sighed silently. Having a mother who truly cared was indeed something to be grateful for.
Then he remembered the child’s blank, wooden silence when he left, and asked about the child’s condition. Speaking of that, Shang Fuyan glanced at him. “By the way, the child’s mother said she wants to kneel and thank you.”
After the child was taken to the hospital, doctors found his brain had indeed been affected quite badly. And alcohol was found in his blood—at a not-low level. For a middle-school student, that would definitely harm the body.
“Wait.” Lin Jiangye cut him off, staring in disbelief. “Middle school? Him?”
Lin Jiangye was 180 centimeters tall. That kid had only come a bit above his waist—he estimated around 120–125 centimeters, which was normal for an elementary schooler. But if he was in middle school… even if he was only in seventh grade, that was extremely short.
But as Lin Jiangye replayed the scene in his mind, he immediately understood why the child was so small.
Malnutrition.
It wasn’t only his height. When Lin Jiangye carried him out, even through thick clothing, what he felt under his hands were hard bones—there was barely any flesh on him. Only his cheeks still had a little softness.
Seeing the disgust on Lin Jiangye’s face, Shang Fuyan knew he’d figured it out too, so he didn’t belabor it and continued. “The doctor said if the child had stayed in that fire scene even a little longer, even if he didn’t die, he would’ve become mentally impaired.”
Yesterday, the child’s mother had brought a gratitude banner and a large sum of money to the station, wanting to give them to Lin Jiangye.
But Lin Jiangye had been injured and resting at home—he hadn’t been at the station at all.
“No. Tell her no. I don’t need the money, and I don’t need the banner either. If the station wants it, hang it there. I personally don’t need it!” Money, banner—forget it. And kneeling to thank him was even more unnecessary.
Lin Jiangye decided he wouldn’t go to the station for a while—just in case she camped there waiting for him.
Shang Fuyan’s eyes held a faint smile. “That banner is for you. Why would we keep it at the station? If you don’t want it, I’ll tell her when I go back. She’s been pacing near the station lately.”
…So she really is hanging around the station.
Lin Jiangye went silent for a beat and suddenly felt a headache coming on.
“It’s fine. When it’s time for the interrogation, I’ll drive you here quietly, and after we finish, I’ll quietly drive you away.” Shang Fuyan saw right through what was giving him a headache and found it funnier and funnier.
He placed a hand on Lin Jiangye’s shoulder, patted lightly, and said with a laugh, “Let’s go. In a bit, I’ll need your help.”
Next, they needed to confirm whether the “other person” the budgerigar had overheard—discussing the murder plan with the suspect—was truly that female neighbor.
The police only suspected it. At present, they had no evidence to prove it was her.
The budgerigar’s owner also knew what Lin Jiangye was capable of now. Seeing Lin Jiangye come to ask his precious bird questions, the old man was more than happy to hand it over.
“Good baby—later, whatever the police uncles ask, you answer, okay?” Grandpa doted on the little parrot. The bird rubbed affectionately against his finger, then flew onto Lin Jiangye’s hand.
When they explained they were asking about the second person involved in the murder discussion, the budgerigar said it hadn’t seen the other person’s face—because the person’s back was turned to it.
[But! Bird is sure it was a woman! A woman with long, curly hair!]
“Height?” Lin Jiangye asked. “Did you see roughly how tall she was?” Since it couldn’t see her face, they’d use other features.
The little parrot tilted its head. This had happened days ago, and a tiny bird brain found it hard to remember something that far back.
Of course, it might also be because it was a bit dumb (not).
After a long while, the little parrot hesitated and said, [Seems… about as tall as that man… But! Bird remembers the woman’s hair looked a little reddish!]
Reddish? Dyed hair?
[And! And…] The little parrot told Lin Jiangye everything it knew, and Lin Jiangye passed the information to Shang Fuyan and the others.
But when Shang Fuyan read the second detail, he frowned slightly. “She is indeed curly and about the same height as the suspect, but… her hair is black.”
Black hair? Meaning there was another woman?
That doubt vanished the moment Lin Jiangye saw the female neighbor. “Not black. Dark brown.”
