Chapter 657 - 545: The Body Is Honest (Part 2)

Chapter 657: Chapter 545: The Body Is Honest (Part 2)

In that case, it was entirely possible Walnut had been left with some psychological trauma.

I mean, think about it. In a vast, white expanse of snow, his mother is killed, and her scalding blood splatters across the ground.

How startling would that be? The young Walnut would have been deeply traumatized.

’But that’s not right, either.’

’I just checked the weather. It was April, so the temperature was warming up. Hetaoping probably didn’t have any snow left.’

’Unless the incident happened even earlier.’

But this was all just Shen Xin’s speculation. After all, no one knew what had really happened back then; it was all just guesswork.

However, while searching through online news, Shen Xin did notice one particular report.

It mentioned that in 2008, winter had come early to the Wudu Region, and that there was a possibility of widespread, heavy snowfall that year.

As was his custom, Shen Xin contacted Yang Zeran to ask about the investigation’s progress.

It was already January 13th.

The second round of the investigation had now been going on for ten days.

"Nothing."

On the video call, Yang Zeran looked crestfallen. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Shen Xin, what if we’ve been going about this all wrong?"

Shen Xin could tell he was starting to lose heart.

It was understandable, though.

After so many days of investigating with no results, it was normal for the team to be exhausted.

Most importantly, the constant lack of positive feedback was a real blow to their morale.

He had so many people with him, running all over the place to investigate and verify leads, all because of a single theory of Shen Xin’s.

It wouldn’t just be the others; he himself couldn’t help but start to doubt, wondering if he’d been wrong and was just wasting everyone’s time.

"Lao Yang, just hang in there a little longer. I’m already making progress on my end. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel."

’Now that I’m in the second stage and can hear his thoughts, my progress from here on out will only get faster.’

That night, Shen Xin was so worried about Walnut that he barely slept.

Fortunately, the phone never rang.

When he rushed to the zoo the next day, Walnut was the same as ever.

He was as indifferent as ever to Shen Xin’s presence, but his thoughts told a different story.

’Don’t go.’

’Good.’

He had only just reached the second stage, so the information from the thoughts was limited.

But Shen Xin could guess his meaning; it seemed Walnut wanted him to stay with him.

Shen Xin whipped his head around to look at him.

The panda must have been sneaking a peek while Shen Xin’s back was turned. Caught in the act, he hastily and flusteredly lowered his head.

That evening after the zoo closed, it was the same old story.

Ma Tao’s opinion was that they shouldn’t let Walnut out for now. His reaction yesterday was huge, and frankly, terrifying.

Shen Xin looked toward Walnut, asking if he wanted to go out.

The panda remained motionless, but his thoughts were another matter.

’Want.’

Shen Xin shook his head slightly.

But when they wheeled the cage over and called to him, Walnut didn’t budge.

’No.’

’He must not like the cage.’

Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then squatted in front of him and said softly, "Walnut, we can skip the cage, but you have to listen to me when we’re out. You can’t cause trouble, understand?"

Walnut was too shy to meet Shen Xin’s gaze.

’I know.’

Shen Xin hesitated. ’Everything has to start somewhere,’ he thought, deciding to take the risk.

"Alright, let’s go." Shen Xin had the staff wheel the cage away and gestured for Walnut to follow.

The panda seemed a bit surprised, but he slowly got up and followed.

The favorability meter above his head increased by 1 bar.

He had felt Shen Xin’s trust.

Compared to Meng Lan, the 11-year-old Walnut was indeed far more mature and composed.

He followed behind Shen Xin, strolling outside.

Xu Haisheng and his colleague went to look after the frolicking Meng Lan, leaving Shen Xin to accompany Walnut, encouraging him to go wherever he pleased.

His gait was steady, but his thoughts were anything but.

’What’s this?’

’Never seen that before.’

’Gotta check it out.’

He had a lot on his mind. He was interested in certain things and clearly wanted to go take a look, but in an effort to appear composed, he stubbornly stayed put.

He just kept walking at a leisurely pace, like a retired official on a stroll.

He eventually ambled over to Waterfowl Lake. After a slight hesitation, he climbed up the man-made rock hill by the shore.

He sat there at the top, letting the biting northwest wind lash his face.

It was as if he were back in the mountain forests, hearing the mournful howl of the wind through the treetops.

The lifespan of a wild giant panda is typically only 15 to 20 years. For those in captivity, scientific care and feeding grant them a longer life.

At 11 years old, Walnut was actually in the prime of his life.

And yet, in his prime, he seemed to have already reached an age where everything he saw was a memory.

He sat on that rock hill for over half an hour.

Shen Xin didn’t disturb him, just kept watch nearby.

Whenever Walnut happened to glance down, he could always see Shen Xin’s figure there.

Unconsciously, the favorability meter above his head increased by another 2 bars.

The speed of this progress was certainly encouraging.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the second-stage meter was full.

But then there was still the third stage.

Based on past experience, reaching the third stage would not be an easy task.

While Shen Xin was making his efforts, Yang Zeran’s hard work finally paid off.

On the afternoon of January 16th, an excited Yang Zeran contacted Shen Xin to report a discovery.

While conducting a large-scale search of missing and deceased persons, they had found someone.

The first round of investigation covered the year starting from April 2009.

The second round started from April 2010.

This discovery, however, had come during the third round, which covered the year starting from April 2011.

"Shen Xin, we found a man named Yang Guofa, a villager from Lizi Gou Village in Bikou Town."

"If he were still alive, he’d be 39 this year."

"In ’05, when he was 24, he was hired at the Bikou Town Protection Station. Bikou Town is about twenty kilometers east of Liujiaping as the crow flies."

"In ’07, due to a personnel reassignment at the protection stations, he was transferred to Liujiaping Town and assigned to Liu Baoli’s team."

"He worked at the Liujiaping Protection Station until June 2011—two months after the second incident—at which point he resigned to find work elsewhere."

"He never came back and never contacted his family. They reported him missing in 2012, but the local police didn’t really look into it, since he was an adult."

"In any case, the man has been missing ever since."

"Shen Xin, we asked around and uncovered a few things."

"For example, former station employees mentioned that Yang Guofa and Liu Baoli were on good terms. Zhou Huayong also recalled that after the panda was reported, he once saw Yang Guofa and Liu Baoli arguing in private."

"Second, Wang Shulin’s mother recalled seeing Yang Guofa. She doesn’t remember the exact day, but it would have been after the first incident, sometime in December 2009."

"She came home from work one day and found a man on a motorcycle waiting at her door. He was looking for Wang Shulin, and it was this Yang Guofa."

"She even invited him in and made some small talk. Yang Guofa claimed to be a friend of Wang Shulin’s. When Wang Shulin got home, the two of them left together."

"The problem is, Wang Shulin worked over in Tielou Town from the very beginning. Of course, since they were all in the same conservation area, they might have had opportunities to meet, but to say they were friends... something feels off. We’ll have to do some more interviews to confirm."

"But as it stands, this Yang Guofa has ties to both Liu Baoli and Wang Shulin."

"Most importantly, he disappeared to ’find work’ right after the second incident. Doesn’t that sound like he got scared and went into hiding?"