23 - Where is Hé Youan?

From inside Zhou Yanling’s pocket came the hum of vibration. All at once, the three stopped speaking .

Zhou Yanling fished out the cellphone. It wasn’t his, but Hé Youan’s. After arresting Hé Youan, he used Hé Youan’s cellphone to send a text to lure Shi Xiaoran, and afterward he never returned it. It’d been in his pocket the entire time.

The screen showed that a text had come in from ‘Darling’.

–Why don’t you return Youan to me? Why must you force me?

Zhou Yanling immediately called that number, but nobody answered. He cast aside the cellphone and muttered a curse in his anger. Wu Fengrong took the phone and looked at it, and his expression became very serious.

“Hasn’t she already gotten Hé Youan? What does she mean sending this text?” Zhao Xintao asked, suspicious.

Wu Fengrong briefly massaged his temples: “It means that Shi Xiaoran didn’t take Hé Youan. She wasn’t aware that the train had changed course. She’d been under the impression that we were going straight to Yangjiao station, and so urgently wants to retrieve Hé Youan which I believe that she intended to do when we arrived at Yangjiao station. She’s worried that she can’t find Hé Youan and is threatening us that there will be another Chen Hongping, that she might kill again at the right moment. It’ll be soon. Very soon.”

As he finished speaking, the cry of the train whistle mingled with the remnants of his voice. Both sounds twined together into one bleakly mournful spiral.

Zhao Xintao spoke: “If Huang Ye didn’t take him, then Hé Youan must have escaped on his own? But that’s not right. Didn’t Liu Qin say that he saw Shi Xiaoran…..” at he said this, he abruptly stopped speaking. A dreadful theory clutched at his throat.

Zhou Yanling stood up with a clatter. Urgently, he dashed to the door: “It’s Liu Qin. He lied!”

Wu Fengrong immediately followed after him, scampering to the police car.

Zhou Yanling’s footsteps were quick, impatient and fierce. How could this have been the second time he was deceived today? He would never have anticipated that an ally would’ve caused trouble.

All of a sudden, everything became clear: after Cheng Hongping’s corpse was discovered, Liu Qin first had the transit police who were in charge of watching Hé Youan leave; then left with Hé Youan, hid him; and then returned to the conductor’s office later after he pretended to have been attacked. When Shi Xiaoran and Huang Ye rushed in, they saw the Liu Qin already looked as though he’d been knocked out. They didn’t see Hé Youan, and the transit police officer had been attacked, so Shi Xiaoran already knew that someone had already gotten there first, and had no choice but to depart.

But why would Liu Qin want to hide Hé Youan? Who was he? Could it have anything to do with that mysterious person? Was he the spy? If he was the spy, that meant that the mysterious person wanted to snatch Hé Youan. Why would the mysterious person want to take Hé Youan away?

Zhou Yanling had a very risky idea. From the beginning, he’d thought that the mysterious person might have a personal grudge against the murderer from the 9/27 homicide case. In other words, a personal grudge against Shi Xiaoran. However, it was very hard to guess the specifics of this personal grudge. Could it possibly be that the mysterious person’s goal might be to ensure that Shi Xiaoran and Hé Youan couldn’t be together? As long as Shi Xiaoran was caught, she wouldn’t be entangled with Hé Youan. Who most wanted these two to be separated? It was Hé Youan’s father, Hé Da!

Hé Da had put Zhou Yanling on-board and had bribed Liu Qin to be his spy, all because he wanted Shi Xiaoran to be caught. Zhao Xintao’s guess was indeed correct, but there was one discrepancy. On the surface, Hé Da wanted to help his son’s girlfriend pass through this crisis while behind his son’s back he was using all his skill to guarantee that Shi Xiaoran would be caught. Until Shi Xiaoran was caught, Hé Youan would continue to be involved with this murderer. Perhaps Hé Youan’s behavior of wholeheartedly protecting his girlfriend had made the father incredibly angry. If the son took the risk out of desperation to take the blame for Shi Xiaoran, why would his father 1 look on unfeelingly while his beloved son went to prison and the family business lose its heir? How could he allow for such a ridiculous ending?

There was no more time to think. From outside the door to the police car came the sound of Zhou Chi’s gasp of amazement.

Wu Fengrong clenched his fist and opened the car door with a bang. Zhou Chi was sitting up on the bed sorting through the evidence collected at the scene where Cheng Hongping’s body was found. She turned her head and looked at Wu Fengrong head on: “Rong-ge, what are the two of you doing here?”

Liu Qin was not inside the car.

Wu Fengrong asked: “Xiao Chi, where is Liu Qin?”

“He said that he was going to bathroom. I looked at his neck, and it’s nothing major. When we arrive at Baihe, he should rest for a bit……” Zhou Chi sensed that there was something wrong and stopped speaking halfway through her sentence. Very carefully, she watched Wu Fengrong’s expression.

Zhao Xintao’s voice crackled over the intercom: “RongRong, I’m about to broadcast about the detour.”

