Street Hustler and His Policewoman Wife

Chapter 218 218: My Life Ends Today, Soul Gone, Corpse Remains Long

Why is Huang Zhao so familiar with Jiang Anguang's affairs?

The reason is simple: many people may not understand Huang Zhao's medical skills.

But as a peer and a fellow local, Jiang Anguang is surely more aware.

When his wife sought medical treatment repeatedly out of guilt, naturally she would also find Huang Zhao.

Over time, Huang Zhao became familiar with them.

But who is this Duoduo that Huang Zhao suddenly mentioned?

It sounds like a child's name!

Xie Wensheng quickly asked, "Old doctor, who is this Duoduo you mentioned?"

"It's not someone, it's a dog. When Jiang Anguang and his wife came looking for me before, the dog always followed. Qin Ling said they found the stray dog on the street many years ago and named it Duoduo after bringing it home."

"Just a dog?" Xie Wensheng looked shocked, even showing disappointment in his eyes.

But the more subconsciously disappointed he was, the more nervous Chen Xiao became.

"Is that dog named Duoduo very important to Jiang Anguang?"

"I can't say for sure, but whenever I encountered Jiang Anguang in the park, he would always be walking Duoduo. Perhaps it was the companion and memory Qin Ling left for him after she left. But it's been a long time since I saw Duoduo, ever since I left Shencheng City a while ago; it has probably been a month or two!"

Huang Zhao continued speaking to himself.

Chen Xiao also said to the suddenly pale Xie Wensheng, "Captain Xie, disaster often comes from careless words!"

Xie Wensheng's eyes widened, then he quickly picked up his phone and called his subordinates.

If Huang Zhao's words about companionship and memory no longer disappointed Xie Wensheng,

Then Chen Xiao's reminder of disaster coming from careless words made Xie Wensheng feel like he had a sudden realization!

He continued instructing his subordinates to thoroughly investigate the matter between Jiang Anguang and the garbage station.

After the instructions, Xie Wensheng approached Chen Xiao and said, "It seems we must find Jiang Anguang now!"

Chen Xiao nodded.

Xie Wensheng apologized to Huang Zhao and then headed toward Jiang Anguang's Chinese medicine clinic.

When they arrived, the clinic's door was wide open.

Chen Xiao and Xie Wensheng walked in. The clinic was quiet, and no one responded after several calls.

Xie Wensheng hurried upstairs to search, while Chen Xiao went to the medicine cabinet.

There were five types of Chinese medicine prominently placed on the counter.

The first one: Malachite, also known as Konggongshi, sweet and warm in nature.

The second one: Caragana sinica, from the legume family, bitter in taste.

The third one: Fritillaria thunbergii var. chekiangensis, slightly aromatic, bitter in taste.

The fourth one: Piper Wallichii, spicy and warm in nature.

The fifth one: Mezoneuron Cucullatum.

Looking at these five types of medicine, Chen Xiao couldn't help but frown.

He looked at the open door, symbolizing welcoming visitors.

But Jiang Anguang was not in the shop, and Xie Wensheng, who went upstairs to look, came down too.

Seeing his expression, it was obvious that Jiang Anguang was missing.

The entire clinic was spotlessly clean, except for the five types of medicine on the counter in front of the medicine cabinet.

This made Chen Xiao ponder if this was another kind of hint?

Xie Wensheng came over and, seeing Chen Xiao deep in thought while looking at the five types of medicine, couldn't help but pick them up to examine.

"He's not in the shop, and we don't know where he went. I even called the number left at the clinic's entrance, but I found the phone upstairs."

As he spoke, Xie Wensheng took out a phone. Chen Xiao glanced at it and replied, "I suspect this is another riddle. He wants us to keep guessing."

"How do we guess? Malachite, Caragana sinica, Fritillaria, Piper Wallichii, Mezoneuron Cucullatum; regardless of the origin or properties, they're entirely different."

There was no urgency in Xie Wensheng's tone, but he was full of confusion.

Chen Xiao did not respond.

Instead, he began to write each medicine name down on paper.

A good memory is no match for a bad pen. Writing things down is often more direct and clearer than just thinking them over in your mind!

Chen Xiao looked at the fifteen characters he wrote down, as if talking to himself:

"Jiang Anguang had deep connections with Xiong Ruru and them, and he also had a stray dog named Duoduo given to him by his deceased wife. But Duoduo hasn't been seen for about a month or two, and all of them had a large meal before their deaths. Of them, Hu Caixia and Wu Rui had their mouths smashed."

"From the connections, to the timing, to the special site of Red Maple Lake Primary School, all lead us to suspicion of Jiang Anguang. Now the clinic's door is open, meant to welcome customers, but the owner is absent, leaving behind these few medicines."

"And the killer had a habit of leaving blatant hints in their crime. Xiong Ruru's 'Patience' pointed to Renxin Bridge, Xue Xiangdi's identity card pointed to Yaoxi, and the final salute pointed to Red Maple Lake Primary School. So, if Jiang Anguang is indeed the killer, these five medicines' meanings should also be superficial."

"The surface is in their names, so how do we combine these five names into a hint that's not so easy to discover, yet quite plain once seen?"

Upon saying this, Chen Xiao then separated each character of the five medicine names and began writing them down individually.

As he wrote, Chen Xiao suddenly looked at Xie Wensheng and said, "Captain Xie, do you think it could be 'Southeast Fly the Peacocks'?"

"Uh, a poem?"

"I'm not highly educated, but Captain Xie, you've likely read many books. Could you read 'Southeast Fly the Peacocks' aloud for me to listen?" Chen Xiao asked, and Xie Wensheng rolled his eyes in response:

"Do you want my life? Do you know how many words are there in 'Southeast Fly the Peacocks'? One or two thousand! You want me to recite it?"

Chen Xiao felt a bit awkward: "I only know one line, 'Hang myself on the southeast branch.'"

"Wander below the courtyard tree, hang myself on the southeast branch. Wait, the line before that seems to be 'My life ends today, soul gone while body remains!' Damn, Jiang Anguang is telling us he plans to end his life today, and 'Southeast Fly the Peacocks' is all about the tragic love story of Jiao Zhongqing and his wife Liu Lanzhi in the Eastern Han Dynasty!"

Now Xie Wensheng began to panic.

If, after all the painstaking effort to investigate, the killer ends up committing suicide, then both Chen Xiao and Xie Wensheng, as well as the entire criminal investigation team, would become a joke!

Moreover, if Jiang Anguang died, even if there was evidence proving he was the killer, the public might still question such a conclusion!

Therefore, Jiang Anguang must not die!

"I need to quickly arrange people to find him before he does anything to himself, or else there will be no way to explain this!"

As he spoke anxiously, just as he was about to make a call, Chen Xiao suddenly grabbed his hand and pointed to the wall above the medicine cabinet.

"Captain Xie, calm down. Look at the clock on the wall; its hands haven't moved!"

Following Chen Xiao's finger direction, Xie Wensheng noticed that indeed, the clock on the wall hadn't moved its hands at all.

The hour, minute, and second hands all pointed to the same time: 6:13!

Chen Xiao took the wall clock down and immediately saw the battery had been removed.

This discovery made him say, "It's very possible this is the time Jiang Anguang left for us to find him, and since we met this morning, plus the phrase 'My life ends today, soul gone while body remains' signifies a fatal message for today, this 6:13 probably represents today at dusk!"

"But why would it be this time?"

"I think it might have something to do with his wife? Perhaps that's when his wife passed away!"