Chapter 36: Report Letter
Tang Weining liked Teacher Xu very much at first, but only at the beginning.
Teacher Xu is one of the few non-greasy male teachers in the school. He has a gentle personality, and most importantly, he can tolerate even the wildest and most rebellious Tang Pengan.
There is no doubt that Tang Pengan is a troublemaker, but he is also a good student. However, due to his stubborn personality, few teachers really like him, which made Tang Weining feel a little uncomfortable for a while.
"Brother, why do you always listen to Teacher Xu?" Tang Pengan asked.
Tang Weining smiled. He was actually quite impressed by anyone who could control Tang Pengan. He said, "Teacher Xu said he'll take our ID photos after school this afternoon. Do you want to join us?"
Tang Pengan shook his head. "Go ahead and take the photos. Just give me one when you hand it in tomorrow."
The small room at the end of the corridor in the school's annex building, which was used as a dormitory for single teachers, later became Tang Weining's nightmare.
"Would you like some tea, Weining?"
"Come on, open your eyes, smile, don't fall asleep..."
"How about changing into another set of clothes? Lift your arms, can't you?"
"It's okay, the teacher will help you..."
The whole thing ended up being a mess. If it was a female student who was photographed inappropriately, it would be a big deal. But what if it was a male student...
In that era, Tang Weining didn't know how to deal with this matter, especially after waiting for four hours, when it was late at night and Tang Pengan returned home in a daze with his white shirt half slung over his shoulders.
——That was the greatest luck and misfortune in Tang Weining’s life.
Because they made a bet that day, "You said Teacher Xu treats you well, right? Then I pretend to be your brother and go to see him, will he find out?"
For a long time, Tang Weining's nightmares had two themes: the door of his home that never showed up, and Tang Pengan sobbing in another bed.
When he cried to the end, Tang Pengan in the nightmare would look at him with red eyes: "Brother, it's you. The name I heard him calling was yours."
But the results are actually not much different, because they are twins, and with a variety of erotic photos, who would care to know which one is taken?
So Tang Weining's misfortune is Tang Pengan's misfortune, and what Tang Pengan suffered finally falls on Tang Weining.
Facing the gazes of Bai Chao and Tu Lanxun, Tang Weining lowered his head and spoke in a daze: "We didn't know what to do at the time. It was ridiculous. A few photos that looked very embarrassing... but I couldn't explain why they were embarrassing, took control of us."
Bai Chao remained silent for a long time, and then Tu Lanxun took the lead: "So what happened next?"
Later it all ended on a rainy day.
Teacher Xu has never been married. He has a bad heart and gets sick for a while every autumn. So on Wednesday shortly after the long holiday, he did not keep Tang Weining and Tang Pengan after class, and the three of them went home.
It was raining that day, and the fishy smell of mud splashed on the white shoes. Tang Weining and Tang Pengan were holding Teacher Xu's umbrella, and they were both disgusted. Tang Pengan started to throw the umbrella into the trash can. He has always been the one who dared to make decisions among the brothers.
But after going around a wall, they saw Teacher Xu's bicycle slip beside the sewer, and he fell to the ground with half his face submerged in the puddle.
What was even more gratifying was that Teacher Xu struggled a few times but failed to get up. His hands slowly moved from supporting himself on the ground to covering his heart.
He saw them, and his fingers crawled out as if trying to grab the boy's muddy white sneakers from three or four meters away, but it was in vain.
One of the two men couldn't help but move forward, but was grabbed by the wrist by the other. The one who moved was Tang Pengan, and the one who stopped him was Tang Weining.
"Let's go, brother." Tang Pengan whispered, but the rain was getting heavier, shattering his whisper. "Why are you standing here? Either help him up, or let's just go home without him."
Tang Weining held onto Tang Pengan tightly, his expression unclear as he squeezed out two trembling words from between his teeth: "Stand."
Tang Pengan was anxious, "What's the point of standing there?"
Tang Weining didn't look at his brother. He stared at Teacher Xu, who was still squirming, and repeated, "Stand still."
So the two of them stood there in a twisted posture, their bodies cold, until the rain became heavy enough to feel warmth on their bodies, until Teacher Xu stopped moving, his wide-open eyes reflecting the dim skylight, for ten minutes without blinking.
Tang Weining walked towards the corpse and tried to untie the key from the side of Teacher Xu's waistband. His hands were shaking and he couldn't do it. Tang Pengan squeezed over as if in a dream and helped him pull out a key that could open the single teachers' dormitory.
"We bypassed the security guards and entered the school in the middle of the night, found those photos, and burned them all," said Tang Weining.
Their nightmare ended that day, as the photo and Teacher Xu were buried in the grave, but another, more secret nightmare began.
Tu Lanxun looked at this weak man. Sometimes he was so tough that he could do things that others could not do, but as far as that matter was concerned, she just wanted to say well done.
Tang Weining smiled palely: "I didn't expect him to come back. It's been almost twenty years, and he found us again!"
10110101Laogui is Teacher Xu.
"He first approached Tang Pengan, but he was not satisfied because the ultimate target of the encirclement was you, Tang Weining," said Tu Lanxun.
