NOS Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Azalea Peak (8)

That afternoon, Guan Yao checked Qin Tian’s ID card and bank statements. He found train ticket information for Qin Tian’s trip to Songlan in December of the previous year, spending records in Songlan from December to May of this year, and train ticket information for his return to Za Mu Er in June.

“This train…” Wang Zhen looked at the information Guan Yao brought, his hand trembling slightly, “Was Li Qie also on it at the time?”

Qin Tian said nonchalantly, “You mean that train I took back to Za Mu Er this June? He was there. What’s wrong, officer? Are you shocked that the two of us were in the same carriage, right next to my brother?”

Guan Yao frowned, glancing at the man.

Qin Tian smiled, “To be honest, seeing my brother’s expression when he received the letter up close was quite interesting.”

Wang Zhen threw down the information, sneering, “Seeing you hanging out with a murderer, and being proud of it, is also quite interesting.”

“Murderer?” Qin Tian was stunned, “Who’s the murderer?”

Wang Zhen didn’t bother to answer. He and Guan Yao hurriedly packed up the things on the table, waved to the police officers on both sides, “Take him back, we’re done collecting evidence.”

“Guan Yao, Guan Yao!” Qin Tian was still unwilling, shouting as he was dragged away by the police, “Who are you saying is a murderer? Don’t scare me, you hear me…”

The voice gradually disappeared behind the iron gate. Guan Yao and Wang Zhen looked at each other and shook their heads.

“What a fool, being sold and still counting money for them,” Wang Zhen ridiculed.

But Guan Yao said strangely at this time, “Li Ying and Li Guanglai, these two fake father and son, initially targeted Qin Tian probably to find Qian Guowei’s whereabouts through him, but how did they know Qian Guowei was still alive?”

Wang Zhen also understood, he puzzled, “In theory, thirty-three years ago, Qian Guowei and the other two just left and never returned to Za Mu Er. Apart from Ai Hua’s mother and Jiang Min receiving information from them, no one else knew these three were still alive. Moreover, during the twenty years that Li Ying was in prison, whether it was Li Qie himself or Li Guanglai, they seemed to be very well-behaved. What happened in between?”

What exactly happened, the dead Li Ying couldn’t speak, and the fugitive Li Guanglai wouldn’t speak for now. All the police could do was speculate.

What speculation?

Yu Chunming sat on the sofa, watching Jiang Min boil water in the kitchen.

This woman’s life was very exquisite. She lived in a small city, in an old family compound that was now almost deserted, but she still insisted on practicing singing and dancing every day, and even, in the past two years, spent a lot of money to get a face lift for her somewhat loose cheeks.

Yu Chunming suddenly found it a little funny, after all, Jiang Min in his impression always had a hideous face, or made hysterical sounds, so it was not until today that he suddenly realized that this woman had been smoothed by the years and began to look kind.

“How many years will Qin Tian be sentenced to?” After finishing everything, Jiang Min poked her head out of the kitchen and asked.

“Hard to say,” Yu Chunming replied, “Generally, extortion is sentenced to less than three years, but Qin Tian’s nature is bad and the amount is huge, so he may be sentenced to three to ten years. At the same time, he is also involved in obstructing official duties and threatening the personal safety of others. Normally, if several crimes are punished together, it will be about six years. And he has a lot of previous convictions, and is also involved in drugs and gambling. If he is really severely punished in the end, ten years is also possible.”

Jiang Min blinked, and didn’t speak.

Seeing this, Yu Chunming flipped out Li Guanglai’s photo from his phone and pushed it in front of Jiang Min, “I’m here today to ask, have you seen him?”

The Li Guanglai in the photo looked younger. This was how he looked more than ten years ago when he applied for a second-generation ID card at the Huangshaling Police Station. After several comparisons of head shape, body shape, face shape, and gait, the provincial profiling experts determined that Li Guanglai and the “Yi Jun” who had never shown his true appearance were the same person.

So, would Jiang Min know this person?