Wu Fengrong was calm and steady. Listening to him, there wasn’t even a trace of panic: “First, don’t read the broadcast, Xintao. Listen for my signal. I haven’t told you to start broadcasting yet. We need to pretend that we’re still going to Yangjiao and pretend to pull up to the station. Right now, I’m not sure whether Liu Qin is planning on getting Hé Youan off the train, but let’s beat him at his own game and grab him as he’s leaving. I’ll be damned if I don’t catch this bastard.”

Zhou Chi listened, afraid of the coming disaster. Never before had she seen Wu Fengrong so angry. Zhou Yanling patted her a little, indicating that she shouldn’t be so curious so as to avoid becoming cannon fodder and being attacked. Wu Fengrong was pretty good in taking responsibility for his subordinates and treating them well, even if they were mediocre, so it was unlikely that they would be disloyal. And with Zhao Xintao as an example of such a loyal and devoted subordinate, it was even less likely. The presence of a traitor among his crew was undoubtedly a slap in the face to the conductor. It was only natural that Wu Fengrong was angry, and just how angry he was wasn’t so surprising.

Zhao Xintao’s reply came over the intercom. Turning his head, Wu Fengrong spoke to Zhou Chi: “Xiao Chi, contact Liu Qin. As casually as you can, try to meet him, then after you meet him, stall him. Don’t give him any reason to flee 2 and don’t let the cat out of the bag. I’ll follow quietly after and, when the timing’s right, I’ll grab him. If it’s broadcast that we’ve detoured and we’re not stopping, I fear that he’ll plan something else and it’ll be hard to catch him.”

Although Zhou Chi didn’t quite understand, she also knew that it was urgent and that time couldn’t be wasted. She nodded her compliance with the request, grabbed her cellphone, and ran off.

She hadn’t been gone long before Wu Fengrong and Zhou Yanling began to follow her. First, they only overheard Zhou Chi making a phone call teasing and joking in a cute voice. Finally, they gradually strolled, making their way to the dressing room where, sure enough, Liu Qin was inside changing clothes. Zhou Chi went up and greeted him. Both of their figures were blocked by the car door. Wu Fengrong could vaguely overheard their conversation.

After a moment, Zhou Chi came out with Liu Qin. From behind, Zhou Yanling immediately jumped on Liu Qin, pushing him to the floor. Liu Qin struggled, shouting curses.

Wu Fengrong didn’t mess around and got straight to the point 3 : “Where is Hé Youan?”

Liu Qin blinked and said, blankly: “I…..how would I know? Someone took him.”

“Playing dumb, huh? One person has already died on this train. And it’s still not enough for you, is it?”

“Rong-ge, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Why are you doing this?”

Wu Fengrong was so angry that he kicked him in the stomach: “Laozi has lead this train for many years and I’ve never come across such a thankless wretch. You’re the first one, and I’ll remember. I’m going to kick you again!” He kicked Liu Qin, causing him to shout loudly before trailing off into a whimper. Zhou Chi shivered as she listened to it. She dared not look, her small white faced turned away. Wu Fengrong abused him vigorously and he didn’t restrain himself, kicking Liu Qin repeatedly until Liu Qin 4 wept bitter tears. Finally, Zhou Yanling could no longer idly stand by and watch. He grabbed him and used his necktie to tie him hand and foot, before throwing him at the base of the wall, indicating that Wu Fengrong should stop.

Liu Qin suffered the beating, his gaze distant. One hand covered his stomach, and blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. His forehead was covered in a cold sweat. Without his jacket he was only wearing his uniform shirt, and the cold made him shiver.

Zhou Yanling crouched down and patiently said: “Liu Qin, a lot of snow has sealed the mountain, and the train has already had to change course. We’re not stopped at Yangjiao and Kenamu. You can’t get off now and you also can’t escape. Where is Hé Youan? Either you have the sense to speak now or you’ll die on this train. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a cerebral hemorrhage or a gastric bleed, you’re bearing the pot 5 .”

He spoke very gently. Liu Qin closed his eyes, appearing as though he were dead.

Zhou Yanling briefly patted his face: “Hé Da had you take Hé Youan, find a station and disembark ahead of time. He was afraid that we if we didn’t catch Shi Xiaoran his own son would take the blame, so he made his move just now, isn’t that right? The man who saw me onto this train was Hé Da, and you are his spy. After Hé Youan was captured, Hé Da was worried that we would make things easier for ourselves and hand Hé Youan over to the police, so he had you attack me and RongRong to compel us to search for the real killer. It was you who hit RongRong in the head, and it was also you who fought me hand to hand. You’re a transit police officer. At the very least, you must have graduated from the police academy. You know grappling but you ‘re not familiar with fighting outside of a ring. When I fought you, I thought that there was something wrong.”

Liu Qin was very much at a loss: “Who’s this person called Hé Da? Why did I attack you and the conductor?”

It was true that Zhou Yanling didn’t have any proof, but he’d wanted to sound him out. For a moment, he was silent.

Liu Qin briefly wiped the corner of his mouth and his expression was both aggrieved and indignant: “I was doing my job by myself so I got hurt. Certainly Hé Youan was taken from my custody, and I take responsibility for his escape. If that means that conductor wants to punish me, I won’t complain. But I didn’t take Hé Youan and I haven’t been following you. Attack you……it wasn’t because I didn’t fulfill my duties. The both of you are just blaming me for anything.”