Tang Weining said with self-abandonment, "Perhaps it's because Peng'an appears to be powerful but is actually weak, while I'm more cunning in some ways... He's never been able to completely... conquer me."
N, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up, took out the first tape, and put the second one into the recorder, smiling: "Don't be distracted, it's not over yet."
The second disc was much newer than the first, and the sound it played was indeed like that. It was Tang Pengan's mature voice. "Why did you buy a tape recorder?"
He sounded a little trembling, and then there was a tape hiss, like the sound of an iron spoon repeatedly scraping against a porcelain plate. N kindly explained, "That should be Teacher Xu speaking, but the tape won't pick it up."
Next is Tang Pengan's "solo". He should be alone, or it is better to be alone, because the broken breathing and struggling sounds are terrifying. Unlike any ambiguous online video, it is more like the talking in a nightmare, full of suffocation and pain.
This sound lasted the entire length of Side A of the tape, and the same sound was repeated on Side B, just at a different time. Everyone knows who the recording operator was, and Mr. Xu still loves recording other people's voices.
After the tapes were played, the villa fell into a long silence. After a while, Tang Weining said, "Peng'an..."
He wanted to ask Tang Pengan whether he had done the evil willingly in the beginning or was held hostage by Teacher Xu's ghost, but when he saw Bai Chao's ghost, he didn't say anything.
N was very enthusiastic and said coldly: "Teacher Xu and Tang Guangming's body are closely connected, which means that he became powerful after using the shell."
In other words, Bai Xiaoju's death was entirely caused by Tang Pengan, and it was after that that Teacher Xu started to pester him.
Tang Weining lowered his head again. Bai Chao acted as if he hadn't noticed him. He said to Tu Lanxun briskly, "Miss, I'm going to write a letter of denunciation. Could you give me some advice?"
#
The next morning was the peak time when the flow of people and vehicles was the heaviest.
The nearest police station stood in silence amid the birdsong. Except for Xiao Wang on duty at the checkpoint, no one saw a white piece of paper float into a window on the second floor of the police station and landed on the desk of the Criminal Investigation Detachment.
Xiao Wang rubbed his eyes: "Huh?"
Li Ao, the captain of the first team of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, had just sat down with the steamed buns in his hand when he quickly picked them up again. "Hey, whose letter was left here? Remember to take it away before it gets soaked with oil."
No one responded for a long time. Li Ao was flipping through the case files while biting a bun. He glanced at the envelope and the bun almost fell on the case files. He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention. He took another look in a cold sweat. There were only three words on the envelope.
Report letter.
Li Ao couldn't eat anymore. He was doomed. He must have been caught up in some high-level struggle. He couldn't stop solving cases, and it was always full of trouble. Who should he report? He was sneaking around like that. He must have been involved in some other department.
He then considered what he and the few others around him could possibly report. If they were visiting someone who wouldn't even drink a glass of water, shouldn't they report it to the Economic Investigation Bureau? At worst, they could report it to a higher-up.
Li Ao felt more confident after thinking this, but he still called in Old Wei and Xiao Zhang, who were on the morning shift. The three of them tremblingly opened the envelope. The handwriting on the paper inside was elegant, but it had a chilling air, as if the ink used was lighter than the others...
"I'm Bai Chao, the missing person from three years ago. I'm female, 38 years old, ID number XXX, and my registered address is Shanshui Villa in Xintian District, Lucheng..."
Li Ao had a vague impression of her. His eyes rolled as he met Lao Wei's. "Bai Chao? She's the internet celebrity blogger who disappeared three years ago, right? Her husband is a university professor."
Xiao Zhang screamed in surprise and received two glares. She stiffened her neck and said, "Captain Li, Brother Wei, look, this is what's written on it..."
"I'm already dead. The murderer was Tang Peng'an, the attending physician at Lucheng Second Hospital and my husband's younger brother. On July 3rd three years ago, Tang Peng'an knocked me unconscious at home using stolen sevoflurane. He then murdered and dismembered me."
"Five years ago on the same day, my daughter Bai Xiaoju was drugged in the same way by Tang Pengan and tragically died in a fire caused by arson."
Old Wei was a little annoyed: "Who is this? Playing such a prank on an entire family is such a scoundrel!"
But the last sentence on the paper made the three policemen speechless.
"Other evidence has been enclosed with this letter. My body is currently hidden in a half-person-high sack in the southwest corner of the cold room of the Food Engineering and Science Department on the fourth floor of the laboratory building of Lucheng Agricultural University. Please ask the police to investigate as soon as possible. Thank you."
What really caught Li Ao's attention was not anything else, but the key sandwiched in the piece of paper and a fingerprint on the back of the paper.
Bai Chao's disappearance case has been left unsolved for three years. Now that there is a clue, no matter what the other party's purpose is, he cannot miss it.
"Old Wei, find out where this key came from. Send it for a trace examination first, and have someone investigate Tang Pengan at the Second Hospital."
His eyes fell on Xiao Zhang, "How many points did you get in combat in the police academy?"
Xiao Zhang excitedly said, "It's quite high!"
"Okay, now change your clothes and come with me to Lu Nong University!"
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