Pure Darkness

Chapter 41

Ke Qian's hometown was in Hebei, not too far from Beijing. However, in recent years, all small and medium-sized cities in China, without exception, have undergone a process of building demolitions and displacement, to build boring uniform commercial housing or new cities. Ke Qian's earliest registered permanent residence, a dormitory based in an old factory that had gone bankrupt, had long been razed to the ground, and a new housing community sprang up on the same land. Besides, they don't know where his old neighbor went. Jian Yao asked around the small community, including the neighborhood committee, but no one knew anything about the Ke family, and she was unable to obtain any related information.

Only the lake opposite the residential settlement, with its blue-green water rippling, remained as clear as before.

Perhaps, in this era of rapid economic change, the only constants are the mountains, lakes, and rivers, under whose watch we live.

Next to the small lake, there was a vast, fertile wetland with greenery. It has clearly been well preserved.

They then visited the second address they had: Ke Qian's grandfather's house, in the same area. According to the family details Ke Qian gave when she applied to the university, her only relative was her paternal grandfather. Her grandfather's address was also listed as Ke Qian's residence.

This time, they found the place relatively easily. It was an old house in the old town. Green tiles, gray walls, two-bedroom one-story house. A big padlock was at the door.

Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan knocked on the door for good, until an older woman appeared from the house next door. He asked, “Who are you looking for?”

Jian Yao said with a smile, “ Dajie , we are friends of Ke Qian from Beijing. We are here for a vacation and remember that he mentioned that his old house is here, so we thought we would come and see him.”

Bo Jinyan hid her smile as she looked at her increasingly slick criminal investigation wife.

The old woman observed that the two of them looked quite respectable, and unsuspecting. He commented, “Oh, so you're Xiao Ke's friend. She hasn't been home recently.”

“ Dajie , when did grandfather Xiao Ke die?” Jian Yao asked.

The woman sighed and said, “About four or five years ago. That was when Xiao Ke had just passed the university entrance exam.”

Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan exchanged looks. Since the punch came at that moment, it was no wonder Ke Qian had formed such a strong bond with her university friends.

“Does he have any other relatives?” Jian Yao asked.

The woman thought for a while before shaking her head. “I didn't see any relatives coming. Our family moved here about ten years ago, and only the two of them lived their simple, aloof lives. Aish, Xiao Ke had a bitter life; I heard that his parents died in a car accident when he was only five or six years old, and there was not much compensation. In fact, even after his grandfather died, I still kept a set of keys to their place. Since she studied elsewhere, she asked me to come and clean the house from time to time.”

Bo Jinyan suddenly asked, “When was the last time she came back?”

The woman replied, “New a month ago. I remember it very clearly; it was the holiday time of Qing Ming Festival *.”

*T/N (Qing Ming jie) – Qing Ming Festival (also known as Grave Sweeping Day) is a Chinese festival that falls on the first day of the fifth lunar month. During the festival, Chinese families visit the graves of their ancestors to clean their graves, pray to them, and make ritual offerings.

Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao did not say anything.

A month ago.

Ke Qian had been ‘killed’ by Jiang Xueran and the others half a year ago.

Then the buried ‘mayat’nya disappeared, then he visited his old hometown a month ago, then he committed a series of murders.

“Are you sure he's the one who came back?” Bo Jinyan asked.

The woman looked at him strangely. “Why are you asking that? Do you think I can make a mistake? He even had dinner at my house that day. The adult's child. .”

Jian Yao smiled as she interjected, “ Dajie , you know. We also realized how much you cared about Ke Qian when she stayed here. Please accept this 200 dollars (29 USD) as a token of our appreciation to you as his friends.”

To say that Ke Qian's grandfather's house consisted of four empty walls would not be an exaggeration. In both rooms of the house, there is nothing but a bed, a table, and a closet. However, everything was kept very neatly. The furniture is old fashioned, and someone has hand painted patterns of bamboo leaves and Chinese style flowers on the walls. After a careful look, the entire house immediately turned into something extraordinary.

Needless to say, this was Ke Qian's style.

Perhaps because there were no valuables in Ke Qian's house, after bringing them in, the old woman went outside to busied herself with other things. Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao looked around the house but found nothing strange. Jian Yao said, “I'm confused. Previously, I thought there was no doubt that Ke Qian had died, and the person Fang Qing and Gu Fang Fang Fang looked at was another person whose figure was very similar to her. But, now, this dajie must have seen the living and breathing Ke Qian. Is he really not dead?”

“No need to be confused,” says Bo Jinyan. “I'm sure we're close to the answer. Don't you realize that something is missing from this place?”

Jian Yao looked empty.

Bo Jinyan put on her gloves, and opened the cabinets and drawers one by one, then closed them back down. “Ke Qian has a sensitive and conscientious personality, lost her mother and father at a young age, also lost her grandfather when she entered university. . . he would store the item very carefully, it would be very valuable and very important. But, we did not find it in his rented apartment, and we did not find it here.”

“What is it?” Jian Yao asked.

“Photo Album.”

Jian Yao was stunned.

Bo Jinyan smiled slightly as she said, “That's what that person wants to hold, or. It is because of this that he suddenly came home to visit.”

Jian Yao stood glued.

Could it be . . .not a lover, but. . .

Relatively.

——

Lian Hua Elementary School (Latai Flower) is the best elementary school around. When Bo Jinyan and Jian Yan rushed there, it was already afternoon.

“The old woman moved next to Ke Qian ten years ago,” Bo Jinyan said. “At that time, Ke Qian had just entered junior high school, so she wouldn't know anything about him before that time. There was no one living nearby who had existed for longer than that. Besides, Ke Qian's grades had been excellent ever since she was young, so she must have attended the best elementary school. ”

They arrive at the school administration office and show their identity. An old teacher accepted them. “Oke, please wait a minute. I will take registration information that year.”

While they were waiting, An Yan called out to them.

“I've got it. The money Ke Qian received came from overseas accounts, American accounts. Account owner is ‘KA’.”

At this time, the teacher returned with a registration folder. Although it had been many years, with a close examination of the class photos, Jian Yao was able to find a child whose facial features were very similar to the adult Ke Qian and show the child to Bo Jinyan. “See, there To Qian.”

However, the teacher put on his reading glasses, laughed and said, “You are wrong. It wasn't Ke Qian, it was Ke Ai. Ke Ai was an older sister; she was the girl standing in the first row. Ke Qian was the younger brother; he stood at the last row. Both are twins, and are very similar to each other to an incredible degree. ”

Bo Jinyan took the photo and looked at him in silence. Jian Yao finally found Ke Qian in the back row. Looking at the two children whose faces were almost indistinguishable, he suddenly felt an indescribable sadness. He asked, “What happened to them? Where's big sister, Ke Ai, going?”

The teacher sighed and said, “The fate of the older sister is good. They had childless relatives who adopted Ke Ai when the children were in third grade. Perhaps, because the couple assumes the burden of adopting both children will be too heavy, or because they think keeping the children together will make it harder for the children to grow close to them. . . after all, the younger brother was left in grandfather's care. I think Ke Ai brought to America later.”