Animal Detective

Shen Xin replayed the video, even zooming in and slowing it down, but he still couldn’t see the buried body.

It was obscured, and with no further footage, all that could be heard was the young man’s string of exclamations.

Shen Xin put down the tablet and looked at Xu Jinguang.

’What does this mean?’

Xu Jinguang chuckled and asked Shen Xin for his thoughts.

Shen Xin’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what Xu Jinguang was getting at.

’He clearly said there was a case and that he needed my help.’

’And before, he brought up the Dadao Gold case.’

’A director of his stature wouldn’t be concerned with an ordinary case. It must be a cold case.’

’That’s why he said it’s been on his mind for years, and that something’s changed recently.’

After some thought, Shen Xin said, "Director Xu, is there something wrong with this body?"

Xu Jinguang nodded slightly. No longer speaking in riddles, he leaned back into the sofa and said, "Shen Xin, I have a case. One of the investigative leads, or perhaps just a popular theory, is what they call the ’Panda’s Curse.’"

Shen Xin froze. ’A curse?’

’As police officers, we’re supposed to be grounded in reality. This kind of so-called feudal superstition is something we’re supposed to debunk, not entertain.’

Xu Jinguang tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, his gaze growing distant. "Of course, that’s just a manner of speaking, a bit of folklore that’s grown around it. But this case... it really is special."

"The first case happened on November 2, 2009. That was nine years ago."

"That summer, I had just been transferred to the Ministry to work as a Deputy Inspector in the Criminal Investigation Bureau. The case was initially investigated by the local Longzhou police and didn’t attract much attention at first."

Shen Xin thought, ’So it really is a cold case,’ and continued to listen.

Xu Jinguang continued, "In the first case, two people died. The first victim was Liu Baoli. He was the leader of Patrol Team One at the Liujiaping Town Protection Station, which is part of our Baishuijiang National Nature Reserve here in Longzhou."

"The second victim was Hu Zeyang, a member of the same patrol team. Unlike Liu Baoli, he was a college graduate from Chencang in Yuxi Province who had tested into the position. He was very young, only twenty-four."

"On the day of the incident, the two were on a routine patrol along Motianling Route 3, following the team’s patrol plan. They were attacked near Muxu Ping."

"Their bodies showed signs of being bound. The cause of death was cranial trauma—in other words, they were hammered to death."

Shen Xin’s expression grew grim.

’A double homicide.’

’And they were park rangers for the nature reserve, murdered deep in the vast mountains. In a godforsaken place like that, finding the killer would be anything but easy.’

Xu Jinguang continued, "I won’t go into the details of the local Longzhou police investigation for now. As I said, this was only the first case."

"The second case occurred on April 16, 2011. Again, the victims were park rangers. And again, it was a double homicide."

Shen Xin was taken aback.

’Two cases in a row, both double homicides... that’s four lives.’

’No wonder Director Xu said this case was a little ’special.’’

’Four lives is more than just a little ’special.’’

Xu Jinguang laid out the details. "Shen Xin, this Baishuijiang Nature Reserve is huge. Its total planned area is 183,000 hectares. The section in Yinping County, where the first incident took place, is dominated by Motianling and lies on the border of Longzhou and Kang Province."

"The North Slope of Mount Motianling is the Baishuijiang National Nature Reserve, and the southern slope is the Tangjia River Nature Reserve. It’s a vast expanse of pristine, old-growth forest, stretching in all directions."

"The Liujiaping area is in the core zone of the Baishuijiang reserve. The Tielou Town protection station, where the second case took place, is in the reserve’s experimental zone."

"The first victim was named Cao Hui; he was a local from Tielou Town. The other was Wang Shulin, who was from Liujiaping."

"The two towns are adjacent, and Wang Shulin had been transferred to work at the Tielou Town protection station."

"The crime scene was again in the mountains, near a patrol route. In this case, the killer changed weapons. They used a knife, what we believe was a sharp machete."

"The killer hacked both of them to pieces. The method was incredibly brutal."

Shen Xin frowned.

’So the cases were a year and a half apart.’

Seeing Xu Jinguang’s unchanging expression, Shen Xin asked tentatively, "Director Xu, don’t tell me there’s a third case."

’The body in that video...’

Xu Jinguang nodded grimly. "That’s right. The video I showed you was the third case. It took place in the Tangjia River Nature Reserve."

Shen Xin’s eyes shot wide. ’This is insane!’

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

’It’s a serial killer.’

’And don’t tell me... ’

Xu Jinguang guessed what Shen Xin was thinking. "That’s right," he said gravely. "Another double homicide."

A chill ran down Shen Xin’s spine.

’Three cases, six lives. This is unbelievable.’

’Wait, that’s not right!’

A thought struck Shen Xin, and he quickly asked, "Director Xu, these three cases span five years, from 2009 to 2014, and the locations changed."

"One was in the Baishuijiang reserve, the other in Tangjia River. Even though they’re on a provincial border, as you said, they’re in different reserves. How were the cases officially linked?"

"Was it just because the victims were all park rangers?"

’Why would three cases, so far apart in time, be linked together?’

Shen Xin knew that officially linking separate cases wasn’t easy. There had to be a clear connection in the M.O. or in the victims’ relationships for it to be even possible.

