3: Next Assignment

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'Lan Zhan', Lan Wangji's birth name, the man had called. It was almost an endearment term which Lan Wangji does not want anyone to muster.

The voice ringed in Wangji's head, accessing whatever he had blocked inside his memory. 'That man...' He thought as his grip tightened on the handlebars, speeding up his motorcycle to reach the newest crime scene which might be related to the serial killings he is currently assigned to solve.

His presence was recognized as soon as he got off his bike. Officers, even that older than him, nodded their heads as a salute for the esteemed genius detective who had solved not just one but two famous cases even veterans couldn't handle.

The first, the mysterious case of The Art Thief of Beijing, of which people claimed the young detective, aged 22 back then, had only solved out of luck. But Lan Wangji proved them wrong on the second and his most recent accomplishment at the age of 23, after he had joined the homicide department. The Notorious Killings of John Doe, the foreigner psychopath who had abducted and murdered 4 teenagers, of which Wangji had cracked his moves on his lone investigation and ended the game with the culprit's death at a one-on-one shoot out between the two of them. All doubts of his skills and knowledge were then dissolved and was changed into that of outmost trust and respect.

Lan Wangji ducked his torso under the perimetre tape, breaching the scene enclosure. Hands inside gloves, he crouched with the forensics team inspecting the dead body of a woman.

His rookie partner, Lan Jingyi, reached after him. A snicker on the young man's face. "I can't believe you're acquianted with the famous Wei Wuxian!" Words indeed spread fast. One brief meeting in the morning and the gossip already reached the man's ears. "Maybe you could help me gather a few signatures of thy Literary Master?"

Lan Wangji remained indifferent, "Focus." He simply uttered.

Jingyi clicked his tongue, languidly squating besides his senior. "But the man is the real deal!" He whisper-mumbled like a child.

Wangji heed him no more, his eyes busy scanning for clues on the woman's body. "Cause of death, asphyxiation." He announced after feeling the broken cartilage on the corpse's throat, carefully shoving the hair away from the face to trace dried blood stains from the back of her head. "Battered in the head first with a hard material. A hammer." He said confidently feeling the indentation on the skull. "Then another single hit on the throat with the same weapon."

An officer who's heard him came to them to say a hammer with stains of blood reportedly acquired from a neadby junk shop was seen and had already been sent to the lab for DNA testing. Wangji removed his gloves, standing up, ready to leave. The case does not have the same killer as the one he is hunting down. This killer is merciful enough to kill the victim in a quick manner, whereas Wangji's killer case loves to torture victims first, dragging death, before killing them.

"Time of death?" Jingyi curiously asked.

"8 hours." Wangji answered before the officer in charge of the reports could even answer.

The forensic team was awed with his skills. It was indeed 8 hours estimate for the time of death basing on the corpse's temperature which they've measured with a thermometre. And yet, Lan Wangji only touched the corpse with his gloved hand for a few seconds and had already predicted the time of death!

Crisp clap of two hands were then heard. Curious gazes turn to the source and had their mouth hanging wide except for Lan Wangji's.

"Time for your next assignment, Lan Zhan."

There stood Wei Wuxian in flesh, eyes behind his dark glasses but all could feel the penetrating gazes he was giving Lan Wangji. One can spot, the man does not belong there with his expensive Rolex watch and fancy neat pressed suit.

"W-What assignment?" Jingyi's mouth spluttered though star-struck with the celebrity writer's presence. "Our case is not yet closed?"

Wei Wuxian's brow quirked and a wide smirk, dashing and handsome, blinded his spectators. "Check your phone, Detective Lan. I'll be waiting in the car." He gave away, turning on his feet and hiding behind the dark luxurious car parked across the street.

Resentment sinks in Lan Wangji. Jingyi could see the protruding veins on his hand as his senior's clasp on his mobile tightened.

Lan Wangji was by the side of Wei Wuxian's car in a millisecond. Ready to fight. Ready to kill. The tinted window rolled down as its passenger grinned at the enraged officer. "Come in, Lan Zhan. We have things to talk about."

His invitation received a grunt in reply. 'Too much hatred.' Wei Wuxian thought. Wangji's fisted hand trembled in anger as it rested on the car's hood and he bent his body to glare at Wei Wuxian. "I decline."

Wei Wuxian bursted laughing, a sarcastic mockery which irritated the hell out of the impassive Lan Wangji. "This is even above Jiang Cheng's call, my Lan Zhan. I have the higher ups in the State Ministry and State of Police backing up my request. Would you dare offend them?" Wei Wuxian grinned, hands trying to reach Wangji's face to caress it, but the younger had grabbed his wrist and swat it away quickly.

"You still hasn't forgiven me. I see." Wei Wuxian's face seemed to frown in remorse but Wangji cared less. "But you have no choice, Lan Zhan." The voice frosted over. "Come in or I'll drag you in. I'm sure you wouldn't like the latter." He warned, mood switching from that of annoying to that of intimidating. Lan Wangji knew this side of him. He was all smiley on the outside, but he really is a two-faced man. The other side? A crazy scary man, one should not mess with.

--------08-May-2021