Madness of the Heart

Chapter 20 Demon Hunting (20)

Los Angeles, Golden Rose Nightclub in Beverly District.

Under the glamorous and exaggerated lights, dozens of disheveled **** workers squatted in a row in the corner, including “male models” wearing only a pair of underwear. The men who came to hunt for beauty squatted on the other side, all naked, most of their heads were generally bald, and the beer belly was high.

The Fukang District is the most economically and culturally backward place in the main urban area of ​​Los Angeles. Although the name of the Golden Rose Nightclub has “gold” and “rose”, it has neither the luxury of gold nor the romance of roses. The locals jokingly call this “Middle-aged Massage Room”, and the receptions are all the old men from the bottom who don’t have much money in their pockets.

Hou Cheng is small, and he is rarely blessed, with shoulders inward and his hands covering his bare chest.

He was sandwiched between two fat drunks, and his wet gaze was swept out of the hanging corners from time to time, and his rough and dark yellow face was an expression of disgust and dissatisfaction.

The nightclub is very noisy, and the plainclothes police have both members of the security detachment and criminal investigation detachment.

The criminal police was specially arranged by Hua Chong, because Ming Shu had analyzed before that Hou Cheng came to Los Angeles a month ago, but his name did not appear on any check-in registration, so he was either staying at an acquaintance’s house or a wild hotel, or even entering and leaving. Pornographic venues.

Soon, the **** workers were taken away first, followed by the suspected prostitutes.

Hou Cheng stood up with the army and stumbled towards the police car.

When the police car closed, somebody screamed—

“Fuck! Damn it!”

The police car stopped at the Fukang District Bureau, and most of the people involved were taken into the branch. Hou Cheng also wanted to get out of the car, but was blocked back.

“What are you doing?” He grabbed a policeman by the hand in a panic, “I want to get off the car too?”

“You are not here.” The policeman said.

“Why? Where are you taking me?” He was at a loss, even shaking from fear.

The policeman drew his hand back and scratched him before closing the door. “Be honest, don’t ask if you shouldn’t ask!”

Hou Cheng seemed to be frightened, and sat trembling, not daring to move.

The police went on the road again, and the street lights were broken by the car windows, and they danglingly shrouded Hou Cheng’s face, reflecting a strange mottle.

Ming Shu has been waiting at the Municipal Bureau.

Hou Cheng was taken to the interrogation room and looked around nervously after sitting down.

Compared with the photo, Hou Cheng looks older. He is about 1.7 meters tall, with sparse head and loose facial skin. He is wearing white undershirts and polyester trousers that people often wear in the previous generation, and he has a pair of tens of dollars on his feet. Leather sandals.

Hou Cheng looked very uncomfortable when the strong light of the interrogation room shone on his face. He rubbed his wrinkled hands frequently and raised his eyelids nervously from time to time.

Fang Yuanhang pretended to turn over the information, “Hou Cheng, 55 years old, from Qingyue Village.”

Hou Cheng nodded, “Yes, yes.”

“How long have you been in Los Angeles?” Fang Yuanhang asked again, “Why come to Los Angeles?”

“June.” Hou Cheng swallowed frequently, “Come, come to escape the heat.”

“Escape from the summer heat?” Fang Yuanhang looked unbelievable, “Escape from the summer heat to a prostitution place?”

Hou Cheng shrank back and said nothing.

Fang Yuanhang asked sharply, “How many times is today?”

“The first time…”

“Where do you live this month?”

Hou Cheng stared at the desk, “Living in, staying in the hotel.”

Fang Yuanhang asked: “Which hotel?”

Hou Cheng couldn’t tell.

“Today is not the first time you have bought prostitution.” Fang Yuanhang said in the tone of a member of the security detachment: “You still don’t admit it?”

Hou Cheng trembled badly, first shook his head, then nodded, “Not the first time, not the first time, I admit.”

Ming Shu looked at the situation in the interrogation room through the monitor.

Every reaction of Hou Cheng made him more sure that there was someone else in the heart of the tomb.

“I’m a bachelor. I don’t have a wife at home. Do I commit a crime when I go out to play?” Hou Cheng said, “I, I received a note at the hotel, so I went there.”

“No crime, but it is illegal to buy prostitution.” Fang Yuanhang asked: “Apart from Golden Rose, what other prostitution establishments have you been to?”

Hou Cheng hesitated, “and…”

Ming Shu pushed open the door of the interrogation room and looked at Hou Cheng coldly.

Fang Yuanhang turned back, “Master.”