From inside the train came a broadcast–

“All passengers, please pay attention to this unscheduled announcement. Because of the effects of the weather and heavy snowfall, there’s been a landslide in the mountainous areas ahead of us which has caused power outages and blocked the tracks. In order to ensure that the train smoothly continues making headway, the train has already detoured and the itinerary has changed. We are no longer stopping at Yangjiao and Kenamu stations. For those passengers disembarking at Yangjiao or Kenamu stations, we ask that you promptly get in contact with a member of the crew to request a change or to go to the office in car 7 to be rerouted. After we arrive at Baihe, we will make arrangements for a return trip. This announcement will play through again…..”

The train was still traveling at a normal speed, and when the announcement stopped, it left behind a burst of tense quiet. Liu Qin was lying on the floor, beaten and unrecognizable, eyes wide and lips pursed. He really looked like he was a piece of meat on the chopping block.

Wu Fengrong gritted his teeth then decided to take a risk: “Xiao Chi, call someone to do a body search! His locker, his bag, his phone records, search everything thoroughly. Don’t let any clues slip by. I don’t believe that there’s nothing!”

Zhou Yanling intentionally called an officer from Wancheng station to search Liu Qin. Liu Qin resisted, shouting to the heavens about this injustice: “Who let you do a body search! This is a personal insult! I haven’t done anything! I haven’t done anything–” he was allowed to scream his throat raw, but the officers still searched him everywhere.

“Nothing.” The officer said: “Conductor, the cellphone was also checked. There was no record of any suspicious text messages or phone calls.”

Wu Fengrong’s expression was extremely unsightly: “Impossible!”

The officer felt a little embarrassed: “There’s really nothing. He’s clean.”

Off to the side, Zhou Yanling also felt that this was unimaginable. Could it be that Liu Qin was really innocent? Could Hé Youan have vanished on his own? He once again looked through the items found on Liu Qin, a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a wallet, a pack of tissues, headphones, chewing gum…..finally, Zhou Yanling’s gaze locked on the headphones.

They were a pair of black wireless headphones, not the usual type with the jack. There didn’t seem to be any brand name on them, either. His professional experience reminded him that, if Liu Qin was tailing him, wouldn’t he have a listening device on hand? Could these non-brand headphones be linked to the bug?

His gaze passed to Liu Qin, but Liu Qin avoided making eye contact.

Zhou Yanling held out the headphones to Wu Fengrong: “The first time I received the mysterious text message, I carefully inspected the ticket and the document bag because I was worried about listening devices. However, I didn’t find any. I checked again at the train station, when I first noticed that I was being followed. After I got on the train, I overlooked it. Listen, I think these headphones are a little strange. Xiao Chi, could I bother you to go and get my briefcase? It’s in a cabinet in the conductor’s office. Thank you.”

Zhou Chi went and got the briefcase. Wu Fengrong turned on the headphones and could indeed hear Zhou Chi’s voice. Without any difficulty, Zhou Yanling smoothly found the bug on the side of the bag. It was shaped like a button and about the size of his thumb.

“He didn’t dare to put it on me. That sort of thing would be far too obvious and make it very likely to be discovered. I don’t have a lot of things with me, so the only place it could go was in my briefcase. Perhaps he planted it in when he knocked into me at that train station,” Zhou Yanling said. He thought it was his own fault for being bugged: “I was careless and should have anticipated it. At the time, I was only thinking about my injury.”

“Is this thing really a listening device?”

“This is actually a common button bug. It can be pinned to clothes, like a jacket, stuck into a pocket, or placed onto a knapsack passed off as though it were a regular button. It’s very practical. I’ve used one before. There also capable to recording sound.”

The bug was made of two parts. On top was an ordinary black button. Hidden underneath was a small plastic case that, when opened, contained a device to record sound. It was less than the size of the average computer chip and was light and delicate. Wu Fengrong was secretly amazed. He’d believed this kind of thing could only be found in movies. He’d never imagined that he would be able to see something like this with his own eyes.

That button jogged Wu Fengrong’s memory and he removed a button from his coat’s chest: “It could have been planted when you got on the train. My button here is the real button from that bag. I’d found it in car 4 under a seat in row 15. He’d wanted to replace a real button with the fake button, so first he pulled off the real button then pinned the fake in its place. The real button he threw under the seat.”

The author has something to say

Did everyone remember that button that Wu Fengrong picked up in the beginning?

Button bugs really exist. They’re sold in Beijing, so if you’re curious you can find it. = 。 =

T/N: I couldn’t find much in English (other than hearing aides. There’s more for tiny cameras in English) when I put in ‘tiny listening devices’ and the like. Here’s the hanzi if you want to search for it ‘纽扣窃听器’. They really do exist.

Added for clarity 打草惊蛇 : literally ‘beat the grass to scare the snake’ 开门见山 : to open the door and see the mountain added for clarity 背锅 : meaning ‘taking on another’s mistake’