947 Iâm an Undercover
âWhy?â Lu Xiufeng inquisitively asked.
âThere is no motive,â Wu San said. âHeâs doing good in the valley, so why would he need to send someone to kill so many people on the outside? What was it that he hoped to achieve? Furthermore, he is the staunchest supporter and protector of the old ways passed down through the generations for hundreds of years in the village. He wants to keep passing down the heritage of the village from here on out, just like it has been done for the past several centuries. He avoids too much contact with the outside world to ensure the village remains like a lone paradise.â
From what he said, it seemed that he knew Miao Xihe very well.
âThank you,â Lu Xiufeng said.
âYeah, alright. You people best leave. Itâs too noisy here now.â Wu San waved.
âOh right. I hope all these incidents wonât be too much of a trouble to you.â Lu Xiufeng paused for a moment before writing his phone number down. âGive me a call anytime if you need anything.â
âYeah, you can leave now.â
Wu San had actually talked a lot to Lu Xiufeng that day. If one were to consider his habits, he probably would not have said that much even in a month.
âThank you.â
Lu Xiufeng rose and bowed before leaving.
âCaptain Yang, Captain Lu, we were unable to capture the two suspects.â
âThere were so many people out there, yet you guys still lost them.â Lu Xiufeng lit a cigarette. He wasnât angry about it. He had long anticipated that to happen.
âIndeed. They seemed to know the woods around these parts very well. We lost them not long after getting into the mountains.â
âNoted. Notify all related personnel in the nearby county town and villages. Tell them to report it as soon as those two are spotted.â
âYes, Sir.â
Yang Guanfeng and Lu Xiufeng saw Miao Chengtang for the second time in the bamboo building. This time, they were seeing him as he truly was.
âWe meet again.â
âDid you get him?â
âNope. Theyâve escaped.â
Miao Chengtang sighed a breath of relief deep down. After all, they were from the same village and had once been neighbors. But he did not agree with the methods taken by Miao Tianchuan. Deep down, he still hoped that he would be apprehended by the police and punished. Even if Miao Tianchuan were to fail or die, he should have gone out in some other ways.
âHave you made up your mind?â
âI have.â
âShall we talk?â
âHere?â Miao Chengtang asked. âIâm afraid itâs rather ill-suited for such talk.â
âAre you afraid they will return?â
âI am.â
âAlright, letâs go somewhere else then.â
The high-profile operation was over as soon as it began.
âMan, just what the hell is going on here?â The people who were waiting for treatment there were all dumbfounded, not to mention very frightened as well.
âWho knows? Maybe they were out to catch some fugitive.â
âHey, come and see if itâs them.â Someone searched the news that had just come out moments ago.
âWanted criminals, right here?â
âItâs very possible given how remote this place is.â
âMy god, over 20 people were killed!â
âIt news from unknown sources, so itâs not necessarily true.â
The activity and news in the village made everyone around rowdy for a while.
Somewhere in the nearby mountains...
Miao Tianchuan and Miao Qingshan were hiding at a mountain peak.
âDid we lose them?â
âYeah.â Miao Tianchuan looked at what was happening beneath the mountain. He was thinking of something.
âI wonder if Chengtang will be alright.â
âHe should be fine,â Miao Tianchuan said.
âFine? Wonât he be taken away by the cops?â
âYeah,â Miao Tianchuan replied.
âYou can never predict how people think.â
Miao Chengtang, Yang Guanfeng, and Lu Xiufeng were sitting inside an interrogation room in the public security bureau of He County,
âAlright, speak,â Lu Xiufeng said.
âDo you mind giving me a cigarette?â Miao Chengtang asked.
âHere you go.â Lu Xiufeng handed him a cigarette.
Miao Chengtang spilled everything he knew down to the very last detail.
âSo, Miao Tianchuan was the guy behind all the murders?â
âI donât know if heâs doing it alone or if there are some others out there doing it with him in the beginning,â Miao Chengtang said. âWhen the recent case happened, I and Miao Qingshan were both at the villa. The two of us didnât know before we got out of the village, or even after, that Miao Tianchuan was that much of an unhinged lunatic. He has gone crazy. Heâs willing to do anything to exact revenge.â
âWhy did he suddenly return to the village? He knew that he could have easily died if he went back, so why did he do it anyway?â
âHe probably knew that he was about to die back then, so he might have wanted to see the place he once called home for the last time before he kicked the bucket.â
âHe was about to die?â
âYeah, he had been poisoned. It was something he had been exposed to all those years ago when he escaped from the village. It was very potent. He was one hell of a guy to be able to last that long.â
âMiao Xihe?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âIt was not him. It was some other guy,â Miao Chengtang added.
âYou all share the same surname and are from one village, but you people sure knew how to fight among yourselves,â Lu Xiufeng exasperatingly quipped.
âConflicts happen where there are people.â Miao Chengtang plainly replied. âItâs a very normal thing to happen.â
âAlright, letâs continue. How did he manage to last?â
âHe probably found some miracle cure.â
âMiracle cure?â
âThe woods are dense in these parts of southern Yunnan,â Miao Chengtang said. âThe herbs available are countless. According to ancient records in the village, there are a few herbs that are extremely rare and known to be holy medicines. All of them are almost capable of bringing back the dead, so to speak. He might have found one of those, I guess.â
âLike the Blood Orchid?â
âPrecisely.â
âCan you help us locate where they are?â
âThese parts of Miaojiang are filled with forests,â Miao Chengtang said. âThereâs no way you could find them once they got into the woods, and I suspect that he no longer trusts me.â
âThat fast?â
âHis sixth sense is mystical and very accurate. Iâve witnessed it at work more than once.â
âOther than that, is there anything else that we donât know? Please tell us.â
âGive me a pen and a map. Iâll circle the places weâve been to for the past several days. It might be of use to you guys.â
âVery well.â
âWhat? Heâs an undercover? Are you sure about that?â
The higher-ups were delighted to hear that they had apprehended a suspect. They only knew after communicating with Yang Guanfeng that the so-called suspect had been an undercover.
âYeah, very sure. He was the one who contacted us back when he was still in the Valley of Thousands of Medicine.â
âGet his help right away to capture the other two. The ones up there are keeping a close eye on this. They are very anxious!â
âYes, Sir.â
It took Yang Guanfeng quite a bit of time to clear Miao Chengtangâs identity.
âAlright, there is no problem with you for the time being.â
âFor the time being? What do you mean?â
âIf we find any evidence that indicates youâve been a part of those cases, it will be a different story altogether.â
âI told you, Iâve never been in any part of that,â Miao Chengtang said. âIâm not a lunatic like him.â
âI believe you, and the outcome of our deductions is telling us the same thing. Everything can only end one we get Miao Tianchuan into custody. Furthermore, itâs not like you know if the valley knew about any of that beforehand, right?â
âOh yeah, definitely. But you guys need to protect me now. Miao Xihe is looking for us now. If he were to find out that Iâm the one ratting them out, heâll try to kill me.â
âRelax, weâll keep you safe.â
At a hotel somewhere in Qushan County...
âI heard they captured one of them.â
âIndeed. Only a select few know about this. The news is tightly sealed.â
âWho is the guy?â
âMiao Chengtang.â
âReally?â
âDo we need to think of some way to get rid of him?â Miao Changhong asked.
âNo. We canât risk doing that at his juncture. Right now, we need to think of ways to help them catch Miao Tianchuan as soon as possible, dead or alive. Even just being able to confirm where he actually is would help.â