Chapter Eight, Visiting.

Two people walked along the bluestone road, admiring the mountain and river scenery, and finally found the tofu pudding shop that the villagers had mentioned.

By the side of the black water pool, the old gray house gate still hangs a iron lock. Could it be that the old widower who lives there has gone on a trip? He came to the corridor and pressed his ear against the door crack, listening for a while, but didn't hear the sound of piglets inside. The courtyard was quiet without any movement.

Oh, Lao He has returned to his hometown," the person said as he walked away.

Well, it's definitely a forgery. There are so many cases of fake ID cards nowadays. In addition, the Capital Airport has confirmed that Wei Liuzen did board the 7:10 flight to Chengdu. This person must have some problems. What kind of case is it? Can you tell us more about it?

In the Tang Dynasty, the famous Feng Shui master, Yuan Tiangang, and the Tai Shi Ling, Li Chunfeng, retired here in their later years and created the "Tui Bei Tu", predicting the political changes in the Central Plains over two thousand years. It is renowned as the "miraculous book of the East for all ages", but unfortunately, no one has been able to decipher it to this day.

"You guys from the public security bureau really have a high alcohol tolerance." Plain sincerely admires.

Currently, this is the only clue. Something just happened on Panlong Mountain, and Lao He left without saying a word. The timing is so coincidental that it must raise some alarm. This person is highly suspicious. Even if they didn't participate, they should at least know something.

What kind of accent is it?

The plain hesitated for a moment, as this classmate of mine has the highest IQ in the class, I asked him to help analyze it.

Where did they go after eating?

This person is tall and sturdy, with an imposing appearance, and his accent is not local... Plain recalled the words his father had said.

Is it a black piglet?

The next morning, the two of them dressed casually and arrived at the Langzhong County bus station, taking the early morning bus to Tiangong Township.

There were also a man and a woman in the group, and the woman, not afraid of getting dirty, was even holding a piglet in her arms... The villagers burst into laughter, "That piglet is actually lying on the table and drinking spicy tofu pudding, attracting a crowd of people to watch."

Xu Huasheng seemed to be pondering: "You said He Zheren's hometown is Gong County, Yibin, but villagers saw him and two suspects at a tofu pudding shop in Tiangong Township, which is fifty miles away from here. However, Yibin is thousands of miles away, and Ke'er was also traveling with a piglet."

I'm looking for Lao He, but he has locked the door and I don't know where he went.

Look, on the mountainside five li away over there, it is the location of the tombs of Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng, which are facing each other from a distance.

What happened later?

Please describe the appearance of the "male ghost" again," Xu Hua said urgently.

Yes," the shop owner chuckled, "that little pig is amazing, he drank eight big bowls of spicy tofu pudding in one go."

After visiting more than ten households in the plain, no one knows where Lao He went, except for the farmer's wife who saw him yesterday. Other people don't even know about the little black piglet.

Yes, how? Have you met them?

"If they never had any plans to go to Yibin?" Xu Huasheng pondered.

Xu Huasheng looked up and glanced at the pitch-black night sky outside the window, and said slowly, "However, this pair of male and female master thieves have mysterious whereabouts, are best at diversionary tactics, and cannot be judged by common sense. Let's do this, we will set off for Tiangong Township early tomorrow morning."

Unfortunately, they managed to escape. The whole process was not only complex but also highly dramatic. In short, this incident has brought great shame to the Hunan police. Xu Huasheng took out a wanted notice from his backpack and handed it to Pingyuan.

He hurriedly returned to the court and quickly learned about the identity of the owner of the old house in Songlin Hall through the suburban police station.

Okay, I'll go to Songlin Hall again and follow the clue of the little black piglet to investigate. After hanging up the phone, Pingyuan felt much more at ease. Xu Huasheng is quick-witted, and it couldn't be better that he can come.

The plain turned around and saw a villager driving a donkey cart passing by the small road beside the Blackwater Pool.

The Tian Gong Palace is about fifty miles away, located to the southwest of Langzhong City. Since Lao He and others are walking on the Shu Road, it shows that their hometown is not far from there, otherwise they would definitely travel by car. Now that we know where they are going, the rest of the matter is easy to handle, and the plain finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

He walked back to the front door of the old house by the Black Water Pool with a sullen expression, staring blankly at the padlock.

Aunt Ping specially prepared a sumptuous dinner as her son's classmate came all the way from Beijing, and she must entertain him well.

Tian Gong Township is a small town under the jurisdiction of Langzhong County. It is surrounded by nine mountains and has a flat plain. The Fengming River and the Jialing River meander through it. In the middle, there is a large stone platform that resembles a holy crown. This place is very famous in geomancy and is called "Nine Dragons Supporting the Holy Crown". It is a rare feng shui treasure in the world.

What would you like to eat? Our most famous dish in the restaurant is "Tiangong Douhua". The owner enthusiastically introduced.

He Zheren, now seventy years old, is from Gong County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province. He used to work for the Lanzhong County Political Consultative Conference as a member of the Literature and History Committee. After retirement, he lived as a widower in the old house at Songlintang and has no criminal record.

In the evening, Pingyuan went to the bus station to pick up his old classmate Xu Huasheng, who arrived dusty and tired. Then the two of them went straight back to their hometown at the foot of Panlong Mountain.

Wait a moment," Xu Huasheng seemed to recall something, then asked, "Did you say that the 'female ghost' is named Ke'er?"

Hello, what are you doing there?

We are reporters from the newspaper. We heard about this incident and would like to interview the owner of the pig. Does the owner live nearby?

The plain suppressed the excitement in his heart and further asked, "Where is Lao He's hometown?"

