Red Peacock [English] (Original Novel by Ju~On, translation by LuckyCasualty)

6. The Young Inspector named Lù

Lù Yī Péng's position as inspector didn't come from sheer luck. He received the rank of Inspector at the age of twenty-five because he had resolved many cases that were deemed very complicated. Although many of these cases had required a helping hand from Hóng Kǒng Què, there was no denying the fact that if it weren't for Lù Yī Péng's skills, The Red Peacock would never have agreed to help, much less been cooperative in the first place. But this came with a price, as the help from Hóng Kǒng Què never came easily.

Lù Yī Péng looked up from the pile of documents on the table as the sergeant of the night shift walked in with a cup of coffee, "The Inspector is working late again, is it about the ongoing Tóng Bǎi Cí case?"

"Mmm." the young inspector replied under closed lips, then sighed heavily, as the sergeant continued, "Tóng Bǎi Cí is the sex trade kingpin in the Loei province, I heard he doesn't have a good relationship with Hóng Kǒng Què. Why didn't the inspector..."

"Forget about Hóng Kǒng Què..." Inspector Lù cut him off, "Not every case requires us to be relying on him.."

"I'm just offering my suggestion," the sergeant said softly.

"-Nevermind, I should go back and rest first, we can talk more tomorrow."

"Drive safely, Inspector."

Because it was already midnight when he left, the road was relatively clear from traffic. Lù Yī Péng drove the car along the same road he usually did on his way home. He had only been driving a short distance, when he noticed another car coming up behind him. He slowed down to see if the car was following him or not, but when he saw that the care overtook him, he sped up again. The vehicle, now in front of him, continued with normal speed for only a short while, until it abruptly stopped. Lù Yī Péng, who by this point had almost caught up to speed with the vehicle, swore and stomped on the brakes. The sound of screaming tires sliding on the road before a loud crash.

"Damnit!" Lù Yī Péng cursed, before stepping out of his car to access the damage, as he was wondering why the owner of the other car didn't step out of his vehicle, he suddenly became aware of the sound of another engine behind him, thinking nothing of it but a car about to pass by, he suddenly found himself with someone's hand covering his mouth with a wet handkerchief.

𓅈𓅈𓅈

When Yī Péng opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dark room. When he tried to move his hands, he realized they were bound with rope above his head, and before he could get a hold of his surroundings, a bright light flashed in his face.

"Are you awake, Inspector Lù?" an unknown voice exclaimed, before a chubby palm reached out and slapped him across the face.

"Open your eyes... Inspector. Officers like you love to use these lights in people's faces, to distort the vision of suspects during interrogations, right?"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't born during the era they did that..." Yī Péng replied, his eyes still closed, and received another, this time backhanded slap from the person, which caused Yī Péng's head to recoil, his ears ringing.

The young inspector felt a metallic, salty taste in his mouth, and spat out blood mixed with saliva, before he regained his balance and heard the same voice ask him curiously, "Lù Yī Péng, why don't you open your eyes to see where you are?"

"If you turn off that damn light first." Yī Péng responded, he could hear the laughter that followed,

"Honestly, is that the mouth you use when you meet with Hóng Kǒng Què? It's not very pretty when it curses."

The stranger had asked a question, but when Lù Yī Péng did not answer, the same voice rang out again, "Fine, let's turn off the lights so we can see each other clearly, inspector Lù."