A Sand Sculpture in the Red Dust - Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – A Bait

　　Watching Li Xiangfu being taken away, You Fang’s heart almost fell into an ice cellar.

　　Second brother?

　　During the few days they spent in the ancient village, he never heard Li Xiangfu mention this person. He even observed him specifically in the car and found that he had no contact with strangers.

　　The phone vibrates, another text message comes:

　　[Where is the person?]

　　You Fang’s eyes flickered, and he had no choice but to explain the situation truthfully. In the end, he did not forget to defend himself: [Qin Jin was sick. The last day of the event was also the time when everyone was most relaxed. I was just one step away. Who would have thought that he, an adult, would bring his family with him when he went out!]

　　After sending the message, there was no response for a long time, so You Fang hurriedly called, but the phone was turned off.

　　He shuddered suddenly.

　　Bang!

　　Maybe he was influenced by Li Xiangfu, but You Fang was now full of a sense of crisis. He turned around stiffly and found that it was just a small stone blown by the wind. He couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

　　The boss was busy in the kitchen, You Fang glared at the drunk judge Fang, cursing his bad luck. There were few places in the village with surveillance cameras, and once Li Xiangfu disappeared, the judge who wanted to take advantage of him would be the most obvious suspect.

　　What a pity for having such a ready-made scapegoat.

　　A hand appeared out of nowhere and gently patted his shoulder. You Fang jumped up in shock. When he saw who it was, he asked in surprise, “Judge Darren?”

　　The foreign judge did not have his usual smile and said bluntly: “Take me to see the person who contacted you.”

　　•|•

　　The conspiracy passes by, but the villain stays away from you.

　　Li Xiangfu put this into practice personally, dragging his feet and falling on the bed.

　　Li Anqing saw that he was like this and probably didn’t even know that he had been moved away at night, so he prepared to go over and sleep on the floor. As soon as he turned around, he heard a crisp sound, and when he looked back, he found that the glass was broken all over the floor.

　　Shaking his head, he went out to find a broom, but before he got too far, he heard the noise again, but this time it was a scream.

　　Li Anqing frowned and quickly turned back.

　　There was another person in the room, sitting on the floor, his hands covered in blood, howling non-stop. The glass that was originally on the floor had been glued vertically to the gap in the window sill at some point.

　　Li Xiangfu drunkenly showed off the super glue he carried with him, and waved his long arm to command: “There’s a flower thief, report to the police!”

　　After tying up the intruder who was about to burst into tears, Li Anqing called the police. While waiting, he walked in front of Li Xiangfu, bent over and forced him to look at him: “Are you really drunk or just pretending to be drunk…”

　　Before he finished asking, Li Xiangfu’s shoulder twitched: “I feel a little uncomfortable.”

　　After saying that, he grabbed him and started retching without any warning.

　　Li Anqing looked unusually unhappy.

　　‘…Now I can be sure that he is really drunk.’

　　The first person to arrive was not the police, but Qin Jin. When Judge Darren informed him that he followed You Fang to the village entrance but did not see anyone, Qin Jin had a vague sense of something and rushed over to see if Li Xiangfu had any trouble.

　　Li Anqing stood up straight: “You came at the right time.”

　　Even half a minute earlier, the drunkard might have retched on someone else.

　　1:30 am, police station.

　　The police officer took the statement with a complicated look on his face, and looked at Li Xiangfu with a puzzled look: Why is it you? Why is it you again?

　　Qin Jin had other things to attend to and did not come along. Judge Darren played the role of a hero and pointed at You Fang who was under supervision and said a lot of things, saying that You Fang’s behavior in the team was very strange and that he deliberately gave the contestants alcohol that day, etc.

　　You Fang said nothing throughout the whole process and suddenly felt that he was involved in a huge conspiracy.

　　He once had some achievements, but his gambling hobby left him in a lot of debt. He tried to win the special prize, but was eliminated in the first round. When he was at his wits’ end, someone suddenly pointed out a way out. How could he not be tempted?

　　When the police interrogated him with a photo of the intruder in the house, You Fang was in tears: “I don’t know if it was him. We usually communicated through text messages.”

