NOS Chapter 75

Chapter 75 Birch Bridge (6)

Jiang Xin…

Yu Chunming’s whole body shook, and an uncontrollable look of astonishment appeared on his face.

Qin Tian got his wish, leaned back, and laughed loudly: “Didn’t expect it, haha, didn’t expect it! Jiang Xin, do you think I just call you brother for fun?”

Yu Chunming stared at him without moving.

Qin Tian clapped his hands: “Fun, too fun, I just love to see you like this, I loved to see you like this back then, and I love to see it even more now.”

“What look?” Yu Chunming looked at him coldly.

Qin Tian Tsk tsk sighed: “Yes, yes, yes, it’s this disdainful look. You know, you looked at me like this when you were a kid.”

“Is that so?” Yu Chunming’s surging emotions had gradually calmed down. He also pulled out a chair and sat opposite Qin Tian, answering indifferently, “That shows you’re just trash.”

Qin Tian chuckled and didn’t speak.

Yu Chunming remembered that his relationship with his only younger brother was not good. In that era of relative scarcity of resources, raising two grown men in a family was not an easy task, especially since their mother was Jiang Min.

As the eldest son whose biological father was unknown, Jiang Min never invested any care or maternal love in Yu Chunming, but Qin Tian was different. Qin Tian was born in anticipation.

That was a summer twenty or thirty years ago. Jiang Min, who had been expelled from the art troupe, had just given birth to Jiang Xin. Before she was out of confinement, her parents from the farm regiment rushed to Za Mu Er, taking away Jiang Min, who had “disgraced” the family, and the baby in swaddling clothes.

“I should have aborted him.” Lying on the ox cart, Jiang Min said in a low voice.

The man driving the cart was a young man hired by Jiang’s parents from the farm regiment. He was young and strong. Sitting at the front of the cart, he turned to look at Jiang Min: “Why didn’t you abort him?”

Jiang Min looked at the sky and closed her eyes: “I suddenly couldn’t bear to.”

Yes, she had been pregnant for ten months, soaked in the cold river water, made to stand under the grand steps in front of the art troupe, and cried until she fainted in the office of the forest farm leader, but no matter what, she couldn’t drive away the child in her belly.

“So as soon as I walked into the clinic, I felt that I had to keep him. Maybe, this child might save my life in the future.” Jiang Min said at this point, suddenly crying, “But I regret it, I regret it…”

Jiang Min’s mother held the child, not saying a word, and the father smoked his pipe on the side, also not saying a word.

Only the young man driving the cart laughed, he said: “Just raise him after he’s born, it’s just one more mouth to feed, what’s the big deal.”

This young man was called Qin Zhun, Qin Tian’s biological father. In September of that year, Jiang Min married him.

It was just a pity that Qin Zhun was a good person with bad luck. Jiang Min had just carried Qin Tian and led Jiang Xin back to Za Mu Er when Qin Zhun had an accident in the production team. He died on the way to the city hospital.

Overnight, Jiang Min’s happiness disappeared again.

“People always say that I was raised by my brother, but I can’t remember what my brother looked like all these years.” Qin Tian rubbed his brow bone, where there was an old scar left by Wu Lao San hitting him with a beer bottle, “I pondered and pondered, I racked my brains, but my brother’s face was like it had never appeared, it’s really strange.”

Speaking of this, Qin Tian smiled: “Until more than a month ago, I entered your Linchang Police Station and saw you at the door, I suddenly remembered, so that’s what my brother looks like.”

Yu Chunming turned his head, seemingly uninterested in those past events.

Qin Tian, however, leaned forward, staring at Yu Chunming’s face, and said with emotion: “Big brother, did you recognize me back then?”

Yu Chunming didn’t answer.

Qin Tian continued: “That’s right, you went to Songlan to live a good life, you went to be the son of a big official, how could you recognize me, your poor brother? Whether I live or die has nothing to do with you.”

Yu Chunming sneered: “Don’t tell me you’re saying so much because you don’t want to pay back that thousand yuan.”

