Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 53 Cat in the Night

When Qin Hao woke up, he found himself lying in a hospital bed, feeling a sharp, needle-like pain in his chest.

His first instinct was to reach for the cross-shaped butterfly knife in his pocket, but he found nothing.

Looking out the window, a half-moon hangs in the sky. The aluminum alloy window frame, along with the WiFi and no-smoking signs, proves that this is not a "dream."

My mind cleared up a bit, and my memories started to return.

Oh, I think I fell off the horse.

Did he lose? It seems he was too stubborn. Qin Hao chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Click! The sound of someone pulling the doorknob.

A tall figure walked in.

"Mr. Qin, you're awake! You scared me to death!" said the trainee mounted policewoman.

"How long was I unconscious?" Qin Hao had completely calmed down by now.

"About two hours later, the doctor said you hit your head, but there's nothing serious, just a slight fracture in your sternum."

"Did I lose?" Qin Hao didn't know why he was still concerned about this at this moment.

“Topol is in a worse situation than you. He broke a rib and is confirmed to be out of work for more than two months.” Vidian made a “two” gesture with her hand and grinned.

Then, the rookie mounted policewoman said somewhat angrily, "Mr. Qin, even though you're a rookie, you're being too reckless. Doing those kinds of moves during practice is extremely dangerous!"

"I'm sorry, I will reflect on my mistakes." Since it was indeed his fault, he had no choice but to offer a sincere apology.

Looking out at the half-moon, Qin Hao suddenly remembered that half of his "return" time had already passed. He then asked, "Miss Vidian, when can I be discharged from the hospital? I should probably go back soon."

"Discharged? The doctor said that if you don't rest properly, this injury to your chest will cause problems. You'll need to be observed for at least a week," the mounted policewoman said in a somewhat exaggerated tone.

"A week? That's a bit too late..." Qin Hao muttered to himself.

"What? You said it's too late?"

"No, it's nothing." Qin Hao propped himself up to face the mounted policewoman, staring into her beautiful eyes.

"I need to ask you for a favor. I'm in some trouble right now, and I have no choice but to ask you, police officer, for help."

When Vidian left, she "hopped" down the stairs, her light, deer-like steps revealing her good mood.

For some reason, Vidane felt at ease looking into the other person's eyes, and the sense of identity conveyed by the phrase "ask the police for help" also made the girl feel happy.

As I walked through the parking lot, I saw that someone was already waiting there.

A man in his fifties, wearing a jacket, leaned against the ground, with cigarette butts forming a small circle at his feet.

"Uncle Nico, what brings you here?" Vidion said softly.

“If something happens at my own horse farm, I have to come and check it out.” The man looked at the girl in front of him. “You’re too trusting. I have to keep an eye on you for your father.”

"I do not…"

"Don't rush to deny it," the man said, raising his hand to stop the girl from arguing.

"You brought a man you'd only just met to me, and you never bring friends here before, just because Rosa ate his sandwich? Or something else?"

Hearing this, the female mounted police officer herself became slightly confused. "Hmm~ it's probably because Rosa likes him too. And then there's his eyes."

"Eye?"

"How should I put it? When I looked into Mr. Qin's eyes, I felt that he was someone I could trust. It was a very strange feeling."

"No reason whatsoever?"

"Hmm~ There's no other reason."

"You're too sentimental. Bad people don't label their identities on their faces." The man took out a cigarette to light it, but then looked at the girl in front of him who was frowning and put it away.

“I’ve had someone investigate. Your friend with the beautiful eyes left Sochi four days ago, flew over to Turkey, and after landing, didn’t go to any major tourist areas, but instead spent a lot of money wandering around the desolate wilderness all night.” “You had someone follow him?” The girl’s eyes widened.

"There's no need for that. This is my territory. It's too easy for me to find out anything here."

The man waved his hand and continued.

"Although he had a Chinese visa, his departure point was Russia. It was already far-fetched for him to take a detour and transfer to a second-rate tourist city like ours. His itinerary here seemed even more strange. And then, by sheer coincidence, he ran into you, the daughter of a congressman."

“I watched the video of his sudden thrust earlier, and the way he was so eager to die with the person in his arms was just like a guy who had come from the battlefield.”

"So, Charlotte Vidion, from a police officer's perspective, don't you think this kind of person is suspicious?"

“This…” Vidian hesitated. From a rational point of view, what her uncle said made sense, but she subconsciously felt that the other party did not seem like a suspicious bad person.

“But it doesn’t matter,” the man said, shifting to a more relaxed posture. “He’s in the hospital now. I have a week to investigate him. If there’s really something wrong, he’ll show his true colors sooner or later.”

The next day, the mounted policewoman who reappeared in the ward was clearly preoccupied. She stopped a second before opening the door and carefully went around to the side of the ward.

She tiptoed and used her hand to peek through a corner of the blinds.

On the hospital bed, a black-haired Asian man in a hospital gown leaned quietly against the bedside, reading a book in his hand. A gentle breeze blew in from outside the window, and a sleeping stray cat on the windowsill stretched comfortably.

Everything seemed so harmonious.

Could such a person really be a suspect?
The gentle eyes from before flashed through her mind, and Vidian even felt a little ashamed of her own inner doubts.

Patting her cheeks to put on a smile again, Vidian pushed open the door and went in. "Mr. Qin, are you alright? I brought your luggage, and the things you need."

The Asian man on the hospital bed put down the book in his hand, took out an exquisite cross from his briefcase, and then hung it around his neck.

"It's been with me for a long time, and I really feel a bit uncomfortable not having it with me," Qin Hao explained with a smile.

Are you a religious person?

"I'm not one yet, but I do want to learn more."

How could someone who is peaceful, humble, enthusiastic about life, and a prospective believer be a bad person? Vidian secretly pinched herself.

Oh, by the way, he also likes reading.

The girl casually glanced at the covers of several books next to her, but her expression immediately froze.

Detailed Explanation of Commonly Used Explosives

The World's 100 Most Unsolved Criminal Cases

The Art of Persuasive Rhetoric

……

Good heavens! What are all these things?!

"Bad people don't label their identities on their faces," the uncle's words echoed in her ears, and the scales in the girl's heart were pulled back.

Vidian forced a smile and turned around, saying, "Please get some rest. I'll come again tomorrow. Also, I'll have your clothes washed and returned to the dry cleaners."

Once the seed of doubt sprouts, the kind of flower it will bloom into is beyond our control.

The next day, the policewoman's uncle told him that the black-haired Asian man's real profession had been discovered—he was a secondhand dealer who also had dealings with some gray-market industries.

This sends a bad signal—the other party wasn't telling the whole truth.

Then the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. The results of the clothes that had been sent to the laboratory for testing through an acquaintance came back—there was a faint residue of gunpowder smoke on them.

Realizing that the other person might really have a problem, the girl rushed angrily to the ward, only to find the bedside empty.

The night breeze pushed open the window, revealing a full moon hanging high outside, and the meowing of a cat drifted from afar.

(End of this chapter)