Chapter 82: Sudden Bad News
Chapter 82: Sudden Bad News
Ding ling ling, ding ling ling…
As soon as Li Zian stepped inside, his Mobile Phone rang with an incoming call.
He thought it was Yu Taishan calling again, but when he took out his Mobile Phone, he saw it was Professor Kang calling.
Kun Li stared intently at Li Zian, her gaze seeming to interrogate him, asking which woman was calling him.
Li Zian ignored her. He swiped to answer: “Hello, Professor Kang.”
Kang Haichuan’s voice came from the phone, sounding very urgent: “Mr. Li, something terrible has happened!”
Li Zian’s heart jumped: “What happened?”
“Old Ma, he…” Kang Haichuan’s voice choked up a bit.
Li Zian immediately had a bad feeling: “What’s wrong with Uncle Ma?”
“He… he died!” Kang Haichuan finally got the words out, followed by the sound of him sobbing over the phone.
Li Zian was stunned.
He remembered that night at Professor Kang’s house, Ma Fuquan said his wife had a stomachache and he had to hurry back to take her to the hospital. He never thought that first meeting that night would be their last.
“How did Uncle Ma die?”
“I don’t know either. Last night he called me and said he found something. He asked me to arrange a meeting with you at my place tonight. I thought about calling you right then, but it was a bit late, and I was afraid of disturbing your rest, so I didn’t call. I never expected… this morning when I woke up, a police officer called me and asked what Old Ma said to me on the phone. That’s when I asked and found out Old Ma, he… he was gone…”
“Professor Kang, don’t be too sad. Where are you? I’ll come see you,” Li Zian said.
“I’m in the alley where Old Ma lives. Alley 27, Xingfu Road. Ah…”
“I’ll be right there.” Li Zian hung up, feeling a bit flustered.
Suddenly, without warning, the image of that White-clad Woman he never caught appeared in his mind again.
Could Ma Fuquan’s death be related to her?
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
When he saw Ma Fuquan a few days ago, the man was fine, full of energy, not the type with poor health or chronic diseases. The chance of sudden death or natural death causing his demise was almost zero. Ruling out sudden death and natural death, that left murder.
Ma Fuquan worked at a place like the Cultural Relics Administration, a quiet office with no money and no power. He didn’t obstruct anyone’s interests. Who would kill such a harmless old man?
“Was that call in Kharosthi Language a warning call? The warning was ignored, and Uncle Ma actually found something, so he was silenced?” Li Zian thought to himself.
Kun Li asked: “Who is Professor Kang?”
Li Zian replied casually: “A friend. I need to go out.”
Kun Li said: “I’ll go with you.”
“No need. I’ll just call a cab myself, it’s easier.” Li Zian then said to Lin Shengnan, “Grandma, I have something urgent to attend to. I might not be back for lunch.”
Lin Shengnan glanced up: “Go on, go on. A man should focus on his career.”
Li Zian walked quickly towards the door.
Kun Li followed him.
Li Zian stopped and looked at her: “Why are you following me? I said I’ll call a cab myself.”
“Meilin asked me to protect you,” Kun Li said.
Calling it protection was just a nice way of saying she was watching and guarding him.
Li Zian suddenly got angry: “Can you even beat me? Protect me? Don’t think I don’t know what she told you to do. There should be limits to everything. If you go too far, don’t blame me for being rude!”
Last night’s incident had already angered him, and he held it in without lashing out. Now this again? He wasn’t going to hold back any longer.
Kun Li was a bit stunned. She didn’t expect Li Zian to suddenly turn on her, and so fiercely at that.
Li Zian pulled the door open and went out, shutting it behind him.
Kun Li stood there staring blankly at the door, unable to process what just happened for a long moment.
Lin Shengnan looked up at Kun Li and said inexplicably: “After all these years, this is the first time I’ve seen him lose his temper. So fierce, yet almost cute, hehe.”
Kun Li glanced back at Lin Shengnan, her eyes conveying a thought.
Don’t you have some misunderstanding about the word ‘fierce yet cute’?
Alley 27, Xingfu Road arrived. Li Zian got out of the car and entered the alley.
A large crowd had gathered in the alley, chattering noisily about something, creating a chaotic scene.
Police officers were maintaining order outside an old building, using caution tape to keep the onlookers out.
Li Zian spotted Kang Haichuan immediately. He was standing in the area cordoned off by the caution tape, talking to a police officer.
The officer stood straight, his Square-Faced features naturally conveying a sense of righteousness, his expression serious.
He looked familiar. It was actually Liu Jun, whom he had spoken with briefly at the hospital last time.
“Professor Kang!” Li Zian called out.
Kang Haichuan turned to look and waved at Li Zian: “Mr. Li, come over here quickly.”
Li Zian pointed at the police caution tape in front of him.
Just then, Liu Jun also saw Li Zian. He said, “Crawl under from the bottom.”
Li Zian bent down and crawled under the caution tape.
He could have done that earlier, but it was police caution tape after all, and you shouldn’t just crawl under it without permission.
Li Zian reached Kang Haichuan and Liu Jun’s side and greeted them: “Professor Kang, Officer Liu.”