Qin Tian grinned: “Big brother, you’re really smart.”

Yu Chunming was too lazy to reply. He took out his wallet and counted out another three hundred: “Take it, go gamble, go drink, go whoring, it really doesn’t matter to me if you die outside, just don’t die in front of me.”

Qin Tian was overjoyed. He didn’t take the money, but looked around with great interest: “I say, big brother, you live in Guan Yao’s house, are you living a good life?”

Yu Chunming’s forehead twitched, and he raised his eyes to look at Qin Tian.

Qin Tian immediately sat up straight: “Sure enough, you only give me a straight face when I mention Guan Yao. Big brother, tell me the truth, you and that Guan Yao, are you… that kind of relationship?”

“What kind?” Yu Chunming asked without changing his expression.

Qin Tian curled his lips: “Do I have to say it clearly?”

“Please say it clearly.” Yu Chunming was not afraid at all.

But in this way, Qin Tian didn’t speak again. He took out a lighter, preparing to smoke.

“If you want to smoke, go outside,” Yu Chunming didn’t shy away at all. He said, “If you dare let Guan Yao know that you lit a fire in front of me, he’ll skin you alive.”

Qin Tian’s hand froze.

“Also,” Yu Chunming smiled politely, “I am indeed your brother, your own brother, but I am also a police officer. Guan Yao and I wear the same clothes. Whatever Guan Yao can do to you, I can do too. I can even be more ruthless than him. If you’re not afraid, you can try.”

After saying that, Yu Chunming conjured up a pair of handcuffs from under the table and threw them in front of Qin Tian.

With a bang! The interrogation room door closed, and Yu Zeng, with his hands cuffed, walked onto the police car heading to the detention center with his head drooping.

Guan Yao went with him, in order to interrogate Song Chen once again.

This drug dealer who had once deceived Guan Ning into dating him didn’t seem to have fully confessed during Li Xiaotian’s careless interrogation. He might know more.

“When did you meet Qin Tian?” Guan Yao asked, separated by an iron railing.

“When did I meet Qin Tian…” Song Chen sat inside, picking at his fingers, “About, one or two years ago, a relative of mine introduced me through many connections. At first, we both worked in a billiards hall, but later I had a business that made money faster, so I quit.”

“A business that makes money fast, drug trafficking?” Guan Yao glanced at him.

“Yes,” Song Chen nodded, “That was all several years ago, but my relationship with Qin Tian has never been broken.”

“Does Qin Tian know about your drug trafficking?” Guan Yao continued to ask.

“Qin Tian doesn’t know,” Song Chen gave the answer decisively, “He wanted to make money with me before, but I didn’t want to share the profits.”

Guan Yao nodded: “In the beginning, why did Qin Tian introduce Guan Ning to you? Describe it in detail.”

Song Chen hesitated for a moment, and answered: “Guan Ning… Guan Ning, I happened to go downstairs to Qin Tian’s house to wait for him one time, and I caught her eye at first glance. I wanted Qin Tian to introduce me, but Qin Tian wouldn’t, saying that Guan Ning’s uncle is a police officer. If I got caught again, it would be over. After hearing that, I didn’t think much about it. As a result, a while ago, probably… around September, Qin Tian said that Guan Ning had returned to Za Mu Er to work, just at the City Hospital, asking if I wanted to try. After meeting, she claimed to know some ways to go south to work, and she would definitely be willing to be with me. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try, and we got together after a while.”

Guan Yao narrowed his eyes, feeling that things wouldn’t be that simple.

He asked again: “Before you were ordered to ruin Qin Tian, did you see any suspicious people?”

“Suspicious? What’s suspicious?” Song Chen was puzzled.

Guan Yao had to say bluntly: “Yu Zeng’s contact.”

“Brother Zeng’s contact?” Song Chen was taken aback, “I haven’t seen Brother Zeng’s contact. I don’t even know who this person is, what he looks like.”

“You don’t know?” Guan Yao was suspicious.

