Card Room

Chapter 80 - Extremely Quick Train 13: The Second Death

The 6th carriage’s case had been solved.

In order to confirm it, Yu Hanjiang called Liu Yuming and asked him if Shu Ping went into Room 2 in the early hours of the morning to steal Li Zhemin’s insulin. Liu Yuming was worried for a moment but he probably knew he couldn’t hide it anymore and had to nod. “Yes, I saw Shu Ping opened the door and take something from Old Li’s bag…”

Yu Hanjiang asked, “Apart from taking the things from the bag, did she touch Old Li’s bed?”

Liu Yuming was very certain. “No, she just took the bag from the luggage rack and then put the bag back.”

Yu Hanjiang asked, “What about Mrs Mei? Did she go to Room 2?”

Liu Yuming was silent for a moment before bowing his head. “Yes.”

“Did you see what she came in to do?”

Liu Yuming took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly. “It was too dark and I didn’t see what she was doing. Just based on the sounds she made, she seemed to have opened Li Zhemin’s quilt and clothes, looking for something on Li Zhemin’s body….”

This testimony was enough to determine that it was Mrs Mei who killed Li Zhemin.

Yu Hanjiang called Zheng Weiguo again. This gambler was probably at ease after swallowing the note last night and fell asleep. he didn’t hear the follow-up movements. Niu Dapeng next door also said he didn’t hear anything.

Liu Yuming and Shu Ping were witnesses to Mrs Mei killing Li Zhemin. Her fingerprints on the syringe and insulin were physical evidence. Although Yu Hanjiang knew hat Shu Ping was involved, there was a confession and Shu Ping insisted that she only bought the insulin for Mrs Mei. She didn’t know Mrs Mei’s plan and the police had no way to arrest her.

He returned everyone to their rooms and Yu Hanjiang frowned as he fell into contemplation.

Xiao Lou asked softly, “How did we choose for this case? Do we need to catch Aunt Ping as well?”

From an emotional point of view, Xiao Lou didn’t want to catch Shu Ping. She had been badly hurt by Li Zhemin and not to mention, Mrs Mei had protected Shu Ping at the last moment, personally taking on all the blame. However, from an objective point of view, Shu Ping was the one who planned everything.

Yu Hanjiang replied in a low voice, “We all know that Shu Ping is an accomplice but there is no physical evidence. The testimony of several witnesses is also favourable to her. Yu Xinxin only saw her shadow and this could be explained as her looking for her earrings. Zheng Weiguo heard her and Mrs Mei chatting and this could be explained as Shu Ping giving her insulin to Mrs Mei. Liu Yuming proved that she went to Room 2 to steal insulin but didn’t attack.”

These testimonies linked together could only prove that Shu Ping stole Li Zhemin’s insulin in the middle of the night. The murderer was Mrs Mei.

Xiao Lou wondered, “Group Leader Yu, does this mean we only need to catch Mrs Mei?

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “The person who directly led to Li Zhemin’s death was here. The murderer we need to catch should be her.”

Xiao Lou sighed with relief and smiled. “I thought you would catch Aunt Ping.”

“There is no actual evidence that Shu Ping is a murderer. Mrs Mei is a smart person and should be the one who guided Shu Ping to steal the insulin. It is because many people have found her actions. If she doesn’t have a reason then it would be hard to explain why she was up for so long in the middle of the night. Furtively stealing the insulin is the best reason to fill all the holes.”

Yu Hanjiang added, “Losing two lives for a scum like Li Zhemin, I also feel it is worthless.”

Xiao Lou agreed. “Then we will let Shu Ping go. In any case, there is insufficient evidence and we can’t catch her. Mrs Mei has decided to take responsibility and resist everything so… we should satisfy the old lady’s last wish before she dies.”

Yu Hanjiang nodded.

A prompt appeared on the floating boxes in front of the two men at the same time.

