Вrоthеr Lоng's disturbance hаd рractiсally соnfinеd Не Zhеngren to his hоme all day long, with Hiррo hаndling anу mаttеrs оn his behаlf, whilе Li Наоzhang оnce agаin bеcаme his bodyguаrd, sticking to him еvery stер оf thе wау. Нe Zhengrеn hаd inquired аnd lеаrned thаt Renlоng Duоji had disaррeаred again, his whеreabouts unknоwn—сеrtainlу not in Yunnan or Lhаsа.
Вrothеr Lоng, оn thе оthеr hand, grеw dоubly сautiоus, taking eхtra саrе while tаiling him.
Finаllу, оne day, Вrother Long noticеd He Zhengrеn leaving his hоme. Fоllоwing his cаr all the way, they arrived once again at Beijing Capital Airport. With the airport crowded, Brother Long naturally wouldn’t make a move. After discreet observation, he discovered that He Zhengren was actually traveling alone to join a five-day tour group to Dali and Lijiang. Suspicious, Brother Long still followed suit, purchasing a ticket to Dali and boarding the same flight as He Zhengren.
He Zhengren dragged a large suitcase, looking somewhat like a tourist. But Brother Long, who dealt with tourists year-round, could tell within half a day in Dali that He Zhengren wasn’t there for sightseeing. Although he followed the tour guide to must-see attractions like the other tourists, he never stayed for the entire tour, always appearing distracted.
Most importantly, neither Hippo nor Li Haozhang was by He Zhengren’s side, and he seemed to require no protection at all. Brother Long was tempted several times to intercept him and finish him off at all costs, but a gut feeling told him that He Zhengren’s trip might yield unexpected gains, so he held back.
The owner of a small shop near Li Haozhang’s home in Beijing, whom Brother Long had bribed, called to say that Li Haozhang had left with a suitcase a day after He Zhengren’s departure and hadn’t returned in the days since.
Could they have arranged to meet somewhere and then flee? Brother Long grew even more puzzled. If they were fleeing, they should have headed to an airport or a major port to leave the country. Why travel thousands of miles to Yunnan? Were they planning to go into hiding? And what about Hippo? Why hadn’t he come?
Sure enough, when the tour group set off for Lijiang, Brother Long noticed that He Zhengren stayed behind in Dali. Not long after, He Zhengren hailed a taxi and drove onto the Hangrui Expressway. Brother Long quickly followed in his car and saw him exit at the Nujiang Prefecture toll gate.
He Zhengren then switched vehicles several times after getting off the highway. Only when nearing the China-Myanmar border did he finally check into a small inn. Brother Long followed him the entire way with a sense of unease, convinced that He Zhengren’s journey was anything but ordinary. At first, he suspected He Zhengren was planning to sneak into Myanmar, but later, that didn’t seem to fit. What use would Myanmar be to He Zhengren?
This small town in Nujiang Prefecture bordered Myanmar’s Kachin State, with a sparse population and a mix of ethnic groups. The two countries were separated by just a step—you could even stand with one foot in Myanmar and the other in China. The town’s economy was underdeveloped, and to protect the primeval forests upstream of the Dulong River, the entire township had banned tourists since September 2017. The most frequent visitors were actually Myanmar nationals crossing the border to do business. The ethnic minorities in the town and surrounding villages often intermarried with Myanmar residents, and in their minds, there was no clear boundary between the two countries.
He Zhengren’s purpose remained mysterious, and Brother Long kept his eyes on him, hardly daring to blink. What puzzled him was that although Li Haozhang seemed to have left on a long trip, he hadn’t come here to meet up with He Zhengren.In recent days, He Zhengren had met with two short men who didn't look Chinese. After leaving the inn where He Zhengren was staying, they boarded a three-wheeled motorcycle driven by the disguised Brother Long. Speaking Chinese, they instructed Brother Long to head toward the border. Along the way, they muttered in an incomprehensible foreign language. Upon reaching their destination, they immediately crossed the border, seemingly settling somewhere outside the country.
