Silent Reading by Priest - Book 1

Chapter 17: Julien XVI

The short, sharp cry for help had passed through the speaker, puncturing the dining hall's quiet. Even Fei Du, sitting across, had heard it. Luo Wenzhou called back, but the call wouldn't connect.

Though it had only been a brief sound, Luo Wenzhou had still been able to recognize it as the black cab driver Chen Zhen.

Chen Zhen had reported Wang Hongliang because of the phone call he'd overheard Chen Yuan make, as well as some seemingly unsubstantiated guesses; from start to finish he'd produced no concrete evidence.

There was no telling whether Chen Yuan hadn't left anything behind because she'd been afraid of burdening her brother, or whether, having silenced her, Wang Hongliang had gone in under the guise of "cracking down on drugs" and removed all the clues. At any rate, all Luo Wenzhou had gotten from Chen Zhen had been his sister's old photo album.

When they'd parted, Luo Wenzhou had distinctly felt the young man's dissatisfaction and had purposefully enjoined him: "Don't go blabbing about things there's no evidence for, and especially don't go looking for evidence yourself. If you remember something, give me a call any time.-Even if you endanger yourself to find some evidence, it may be of no use. We won't necessarily think it will lead to anything."

Luo Wenzhou had thought he'd covered both the emotional and the logical aspects, which should have been enough to keep that brat Chen Zhen well-behaved. But not a full day later, he'd gotten into trouble.

Luo Wenzhou at once pushed the plate of shelled shrimp towards Fei Du. "You go ahead and finish eating. When you're done, clean up the plates yourself. I've got something to take care of, so I'll be off."

Fei Du didn't say that this was fine or that it wasn't. He slowly poked open a box of lemon-flavored black tea and drank a mouthful; he felt it was both sour and bitter, really not suitable for human consumption, so he tossed it aside and thoughtfully watched the hurriedly departing Luo Wenzhou on his way out.

Luo Wenzhou had Chen Zhen's contact information, but the number that had called him just now had been totally unfamiliar. As he drove swift as the wind towards the Flower Market District, he gave Director Lu a call.

"Uncle Lu, it's me, it's an emergency, I don't have time to submit a request for clearance, can you think of a way to locate two phone numbers for me?"

Despite getting a call out of nowhere after getting off work, Director Lu was unsurprised. "What numbers? Where are you?"

Luo Wenzhou rapidly told him Chen Zhen's number and the unfamiliar number from earlier.

Director Lu jotted them down. Before hanging up, he asked, "What's going on with you right now? Can you guarantee your safety?"

"Safety is your humble servant's middle name." Luo Wenzhou gave an inscrutable laugh, then turned the steering wheel and left Nanping Road, headed right into the West District.

The night had turned sultry without any warning; the summer heat was oppressive. Birds occasionally hurtled daringly through the sea of cars, almost skimming the ground, hinting that a rainstorm was about to strike.

Friday's evening rush hour regularly lasted longer than usual, but luckily this was the last day of the traffic restriction. The city center was warming up for the weekend. The enormous outdoor Canopy of Heaven unfolded, dazzling the eye with its scrolling LEDs. These nighttime lights relentlessly pursued all the people coming and going and crossed over the wide road to flash over Luo Wenzhou's car, ceasing hostilities only when he had thoroughly wound his way into the complicated streets of the West District.

Director Lu was both orderly and reliable; not much time had passed when a technician returned Luo Wenzhou's call-Chen Zhen's phone had been located near the West District's West Guanjing Street. The unfamiliar number's position was close by; it was registered under a real name: it belonged to a woman named Wu Xuechun.