Chapter 286: Twenty-Four-Hour Protection

May 20, 2022

Liang Mei was leaving with a child, even in such difficult circumstances. There had to be something more going on here. While finding Liang Mei might solve all the questions on our minds, the real problem was, in this massive city of Dongxing, where could we even start looking for her? And wherever she went, where would she actually hide?

I couldn’t help but shake my head as I sent the photo to Gu Chen on QQ. I also texted him, asking him to keep it safe and pass it to Sister Mary. Maybe she could figure something out from the image data—format, resolution, anything that might offer a clue.

With things at this point, I could only say, “Alright, Manager Wang, let me give you a QQ number. It’s active around the clock. If there’s any news about Liang Mei, just message me there, will you? Thank you for your cooperation.”

Manager Wang shook his head and replied, “It’s nothing, really. This is our responsibility too, and to be honest, I’m worried about Liang Mei as well. If you get any news about her, let our company know as well.”

I nodded in agreement.

We’d been running around all day, busy and exhausted, and when I checked the time, it was already past two forty in the afternoon. Walking out of the office building, my stomach was rumbling with hunger. But Zhao Mingkun still looked like she could keep going forever, so I couldn’t help turning to her. “Hey Zhao Mingkun, you run around every day and barely eat anything at night, aren’t you getting hungry?”

She just shrugged. “If you’d ever survived three days on just a single glass of water, you’d know how strong survival instincts can be. Skipping a meal isn’t really a big deal.”

She played it off like going three days with almost nothing was nothing at all. I had no idea when she’d gone through something like that, but for someone like me who starts to fade after one missed meal, food isn’t something to mess around with.

I grinned. “Well, with an experience like that, shouldn’t you make the most of every meal when you can eat?”

“Fair point,” she said.

But the timing was awkward. It wasn’t quite lunchtime anymore, and dinner was still far off. Most places were closed, and after walking for ages there wasn’t a single open spot where we could fill our stomachs. Was I destined to be the first person to starve to death outside a restaurant?

We carried on until finally, at the mouth of an alley, I spotted someone had set up a makeshift stall under a tent. There was a huge pot of boiling noodles, steam rising thick and fragrant, and three little bowls off to the side—one with fried sauce, one with tomato and egg, and another with various savory toppings. Every tiny customer table came loaded with green onions, mustard, chili paste, and every condiment you could want. I was practically drooling on the spot, my stomach growling louder than ever.

I tugged Zhao Mingkun’s sleeve. “Honestly, if we keep walking, who knows if we’ll even find anything else open. What do you think, should we just eat here?”

She nodded. “Sure, I’m not picky.”

From a distance, I called out to the owner, “Two large bowls of noodles!”

“Alright!” he called back. “Two big bowls coming up.”

Zhao Mingkun quickly chimed in. “Wait, I only need a small bowl.”

“Whatever you don’t finish, I’ll take care of,” I said. “Honestly, I’m so hungry I could eat an entire cow right now.”

She nodded without argument.

The boiling water bubbled away, sending up clouds of steam as the fresh noodles went in—each one twisting in the water like miniature dragons. The aroma hit me instantly. In no time, the noodles were cooked through, looking perfectly chewy.

With practiced hands, the owner scooped up a portion using a slotted spoon, spun it in a circle, then plopped it neatly into a bowl in a single motion. Watching him work was oddly satisfying. The sauce was self-serve, so I grabbed my bowl and went extra heavy on the chili.

“Careful with that,” Zhao Mingkun said. “Just because the chili’s free doesn’t mean you have to use all of it.”

I laughed. “Hey, I like my food spicy.”

Without another word I dove in, shoveling noodles into my mouth, totally ignoring appearances. Zhao Mingkun shot me a helpless look, but I wasn’t about to worry about manners now—I slurped up those noodles like my life depended on it.

“Kid, you make those noodles look tasty. Now you’ve got me wanting a bowl myself,” the owner joked with a big laugh.

I glanced up at him, grinning, just as a stray noodle flung up into the air, dragging a splash of soup with it. Suddenly my eye started to sting like mad. Reflexively, I rubbed my eye, but the burn only got worse—it felt like I was going blind.

