WWY Chapter 79
by VolareAfter taking the photos, Lan He collected all the small umbrellas used as props on the bedside table back into the drawer, imagining what Tuxi Ling’s expression would be when he saw the photos. He curved his eyes with a good mood and even hummed a song.
He took out a notebook from the drawer, separating it along the previous fold.
This was the last page, with only a few words missing. He really wanted to know, what exactly was Man Qin trying to achieve by playing this word-puzzle game with him, expending so much effort?
The previous twenty-odd pages had already been deciphered.
The first page was a homophonic pun on a mysterious number. Luckily, he inadvertently discovered that it was the code for Weiyu He’s burial site: WL1680204.
The second page was “Tianlu.” He didn’t understand what these two characters meant, but he felt they were very auspicious.
The third page was “Longitude and Latitude.”
From the fourth page onwards, it was again a homophonic pun on a mysterious number. He pondered over the subsequent dozens of numbers for a long time. With a try-it-and-see attitude, he searched for coordinates according to longitude and latitude. Finally, he confirmed that the numbers on pages 4-10 could form a coordinate. The address was in the mountains near Yuan Village, in an abandoned factory.
He didn’t know what kind of factory it was, but if he remembered correctly, Tuxi Ling had mentioned that before he approached Ya Gu, the police had found Da Sang and his group’s foothold near Yuan Village.
He didn’t think it was a coincidence. Perhaps, Qi A killing Man Qin wasn’t entirely because he saw Man Qin replacing his medicine.
He had been wondering before: If Qi A wanted to kill Man Qin in a fit of anger, he wouldn’t have needed to go to such lengths as staging a car-into-the-river murder. A simple stab would have been more in line with his style.
Did Man Qin originally know them? Or was there something else fishy going on?
This doubt had troubled him for several days, but he had one good quality: He could be patient. Even if he was anxious, he would maintain a good routine and do things step by step.
Referring to “International Chess Endgame Solutions (Illustrated Edition),” he copied down the last few words in the notebook. Then, he opened the world geographic coordinate search page and entered all the numbers from page 11 onwards.
As expected, the number of characters was just right.
This time, it was located by the sea. Lan He dragged the screen back and forth, discovering that it was a wild sea with reefs everywhere. Not far away was a very small seaside beach, next to a small fishing village.
The coordinates might have slight deviations, which was normal. Maybe it was pointing to that fishing village?
Wait, Renchao Village? The name sounded familiar!
Before Man Qin died, he seemed to have gone to this place?
What? It wasn’t Qi A who kidnapped him there, but he went there voluntarily?
Maybe Qi A followed him?
As smart as he was, he was now also feeling a bit of a headache. He called Tuxi Ling several times, but he didn’t answer.
This, on the contrary, calmed him down.
Don’t rush. Maybe the numbers after page 11 don’t represent a geographic location. Landing in Renchao Village might just be a coincidence.
At that time, Man Qin stayed at the house of a girl named Yingying Zou. Later, Man Qin encountered Qi A, and she disappeared. The police must have turned her house upside down, but could their focus during the investigation have been wrong?
Lan He decided to go take a look himself.
It was still morning, and the weather was very good. Going to Renchao Village would be like going out to soak up the sun and get some calcium.
He picked out a brand-new bright red short trench coat from the closet. After putting it on and looking in the mirror, he felt like a moving red flag.
He couldn’t help but smile. Aunt Long, who had just entered, also couldn’t help but smile, her wrinkles all piled up together.
“Young Master Lan, are you going out?”
“Yes, the weather is good, so I’m going for a walk!” Lan He paused, “Auntie, please don’t call me ‘Young Master’ anymore. Just call me by my name.”
Aunt Long was stunned for a moment, a tear glinting in her eyes. She quickly laughed and sniffed, “Oh, you child. Calling you by your name would be too distant! I’ll call you…”
She wanted to say “A Lan,” but then she remembered that the gangster who broke into the house that day had called him “A Lan,” and she felt it wasn’t appropriate.
Lan He saw her thoughts and took the initiative to say, “Call me Little Lan!”
Aunt Long nodded quickly, “Okay!”
Lan He took a taxi to Renchao Village and stopped a passerby to ask if they knew where Yingying Zou’s house was.
The village only had a few hundred people in total, and they all knew each other. When they heard that he was looking for Yingying Zou, they enthusiastically told him that Yingying Zou had been missing for several months.
Lan He smiled and thanked them, then turned and left.
The wind by the sea was very cool. He put his hands in the pockets of his trench coat and slowly walked towards Yingying Zou’s house. It was easy to find a courtyard with weeds growing on the eaves and roof.
After the police left, the house was completely empty. The door was ajar, and there was dirt and moss on the steps, indicating that no one had set foot there for a long time.
Lan He went in and checked around, but found nothing. The courtyard was full of the smell of decay. It had rained heavily in the past few days, and the roof was leaking. One wall had completely peeled off, and the bedding and clothes in the cabinets were all moldy.
Lan He retreated.
