It was already early summer. The sky over West City District was so stifling that the pale asphalt seemed to melt, and footsteps on the road made sticky slapping sounds. A few alluring women scattered along the street carried colorful parasols, like a beautiful line of scenery. Then the wind picked up. A worm-eaten branch suddenly snapped from a Ficus virens tree standing in the middle of the street. With a thunderous crash, passersby thought lightning had struck overhead, and several men and women fled desperately into nearby buildings.
Tangdu City, West City Ficus virens Cold Drink Shop.
A man wearing dark glasses had a kraft paper parcel tucked at his waist. He had booked a secluded corner booth early, sitting with his back to the door and leisurely reading messages on his phone. He was Long Wen, the boss of the West City labor export company. He had been waiting in the cold drink shop for an important guest for half an hour.
With a creak, the glass door opened. A middle-aged man in a fashionable plaid short-sleeved shirt entered carrying a black briefcase. After glancing around, he eagerly headed straight into Long Wen's booth and sat opposite him. Then the two switched seats. They were already used to arranging themselves this way.
This man was Qian Fu, the guest Long Wen had been waiting for.
He took two sips of the lemon-flavored cold drink that had already been ordered, lowered his head to look at the thick kraft paper parcel on the seat, and weighed it in his hand. A bright smile instantly spread across his face.
"Refreshing. That really hit the spot!"
Qian Fu did not look up at Long Wen. Instead, he impatiently asked, "What is it?"
Long Wen looked around, his face taut with tension. He seemed exceptionally cautious as he lowered his voice. "Someone in Tangdu jumped into a river and disappeared. One person died. You know about that, right?"
"Bullshit. What do you think I do for a living? Get to the point. Spit it out!"
"They were my brothers. Hu Pan was released by you people, and I should thank you for that. But two days ago, Hu Pan was chased by a tall policeman again. Luckily, he wasn't caught. Scarface has been missing for three months, one of our brothers is dead, and I don't think this case is over."
"Who is this tall policeman?" Long Wen asked.
"I didn't see him. How would I know who he was... Oh, maybe he was newly assigned to West City Police Station. I forget his name. Our squad got a young guy named Long Xing not long ago!" Qian Fu guessed.
"Then keep an eye on it. The most urgent matter now is whether you have any way to settle this?" Long Wen got to the point.
"Didn't the thug tell you?"
"No... Oh, right, I think I heard the thug say that you still haven't found that woman. Her name is Long..." Long Wen suddenly realized he had let something slip and deliberately tried to take it back.
"Long what?" Qian Fu pressed.
"I don't know!"
"You're fucking playing games. Fine, I won't ask. Fuck, that was stupid of me! What can be done? A life for a life!" Qian Fu said disdainfully. In truth, he was hinting that Long Wen's group was in a dangerous position and needed to make plans early.
From their conversation, Long Wen clearly knew who that woman was and where Scarface was. He simply refused to tell Qian Fu. He was holding something back from Qian Fu as well. That was where Long Wen's cunning lay.
"Brother Qian, I know you have a way!" Long Wen said with a flattering smile.
After pondering for a moment, Qian Fu assumed the expression of a seasoned schemer. "Do you know what kind of person will never talk?"
"What kind? A mute!" Long Wen answered without thinking.
Qian Fu glanced at Long Wen.
"Oh! Then... then... the dead..." Long Wen had not finished when Qian Fu cut him off.
"I never said that!" Qian Fu deliberately distanced himself from responsibility, shooting Long Wen a glare. He rose, tucked the kraft paper parcel from the seat beneath his arm, and took two steps. Smiling knowingly, he turned back and tossed out one final remark. "Think it over carefully. Use the phone less from now on!" He casually pushed open the blue glass door, slipped out sideways, and plunged into a Volkswagen parked beneath the Ficus virens tree. In an instant, he vanished into the dusty wind filled with swirling leaves.
Long Wen stared blankly at Qian Fu's retreating figure. "Brother Qian... you..."
Long Wen returned to the West City labor export company in irritation. He puzzled over Qian Fu's words for a long time but still could not understand what they meant. He called in his assistant, Ma Shaokang, for an explanation. Ma Shaokang deliberately played mysterious and said, "Ask Hu Pan, and you'll know what's going on!"
"Ask him? Are you mistaken?" Long Wen felt that doing so would lower his status. But when he thought of the task assigned by the boss, he had no choice but to follow Qian Fu's advice. He called Hu Pan.
Long Wen secretly met Hu Pan at Longshe Coffee Shop.