Brown was made by mixing red and green tones—so even “dark brown” still carried a faint hint of red.
It was just too faint—so faint that human eyes could hardly see it.
So when Lin Jiangye said that, the other officers looked at him as if it were unbelievable. Some even wondered if his eyes had fully recovered yet.
“Birds have tetrachromatic vision. They see far more colors than humans do. Pull one strand of her hair and test it—you’ll see.” If human eyes couldn’t tell, then use a machine.
Someone actually went and tested a strand of her hair. The result showed it really was dark brown, not pure black.
With that, the way people at the station looked at the female neighbor became subtly different.
If she had a relationship with the suspect, and also knew about his plan to kill his child, then what role did she play in all of this?
Was she really only a “witness”?
The woman, summoned by the police, silently clenched her fist under the table.
She wasn’t stupid. Being stared at with those suspicious looks—anyone would know she was being suspected.
But why?
She lifted her head abruptly, her gaze complicated as she looked at the young man standing beside the Criminal Investigation Team leader.
So it was him? The rumors online—that there was a special consultant who could understand animal speech and even command birds—were actually true.
At the moment she looked at him, Lin Jiangye sensed it and followed her gaze.
Their eyes met over the heads of the crowd. The instant Lin Jiangye saw her eyes, he frowned.
Why did he feel this woman was… strange?
Not strange because she might be involved in murder. More like… she seemed used to killing. That cold, condescending indifference also felt extremely familiar to him.
What bad luck.
Lin Jiangye never doubted his own judgment—especially not his first instincts about people. That was a sense he’d forged by clawing his way back from the edge of death countless times.
“This woman—”
He had barely started speaking when she withdrew her gaze, picked up her bag, and left the station.
They had deep suspicions about her, but without evidence, even if the police believed she was an accomplice, they couldn’t touch her yet.
Watching her leave, Lin Jiangye immediately told Tourmaline to follow. “Keep an eye on her. See where she goes.”
Tourmaline didn’t doubt him for a second and was about to spread its wings—when Opal cut in first.
[Crow go! This time let crow do it!]
The big raven had helped Lin Jiangye a lot already. Now Tourmaline had more than one Paraíba gemstone. But Opal still hadn’t gotten the black opal it dreamed of!
Looking into Opal’s eager little eyes, Lin Jiangye smiled helplessly, fondness in it. “Alright then. This time, you do it.”
The moment he said it, Opal cheered and flew off after her.
At the same time, his words sparked everyone’s curiosity. “Consultant Lin, you also think she’s suspicious?”
Lin Jiangye put away his smile and shook his head.
“I didn’t send a crow after her because I think she’s suspicious in this case. I suspect there’s something wrong with her past. Have you checked her background yet?”
Something wrong with her past? What could be wrong with her past?
The Major Crimes officer also shook his head. “We’re still investigating. We only realized yesterday that she might not be clean. We haven’t had time to dig everything up yet.”
But logically… at this point, they should at least have a basic profile report already. Where was it?
Putting the woman aside for now, Lin Jiangye and Shang Fuyan entered the interrogation room and looked at the man sitting there, face full of resentment.
Next came the standard questions.
Then—
“Tell me. Why did you deliberately set a fire to burn your child to death? That was your own biological child.” When Shang Fuyan said that, Lin Jiangye clearly saw the man’s hand tremble slightly.
Lin Jiangye lifted his gaze to watch him. The flash of guilt, anger, and hatred in the man’s eyes—heh, what a piece of work. He was even hating the police now.
What, did he think the police ruined his good plan?
“Accident insurance, malnutrition, the alcohol content in his body… I think that’s enough proof already, isn’t it?” Shang Fuyan paused deliberately.
The man still argued stubbornly. “Didn’t you already ask other people? I wasn’t even home then!”
Then Shang Fuyan tossed another report onto the table. “This is from the fire brigade. They suspect an intentionally delayed fire. There’s a charred black mark in the middle of the floor. What did you put there to push the fire’s outbreak time back?”
