Chapter 892: Tossing and Turning at Home
No one wanted such a thing to happen in the area under their jurisdiction. This was a major case. The police officers also knew that although He County had found a suspect, he had escaped. As for where he had escaped, no one knew. It might be under their jurisdiction. After all, they were not far from He County.
“Can’t these G.o.dd.a.m.n guys settle down a little?”
No one would want to create more trouble during times like this. It would be equivalent to committing a crime despite a law-enforcement campaign.
A large-scale search was immediately conducted.
The police officers pulled all the surveillance footage. They were able to determine the suspect’s clothing and appearance. They quickly and efficiently issued a wanted notice.
“Ah, who drew me like this? Why is it so ugly!” Miao Qingfeng murmured to himself as he looked at the wanted notice posted on the wall.
He had paid special attention to this when he arrived. He was not one of the old people who lived in the Valley of Thousands of Medicine all the time and never went out for several years. He would leave the valley several times a year, so he knew the outside world well. The valley needed some people to be in contact with the outside world. They had to be people who could be trusted. He learned how advanced technology was in the outside world, especially the surveillance cameras that could be seen everywhere. Almost every road and shop, including some houses, had surveillance cameras. Some criminals would leave traces of evidence even if they were just a little bit careless. The cameras were a key factor in the increased rate of solving crimes in recent years.
Before Miao Qingfeng left the village, he had made a special prop that could block and change his appearance to prevent him from being discovered.
“How troublesome! I still have a living man with me!”
The police did not manage to find anything from their rigorous investigation and intense search. A person had just disappeared. What was even stranger was that the person had no next of kin that they could contact. At least, that was what it looked like from his file. The person who had reported him was a kind neighbor.
“Maybe he went home.”
“Home? Where is his home?”
“How would I know that, Boss?”
Without next of kin and further requirements, the matter was considered settled by leaving it unsettled.
“Fortunately, there were no other problems.”
This small county was calm and quiet. On the surface, people lived and worked in peace and contentment, unlike their neighboring county, where there were three major cases in succession within a period of half a month. This made people afraid and gave the people in charge headaches.
Guo Zhenghe was indeed angry and had a headache.
“Sir, one of our people has disappeared. I found out that someone reported him as missing. Since he had no next of kin to contact, the case was put on hold. Because of this report, Linxian County also launched a large-scale crackdown.” Xu Xinyuan was well-informed. He told Guo Zhenghe about it immediately.
“A person from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine?”
“Yes, the one that disappeared is the one who escaped from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine. I have checked his data. He had been living in Linxian County nine years. There were no abnormalities in those nine years.”
“Regarding those people, even if there were to be any abnormalities, normal people might not even detect it, right?”
“Well, yes,” Xu Xinyuan replied.
After all, he was good at using poison.
“Kidnapping?”
“Kidnapping.”
“When a dog bites another dog, all he gets is a mouthful of fur and both parties get injured,” Guo Zhenghe said.
He didn’t care how they bit each other. He just didn’t want them to cause trouble in his jurisdiction.
“What about the rest of the people?”
“I know the other two, who were also contacted through that person.”
“Where is that man?”
“I have asked him to leave southern Yunnan and go to Hebei Province,” Xu Xinyuan said.
“Mmm, there will not be any trouble when he goes there, right?”
“No, I have a few friends there. They are reliable, and this man wants to leave. He just needs money.”
“How much does he need?” Guo Zhenghe asked.
“He said $2 million.”
“Alright, no problem. I want to know everything he knows about the Valley of Thousands of Medicine.”
“Understood, Sir.”
“Does he know what has happened in He County?” Guo Zhenghe asked.
“I have mentioned it to him. He said that they can be excluded,” Xu Xinyuan said. “They do not have that ability. They are likely to be people from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine.”
“Why?”
“The people of the Valley of Thousands of Medicine have been secretly studying drugs, including all kinds of poisons.”
“What’s their purpose?”
“They are looking for ways to enhance the various abilities of the human body. One of the main ways is to use drugs to stimulate their bodies.”
When Guo Zhenghe heard this part, he felt that it was necessary to meet Xu Xinyuan. “Where are you? Let’s meet.”
They soon met in a teahouse.
“Tell me all the details carefully.”
“He told me there is a tradition pa.s.sed down from their stockade,” Xu Xinyuan said. “Taking medicine internally and medicinal baths externally can improve the health of the human body and achieve the effect of curing diseases, strengthening the body, and prolonging life. The centenarians in their village have always insisted on doing this. It is a gentle and effective way. In the past 10 years, the new chief in the valley came up with some ideas and suddenly began to improve the traditional method. The results were not ideal when tested on the human body. This method is quite dangerous because there are lethal poisons in the drugs he used.”
