wind in the dark night

Chapter 299 Pu'er Tea Fragrance
inside the room.

Snoring came and went.

A dark shadow slowly sat up, lifted the quilt, put on his shoes, got downstairs, groped for his clothes and pants, tiptoed to the main room, listened for a while, opened the door and walked out.

It was late at night and there was no one on the street. A dark shadow, like a ghost, wearing a dog-skin hat with ear protection and a scarf covering his face, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed, walked along the street towards the charity cemetery.

The charity cemetery was even creepier than a cemetery. No one came to such a place. In order to prevent wild animals from accidentally breaking in, the night watchman, Old Geng, got a rusty steel bar, bent it and put it on the door.

The black shadow opened the door, slipped into the house, struck a match, and looked around in the faint light. He quickly identified his target. The other dead had already been put in coffins, leaving only the iron pillar covered with white cloth resting on the wooden board.

The black shadow did not hesitate and quickly pulled out the iron pillar's belt - a piece of khaki coarse cloth, about the width of a palm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!
The night watchman's voice could be heard faintly: "Everything is fine~"

The shadow left in a hurry.

……

early morning.

seven o 'clock.

Peace Inn.

The waiter brought breakfast, including salted fish, pickled cucumbers, steamed buns, and sorghum rice.

Qi Yue raised his nose and sniffed, praising: "The fried salted fish is good, the smell makes me hungry... When I was a child, I loved eating my mother's fried salted fish the most. It goes well with rice, and I can eat an extra bowl of rice."

Wang Peng, who was standing by, said, "This is silver carp, which has a strong earthy smell. The best is the fried knife fish, which has no bones. Sea fish is especially fresh."

Qi Yue said: "You are talking about hairtail, right?"

Wang Peng said: "Yes, there is also a fish called hairtail."

Qi Yue smiled and said, "The first time I came to Manchuria, I heard a fishmonger shouting on the street that he was selling saury. I wondered what saury was, but when I looked, I found out it was hairtail, just with a different name."

Zhao Zhenhai pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at Qi Yue, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

Qi Yue said: "If you have something to say, just say it."

Wang Peng smiled and said to Zhao Zhenhai: "That's right, if you have something to say, you should fart."

Zhao Zhenhai glared at him and said, "You are such a disrespectful person. When I get angry one day, I will slap you in the face...Captain, I forgot to ask you last night, how did you know that Ma Kai was an anti-bandit?"

Qi Yue said: "Jiang Yuying said so."

Zhao Zhenhai was stunned.

Qi Yue continued, "Jiang Yuying actually recognized me. Don't you think it's strange? When Ma Kai came in, she told me that the people who came were anti-bandits, so I sent you a signal."

"Why did she attack me?"

Zhao Zhenhai was very puzzled.

Wang Peng analyzed and said, "I guess they might have mistaken you for a bandit. These past few days, there have been rumors that bandits have entered the town. Jiang Yuying was in a hurry... It doesn't seem right."

Qi Yue said: "Don't guess, everything will be clear once we catch Ma Kai."

Zhao Zhenhai frowned, "I'm a little suspicious now. There might be Ma Kai's accomplices among the police officers in Lianhua Town Public Security Bureau. Otherwise, how could he escape?"

……

After one hour.

There was a knock on the door outside the house.

Qi Yue said: "The door is not locked, come in."

Inspector Liu, dressed in plain clothes, pushed the door open and walked in.

Qi Yue looked at him: "Why are you here?"

Chief Inspector Liu said respectfully, "Captain Qi, I have found Ma Kai's residence and I am here to ask you if you want to take any action."

Qi Yue asked: "Is he home?"

Chief Inspector Liu said, "I went to check it out myself. There was smoke coming out of the chimney. He should be at home." Qi Yue glanced at his watch. It was just after nine o'clock. He said to Zhao Zhenhai and Wang Peng, "Let's go and take a look together."

The group left the inn.

Zhao Zhenhai and Wang Peng walked in front.

"Why are you dressed like this?"

Qi Yue looked at Chief Inspector Liu.

Chief Inspector Liu smiled and said, "Hide it from the public, hide it from the public..."

Qi Yue knew that it was not difficult to find the address of a local in a small place like Lianhua Town. Captain Liu came to report, either he was trying to please him or he received instructions from Xu Tao.

Soon, the truck stopped in front of a grocery store on North Street. Chief Inspector Liu said, "Go into the alley on the right. It's the third store."

Qi Yue asked: "Where are your people?"

Chief Inspector Liu said, "They are hiding in the grocery store. Oh, this is a dead end, there is no other exit. If Ma Kai comes out, they will definitely see him. I have also arranged people at the back door."

"So what are you waiting for? Catch it."

Qi Yue lit a cigarette.

Chief Inspector Liu agreed, opened the door and got out of the car. He waved his hand towards the grocery store, and six or seven policemen swarmed out. Chief Inspector Liu asked one of them, "He didn't come out, did he?"

"We've been watching him, but he hasn't come out."

"action!"

"Yes!"

The police swarmed into the alley.

The wooden door opened with a kick.

After a while, Chief Inspector Liu hurried out of the alley, walked quickly to the car window, and said to Qi Yue: "No one is home. I guess Ma Kai didn't dare to stay at home, so he didn't come back last night."

Qi Yue got out of the car and entered the alley.

Chief Inspector Liu followed closely behind.

Zhao Zhenhai and Wang Peng also followed in.

When they arrived at the gate, Qi Yue noticed that there was a faded and broken Chinese couplet with the Chinese character "福" on the door, and there was no halal mark on the lintel, so he asked, "Captain Liu, is this Ma Kai's home?"

"Yes. Oh, he hasn't been home for two years. He rented the house to a famine refugee."

"Is there no one else in his family?"

"Both his parents are dead, and he is an only child."

"........."

"Last summer, for some unknown reason, his mother contracted syphilis. At first, we didn't understand why, and thought it was because she didn't take a bath and her body was itchy. But it turned out that his father was also infected."

"Veinophilia won't kill you, will it?"

Qi Yue stepped into the room, looked at the noisy policemen, and said to Chief Inspector Liu, "Let them go out first."

Chief Inspector Liu motioned for his men to leave, and then said, "He had contracted a serious disease. Ma Kai's mother was too embarrassed to go to the pharmacy to get medicine, so she secretly found a quack doctor who went from street to street. After many treatments, she spent a lot of money, but his condition got worse. His son's life or death was unknown, and he himself fell ill. The old couple was so depressed that they hanged themselves. It was the hottest time of the year, and when they were found, they were already smelly..."

The room was in a mess. The bedding was not folded but piled randomly on the kang. There was unfinished breakfast on the table. Zhao Zhenhai and Wang Peng searched each room step by step without any instructions.

Qi Yue looked around and flipped through some items. Chief Inspector Liu was beside him and said tentatively, "It's going to be hard to search such a big house. How about letting my people come in and help?"

Qi Yue said calmly: "One person from the Special Agents Department is worth ten."

"That is, that is."

Chief Inspector Liu echoed.

Qi Yue reached out and opened the drawer, looking inside. There was half a pack of Concorde cigarettes and a pack of tea specially sealed with a clip. The trademark on the tea bag was clearly visible: Specialty from western Yunnan, fragrant Pu'er tea.

(End of this chapter)