“My legs are not good. Otherwise I would drive myself. And as for whom I hire as my driver — that is my own business. If you have a grudge against my driver, what does that have to do with me?” He Zhengren replied calmly. “Do you have any idea how many years kidnapping carries?”
Long Ge fixed his eyes on him and suddenly asked: “What exactly happened on the day of that accident?”
“…What accident?”
Long Ge swung a kick at the chair. It toppled backward, and He Zhengren hit the floor with a pained grimace. Long Ge made no move to help him. He stood looking down with cold authority. “Does this help you remember which accident?”
At this moment, Long Ge’s entire being radiated four words — utterly without fear of death.
“Only a handful of people survived that accident! Song Fan and Li Haozhang hired petty thugs to harass an orphanage that had absolutely nothing to do with the accident. Zhang Chenguang and Song Fan kept making repeated trips to Yuzhu Peak and out into various deserts. He Ma ran — and in the very next moment turned up as your driver… Are you telling me all of this is coincidence, that you knew nothing of any of it?! Mr. He, adviser — you sit in comfort pulling the strings behind the scenes!”
“None of what you’re describing… I was unaware of any of it… What my drivers got up to in private… how could I possibly control… Did they owe you money, or beat someone up for you? Whatever grievance or quarrel you have, go take it up with them.” He Zhengren lay on his side on the floor, great beads of sweat pushing through the skin of his forehead — whether from pain or fear, it was impossible to tell. And even so, he continued to profess ignorance, question by question. He was terrified that Long Ge might be wearing a recording device of some kind, and was absolutely determined not to reveal a single weakness. In his estimation, Long Ge had only come to stand up for Ba Yunye, and would not truly dare to do anything drastic to him.
Still, being so rattled by Long Ge left him feeling that he needed to extricate himself — once this last deal was done, he would go to the United States as quickly as possible and be done with it all, no need to wade through any more murky water.
Suddenly, the door buzzer sounded. Someone was calling up from the building entrance downstairs.
Long Ge crossed quickly to check — it was Li Haozhang. He did not press any button, and simply let the buzzer ring until it stopped and automatically cut off. Li Haozhang did not try again. A moment later, He Zhengren’s phone rang — the call was from Li Haozhang.
“Still claiming you knew nothing?” Long Ge held up He Zhengrin’s phone and gave it a small wave. “This man not only harassed the orphanage, he tailed Ba Yunye for at least a month. What did you hope to get from her? The meaning behind the photographs? Or some inside intelligence from Diao Zhuo’s side — hmm?”
He Zhengren answered evasively: “A former driver of mine coming to see me — there’s nothing unusual about that, is there? He left the job two months ago. What he’s been doing since then, I have no idea.”
Long Ge stepped forward, planted his foot on the chair, gripped He Zhengren’s fingers and gave them a sharp wrench. The move was not lethal — applied correctly, it left the fingers unbroken but caused extreme pain. He Zhengren did indeed let out a wretched howl, his entire body shaking.
Long Ge’s eyes were shot through with red, burning a raw, savage color, like a nightmare conjured from hell — entirely unlike the genial man he was day to day. In his vision, He Zhengren’s contorted face became Peng Chunni’s terrified face in the moment of the crash, and then transformed into her pale, shattered skull as he had seen it in the mortuary. Fourteen years of suppressed hatred and grief exploded in that single moment.
In truth, Long Ge had already made his peace, before coming here, with turning himself in after settling his score. Or rather, that peace had been made from the moment he had set his mind to guiding Ba Yunye and Diao Zhuo toward uncovering the truth behind the accident.
At the Sejila Mountain viewpoint, tourists were craning their necks to peer at Namcha Barwa in the distance, or taking turns posing beside the landmark signpost, all thoroughly delighted. Namcha Barwa — that beautiful snow peak like a bashful young woman — was still veiled in clouds and mist at this moment, its outline half-concealed, half-revealed.
And yet Ba Yunye, who had passed this way countless times and always hoped to catch a glimpse of Namcha Barwa in all its glory, was utterly indifferent to the view. After the call ended, she turned to Diao Zhuo with rare, hollow-eyed agitation and said: “Long Ge says he’s found out that Song Fan, Zhang Chenguang… and even He Ma all answer to someone — the same He Zhengren you mentioned before. He didn’t tell me how he figured it out, or where he is, but I am one hundred percent certain he’s in Beijing, and he’s gone to kill He Zhengren.”