A candle? Charcoal? Or something else that could burn for a long time without leaving an obvious trace?
The man’s hand trembled again. He probably hadn’t expected the police to catch on so quickly.
Lin Jiangye had been observing him the entire time. When the man fell silent, Lin Jiangye suddenly spoke:
“Are you planning to marry Zhang Li?”
Zhang Li was the female neighbor’s name. The instant those two words came out, the man’s breathing halted. Then he glared at Lin Jiangye with bloodshot eyes, the hatred in them several times stronger than before.
But facing that hatred, Lin Jiangye actually laughed. “What, are you mad I ruined your good thing?”
After a full minute of silence, Lin Jiangye’s tongue-clicking “tsk tsk tsk” echoed in the interrogation room.
“You really have no shame.”
Only seven words—and the man’s already red eyes practically bulged out.
Outside, Yan Zhou and the others listened quietly. They glanced at Lin Jiangye’s mocking face, then at the man who looked ready to explode, and fell into silence as well.
“Why do I feel… Consultant Lin used to be really cold and aloof,” Yan Zhou scratched his head. Back when he took Lin Jiangye’s statement, Lin Jiangye wouldn’t even look at him properly.
Talking about death and corpses—Lin Jiangye had cared more about the little tabby cat that witnessed everything.
But now… how did Consultant Lin become like this?
Not that it was bad, just…
Yan Keke chuckled. “People change. Ever since Consultant Lin joined our unit, even Captain Shang has become a little more… human.”
Everyone immediately shot her an admiring look: You actually dare to use the words “more human” to describe Captain Shang?
Yan Keke dropped her smile and glared at them one by one: Say one more word and you’re dead. Settled!
Everyone silently swallowed what they wanted to say and kept watching the interrogation.
“I’m curious—did you do it for the money? Or did she not want your home to have a child you had with another woman? Don’t tell me you wanted both. Burn that kid to death, get a huge payout, buy a new house, marry a new wife, then happily make a new kid?” Lin Jiangye’s lazy, mocking voice drifted through their ears.
The man’s breathing hitched. Shang Fuyan narrowed his eyes, a slow doubt rising in him.
This man didn’t look like someone capable of designing a murder plan… Could it be that someone else refined the plan for him?
Shang Fuyan quickly looked at Lin Jiangye. Lin Jiangye saw the question in his eyes—but the little parrot hadn’t said anything about that.
Those two had discussed many things. You couldn’t expect a tiny budgerigar to remember everything. The fact it remembered “he planned to kill the child” was already impressive.
So Lin Jiangye shook his head at Shang Fuyan.
Alright then. If the bird didn’t know, they’d have to investigate it themselves.
“I’ll give you one more chance.” Shang Fuyan tapped the table, pulling the man’s attention back to him. “Talk—or don’t.”
The man still clenched his teeth and refused to speak. But very soon, the arrival of a message shattered every last bit of his resistance.
A crow returned—its foot carried a shining gemstone. It was clearly the “old familiar bird,” no mistake.
But what was strange was that in its beak, it held a gemstone radiating dazzling light: a fire opal.
The crow dropped the opal, then let out urgent caws at the group. A wave of unease rose in everyone’s hearts.
They had watched Lin Jiangye send Opal out to tail that female neighbor. Now the gem had returned—but where was Opal?
“Wait! This doesn’t necessarily mean Opal is hurt. Calm down!” In the tense silence, Yan Keke was the first to snap back to herself.
Like Lin Jiangye, she liked animals and had studied them—especially the crows in Yue City.
This crow sounded urgent, but not grief-stricken. That meant things weren’t as catastrophic as they feared.
Even so, they immediately went to find Lin Jiangye.
When the interrogation room door opened, Lin Jiangye and Shang Fuyan both assumed it was news about Zhang Li. But Yan Keke beckoned to Lin Jiangye instead. “Consultant—something happened. We need you.”
Lin Jiangye didn’t understand. But the moment he stepped out and heard that another crow had returned with a fire opal, everyone saw panic and fear on his face for the first time.
Lin Jiangye rarely showed fear. Even when facing drug traffickers, he never once flinched.
