Animal Detective-Chapter 51: People’s Joys and Sorrows Are Not Shared
Shen Xin had always thought the line "I want to cry, but the tears just won’t come" was only a lyric from a song.
But in that moment, it became a tangible reality.
Right there in Wu Zhicun’s home.
Sun Zhao and Chen Chao were there representing the sub-bureau, and Director Li Xiaoguang of the Huangtang Police Station had also come.
Shen Xin, for his part, was representing the Yunlin Police Station, having rushed over with Zhang Jian.
Chen Chao had silently spent two days mustering the courage for this meeting.
Considering Wu Zhicun’s advanced age, his blindness, and his underlying health conditions, they had even called for an ambulance to be on standby.
Wu Zhicun wasn’t supposed to know beforehand.
The sub-bureau had taken Gao Jinrui to identify the crime scene, drawing a large crowd of local residents.
But Chen Chao had anticipated this and had done an excellent job of keeping the information under wraps.
The neighbors only knew that Gao Jinrui had committed a crime, but no one knew the specifics.
They certainly didn’t know that the police had unearthed a child’s skeleton from the Gao Family’s ancestral grave.
This was all to prevent Wu Zhicun from hearing the news early and having some kind of accident due to emotional distress.
But this moment was bound to come sooner or later.
Chen Chao used the calmest tone he could manage to narrate a simplified version of what had happened.
He omitted the detail that Wu Jiawang had regained consciousness and was buried alive.
He only said that Wu Jiawang had been accidentally hit by a car, then the killer buried him in the killer’s own ancestral grave, where he lay for seven years.
"Most importantly, we’ve found the killer. He has confessed and admitted to all the facts," Chen Chao concluded.
After speaking, he watched Wu Zhicun, waiting for some kind of reaction.
Even an emotional outburst, a shout of "Impossible!" or "I don’t believe you!"
But there was nothing.
Shen Xin was also stealing glances at Wu Zhicun.
The old man’s face was a rapid flicker of bewilderment and agony.
He seemed to want to cry, to react somehow, but though his eyelids twitched, he couldn’t squeeze out a single tear.
He had cried himself dry long ago.
But this state of his made Shen Xin feel even worse.
’I remember the Uncle Wu who complained his fried rice was too plain, who tossed me 50 yuan to buy a roast duck, and who then arrogantly said I could keep the change. The same blustering Uncle Wu who demanded, "Just throw me in prison! I can stay there ’til I die!"’
That man was gone.
Only now did Shen Xin feel that Wu Zhicun had truly gotten old.
He was already 67!
Nearly seventy years old.
He had been blind for many years, his disability having long since worn him down to a shadow of his former self.
He had also had a brush with death.
The last time Shen Xin had seen him, he was already gaunt and lifeless. Now, seeing him again, it was only worse.
Like the flickering flame of a dying candle, about to go out.
Everyone stood frozen in silence.
It was Director Li from the community committee who finally stepped forward to comfort him. "Old Wu, I know how much you’re suffering."
You had such a good family. Your son and daughter-in-law died in a car accident.
Your wife drank pesticide and followed your son to the grave.
The only one left was your grandson, and he was missing for seven years, only to die a tragic death.
Losing a child is one of life’s greatest sorrows, to say nothing of Wu Zhicun losing his entire family.
"But isn’t that just how life is? When it’s your turn for hardship, what can you do but endure it? Take me, for example. When my husband died of a heart attack, I wanted to just go with him."
"But I endured. I think my husband, wherever he is, would want me to live well, to finish out my remaining days properly, and then join him with no regrets."
"So you have to hold on, too. You have to live on. At the very least, you need to handle Jiawang’s final arrangements. Such a good boy... he suffered so much."
As she spoke, she couldn’t help but start sobbing herself.
People from their generation were accustomed to life’s cruelties and possessed an almost superhuman level of resilience.
"Yes... the arrangements."
Wu Zhicun finally reacted, his lips trembling as he murmured, "My boy... he suffered so much. I keep dreaming of him. He tells me it’s cold lying in the ground... and dark. He can’t see anything." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"I have to arrange things properly for him, so he can find his mom and dad. They’re waiting for him."
"I’ve failed Dajun..."
At that, Wu Zhicun began to wail.
Shen Xin silently tilted his head back, fighting to hold back his tears.