After dropping them off, Brother Long carefully listened to the audio he had recorded. Due to the noisy environment and the "puttering" sound of the three-wheeler's engine, the recording quality was terrible. He sought help from a local, who identified the two men as speaking a Burmese dialect, with words like "sample," "high price," and "escort."
After listening, Brother Long wondered, "Could He Zhengren also be here for business?" He made inquiries and learned that the Burmese people who came here were mostly engaged in trade involving daily necessities and handicrafts, which seemed unrelated to He Zhengren.
Could it be drug trafficking?
Once this thought crossed his mind, Brother Long suddenly felt like a lone wolf, single-handedly taking on an international drug trafficking syndicate. But reason told him it was impossible. What lunatic would bring drugs from the capital to sell near the Golden Triangle? That would be like shipping coal from Shanghai to Datong, Shanxi.
After a few more days of surveillance, Brother Long was pleasantly surprised to discover—he had lost two pounds.
Weight loss was secondary; his real excitement came from He Zhengren. On a rainy evening, He Zhengren checked out of his room, hired a three-wheeler, switched vehicles several times, and wound his way to a sparsely populated village extremely close to Myanmar. He got out and continued on foot. This was a canyon area, and with his mobility issues, he walked slowly along the riverbank strewn with rocks, using a flashlight and checking his phone's GPS. Despite his slow pace, he seemed eager, as if he wished he had eight legs.
Brother Long followed him for two or three hours, with darkness so thick he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face. Just two or three kilometers ahead lay Myanmar's territory. He followed closely in the rain. Could He Zhengren be planning to sneak into Myanmar like this?
After trailing him a bit longer, Brother Long suddenly realized something was wrong!
@Morning News: A male body has been discovered in the Dulong River canyon, confirmed to be He, a geological expert and retired professor from XX University. The possibility of an accident has been preliminarily ruled out. Sources reveal that He recently had a violent conflict with a certain man. Evidence extracted from the body and other clues suggest the man may be a key suspect. The public is urged to provide information. If you spot the individual in the image below, please contact the police immediately. Contact: XXX...
Bayunye, who had just returned to Lijiang with a group of guests yesterday, hadn't rested for more than a few minutes when she stumbled upon the police's public appeal on Weibo. The suspect's photo attached to the notice was none other than Brother Long, whom she hadn't seen in days. She was stunned, sinking onto the swing in the inn's courtyard. As the swing swayed back and forth a few times, she remained in a daze.
The last survivor of the car accident was dead, and now Brother Long was the key suspect in the police's public appeal.Bayunye felt somewhat dazed. The sun directly overhead turned into a white dot in her vision, swaying left and right with the swing's motion like a hypnotic pocket watch, making her unable to distinguish between reality and dream. The words "Dulong River Gorge" kept magnifying before her eyes. That place was a world away from the capital—how could Brother Long possibly be so resourceful as to lure He Zhengren from Beijing all the way there and ruthlessly kill him? Bayunye simply couldn't believe it.
On second thought, hadn't Brother Long threatened to kill He Zhengren shortly after arriving in Beijing? The police had advanced investigative equipment; they couldn't possibly rely solely on the testimony of an "informer." They must have gathered some evidence.
Bayunye fell into another bout of restlessness, mixed with a tinge of regret. If she had been more perceptive and discovered Brother Long's secret earlier, she would have tied him up and locked him in a dark room to prevent him from going to Beijing, even if it meant using force.
Bayunye, do you also think Brother Long is a murderer? she asked herself.
No.
When she had exhausted her strength saving two children and couldn't swim back, it was Brother Long who rescued her. When she was tricked into guarding a drug-making operation due to her naivety and couldn't escape, Brother Long pulled her out... In truth, he was just like her—a family member of a deceased person, searching everywhere for the truth.
Some troublemaker, eager to stir up chaos and kick someone when they were down, had exposed that the Eagle Club was founded by Brother Long. Soon after, most of the clients who had booked trips for the year demanded refunds of their deposits, and a few who had already gotten their deposits back bizarrely demanded compensation for emotional distress. Then, several inns under Brother Long's name were also exposed, leading to a wave of cancellations and a sharp decline in business.
