Chapter 45: Advantage in the Southeast

County town. State-run restaurant!

Due to a heavy thunderstorm last night, the road leading to the county town had become somewhat muddy. The mule cart traveled rather slowly, causing Li Yi to arrive later than usual.

Just as he reached the entrance of the restaurant, Li Yi saw several people wearing olive-green uniforms walking out.

Taking a closer look, he was surprised to find that the one leading the group was none other than Wang Anguo.

Li Yi hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should greet him. After all, he had no idea if Wang Anguo was here on official business, and whether calling out to him casually might interfere with his work.

Just then, Wang Anguo took the initiative to walk toward him, calling out, "Brother Li Yi, we've been waiting for you for over an hour!"

"Oh, Captain Wang, are you here specifically waiting for me?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

"Yes!"

"Then please wait a moment. Let me finish delivering my goods first, and then we can chat!"

Before his voice had even faded, Liu Jingshan chimed in from the side, "Brother Li Yi, Captain Wang must have something urgent to discuss with you. I'll go weigh your goods, you two go ahead and talk!"

Li Yi did not refuse and simply smiled, saying, "Brother Liu, there is half a basket of monkey head mushrooms inside. Make sure you don't weigh them as ordinary mushrooms!"

"Don't worry, I won't shortchange you!"

"Hahaha!"

Amidst the laughter and banter, Li Yi followed Wang Anguo and another police officer into the restaurant, where they chose a relatively quiet spot to sit down.

Once the three of them were seated, Wang Anguo looked at Li Yi and asked, "Brother Li Yi, was what you said the other day true?"

"What words?" Li Yi asked, feigning ignorance.

"You said that if we couldn't solve that big trouble, we should come find you!" Wang Anguo said earnestly.

Instead of answering him, Li Yi glanced at the other police officer sitting beside them.

Wang Anguo immediately introduced him, "Let me introduce you. This is Li Gang, my deputy and also my brother who grew up with me. His grandfather is our county's most famous anti-Japanese war hero, Li Yunfei. You can completely trust him!"

Hearing Wang Anguo say that the young man in front of him was the grandson of the veteran hero Li Yunfei, Li Yi cast a careful glance at Li Gang. He looked much like the photographs printed in newspapers—the face of someone destined for a short life!

"Hello, I'm Li Gang. If we trace our lineage back a few generations, we might even be from the same family!" Li Gang said with a smile.

Li Yi looked at him, nodded, and said, "It is my honor to share a family name with Old Hero Li."

Afterward, Li Yi looked at Wang Anguo and said, "I know what you want to ask. Your fortune lies in the southeast!"

"Southeast?"

"Yes, trust my words and dig deep in that direction. You will definitely find what you are looking for!"

With that, Li Yi ignored Wang Anguo, stood up, and headed over to find Liu Jingshan.

Suddenly, Li Gang called out, "Brother Li Yi, for the sake of our shared family name, why don't you read my fortune as well?"

Li Yi looked at him and asked, "You want your fortune told?"

"Yes!"

"Five hundred yuan!"

"Ah? Why was it free for him, but costs money for me, even though we share the same family name?" Li Gang complained.

"Because I offered to read his fortune voluntarily, whereas you did not!"

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes."

"What difference?"

"You have to pay!"

"Paying is fine, but five hundred yuan is simply too expensive. Can't you lower the price a bit?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "I won't take this money now. If you find that my prediction comes true, it won't be too late to pay me then. However, you might not be happy with what I have to say!"

"Not at all, go ahead! If you really hit the mark, I'll smash my pots and sell my irons just to bring you the divination fee!" Li Gang declared.

"Sunken crown, connected eyebrows converging at the yintang. Shifty eyes with unfocused gaze, like someone half-drunk and irresolute, combined with the sanbai and sibai eye features, and breathing like a pig—at a glance, it is the physiognomy of someone with a short life span!"

Li Yi continued, "Furthermore, your destiny lacks water and is plagued by fire, and your name is far too rigid. You must remember that excessive rigidity easily breaks. Therefore, your death will be related to fire!"

Li Gang was dumbfounded, and Wang Anguo was equally stunned!

Just yesterday, he had teased Li Gang, joking that if Li Yi were to read his fortune, he would probably tell him that his yintang was shrouded in darkness and that he was doomed to suffer a bloody disaster.

Never had he expected Li Yi to bluntly declare that Li Gang possessed the physiognomy of a short-lived person, and even assert that his death would be linked to fire!

Those words were severe indeed. One could tell how terrible Li Gang's mood was simply from his current gloomy expression.

Li Yi paid him no mind and walked unhurriedly toward Liu Jingshan.

He had given the warning he needed to give. As for whether that kid would listen to him or not, that was beyond his control.

After all, Buddha only saves those with a predestined affinity, and a doctor cannot cure a terminal illness. All he could do was offer a reminder, nothing more.

Watching Li Yi walk away just like that, Li Gang was both furious and speechless. Fortune-telling was supposed to be just for fun; you say a few pleasant words, and if I am happy, I give you some money.

How on earth did things change when they reached this kid, who pointed right at his nose and called him doomed? What kind of nonsense was this!

If not for the promise he made to Wang Anguo last night not to resort to violence, he really would have wanted to slap this kid across the face right now!

"Look at this brat..."

Before Li Gang could finish, Wang Anguo smiled and said, "All right, he was just talking. Don't take it to heart. Besides, aren't you someone who doesn't believe in these things anyway?"

"I don't believe it, true, but hearing it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth!"

"Let's drop it. I was just thinking a moment ago that the southeastern direction really is the weak spot in our encirclement perimeter..."

Before his voice faded away, Li Gang said with a frown, "You surely aren't taking that kid's nonsense seriously, are you? In the southeastern direction, besides that mining area, there's nothing out there. What's more, our men searched the mining area on the very first day, and they didn't find a damn thing!"

"The mining area—yes, exactly the mining area!" Wang Anguo suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed.

"I've been thinking over the past few days: if I were a child trafficker, where would I hide those children to evade the searches of the police and armed police? Thinking it over again and again, no open-air location would work; any of them could lead to exposure. Only underground!"

Wang Anguo continued, "With so many children, an ordinary cellar definitely wouldn't work—it wouldn't take long before they suffocated from lack of oxygen. Now that I think about it, hiding people inside a mine shaft would be the most suitable choice!"

"By that logic, a mountain cave would work too!" Li Gang said.

"Heh, the chances of a mountain cave being exposed are much higher than a mine shaft. After all, mountain caves are usually uninhabited, and purchasing food and supplies in bulk is inconvenient."

Wang Anguo added, "But a mine shaft is different. Relying on the mining operation, they have plenty of legitimate reasons to procure supplies."

"That doesn't sound right either. Wouldn't the workers at the mine notice something was wrong?" Li Gang countered.

"What if those children were kidnapped by people from the mine itself?"

"This... could that be possible?" Li Gang said, finding it hard to believe.

"We are police officers; we must have the awareness and courage to make bold hypotheses! Let's go, let's head back to the detachment, gather our men, and immediately conduct a carpet search of those mining areas in the southeast!" Wang Anguo said in a deep voice.

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes, extremely necessary. I have a hunch that this time we might make a major discovery!"

With that, Wang Anguo grabbed Li Gang and hurried out of the state-run restaurant!