wind in the dark night

Chapter 318 Shuiguan solves the problem
early morning.

Qi Yue found a pen and paper and sat at his desk to write letters to his family. On average, he would send a letter home every one or two months.

When writing the signature, I subconsciously glanced at the desk calendar: December 1941, 12, the eighth year of Kant, the fifteenth day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, today is the Lower Yuan Festival.

The Lower Yuan Festival is also known as the Lower Yuan Day. It is the birthday of the Water God. The Water God inspects all living beings, records and reports to the heavenly court, and helps believers eliminate disasters and misfortunes.

According to Taoism, there are three emperors in the divine world: Heaven, Earth and Water. They are Emperor of Heaven Tang Yao, Emperor of Earth Yu Shun and Emperor of Water Dayu.

The three emperors have boundless magical powers and know everything, but they have different responsibilities and duties: the Heaven Official bestows blessings, the Earth Official forgives sins, and the Water Official relieves disasters.

On the day of the Lower Yuan Festival, the City God Temple held the Huanglu Taoist Ceremony as usual, and believers went into the temple to burn incense and offer sacrifices. On such a big day, Taoist Li would definitely come, and Li Tiezui should be able to come back as well.

Qi Yue planned to hand over the gold stored in Citibank to the organization through Li Tiezui. The Binjiang Detachment had a team of hundreds of people and had too many places to spend money. They couldn't just rely on borrowing food and money to survive.

When I came out of the house and just walked out of the alley, I saw Section Chief Han squatting on the ground tying his shoelaces with a briefcase under his arm, the two of them walking one after the other.

"Morning, Chief Han."

Qi Yue greeted.

Section Chief Han looked back, quickly stood up, and said politely, "Good morning."

In the police department, Section Chief Han has a nickname "Han Laoshi", which means that he is introverted. Although he works diligently, he is not good at speaking and rarely interacts privately with his colleagues.

"Why are you out so early?"

Qi Yue chatted as they walked.

Section Chief Han said, "My wife has gone back to her parents' home, so I can only come out to eat breakfast and then go straight to work... Why are you here so early?"

Qi Yue laughed and said, "No one makes breakfast for a bachelor, so he has to get up so early every day."

Section Chief Han smiled and said nothing.

If Qi Yue didn't speak up, given Section Chief Han's personality, the two of them would remain silent all the way, as if they didn't know each other.

"Where to eat?"

"Um, I haven't thought about it yet..."

Qi Yue said: "The beef buns at Tianxiang Garden are pretty good, how about we share?"

Section Chief Han nodded: "Okay."

They both drove there separately.

Tianxiangyuan Baozi Shop is also on Central Avenue, less than three to five minutes' walk away. Passing by an incense and candle shop, Qi Yue got out of the car and bought some sacrificial items such as paper money and put them in the trunk.

There were few customers in the bun shop. Section Chief Han sat alone in a corner. Qi Yue walked over, pulled out a stool and sat down: "Why don't you order anything?"

Section Chief Han said, "I saw you didn't catch up, so I thought you weren't coming."

Qi Yue said, "Today is the Lower Yuan Festival. I just bought some offerings and will go to the City God Temple to pay tribute... Hey, give me two trays of beef dumplings and two bowls of mutton soup."

Section Chief Han asked: "Who are you commemorating?"

Qi Yue said: "My mother passed away many years ago. I have been in Manchuria for many years and have never been back to visit her grave. Alas, as a son, I am an unfilial son..."

During the meal, Section Chief Han did say a word. He is an introvert, but once you get to know each other better, he becomes talkative.

Qi Yue put down his chopsticks and said, "Section Chief Han, take your time eating. I have to hurry to the City God Temple, so I won't wait for you. Oh, the bill is settled."

"Ok."

"See you."

"thank you."

"Thank you for what?"

"It cost you money."

"Hey, you're welcome."