"Hu Dawa, you and Scarface still haven't finished dealing with the mess you caused. The Public Security Bureau is chasing you hard. Hurry up and find a way to wipe your asses clean, or you'll drag everyone down with you. You know the boss's temper!" Hu Pan sat there blankly for a long time without making a sound, his head lowered with a harried expression.
"Why are you just sitting there? Why not hand yourselves over to the Public Security Bureau?"
"No... no... Brother Long, you still have to help us with this!" Hu Pan became anxious. He dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed to Long Wen. "Brother Long, you must have a way!"
"Fine. Who is that woman you messed with? Where does she live? Put more thought into dealing with her and make her shut up! No one can know about this."
Hu Pan seemed to suddenly understand. He said smugly, "Brother Long, I know what to do. Isn't it just this?" He made two slicing motions across his neck.
"Pig brain! Are you looking to die? Use your head and come up with a foolproof way to get away clean!" Long Wen snapped angrily.
Hu Pan furrowed his brow, his eyes flicking rapidly from side to side.
"Brother Long, that woman is obsessed with fortune-telling. She forced her daughter to leave home because of a fortune she had told. She has thoughts of not wanting to live!"
"Are you sure?"
"Sure. Her daughter was talking to a friend, and our people overheard it!"
"Then do as I say..."
Long Wen lowered his head and whispered several unintelligible words into Hu Pan's ear. Then he warned him, "The key is not exposing yourselves. Make absolutely sure she shuts up!"
"Brother Long, don't worry. We'll make it flawless!"
"At least you understand! Right, we need a foolproof way to get away clean!"
"Brother Long, don't worry!" A smug expression appeared on Hu Pan's face.
At eleven that night, West City Garden Street was brightly lit, and customers constantly came and went from the massage parlor. Dead drunk, Hu Pan appeared at the entrance of Shop No. 14. He did not forget to cautiously greet the massage parlor owner, Wu Shan. "Mama Wu, keep a close eye outside. Don't let strangers in. Is Zhu Lina here?" Hu Pan staggered unsteadily inside.
From the casual way he spoke, Hu Pan was clearly a regular customer there. Wu Shan, however, showed a trace of annoyance. This punk is here to stir up trouble again. Still, helplessly, she said, "She is. She's lying on the bed inside." Wu Shan smiled with her eyes and brows, but it was all an act.
Zhu Lina heard Hu Pan's voice inside and hurried out in fright. Staring at him with terror on her face, she said, "Brother Hu, what is it?"
"Come on. We'll talk inside." Hu Pan was worried someone might overhear them. Zhu Lina's heart pounded even harder. She feared Brother Hu might make improper advances on her, but faced with his intimidation, she did not dare disobey.
Without a word, Zhu Lina followed Hu Pan into the small room behind the curtain. Seeing her revealing clothes and seductive figure, Hu Pan was indeed somewhat tempted. Fueled by alcohol, he unconsciously stepped forward to kiss her.
At that moment, Brother Long's instructions suddenly churned through his mind, and he could not help cursing, "Damn it, ruining my fun!"
Zhu Lina stared at Hu Pan in terror, her face full of suspicion as she had no idea what had happened.
Hu Pan suddenly became friendly. Breaking from his usual behavior, he immediately pulled out one thousand yuan and waved it in his hand. Staring lustfully at Zhu Lina, he said, "Lili, this is for you!"
Zhu Lina hesitated, frowning.
"What are you..." Zhu Lina had never received so much money at once in her life. Has this punk taken the wrong medicine? Has he lost his mind?
Hu Pan stuffed the money into Zhu Lina's hand, then began chatting with her as though making casual conversation and asking after her well-being. Perhaps for Zhu Lina, who drifted through nightlife venues, being shown concern by someone with no close relationship to her at all—especially someone showing particular concern for her mother—was deeply moving.
A powerful longing for her family surged up in Zhu Lina, and she could not stop herself from crying. Under Hu Pan's "patient guidance," she told him about her background without the slightest guard and why she had come out to work. It was because her mother, Long Qiaozhen, was obsessed with fortune-telling. She had her daughter's fortune read and was told that studying would lead nowhere, so she forced her to leave home and work. Thinking of how her mother had dragged her sick body to visit her some time ago, only for Zhu Lina to avoid seeing her, she felt even more grief-stricken.
Who knew that Zhu Lina's friend Wu Shan had already told Hu Pan all this? That was why Hu Pan understood Qian Fu's words as soon as he heard them. Hu Pan had once accidentally overheard Zhu Lina explaining at Wu Shan's massage parlor why she had left home to work: her mother had believed the filthy words of a fortune-teller who claimed studying was useless and had forced her to leave. Thus, Zhu Lina revealed that her mother, Long Qiaozhen, was obsessed with fortune-telling.