[The murderer who killed Li Zhemin in the 6th carriage is: A. Old Lady Mei, B. Shu Ping, C. Niu Dapeng, D. Zheng Weiguo, E. Liu Yuming. Please select the murderer and lock the murderer in the security room of the 9th carriage. Wait for the train to arrive and hand the murderer over to the police.]

Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou chose Option A together. This option proved that clearing 4 of Hearts didn’t require all the people involved in the murder to be caught. It was enough to catch the person who did it.

The two men walked out of the office and into Room 1. Mrs Mei was packing up. Seeing that Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou were coming over, the passengers consciously cleared the corridor for them.

Yu Hanjiang requested in a low voice. “Aunt Mei, come with us.”

Mrs Mei looked at them. “Wait two minutes for me. I have something to account for.”

She divided the food in her bag to the rest of Room 1 and handed the photo in her pocket to Shu Ping, gently shaking Shu Ping’s hand. Realizing that this old lady was leaving, Shu Ping’s eyes were full of tears as she refused to let go.

Mrs Mei smiled. “It’s okay, your daughter will be fine and you have to live well. You are only 60 now and the most beautiful old lady I have every soon. It is enough to live to at least 80 years, you know?”

Shu Ping nodded while sobbing.

Liu Yuming turned to look out the window while holding back his tears. Other people didn’t know what was going on and asked, “What happened to Sister Mei? Why are the train attendants taking her away?”

“Sister Mei?”

Mrs Mei waved her hand to the crowd and smiled. “It’s fine. My legs aren’t good and the two attendants are kind enough to let me go to a spacious place to rest for a while.”

She turned and told Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou, “Let’s go.”

Xiao Lou gently held her. The others wanted to stop him but were blocked by Mrs Mei. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou took her to the security room of the 9th carriage.

Behind her, the group of elderly people watched her leave. The old back was hunched over but every step was firm and calm. It was because she knew this would all end. Shu Ping, Shu Xiaomeng and Li Mo would all start a new life. As for her, she was always going to die. There was no difference from being killed in the hospital by bone cancer and being shot at the execution site.

To put it bluntly, it was easier to be shot. The doctor said that for bone cancer patients, chemotherapy could be very painful. She was afraid of pain.

The sun was shining outside the window. Mrs Mei stared at it and her face finally showed a smile of relief.

***

In the 6th carriage, Mrs Mei left and the atmosphere of the entire tour group was a bit depressed. The old people no longer spoke and watched in silence as Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou took Mrs Mei away, followed by them returning to take Li Zhemin’s body away.

The conductor said that the body in the carriage would affect the passengers. Since the case had been solved, the body of Li Zhemin should be moved to the 9th carriage for temporary storage. The police would take him away at the next station.

The train conductor had contacted the police at the next station. Once the train arrived, the body, the murderer and all the suspects would be taken away by the police.

Originally, the secret room settings meant the police would come after the train arrived at the terminal. It was just that Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang finished the task ahead of them. Then the first case would be handed over to the police this evening.

It was lunchtime when everything was settled. The group of elderly people started to eat but everyone seemed to have little appetite.

Mo Jiaran could finally run back to the 4th carriage. Previously, the carriage door was locked and she couldn’t get out. She had been a mess in her room and kept sending messages to her boyfriend. She ran back the moment the body was taken away and the carriage released.

Zhao Zheng held her hand and found it terribly cold. He immediately comforted her softly, “It’s fine. Don’t be afraid.”

Yue Xiaoquan saw her pale face and was concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Mo Jiaran lowered her voice and explained, “An old man in the 6th carriage died. Just now, the attendants finally removed his body. I listened to the group of elderly people and it seemed this old man had died of a heart attack…”

Only a few case-related people knew Li Zhemin’s real cause of death. The others were still confused and said that Li Zhemin suffered from a heart attack. Therefore, the version that Mo Jiaran heard was that an old man had died of a sudden heart attack.

Yue Xiaoquan asked, “A heart attack?”

