Chapter 067
Nangong Iren
The behavior shown by Duanmuh Jinqkang more or less attracted Iren's attention. The young man was looking at one by one the middle-aged men sitting in the dining room. Although the young man's face looked calm, but he seemed to have heavy things on his mind.
I think this kid is starting to suspect that we are a bunch of brainless old people. Could it be that tomorrow he will resign from Tsaehorng's company because he no longer wants to be asked to help weird old people like us?
Iren laughed inwardly when imagining such a thing. While waiting, he tried to recall the series of events he had experienced over the past few days.
Soon I had to find time to put those things down on paper. If it's too long, there will be many things that are forgotten. Stuff like this is such precious material that it deserves to be included in my memoirs!
Without him realizing, Iren tapped his finger on the table. He did it several times, forming a certain pattern, like the notes in a song. The other friends immediately looked at him.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to," said Iren.
After that, Iren tried to be as calm as possible while waiting for the others to finish their lunch. Luckily, he didn't have to wait too long. A moment later, everyone had finished eating.
Just as Iren was preparing to remind Yihshyong that it was time to tell his story, suddenly Tsaehorng raised his hand.
"What's wrong, Tsaehorng?" Yihshyong frowned.
"Regarding the matter of Uncle Duanmuh's disappearance, I think we should investigate the people around him."
Iren was surprised. What Tsaehorng brought up was something one would definitely do when conducting investigations into missing persons.
Isn't that obvious? There is no way Tsaehorng didn't understand this.
"Including the mysterious girl we saw earlier." Tsaehorng had not finished speaking yet. He reminded them of the existence of a girl who might have something to do with Shannchyuan's disappearance.
Ah! So that's what he's aiming for!
"But we don't know who she is," said Iren. "We don't even know what Dahge has to do with that girl."
"But at least we know her face. So, we can use that as a starting point in conducting an investigation."
"It's true that except for Jinqkang and I, everyone now present here has seen the girl," Yihshyong said. "But we don't have her picture."
"What if later I will send one of my employees who is good at drawing to come here? He will sketch the girl's face based on the description that you will give."
"Aren't you also talented at painting yourself?" Chioujen looked at Tsaehorng.
"But I'm not good at drawing people's faces," replied Tsaehorng. "There is an employee of mine who is superb at capturing people's faces and transferring them to paper or canvas."
"If it won't bother you, of course we welcome it." Iren nodded. He turned to Yihshyong. "Now let's not waste too much time. Shyongge, please tell us as accurately as possible."
"How about I just tell the story here? So we don't have to move into the living room." Yihshyong chose to stay in the dining room.
Everyone present nodded. It didn't really matter where Yihshyong wanted to tell.
"Before starting to explain the things that happened here, I have to ask you something first."
"Okay!" Iren nodded. "What's the thing you wanted to ask?"
Yihshyong spat out the words word by word at a slow tempo. "Actually, where are the cops gathered to monitor this kidnapping?"
Tsaehorng, Chioujen, Jenqyih, and Iren smiled at Yihshyong's question. Jenqyih raised his hand. He pointed back.
"What do you mean?" Yihshyong raised his eyebrows.
"The house that the police use as a monitoring site is the house right behind our house." Jenqyih laughed.
Yihshyong laughed too. "We thought it must not be far from here. But it's very close. Only a few meters."
"Now, can you start talking?" Iren started to feel impatient.
"Okay! Now listen carefully!" Yihshyong straightened his seat.
It's better if this time Shyongge really starts talking. Not just stalling for time like before.
"I was so panicked because it was almost half-past twelve, but you guys haven't shown up yet." Yihshyong started his story. "Then, through the Huahshiang device, the police reported what had happened at the mall near the station. I panicked even more because it meant you guys could be stuck there for a long time."
"Did he really panic that much?" Chioujen turned to Jinqkang.
"Mr. Shimen did look very nervous. However, he still manages to control himself." Jinqkang gave a thumbs up.
Yihshyong smiled. He opened his mouth again. "Then it was twelve o'clock. The kidnappers were right on time. Not like some people I know."
The people there looked at each other with a smile.
It wasn't our fault at all!
Yihshyong stopped talking. He seemed to want to see the response from the listeners. But he was just starting to talk. There were no things that were stressful or made people curious. From the look on his face, Iren guessed Yihshyong was also aware that people were lazy to listen to long tales.
"Long story short, they only wanted to talk to Dahge. They didn't want to talk to me," Yihshyong said.
"Then, what happened?" Chioujen squinted his eyes.
"They said they would call again."
"Have they called again?" Iren asked.
"Yes. They called again about fifteen minutes later," Yihshyong replied.
"Did they change their minds?"
"No. They're sticking to their original stance. Those people only wanted to talk to Dahge."
