âAh, I did not take it seriously in the beginning. As a result, I suffered a lot!â
Those who heard the dogs barking came out of their homes and avoided the disaster. Those who listened to the sound but were still indifferent and fell back asleep with the quilt covering their bodies sustained significant loss.
The intensity of this earthquake was not particularly great, but Yuanjia Village seemed to be in a special position. It was particularly close to the epicenter. When it happened, there was no problem in villages a few miles away. They only experienced a few shakes. Most people did not feel anything unusual.
Itâs strange that an earthquake happened in Lianshan County.
After being busy all morning, Pan Jun left the emergency room. He went outside and lit a cigarette before calling Wang Yao.
âMaster, there was an earthquake in Lianshan County last night. Are you alright?â
âEarthquake? In what direction?â When he heard the news, Wang Yao thought of the dim horoscope the previous night.
âYuanjia Village.â
âIn the town of Lihu,â Pan Jun added. He was afraid Wang Yao did not know the village.
âLihu is in the northwest.â Wang Yao thought about the sky he had seen.
âMaster?â Pan Jun was in no hurry to end the call.
âAre many people hurt?â
âThere were more than 20 people hurt, but most of them were just slightly injured. Only a few sustained serious injuries. No one has died.â
âOh, no one is dead.â
âMaster, is there anything else?â
âNo, that is all.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âOK.â
After hanging up the phone, Wang Yao closed his eyes. He again thought of the previous nightâs sky.
Was that a sign of an earthquake?
...
In a small county thousands of miles away in Yunnan...
âWhat do you mean?â
âI received the news that Captain Yang is going to go to the Valley of Thousands of Medicine,â Guo Zhenghe said.
âIâm afraid he wonât find anything even he goes,â Xu Xinyuan said.
âYou can only say that after he goes,â Guo Zhenghe said. âI am a bit worried about Captain Yang. Didnât you say those people are good at using drugs? I hope nothing bad happens to him. Our case counts on him!â He once investigated Yang Guanfeng, who was a well-known criminal investigation expert in Yunnan and a key talent trained by the Ministry of Public Security. He had cracked major cases and become famous.
âI guess they donât dare to harm him since Captain Yang works on behalf of the government. No matter how powerful they are or what they inherit in the village, they are just villagers. How can they compete with the government? If they know that someone from the provincial government has come to investigate the case, they wonât harm him even if they want to. They may even try to protect Captain Yang.â
In a special office for criminal cases in the county...
âWhat? Why?â
âOh, this is the order from the provincial government. We must focus on the overall situation.â
âWhatâs the big picture? Sixteen people have died. There is evidence that this matter has something to do with the people in that village. Iâm going to investigate it. Why donât you agree?â
âThere are all ethnic minorities there, and they are relatively closed. Why would they go to hundreds of miles away to kill?â
âIf I found out more, the case will be cracked. The more they refuse to let me go, the more secrets they have in their hearts. I have to go and take a look.â Captain Yang started to lose his temper. âNo, I have to file the application to the leader again.â
âLeader? Which leader do you mean? Yang Guanfeng, pay attention to your attitude. How many times have I mentioned that to you?â
âPlease talk to the leader about the matter,â Yang Guanfeng said. âWe are doing all of this to crack the case. It is for the deceased.â
âOK, I see.â The person on the other side of the phone hung up feeling dissatisfied.
A young man next to him stretched out his thumb and said, âYou are so brave to argue with your boss.â
âInvestigating such a place affects the leaders. I didnât expect that there were still a lot of secrets in this valley,â Yang Guanfeng said. As he had said on the phone, the more obstacles he had, the more they were trying to stop him. That only fueled his desire to visit the valley. What was the secret hiding in the valley, a forbidden place to outsiders?
Bureaucracy is annoying!
...
In the tallest wooden building in an ancient mountain village hundreds of miles away, a man with a pale yellowish face was standing in front of a man in his 30s.
âCriminal investigator from the province?â
âYes.â
âWhy are you here?â
âA major case occurred in Heâan County, hundreds of miles away from here. Sixteen people died within one week. It has been determined that all of them died from poisoning.â
âPoisoned?â The middle-aged man, who was sitting, narrowed his eyes.
âYes, it was poisoning. Clues are pointing to the village, so they have come to check it out.â
âThe case is too big. We canât stop it,â he added.
âLet them come in if they want. After so many years, few guests like them come to the village.â The middle-aged man laughed.
âDo you have anything else?â
âNo, that is all. Thank you.â
âYouâre welcome,â the man in his 30 hurriedly said. When he turned and walked out of the cabin, he breathed a long sigh of relief. He wouldnât have come to this place if it wasnât necessary.
Sixteen people poisoned. The middle-aged sat pondering what he was told. He let out a long howl. A man appeared in front of him a moment later.
âMaster.â
âTwo things. First, there will be guests coming soon. They are outsiders, public officials. I need you to make arrangements to ask them to pay attention. Second, you need to find a reliable person to go out to a county called Heâan. Sixteen people have died there recently. Signs are suggesting that it was people from the valley who did it. â
âPeople from the valley? It canât be. No people in the valley have gone out recently.â
âYou need to understand the situation before talking.â
âYes, Master.â The young man turned to leave the cabin.
Is it a false accusation? The middle-aged man looked up at the roof.
I let you go at that time, but you did not lay off.
...
In the clinic thousands of miles away in the mountain village...
âMy dad is having some pain,â Wang Zecheng said. He looked worried.
âWhen did it start?â
âLast night at dinner.â
âBring your dad here. I will take a look at him in the afternoon,â Wang Yao said.
âOh, good.â
After Wang Zecheng left, Wang Yao took out the notebook in which he recorded incurable diseases. Wang Zechengâs father had developed a typical incurable disease. He was terminally ill, and it had progressed. In all likelihood, he would have died long ago. Fortunately, Wang Zecheng was not a bad son anymore, so Wang Yao prescribed him medicines, one after another, to help ease the pain and save his life. But it was only temporarily saved. It could not be cured.
I just have to try my best.
Regarding the old manâs illness, in his current situation, Wang Yao could try again to see if he could turn things around and save his life.
In the afternoon, Wang Zecheng brought his father to the clinic.
âXiao Yao, sorry to trouble you again.â
âYou are too polite, Uncle. Come in and take a seat,â Wang Yao hurriedly said. He poured a glass of water for the old man.
The old manâs complexion was not very good. His face was blue-gray, suggesting something unlucky.
âDrink some water first.â
âThank you, I already drank some at home,â the old man said with a smile.
âPlease tell me, in which part do you feel pain?â
âWell, this position.â The old man pointed to a place under his right ribs. That was where the liver was.
âCome on, Iâll give you an exam.â
Wang Yao carefully checked the old man.
The malignant tumors had spread to the liver, lungs, and lymph nodes.
âDoes it hurt here?â Wang Yao pointed to the old manâs chest.
âWell, from time to time it hurts,â the old man responded to him after thinking for a while.
âOK, you can go back now. I will boil some medicine for you. When it is ready, I will ask Zecheng to come and get it.â
âAh, good.â The old man smiled.
âUm.â The old man took a few steps and turned around again.
âDo you have anything else?â
âItâs OK, itâs OK.â The old man seemed to want to say something, but he did not.