“Human experiments? On whom? People in their stockade or people from outside?” Guo Zhenghe asked.
“Both are included.”
“Both?”
“Yes, the people in their stronghold are quite resistant to poisons, so they are more tolerant,” Xu Xinyuan said. “The people outside are not. That was also a main reason why they fled the stronghold.”
“Is there any evidence of what he said?”
“No, there were pictures, but they were found and destroyed,” Xu Xinyuan said.
Guo Zhenghe was silent after hearing what was said.
“Chief Miao Xihe should have succeeded.”
“Huh?”
“I heard from that man that Chief Miao’s body is invulnerable to all forms of weapons and poisons and is very strong and powerful.”
“Oh, is he so formidable?”
“This man must be protected well.”
“Yes, I know.”
The Valley of Thousands of Medicine? Miao Xihe? Guo Zhenghe leaned back against the chair and gazed at the ceiling.
Could it be him?
Hundreds of miles away…
Where is this place?
When the middle-aged man woke up again, he found himself lying on a bamboo bed surrounded by familiar wooden buildings. The sky was already dark.
“You’re awake.” A voice sounded from the side.
“Miao Qingfeng, where is this place?”
“What do you think? Don’t you think it looks familiar?” Miao Qingfeng asked with a smile.
After hearing that, the middle-aged man carefully observed his surroundings.
“This… This is my previous home!” All the blood drained from his face as if he had seen a ghost.
“Bingo! That’s the right answer. Welcome back.”
No, no, no!
Miao Qingshan’s body began to shake. He had hidden outside all these years. At first, he had wanted to come back. Later, something had completely made him dismiss that thought.
“Why? Why?”
“What why? Why has your expression turned so ugly? Look how nice it is here. Don’t you want to come home? You are all alone outside and have no relatives with you.” Miao Qingfeng lit a cigarette.
“Have one.”
“I do not want to come back,” Miao Qingshan said. “I do not want to come back.”
“Why?” Another voice came from outside.
After hearing that voice, Miao Qingshan’s expression became even uglier. His body trembled.
With a creak, the door opened. Miao Xihe came in from outside.
“Master.”
“Chief,” Miao Qingshan said in a trembling voice. He did not dare to look up at the man. It was as if the man standing in front of him was a devil and not a person.
“Why don’t you want to come back? This your home. Is it because of what happened back then?” There was no irritation or anger in Miao Xihe’s tone.
“Ah!” Miao Qingshan suddenly sighed and stopped talking.
“Were you responsible for the things that had happened in He County?” Miao Xihe asked.
“We were out there hiding,” Miao Qingshan said. “We were not so crazy to take the initiative to kill people, especially so many at once.”
“Why do I feel as if there is another meaning behind your words?” Miao Qingfeng asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You did not do it, but what about the others?”
“Lan Shan died in a car accident. Lan Xi went to the northeast. Qinglin and Qingmiao are no longer in the province. Only Xinhe and I are still in southern Yunnan,” Miao Qingshan man said.
“Are you out of touch?”
“We still contact each other a little,” Miao Qingshan replied. “Since I was already outside, I wanted to have another life.”
“Didn’t you think about coming to kill me?” Miao Xihe asked.
“I thought about in the beginning. After thinking about it carefully, killing you would just be sending ourselves to our deaths. If you were here, we would not be able to kill you. Even if you were to go out, we still would not be able to kill you. The only ones who would die would be us. In that case, it would be better to live well.”
“If you guys could not kill me, you could still kill me through the hands of another,” Miao Xihe said.
“Kill you through the hands of another? Do you mean the police?” Miao Qingshan asked.
“Not long ago, two criminal investigation experts from the province came to the valley to investigate the murders in He County,” Miao Xihe said. “Someone had to have told them about the situation here. Otherwise, they would not have come to such a remote place. Who do you think the informer could be?”
“Did you killed them?” Miao Qingshan asked.
“Are you kidding me?” Miao Qingfeng asked. “They were criminal investigation experts from the province. We are good people who obey the law!”
“We cooperated as much as we could,” Miao Xihe said. “They left after a few days.”
“Who was the person who took the blame for it?” Miao Qingshan asked.
“What do you think?”
Miao Qingshan was silent.
“Think about it. I’ll come back before dinner,” Miao Xihe said as he left.
“Think about it carefully.” Miao Qingfeng also left.
“Master?”
“He’s telling the truth. This matter has nothing to do with him.”
“What should we do with him?” Miao Qingfeng asked.
“Burial of G.o.ds.”
“Understood.”
In the evening, someone prepared a rich dinner for the Miao Qingshan. A big fish was brought out and set in front of him.
With a snap, the chopsticks in the man’s hands fell on the table. His body was shaking like leaves in the wind and rain.
“No, no, no!”