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墨書 Inktalez
I turned to Jiang Dong and said, "We built a tea house on your land, but now two employees have gone missing without a trace. I wanted to ask if you know anything about it."
"I don't know," Jiang Dong replied, standing up and turning to walk out, no longer willing to talk to us.
"What's wrong with this guy?" Liu Xin muttered. "He really just turns a blind eye."
I shook my head. "I don't know; maybe this incident hit him hard. Those who worked at Meiyuan Club back then might still be around. We should ask them; the breakthrough in this case should be at Meiyuan Club."
After we left the prison and had lunch, Liu Yiyi and Liu Xin decided not to continue with me.
Liu Yiyi lent me her car, suggesting I go investigate at the police station on my own.
I looked at the Jaguar and thought for a moment; it was worth four to five hundred thousand. What if I scratched it? I'd be in deep trouble.
Noticing my concern, Liu Yiyi tossed me the keys. "Just drive it without worry."
I smiled, got into the car, and headed to the police station, ready to investigate the employees from Meiyuan Club back in the day.
Qin Hai was waiting for me at the police station entrance. He grinned and said, "Song Fei! Long time no see. Let's grab a meal together later."
"No thanks, I just had lunch with my goddess," I replied.
Qin Hai kicked me playfully. "If you manage to win over Liu Yiyi, forget about coffee shops and traditional medicine; just stay home and take care of the kids."
I laughed and said, "Alright, to become a house husband, I need to work hard. Right now, I'm helping Liu Yiyi investigate a case, so I have to give it my all to find some answers. Qin Hai, can you help me look into who were the women rescued from that arson case at Meiyuan Club? I need to ask them about what happened."
"The Meiyuan Club case? That was ages ago; I wasn't even working here then," Qin Hai replied as he led me toward the archives. In the archive room, he quickly found the records from that time.
Then, Qin Hai took out a pen and jotted down some information before handing me the paper. "Alright, these women were all rescued from the Meiyuan Club back in the day. Don't thank me; just give me ten thousand as a reward."
"Sure, I'll treat you to a ten-thousand-dollar hot dry noodle feast sometime," I replied with a smile, taking the note and heading out.
Once I got to the car, I looked over the contact details of those women from back then. There were five names on the paper; they were all around twenty years old at that time, so they should be married by now.
I thought about it and checked the information for the first woman, Liao Meili. She was from Bengbu City, so I drove towards Bangbu County. Later, I discovered they had moved to a neighboring county. I sped along and finally found Liao Meili's current home by evening.
I sighed; the five people Qin Hai gave me were already those closest to Donghai City. The others had come from different provinces to engage in such activities in Donghai City.
I arrived at Liao Meili's house, which was in a residential building in the county town. I knocked on the door, and an old man answered.
"Excuse me, sir, is Liao Meili living here?" I asked.
"Liao Meili?" The old man looked at me and then pushed me away. "There's no one by that name here. Get out."
I had worked hard to get here and certainly couldn't give up so easily. I grabbed the door handle and said, "Sir, this matter is very important. Two of my friends have gone missing, and I must find them."
The old man paused for a moment, sighed, and said, "Come in, come in! Don't stand at the door; it's embarrassing!"
I stepped inside.
The room was quite tidy.
The old man brought me a glass of water. "Ah, I must have done something wrong in my past life to have such a daughter. She used to send me ten to twenty thousand every month, and I was quite happy about it. But then... then the police sent her back to me, and that's when I found out she was doing that kind of work!"
"What happened next?" I asked, genuinely uninterested in his feelings.
He sighed again. "After Meili came back, I felt ashamed and sold our house back home to move here. Then I urged her to find a proper job and settle down. Even though she had done that work, she was still my daughter. She had given us over two hundred thousand in total. But for some reason, her condition kept deteriorating; she often had nightmares at night and would go crazy, not recognizing anyone and running outside naked. I... I had some selfish motives too and arranged for her to get married. But less than two months later, I found out she had set fire to her in-laws' house and died in it... Ah, it's my fault."
I frowned. This old man was indeed ruthless; knowing his daughter was a bit unstable, he still forced her into marriage.
However, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that Liao Meili was already dead!
"Sir, what did Liao Meili say when she was going crazy?" I looked at the old man.
He thought for a moment and replied, "It seemed like she kept saying, 'Don't hit me, don't hit me, I'm hiring, I'm hiring...' It was all a jumble; I don't even know what kind of workers she wanted to hire. Sigh!"
I stepped out of Liao Meili's father's house, feeling uneasy. First, Liao Meili had a mental breakdown, and then she died. Could her fate be related to her work at the Meiyuan Club? Or was it just because of that last Great Fire that scared her so badly?