’Let alone cases that crossed two provincial jurisdictions.’

"You’ve hit on the key point," Xu Jinguang said with a small smile, but he decided to finish explaining the third case first.

He gestured to the tablet. "The video you saw was from the 3rd of last month. Local police arrived on scene and unearthed two bodies."

"The time of death was determined to be June 26, 2014. We ran DNA analysis; it’s our victims. One is Wang Erpeng, from Guan Village in Liujiaping."

"The other is Li Tongyu, also a ranger from the same team. The standard procedure for their patrols is that at least two people go out together."

A case involving six lives... As shocked as Shen Xin was by the sheer scale of it, he was now completely hooked.

Shen Xin quickly picked up on something Xu Jinguang had said and couldn’t help but interject, "Director Xu, how did the medical examiner pinpoint the time of death so accurately?"

’It’s precise down to the exact day.’

’They were discovered on the 3rd of last month but died back in 2014. That means they were buried for four years.’

’They would have been nothing but bones by now.’

’Determining the time of death from skeletonized remains is incredibly difficult.’

"And another thing—you said ’our victims.’"

Shen Xin had also noticed that Xu Jinguang’s phrasing was odd, as if he had known who the victims were all along.

In the next moment, it dawned on Shen Xin. "I get it," he said quickly. "The two of them went missing on June 26, 2014, didn’t they?"

’They went missing, and their bodies were never found.’

’But the police had already speculated they were murdered on that specific day. That’s how they knew the exact date of death, and why Director Xu phrased it like that.’

’And they stayed missing until last month, when that guy digging for wild yams got ’lucky’ and dug them up.’

Xu Jinguang smiled and nodded, thinking to himself, ’This Shen Xin is quick on the uptake.’

He continued, "As you’ve noticed, there are six victims, spanning two provinces and involving park rangers from two different nature reserves."

"When the task force began its investigation, we pursued multiple leads and considered many theories—crimes of passion, revenge killings, and so on. But it wasn’t until the third case occurred that we gradually became aware of a new possibility."

"Or rather, a connection between the victims."

Shen Xin quickly ran through the details of the six victims in his mind and immediately noticed something.

’Something Director Xu had subtly emphasized in his retelling.’

Shen Xin blurted out, "Liujiaping."

’Liu Baoli, from the first case, was a ranger at the Liujiaping Protection Station.’

’Wang Shulin, from the second case, was from Liujiaping Town.’

’And Wang Erpeng, from the third case, was also from Liujiaping.’

’There’s the connection.’

As for the other three victims, Shen Xin immediately thought of a reason and said quickly, "Director Xu, three of the victims are connected to Liujiaping Town."

"So, could the other three have simply been collateral damage? You said yourself that the rangers patrol in teams of at least two."

"When the killer struck, they would have had to kill them both."

’They couldn’t kill one and let the other go.’

’So the killer’s real targets must have been Liu Baoli, Wang Shulin, and Wang Erpeng.’

Xu Jinguang’s smile broadened. He nodded and said, "Exactly. After the second case, we still hadn’t made the connection. It wasn’t until the third case, when the investigation from Kang Province crossed over into Longzhou, that we learned Wang Erpeng had also disappeared."

"At that point, I was the one who pushed for a joint investigation between the two provinces and had the missing Wang Erpeng officially recognized as a victim in this series of murders."

The first case, a double homicide, was a big deal, but not enough to get the Ministry’s attention.

It wasn’t until the second double homicide that the Ministry took notice. The cases were linked, and Xu Jinguang was tasked with leading a team of experts to provide guidance on the investigation.

But the case went cold.

Then, in 2014, Wang Erpeng also disappeared, and the cases were re-linked.

By this time, Xu Jinguang had become the director of the Fifth Bureau.

That’s why this case became such a thorn in his side.

Xu Jinguang continued, "Even though Wang Erpeng’s body was never found, it didn’t prevent us from proceeding with the joint investigation."

"We discovered that Wang Shulin and Wang Erpeng were distant relatives and that they often hung out together."

"They were also involved in poaching. So we established a primary line of inquiry: that during their poaching activities, they somehow got entangled with Liu Baoli."

"Our theory was that because of some incident—poaching, for instance—the three of them made an enemy of the suspect, who then bided their time and found opportunities to murder them one by one."

Shen Xin nodded thoughtfully. That seemed highly probable.

’One victim was a park ranger, while Wang Shulin and his relative were known poachers.’

’Perhaps Liu Baoli covered for them, making him an accomplice. Then something must have happened during a poaching expedition that created this deadly grudge.’

Xu Jinguang went on, "The cases were officially linked in October 2014. The investigation continued until the end of the year, but by March of the following year, the case was suspended."

"In the summer of 2015, I pushed for it to be reopened, and we conducted another three-month investigation."

"We searched for Wang Erpeng’s body again, but still came up empty."

"During that second investigation, we discovered a new connection. Or rather, a piece of local folklore gave us a new idea."

"And that brings us back to what I mentioned at the start: the Panda’s Curse."

Shen Xin’s heart sank. He couldn’t help but wonder what could have possibly given rise to a name like that.