The news did not come as a surprise to Diao Zhuo. He may have harbored suspicions all along — only lacking any means to confirm them. Compared to Long Ge’s grief of a lost wife, Diao Zhuo, who had lost his father early in life, brought considerably more composure to this moment. Moreover, “taking revenge” had never been a theme of his life. Even now, with the perpetrators clearly identifiable, his instinct was to pursue justice through legitimate means and see the mastermind pay the proper price.
“Stop him.”
Ba Yunye gave a start.
“Stop him from using the wrong method to confront He Zhengren and force a confession.” Diao Zhuo explained. “Even if He Zhengren has a guilty conscience and knows the full story of the accident, he won’t easily tell anyone the truth. He’s kept this secret for so many years — it must be of enormous consequence. Speaking up would bring him nothing but harm. In his position, I wouldn’t say a word either. Since Long Ge has discovered that Song Fan, Zhang Chenguang and He Ma are all He Zhengren’s people, they must have been part of some kind of organization — and if there’s an organization, you cannot be certain He Zhengren is the absolute ringleader. There may be other people in the background that we know nothing about yet. Acting recklessly now would be like striking the grass and alarming the snake.”
Ba Yunye tried calling Long Ge again — the tone indicated his phone was switched off. “Damn it!” She wanted to throw her phone in frustration, but the car repayment due this month informed her — you cannot do that.
“Ba Yunye! Are we moving or not!” one of the other drivers called.
“One more minute!” Ba Yunye shouted back. “Let the clients enjoy the view a little longer!”
They had no idea what was going on, and called out teasingly, “You just want a bit more alone time with your man! Ha ha ha!”
Ba Yunye gave a helpless sigh. She was not the sort of woman given to literary sentiment, but looking at their joking faces, she suddenly recalled a line of poetry she had memorized in middle school — something about a girl not knowing her country is lost, still singing songs across the river, or words to that effect. She couldn’t remember who wrote it — but she suddenly felt the greatness of ancient poets, that verses written so long ago could still speak to a person’s emotion right now. She didn’t know whether, after today, the Soaring Eagle Club would still exist.
Diao Zhuo spoke in a level tone: “He Zhengren has difficulty walking and spends most of his time at home. Even when he goes out, he wouldn’t choose to walk or take public transport. By Long Ge’s own account, He Ma is his driver — so to intercept him when he goes out and confront him face to face, would He Ma go along with that? He Zhengren is no mute; even if Long Ge found a way to approach him when He Ma wasn’t around, he wouldn’t simply submit without a fight. To control him, Long Ge would have to render him incapacitated somehow — how would he go about that?”
“Knock him out and drag him somewhere quiet.” Ba Yunye knew — Long Ge had the capability.
“That’s only the optimistic scenario.” Diao Zhuo’s brow furrowed deeply. “We’re talking about the capital. Knocking someone unconscious in broad daylight is enormously risky. If he could get inside He Zhengren’s home, that would be relatively safe. But since He Ma was deployed by He Zhengren to keep watch on you or Long Ge, he definitely knows what Long Ge looks like and would never easily let him through the door. By any measure, Long Ge getting close to He Zhengren would be extremely difficult. And yet, in your phone call with him, he sounded very confident, said he’d already succeeded more than halfway — which means he’s either managed to get close, or rather…”
He seemed to recall something, and called a contact at the Beidou Rescue Brigade’s main office. A short while later, he said to Ba Yunye: “The brigade holds a meeting on the last Sunday of every month. He Zhengren left an hour ago when the meeting ended — he also submitted his resignation before the meeting. He should have arrived home not long ago. His housekeeper takes care of his daily needs and has Sundays off — which today happens to be. If anyone was going to make a move, today was the ideal time.”
Ba Yunye stared at him in disbelief. “You’re saying Long Ge might actually be inside He Zhengren’s home?!” She thrust the list of failed calls at him. “And he’s switched off his phone — clearly because he doesn’t want me interrupting him!”
Diao Zhuo nodded, and asked: “During your call, did you hear any other sounds in the background?”
“It was fairly quiet. The previous call was noisier — I even heard someone passing by mention something about Houhai and some bar, which is why I suspected right then he was in Beijing. This time… I didn’t hear any other voices or traffic. It sounded like indoors. Oh — before he hung up, I heard a clock chime. Very close, not like a distant bell tower.”
Diao Zhuo glanced at his watch. It was five past five in the afternoon. Indoors. A clock chime — could it be coming from that expensive wall clock in He Zhengren’s home?