I picked up the list and glanced at the second name: Jiang Hui, who lived in Yancheng City.
I looked at the time; although I was anxious, there was no way to find her before nightfall. I could only rush to Yancheng and stay overnight. The next day, after some inquiries, I found Jiang Hui's home. Her family was quite poor; she had squandered all the money she earned from working at the club and never sent any back home. I realized that many of these fallen women often came from impoverished families.
I asked Jiang Hui's grandmother about her. The elderly woman shook her head and said, "Sigh, the child went missing. Ever since she returned, she's been a bit unwell. She kept saying not to hit her and locked herself in her room. We thought she had gone mad from fear and sent her for treatment. Sigh, we spent all our money, but she didn't get better. Later on, she escaped from the mental hospital, and now we don't know where she is..."
I sighed as I looked at Jiang Hui's grandmother, an old woman alone at home; it must have been tough for her. I left three thousand yuan behind before leaving.
Sitting in the car, I stared at the list in my hand and decided not to search anymore. Even if I found them, it would be useless; those survivors from back then must all have some mental issues now. Even if I found them, it wouldn't lead to anything.
I drove back to the coffee shop in Donghai City. I felt a bit tired and glanced at the clock; it was already past one o'clock. After tidying up, I went to bed since I needed to continue investigating the Ancient Style Teahouse tomorrow. However, I really couldn't make sense of it all!
As I thought about everything related to the Ancient Style Teahouse, no matter how much I pondered, I couldn't find any reason behind it. If it really was due to the fire at the Meiyuan Club before, then there should have been some Ghostly Energy left behind. But when I opened my eyes and entered that room, I found nothing at all. The key point was that employees frequently came in and out of that room; why did only those two female employees disappear?
Lost in thought, I eventually fell asleep. The next morning after breakfast, I drove to the Ancient Style Teahouse again. I refused to believe that I couldn't uncover any reasons.
When Jiang Min saw me, she asked if I had discovered anything. I shook my head; everyone from the Meiyuan Club back then had gone mad; there was nothing to learn from them.
Jiang Min's expression changed as she looked at me and said, "Recently another employee has resigned from the club. At this rate, it won't be long before the teahouse has to close down."
I nodded, "Let's not rush. Give me the key to that room, and I'll take a closer look."
Jiang Min handed me the key and cautioned, "Mr. Song, you need to be careful. If something happens to you again, it would be a huge loss."
I nodded at Jiang Min and then walked into room 103. Once inside, I held the Peach Wood Sword and meticulously searched the room again. There was indeed nothing in the room; I couldn't feel even a hint of Ghostly Energy.
I shook my head and simply sat down in the room, meditating for over an hour without sensing anything at all. When I exited the room, I happened to run into Liu Xin and Liu Yiyi.
Liu Yiyi and Liu Xin were chatting when they saw me and greeted me.
I walked over, and Liu Yiyi asked, "Song Fei, did you find anything?"
I shook my head.
Liu Yiyi said, "It seems quite strange after all."
Liu Xin smiled at me, "Brother Song Fei, I still trust you a lot. Since you couldn't find anything, it must be a significant problem. By the way, let me treat you to some tea; we can chat while we drink."
The tea at the Ancient Style Teahouse was excellent, though certainly not cheap; a pot of tea cost around ten dollars. It wasn't just about the tea; it was about the ambiance and service.
We settled down as the sound of a guqin filled the room.
Liu Xin poured us tea and said, "I've decided to close this teahouse." After saying that, Liu Xin smiled helplessly. "This is my fault; I didn't do enough research before buying it. I built this teahouse and even invested in advertising. Just as the advertising effect was starting to show, now I have to shut it down. The board is going to be furious with me."
Liu Yiyi replied, "That's inevitable. Why not seal that room and hire new staff?"
Liu Xin shook his head. "That would be too unlucky; it's like a ticking time bomb. As soon as news about that room leaks out, neither employees nor ordinary people would dare come here for tea or business discussions."
I understood that Liu Xin was also in a difficult position. The Ancient Style Teahouse had cost several million in investments overall, including land costs—over a hundred million—and now it seemed like it would all go down the drain, which would indeed be hard for the board to accept.
I was just about to comfort Liu Xin when suddenly my phone rang. I picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number.
I answered the call, and a man's voice came through, "Is this Mr. Song?"
"Yes, who is this?" I asked.
"I'm the warden of Langcun Prison. You visited an inmate named Jiang Dong a few days ago; do you remember him?" the warden asked.
"Yes, I visited him," I replied.
"Well, he has died. He hanged himself in prison. You should come to the prison," the warden said.
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