Today, Hu Pan confirmed once again that Zhu Lina's mother, Long Qiaozhen, was obsessed with fortune-telling.
He secretly rejoiced. His confidence in dealing with Long Qiaozhen grew, and a poisonous scheme began to take shape in his mind. Unable to wait, he called Brother Long to report it. Brother Long neither approved nor objected, merely saying, "Since you've figured things out, don't tell me about it. Discuss the stupid mess you two created and handle it yourselves!"
West City, Zhu Lina's hometown, Foyun Mountain Village.
Hu Pan contacted Scarface, who was hiding from place to place. The two met secretly in Foyun Mountain Village. Driving a Crown sedan, they headed there and wandered around the village. After tremendous effort, they finally learned about Witch Yin, who often told Long Qiaozhen's fortune. Witch Yin was rarely home. Most of the time, she told fortunes and swindled money around Longmen Alley in West City District.
The two hurried to Longmen Alley and found Witch Yin. Scarface deliberately revealed a sharp knife hidden on his body and waved it around a few times. Witch Yin turned pale with fright and cried out as she tried to run, but Hu Pan pinned her down. Only then did Scarface explain why they had come, threatening Witch Yin into telling Long Qiaozhen's fortune according to their demands. He promised her five thousand yuan if she succeeded, otherwise her life would be in danger.
Witch Yin's eyes lit up at the sight of money. Forced into it, she readily agreed.
Witch Yin returned to the village and mysteriously bragged that she had made money telling fortunes because her readings had become even more accurate. This time, she had returned to the village to read fortunes for all her neighbors without charging a cent. The sickly Long Qiaozhen was on the brink of death. Penniless, she saw that Witch Yin was telling fortunes for free and went to join the crowd. This was exactly what Witch Yin had hoped for. Following Hu Pan's instructions word for word, she wrote a note and handed it to Long Qiaozhen. Long Qiaozhen's face changed dramatically after hearing it. Without saying a word, she returned to her little wooden house and shut herself inside.
Long Qiaozhen saw the message on the note: to eliminate the calamity facing the family, one of the mother and daughter had to be sacrificed. Tearfully, she repented. "Heavens, I have already wronged my daughter. What use is there for me to remain in this world? As long as my daughter lives well, I will have no regrets!"
Before her husband's memorial altar, she burned a pile of spirit money, muttering prayers and begging her husband in heaven to protect their daughter. She said she would soon join him. Then she pressed the note beneath the shrine where incense and candles were placed. Afterward, she put on a clean, pretty set of clothes, went to the mountain ridge outside her home, and gazed for a long time in the direction her daughter had left before returning inside and closing the door.
The next day, Long Qiaozhen inexplicably died at home.
By the time the Tangdu City Criminal Investigation Brigade received the report, it was already the seventh day. Officer Lan from West City Police Station had called and requested that they come to the scene. It was not until noon that day that Qian Fu arrived with a forensic examiner.
Officer Lan and Lu Tong from the police station had already set up a cordon around the scene. The air was thick with the stench of decay, attracting swarms of green-headed flies that made people's skin crawl. Outside the cordon, Foyun Mountain Village chief Niu Jingrong repeatedly called out to the onlookers, telling them not to enter. A short suicide note had been left at the scene. It read: "The pain of illness is unbearable. I don't want to live anymore."
Qian Fu and the forensic examiner carefully entered through the front door. A corpse hung from a roof beam. Because of the extreme heat, it had badly decomposed. Qian Fu had someone slowly lower the body. After a preliminary examination, the forensic examiner concluded that the scene characteristics were consistent with death by hanging. The handwriting was also preliminarily determined to be Long Qiaozhen's own.
Pretending to be uneasy, Qian Fu pulled the forensic examiner aside and asked, "How did she die?" In fact, Qian Fu already knew perfectly well. But before everyone present, especially the police station officers, he had to act as though nothing had happened.
"You're a veteran criminal investigator, an old leader. Can't you see it? Suicide by hanging!"
"Good." Qian Fu nodded in satisfaction. He conducted a simple search of the house and found no flaws. Officer Lan and Lu Tong looked around as well but found nothing suspicious or any other items left behind. The case was conclusively classified as suicide by hanging.
Qian Fu called Officer Lan, Lu Tong, and village chief Niu Jingrong aside and informed them of the case details. This was not a criminal case. Since the deceased's family could not be reached, the village would be responsible for handling her funeral arrangements.
That afternoon, Long Wen, the boss of the West City labor export company, received a text message from Qian Fu saying that Long Qiaozhen was dead. A smug smile appeared on his face.
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