"You finally decided to come back. Why bother?"
Hearing him speak so nonchalantly, Old Liu was the first to lose his cool, sitting up with a start from under the covers. Luckily, he was fully clothed in bed.
"He Biandan has been taken to the Public Security Bureau, and you actually lost the child!"
Public Security Bureau?
Ye Tian sensed that something wasn’t right and asked, "He Biandan is at the Public Security Bureau? Wasn’t he at the police station?"
Old Liu rudely waved his hand to interrupt him, "You don’t know shit! The night after you took the child, the next day someone from the Public Security Bureau came and took him away. The higher-ups have taken notice, saying that he must be taken for further questioning. This is sensitive and needs to be taken seriously."
That sounded legitimate.
Ye Tian further inquired, "Who has been looking for me recently?"
"Quit beating around the bush. Where did you lose He Ku? Are you thinking since He Biandan is locked up, you could just sell the child?"
"How could I have the guts to do that? He’s just fine, staying at home. Besides, even if I wanted to sell him, he’s so big now, he wouldn’t fetch a good price."
Hearing the first part of the statement, Old Liu somewhat relaxed. But upon hearing the latter, he was irritated again—so it seemed he was still considering selling the child.
"I didn’t bring him because someone is trying to harm him. Uncle Liu, are all the recent visitors here for He Ku? They come in all dress, police uniforms, plain clothes, everything, right?"
Old Liu thought for a moment; indeed it was the case, and he nodded.
"That’s it then. Do you believe He Biandan could commit murder? And it’s even more absurd, they say it was a crime of passion, and the woman was involved in the flesh trade at the barbershop."
Old Liu shook his head even more firmly, "Definitely don’t believe it!"
"That’s because someone is trying to frame Brother He!" Ye Tian slapped his thigh and stood up.
Old Liu wrapped himself in a blanket and let his legs hang off the kang bed edge, sitting down, "Tell me, why would someone frame Biandan? I’ll report it to the police station."
Report it to the police station? As if that’s any use.
Ye Tian thought for a moment and decided it was best to get a grasp on the situation promptly, so he said, "Actually, this is just my speculation. After all, Brother He is such an honest person, how could he possibly commit murder? Just guessing if he, maybe, offended someone in the past and got framed because of it. Hey, you’ve been living here all this time, did the police reveal anything to you? I left early and don’t have much information. All I know is that Brother He killed a barbershop lady."
Old Liu curled his lip, "Turns out you’re just guessing too. You damn kid, you’re not honest," Old Liu grumbled as he shuffled in his cotton shoes over to the table, stuffed his pipe with some tobacco, lit it with a match, and then sat back on the kang, covering his knees with the blanket, took a puff and the room immediately filled with smoke.
Looking out the window, Old Liu remarked, "It must be late afternoon by now?"
"Yeah. It’s about to get dark."
"It gets dark at five, early darkness."
"Alright, old man, just hurry up and tell me about the case. I have a lawyer friend who specializes in these types of cases. I’ll ask him to help out, and later we can pool some money to help Brother He fight his case. Maybe he’ll be acquitted."
"Keep making it up. You and... and a lawyer friend," Old Liu pulled off the dogskin cap from Ye Tian’s head, "Dressed like you are, and you dare talk to me about having a lawyer friend."
None of these old folks is a fool.
"Fine, since the topic has come up, old man, I won’t hide it from you anymore. Actually, I only heard someone mention that He Biandan was framed. I do have a friend who works in this field, but he’s not a lawyer, he’s that kind of... you wouldn’t understand."
"Hey, why do you talk like that!"
Watching him humorously swing the pipe towards him, Ye Tian ducked and spoke from a distance, "Old man, not for my sake, but for He Ku’s, tell me. That kid is still waiting for me to go back and tell him about his dad."
Bringing up He Ku proved quite effective.
Old Liu glared at him and took a drag of his pipe, "I don’t know much about the affairs in the government office, but these recent visitors, bit by bit, I heard quite a lot. It doesn’t match with what that police said, I’ve summed it up, and here are the key points."
"First, it was He Biandan who committed the murder, the victim is called Zhang Lijuan. Second, it was Zhou Xiaogang who reported the case, but this kid disappeared after filing the report, though his statement is still at the police station. Just like that, his entire family is gone without a trace."
Ye Tian looked towards the eastern room, the main door was closed, "When did they leave, didn’t they tell you?"
"Ha, the affairs of those two? They’re both elusive, either they’re gone without a trace or they stay home for half a month at a time. No pattern."
"Why did Zhou Xiaogang report the case?"
"He Biandan killed his girlfriend, of course he’d report it."
"Yeah, the one who was brought back that day."
"The one who had the chicken soup?"
Ye Tian nodded, "She deserved it."
"Get out of here, who talks like you do. Beware of divine retribution."
"God wouldn’t care about these two taels of my bones. Go on, what else?"
"That’s it? How can it just... just end like that?"
"Be content. This is what I gathered listening from the neighbors. Do you really think case details are out in the open just like that? Hmph, even someone like me, with one foot in the grave, knows this stuff, yet you, a young man living in a society ruled by law, can’t seem to understand."
"Who are the people who came looking for He Ku lately? Did you recognize any of them?"
At this point, Old Liu picked up the pipe again, "Some I recognize, some I don’t. There are those from the grassroots level, and also those from higher up."
"Who do you recognize?"
"With only those few folks at the police station, who else could it be?"
"Besides him, others have come by."
"Oh," Ye Tian nodded, "What about those you don’t recognize? Who else has been here?"
"I already told you I don’t recognize them, so how would I know who they are..."
The two chatted back and forth, each refusing to back down. It was nearly dark when Ye Tian finally left. Outside the courtyard, in the dim light, the distinctive feel of winter was palpable.
As Ye Tian got up to leave, he approached the door and saw Chuan’s room straight ahead, in the south. Dark and gloomy, it looked entirely as if no one had ever lived there.
Somehow compelled, Ye Tian unconsciously made his way over, peered through the window, but no one was there. Inside, it was pitch black, with only the vague outlines of objects visible.