I squeezed my eyes shut and kept rubbing. The owner saw what happened and quickly stepped in. “Don’t rub it! You’ll make it worse.”

He handed me a damp towel. “Use this to wipe your eye. Looks like you got chili oil in there. Hurts, doesn’t it? Sometimes you wish you could gouge your eye out just to get rid of that burn.”

Wiping my eye with the towel, his comment suddenly triggered something in my mind. My thoughts came into sharp focus.

Slapping the towel onto the table, I blurted, “Boss, you’re something else!”

He grinned. “Nah, just a little chili in the eye, that’s all. No big deal. But maybe slow down on the eating next time. Your eye’s all red and swollen now.”

Zhao Mingkun shot me a look. “You okay? Is it serious?”

I blinked a couple of times. The pain had eased, a lot better than before. Who knew a single drop of chili oil could be so vicious? But if this had been something even more dangerous… My mind finally latched onto a lead I’d been struggling to understand all this time.

That thought lifted my spirits and soon enough, we’d finished eating.

“Let’s go check out Wang Xin’s place,” I said. “I’m guessing Yang Licheng is already there.”

“Alright. Out of the thirteen people, six are already dead, and we’ve met the remaining twelve while they were still alive. Wang Xin is the last one left. Let’s see if we can get to him before the killer does this time.”

“I’ve already got a few ideas,” I told her, “but I won’t jump to conclusions until Gu Chen gets back to me. Still, looks like this case is almost wrapped up.”

“Boss, check please!” I called out.

After hopping onto Zhao Mingkun’s motorbike, I sat back and closed my eyes, letting my mind piece together all the clues so far. The case was starting to form a complete picture, but there were still a few unexplained pieces left. If I could just figure out those final details, the truth would be right in front of us.

Zhao Mingkun must’ve known I was deep in thought, so she didn’t say anything.

About an hour later, we arrived at Wang Xin’s home. It wasn’t exactly fancy, but it was spacious—the second floor of a duplex. That sure didn’t match up with the borrowed suit he’d worn before. We checked in with Yang Licheng and found out he’d already arrived.

Yang Licheng led us inside, mentioning Wang Xin was upstairs waiting.

“Nice place,” Zhao Mingkun couldn’t help remarking, taking it all in.

Yang Licheng chuckled quietly. “It isn’t his, actually. It belongs to someone else who’s out of the country on vacation. They were worried about nobody keeping an eye on their antiques and paintings while they were gone. So Wang Xin is house-sitting. Truth is, he’s used this place to charm more than a few girls into spending the night.”

So that’s what it was. That actually fit with what I’d suspected before.

We headed upstairs, only to be blocked by two tall, muscular men in suits.

“What’s this all about?” I asked Yang Licheng.

He smiled. “Didn’t I mention? When things got tense, we decided to hire bodyguards for round-the-clock protection. Six people have died already, so Wang Xin and I agreed it was smart. We hired four bodyguards—two here, two inside. Once the killer’s caught, we’ll finally be able to breathe easy again.”

“No worries,” Yang Licheng said.

We made our way up to the second floor.

Outside one of the doors, a guard stood watch. He saw that Yang Licheng was back and nodded, opening the door for us.

Yang Licheng knocked with a special rhythm—it was obvious the two of them were being extra cautious.

A moment later, a bodyguard opened the door and the three of us stepped inside.

There on a long sofa, someone lounged in a relaxed pose—none other than Wang Xin. In his hand, he fiddled with something like an incense burner. He took a deep breath of the aroma, then turned to Yang Licheng. “Drinking tea with incense, playing chess, watching TV—it’s a nice way to pass the time, isn’t it? Safe as a fortress up here. No way the killer could get in.”

I looked around. The space was big and the only door in or out was guarded. The windows were internal, so nobody could sneak inside.

Wang Xin had already lit the incense, smiling at us. “Hello to you both.”

“We met at the Royal Garden Hotel before,” I said, nodding.

He smacked his forehead. “Right, sorry, I forgot. But it’s really safe here. You don’t have to worry about us. Me and Yang here will just wait for your good news. Come on, Yang, have a seat. Let’s play a round of Go. What do they call it? Playing chess amidst incense, right?”