Is this the person in the so-called Qianyao Valley who committed the crime but brought this information here? Captain Yang kept smoking.
Bang! Bang! There was another round of knocking on his door.
No, he came again! Captain Yang subconsciously reached out for his gun.
“Come in, please.”
Creak! The door was pushed open from the outside. A man in his 30s came in.
“Captain, haven’t you left yet?”
“No, I’m thinking about the case,” Captain Yang said.
“Did you have a meal?”
“Nope.”
“Let’s go out and have a meal. I’ll treat you.”
“OK.” Captain Yang put the gun back into the holster around his waist under the table. He collected the information and left the office with it.
“Captain, don’t be so nervous. There is no need to be so stressed!”
“How can I not be stressed?” Captain Yang asked. “Sixteen people have died!”
“Captain, not to be rude, but don’t take it too seriously.”
“Go on!”
“I heard that Secretary Guo has a powerful background.”
“What the hell do you want to say?”
“Ah, is it maybe someone who dislikes him who is intentionally causing him trouble?”
“If he just disliked him, he could have killed him. What is the point of killing so many people? Isn’t this more troublesome than just killing him?”
“Well, you are right.”
“You have given me an idea,” Captain Yang said. “Maybe it does have something to do with him.”
Before he received the order to go there, his boss had specifically told him that Secretary Guo’s background was not ordinary. He was told to not get irritated and stifle his bad temper.
Another person who counts on his background, Captain Yang thought. He was very upset with these people.
“What about the killer?”
“I don’t have a clue yet,” he said. “No, I might have a small clue.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but I have to make sure whether it is right before telling you.”
“Here is a Sichuan Restaurant. I know you would be happy to eat spicy food.”
“Let’s go.”
That night, many people in the city did not sleep.
The next day, the sun was brightly shining in the sky.
“Secretary Guo, sorry to disturb you.”
“It’s not a problem, Captain Yang.”
The two men were in Guo Zhenghe’s office.
“What can I do for you?”
“Ah, there is an issue,” Captain Yang said with a nervous laugh.
“Please tell me.”
“Valley of Thousands of Medicine. Do you know the place?”
“Valley of Thousands of Medicine?” Hearing the name, Guo Zhenghe’s expression quickly changed.
“Oh, it seems you do know about it,” Captain Yang said.
“I know, of course, but it is just hearsay,” Guo Zhenghe replied. “I heard that people there are good at poisoning and raising poisonous insects.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No, but I knew that you would come, Captain Yang. This case may be related to them. Is that what you mean?”
“Your intuition is keen,” Captain Yang said. “It is indeed possible, but I’m not sure yet.”
“What is the purpose of your coming?” Guo Zhenghe asked.
“Do you know the specific location of the valley?” Captain Yang asked.
“I don’t know,” Guo Zhenghe said. “I heard it is quite isolated from the outside world. The people inside rarely communicate with the outside world. It has become a whole world itself.”
“If they don’t like communicating with the outside world, why did they do these things?”
“I don’t know, but I will rely on you to reveal the answer,” Guo Zhenghe said.
“OK, I am here to do that, Secretary Guo,” Captain Yang said. “If you find out any other news related to the valley, please let us know.”
“That is no problem.”
“Thank you.”
“You are welcome.”
Guo Zhenghe walked the criminal investigation expert from the provincial capital out of his office. He returned to his room and lit a cigarette.
He knew something about the valley, and he even knew that I might be relevant to that place.
Guo Zhenghe made a phone call to someone and asked a few questions.
“I haven’t.”
“They already knew about it.”
“How could they know?”
“Let’s talk about it when we meet next time.”
“OK.”
…
In a mountain village thousands of miles away, a special guest came to see Wang Yao.
“Mr. Sang, why are you here?” Sang Guzi didn’t come alone. He brought a middle-aged man and a skinny young man with a yellow complexion, who looked like to be 17 or 18.
“There is something I need to trouble you with,” Sang Guzi said.
“Go ahead, please,” Wang Yao hurriedly said. He respected the old man and always regarded himself as just a junior in his presence.
“This child is quite silent. Could you please check him?”
“OK, how long has he been like that?” Wang Yao asked.
“Well, he has been like that for more than a year,” the middle-aged man said.
Wang Yao carefully checked the teenager but found no obvious abnormalities except for his weak body. If it was not due to physical reasons, it had to be some psychological reason.
“Was there anything unusual happening before this condition occurred?” he asked.
“His mother died, and he became very quiet,” the middle-aged man said.
Hmm… It turns out to be something like that. Wang Yao was silent for a while since such a disease was not easy to treat.
“I will prescribe a medicine for him to try,” Wang Yao said.
“OK.”
The medicine he thought of was to ease the teenager’s nerves. This young man possibly got the disease due to the concern and upset caused by his mother’s death. Even after a year, he had not gotten better.
“Wait a moment.” Wang Yao brewed a pot of tea for Sang Guzi.
“I’m going to boil the medicine.”
“OK.”
This time, Wang Yao only used the Moonlight herbs among the licorice roots. The other herbs were picked up from Nanshan Hill.
“Mr. Sang, is this the person you mentioned to me?” the middle-aged man asked.
“That is correct.”
“Can he really cure Xiao Nan’s disease?” the middle-aged man asked.
“This is our best hope,” Sang Guzi said. “At least, as far as I know, there hasn’t been any disease he has failed to treat.”
“I hope so.”
Wang Yao prepared the medicine and brought it over. He gave the young man a small cup of the medicine soup and asked him to drink.
“How do you feel?” Wang Yao softly asked. The young man didn’t speak. He just quietly looked at him.
“It seems that the medical efficacy is not obvious,” the middle-aged man said.
“It is useful,” the young man suddenly said.
“What? Xiao Nan, what did you say?” the man asked in surprise.
How long had it been? He hadn’t heard his son talk to a stranger like that in a long time.
“It is useful, but the medical efficacy is quite limited,” Wang Yao said.
He suddenly reached out his hand and lightly touched the young man’s forehead.
“How are you feeling?”
“A little bit better,” the young man said.
Wang Yao nodded and smiled. “Are you feeling cool?”
“OK, we will stop here today.”
“Stop here?”
“You can go back,” Sang Guzi said. “I will stay and talk to my friend.”
“Well, I won’t bother you then.” The middle-aged man left the hospital with his son.
“This is the grandson of one of my friends,” Sang Guzi said with a smile. “He came to me to seek help. I did not have other ways but to come to see you.”
“I have seen a similar case of such a disease, but I am not sure whether I can cure it,” Wang Yao said.
The last time he saw this type of mental illness, it was a young man who wanted to become immortal. The young man had been enchanted and determined that his thinking was right. This time, the teenager closed himself up and was unwilling to have any exchange or contact with the outside world. He likely knew everything happening on the outside, but he was unwilling to speak or participate. Those symptoms should never be overlooked. This was a form of autism. If it was left alone without taking the initiative to treat it, the consequences would be terrible. He would go through life alone.
