The matter was indeed not as easy as Hu Jia imagined. Qiao Huali was, after all, the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau. He sat there and only admitted his connection with the "Dao Ren" but refused to admit he was "Dao Liu Ye."
As subordinates, Hu Jia and others were not qualified to question him.
Finally, Xie Xi had to step in. "How do you explain the issue of the secret tunnel?"
"I've already said, I have no idea about the secret tunnel. Maybe the house had it before. You know I bought this house from someone else." Qiao Huali remained stubborn.
"Heh. Then can you explain the kidnapping of the police officer's family?" Xie Xi sneered.
"Kidnapping a police officer's family? Who was kidnapped?" Qiao Huali retorted.
"You didn't target my wife and son?" Xie Xi, thinking of the threats he had received, became furious.
"Mrs. Xie? And your kid? They were kidnapped?" Qiao Huali looked anxious. "Old Xie, I must say, with such a big incident in your family, why didn't you tell me? You still have time to interrogate me, hurry up and save them."
Hearing Qiao Huali say this, Xie Xi almost couldn't breathe from anger.
"I advise you not to talk nonsense. You planned and established the 'Dao Ren' organization, committed multiple murders, and sold police intelligence. The evidence for each case is conclusive. What else do you have to quibble about?" Xie Xi slammed the table. He hadn't handled a case in a long time and almost suffered a cerebral hemorrhage from this interrogation.
"Evidence? Show me the evidence. Have you found physical evidence or witnesses?" Qiao Huali looked disdainful. If the police really had evidence, how could they still be here, talking calmly with him? httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Emerging from the interrogation room, Xie Xi's face was ashen.
"It seems we must find Tong Meng. Only she can identify Qiao Huali's true identity now," Lü Qingqing said. Tong Meng had been missing for almost 10 days, and she suspected Tong Meng was in the hands of the "Dao Ren."
"No, I think it's more likely she escaped, or perhaps she met with misfortune," Hu Jia held a different opinion.
Firstly, Tong Meng appeared at Shanhu Ba that night. If Qiao Huali wanted her silenced, he wouldn't have involved her in such an important matter.
Secondly, if Tong Meng had fled on her own, Qiao Huali should have taken action against Tong Meng's home a few days ago. Why would he only set fire to the house now? This fully indicates that Qiao Huali was confident of controlling Tong Meng in the preceding days.
Now, when Qiao Huali burned down Tong Meng's residence, it was partly because he learned from Gao Liang that they were investigating Tong Meng, and secondly, because he had lost control of Tong Meng.
After listening to Hu Jia's analysis, Lü Qingqing agreed, "Then I think the possibility of her escaping is greater. If Qiao Huali had murderous intent towards her, he would have killed her long ago, not waited until now."
"So we should focus all our efforts on finding Tong Meng now," Ouyang Wen agreed with Lü Qingqing's analysis.
He had previously issued a warrant for Tong Meng only within the main urban area of Chongqing, but now he issued a region-wide warrant for her. Not even the countryside should be overlooked.
Leaving the office, Lü Qingqing made a phone call to Jiangjin. She informed Feng Si and Li Yongqiang that Qiao Huali had been apprehended and the "Dao Ren" organization had been wiped out. If they wished to return to the city, they could do so at any time.
Upon receiving Lü Qingqing's call, Feng Si didn't react much. For him, the past ten years of living like a hermit had already been a low point. Now, living a life of a farmer in a place with mountains and water, free from worry about food and clothing, was actually a kind of happiness.
However, Li Yongqiang could not suppress his desire to return home upon hearing this news. Firstly, he had grown accustomed to the comforts of city life. Secondly, and most importantly, he wanted to see the mastermind who had destroyed his family brought to justice.
...
Tong Meng woke up. The moment she opened her eyes, she thought she had died. After all, she had never seen such a dark ceiling before.
She was rescued by an old man and his grandson who lived in the mountains year-round. The black smoke from burning firewood had blackened the entire roof of their house.
"Mengmeng, have some mushroom soup," the old man said kindly. He always called her "Mengmeng," which reminded Tong Meng of her younger days.
In those years, her grandfather was still alive, and he treated her well. Her grandfather was like the pillar of the family; because he was there, the whole family was complete.
In those years, Tong Hua was still the brother in her heart. Her grandfather always said that siblings should help each other. When the sister got married, the brother would escort her, and when the brother was tired from work, the sister would bring him tea and water.
But her grandfather passed away, and within a few years, her brother also changed. Now, she had become a woman despised by everyone.
"Sister, these are the mushrooms Dou Dou picked this morning. They are fresh." Dou Dou was a cute little girl, only six years old. Because her parents had died early, she lived with her grandfather.
She always wore pigtails, and as she ran in the wind, her pigtails would sway, much like her younger self.
Tong Meng had been awake for ten days. Yet, these ten days had brought her more joy than she had experienced in the entire past year.
Every day, she would follow the grandfather and grandson up the mountain to pick mushrooms, sometimes go fishing in the stream, and sometimes pick wild vegetables with the little girl.
This was a kind of tranquility, and also a kind of peace.
Here, she didn't need to guard against anyone, nor scheme against anyone.
Here, she only needed to laugh heartily, only needed to watch the sunrise paint the mountains and forests with color.
Sometimes, Tong Meng thought, why not just live here forever? Far from disputes, far from disturbance.
But she knew she couldn't.
Let alone the police, even the assassins sent by Liu Ye, she couldn't escape.
Several times, Tong Meng wanted to leave early, but each time she couldn't bring herself to take that step. She always told herself, "Tomorrow, I'll leave tomorrow. I'll stay one more day."
But how many tomorrows were there?
Until she had spent another half a month in this small mountain hollow.
One day, a young man came to the mountains. He was a distant relative of the grandfather and grandson and would visit them every now and then.
"So, you don't know where you came from, and you don't know where you're going?" The young man was very interested in Tong Meng and talked with her for a long time.
Tong Meng was confident in her appearance. She felt that this young man had simply never seen a woman as beautiful as her.
"Brother Nanzhu, Sister Mengmeng said she fell down a cliff. Grandpa thinks she might have injured her head, that's why she can't remember things." Because of Hu Jia's amnesia, Tong Meng found an excuse without any hesitation. She simply said she couldn't remember anything, and that was that.
"Oh. Is that so? Listening to your accent, you should be from the city. How about I accompany you back to find your family?" The young man was very attentive.
"No need, I'll leave in a couple of days," Tong Meng politely declined.
"Alright, if there's anything you need my help with, just say the word." The young man was still trying hard to sell himself. "How about this, many things that girls need can't be bought in the mountains. Tomorrow, let's go to town."
Admittedly, the young man's suggestion struck a chord with Tong Meng. Indeed, after staying here for half a month, nearly twenty days, many of her essential female necessities were still unresolved.
"But..." Tong Meng hesitated. She was still very worried that Liu Ye's men were still looking for her.
"It's okay, you don't have money on you, right? I do. How expensive can girls' things be? I'll pay for everything," the young man said, patting his chest with great sincerity.
Seeing him like that, and thinking about her current situation, Tong Meng hesitated for a moment, then nodded.