“I don’t know him.” After looking at the photo, she shook her head very definitely, “However, I’ve heard the name Li Guanglai.”

Yu Chunming’s expression tightened, “You’ve heard this name?”

“Yes,” Jiang Min pulled out a chair and sat opposite Yu Chunming, “Li Guanglai was a student at the Forest Farm Children’s School back then, with very good grades. When we went to the school for a performance, I remember someone mentioned him, saying that he…just after entering junior high school, he was sent to the province to participate in some kind of chemistry competition and won first prize.”

“Chemistry, first prize,” Yu Chunming’s eyebrows twitched.

“Later, someone said that Li Guanglai had such good grades, he would definitely be sent to the capital to study, but I don’t know why, after a few more years, there was no news,” Jiang Min said.

“Then are you clear about who in Za Mu Er currently knows Li Guanglai?” Yu Chunming asked again.

“I can’t say for sure, I just heard his name back then,” Jiang Min replied, “The teachers at the Forest Farm Children’s School might know him, but after so many years, there probably aren’t many of the junior high school teachers left.”

Yu Chunming frowned and thought for a while, but didn’t speak.

Jiang Min suddenly said, “I remember now, the person who mentioned Li Guanglai in front of me was ‘Little Pear Blossom’.”

“Li Shengnan?” Yu Chunming perked up, “She knows Li Guanglai?”

“Maybe, counting it, the two are about the same age, and before ‘Little Pear Blossom’ died, she was also studying at the Children’s School. It’s normal for them to know each other,” Jiang Min replied.

Hearing this, Yu Chunming couldn’t help but twitch his eyelids.

If Li Shengnan and Li Guanglai really knew each other back then, then what was the relationship between the two? How did Li Guanglai target Qian Guowei after Li Shengnan’s death? Could it be said that Li Shengnan didn’t die in the fire, nor did she die at the hands of Zhang Nan, but was killed by Qian Guowei?

The mystery of thirty-three years ago seemed to have become much clearer, but there were still many confusing points. From a rational and emotional perspective, Yu Chunming firmly believed that even if Li Shengnan and Li Guanglai had developed a relationship beyond friendship, it was impossible for Li Guanglai to relentlessly seek revenge for his teenage girlfriend for decades.

There must be other hidden secrets in this.

“Maybe people really loved each other to the death, steadfast and unyielding, this…vows of eternal love, deep affection, even after so many years they couldn’t forget,” Wang Zhen listened to Yu Chunming’s report and replied seriously, he put his feet on the desk, sarcastically said, “I can’t tell, this Li Guanglai is still a loverboy.”

Yu Chunming glanced at Wang Zhen, “I heard that Deputy Director Yu will be here tonight, dare you repeat what you just said in front of him?”

Wang Zhen’s face stiffened, he laughed dryly twice and then sat up straight, “I’m just joking, don’t take it seriously, case handling still has to look at evidence.”

Guan Yao said from the side, “I’ve already found a Children’s School teacher who still lives in Za Mu Er through Ai Hua’s mother, a physics teacher. I just sent Li Xiaotian and Liu Sheng to his door to ask questions.”

According to Jiang Min, Li Guanglai was a prominent figure, and the teachers who taught at the Forest Farm Children’s School in that era probably all knew him.

But Li Xiaotian and Liu Sheng returned dejectedly, saying that the physics teacher said directly that he had never heard of Li Guanglai.

Guan Yao also specifically asked Auntie Wang, but this “know-it-all” was only interested in family matters, how could she know about any child school’s chemistry genius?

Was the clue going to be broken like this?

“This physics teacher…how old is he?” Yu Chunming asked.

Liu Sheng held up his hand and made a gesture, “Eighty-eight.”

“Eighty-eight?” Wang Zhen clicked his tongue, “Is his brain still clear at eighty-eight?”

“Looks pretty clear,” Li Xiaotian replied, “I asked him about other things, and he could answer them, but when I asked about Li Guanglai, he started to be completely clueless. If you ask me, he’s probably pretending, there must be something going on behind the scenes.”

