Chapter 54

So she hesitated, then accepted.
“Uh… alright then. There’s really no need to be so polite.”
The village secretary’s lips curved into a strange smile as he continued,
“It’s hot outside. Educated Youth Song, why don’t you come in and sit as well?”
Song Jinping felt something was off. His eyes scanned the surroundings.
“No need. This junior won’t go in. Waiting outside in the yard is just fine.”
He didn’t want to go in? The village secretary subtly exchanged a look with Guo Jianglong, what should they do now? Guo Jianglong’s inverted white eyes fixed on Song Jinping, ready to finish off this lame educated youth the moment he noticed anything amiss.
Of course, it would be best if they could take him inside and deal with him there. Handling him outside the house, even though the area was open, didn’t mean there wouldn’t be people around. This old man’s house was accessible from all sides and quite conspicuous in the village. It seemed they still had to get inside.
“Aiya, Educated Youth Song, just come in together. Leaving you waiting outside would really be neglectful. Of course, if you insist on staying out here, I can fetch you a stool and bring out some water.”
“Ah, no need, Uncle Li. He can just come in along with us.”
Seeing the village party secretary start bustling around to host Song Jinping, Bai Xinmei immediately got annoyed. Who did this man think he was, putting on airs? He’d already been invited.
“Anyway, you’ve twisted your ankle. What’s wrong with going inside to rest for a bit? You might not be tired, but I am, I just supported you all the way here.”
She couldn’t help complaining. Little did she know that the moment the village secretary heard Bai Xinmei mention the twisted ankle, an idea suddenly formed in his mind, how to trick both of them inside.
Doing things out in the courtyard wasn’t a good option.
“Educated Youth Song, you twisted your ankle? Oh my, how did that happen? I’ve got medicated oil at home, and I know a bit of bone-setting too…”
By the time he said this, Bai Xinmei was already tempted. “Let’s go, Educated Youth Song. Let the village secretary take a look at it. Otherwise, who knows how long it’ll take you to walk back later.”
Lowering his head to look at his foot, so swollen his shoe was almost bursting, and considering the hour-long walk back, Song Jinping finally nodded.
“Come, come, I’ll support you, Educated Youth Song.”
Bai Xinmei pulled the sky-blue headscarf on her head down a little, wiped her sweat, and licked her dry lips. The walk had been exhausting and unbearably hot, finally, she could rest for a while.
The village secretary’s nephew looked gloomy and withdrawn, not very similar to the secretary himself, though the feeling he gave off wasn’t much better.
Perhaps noticing Bai Xinmei looking at him, Guo Jianglong snapped out of it and gave her a very gentle smile, looking like an honest man.
“Come, have some water.”
Once inside the main hall, it was quite spacious. The village secretary was well-off; the house was large, the tables and chairs inside were still fairly new, and there was even a radio.
He was a well-informed figure in the village, many new things could be found in his home.
“Jianglong, you entertain Educated Youth Song and your sister-in-law for a bit. I’ll go get the medicated oil.”
Before going out, the village secretary instructed him, casually patting Guo Jianglong on the shoulder. Their eyes met.
The medicine’s already been put in.
Bai Xinmei was already overheated and naturally thirsty. She took the bowl and, without much thought, gulped down the water. She didn’t forget Song Jinping, whose leg wasn’t in good shape.
“Here, drink some.”
“I don’t-”
Seeing Bai Xinmei caring about him, Song Jinping’s heart sweetened, and he started acting foolish again. He’d wanted to say he wasn’t thirsty, but when he thought that Meimei was the one handing it to him, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He changed his words instead:
“I really am a bit thirsty. You’re very thoughtful.”
Watching the whole scene, Guo Jianglong fell silent. He withdrew his earlier assessment that this man looked extremely smart.
Before long, Bai Xinmei began to feel dizzy. Her eyelids felt heavy, so heavy she couldn’t lift them. Was she… suffering from heatstroke? She really wanted to rest…
She vaguely heard Song Jinping calling her.
“Meimei? Meimei! What’s wrong with you?”
Song Jinping felt something was off. Bai Xinmei looked like she was drunk, but they’d only had water. Soon, his own head began to spin as well.
Just as he seemed to realize something, Guo Jianglong had already lost patience. He slammed the butt of his gun into the back of Song Jinping’s head, knocking him out cold.
After Guo Jianglong finished dealing with them, the village secretary slowly walked in from outside.
“No noise outside just now, right?”
The village secretary shook his head. “No. What do we do now that they’re unconscious? We can’t keep them here.”
He took a drag from his leaf-wrapped cigarette, looking irritated. Ideally, he wanted to deal with that kid from the Qin family without bringing trouble upon himself, after all, he still wanted to live comfortably for a few more years.
“Find someone else to notify Qin Yuanzheng. Tell him his wife is in my hands. You won’t need to worry about what happens next.”
As Guo Jianglong tied them up, he explained the rest of the plan.
“I’m taking these two with me.”
“You’re going to kill Qin Yuanzheng?”
The village secretary asked the question he cared about most.
“If these two are valuable enough to draw him out, if they’re enough, then of course I’ll kill him.”