His heart felt stuffed with straw, and every beat was like sandpaper grinding against it—a tight, unbearable feeling.
Shen Xin couldn’t bear to listen to Wu Zhicun’s tearless wails any longer. He turned and walked out to the area outside the kitchen.
Zhang Jian sighed and followed him.
He hesitated for a moment before offering some advice. "Xiaoshen, I know you want to be a detective. You probably think being a detective is a noble profession, full of purpose and honor."
"And it is, of course. It’s a good thing that you have that sense of mission. But I have to remind you, at the end of the day, it’s still just a job."
"And when you’ve been in this line of work for a long time, you see too much darkness. If your empathy is too strong, you won’t be able to take it psychologically. You’ll really break down."
Shen Xin looked up and retorted, "So what? I should just pretend I don’t see it?"
"Of course not."
Zhang Jian shook his head. "You can sympathize with the victims and understand their pain, but you have to understand one thing: you’re a police officer. Your duty is to solve the case, not to empathize with the victims’ families. Grieving for them is useless. Solving the case is what’s most important."
"Besides, in this world, people’s joys and sorrows are their own. You can never truly understand the kind of pain they’ve been through."
"Getting too emotionally invested will only cloud your judgment. Just like that time with me..."
Zhang Jian stopped himself abruptly.
Shen Xin subconsciously looked at him. ’That time with him... what?’
"It’s nothing," Zhang Jian said, shaking his head. "Actually, you’ve already done a great job. It’s safe to say that if it weren’t for you, this case would still be unresolved."
If Shen Xin hadn’t found Lele, if Shen Xin hadn’t noticed Lele’s strange behavior, who knows how much longer it would have taken for the truth of this case to come to light.
Shen Xin gave a bitter smile.
That might be true, but he just couldn’t feel happy about it.
Zhang Jian didn’t expect to convince Shen Xin with just a few words.
’He’s young,’ he thought. ’You have to go through more to understand these things.’
"If you really feel bad, then help Uncle Wu with the funeral arrangements. He’s blind and has trouble getting around. For you, it would be a way to see things through to the end," Zhang Jian added.
Shen Xin nodded. He was thinking the same thing.
’Everything needs a proper beginning and a proper end.’
"Captain Zhang, I’m fine. Thank you."
"Nothing to thank me for."
Zhang Jian smiled nonchalantly. "You, on the other hand... you played a crucial role in this Wu Jiawang case. You’ll probably get another commendation. And you, kid, just officially joined the force."
Solving a seven-year-old disappearance case deserved a commendation, by all accounts.
Shen Xin sighed. He really hadn’t been thinking about commendations or anything like that.
And thinking about it now, Shen Xin would almost rather the case had remained unsolved. At least then, Wu Zhicun could have held on to some hope.
No matter how much Wu Zhicun grieved, no matter how much he refused to accept it, the facts were the facts.
He could only accept them.
Chen Chao took a blood sample from Wu Zhicun.
It still needed to be compared with the DNA from the excavated skeleton.
Gao Jinrui’s confession that the body was Wu Jiawang’s wasn’t enough.
This case was unusual.
It happened seven years ago.
Back then, there were no surveillance cameras, and no witnesses.
Gao Jinrui had washed away the evidence at his cousin’s house, and after so many years, nothing could be found.
The Nissan Teana had been stripped clean, and there was no direct evidence proving it was the car that hit Wu Jiawang.
So in the end, it was that bottle of eye drops that became the most crucial piece of evidence.
For his part, Wu Zhicun wanted his grandson’s remains to hold a funeral.
Normally, in a homicide case, the victim’s body can only be returned to the family after the trial is over, sometimes even after the death penalty review is complete.
This is because the body is an important piece of evidence. During the trial, there’s always a possibility that the killer could retract their confession, leading to a new investigation.
This process could be lengthy, possibly taking one to two years.
Considering that Wu Jiawang had been buried for seven years and his body had been reduced to a skeleton, the forensic value of the remains was limited. After careful discussion between the sub-bureau and the procuratorate, and taking Wu Zhicun’s personal wishes into account, they kept the necessary samples, issued a professional autopsy report, and returned the remains to Wu Zhicun.
This happened half a month later.
The community committee helped with the funeral arrangements. On the day of the burial, Shen Xin made a point of attending.
