The Thoughts That Linger in the Heart, Never Forgotten

Old Ma and Old Liu sat in the office, smoking one cigarette after another—the ventilation fan could not possibly clear that much smoke, even if it was running.

Old Liu suddenly stubbed out the Black Liqun cigarette he had smoked less than halfway, crushing it into the ashtray overflowing with butts. He stared at Ma Houde. "He really said that?"

Ma Houde nodded. "That kid's mouth is tight as hell. He only said he had a mission and that, given the circumstances, dealing with that foreign old man was unavoidable."

"Had a mission, and it was unavoidable..." Old Liu frowned. "That foreign old man couldn't have been a foreign spy, could he? What kind of mission does Wang Yuechuan have?"

"How would I know? Why do you think I came to you?" Ma Houde rolled his eyes. "That kid clearly doesn't want to reveal anything. His lips are sealed, and he doesn't look scared at all. He's completely confident... I have no idea whether he really has some kind of special mission."

"Wang Yuechuan is from the provincial authorities. We may not have jurisdiction over him, but the killing happened on our turf..." Old Liu shook his head, then suddenly asked, "The kid didn't make any other requests? Ask to make a phone call or something?"

"No." Ma Houde shook his head. "As soon as he came out, I had him locked up. I searched everything on him, then put him away."

"What did he have?" Old Liu asked curiously. "And did you find out who the foreign old man was?"

"We found the old man's identification. I sent Lin Feng to investigate it, so we should have news soon." Ma Houde spoke quickly. "As for the kid, we didn't find anything special. Just a wallet, keys, a phone, and