Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Four Nine Cities.

Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong ran through the alley all night.

From the guesthouse to the street office, from the street office to the phone booth, from the phone booth to every side alley and every dead end.

Their voices were hoarse from shouting, but their feet didn't stop.

"Ruihua...Jiedi..."

Yan Bugui stood at the entrance of a dark alley, cupped his hands to his mouth, and shouted into the alley.

"Zhao Di..."

Liu Haizhong's throat was hoarse, but he kept shouting.

One of his cloth shoes fell off when he ran to the fifth alley. His bare foot stepped on the road, stepping over gravel and mud.

Several blisters formed on the soles of my feet, and they even burst.

He didn't care; his mind wasn't on his feet at all.

His thoughts were on every single day and night he had spent with Li Zhaodi for nearly thirty years.

The shoe soles she made for him, the clothes she mended for him, the three sons she bore for him—now only one remains.

"Zhao Di...please say one thing to me...just one thing..."

Liu Haizhong ran to a crossroads, turned around, and shouted in four directions in turn.

There was no response from any of the four directions.

Xiao Wang followed behind Liu Haizhong, so much so that he could barely hold the flashlight steady, and the beam of light swayed back and forth against the wall.

I'm tired.

She wanted to advise Liu Hai to take a break, but when she saw his bare foot stepping on the ice, she swallowed her words.

Xiao Zhao followed Yan Bugui and picked up the latter's glasses when they slipped off his face, wiped them clean, and handed them back to him.

If my own family member went missing, I would probably do the same.

Around 8:30 pm.

Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong met at the entrance of the phone booth.

"Did you find it?"

Liu Haizhong didn't speak, he just shook his head.

He leaned against the metal shell of the phone booth, looking up at the night sky, his eyes unmoving, and after a long while he finally spoke:

"Zhao Di, where are you...?"

They even began to doubt whether they were still in reality.

Perhaps Li Zhaodi is still sitting comfortably in the guesthouse, and I'm just too tired to see clearly.

But this illusion has lasted far too long.

Little did she know that her friend Zhao Di disappeared right outside that phone booth.

Yan Bugui did not answer him. He also squatted down on the steps next to the phone booth and buried his face in his palms.

His palms were covered in dirt and tiny cuts, but he couldn't feel anything.

Thinking back to when Yang Ruihua saw him off at the guesthouse entrance today, he remembered how she tugged at his sleeve and said, "Go early and come back early."

He regretted it.

I regret not staying... I regret not taking them away from Beijing directly...

He regretted it so much!

When Qin Ming found them, he saw Liu Haizhong barefoot; the missing cloth shoe was still nowhere to be found.

Yan Bugui's glasses cracked, but neither of them cried; they just sat there in a daze.

Xiao Zhao whispered something in Qin Ming's ear.

Qin Ming nodded, squatted down in front of the two men, and patted their knees on either side.

"Let's go back to the station."

Yan Bugui didn't look at him, but simply shook his head: "I'm not leaving... what if they're in this alley..."

Qin Ming reached out and grabbed Yan Bugui's arm, pulling him up from the pile of bricks. At the same time, he grabbed Liu Haizhong with his other hand.

"You two must come back with me."

"The city will be informed of their distinctive information as soon as it gets light tomorrow. If you fall down now, who will come to find you tomorrow?"

Is it your leg, Lao Yan, or your foot, Lao Liu?

"If you all really fall, what will happen to them?"

Liu Haizhong looked down at his bare foot on the ground and said nothing.

Back at the police station.

Xiao Wang helped Yan Bugui into the duty room, and Xiao Zhao helped Liu Haizhong sit down on a bench.

Qin Ming had someone bring a first-aid kit to treat Liu Haizhong's foot wound, and also had two cups of hot water poured and placed beside the two of them.

He pulled up a chair and sat down at the entrance of the duty room, lighting a cigarette.

This is the scene that He Yushui saw when she came out of the detention cell: the door to the duty room was wide open.

Yan Bugui huddled on the bench, her glasses cracked, her cotton-padded coat torn, muttering incoherently in her sleep.

Liu Haizhong lay on another bench, one foot wrapped in gauze, his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, motionless.

what's going on?

I just came to visit my brother, how come I see two stupid old men in charge?

"Captain Qin... what happened to Second Uncle and Third Uncle? Has something serious happened again?"

"Yang Ruihua, Yan Jiedi, and Li Zhaodi have gone missing. We've been searching for them for most of the day."

Qin Ming stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, stood up, and asked, "How's your brother doing?"

"My brother said he knows he was wrong and shouldn't have hit people."

He Yushui lowered her head. "But regarding Yi Zhonghai's matter, he still feels he did nothing wrong."

Qin Ming nodded.

He Yushui stepped forward to comfort them, saying, "Second Uncle, Third Uncle, you must keep going! Second Aunt, Third Aunt, it's good news that Sister Jie Di and the others haven't been found yet."

This means they haven't encountered real danger yet; otherwise, they would have found corpses. They probably encountered danger and hid beforehand.

Yan Bugui cried and said, "Yushui, Jiedi and your third uncle have gone missing. I... Waaah... I've been searching for ages but haven't found a single clue."

Liu Haizhong said dejectedly, "Really? Rain?"

He Yushui nodded and said, "Of course, think about the people who died in the courtyard. Which one of them could be missing without a body?"

"The best news is that you haven't found Auntie Er and the others. Cheer up and keep looking tomorrow."

"Thank you, rain, we will."

Seemingly reassured, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui were no longer as dejected and desperate as before.

Upon seeing this, He Yushui turned to leave.

Qin Ming stopped her, saying, "Comrade He Yushui, it's already dark. Don't go back to school; it's too dangerous. Just stay at the institute tonight and go back early tomorrow morning."

Looking at the disappointed and dejected Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, He Yushui was suddenly afraid when she thought about how many people had died in the courtyard.

From the bottom of his heart, he said, "Okay, Captain Qin, I'll listen to you."

Qin Ming nodded and went about his business.

He Yushui then took out two steamed buns and placed them on the table, poured two cups of hot water, and placed them next to Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong.

"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, people need food to survive, even when you're looking for someone, you need to eat something."

……