　　This was totally unconvincing, and the policeman slammed the table and said, “You dare to help kidnap someone just and you don’t even know who sent you a text message?”

　　You Fang said quickly: “One night I heard a knock on the door, but I didn’t see anyone when I went out. There was a handbag at the door…”

　　His voice got lower and lower until it was almost inaudible: “There was 200,000 yuan in cash and a cell phone in the bag.”

　　”Where’s the money?”

　　When You Fang explained where he hid the money, Li Xiangfu suddenly jumped up and asked, “Where’s the flower thief?”

　　The policeman’s eyelids jumped, and he said to Li Anqing: “Take the man back to sober up first.”

　　The policeman really admired Li Xiangfu’s good luck. He was able to escape danger even while being drunk.

　　Li Xiangfu stopped swaying his body and pointed at You Fang: “He’s not leaving?”

　　Li Anqing said coldly: “I guess he will be locked up for a long time.”

　　Li Xiangfu stretched out a finger and waved it at You Fang: “You… are too incapable of protecting yourself…”

　　You Fang felt a fishy-sweet taste in his throat, and for the first time he understood what it meant to be on the verge of vomiting blood from anger.

　　•|•

　　Tianxi Ancient Village is bustling again.

　　A few years ago, the provincial TV station once did an activity of visiting ancient villages, but the response was mediocre, so it had to be cancelled and broadcasted as a variety show. These days, because of a certain tourist, reporters came again in a short period of time.

　　She stood in front of the owner’s house with a microphone in hand and said to the camera: “Remember Mr. Li, who was almost kidnapped for watching a striptease and is also an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage? Just yesterday, he encountered another serious kidnapping case…”

　　Li Xiangfu did not accept the interview this time, but reporters still conducted one-on-one questions and answers with relevant personnel, such as the homeowner, police officers, and criminal suspects.

　　The interview with the suspect was the highlight, and the reporters’ voices became faintly excited:

　　”That’s right. As you can see, the last kidnapper was hospitalized because of a dislocated hand. This time, the kidnapper was also sent to the hospital because of a hand injury…”

　　The scene of taking out the broken glass yesterday is still vivid in the man’s mind. The kidnapper was held down by the police, still struggling and stretching his neck to curse into the microphone: “I have never met such an idiot in my life. He was drunk and still didn’t forget to sprinkle broken glass on the window, damn it!”

　　There were a bunch of words that needed to be muted in the middle, and the reporter barely maintained a smile, thinking that he would be busy with post-production editing.

　　•|•

　　The association fed back the results as early as the early morning hours, unanimously approving the rankings determined by the judges.

　　Judge Zhao stood at the front and said, “Let us express our warmest congratulations to Mr. Li Xiangfu!”

　　The applause was sparse, not because the contestants were small-minded, but because they were still shocked by the news broadcast on the radio. They had participated in many competitions over the years, but this was the first time they had encountered a scene where a contestant offered sacrifices to the gods every day.

　　Apparently the contestants’ sacrifices to the heavens were not enough to satisfy Li Xiangfu. He stood up humbly and politely, bowed, thanked everyone for their recognition and encouragement, and then took a group photo as a souvenir.

　　Li Xiangfu circled Judge Fang’s profile picture and sent it to Li Anqing, saying that this person wanted to take advantage of him.

　　Completely unaware of what the gentle and smiling man was doing, Judge Zhao once again appreciated his work in front of everyone. When it was almost time for lunch, he said, “Everyone, pack up your things. There will be a car to pick us up back to the city at 4 pm. The train will be at 9:30 pm.”

　　Li Xiangfu didn’t go to eat, and he didn’t know where Li Anqing went, so he went to Qin Jin to ask about what happened last night.

　　”Kidnapping is not a trivial matter. The police will contact you again.”

　　Li Xiangfu: “I called this morning and they said he was after sex. Upon checking, the suspect did have a criminal record and came from a wealthy family. Everything matched up.”

　　It’s just that it’s too watertight, which arouses suspicion.

　　Qin Jin handed him a cup of tea, noticed that his eyebrows moved when he drank it, and asked, “Don’t you like black tea?”