“Something going on behind the scenes?” Yu Chunming couldn’t understand, “What year is it, what can’t be said? People’s top-secret documents are only kept secret for thirty years at most, what big deal can a children’s school make?”

“Yeah,” Guan Yao also found it strange, “What kind of person is Li Guanglai, what is his family situation, what is his social relationship, can’t he answer these very basic questions?”

“It’s not that he can’t answer, but this physics teacher said that there is no such person as Li Guanglai in the Children’s School at all,” Liu Sheng replied.

Han Chen this time was more mindful, he asked, “Then did you inquire about who was the winner of the first prize in the provincial chemistry competition back then?”

“This…” Li Xiaotian was careless and forgot to ask the key question.

Liu Sheng, however, picked up the conversation from the side, “Hey, I mentioned it before I left, and that physics teacher said that the one who was sent to the province to participate in the chemistry competition and won first prize was the son of the Forest Farm’s Deputy Secretary, not some Li Guanglai at all.”

“Forest Farm Deputy Secretary?” Yu Chunming suddenly perked up, he asked, “Which Forest Farm Deputy Secretary? Is it the one who died in the duty room on the day of the fire?”

It was that one, no mistake.

Jiang Min once said that this Deputy Secretary was a comrade-in-arms of Qian Guowei’s biological father, Qian Xiangqian. The two had been in the same trench back then, and later he became Qian Guowei’s godfather.

On the day of the fire, this person came down to inspect, and happened to be sitting in the duty room of the factory area to rest, and then, he just happened to be burned to death.

Because of his higher rank, the task force quickly found his file information.

This person’s surname was Zhang, and he was called Zhang Changling. He was less than fifty years old that year.

“See the problem?” After flipping through the information, Wang Zhen asked.

“Looks a bit like Zhang Nan,” Yu Chunming, with the sharpest eyes, immediately replied.

“That’s right,” Wang Zhen pointed at the photo, “More than just a bit alike, look, this person’s slanted eyes are almost exactly the same as Zhang Nan’s.”

“They both have the surname Zhang, maybe they’re relatives. In Forest Farm, everyone is related anyway, it’s not surprising,” Guan Yao said, “Zhang Nan used to be a doctor at the staff hospital, then became the director, and then entered the factory’s trade union. It’s unlikely that he could have reached the position of director of the No. 2 Timber Factory without Zhang Changling’s help.”

“Then that makes sense,” Han Chen chimed in, “It’s normal to send the Deputy Secretary’s son to the provincial capital to participate in the competition. So, could it be that the person involved misremembered?”

“It’s also possible,” Li Xiaotian said loudly from the side, “Auntie Jiang, I know her, she’s a bit crazy, she used to cause trouble at the station. How can she remember anything when she’s so neurotic?”

“Wait,” Guan Yao suddenly raised a hand, interrupting Li Xiaotian, “Zhang Changling’s wife is still alive, I just checked her information, the address is the retirement center that One Zero Three Forest Farm runs at the Changlian Resort.”

Zhang Changling’s wife, Duan Mei, is eighty years old this year, and lives in the retirement center built by the Forest Farm for elderly people who don’t want to leave their homes and go to other places for retirement.

She looked quite robust, and her physical condition was also good. When Guan Yao and others rushed there, she was playing mahjong with a group of old ladies in the activity room on the first floor.

Yu Chunming looked around and said in a low voice, “I’ll ask questions later, don’t speak first.”

Guan Yao glanced at his shoulder, which had just had the bandages and sutures removed this morning, and frowned, “You shouldn’t have come with me.”

Yu Chunming smiled, rubbed Guan Yao with his left shoulder, and then leaned closer and said, “Don’t be angry, I’ll make it up to you when we get back tonight.”

“You…” Guan Yao’s ears turned hot, he was just about to stop this unruly person when he heard him say again, “I mainly think that this Duan Mei used to work in the art troupe, maybe it has something to do with your Auntie Jiang, I want to ask a few more questions.”