“Yeah.” Ming Shu sat down and asked, “You are farming in Qingyue Village. Qingyue Village produces watermelons. You are a melon farmer, right?”

Hou Cheng said: “Yes.”

Ming Shu asked: “Then it is the season when watermelons are on the market. Why don’t you stay in the village and take care of your melon fields, but instead run to Los Angeles to escape the heat?”

“Ah…” Hou Cheng’s eyes rolled randomly, “This…”

“Because you have other income, don’t care about the little money from selling melons?” Ming Shu stared at Hou Cheng’s face, but Hou Cheng didn’t dare to raise his eyelids.

“I didn’t.” Hou Cheng whispered: “It’s too hot, I want to rest.”

“is it?”

“Yes Yes.”

Ming Shu stopped talking, but kept his eyes on. In his vision, Hou Cheng’s anxiety leaked from every micro-expression, almost untenable.

After ten minutes of silence, Ming Shu slowly spoke, “The heart of the tomb.”

Hou Cheng didn’t respond at first, and after about thirty seconds, Rumeng Fang awoke and raised his head, “Huh? It’s me, it’s me.”

Such a reaction has been able to show that Hou Cheng is not the heart of the tomb.

The writer who appealed to “some people should be damned” is not the dull old man in front of him who sleeps in the prostitution bed in the middle of the night.

Ming Shu asked: “Who is the heart of the tomb?”

Hou Cheng opened his mouth in surprise and looked away, “I am the heart of the tomb. The heart of the tomb is my pen name.”

Ming Shu said, “Didn’t you just say that you have no other income, regardless of your own melon fields, did you come to Los Angeles just because you were too hot and wanted to rest? Why do you suddenly say that the heart of the tomb is your pen name?”

Hou Cheng’s face was probably hot enough at this time, but on that yellowish-black face, the blush was not visible at all.

“I don’t want people to know.” Hou Cheng buried his head extremely low.

“What do you don’t want people to know?” Ming Shu asked: “Is it true that you are the heart of the tomb, or are you coming to Los Angeles for prostitution?”

Hou Cheng opened his mouth for a long time, “My editor told me to pack me and not let others know that the heart of the tomb is me.”

Ming Shu sneered, “The heart of the tomb is indeed not you.”

Hou Cheng’s arm sweated on the table, and he leaned forward helplessly, “What do you mean? What are you looking for me for?”

Ming Shu deliberately repeated, “Are you the author of suspense, the heart of the tomb?”

Hou Cheng nodded one after another, “Yes, it’s me.”

“Those are all written by you?”

“it’s me.”

Ming Shu smiled: “Your editor wants to package you so that others don’t know that you are the heart of the tomb. But why do you not let her worry so much? You are arrested for prostitution, and soon your readers will know.”

Hou Cheng panicked, “Don’t, don’t! It’s not like this!”

Ming Shu said: “If you are not the heart of the tomb, then it is another matter.”

Hou Cheng was silent, as if struggling.

Ming Shu changed the subject again, “What does your pen name mean?”

“Take whatever you want.” Hou Cheng said uneasy: “What are you asking for?”

“The heart is buried in the tomb, and the soul is floating in the world.” Ming Shu said, “You wrote this in the book.”

“Yes, yes, that’s what it means.” Hou Cheng wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead, “Heart is buried in the tomb, and the soul and the soul stand in society.”

Ming Shu shook his head, “You never wrote that in the book.”

Hou Cheng’s expression suddenly froze.

“I made it up just now.” Mingshu’s eyes were like swords: “You are not the heart of the tomb! Tell me who the heart of the tomb is, how do you know each other, and why did you sign a contract with the publishing house for the heart of the tomb?”

Hou Cheng was stunned by this series of extremely skillful interrogations. He was dumbfounded and sweaty. After a long time, he said: “I am really the heart of the tomb, Xiao, Xiao Guo can prove it to me!”

“How to prove it? Use a contract to prove it?” Ming Shu said, “It’s better than this. You tell me about your writing mentality.”

Hou Cheng looked awkward, “This…”

“Can’t tell?” Ming Shu smiled, “It’s okay, don’t embarrass you, don’t tell me any thoughts, you can tell me the summary of your latest book, just because I haven’t read it yet.”

Hou Cheng said: “Yes, someone was killed…”

Ming Shu waited for a while, “What then?”

“Then, then…” Hou Cheng twisted his hands together. After struggling for a few minutes, he couldn’t speak at all, and anxiously covered the upper half of his face, “I forgot.”

“You are a writer, you wrote it yourself, and it’s the most recent one. How can you forget it so easily?” Ming Shu stood up, “Hou Cheng, do you continue to lie?”