Mo Jiaran had an ugly expression as she nodded. “I think so. I heard that the old man had coronary heart disease and a stent surgery.”

Yue Xiaoquan analyzed, “It could also be a sudden rupture of the artery in the heart.”

The two medical students actually analyzed the cause of death of the old man next door…

Zhao Quan interrupted them. “A 60 or 70 year old person having an accident while travelling isn’t rare. Don’t talk about this and let’s have dinner first.”

Mo Jiaran also didn’t want to continue talking about this matter and nodded. “Meeting this type of thing in the morning was my bad luck. I didn’t have time to wash or eat anything for breakfast. I’m starving to death…”

Zhao Zheng held her hand in comfort. “I wronged you. I’ll treat you to a good meal at noon.”

The four people set off for the restaurant, ordered several expensive dishes and ate a delicious meal. 8F’s Jing Weiguang took the initiative to run to the 6th carriage and asked Xiao Lou, “I heard that there was an accident in the 6th carriage. I am a doctor. Do you need any help?”

The doctor NPC seemed to be idle for a long time and finally couldn’t bear it anymore. He ran over to ask if his help was needed.

Xiao Lou smiled. “No, things have been resolved.”

Jing Weiguang scratched the back of his head, expression a bit shy. “You really don’t need help?”

Yu Hanjiang thought, ‘Professor Xiao is much more professional than you. He did a direct on-site autopsy and determined the cause of death.’

He said, “Thank you, there is no need.”

Jing Weiguang let out an ‘oh’ sound and turned back to the 4th carriage, continuing to cook instant noodles to eat.

***

Nothing happened in the afternoon. The passengers of the 6th carriage didn’t leave their rooms and the corridor was empty. Yu Hanjiang was happy and went to the 4th carriage to have a leisurely lunch with Xiao Lou.

Yu Hanjiang frowned. “The case of the 6th carriage has been resolved but the 4th carriage still has so many people. They shouldn’t be simple plot characters. I have a bad feeling… there might be more dead people.”

“You mean, the next one to die will probably be in the 4th carriage?”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “The two couples are currently completely useless. The group of five girlfriends might have a connection with Shu Ping’s daughter, Shu Xiaomeng and let us smoothly infer the clues about Shu Xiaomeng but I think… their role isn’t so little. Perhaps it isn’t finished.”

Xiao Lou agreed with Yu Hanjiang. “Next, we have to focus on the 4th carriage.” He tidied up the list of arrivals he previously made and said, “There are only 12 people heading to the terminal in the 4th carriage. The couples group, Dr Jing Weiguang, the five girlfriends group and two individual people going to the concert.”

Yu Hanjiang reminded him, “Tonight, the train will stop at the station at 9:40. New characters might board.”

Xiao Lou nodded. “Yes, I will pay close attention.”

Nothing happened in the afternoon and no abnormalities were found at dinner time.

It wasn’t until the clock on the train’s LCD screen changed to 21:20 that the familiar sound of the broadcast was heard.

The gentle voice spoke slowly, “Passengers, the train will arrive at Cangzhou Station in 10 minutes. All passengers who need to get off, please prepare your luggage in advance and take care of the elderly and the children. Please get off at the right door. The train will stop at Cangzhou Station for 15 minutes. Please pay attention to this time while on the platform. I wish you a pleasant journey!”

After the broadcasts, the passengers started to pack their bags and Yu Hanjiang also returned to the 6th carriage.

At 21:30, the train roared as the KP-7311 train stopped at the station on time.

The police officers who received a message from the conductor were waiting at the station in advance. They took the body of the deceased, handcuffed Old Lady Mei and brought all the members of the tour group back to investigate.

The leading police officer came over to shake the hands of Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou. “Thank you for assisting in the investigation.”

Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou politely completed the handover with them.

The moment the police left, the doors opened and the passengers started to line up in an orderly manner to get off. The child Yu Xinxin came to Xiao Lou and asked curiously, “Uncle, did you catch the thief in the 6th carriage?”