He was too arrogant. Where did he get the confidence to think that he could find something overlooked by the police at the crime scene?
Time to leave!
He closed the door properly and looked around. It was now 3:03 PM. All that remained in the village were some old people. Their gazes towards him were curious, but also wary.
He opened the longitude and latitude page he had searched that afternoon, activated the navigation function, and walked towards the precise coordinates given by Man Qin.
After passing through several farmhouses and turning into the mountains behind them, the view instantly opened up.
He continued forward along the downhill road and walked into a very small seaside beach. There were only three large canopies, and a few unopened parasols were stuck in the sand closer to the sea, probably for rental.
Now that tourism was popular, many small villages circled off land to generate income themselves, and the authorities turned a blind eye.
It was early November, and there was no one on the beach. Occasionally, a series of loud seagull cries came from the sea. The sea breeze blew on his skin, with a very slight cutting sensation, but the air was cold and fresh, unlike the heavy salty and humid air of summer.
He strolled along the beach towards his destination. As he walked, the sand turned into stones of various sizes. He realized that it was a man-made beach, specially prepared for tourists.
The soles of his shoes were very soft, and it didn’t hurt his feet to step on the stones. Unconsciously, a field of yellow-brown reefs came into view. Further back was a steep, wild mountain.
Several short wooden plank bridges extended from a few flat reefs. Several wooden boats were docked on both sides of the bridges, gently swaying with the waves. The boats had diesel engines added, probably modified by local fishermen for inshore fishing.
There was no one around. Lan He stepped onto the highest point of the reef and looked into the distance. He saw several colored houses at the foot of the mountain, which were quite beautifully built, like park management offices or something.
Suddenly, his gaze froze, and he seemed to fall into a bottomless abyss.
Da Sang?
Qi A hugged his shoulders from behind, silently and without being noticed.
He pressed him to walk towards the colored houses, his mouth barely moving, but his voice reached his ears: “Why did you come? So stupid!”
Then he heard him say: “If there is danger, I will save you, don’t be afraid.”
His pupils trembled violently, but he did not make any extra movements, only lightly replied, “Mm.”
The once lush forest was now only dry branches, like menacing ghost shadows in the desolate mountains.
Following the steep dirt road to the colored houses, Lan He stood in front of Da Sang, only glanced at him, then lowered his head, his voice choking: “Father…”
“Don’t call me that. I remember we broke off our relationship the last time we met.” Da Sang forced a smile, but his eyes revealed a deep chill. “I was planning to look for you in a couple of days. I didn’t expect you to come here on your own initiative. Do you have something to say to me?”
Lan He bit his lower lip and asked, “Why are you here?”
Da Sang chuckled, “Isn’t that obvious? You’ve already found me, and you’re still asking?”
The answer was almost confirmed, and Lan He immediately felt terrified: “Why are you still in the country?”
Da Sang turned away casually: “It’s cold outside. Come in and talk slowly. We haven’t chatted in a long time.”
The house was very clean, and several heaters were emitting heat. Several people Lan He didn’t recognize were playing cards. When they saw them come in, they immediately stood up and consciously went out.
Lan He saw Yingying Zou. Although he had only seen her in photos once, he was very sure that it was Yingying Zou. Her age and the mole on her chin matched.
Da Sang took good care of her. She even had light eyeshadow on. She was a beautiful girl. Judging from her figure from behind, she was the person in the photo that Tuxi Ling sent this morning.
Too fast, assimilated too quickly! Da Sang had such charm, letting those fragile and sensitive children trust him, be loyal to him, and do anything!
How old was she this year? Fourteen?
He sighed inwardly, staring at her until she went out and closed the door before withdrawing his gaze.
Da Sang raised his chin towards a chair: “Sit.”
Lan He obeyed and sat down. Qi A then took away his phone from behind.
He swallowed.
He might not be afraid of death, but undeniably, he was afraid of Da Sang, a fear that came from his bones.
From time to time, the sound of waves crashing against the reefs came from outside the window. Da Sang sized Lan He up for a while, then suddenly smiled: “Why don’t you ask?”
Lan He warned himself to stay calm and asked, “What’s your relationship with Man Qin? Why did you kill him?”
Da Sang frowned slightly: “Oh, you mean that thing?”
He seemed a little surprised, paused for a moment, and said, “Let’s start from the beginning then. I was the one who had Man Qin sabotage Weiyu He to kill him, A Lan. No one else deserves to be your father except me. You should understand that.”
Lan He was stunned, and then the blood rushed upwards.
Understood, everything was understood…
Although outrageous, it was indeed something he could do.
Da Sang spoke calmly, and Lan He stared blankly at him, watching his lips open and close. His sluggish brain couldn’t quite understand what he was saying.
He wanted to hear more clearly, so he involuntarily leaned forward. But Da Sang’s voice seemed to drift to even further away. He tried to listen carefully and understand faster. When he heard the three words “the Ling surname,” the membrane covering his brain suddenly “popped.”
The chaos gradually faded away, and everything became extremely clear.