Hou Cheng opened his mouth in vain and looked at Ming Shu in fear, “I don’t know.”

Ming Shu said: “What ‘don’t know’? Do you not know who the heart of the tomb is? Or do you not know what is written in the heart of the tomb? You sign a contract for the heart of the tomb. If the heart of the tomb is suspected of committing a crime, you have to bear the consequences for him!”

Hou Cheng’s face was dull and panic intertwined, “What? He committed a crime? What did he do?”

Ming Shu sat down again, “Finally you are willing to admit that you are not the heart of the tomb.”

The interrogation room was quiet, breathing and heartbeats could be heard.

Hou Cheng shook his head in despair, “I am not him. You can let me go, I didn’t commit a crime.”

Ming Shu asked, “Who is TA?”

“I don’t know.” Hou Cheng said guiltyly.

Even the recorder thought Mingshu would be angry, but Mingshu just said calmly: “Let’s talk about the process of your acquaintance. You don’t know who the heart of the tomb is, but you have always seen him, communicated with him, and knows him. Is it male or female, old or young, right?”

This time, Hou Cheng nodded like disarming, and told the truth: “It’s a young man, very young, he, he used my tricycle…”

In Hou Cheng’s narrative, the real identity of the heart of the tomb has become a mystery, and he is a handsome man. Three years ago, Hou Cheng drove a tricycle to pick up the free disinfectant in the town. He was stopped by a tomb standing on the side of the road on his return journey.

Nowadays, there are many “backpackers”. Hou Cheng had been carrying people before. Seeing that there was still an empty seat in the back seat, he let the heart of the tomb get into the car.

Hou Cheng speaks few words, but in the heart of the tomb, he is very good at words. He talks all the way and talks about what he has seen and heard when traveling. Hou Cheng responded occasionally, feeling that the other party was very knowledgeable and completely different from the young people in the village.

When he returned to Qingyue Village, Hou Cheng had learned that the heart of the tomb was a writer.

Hou Cheng has lived alone for decades, guarding a yard and a field, and reading the second-hand books he bought in the town when he is free to pass the time. He has gradually formed a hobby that is not a hobby. For the heart of the tomb who can write a book, Hou Cheng can’t say that he worships, but he admires it in his heart.

Qingyue Village has no tourist resources. The heart of the tomb claimed to be here just by accident. He wandered around looking for inspiration and had no destination. He took a ride all the way and stopped to live for a while if he thought it was good.

“I think it’s pretty good here, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and the pace of life is very slow, so I will live for a few days.” The heart of the tomb said.

At first, Hou Cheng didn’t intend to keep the heart of the tomb to live in his own home, but after walking around the village without finding a suitable place to live, Hou Cheng finally went around to the door of Hou Cheng’s house.

Hou Cheng was very embarrassed. Firstly, there was nothing to entertain guests at home. Secondly, he was used to it alone, fearing that someone would enter his territory.

But it was getting late at the time, and all houses were closed, making it unsafe in the wild. After hesitating again and again, Hou Cheng invited the heart of the tomb into the house and vacated the best room in the family to let the heart of the tomb live.

This stay in the heart of the tomb is one week.

He stayed in the room all day and wrote without going out or seeing other people.

Hou Cheng was still a little dissatisfied, but Tomb Heart took out a stack of money from the mountaineering bag, “Uncle Cheng, these will be my room and board expenses, thank you for taking care of it.”

That stack of money was 30,000 yuan.

Hou Cheng did farm work for a year, and his net income was only tens of thousands of yuan. The young man in front of him had 30,000 shots!

Hou Cheng was stunned.

“Uncle Cheng.” Tomb Heart said: “I have got a lot of inspiration from you. For writers, inspiration is the most important and priceless. I should thank you, and you just keep it.”

Few people would not be tempted by money, so Hou Cheng let the tomb stay in a daze.

Before leaving Qingyue Village, Tomb Heart proposed to replace the contract.

Hou Cheng didn’t understand. He knew that as long as he signed a contract with Los Angeles Xinyun Publishing House on behalf of Tomb Heart, handed in manuscripts, paid taxes on his behalf, received the manuscript remuneration on his behalf, and transferred the manuscript remuneration to Tomb Heart, he would get 100,000 yuan a year. reward.

For Hou Cheng, 100,000 yuan is a huge sum of money.

“Uncle Cheng, I know you are worried, but think about it, you helped me, how could I harm you?” Tomb Heart said sincerely: “I have some personal reasons here, and it is not convenient to sign a contract with the publishing house in person. That’s why I asked you to do me this favor. Am I a bad person? We’ve been together for so many days, don’t you know? So, it’s okay if you don’t agree to me for the time being, and mine hasn’t been revised. You think about it again. Well, I will come to you later.”