Xiao Lou smiled. “We caught the thief.”

Yu Xinxin happily waved at him. “Uncle, goodbye!”

Xiao Lou gently rubbed the child’s head. “Goodbye.”

The family of five left and a large number of casual passengers also got off the station.

Xiao Lou found that four people were waiting to get on the train. There was a professional woman in a suit and a skirt, two university female students dressed simply and a young man with a travel bag and clear eyes.

Xiao Lou checked the tickets and asked, “Are you going to the City of the Moon to see the concert?”

The professional woman replied lightly, “I am going to a meeting.”

The two female students shook their heads. “We are going on a trip.”

The teenager was surprised. “Do you know about the concert? Luo Yan is my goddess!” It seemed he hadn’t meant to say so much. He scratched the back of his head and blushed. “I have always liked to listen to her songs for many years. I saved up several months of pocket money to buy this. Brother, do you like Goddess Luo Yan as well?”

Xiao Lou hadn’t heard of the singer and smiled. “I don’t listen to songs very much but there are many people on the train going to her concert.”

The teenager was very excited. “Is that so? It seems there are many like-minded people. My goddess is really charming.”

Xiao Lou quietly checked the ticket and paid special attention to his name, Xu Junkai.

The four people got on the train and Zhao Zheng’s group also came over. “Hello, I saw that the elderly tour group on the 6th carriage got off. There must be many empty beds. Can we make up the difference to go to the sleeper carriage?”

Xiao Lou turned to Yu Hanjiang and asked, “How many empty beds do you have?”

“Just now, a group of university professors attending a meeting boarded. The conductor said that many people in carriages 1 and 2 also changed their berths. At present… there is only one bed empty and it is opposite to Mo Jiaran.”

Zhao Zheng’s eyes lit up. “Great, we will make up the difference in price and change to that sleeper.”

Yu Hanjiang nodded and accepted the gold coins.

The 15 minutes passed quickly. The two people returned to the carriage and Zhao Quan helped his girlfriend Yue Xiaoquan carry her luggage. Zhao Quan also helped Mo Jiaran carry a box and the four people walked to the 6th carriage while chatting.

Yue Xiaoquan looked at her boyfriend. “It actually doesn’t matter to me if I sleep on a hard seat since I can still sleep well. Or shall we take turns? I will sleep until the middle of the night and then switch with you?”

Zhao Quan looked at her gently. “You are a girl. There is no need to take turns. Have a good rest.”

Mo Jiaran heard up to here and glanced at Zhao Zheng. “Do you need to take turns?”

Zhao Zheng immediately stood upright. “No no no, the sleeper carriage is given to the two of you. My brother and I don’t care and can sleep in the hard seats.

Despite this, Mo Jiaran still wasn’t happy. “Next time, remember to buy tickets in advance and you won’t need to suffer.”

Zhou Zheng’s face was full of flattery. “Yes, I will write it down.”

They escorted their girlfriends to the 6th carriage before the brothers spoke a few words and turned away.

Mo Jiaran and Yue Xiaoquan put their luggage away. The time was still early and they couldn’t sleep. They didn’t talk much and just played with their mobile phones.

Yu Hanjiang gave them a puzzled look.

The two girls were in the 6th sleeper carriage. Then was it one of the two men who would encounter an accident?

***

In the 4th carriage, the brothers Zhao Quan and Zhao Zheng sat together. Jing Weiguang sat in two seats, 8D and 8F by himself. It was very spacious.

Xu Junkai, the teenager who just got on the train, sat just above the group of girlfriends. Seeing that the group of five were also going to the concert, Xu Junkai immediately started to chat with them This guy’s flirting technique was first-class. They talked about the goddess’ debut album to her recent album. The more they talked, the livelier they became. Soon, they were adding each other on WeChat.

Xiao Lou pricked his ears to listen to their discussion.