"Then what did you do to change their minds?" Iren asked.
"I didn't do anything. As the saying goes, 'If there is no rattan, then even the roots are useful.' So, I just got 'Fake Dahge' to talk to them."
Tsaehorng also laughed. "How did Uncle know? This Jinqkang once tried to work as a voice actor for cartoons."
"I was just kidding." Chioujen laughed even louder. "I can't believe it turned out to be true."
"Are you serious?" Yihshyong looked at Tsaehorng. His face changed. "I don't know about that. He hasn't said that yet."
Tsaehorng nodded. "Uncle can ask Jinqkang about it."
"Must be a Chuannan cartoon." Jenqyih laughed.
Chuannan was an area known for many things. One of them was the production of cartoon films. The language spoken in Chuannan was so different from the language spoken in this city that the cartoons made in Chuannan circulating here must be dubbed. Therefore, there was a dubber profession in this city.
"Yes, it's a cartoon made in Chuannan. But, at that time, I was just trying to work as a dubber. Not too serious. There was no intention to make it a profession. So, I did that only briefly. Just a few months." Jinqkang grimaced.
"That's it! That's another time we will discuss. Now, continue your story about what happened earlier." Iren smiled at Yihshyong.
"Okay, I'll continue. So, they, the kidnappers, actually believe that it was Dahge who spoke to them."
After that, Yihshyong fell silent. Iren waited for Yihshyong to say more. But Yihshyong just smiled.
"Shyongge! Then what next?" Iren was getting impatient.
Yihshyong was still smiling. "My story ended there. Jinqkang will continue."
Jinqkang nodded. The young man began to take long and deep breaths.
"When they believed I was Mr. Duanmuh, I asked to speak with Mr. Beeihae. Actually, I was not lying either. They clearly heard I told them I am Duanmuh. I did not say that I am Duanmuh Shannchyuan. I was telling the truth because of my name is Duanmuh Jinqkang."
"Eh?" Iren was surprised. "They let you talk to Shinnshiow?"
Jinqkang nodded. "That's right, Sir. I did speak with Mr. Beeihae. He was fine. He told me earlier that he had an ostrich omelet for breakfast."
Good grief! Perhaps Shinnshiow thought that this kidnapping was some kind of vacation or picnic!
"Did Shinnshiow not suspect at all that you weren't Dahge?" Jenqyih joined the conversation. His voice was squeaky.
"I don't know, Sir! His voice sounded normal. Maybe he was suspicious because the choice of words I use was most likely not exactly the same as the choice of words that Mr. Duanmuh might use in conversation. It could be, even though he already had a guess. But Mr. Beeihae didn't show it, so the kidnappers wouldn't get suspicious."
"What else did Shinnshiow say?" Iren was very curious.
"He said nothing else. He had no chance. As soon as Mr. Beeihae said those things, the kidnappers immediately took over the phone. They said they would give me details on what to do around four o'clock this afternoon," Jinqkang said.
"What did the police say about this?" Iren asked.
"They just said that we have to wait for further instructions from the kidnappers. So, the police must first see what the details of the ransom demand the kidnappers are asking for," Yihshyong replied.
"I mean, what the police said about the fake Shannchyuan talking to the kidnappers? Did the police just let you guys try to trick the kidnappers? What if Jinqkang fails to convince them he is Dahge? Isn't there a chance they might hurt Shinnshiow?"
Yihshyong chuckled at the barrage of questions Iren asked.
"If I put that crazy proposal to the police, then like you said, they would definitely reject it. So I didn't say anything. The police themselves were fooled earlier, too. They thought Dahge was back. Through Huahshiang, I could hear the instructions they gave Jinqkang. At that time, the police believed they were whispering directly to Dahge. After the kidnappers hung up, I told the police that it wasn't Dahge who spoke to the kidnappers, but Dahge's distant relative."
Hearing Yihshyong's words, all eyes turned to Jinqkang.
"That's right. I am still related to Mr. Duanmuh." Jinqkang's voice sounded so steady.
Iren smiled. Such a thing was by no means a surprise. Shannchyuan had told him a lot about his family background. There were only sixteen Duanmuh family clans in this new world. Six of the sixteen clans actually came from one big family. So the possibility that Shannchyuan and Jinqkang were still distantly related was very high.
Added to that is the fact that most of the members of the Duanmuh family are protective of each other. The Duanmuhs do not hesitate to consider the other Duanmuhs to be their cousins. Even though their kinship is so far away.
"The policemen were also shocked. But then they just said that improvisation like that should not happen again. If there is a change of plans, we must involve the police. We can't make decisions by ourselves," Yihshyong said.
"So the kidnappers will call again at four in the afternoon?" asked Chioujen.