　　Li Xiangfu spoke frankly: “The tea art is average, the brewing speed is problematic, and it ruins the aroma.”

　　He took a sip and said, “I can buy you tea next time.”

　　The smile in Qin Jin’s eyes was fleeting, and he quickly returned to his unkind look, revealing his previous arrangements.

　　With a flick of his wrist, a few drops of tea sloshed out. Li Xiangfu drooped his eyelashes and could not tell what he was thinking: “So you were setting up this trap from the beginning?”

　　”The cactus flower points directly to Tianxi Ancient Village. The sender also has a backstage to lure you here. I just advanced the process.”

　　”Then take me to see the family portrait…”

　　”Recognize someone,” Qin Jin stood up and walked to the window. “If Qin Jiayu is still alive, and you can’t recognize him standing in front of you, isn’t it ridiculous?”

　　Recalling Li Anqing’s words that he might have another purpose, Li Xiangfu’s breathing slowed down: “So I am the fish, the bait, to catch your brother?”

　　Qin Jin shook his head: “It’s just a mutual benefit. For you, it exposes the hidden threat, and at the same time it can confirm the doubts in my heart.”

　　After weighing the pros and cons, Li Xiangfu admitted that he was right and asked thoughtfully: “You are relatives. If he was alive, why didn’t he come to find you?”

　　In a society ruled by law, hiding in the dark and playing tricks?

　　Qin Jin raised his head slightly upon hearing this, the color of the entire sky reflected in his eyes, and he seemed not to care much and said, “I don’t know, maybe his brain is damaged.”

　　”…” Li Xiangfu felt that he was being slandered.

　　His throat moved and he focused on reality. He considered and said, “I can cooperate a little more and try to lure the snake out of its hole.”

　　Qin Jin did not answer immediately, and the room suddenly became extremely quiet.

　　The house was not soundproofed, and the owner was watching TV downstairs. The sound came through the wooden board. It was the suspect cursing: “I only got three stitches, I’m the victim! You bastard…”

　　Li Xiangfu coughed lightly, trying to suppress the sound of the TV.

　　At this time, Qin Jin turned around and said, “The first wave of people had their hands dislocated, the second wave had stitches, and the next wave may be sent away directly.”

　　”Sent away?”

　　Qin Jin: “Excessive self-defense resulting in serious injury or death.”

　　The suspect’s cry for a lawyer downstairs was still echoing in the residence. Li Xiangfu curled his lips, avoided the awkward atmosphere and went back to the house to pack his luggage.

　　The movement of folding clothes was slower than usual, and his attention was obviously not focused on his hands.

　　Smoothing out the wrinkles on his collar, Li Xiangfu replayed the conversation in his mind. The purpose of Qin Jin’s visit this time was nothing more than to confirm whether Qin Jiayu was dead or alive. Judging from his appearance, he should have already made up his mind.

　　Li Shasha had already finished school at this time, so Li Xiangfu thought about it and called home.

　　”You call so often. I never knew you were so homesick.” Glancing at the school bag with disdain, Li Shasha never forgot to struggle: “I am homesick too now. I want to study on my own.”

　　Ignoring his request, Li Xiangfu said, “Go to my room and the attic where I keep my belongings to see if there is anything related to Qin Jiayu.”

　　The other side said “OK”, and Li Xiangfu continued to pack his things.

　　Li Shasha suddenly spoke again: “The next interview will be at a later time.”

　　Li Xiangfu frowned: “What?”

　　”I have to go to school, so I can only watch the reruns of the morning and afternoon news. The news broadcast is at a more user-friendly time slot.”

　　“…”

　　After two seconds of silence, Li Xiangfu hung up the phone expressionlessly.

　　The author has something to say: Reporter: What do you think about this matter?

　　Li Xiangfu: Thank you for the invitation. I will be busy with embroidery to save money after I go back.

　　Reporter: Do you have anything to say to the contestants who are also participating in the competition?

　　Li Xiangfu: Boys must respect and love themselves.

　　The reporter asked You Fang again: What about you?

　　You Fang:…mmp!