After the heart of the tomb left, Hou Cheng regretted it the more he thought about it.

What can happen if you sign a contract for someone? The heart of the tomb looks like a cultural man, what can be written about it? You can get one hundred thousand yuan for signing a contract, and you can’t make that much for a year of farming. Where can I find such a good thing?

A few months later, just when Hou Cheng thought he had lost the opportunity to get rich, the heart of the tomb reappeared.

This time, the heart of the tomb did not go to Hou Cheng’s house, but went directly to Tianshang, holding a USB flash drive in his gloved hand, asking Hou Cheng to send the contents of the USB flash drive to Xinyun Publishing House and destroy the USB flash drive.

To this end, Hou Cheng also went to the town to buy a second-hand laptop.

Under the guidance of the heart of the tomb, Hou Cheng published and waited, and successfully signed a contract with Xinyun Publishing House, becoming a fake heart of the tomb.

But the true heart of the tomb is uncertain, and there is no ghost. Every time he appears, he takes away the remuneration taken out by Hou Cheng, and gives Hou Cheng a corresponding reward.

They have cooperated for two years.

“When was the last time the heart of the tomb came to see you?” Ming Shu asked.

“May this year.” Perhaps because it was almost the end of the confession, Hou Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, “He came to get the remuneration, and then gave me 50,000 yuan to let me rest. The summer in the village is too hot and difficult. I have it in my hand. After I got the money, I came out. Unexpectedly, I didn’t expect to be caught by you…”

“This case is very strange.” Hua Chong entertained Ming Shu to eat in the alley across from the city council. Sitting in the dry pot restaurant, he ordered not only the super-large spare ribs and rabbit eel mixed pot, but also the hoof soup and tin foil grilled fish next door. , The table was full, “There must be a problem in the heart of the tomb. For now, regardless of whether he is inciting something or not, the act of asking Hou Cheng to replace his identity is very suspicious. Would normal writers be like this?”

“If you want to make a move on tax payment, it is possible.” Ming Shu has been busy for a few days, desperately in need of an appetizer, and he won’t be polite to Hua Chong. “But the tax that should be paid is all. No less. This is obviously hiding his identity, and he is very smart, looking for people like Hou Cheng. Hou Cheng has no family, lives alone, and is very isolated, and places like Qingyue Village are not monitored, only Hou Cheng alone. Know the truth, there is no physical evidence, and no other personal evidence.”

“The heart of the tomb can even dispose of Hou Cheng when necessary.” Hua Chong thought for a while, then added: “The premise is that the heart of the tomb is a person with criminal potential.”

“Want to go with me.” Ming Shu said: “The suspects in the two murder cases were affected by the heart of the tomb. I must find the heart of the tomb as soon as possible.”

“Hou Cheng, how do you plan to arrange?” Hua Chong asked.

“He is the key. Hua team, I want to apply for it with you.” Ming Shu and Hua Chong had a cup, “Hou Cheng…”

Without waiting for Ming Shu to finish, Hua Chong already knows, “Don’t worry, let me talk about it. Hou Cheng is the only clue now. If he is detained in the security detachment, he may be stunned.”

Ming Shu smiled, “Thank you. When the cases are resolved this time, I will invite you to drink with Teacher Liu again.”

Hua Chong asked, “Called Le Ran?”

“Definitely call him!” Mentioned Le Ran, Ming Shu felt a little more relaxed, “That little idiot.”

Le Ran is a teammate Ming Shu met in the special operations team. He is not very old but has deep qualifications. At that time, a large group of them had just finished a task, and after taking a break, they invited out to drink, and they were happy to fight. Drinking was not bad at first, but they could only drink one kind.

I don’t know who poured red wine for Le Ran first, and then white wine. Le Ran was hit immediately and slumped in his seat motionless.

Most of the drunk people went crazy or simply went to sleep. This guy answered all questions and made a circle of brothers amused. Ming Shu initially felt that bullying his teammates was unjust, but later became addicted. If it weren’t for Shen Xun, the person in charge of the special operations team, to take Le Ran away, a group of people could make trouble until dawn.

“Le Ran has gone to Xiaben Village, and I’m busy with your transfer to the special operations team.” Hua Chong said: “The truth has been hidden for twelve years, and it’s time to come to the conclusion.”

Ming Shu thought of Li Hongmei, sighed, and immediately refreshed, “The case I am in charge of will soon come to light.”