Is he alone? Pingyuan asked again.

Oh, last night's incident was also related to the ancient tomb. Upon hearing this, Pingyuan couldn't help but feel a bit excited.

Please verify, Uncle, the image was taken from the surveillance camera and is not very clear," he said.

"Boss, I heard that a little black piglet was also at your shop drinking tofu pudding the day before yesterday at noon?" Pingyuan asked in the local dialect.

In the summer of '89, a major case occurred in the capital city. Three suspects broke into the building of the National Bureau of Cultural Relics on Chaoyangmen North Street late at night and stole a rare thousand-year-old corpse. This was a significant event and was listed as the top of the ten major cases by the Ministry of Public Security that year. What was puzzling was that the chief thief turned out to be a missing former county party secretary," Xu Huasheng explained the case.

※※※。

After three rounds of drinking, the plain is already slightly drunk, but Xu Huasheng's facial expression remains unchanged.

The shop owner quickly brought two bowls of tofu pudding. On the plain one, there was a thick layer of sesame pepper oil floating on top, emitting an enticing aroma.

Xu Huasheng listened quietly to Ping Lao Han's narrative and remained silent for a long time.

Huasheng, what crimes did they commit? Plain wants to learn more about the background.

Yes, that's right. Dad called her that because of the "male ghost".

The villagers shook their heads and said, "We don't know. He has a strange temper and doesn't talk much." As they spoke, they drove their donkey cart away.

Uncle, the man and woman you saw the night before yesterday were definitely not ghosts, but wanted criminals by the Ministry of Public Security. We have been trying to capture them for nearly two years, and unexpectedly, you happened to discover them in Langzhong.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, and then the voice said, "Two years ago, there was a theft of ancient corpses in the National Cultural Relics Bureau building. The perpetrator was a county party secretary surnamed Xing. Among the accomplices was a young woman named Ke'er, as confirmed by internal reports from the bureau. This case is listed as one of the top ten cases by the Ministry of Public Security and remains unsolved to this day."

According to the surveillance video from the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the person in question is indeed Xing, the secretary of the Nongan County Committee in Jilin Province, who has been missing for many years. The young woman involved in the same case has been confirmed to be named "Ke'er". Last year, three suspects who stole precious protected wildlife were captured in Yuanling County, Xiangxi, Hunan Province. Through comparison with the wanted order issued by the Ministry of Public Security, it was discovered that two of them were Xing and Ke'er.

"How is that possible?" Plain asked in doubt, "Could it be that the ID card is fake."

This old man has a very eccentric temperament. He never speaks much with everyone and he won't even greet us.

"Northern people," the plains replied affirmatively.

"County Party Secretary?" Pingyuan still felt somewhat incredulous.

The so-called "male ghost" and "female ghost" should be Secretary Xing and Ke'er. After the male and female thieves committed crimes in the capital, they briefly appeared in Yuanling County, Xiangxi. Over the past two years, the Ministry of Public Security has spared no effort to solve the case, but there has been no progress. These two individuals seemed to have vanished from the earth, disappearing without a trace.

The shop owner shook his head and said, "The couple are from the north, while the old man carrying the bamboo basket with them speaks with a Sichuanese accent from the Yibin area. I've never seen them before."

Yesterday, I went to Tiangong Township for the fair. While having lunch at the tofu pudding shop, I happened to run into Lao He. He was sitting there, enjoying his tofu pudding, and he mentioned that he was going back to his hometown.

Rest assured, I guarantee that Brother Pingyuan will be fine," Xu Huasheng said confidently.

Did you not take the bus?

It's walking.

Gong County? That's quite far away, over a thousand miles to be exact. Pingyuan was secretly surprised.

The next morning, Pingyuan, dressed in casual clothes, came to Songlintang again from Langzhong City.

Walked along the Shu Road to the south.

Well, the so-called "returning to the hometown" may just be an excuse to deceive the villagers. " The tone of Pingyuan also seems more certain.

Will the two of you be in danger?" asked Ping Lao Han worriedly.

"Two bowls of douhua, one with spicy sauce and the other without," Pingyuan said, knowing that people from Guangdong don't like spicy food.

The old man, wearing reading glasses, carefully examined the photo of Secretary Xing and Ke'er under the light for a long time. Finally, he pointed at the photo and confidently said, "Yes, it is indeed the 'male ghost' and 'female ghost'."

"That's right. Normally, the bus station in Langzhong County has convenient connections and the tickets to travel to southern Sichuan are not expensive. There is no reason to walk to Yibin," said Pingyuan, puzzled.

What did you say, the Forbidden City? Pingyuan was shocked.

Xu Huasheng nodded and instructed, "Uncle Ping, for now, do not report this matter or disclose it to outsiders. Ping Yuan and I will conduct a private investigation and report directly to the Ministry of Public Security once we find the suspect's whereabouts."

That's right, No. 4 Jingshan Front Street in Dongcheng District is indeed the Palace Museum, the former Forbidden City.

※※※。

How did you know? "Plain quickly stepped forward to ask.

He walked down the stone steps and decided to visit the villagers' homes first. According to common sense, the owner of the house should have explained to the neighbors when going out.

That's right, Secretary Xing speaks fluent Northeastern dialect," Xu Hua sounded inexplicably excited. "Pingyuan, let's not talk about this to outsiders for now. I happen to have a 15-day family visit leave, so I won't go back to Guangdong for the time being. I'll come directly to Langzhong. Maybe we, as classmates, can work together to solve this shocking national case."

The story has to start from last night. My father is a forest ranger on Panlong Mountain... Plain explained the details of the story.