Chapter 319: Chapter 317: You Can Speak?

"It’s Zhao Yongliang."

Su Miaoyi’s gaze was still on the black robe and mask hanging in the room. Hearing what Duan Wenrui said, she first glanced at him, then scanned the room again. "Where is he?"

"When we were on our way here, Zhao Yongliang told me he was a little dizzy—probably high blood pressure—so he stayed behind at the station to rest," Duan Wenrui said. "But the person who just went back to look for the property purchase information said he’s not at the station."

Su Miaoyi didn’t say anything, her eyes returning to the hanging black robe.

"Call him," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Duan Wenrui dialed his number.

Lu Zhishen and Chu Xingrou took some men to check the other areas.

Su Miaoyi suddenly remembered something and looked at Duan Wenrui again. "Is Tian Min still at the station?"

Hearing her words, it instantly clicked for Zhuang Yanzheng.

Listening to the automated voice on his phone say, "The number you have dialed is switched off," Duan Wenrui quickly called someone at the station to ask about Tian Min.

"She’s gone. They said Zhao Yongliang told them Tian Min could be released, so they let her go. Tian Min left on her own. No one knows when Zhao Yongliang left. I’ve told them to check the security footage at the station entrance."

Su Miaoyi looked at Zhuang Yanzheng.

Zhuang Yanzheng said to Duan Wenrui, "Captain Duan, given the situation, it’s highly likely Zhao Yongliang has fled. We haven’t been gone from the station for long. We need to send people to find him immediately and set up roadblocks to check pedestrians and vehicles at all intersections."

"Right, I’ll arrange it now." Captain Duan quickly made a call to set things up.

Zhuang Yanzheng spoke with Lu Zhishen and Chu Xingrou, telling them to search the house with the officers from the local precinct.

"Let’s go to Tian Min’s house," Su Miaoyi said.

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at Duan Wenrui, who was on the phone making arrangements, and pulled him along toward Tian Min’s house.

As they reached the courtyard, he also grabbed a police officer from the local precinct to join them in the car.

This wasn’t Jinghai; they had to have a local officer present to conduct their investigation.

Zhuang Yanzheng had encountered all sorts of situations, big and small, over his many years of work. He took precautions to prevent any trouble that would be difficult to explain later, which would only earn him a reprimand back home.

When they arrived at Tian Min’s house, only Yue Hong was home.

When they knocked and entered, Yue Hong was in the yard, gathering laundry that had been hung out to dry. The moment she saw them, she said, "What are you here for again? You want to arrest me, too? My family member was murdered, and now another family member gets arrested! You’re just picking on my family, aren’t you! Everyone, come and see! Come and see what they’re doing..."

She shouted as she headed for the gate.

Su Miaoyi blocked her path.

Duan Wenrui and Zhuang Yanzheng went straight into the house.

"You’re trying to hit me!" Yue Hong yelled.

Su Miaoyi frowned and quickly held up her open hands to show she hadn’t touched her at all. "Has Tian Min come back?"

"Didn’t you people arrest her?!" Yue Hong continued to shout.

"She hasn’t come back?" Su Miaoyi asked, looking her in the eyes.

"Whether she comes back or not is up to you, isn’t it? You took her away, so how could she have run off?" Yue Hong yelled.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Duan Wenrui came out of the house and both shook their heads at Su Miaoyi.

Su Miaoyi looked at Yue Hong. It didn’t seem like she was lying.

"What do you mean? What are you trying to say? You lost her at the police station?!" Yue Hong shrieked.

"Have you seen Tian Min today?" Duan Wenrui asked again.

"My daughter was fine when she went to your station. How could she just disappear after one night? What did you do to her? Give me back my daughter! Give me back my daughter!" Yue Hong grabbed Su Miaoyi’s arm, demanding answers.

"Let go of her!" Zhuang Yanzheng shouted.

"You lost my daughter, so you’ll compensate me for a daughter! Compensate me! You lost a living person, this isn’t something you can just sweep under the rug!" Yue Hong clutched Su Miaoyi’s arm and tried to drag her outside.

Su Miaoyi stopped her. "What do you want?"

"Either you show me my daughter, or you pay up! Two hundred thousand!" Yue Hong screamed. "Otherwise, I’ll sue you!"

"Suit yourself." Su Miaoyi shook off her hand and turned to leave. ’Yue Hong doesn’t care about Tian Min at all,’ she thought. ’All she wants is money.’

Yue Hong tried to go after her, but Zhuang Yanzheng blocked her path.

"What are you doing?! Who are you? Are you trying to hit me?" Yue Hong shouted.

Zhuang Yanzheng ignored her and left.

"Her house is pretty much the same as the last time we were here," Duan Wenrui said. "We checked Tian Min’s room. It doesn’t look like she’s been back."

Su Miaoyi glanced at the time. "It’ll be dark in about three hours. It’ll be even harder to find them after nightfall."

"The mountains," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

"If they’ve headed for the mountains, it’ll be even more difficult," said Duan Wenrui.

"Use drones. Does the station have any? Where’s the nearest place we can get more?" Su Miaoyi asked. "The more, the better."

"The station should have some. I’ll have someone make more calls," Duan Wenrui said.

"Tian Min and the others haven’t been gone long. How well have you familiarized yourself with the mountains these past few days?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked Su Miaoyi.

"Well enough."

"If you were trying to escape into the mountains, which route would you take?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"The east side. There’s a lot of corn to the east. Once you’re in the fields, it’s hard to be found. And if you keep running south, you’ll enter the woods. Very few people go there," Su Miaoyi said, considering the options. ’It’s a natural screen, and they know the area better than we do. Even if they know we’d guess their escape route, they won’t abandon it. As long as they’re fast enough, they’re confident they can get away.’

"Let’s go." Zhuang Yanzheng clapped Duan Wenrui on the shoulder. "Get some men up the mountain."

"They need to be back down before dark," Duan Wenrui said. "First, it’s too dangerous after nightfall. Second, we need people for patrols. Whether it’s Tian Min or the other killer we haven’t found, it’s very likely they’ll try to return to the village at night. The villagers’ safety comes first."

"Got it."

The eastern mountain had fruit trees, but it was also planted with a lot of corn.

Each family had their own small patch. The stalks were tall this time of year, making it difficult to find anyone hiding within.

Zhao Yongliang gripped Tian Min’s arm, dragging her up the mountain and trying to pull her into a cornfield.

Tian Min had been dragged all the way from the base of the mountain to the top.

She shook his hand off. "What are you doing?!"

Zhao Yongliang stared at her. "You can talk?"

Tian Min rubbed her wrist, ignored him, and turned to walk back.

"Where are you going?" Zhao Yongliang reached for her again.

Tian Min sidestepped his grasp. "I’m going back, of course. My conscience is clear, so why should I run?"

"Your conscience is clear? You’ve been pretending for so long you’ve started to believe it yourself, haven’t you?" Zhao Yongliang said.

"What have I been pretending? I’ve always been innocent," Tian Min said.

Zhao Yongliang felt like he was looking at a completely different person.

He had seen her a few times before and had never heard her speak. He actually thought she was mute.

And whenever she was around that man called Twenty-one, she always kept her head down and avoided eye contact.

"You’re innocent? Is Twenty-one innocent? What’s the relationship between you two? He’s a murderer. Do you really think you can get away clean?" Zhao Yongliang said.

...

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