As soon as Kang Haichuan saw Li Zian, it seemed to trigger something. Grief welled up in his heart, and tears immediately rolled from his eyes: “Old Ma he… wu wu…”
Li Zian reached out and patted Professor Kang’s shoulder, comforting him: “Don’t be too sad. Your health is important too.”
When people get old, the friends around them are usually ones they’ve known for decades, almost like family. For one to suddenly pass away like this must be very hard to bear.
Liu Jun said: “Mr. Li, Professor Kang told me some things. You met Ma Fuquan once at Professor Kang’s house, correct?”
Li Zian nodded: “We met. We chatted for a while.”
“What was the reason for your meeting? What did you talk about?” Liu Jun looked directly into Li Zian’s eyes, observing his reaction.
It was probably a professional habit.
Li Zian said: “Professor Kang and I met because of a Symbol. Professor Kang is a well-known Symbol expert in the country, and I wanted to ask him to interpret it. Professor Kang sent that Symbol to Ma Fuquan. Uncle Ma then printed out that Symbol and pasted it on Huang Bo’s door. Later, he received a strange phone call. We met because of the recording of that call. Student Kang Xin is still trying to translate the content of that call, so we don’t know what the caller said. That’s all I know. If Professor Kang hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have known Uncle Ma was gone.”
Kang Haichuan must have already explained the whole story. There was nothing for him to hide. If he was evasive or beat around the bush, the police might even suspect he was involved in Ma Fuquan’s death.
He actually wanted to mention the mysterious White-clad Woman, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.
He didn’t know who that White-clad Woman was, nor her motives. Mentioning it casually wouldn’t help solve the case and might just bring him unnecessary trouble.
If they just asked one question: Why did that White-clad Woman appear near your neighborhood?
That question alone would be difficult for him to answer.
Liu Jun was silent for a moment before speaking: “The situation you described matches what Professor Kang said. However, there’s one point I can’t figure out, and I need you to answer it.”
“As long as I know, I will tell you truthfully. Please go ahead, Officer Liu,” Li Zian said politely.
Liu Jun said: “What exactly is the Symbol you asked Professor Kang to decipher? Why did it bring a fatal disaster upon Ma Fuquan?”
Li Zian spread his hands: “I don’t know either. If I knew, why would I ask Professor Kang to decipher it?”
Liu Jun stared intensely at Li Zian, as if judging the truthfulness of his words.
Li Zian didn’t avoid Liu Jun’s gaze. He hadn’t done anything wrong, nor had he lied, so he naturally wasn’t afraid of professional investigative scrutiny.
“Then where did you get that Symbol from?” Liu Jun asked another question.
Li Zian said: “Back then, my Master gave me a talisman. That Symbol was drawn on that talisman.”
“Where is the talisman now?”
“It’s gone. I just remember the Symbol.” Li Zian wore an innocent expression.
Liu Jun stared directly at Li Zian again, a second round of professional investigative scanning.
If possible, Li Zian really wanted to tell him the truth.
Officer, there’s an incense burner inside my mind. I copied that Symbol from the incense burner.
Telling a police officer such a truth would probably lead to being sent to the hospital for a urine test to see if he was on drugs, right?
“Officer Liu, can I go up and take a look?” Li Zian asked.
Liu Jun frowned: “That’s a crime scene. What do you want to go up there for?”
Li Zian said: “Uncle Ma called Professor Kang last night and said he found something. Who would have thought he’d be killed last night? If you let me go up and look, maybe I can find some clues. After all, Uncle Ma died because of that Symbol. I feel guilty and want to help catch the murderer.”
Liu Jun just listened without responding.
Kang Haichuan said: “Officer Liu, Mr. Li is very capable. He is a Fangshi. Take us up to see. Maybe he really can help.”
“Fangshi?” Liu Jun looked at Li Zian with a strange expression.
From that look, Li Zian knew Liu Jun probably associated him with those charlatans who use superstitions to cheat people out of their money.
But he didn’t mind. He just said lightly: “I only know a little about it. Let’s not talk about that today.”
Liu Jun hesitated for a moment before saying: “Follow me. But remember, don’t touch anything, and don’t walk around randomly.”
“Okay, I’ll remember,” Li Zian said.
Liu Jun led Li Zian and Kang Haichuan into the stairwell.
Li Zian asked: “Professor Kang, where is Uncle Ma’s wife?”
Kang Haichuan said: “Old Ma’s wife is in the hospital because of appendicitis. She’s still there now and doesn’t know what happened. I really don’t know how she will react when she finds out…”
Before he could finish, his tears welled up again.
Losing a spouse in old age is one of life’s great sorrows.
Li Zian’s heart also felt heavy. When he said earlier that Ma Fuquan died because of that Symbol, he didn’t feel it so strongly. But upon hearing that Ma Fuquan’s wife was still lying in the hospital unaware, he felt a sense of guilt.
If he hadn’t contacted Kang Haichuan using that Symbol, Kang Haichuan wouldn’t have sent it to Ma Fuquan, and Ma Fuquan wouldn’t have printed it out and pasted it on Huang Bo’s door. Then there wouldn’t have been that mysterious call, and Ma Fuquan wouldn’t have died.
However, placing the blame entirely on himself like this seemed a bit forced.