As he said the words kill him, a cruel smile curled at the corner of Guo Jianglong’s mouth. His former good brother, he was truly looking forward to meeting him again.
Sure enough, when Qin Yuanzheng discovered that Bai Xinmei hadn’t returned that night, he immediately began searching for her. He first went to the educated youth compound and found that Song Jinping was also missing.
As for Li Zhaodi’s muttering about the two eloping together, Qin Yuanzheng didn’t believe it at all. With their family upbringing, neither Song Jinping nor Meimei would ever do something like that.
Eloping was utter nonsense.
But the fact that both of them were missing at the same time inevitably made Qin Yuanzheng think of worse possibilities.
Had Meimei followed Song Jinping back to the capital? Did that count as eloping? Or had the two of them simply vanished together?
He contacted his old comrades in the county armed police unit. There were no relevant ticket records, no long-distance train tickets purchased. Their movements even seemed to be confined to the area around the village.
So where… had they gone?
Qin Yuanzheng reported it to the police, and an investigation began. Their last known location, recent conflicts, hobbies, everything was examined. Qin Yuanzheng himself was also questioned due to the complicated relationship between the three of them.
A crime of passion couldn’t be ruled out, even though the two were only missing for now.
As a result, when faced with the suspicious looks of newly recruited young officers, Qin Yuanzheng nearly lost his temper.
Fortunately, the clues eventually narrowed down to the village secretary, who had previously held a grudge against Qin Yuanzheng, and the households near the wheat field that Song Jinping often visited.
When an educated youth close to Song Jinping mentioned that he liked that place because it seemed to be where he first met Bai Xinmei, Qin Yuanzheng’s expression visibly darkened.
Now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. In the end, he managed to rein in his temper.
After rounds of questioning, some villagers said they’d seen the two, others said they hadn’t, but all denied having any contact with them.
When questioned, the village secretary remained calm and said he hadn’t seen them.
Qin Yuanzheng looked at him several times but couldn’t spot any flaws.
They had no choice but to let it go. As the investigating officers withdrew, Qin Yuanzheng felt immense pain, he even began to consider the possibility that the two had truly eloped.
Finally, on the fifteenth day after their disappearance, a new clue emerged.
He received a note, telling him to go to an abandoned dock dozens of li away.
A note. A dock.
At the bottom of the paper was a signature, Guo Jianglong.
So it really was trouble he’d brought upon himself. Qin Yuanzheng clenched the flimsy piece of paper in his hand. His already fierce features darkened further, like storm clouds gathering before a downpour.
It had finally come.
Back during the firefight, he’d noticed some people escaping. He’d known this day would arrive, he just hadn’t expected it so soon.
Once the lead appeared, the police moved quickly. They even brought in police dogs. After all, Song Jinping’s fifth uncle was the deputy secretary of Jiang City’s municipal committee, no, now he was the secretary.
Within his jurisdiction, his own nephew had vanished without cause. The older generation of the Song family had scolded him relentlessly, while his brother and sister-in-law pressed him nonstop. The pressure on him was immense.
At the same time, the police made a breakthrough. After sniffing the note, the police dog began barking lowly around the village secretary.
The village secretary shouted angrily, “You damn dog, what are you barking at me for?!”
But it was already too late. The police and Qin Yuanzheng refocused their investigation on him.
An ordinary rural old man couldn’t withstand interrogation for long. Before long, he confessed.
He said he didn’t know the man’s name, only that he had a strong body odor, was tall and thin, and roughly described his appearance.
Qin Yuanzheng was already certain, it was Guo Jianglong. The second-in-command of the organization he’d once infiltrated. He hadn’t expected him to still be causing so much trouble.
His gaze sharpened.
“He made me deliver that letter too! I was forced! I was forced!”
As the police cuffed him, the village secretary burst into tears, desperately trying to argue. He looked to be in his fifties, half an old man, pitiful, at first glance.
But knowing what he’d done, there was nothing pitiful about him at all.
After discussion, Qin Yuanzheng decided to use himself as bait to lure out this remaining threat.
Following the address on the note, Qin Yuanzheng arrived at the abandoned dock. The place was completely deserted. The area was fairly open; a few small boats and some abandoned vessels were still moored on the river.
There were sandbags and cargo crates scattered around, easy to escape, plenty of cover. It was a good choice of location. Clearly, Guo Jianglong had planned this for a long time.
“Jianglong! I’m here! You can show yourself now!”
Qin Yuanzheng shouted.
After a long while, a voice rang out.
“Qin Yuanzheng, should I call you Yuanzheng, or Commander Qin? How does it feel to rise through the ranks by stepping over the corpses of your former brothers?!”
“Former brothers? A bunch of beasts who violated women and children and betrayed the country, and you call that brothers?” Qin Yuanzheng replied coldly. “What I protect is the nation, and what I defend is the people! I will never call scum like you my brothers!”
Faced with Guo Jianglong’s furious accusations, Qin Yuanzheng was utterly unmoved. These beasts, worse than animals, still dared to talk to him about loyalty.
He had seen it with his own eyes…