“I don’t know,” Song Chen was very sure, “Brother Zeng told me that he was only responsible for giving me the goods, and I would distribute them, but he never told me where the goods came from.”

“What about Li Guanglai? Have you heard of this person?” Guan Yao raised his hand, interrupting Song Chen’s self-justification.

And after Song Chen heard this question, he was stunned. He said strangely: “Police officer, are you talking about Brother Lai? I know Brother Lai, isn’t he the foreman who contracted the renovation project for our Za Mu Er Railway Station? I always saw him at the construction site behind the station before.”

“Foreman?” Guan Yao sat up straight instantly, “Describe Li Guanglai’s physical characteristics first.”

“Physical characteristics…” Song Chen pondered for a while, and replied, “Brother Lai is the kind of person who is relatively tall and strong. He looks… quite upright, but his eyes, they look a bit sinister.”

“A bit sinister?” Guan Yao repeated.

“Yes, especially when looking at people, it’s eerie.” Song Chen explained.

Guan Yao took out a video and stuck it on the iron railing: “Then take a look at this person, does he look like Li Guanglai?”

Song Chen only watched for less than five seconds before immediately nodding: “Yes, that’s Brother Lai.”

Guan Yao exchanged glances with his colleague who was responsible for recording, and then asked: “Now, tell me specifically what you know about Li Guanglai.”

According to Song Chen, the “Brother Lai” he knew returned to Za Mu Er eight years ago. This person claimed that he had been working for a construction company in Songlan.

“We met at the billiards hall under the clothing city,” Song Chen said, “He went to play billiards, and I worked there. He brought a woman, and they caused trouble after drinking too much in the billiards hall. I was the one who coordinated, and after a while… we became familiar.”

“The person who threatened you with a police ID to ruin Qin Tian, does he look like Li Guanglai?” Guan Yao asked.

Song Chen denied: “No, not at all, but I took some drugs at the time, so I couldn’t see very clearly.”

“Then do you and Li Guanglai meet often?” Guan Yao asked again, “Did you have contact this September?”

“There hasn’t been much contact this year, because Brother Lai is doing construction, he’s very busy. We’ve only had a few meals from time to time. I remember…” Song Chen recalled for a moment, and replied, “I remember the last time we met was at the end of August, at the hot pot restaurant next to the Songlin Street farmers market. He seemed to be looking for someone there.”

“Farmers market?” Guan Yao paused, “Who was he going to the farmers market to find? Do you know?”

Song Chen shook his head: “I don’t know, he looked… absent-minded at the time, always stretching his neck to look across the street. I asked him, but he didn’t say, he just told me that a friend of his lived near there, and he planned to go into their family compound to look for them.”

Family compound… Across from the Songlin Street farmers market is the Three Mines Family Compound.

A stone in Guan Yao’s heart fell to the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded: “In addition to that, has Li Guanglai revealed his home address and family information?”

“His home is not in the city, it seems to be in a village around the area, he mentioned it once, but I can’t remember…”

“Beilin Village?” Guan Yao interjected.

“Hey, yes, yes, yes, it’s Beilin Village!” After being prompted, Song Chen immediately remembered, he shouted, “Number 18, Beilin Village, he lives there!”

From the time the case occurred in late September to the present, a long time has passed. During this period, the police painstakingly pieced together countless useless clues, and missed countless useful information.

And now, after going around in circles, they have finally completely confirmed the identity of the suspect in the Mopan Mountain dismemberment case. His name is Li Guanglai, formerly known as “Yi Jun”. Calculating carefully, he should be a little over fifty years old this year.

Li Guanglai’s registered residence is in the Huangshaling Street of Za Mu Er. The photo and physical characteristics on the registration information perfectly match the descriptions of everyone who has seen him, or who has seen “Yi Jun.”

This is a tall, gloomy-looking middle-aged man. He once inquired about Wang Xinsheng from Qian Guowei’s girlfriend, Yang Xiaowei, investigated the innocent Li Qie who died unjustly, used the metallurgical factory’s equipment to manufacture drugs on a large scale, and lured Ge Xiaopei into gambling and developing a network, while trafficking and killing people.