Xu Junkai and the girls talked together until the broadcast sounded at 10 o’clock. “Passengers, it is late at night. Our train is about to turn off the lights. Please rest as soon as possible. Goodnight…”

A familiar prompt was heard in Xiao Lou’s ears. “All train crew, please return to the 9th carriage as soon as possible to rest.”

If the challengers couldn’t solve the case in a day, Li Zhemin’s body would be left in the 9th carriage and they would need to sleep with the body for a night. Fortunately, they solved the case fast enough. The case in the 6th carriage was over yet they didn’t see the clearance prompt. This meant something else would happen.

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang didn’t sleep. They lay on the upper bed and lower bed to chat.

Yu Hanjiang said, “There is nothing unusual about Yue Xiaoquan and Mo Jiaran who changed to the sleeper carriage. They have been watching a TV series on their phone and then went to sleep at 10 o’clock. The new passengers and passengers who changed from other carriages are all going to a meeting. I don’t doubt them.”

Xiao Lou added, “I have a young man called Xu Junkai who is more high-profile. He is going to the concert and kept chatting with the female group. This little guy is very popular with girls and made the female friends keep laughing. No other passengers are abnormal.”

Yu Hanjiang frowned slightly. “Unfortunately, we are restricted from moving. We can’t leave the 9th carriage. Let’s go to sleep first and we can talk more tomorrow.”

Xiao Lou smiled. “Yes, goodnight Group Leader Yu.”

Yu Hanjiang’s voice was low. “Goodnight.”

***

The next morning, the two people were awakened by the familiar alarm.

After washing up and eating breakfast, they rushed to the 6th carriage. Everything was normal in this carriage. Mo Jiaran and Yue Xiaoquan were washing their faces together. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou glanced at each other and headed to the 4th carriage.

The 4th carriage looked very calm. Xiao Lou glanced around and saw some people lining up to wash their faces. The group of five female friends were still sleeping and hadn’t woken up yet. Xu Junkai was waiting at the door of a toilet and there were several people in line behind him.

The two toilets at the end of the carriage had a red light, showing they were occupied.

It was early in the morning and many people went to the toilet. A queue for the toilet was normal. It was just that with the left toilet, someone constantly came out and went in. Everyone who went to the toilet was probably urinating and took no more than one minute.

The toilet on the right…

For the last 10 minutes, it had been in an occupied state.

Xu Junkai was lined up on the right side and he was a bit impatient. The teenager gently knocked on the door of the toilet. “Buddy, can you hurry. I am anxious!”

There was no sound from inside. Xu Junkai continued to knock on the door. “Do you have a bad stomach? Hurry up, there are many people waiting outside!”

Xiao Lou suddenly looked surprised and glanced back at Yu Hanjiang. It was wrong. Yu Hanjiang’s sharp eyes swept across the carriage. The brothers in the 8th row were missing.

Xiao Lou immediately headed to the train attendant’s office. He pulled open the drawer and his keen eyes found that the key had been moved! The key to the toilet was still in place. When Xiao Lou left last night, the teeth of the keys were to the left but now it was facing the right.

Xiao Lou’s back was cold. He picked up the key and turned to open the toilet. Yu Hanjiang directly cleared the road. “Please go to the toilet in the 6th carriage. This toilet might be broken. Please let us look at it.”

The people in the nearby queue were all chased away by him. Then Xiao Lou used the key to open the bathroom door.

There was blood all over the bathroom! Zhao Quan was half-lying on the ground, clothes in disarray and his body completely cold and stiff.

His death was extremely tragic. He was stabbed many times with a knife so that there was almost no intact skin. The key was that his little brother was directly cut off and thrown into the trash. A common white towel covered his mouth and the man’s eyes were staring like he couldn’t believe the other person had actually killed him.

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang let out a cold breath.

The dead Li Zhemin’s face had been serene, as if he died in the most beautiful dream. On the other hand, Zhao Quan’s death was cruel. The pain he experienced was no less than the palace torture and he was castrated!