After coming out of the steamed bun shop, Qi Yue opened the door and got into the car. Today he was going to the City God Temple, one to see Li Tiezui, and the other to pay tribute to his deceased mother.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped at the corner of the street. Qi Yue observed for a while in the car, got out, crossed the road, and entered a roadside telephone booth.

"I'm looking for Mr. Smith."

"I am."

"Mr. Smith, I'm your client Qi Yue. I want to ask, can I pick up my things at any time?"

"Oh, hello, Mr. Qi. You can deposit and withdraw money freely at Citibank. As long as you have legal documents, you can withdraw cash at any time without making an appointment."

"is today Okay?"

"of course."

"Okay, I might go to the bank to withdraw cash later."

"Always waiting."

"Thanks, bye."

"Goodbye."

Qi Yue hung up the phone.

At this time, a car drove over.

It’s Chief Han’s car.

Qi Yue turned around. He didn't want to be seen by acquaintances. At the same time, he felt strange. The police department was in the opposite direction, and he shouldn't take this road anyway. Why did Section Chief Han drive here?

Qi Yue's car was parked at the corner and could not be seen from Chief Han's perspective.

Qi Yue watched Han's car go away, and then he came out of the phone booth. Although the road had been cleared, there was still a layer of snow. He could catch up with Han by following the clear tire tracks. Qi Yue became curious and wanted to see where the taciturn Han was going instead of going to work.

In front of the Qilu Guild Hall, Section Chief Han got out of the car, looked around, and knocked on the door. After a while, the wooden door creaked open and a waiter opened the door and let him in.

The guild halls named after regions were originally inns that accommodated people from the same province. Over time, they gradually developed into multi-functional venues for social activities, and people from the same province are always particularly close to each other.

Section Chief Han is from Shandong, so it's not strange for him to come here to meet friends or discuss things. But in terms of time, is it too early? Qi Yue drew a question mark in his mind.

……

Inside the main hall of City God Temple.

Many Taoists bowed three times and kowtowed nine times.

Li Tiezui's uncle, the Taoist priest Li from the Dragon King Temple was also among them.

After Qi Yue paid tribute to his mother, he walked slowly along the outer wall of the City God Temple. If Li Tiezui came, he would probably set up a fortune-telling stall nearby.

Nowadays, Taoism is gradually declining, with fewer and fewer believers, which has also led to a decrease in Taoist temples. Even in a big city like Binjiang, there is only one decent Taoist temple, Chenghuang Temple.

"There are unexpected changes in the weather, and people are subject to misfortunes and blessings at any time. A horse can travel a thousand miles, but it cannot go by itself without a rider. A person has lofty ambitions, but they cannot achieve them without luck. Fortune-telling, fortune-telling, one fortune-telling, one fortune-telling..."

A familiar voice came faintly.

Li Tiezui's fortune-telling stall was placed in a recessed corner. The warm sunlight shone on his face, giving him a somewhat immortal demeanor.

Qi Yue was happy that Li Tiezui had indeed come. He lit a cigarette and looked around casually. Most of the Taoist believers were in the temple, with occasional passers-by passing by in a hurry.

He came close to Li Tiezui's fortune-telling stall and sat on the folding chair opposite.

"Sir, do you want to tell fortunes?"

Li Tiezui asked with a smile.

Qi Yue said slowly: "There is no way to escape the divine arrows in the spirit platform, the storm is as heavy as a rock and darkens the old home. I hope that the cold stars will not notice, I will sacrifice my blood to Xuanyuan."

"you……"

"Yes, I am."

Qi Yue had mentioned this poem to Li Tiezui, and the two had had conversations. Although Qi Yue deliberately changed his voice, it could still be more or less distinguished in certain circumstances, like now.

Li Tiezui was very calm, his cold yellow face was not disturbed. Even though the person in front of him was most likely Qing Yi, he still wanted to confirm her identity for the sake of safety: "I think I have seen you before. The last time we met, I remember, was at Sanli Bridge in Fujia Dian."

"Dragon King Temple, merit box."

Qi Yue answered briefly.

