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Realizations

Lan Wangji did something unheard of - he woke up at nine am.

He grunted at the time and hauled himself out of bed. The rest of the house was still and silent. Apparently, Yu Bin had no problems sleeping in.

Soon, he was in his garden going through the stately motions of tai chi. He loved this part of his day. It was a moment of mental clarity.

As a detective, he saw horrible things. It was the nature of the job. Yesterday, had been a different type of horrible. There was a miasma being fed by that place. All the fear, desperation, anger, hopelessness, resentment coalesced into an existence of its own. It squirmed and burrowed into everything. Into the concrete. Into the buildings. Into the bones.

It clung to everyone and everything there. Slowly wearing them down. Grinding them into more food for the miasma.

Lan Wangji wiped the sweat from his face as he panted. He had pushed harder than usual. He often did when there was something he found confusing.

If he could sense the pervasive darkness last night, why hadn't he felt it on Yiling? He had felt grief, horror, fear, terror but not the despondent heaviness. Not the darkness. Why not?

He settled himself into the grass and let his mind flow into meditation. He re-examined his brief time with Yiling. The grief and horror on his face as he looked at Mo Xuanyu's body sprawled on the asphalt. The fear of Wen Chao. But what drew him back again and again was the look in Yiling's eyes during his panic attack. He was terrified without a doubt. Of what?

Yiling knew he was being taken in to be questioned. If he knew that already, why did he react so violently when they arrived? He tried to focus in on his memories of Yiling's eyes. Deep brown, a heavy black ring surrounding the iris. Blown pupils as his body went into fight or flight. The terror. Suddenly, he heard Yiling's words.

"Can't...can't... she...she... hurt them... NO!"

Lan Wangji's eyes slowly opened. Yiling wasn't afraid of being dragged into the police station. He was afraid of or afraid for someone at the station.

Someone at the station had a connection to Yiling.

Someone at the station knew Yiling.

Lan Wangji gracefully rose, heading for the house and his phone.
~~~~~

Nie Huaisang glanced at his buzzing phone.

"One moment, please." He said as he looked at his screen. Lan Wangji's name flashed across the screen. He frowned slightly but chose to send a message.

'In meeting. I will call back.' was texted with a few flicks of his fingers.

"I'm sorry. You were saying, Jiang Cheng?"
~~~~~

Yu Bin had slept like the dead. When Wen Chao had slapped the table to get his partner's attention, Lan Wangji wasn't the only one who had an adrenaline surge.

He stretched with languid laziness. There was a good chance he was in love with the mattress on this bed. A grunt. He simply didn't want to get up. With a slightly impish grin, he rubbed his face into the pillow. Maybe he could just sleep all day?

He entertained the idea with a smile. There was no way with only five days of their week left but damn, it sounded good.

'If - no when we find Yiling, I'll treat myself to a day in bed watching movies and eating pizza. Mmm, pepperoni and double mushroom..." he thought and laughed.

He rolled on to his back and straightened himself in the bed. Placing his hands on his belly he sank into an awareness of his breathing. Feeling his hands rise and fall.

'I will receive what I need and the clarity to understand it.'*

Yu Bin had done this daily for years. It felt good and provided a positive start for the day. A few more deep breaths and he was up.
~~~~~

Lang Wangji sat at his desk in his home office. He was working on his report for the three inspectors. A small chime alerted him to an incoming email. It was from Xue Yang. A click revealed the coroner's report on Mo Xuanyu. He read it carefully.

The original assumption had been correct. Mo Xuanyu had died of exsanguination after the onset of hemorrhagic shock. Considering the extent of the internal injuries, it was estimated he had died within two hours of the original blunt trauma. There were no marks on the body indicating a particular weapon. There were ligature marks on the wrists and ankles indicating the victim was restrained. The cut on the victim's cheek was from a sharp object most likely a thin blade.

Lan Wangji sighed. The poor man was tied down and beaten until he had so many internal injuries he bled to death without spilling a drop from his torso. The only visible blood was on his cheek and neck. Internal bleeding was painful. How far had Mo Xuanyu run, walked, crawled trying to get away from his assailant?

He needed some fresh air.

Walking to the kitchen for green tea, he saw Yu Bin drinking a soda and playing a game on his phone.

"Good Morning, sir! Did you sleep well?" Yu Bin was positively cheerful.

"I did. Quite well." Lan Wangji paused. "I want to thank you for your suggestion yesterday. It cut through the original surprise. It helped."

"You're my partner, sir. That's what partners do." Yu Bin smiled.

"I guess it is." There was a small smile on Lan Wangji's face. "I also think there is a good chance someone at our station knows Yiling." He explained his thought process.

Yu Bin rubbed his chin. "I think it is worth looking into but I don't know how we would find them."

"Mn." It would be a problem indeed.

He cleared his throat. "I received the coroner's report. We were correct. Mo Xuanyu died of internal hemorrhaging. He was restrained and beaten. The report has a list of the damaged organs and the rest of the details. I'll print it out for you after I have another cup of tea." He looked down thoughtfully. "I need to take a break for a moment."

"Understandable." was Yu Bin's quiet answer.

~~~~~

Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng had gone over everything in the files in detail. Together they had formulated a plan of action. Nie Huaisang was going to set a private detective he had worked with in the past on the tail of their lone suspect. Jiang Cheng agreed it was the only way to get the information to either confirm or deny the person's involvement without slogging through the paperwork and justifications necessary for the police. It would also insure the person's anonymity if they were not involved. After the report came in, they would review it together and decide on the next steps.

"I will ask the detective to put a rush on it. In the mean time, I'll be looking at the list you provided of possible friends, business associates,and acquaintances. See what I can find on any connections that look, well, dodgy." Nie Huaisang looked closely at the man across the desk from him. "When was the last time you ate?"

Jiang Cheng had to consider for a moment. "Yesterday. I think."

Nie Huaisang stood. "Come, it's lunch time and I'm buying. After lunch, you will take the rest of the afternoon off and sleep until tomorrow. Understood?"

Jiang Cheng was too tired to even argue. Quite possibly a first in his life. He simply nodded.

"Now, straighten your tie and tuck in your shirt. You look like you were raised by wolves.**" Nie Huaisang sniffed and snapped his fan shut.

In moments, they were on their way to lunch and, for Jiang Cheng, a well deserved rest.

~♡~♡~♡~

Huge HUGS ❤❤❤ ManuAndhale

Chiaroscuro555 Such a great line! 😊 (a nod in homage) ❤

Again, I have no medical expertise so if I goofed the coroner's report, my apologies. Thank goodness for Google!

Go out, enjoy the wind in your hair and be grateful for something, no matter how small it is!
❤🍫🫖❤