Since it was too late, the old man had Rong Qian stay the night.
The old man had a son and a daughter, both of whom were away working, and his grandson had gone off to school as well, so usually it was just him at home. Combined with how remote the area was, hardly anyone ever visited, so the old man was quite happy to be able to host Rong Qian.
He tidied up his daughter’s room, laid out clean sheets, and even prepared to kill a chicken to treat her with. Rong Qian was overwhelmed by his hospitality and quickly told him there was no need.
Elderly people of the older generation were mostly warm and hospitable, and especially upon learning that Rong Qian was so young and was also a police officer serving the people, the old man became even more enthusiastic.
In the end, Rong Qian couldn’t stop him. The old man grabbed a chicken, gave it a quick slit to the neck, and a plate of boiled chicken appeared on the dinner table.
Rong Qian could see the old man’s simple-hearted kindness clearly. She also planned to tell him the truth about why Xu Mo had never been able to come home, but kept failing to find the right moment.
After the meal, Rong Qian took the initiative to gather up the dishes and chopsticks and washed them.
When she came back into the room, she saw the old man had taken out several old photos and spread them on the table. Seeing Rong Qian, he waved her over.
After Rong Qian walked over, the old man pointed at one of the photos and said, “This is the only family photo we have. Our father and mother passed away early, so all of us younger ones were raised entirely by our eldest brother. My second brother was good at his studies, and he was the only one of us who went to the big city.”
The photo was black and white, showing the whole family standing together. In it, Xu Mo was still a teenager in his teens, wearing a white undershirt and loose cotton trousers, his lips pressed together, with a very serious expression.
But Rong Qian’s gaze couldn’t help being drawn to another photo.
Because in that photo, there was Shen Yi.
Actually, the main subject of the photo was still Xu Mo. He stood in front of the camera, his hands resting naturally at his sides, smiling so widely that his eyes had narrowed into crescents.
As for Shen Yi, he was merely part of the background.
From the photo, it looked like the picture had been taken in an office. There were potted plants in the corner, and there was Shen Yi, sitting at the desk signing documents.
At this point in time, he was probably just over twenty years old, dressed in a suit, with both his sleeve cuffs rolled up slightly, revealing a small portion of his wrists.
In his hand he held a gold fountain pen, and with his rigorous, focused expression, he gave off quite the impression of a sovereign reviewing memorials from his officials.
Rong Qian couldn’t help smiling knowingly, feeling an inexplicable sense of pride, as though she had watched him grow up.
“Grandpa, do you know who this person is?” Rong Qian asked, pointing at Shen Yi in the photo.
The old man glanced at it and said with a smile, “This photo was sent back together with a letter. This gentleman, I was told, was his boss.”
“Do you know much about him, then?” Rong Qian couldn’t help asking.
The old man shook his head, indicating he didn’t know much. Although Rong Qian felt a bit disappointed, she also thought it was only natural.
After picking up this photo, Rong Qian couldn’t bring herself to put it down. Although Xu Mo took up the most space in the photo, all she could see was Shen Yi.
“Do you like this photo?” The old man could tell from her eyes that she was reluctant to let go of it.
Rong Qian could guess that by asking this, the old man wanted to give the photo to her, but she felt that wouldn’t be right. Still, the old man saw through her little hesitation at a glance.
In the end, he gave the photo to Rong Qian anyway.
But thinking of his second brother again, the old man couldn’t help wiping away tears once more. Back then, when he had been very young, this second brother had doted on him the most.
“Grandpa, would you like to bring him home?”
Rong Qian wanted to give him something in return.
The old man’s smile turned bitter. “Of course I would. But where would I even go to get him?”
“He’s at the police station.”
The old man froze. At the police station—what did that mean?
“Grandpa, back then your second brother did keep his promise and tried to come home. It’s just that something happened to him along the way, and he couldn’t make it the rest of the way home…”
As Rong Qian’s words trailed off, the old man’s eyes were already brimming with tears, and he was too choked up to speak.
Not long after Rong Qian went back, the old man came to the police station with his son and daughter to claim Xu Mo’s remains. With that, this case finally came to a close.
But the case concerning Shen Yi had only just begun…
That day, the moment Rong Qian arrived at the station, Chen Jia told her that two police officers from Beijing had come looking for her. The instant Rong Qian heard this, she immediately thought of Zhao Qiguang and Xie Dong.
Sure enough, when she went to the meeting room to check, it really was them.
The two of them had come specifically to find her this time. Rong Qian immediately wondered—had the gang that attacked them last time finally been caught?
In response to Rong Qian’s question, Xie Dong didn’t answer her directly. Instead, he asked her a question first. “Last August, there was a serious shooting incident in Guangxi—nine dead, five wounded. The subsequent investigation found that the shooters were a group of fugitives on the run, who remain at large to this day and have not yet been apprehended. Do you know about this?”
“Of course I know. That case caused quite a stir—the victims’ families are still waiting for an outcome to this day.” After saying this, Rong Qian suddenly thought of something and guessed, “Could it be… that this is connected to the people who attacked me?”
“That’s right.” Xie Dong nodded. “The gang that attacked you is this very group of fugitive outlaws.”
Rong Qian was startled. She quickly asked, “Have they been caught, then?”
“No, the search is still ongoing.” Zhao Qiguang answered her, and also added, “The reason we came to find you is that we want to know—how exactly did you end up tangled up with this group?”
“I’d like to know that too—why did they attack me?” Rong Qian could actually guess it might be related to Shen Yi, but since she had no evidence at all right now, she certainly couldn’t say so.
Zhao Qiguang and Xie Dong exchanged a glance. Xie Dong took out a photo and showed it to her. “Do you know this person?”
Rong Qian glanced at it. The photo showed a white American man who looked to be around eighty years old, with sharp, piercing eyes that gave off a very sinister and ruthless feeling.
Rong Qian shook her head. “I don’t know him. Who is this?”
“His name is Huo Xijun. He’s the one pulling the strings behind that group of fugitives. Those fugitives make their living by killing people for money, and this Huo Xijun is essentially their boss.”
Rong Qian studied the photo again for a good while, but still didn’t recognize him—she hadn’t even heard the name before.
“Huo Xijun is the Chinese name he gave himself. His real name is Thomas George.”
Xie Dong had only mentioned this in passing, but to his surprise, Rong Qian shot to her feet in shock, pointing at the photo and saying, “Thomas? You’re saying he’s Thomas?!”
“Didn’t you just say you don’t know him?” Xie Dong asked, puzzled.
Rong Qian shook her head and said, “I’ve heard his name before—I just never had the chance to meet him in person. But I remember, didn’t he go to prison?”
Zhao Qiguang told her, “He really did go to prison, but later he used some methods to get out early.”
“Around what time was that?” Rong Qian asked urgently.
Zhao Qiguang flipped through the files and said, “According to the records, it was 1978.”
1978? Rong Qian did the math—that was the year Shen Yi turned twenty-two…
Wait a moment!
Rong Qian suddenly remembered—among that stack of newspapers, she had seen a headline in one of them about how, in 1978, Shen Yi had suffered a major attack and had been hanging on the brink of death!
Could it be that the person who attacked him was Thomas, freshly out of prison?
If that were the case, then could it be that Shen Yi’s later disappearance at sea had also been caused by this very Thomas?!