He bolted out. At a glance, he saw the crow waiting there. “What happened to Opal?”
The crow immediately screamed, cawing wildly:
[That woman is terrifying, terrifying! She has a thing that goes biu-biu! Opal got hit by it! The shiny one got shot down too!]
“Biu-biu”… a gun?
The moment Lin Jiangye’s brain registered “biu-biu” as a gun, cold flooded his entire body.
Opal… had been shot?
His legs went soft. He nearly collapsed, but Yan Zhou and the others caught him in time. “Consultant Lin! Calm down!”
He couldn’t calm down. Lin Jiangye’s vision filled with blood-red. He couldn’t even imagine what state Opal was in.
That was a gun. Where did that woman get a gun?
Yan Keke saw Lin Jiangye’s eyes were red and immediately asked the crow, “Opal isn’t dead, right? It’s definitely not dead, right?!”
Please—please—let Opal be okay. If not, Consultant Lin would truly go crazy.
Thankfully, heaven still showed Lin Jiangye mercy. The crow didn’t bring news of death.
[Opal is hurt. It told me to come notify you. It said its wing hurts!]
Thank god… thank god it wasn’t dead…
Even with Yan Zhou holding him up, Lin Jiangye still sank to the ground, breathing heavily.
But as everyone exhaled in relief, their anger only grew hotter.
“Zhang Li—she’s definitely not an ordinary person!”
What ordinary person could casually pull out a gun?
The Major Crimes captain suddenly remembered something. “Wait—the hair we tested earlier. Send it for DNA testing, now!”
He was starting to suspect this woman might be a fugitive on a wanted list.
Just then, the officers who went to investigate Zhang Li returned, faces grim. “Captain—Zhang Li’s identity doesn’t exist.”
The apartment she lived in was rented. They followed the landlord’s records all the way back—and discovered the woman’s ID information was fake.
Soon after, the officer who’d taken the hair for testing came back too, looking even worse. “Captain, that strand of hair has no root.”
No root meant no DNA testing.
“That can’t be right… I saw it get pulled out myself. Was there no root from the beginning?” A female officer’s face had gone dark.
Lin Jiangye, who had finally managed to steady his breathing, slowly stood up. His voice was hoarse.
“That woman has probably killed people—directly or indirectly—many times. That’s my instinct. Stop interrogating the suspect for now. Notify Captain Shang. Track Zhang Li with full force.”
He strode out.
Opal was injured. He had to go pick Opal up immediately.
A gunshot to the wing meant Opal had very likely fallen from high in the air.
It must have hurt—so much.
Lin Jiangye felt his heart cramp with pain. And it wasn’t just him—when Diamond learned Opal was hurt, it was the first to shoot out.
[Who did it?! I’ll kill him!]
Tourmaline was so furious its feathers stood on end.
Not only Tourmaline—Lin Jiangye also wanted to kill that woman.
He never should have… never should have let Opal go after her.
“It’s my fault… I could tell she wasn’t good news, but I still let Opal take the risk… it’s my fault.” A line of tears slid from the corner of the young man’s eye and fell onto Tourmaline’s head in his arms.
Tourmaline lifted its head. Seeing the young man silently crying, it immediately spread its wings and held him tight.
[Don’t cry, Dad. Dad, don’t cry.]
Tourmaline was a raven with real spirit. It didn’t understand why Dad was blaming himself—Tourmaline didn’t think it was Dad’s fault at all.
If the tracking bird hadn’t been switched—if it had been Tourmaline that went to follow that woman and got hurt—then that would only mean it hadn’t been cautious enough. What did that have to do with Dad?
Besides, according to the little crow that came back to report, that bad human had a weapon. Opal didn’t even have time to dodge.
Lin Jiangye didn’t respond to Tourmaline. No matter what, Opal went out to tail the woman because he ordered it—so he had to take responsibility for Opal getting hurt.
When he rushed to the place where Opal had fallen, he found it was a rural road. The nearby village houses were already abandoned, so even if someone fired a gun, no one would know.