Guan Yao had nothing to say. At this time, the staff led Duan Mei into the reception room. He quickly stepped forward to introduce himself, “Auntie, hello, we are police officers from the Forest Farm Police Station, here to ask you about something.”

This should have been the most ordinary beginning, but after Duan Mei heard it, her face suddenly changed. She backed away repeatedly, waving her hands and saying, “No, no…I can’t see the police.”

“Can’t see the police?” Guan Yao was taken aback.

Apart from suspects, who would run away at the sight of the police? Duan Mei’s reaction was really too abnormal.

Yu Chunming and Guan Yao saw that the old lady was so frightened that her face turned pale, she leaned back and fell down, actually pretending to faint. The nurses and caregivers at the retirement center were in a panic, and had to rush to send her back to her room.

“What’s all the fuss about…” Guan Yao said incredulously.

“Of course it’s a guilty conscience,” Yu Chunming enjoyed the spectacle, he said with a smile, “How long do you think this old lady can pretend?”

How long to pretend? Of course, until Guan Yao and Yu Chunming left.

But what these two lacked the least was patience and time. They sat outside the ward, waiting for the group of confused doctors and nurses to leave, and then reopened the door, greeting, “Auntie, are you feeling better?”

The auntie didn’t speak.

Yu Chunming casually pulled a chair and sat by the bed. He looked at the monitor and smiled, “Look, her heart rate and blood pressure are more normal than mine.”

Guan Yao strolled around the room, looking at Duan Mei’s award certificates and performance souvenirs displayed in the cabinet. He said with interest, “Chunming, this old lady won a lot of awards back then.”

Yu Chunming looked in the direction Guan Yao was pointing, “That’s right, she used to be the deputy head of the Forest Farm Art Troupe.”

Guan Yao Tsk sighed and said, “Look, this plum blossom is carved so beautifully, hey, the base also says ‘My Hometown Jin A Lin’, is this a souvenir from their drama performance?”

After speaking, Guan Yao looked at Duan Mei, who was stubbornly lying on the bed with her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, and deliberately said, “I just saw this old lady playing mahjong very smoothly, how come she turned into this…when she saw us?”

Yu Chunming raised his eyebrows, “Ge Xiaopei was also like this when she saw me before, to put it bluntly, she has a guilty conscience. In my opinion, there must be something wrong with the death of her old man, Zhang Changling. Tell me, why inspect on the day the fire broke out, there must be some problem.”

“Who says it isn’t?” Guan Yao echoed, “Hey, I also heard that Zhang Changling and that…the director of the No. 2 Timber Factory, Zhang Nan, are relatives. They both died in the fire, could it be…”

“Nothing’s going on, don’t you guys think too much!” At this time, the old lady lying on the bed suddenly shouted loudly.

She was full of energy, did a carp jump and sat up from the bed, staring at Guan Yao and Yu Chunming with a pair of eyes.

“Oh, Auntie, you’re awake?” Guan Yao greeted warmly.

Duan Mei straightened out her head of poodle curls, put the red plastic frame glasses on her face from the bedside table, her expression embarrassed: “What do you want from me? You have to stand here and get in the way.”

Yu Chunming chuckled, pulled out a notebook from his pocket, and threw it into Guan Yao’s hand: “We’re here today mainly to ask you something, to understand some of the situation back then. The attending doctor has already told us about your physical condition, saying that you are fully capable of handling this inquiry, Auntie, I hope you cooperate.”

Duan Mei pursed her lips, her eyes wandering from time to time on Yu Chunming’s face, she suddenly asked somewhat timidly: “Why do you look a bit, a bit like…”

“Jiang Min?” Yu Chunming said calmly.

“Not Jiang Min,” Duan Mei shook her head, her eyes were a bit flickering, and her expression was particularly uneasy, she hesitated for a long time before saying, “You look a bit like that Qian Xiangqian’s son.”