"They didn't say that, Sir. They just said that around four in the afternoon, they would tell me in full what I have to do."
"This is very interesting," said Chioujen.
"Which part did you find most interesting?" Tsaehorng asked.
"In the first place, what's the point of them insisting on speaking directly to Beaushu? If they just want us to exchange Shiowge for Songfei's goods, then it shouldn't matter who talks to them."
Chioujen is right. Maybe they have a certain purpose!
"The second thing is, how did they know it was Beaushu who was speaking?"
Ah! Did that mean that they, or at least one of them, had come face-to-face with Dahge?
Chioujen hadn't finished speaking yet. "They already know who lives in this house. Is it possible that they already know the habits of the people in this house?"
Chioujen was silent for a moment. He looked at the faces of the people there.
"How did they know that?" Chioujen opened his mouth again. "Surely through careful scrutiny. They must have watched this house and its occupants for a long time. They have studied the movements of the people who live in this house well. But how did they know Beaushu's voice? It is impossible to recognize people's voices by observing from a certain distance. Actually, that person has to interact with Beaushu to know clearly how Beaushu's voice, accent and his style of speech."
"So you're saying that the person behind the kidnappers is someone who knows Dahge personally?" Iren wanted to know if Chioujen really had the same guess as him.
"Right." Chioujen nodded with a powerful gesture. "You probably know this person, too. So you should focus on who the people who have appeared in your life over the past six months!"
"Why only the last six months?" Jinqkang asked.
"Because they don't know about me," Chioujen replied. "I moved from here about six months ago. So after that, there were only five people living here. People who don't know that there is a sixth person living here is the one who has been watching over this house and its occupants since six months ago or less than that."
"Your analysis makes sense," said Iren. "We have to start listing everyone we've known for six months or less."
"I also know the uncles here since about six months ago," said Tsaehorng.
"If you were the one behind all this, then you couldn't have sent Jinqkang here," Yihshyong said.
"We can't rule out the possibility," argued Tsaehorng. "I could have sent Jinqkang here to make people unsuspecting of me."
"If you're really the mastermind behind all this, you can't possibly tell us to suspect you or give any clues that lead to you," said Iren.
"What if I'm a crazy psychopath who enjoys torturing their victims? It's possible that I purposely told the Uncles who were here to suspect me. It's part of the torture process that I really enjoy." Tsaehorng looked at them all with sharp eyes.
Iren, Jenqyih, Chioujen, and Yihshyong looked deeply into Tsaehorng's face. The young man's face looked normal.
Could this kid really be crazy? If that's true, maybe in the past six months, his madness has not healed, but has actually gotten worse!
Yihshyong looked at Tsaehorng's face with a look that was no less sharp. "You're saying that we should also suspect you because you chose to be here with us? This is consistent with the theory that criminals who are usually smart and brave will tend to involve themselves in the investigation of their crimes. So it's possible that your hard work to help us is part of your efforts to insert yourself into this investigation."
This is really crazy!
"Okay. Don't worry. We've officially added you to the suspect list." Iren nodded while looking at Tsaehorng. He laughed out loud.
"A good investigator will not rule out the possibility that someone close to them is the mastermind behind a case they're working on." Tsaehorng gave Iren a thumbs up.
"You sound exactly like Songfei. I'm starting to suspect that this is a very sophisticated Songfei game," Jenqyih said.
"Do you suspect our Tsaehorng is conspiring with Songfei to force us into his game?" Iren asked.
"Is that not possible?" Jenqyih asked.
"What about Linqhwu Ueideng? Didn't he lose the thing that Songfei left him?" Iren asked.
"But it's possible that the theft had nothing to do with Songfei's disappearance," Jenqyih said. "Even we don't have any evidence that Linqhwu Ueideng actually lost the wooden box."
"If this was just a pretense, could Songfei be that reckless? This is no joke! The police have also been involved in this case!" Iren tried to argue.
"Why not? How can we be sure that the cops we've seen, heard, and met so far are real cops?" Jenqyih said.
Chioujen smiled. He then said to Yihshyong. "Shyongge, when you gave a statement to the police, did you do it at the police station?"
"Of course not. We were afraid that I was being watched, so the police questioned me inside a building that obviously wasn't a police station."
"Did any of us actually meet the cops working on this case at the police station?" Chioujen looked at his friends.
They all looked at each other.
"But Tsaehorng had contacted police officials directly. So indeed we didn't report to the police station in a normal way," Yihshyong said.
"But if it turns out that Tsaehorng conspires with Songfei to force us to play in this game, then this all makes sense. It could be just a game. The cops are just actors who are paid to pretend to be cops," Chioujen said.
The crazy theory that Jenqyih and Chioujen put forward seemed to make sense, too. Iren scratched the crown of his head, which was actually not itchy.
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