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Chapter 9: The Mystery of the Alley (Part Eight)
Entering the apartment building, it was clear that I had no idea where Zheng Kai's door was. In the end, I had to contact Qin Jian to find out. The door to Zheng Kai's home, which was also the residence of the deceased, was at Room 10 on the fifth floor.
After reaching the fifth floor and standing in front of Room 10, I was about to knock when the door swung open. I withdrew my hand and saw that it was Zheng Kai who opened the door. He nodded at me in greeting, and I stepped inside. Qin Jian was sitting on the sofa, recording something. A stack of photo albums piled up on the coffee table, seemingly all belonging to Bao Hui.
Seeing me enter, he winked and pointed toward the bedroom that led directly inside. "You're here. Help me check if Deceased left behind any unfulfilled wishes or evidence. Her husband, Zheng Kai, heard noises in the house last night and felt that she hadn't left."
I glanced at Zheng Kai, who lowered his head with a guilty look, his eyes flickering as if he were hiding something from us.
"Alright, I'll take a look. Zheng Brother, lead the way." Calling him "Brother Zheng" was a polite gesture; it's common to address older siblings casually, and I wouldn't mind being called "Brother" myself. Seeing Zheng Kai happily open the door, I walked straight in.
Then I turned back and closed the door behind me.
I slightly closed my eyes, suppressing my breath and centering my mind to feel all the lingering essence of Bao Hui in the bedroom. As long as her essence remained, I could sense some of the events that occurred during her life.
Just as I closed my eyes—
Thud! Something fell, and unable to resist, I opened my eyes. The object that had fallen seemed to dissolve into thin air. The bedroom was empty; this was the essence left by Bao Hui. I continued to suppress my breath and focused my mind while reciting a spell for all things to return to their end.
Suddenly, the surroundings distorted and rearranged; there were faint sounds of breathing, footsteps, slamming doors, muffled crying, complaints, and scuffling noises. Shadows flickered in the bedroom, unpredictable until they finally settled on the bed.
A heartbroken woman lay there, her tears soaking the pillow as she cried endlessly. Then suddenly, the door burst open like a storm—no, it must have been kicked open violently from outside—followed by two people rushing in with great force. One man was Zheng Kai, while the other appeared slightly older and bore some resemblance to him.
Zheng Kai rushed to the bedside and grabbed the hair of the crying woman, dragging her off the bed. He unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks as she struggled to get up and threw herself at him desperately.
Throughout this ordeal, the older man silently watched from the side without intervening.
It wasn't until the woman managed to grab hold of Zheng Kai that the elderly observer rushed forward and embraced her tightly, saying, "Don't fight; let's talk calmly." At that moment, Zheng Kai struck her face with several slaps, causing her anguished cries to echo throughout the room.
The situation continued for a while until someone knocked on the door from outside. Zheng Kai finally stopped, glaring angrily at the woman before leaving with the elderly lady, one after the other.
The woman curled up in the corner, her arms covered in bloodstains, her face slightly swollen, and a thin line of blood at the corner of her lips. She raised her hand to touch it, and blood was on the back of her hand as well. The woman was Bao Hui. I gazed at her, and she looked back at me from her position, her pale purple lips moving slightly as if she were saying, "Someone help me."
Zheng Kai was abusing Bao Hui; why didn’t she get a divorce? This was my initial question. Just as I was preparing to delve deeper into my thoughts, a shout came from outside the door. Everything in the bedroom shifted back to normal. When the door opened, Zheng Kai scanned the room with a questioning look and asked, "Brother Qi, have you found anything?"
"Not yet," Qin Jian replied from behind Zheng Kai, his eyes asking me for a signal. I gently shook my head and gestured for him to remain quiet.
Qin Jian and I sat down again in the living room. I held a cup of tea; the porcelain cup was quite nice—smooth and flawless—likely an imitation of Jingdezhen porcelain. The tea was also good; it must have been freshly brewed Pu-erh Tea.
"This tea is not bad," I said, not wanting to rush into revealing what I had sensed earlier, fearing it might alert them. If what I felt was accurate, Bao Hui's tragic death was undoubtedly linked to Zheng Kai; he was clearly a prime suspect.
Another person I sensed during that moment was an elderly lady with white hair—Zheng Kai's mother.
Despite their age, these women from the 1950s and 60s had suffered under feudal family systems and might not treat daughters-in-law from the 70s kindly. These elderly ladies often harbored deep-seated resentment and had an extraordinary need for control.
Oh, how could they bear to see their sons easily taken by women called daughters-in-law? Naturally, they would keep a tight grip on their sons' lives—be it financially or in their activities together—everything had to go through the elderly lady's approval.
Because they were unwilling to let go, having endured hardships from their own mothers-in-law, they did not attempt to improve mother-daughter-in-law relationships based on their experiences. Instead, they intensified their verbal attacks and psychological harm towards the next generation of daughters-in-law, leading to further breakdowns in these relationships.
Thus, I concluded that Bao Hui's death was also related to that elderly lady.
Not wanting to reveal what I sensed earlier, I decided to discuss tea instead. I appreciated tea by first smelling it before tasting it.
"I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable about tea," Qin Jian remarked playfully as he observed me savoring it while the three men in the living room remained silent. He couldn't help but tease me: "I really didn't see this coming."
I didn’t deny Qin Jian’s comment but pretended to ponder deeply as I glanced up at the square crystal chandelier. This set of glass fixtures must have cost no less than a thousand dollars; perhaps I even underestimated its value by several thousand.
"I value the essence of tea."
Qin Jian smiled but remained silent. Zheng Kai chimed in, "Tea is primarily about leisure. Among the essentials of life—firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea—tea is the least important."
I set down my teacup and replied with an ordinary expression, "Tea may seem unimportant, but I've never heard of anyone getting sick from drinking tea. Since tea doesn't make people ill, it must be beneficial for health. It's widely known that tea can promote well-being, so it holds significant importance for humanity."
Qin Jian furrowed his brow in thought, trying to grasp the meaning behind my words. I glanced at him and continued, "Good tea depends on the environment in which it's brewed—the utensils, the atmosphere. The surroundings of the tea drinker should provide enough imaginative space to contemplate the origins of the tea. That's how tea can bring peace and evoke emotions!"
Zheng Kai grew anxious, unsure of what I meant. It didn't matter if he didn't understand; he just shouldn't pretend to.
"How does your wife get along with your mother?"
Zheng Kai seemed taken aback by my question. He paused for a moment but quickly responded, "Very well. My mom has no daughters, so she treats Bao Hui like her own." This guy lied without a hint of embarrassment. It seemed that further questioning wouldn't yield anything useful, so I signaled to Qin Jian that we could leave. We both stood up while Zheng Kai stared blankly at our backs, as if still pondering the meaning of my earlier words.
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