The wail of the police sirens abruptly quenched Run Sheng’s fiery bravado. He drew out a stick of incense, lit one end with a match, and clenched the other between his lips, his cheeks puffing as he took a deep drag, pulling from it a sense of desolation.
Li Zhiyuan watched with curiosity, wondering if he could really blow smoke rings.
The next moment, wisps of light smoke spiraled from Run Sheng’s nostrils.
He had begun smoking.
For a moment, Li Zhiyuan couldn’t help but doubt if this was indeed the proper way to use incense.
He understood why Run Sheng was feeling downcast; Run Sheng was practically glued to the televison at home, and the local county station was fond of running gangster films on repeat.
Whenever he went out at night, Li Zhiyuan would always hear the slicing and gunfire coming from the first floor.
It seemed Run Sheng had ingested too much, and it affected him.
In fact, most people at this age harbor such fantasies and impulses. The difference lay in Run Sheng’s physique and strength, lending him a formidable capacity for action.
Except for the time when he first learned facial reading and fortune-telling—making fate charts for the Grandmaster and himself—Li Zhiyuan had since deliberately avoided doing so for those close to him.
Fate charts are akin to the inner sanctum of a person’s privacy. Casually peering into them seems highly unethical and also disrupts normal interactions.
Even without applying any systematic approach to his analysis, Li Zhiyuan could perceive something by glancing at Run Sheng’s face, which was quite classic, the type that could serve as an examplar in textbooks.
Run Sheng was a classic case of the Seven Killings Formation, also called the Biased Officials Formation, characterized by drive, determination, ambitions, and courage, like a caged ferocious tiger, extremely fierce in nature.
However, the Seven Killings Formation could also transform, converting misfortune to fortune, largely dependent on whom one follows and by whom one is influenced.
"Brother Runsheng, just treat those movies on television as entertainment, don’t take them completely to heart, and certainly don’t imitate them for real."
"Eh?" Run Sheng, still immersed in his somber mood, was so startled he nearly dropped his incense. "Can’t watch TV anymore?"
"That’s not what I mean. You can watch whatever you want on the TV at home, but don’t get fully immersed in it. Brother Liangliang has said that society will only become more orderly and stable in the future. Violence and murder, they have no future."
In ancient times, many generals had fates like Run Sheng’s, but now, in peacetime, people with this kind of fate often easily stray onto the wrong path.
"Oh, alright, I’ll listen to you."
Run Sheng scratched his head, content as long as he wasn’t being forbidden to watch television. The scare made him hurriedly take another drag on the incense to calm his nerves.
Several police cars pulled up to the Jiang family’s doorstep, led by Tan Yunlong. He hadn’t yet gotten the chance to explain their presence when the people from the Jiang family came out on their own, opening the door and welcoming the police officers inside.
This surprised Tan Yunlong; reality was not like the TV shows where everyone was a smiling tiger harboring hidden agendas, especially in rural townships. New money types often liked to show their toughness in front of police even at the cost of stupidity, with no gains at stake, to project an image of bravado.
After entering, Tan Yunlong heard the Jiang family asking each other who had called the police. Only after explaining their purpose did Tan Yunlong learn that three days ago, Jiang Dongping, the man who had made the family’s fortune, had disappeared.
At first, his family hadn’t thought much of it since the Jiang family had several entertainment businesses in town, and it was common for him to socialize, with even overnight absences not unusual, assuming he had spent the night at some mistress’s place. Even Jiang Dongping’s wife could understand.
But the day before had been the Jiang family’s ancestral worship day, honoring the very grandfather who had raised Jiang Dongping, and yet Jiang Dongping had not returned.
They had searched for a whole day yesterday, and were still searching today. Seeing the police arrive, they even thought someone in the family had reported a disappearance.
Tan Yunlong’s brows furrowed. His first thought was that Jiang Dongping had fled to avoid criminal charges, but the reactions of the Jiang family didn’t support that theory. Besides, if he was fleeing, wouldn’t he have arranged his assets beforehand?
But he remembered why they were here; while ordering the pond to be cordoned off, he dispatched people to borrow a water pump from a nearby construction site.
The actions puzzled the Jiang family members, and some tried to intervene but were stopped by the officers.
Tan Yunlong took note of those who had tried to step forward to intervene.
The ornamental pond dug the day after was not very deep. It didn’t take long to drain, leaving only a shallow puddle of water and a large expanse of mud was exposed.
At the central position was a water jar.
Tan Yunlong approached, the jar was full of water, and inside was a large clump of yellow-white flocculent matter, reminiscent of glue, or like the jelly his son enjoyed eating.
"Come, help me lift this."
The jar was heavy, its base stuck to the mud. It took the combined strength of Tan Yunlong and several police officers to move it aside. He then took a shovel, pointed downwards:
Not even a meter down, a hand was uncovered.
The surrounding officers were stirred, and without being told, they immediately started securing the entire Jiang family residence, temporarily prohibiting anyone from leaving.
Only Tan Yunlong had a look of puzzlement in his eyes, for the hand was too fresh, not resembling one that had been buried for a long time.
And the hand even had a gold watch on it, glinting in the sunlight. Why hadn’t the person who buried him casually taken it?
However, at least they had indeed uncovered a body, and it was a dead one.
Though only a hand was visible, it was already indicative of the dire circumstances prior to death, as the hand was reaching upright, suggesting his main torso was even further below.