He is a suspect in the Songlan 6.13 dismemberment case and the auto repair shop explosion case, and also the mastermind behind the Mopan Mountain dismemberment case.

And now, the most urgent problem to solve is to find out Li Guanglai’s motive—

Why did he do so much?

“Revenge,” Guan Yao said, “Every step Li Guanglai took is almost related to Qian Guowei, Xu Wen, and Ai Hua, who disappeared in the fire that year. It can be said that Li Guanglai’s drug trafficking and murder, to some extent, is a siege of these three, and Qian Guowei’s struggle and the traps he set are a resistance in a dead end.”

“Good analysis.” A task force colleague agreed.

“But there’s still one thing that hasn’t been clarified,” Guan Yao frowned, “We still don’t understand why this Li Guanglai instructed Song Chen to ruin Qin Tian, and in the name of the police. Qin Tian… how did he offend him?”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to ask Qin Tian himself,” Han Chen said from the side, “But that kid couldn’t explain it clearly at first, and he probably can’t explain it clearly now.”

Guan Yao pondered for a moment, and shook his head: “I suspect that Qin Tian may be in the know.”

In the know about what?

The police officers sitting here have more or less dealt with Qin Tian himself. They unanimously believe that Qin Tian himself would have difficulty finding the word “knowing” from his paste-like brain.

As Yu Chunming’s own brother, Jiang Min’s own son, he inherited neither intelligence, nor appearance, nor even the kindness of his own father. This crooked-neck tree growing next to Wu Lao San was completely like his stepfather from head to toe, emitting a stinky bud with an evil aura.

Yu Chunming looked at the rogue face in front of him, and felt a burst of disgust in his heart.

Qin Tian was still smiling, he picked up the handcuffs on the table, shaking his head: “Big brother, how many times have I worn this thing into the lockup, do you think I’m afraid? I’m not afraid of anything, will I be afraid of you, the people’s police?”

Yu Chunming sneered: “Good, you’re not afraid, you better never be afraid, don’t wait until the day you commit a crime and kneel in front of me begging me to help you.”

“Big brother, don’t worry,” Qin Tian put his hands together in a pretentious manner, “I only ask big brother to give me more money, like you give Jiang Min, give me more money.”

Yu Chunming’s eyes narrowed: “What did you say?”

“Like you give Jiang Min, give me more money.” Qin Tian grinned, repeating it once. He said with a smile, “Didn’t expect it, big brother, you’ve been giving Jiang Min money every month for so many years, I know it clearly, I not only know it clearly, I’ve also secretly taken out a lot. Jiang Min thought she had saved it all well, but it was all spent by me! Not only did I spend it all, but I also owe 300,000 yuan in gambling debts, now those people may have already found Jiang Min, and are probably holding a knife to her, forcing her to pay back the money!”

Pa——

Yu Chunming slapped Qin Tian in the face, he cursed: “You beast!”

The slap knocked Qin Tian sideways, almost falling off the chair. He held his face, took a breath of cold air: “Big brother, you look sickly, but you’re pretty strong.”

“Get out of my house!” Yu Chunming pointed to the door and said.

Qin Tian licked the corner of his mouth and spat out a mouthful of phlegm: “Give me 300,000 yuan, I won’t leave without it.”

Yu Chunming gritted his teeth: “Do you still remember that I’m a police officer?”

“So what if you’re a police officer?” Qin Tian shook his head shamelessly, “Big brother, don’t forget, even if you become a police officer, you can’t change the fact that you’re the son of a rapist!”

These words hit Yu Chunming’s heart with a “thud”.

He watched Qin Tian stand up, smile at him, and then say: “If you don’t give me this 300,000 yuan, I’ll let all of Za Mu Er know what kind of person Officer Yu of the Linchang Police Station is.”

[Author’s Note]

All questions will be answered later, don’t worry.