Which would mean Long Ge had already gotten inside, and had quite possibly already gotten He Zhengren under control.
“Call the police,” said Diao Zhuo, reaching for his phone.
“Why on earth would we call the police?” Ba Yunye grabbed his arm at once.
“Even if He Zhengren is guilty and knows the full story, he will absolutely not tell Long Ge the truth. He submitted his resignation today — as a nominal adviser, having or not having that title makes virtually no difference, so there must be some other reason behind the resignation. Long Ge has old comrades in the police force who left the military at the same time as him — yet having discovered the connections between all these people, he chose not to go to the authorities. Instead he traveled all the way to Beijing alone to find He Zhengren, and deliberately switched off his phone to cut off all contact, including from you and me — both of us bereaved relatives from the same accident. He is clearly dead set on going through with this. He Zhengren’s stubbornness and attitude will enrage him further, and who knows what he might do then. If the police arrive before he crosses the point of no return, He Zhengren would not dare tell the police why Long Ge forced his way in — which means Long Ge walks away clean. Worst case, he might be ‘brought in’ for a few days. Otherwise, it could be ‘a few years,’ ‘ten-plus years,’ or even…”
Ba Yunye, who had known Long Ge for years in a bond that was somewhere between younger sister and daughter to a father, still clung to a shred of hope. “Maybe Long Ge will get a confession from him and then march him to the police station himself?”
“That depends on whether He Zhengren is willing to talk.” Diao Zhuo said without hesitation. “We have to stop him.”
“What if the police come and Long Ge still won’t let him go, and they… they shoot him!”
“He Zhengren wants to see Long Ge in police custody even less than you do.”
In her desperation, Ba Yunye tried Long Ge again — still switched off. At the same time, Diao Zhuo called He Zhengren’s number; though the line was not disconnected, two unanswered rings passed before someone finally picked up.
Long Ge’s hoarse voice: “Diao Zhuo! For your father’s sake — stay out of this! I’ll carry this alone!”
Ba Yunye snatched the phone from Diao Zhuo — but the line had already gone dead. She tried the desperate measure of sending a text to He Zhengren’s number:
“Long Ge! Whatever you’re about to do, stop right now!! I understand how you feel! Come back!”
Before she could confirm the send, Diao Zhuo reached over and pressed down on her hand, signaling not to fire off this kind of uncontrolled message to He Zhengren’s phone, then deleted every word.
“Is there any other way to bring him back?!”
Diao Zhuo spread his hands. “I call the police, or you go.”
“I…” Call the police and hand Long Ge over — Ba Yunye, with her deeply ingrained sense of loyalty and her bone-deep streak of honor, felt she could not bring herself to do it. Seeing him ready to dial, she clamped both hands around his wrist, and could not find the words to follow.
“Let go.”
“Just give me a moment — let’s think of something else!”
“What else is there? You know what he’s trying to do better than I do — He Zhengren’s life is in danger.”
“So what if it is! If he’s the one who caused the accident, he deserves to die!”
“Does Long Ge deserve to die too?”
Ba Yunye froze. “I don’t want to see him arrested by the police…”
“This time, you must listen to me.” Diao Zhuo shook free of her hands. She stumbled — he was already looking down at the screen, not noticing — and between “110” and “Ran Jinxian,” he chose Ran Jinxian. He said nothing about Long Ge having He Zhengren under control, only that Long Ge had gone to Beijing and then gone silent, appearing emotionally volatile and in a dangerous state of mind, and asked Ran Jinxian to use police resources to locate him.
Ba Yunye was livid. She stamped her foot furiously, utterly powerless. She hammered the guardrail several times with her fists. Part of her wanted to stop Long Ge from doing something reckless, while the other part hoped he wouldn’t end up in prison for it. The two impulses raged against each other inside her chest like a fire dragon and a water dragon locked in a battle to the death.
Diao Zhuo hung up and turned toward her to say something, but she shot him a fierce glare and turned her head away.
Namcha Barwa seemed determined today not to reveal its true face to anyone. The mountain peak remained sealed under a thick blanket of cloud. Several clients had seen enough from the viewpoint and had their fill of photographs, and came over one after another asking when they would set off.
Ba Yunye’s mind was in turmoil, yet she could not take it out on the clients. She could only call everyone back to their seats and sink into the passenger seat in sullen silence, saying not a single word to Diao Zhuo for the entire journey.