Although this matter didn't trend online, there was plenty of discussion on the internet—
"What Eagle Club? It's just a den of bandits!"
"Isn't there a crackdown on organized crime now? The police should thoroughly investigate whether they're a criminal organization!"
"Renlong Duoji... Does the name sound Japanese?"
"Probably an ethnic minority."
"Ethnic minorities enjoy preferential policies while doing whatever they want and killing Han people!"
...
"Damn these netizens!" Bayunye was so angry her nose twisted. "He's only a suspect! Not a criminal! Why are they stirring up trouble and dragging ethnic issues into this?"
Sister Jin shook her head, comforting her, "Those people online change their tune every day. When the Chongqing bus fell off the bridge, they cursed the female driver in the opposite vehicle's ancestors for eighteen generations, only for it to be confirmed that she was driving compliantly. Then they turned around and cursed the aunt who argued with the driver."
"Give them a keyboard, and they can move the earth..." Bayunye grumbled indignantly.
"Master Ba, look..." Other drivers from the club, their bookings disappearing one by one, came to Bayunye to inquire about the specifics.
Bayunye pulled a stool and sat in the middle of the courtyard. Now that all the guests at the Haitangyin Inn had fled, and several part-time workers had resigned and left, only Sister Jin remained, busy cleaning. She cleared her throat. "Listen up, I don't believe Brother Long is a murderer, just like I don't believe my older sister would be a mistress. Even if we consider the worst-case scenario, given his personality, if he had killed someone, he would never run away. He'd either turn himself in or die along with them. Since he's now missing, it means he didn't kill anyone and shouldn't bear this blame!"
"But the people outside don't believe that!"
Bayunye's eyes turned sharp. "Do you believe it?"Everyone fell silent.
"If any of you think Brother Long is a murderer, leave the team now. There are countless outdoor and off-road fleets out there. As long as you don’t mention having worked at the Eagle Club, you’ll still have clients and can still make money." Bayunye took a deep breath, her gaze calm and expression solemn, fully embodying the commanding presence of the club's top figure. "Right now is the club’s most difficult period. Until the case is cleared up and Brother Long reappears, you might not earn a single cent. We’re all here to make a living, with families depending on us—parents above, children below. It’s understandable if you leave now, and I won’t hold it against you."
Everyone exchanged glances, seemingly caught in a dilemma.
"I don’t have any clients left either," Bayunye shrugged. All her bookings for the year had been canceled—some by the clients themselves, some by her initiative. In the client groups, some asked about her whereabouts, some were concerned about the truth of the case, and some simply left the group. That’s human nature—when nothing goes wrong, you can’t tell who’s who.
"Tomorrow, I’m going to look for Brother Long. Whether you stay or leave is up to you."
"Where are you going to look?" asked Old Ma, one of the drivers.
"I don’t know. But since the police are so certain that He Zhengren had some evidence related to Brother Long, it means he met Brother Long before he died. So, I’ll start at the place where the body was found. At the very least, I’ll ask the local police for information. Listening to all the nonsense online will only make things more confusing."
The drivers in front of her fell silent again, then exchanged glances before pushing and shoving each other as they left one by one.
Bayunye watched them go, remaining silent for a long time. Some of them had transferred from other routes, like Old Ma who used to run the Xinjiang route, or Tu Lang who ran the Inner Mongolia route. Others were off-road enthusiasts who had once traveled with Brother Long, like Stone and Brother Hui, and still others, like A Dian and Old Zuo, had joined after the club was established. She recalled the grand, almost blood-oath-like vows they had made during club gatherings, reminiscent of the Oath of the Peach Garden, as they toasted and drank together.
Everyone has to make a living. You can’t blame others for being indifferent or lacking loyalty. After all, in this world, while loyalty and sentiment matter, the most essential things in life are still food and sleep.
No matter how lively the feast, in the end, the guests leave and the tea grows cold.
OpenNovel