Li Tiezui remained calm, observing his surroundings from the corner of his eyes, and whispered, "Hello, Comrade Qingyi, I finally see you in person."

Qi Yue said: "To make a long story short, I have some valuable items in my hands and I want to hand them over to the organization. How should I proceed?"

Li Tiezui picked up the bamboo tube, shook it twice, and with a click, a fortune stick fell out. He picked it up and read the words on the stick: "Are there many things?"

Qi Yue said: "Quite a few, and very eye-catching."

Li Tiezui said: "I'm going to see Lao Yang tonight. The Binjiang Prefectural Committee has been operating for many years and should have transportation channels in this area. I'm also planning to talk to Lao Yang about your situation..."

Qi Yue said: "Before the traitors are eliminated, the Binjiang Prefectural Committee is not reliable."

At this time, a passerby passed by.

Li Tiezui said seriously: "Sir, judging from the hexagram, this is a bad sign, and it needs to be resolved..."

After the passers-by walked away, Li Tiezui said, "If it doesn't work, I'll think of another way to get the stuff out as soon as possible. The organization is most in need of money, so we really need to hurry up on this matter."

In fact, he only said half of his words. His original intention was to contact Zhou Yi and ask him to find a way to take the things out directly. If Qi Yue agreed, he would let them meet at the same time.

"What's the situation in Lotus Town?"

Qi Yue took the fortune stick.

Li Tiezui said: "I came to Chenghuang Temple this time because I guessed you might come."

Qi Yue said: "The Lower Yuan Festival is a big day for Taoism. You guessed I would come, and I also guessed you would come. Our two coincidences are similar."

Li Tiezui said: "Fortunately we all guessed correctly, so we didn't make a wasted trip. Oh, I came here this time just to tell you that I found out who the traitor is. It's Officer Zhao from the work team."

Qi Yue asked: "Is there any evidence?"

Li Tiezui said: "A while ago, Tiezhu of the Binjiang Detachment probably discovered something by accident and was murdered by Officer Zhao. On the night of the incident, Zhou Yi drank a bowl of tea and went to sleep. The tea was brewed by Officer Zhao. I suspect that sleeping pills were put in the tea. His purpose in doing this was to trick Tiezhu into going out alone and then shoot him to death!"

Qi Yue said: "Where is the evidence?"

Li Tiezui said, "I found some tea dregs. You can take them away and test them to see if there are any sleeping pills in them. If there are, it means that Director Zhao is the traitor. Last time, you said that whoever the Pu'er tea belongs to is the traitor. I have also checked this out. The Pu'er tea belongs to Director Zhao!"

Qi Yue said: "This can only be considered circumstantial evidence. We must have solid evidence. Otherwise, if a good person is wrongly accused..."

Li Tiezui said: "Ma Kai was killed, and the evidence pointed to Secretary Zhao. An axe was missing from the farmer's house where they were staying. The farmer confirmed that Secretary Zhao borrowed it the day before and then said he lost it."

Qi Yue took out a dollar and put it on the table: "I'll test the tea dregs first, and then we'll talk. That's all for today, I have to go."

Li Tiezui opened his sack, took out a copper coin strung with a red string and handed it over. He also secretly stuffed the paper bag of tea dregs into Qi Yue's hand and said, "Hang the copper coin on the north window of your home to ward off evil."

Qi Yue was stunned when he heard this: "Block the evil?"

Li Tiezui said seriously: "The fortune you drew is really a bad one."

Qi Yue couldn't help but laugh: "Materialists believe this?"

Li Tiezui said: "If you believe it, it exists. If you don't believe it, it doesn't exist. Since you came to tell fortunes, you should believe it a little bit. You can have an explanation when you take it back."

Qi Yue put the coin in his pocket, thought for a moment and said, "Actually, you should hang a coin to ward off evil. After all, you were the one who drew the fortune stick."

Li Tiezui smiled slightly: "It's okay, the Water Official can help you get rid of troubles, there are no taboos."

(End of this chapter)