wind in the dark night

Chapter 291 Yizhuang
At the northernmost part of Lianhua Town, there is a row of simple stone houses, which is the location of the charity cemetery. There is a plaque hanging at the door with three large characters inscribed on it: Anhunju.

Qi Yue got out of the car and looked around. Although the place was remote, the surrounding environment was tidy and should be maintained by someone on a regular basis.

Wang Peng was the first, Zhao Zhenhai was the second, and Qi Yue was the last. The three of them entered the house.

The room is very large. There is an incense table as soon as you enter the door, enshrining two gods who are dedicated to liberating the souls of the dead. One is Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun, and the other is Dongyue Emperor who is in charge of the underworld. It may be because the coffin is stored there, so even with the gods in charge, the charity cemetery still gives people a gloomy feeling.

The room was dimly lit, with the windows covered with black cloth. There were nearly a hundred coffins, and in front of each coffin was a square bluestone slab on which the family members could place offerings for the funeral.

A thin, skinny, gray-haired, hunched old man, carrying a cloth bag in his hand, was staggering among the coffins. Hearing some noise behind him, he turned around and looked at the three people.

"Old Geng, what are you doing?"

Wang Peng asked loudly.

Zhao Zhenhai smiled and said, "Didn't you see him carrying a cloth bag to carry tribute?"

Qi Yue asked: "What does he do?"

Wang Peng said, "The night watchman lives nearby. He works the night watch. When he has nothing to do during the day, he helps look after the charity cemetery."

“Are you a volunteer?”

"Three dollars a month."

"so little?"

Wang Peng said, "Three dollars is not a small amount for an old man. Usually, the tributes brought by the family members for memorial services will eventually belong to him. He is a night watchman, so this job is just right for him... Hey, old Geng, which one was delivered this morning?"

Old Geng walked over slowly and pointed at a corpse covered with a white cloth on a wooden board. Wang Peng reached out to lift the cloth, examined it carefully for a while, and widened his eyes in surprise.

Qi Yue asked: "Do you know him?"

Wang Peng said: "His name is Tiezhu, he is the anti-bandit who bought medicine for Zhang Zhaolin."

"sure?"

Qi Yue was secretly surprised.

Wang Peng looked at him for a while and said confidently, "Yes, it's him. At that time, Section Chief Gao sent someone to follow him, and I followed him all the way to the outskirts of the city. It must be him!"

Hearing that the deceased was a member of the Anti-Japanese United Army, Zhao Zhenhai put on white gloves and asked Wang Peng to help lift Tiezhu's head. He bent down and looked at him for a long time: "He was shot in the back of the head. It should be a small-caliber pistol bullet. If it was a large-caliber bullet, the top of his head would have to be lifted up, and it would be unbearable to look at."

Qi Yue said, "Look what he has."

Zhao Zhenhai searched the iron pillar for a while and said, "There's nothing here. Even if there was, it was probably taken away by the militia... Old Geng, this is none of your business. Go get the tribute."

After Old Geng walked away, Zhao Zhenhai whispered, "Captain, Tiezhu died in Lianhua Town. No one knows who did it. The anti-bandit group will definitely send people to check it out. Just like us, they also want to find clues..."

Qi Yue said, "You mean, send people to monitor the charity cemetery and wait for the anti-bandit to fall into the trap."

"What do you think of this idea?"

Zhao Zhenhai rubbed his hands excitedly.

Qi Yue nodded: "It's a good idea. However, we came to Lianhua Town this time to carry out a secret mission. I'm worried that these two things might conflict... How about this, you go to the town hall right away and call Chief Gao for instructions."

"Yes!"

Zhao Zhenhai left in a hurry.

Qi Yue said to Wang Peng, "Be alert."

Wang Peng agreed, walked quickly to the door, and peeked out through the crack. Since Tiezhu's body was there, he had to be on guard against the Anti-Japanese United Army sending people.

On the other side of the room, Old Geng squatted down and stuffed the tribute on one of the bluestone slabs into a cloth bag. Most of the tributes were wine and food, which would not spoil or rot at low temperatures. As long as there was no taboo in their mind, they could be eaten normally.

Qi Yue came closer and asked: "Old man, where do you usually work?"

"Zhangzhuang, Shiqiaozi, Diaolou."

"last night……"

"I didn't see anything, officer."

"How do you know I'm a policeman?" Qi Yue was a little surprised.

Old Geng grinned and glanced at Wang Peng who was standing at the door: "His aunt used to be from our village. He is a police officer in the city. I guess you two came here together too."

"Did you hear any gunshots last night?"

"heard it."

"What time?"

"Um, it's just past the fourth watch."

"Where were you at the time?"

"Come out from Shiqiaozi and head toward the Diaolou."

Old Geng answered truthfully.

Qi Yue asked again: "Did you meet anyone on the way to the watchtower?"

Old Geng shook his head: "It's already four o'clock in the morning, and the people have already gone to bed."

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Qi Yue looked at him and said, "We just came from the watchtower. At four o'clock in the morning, if you were walking from Shiqiaozi to the watchtower, you would definitely meet someone. The murderer should have bumped into you."

Old Geng was speechless.

There is only one road from Shiqiaozi to the blockhouse. The murderer killed Tiezhu and was afraid of being discovered by the militia lookout, so he had to go towards Shiqiaozi.

Qi Yue said: "You are so old, we won't make things difficult for you. Just tell me what you saw at that time."

Old Geng's face flushed red, and he stammered, "I didn't mean to lie to you..."

"I know. Go ahead."

Qi Yue tried his best to be pleasant.

Old Geng sighed, "I'm old now, and my eyesight isn't very good. It was dark outside, so it was the same whether I saw him or not... At that time, that person suddenly jumped out, and before I could react, he ran over in a flash."

Qi Yue said: "Yes, it's late at night. Not to mention your age, even young people can't see clearly... How tall is he?"

Old Geng recalled: "He is a head taller than me, about the same height as you..."

There was the sound of a car engine outside the house.

After a while, Zhao Zhenhai walked in.

Qi Yue asked: "What did Section Chief Gao say?"

Zhao Zhenhai was a little disappointed: "Section Chief Gao didn't let us intervene, saying that he would send someone else to handle it. Also, he asked me to tell you not to rush back, but to make sure the task is completed."

Qi Yue glanced at his watch and said, "It will save trouble if we are not allowed to interfere. Let's go."

"Where?"

"Let's find a place to stay first. We have to wait until tomorrow at least to confirm that the mission is completed."

After a day's snow, the snow gradually stopped. The three of them left the charity cemetery and took a car back to Lianhua Town. The road was slippery due to the snow, so the car drove very slowly.

"Is there a hotel in town?"

Qi Yue asked Wang Peng.

"Yes. Peace Inn."

"Gone?"

"This is the only decent one. The rest are all inns. The accommodation conditions are too poor. The houses are shabby and the guests are all poor Koreans..."

"Go to the Peace Inn."

Diagonally opposite the town office, there is a relatively spacious house with four upper rooms and six side rooms. It is the best hotel in Lianhua Town, Ping'an Inn.

(End of this chapter)