The moment Lin Jiangye saw Opal lying on the ground, unable to fly, the tears he’d been holding back spilled instantly.
He carefully cupped Opal in his hands and examined the wound. When he realized the shot had only hit feathers and hadn’t damaged the bone, the guilt in his chest eased slightly—
But only slightly.
Opal was still injured. There was a smear of blood on its chest. That bullet had probably been fired at an angle: it hit one side of the wing first, then grazed across the crow’s chest, knocking off the gemstone Lin Jiangye had prepared for Opal, and finally passed through the other wing.
Looking at the blood and the cut on Opal’s chest, Lin Jiangye’s tears simply would not stop.
Opal was completely stunned by its owner crying so hard. When it fell from the sky, it had cried and shrieked in pain. Once it recovered a little, it had been planning that when its owner arrived, it would “act pitiful” properly—ideally coaxing its owner into buying it two… no, one shiny gemstone.
It knew it hadn’t completed the mission. Strictly speaking, it didn’t deserve “shiny” as a reward.
But it was injured!
Yet now, seeing its owner kneeling on the ground, holding it and silently weeping, all its little schemes vanished.
[Don’t cry… Opal doesn’t hurt anymore, doesn’t hurt anymore!]
It even tried to spread its wings to comfort Lin Jiangye, but Lin Jiangye pressed them down at once.
“Don’t move!” Lin Jiangye said through sobs—but after reaching out, he immediately pulled his hand back, afraid he’d hurt the little crow with that motion.
“Did Dad just touch your wound? Does it still hurt? It must hurt so much. Getting shot is painful, and then you fell too… it’s all my fault.”
This time was pure luck. If the shooter’s aim had been a little better, one bullet would have been enough to take Opal’s life.
Lin Jiangye didn’t dare imagine what he would have felt then.
Opal was also frightened out of its wits by the sight of Lin Jiangye crying. When it was attacked, it had been startled too, but afterward it calmed down and felt its injuries would heal in a few days.
It was just that growing the feathers back might take a while…
Now, watching Lin Jiangye cry like this, it had the eerie feeling that it was about to die. Of course it couldn’t say that. Opal didn’t understand why its owner was so heartbroken, but it knew that if it said something like that, its owner would only cry harder.
Diamond saw Lin Jiangye like this and immediately spread one wing and smacked the back of Lin Jiangye’s head hard.
“Caw!”
[Stop crying! Finding the enemy and taking revenge is what matters!]
Diamond truly deserved to be called an elder. With just one sentence, it successfully yanked Lin Jiangye’s attention away.
[No crying! Opal getting hurt was an accident. You’re not allowed to pin the blame on yourself—understand?!]
When Diamond’s “elder authority” was fully unleashed, even Lin Jiangye was forced into silence.
[Find her! She dared to hurt our chick—crow will never let her go!]
Diamond let out a piercing cry. Every crow within a hundred meters heard it and immediately rushed over.
Lin Jiangye wiped the tears off his face, his eyes turning icy and ferocious.
“I won’t let her escape!” After taking a few harsh breaths, he forced himself back onto his feet.
“Tourmaline—go notify the leaders of the other crow groups. Tell them Lin Jiangye has an urgent request. This time, I’ll pay heavily.”
Right after that, he called Jiang Xin at home—but the one he needed to talk to wasn’t Jiang Xin. It was the German Shepherd.
“German Shepherd, I’m having someone bring you to the other district. Find the boss of the stray dogs. I need their help for something very important. If they’re willing, get in the car and come to Wen’an District.”
Right now, nobody knew where that woman would hide. So he might as well mobilize every animal in Yue City.
He refused to believe she could still run out of Yue City.
Crows and stray dogs weren’t enough. He also needed to go to the old neighborhood and find the boss cat, Sangbiao, and he needed to go to Qingze District to get the seagulls to help.
Especially Qingze District—there was a port there. Seagulls could keep an eye on the docks for him.
If that woman dared to take a boat to leave, he’d have the river dolphins chase after it and give him a location!
Every animal in Yue City was his set of eyes.
She could have offended anyone—yet she chose to offend him.
