While we were resting behind, I held her fair arm and said, "We're sure to find important clues this time, Yu Ning, don't worry!"
Liu Yu Ning nodded gently. Although she always wore a smile, I seemed to notice layers of lingering gloom within her heart, which was probably why she could no longer open her mouth to speak.
When we arrived at a service station, everyone was hungry and planned to eat at a nearby restaurant. However, I booked a private room for Liu Yu Ning and me, as I had something I wanted to discuss with her.
Sitting on the bed, I took her hand and said gently, "Yu Ning, are you still dwelling on your parents' case?"
Liu Yu Ning traced a few words on my palm with her finger. At first, I didn't understand, but then I realized they were these words: "Has the criminal's death penalty been carried out?"
"It has been carried out!" I told her.
She sighed and traced a few more words on my palm: "It's all my fault that my health is not good right now. Should I rest for a while?"
"If you're really tired, I can arrange for someone to send you back!"
Liu Yu Ning wrote to me again: "Not for now. Since we're here, we must complete this mission!"
I stroked her head and let her lean against my shoulder. I actually hoped she would recover quickly because I always felt unnatural when she didn't speak. She used to love talking, and although she was a woman of changeable moods, she had never been so quiet as she was now. It made me very unaccustomed.
I recited silently in my heart. After an unknown amount of time, Yu Ning actually fell asleep. When the team members contacted me, I told them to wait a moment longer. Thus, I let Liu Yu Ning sleep for two hours. When we got back into the car, it was already dusk, 6 o'clock. Xia Hou observed the coordinates and said, "At our current speed, it will take about four more hours to reach Panhe Town. We'll probably have to rest in the car!"
However, Liu Yu Ning had already rested well, so her eyes were wide open, looking around. It seemed like she was observing the scenery outside. This time, it was my turn to be tired, and I leaned my head on her shoulder to rest.
The rest time passed very quickly. By the time we woke up, we had already arrived at Panhe Town.
This time was different from before. Liu Yu Ning could not speak now. Otherwise, given her connections in the past, it would have been very simple for her to greet the local police station. But with my current reputation, as soon as I made a move, the people here would immediately cooperate with me and begin investigating the town.
In the town, we quickly found Hu Rui Feng's residence. At his home, we discovered that the environment was very poor. Looking at the dilapidated buildings and the simple surroundings, I thought that if it were me, I wouldn't want to stay here either.
Upon learning that we were looking for Hu Rui Feng, an old man told us, "I am his father. This child has been away from his hometown for a long time and hasn't returned. I thought something had happened to him. He's actually doing illegal and criminal things outside. Wuwu, why is our family so unfortunate!"
"Please don't be sad, old sir. Given Hu Rui Feng's current situation, we can still help him. We are here this time to inquire about some circumstances when he was in the hospital!"
"The hospital where he worked is on the main road in the center of town, not far from here. Although his income was not high, he used to come home every day. Later, I don't know who told him to go to town to do business, saying he could make a lot of money, so he left like that and never returned. Now, when I hear news of him again, I didn't expect him to be separated by death."
"Before he left, did you notice that he was much thinner than usual, and his skin was extremely pale?"
I mentioned the symptoms of porphyria in front of the old man, as if it were true. The old man's eyes lit up, as if I had reminded him of some past events.
"Now that you mention it, Officer He, I remember something. When I saw him off, I noticed that his health seemed to have deteriorated quite a bit. I even advised him not to go if he wasn't feeling well. But he said that once he got to the big city, he would slowly recover. He left stubbornly. As I watched his receding back that day, although I knew a truth – that children grow up and will eventually leave home – I didn't want my loneliness to burden him. Before he left, he seemed to be with a girl. I thought at the time that perhaps the girl had asked him to go to the city to work together. That would be good, at least he would have someone to accompany him in the future."
Speaking of the girl, under the old man's description, I realized that this person was another person we were looking for, Yuan Yu Zhu, the woman who had previously called herself Alice. Many years had passed, and her appearance had long since changed.
I took out a photo of Yuan Yu Zhu and showed it to the old man. He scrutinized it for a while but quickly said, "Yes, it's her. How is this woman now? Don't tell me she's in prison too?"
I told Hu Rui Feng's father some simple circumstances. Upon hearing this, the old man wrung his hands and feet, saying, "If I had known this earlier, I would never have let him go. So, they both left the town because of the illness of porphyria? What is all this? Vampires are just stories to fool children, aren't they? They are so old, yet they still believe such nonsense!"
I didn't answer, but I thought, perhaps because of the influence of porphyria, these people's mental states had completely changed. As normal people, it was probably difficult for us to understand their psychology.
After bidding farewell to the old man, who had previously told us Yuan Yu Zhu's address, we found a dilapidated wooden house. We saw a blind old grandmother in the adjacent courtyard, sadly feeding a skinny dog.
The house was very simple, with gaps in the roof and door panels that looked like they hadn't been repaired for a long time. Anyone who witnessed such a situation couldn't help but sigh.
We carefully approached the old woman. Liu Yu Ning quietly took her hand. The old woman did not resist and smacked her lips curiously, asking, "Who?"
I said, "We are police officers, and we have some information to tell you!"
Perhaps the old woman had been constantly thinking about Yuan Yu Zhu's affairs. Upon learning that we were police officers, her whole body trembled. She tightly grasped Liu Yu Ning's hand and said fearfully, "Are you here about Yuan Yu Zhu? Tell me, is it!?"
"Yes, I believe you must be Yuan Yu Zhu's grandmother?"