Bu Tao looked awkwardly at Luba. “None of the guards remembered what hairstyle he had, so we left it blank,” said Bu Tao. “The sketch artist did a good job with what we had.”
"Ah, I see," Luba's reaction had changed slightly, he didn't expect the cops to realize so quickly that the robbers had wigs.
"Well, that's all the questions regarding this case, but is it all right if I can consult you about something else?"
Luba wondered what it could be, and nodded. Bu Tao took out another photograph and slid the picture toward Luba. “Do you happen to know who this is?”
Unlike the other picture, it was a photograph of a dead monk. Luba recognized the monk and wondered if the interview was an interrogation and if the cops were suspicious of his involvement. He didn’t think the cop would connect him with the monk from the incident.
“I do not believe I know this brother, what temple is he from?” Luba asked.
“We have traced his identity back to the Guardian Temple,” Bu Tao explained. “I thought since he's also a monk, that you might have encountered him before. His murder is still one of our unsolved cases.”
“I see, unfortunately, I do not know all the brothers,” Luba replied.
“His story is rather unfortunate. He was abandoned in his youth by his parents, who were unable to financially support him. He was homeless before engaging in petty crimes. After his release from prison, he lived in the temple as a Buddhist monk for 10 years, but strangely, he was found dead with a forgery. It took us a while to find his real identity.”
“That is rather unfortunate.”
“Is it a common history amongst monks?”
"For many us, the life of prayer is the only way to clean the slate of our past sins."
“The abbot said you are one of the most dedicated monks, always focused on prayers and cleaning the temple.”
“The abbot is too kind with his words.” Luba wondered if it was usual to have such a thorough background check on hostages.
“He was relieved to hear that you are safe, so he was very chatty when we talked to him on the phone,” said Bu Tao.
“Captain, thank you for notifying the abbot,” Luba bowed politely. “Even with my past sins, the abbot has been very kind to accept me.”
“You were in jail for petty crimes and joined the temple afterward. I think many people should follow your direction.”
“Thank you for your compliment,” Luba had no idea what the Captain’s questions were leading to.
Suddenly, Bu Tao closed the file and smiled.
“Thank you for answering my questions, that is all,” Bu Tao stood up and gave a polite bow.
Luba was confused, but his face appeared cordial, and bowed back to Bu Tao. He left the interview room and into the hallway. By coincidence, Li Yun also walked out from an adjacent interview room.
“Mr. Luba, you also finish with your interview?” Li Yun approached the monk. “Professor Luisa finished early, and the dig team has asked me to drive you to the hotel.”
“Mister is too kind,” Luba took Li Yun on the offer, and they headed out to the parking garage.
During the way, Luba occasionally inspected the strange doctor. He had come across Li Yun’s scripture by accident and he had wanted to recruit Li Yun to assist with creating counterfeit artifacts. However, the man wasn’t stable in his head. Luba continued his search, and the artist he eventually recruited wasn’t stable either, but they were pressed for time and needed someone to create a replica.
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On the second encounter with Li Yun, Luba's impression of the doctor was much better. The doctor was personable and seemingly normal. However, there was something about him that put Luba on alert. A cellphone ringtone of a classical song came up on Luba’s phone and a name appeared on the caller ID.
“Hello?” Luba responded as he walked next to Li Yun.
“We have a problem,” the voice from the other side sounded urgent. “Laco and Enzu are in critical condition, we are taking residence in a local motel.”
“I’m doing fine, how are you?” Luba responded. His voice was calm, but internally, he was surprised that even Abbot Haoyang couldn’t solve the problem.
“I don’t know, but they are in immense pain, and regular painkillers aren’t working,” the abbot’s voice explained. Hearing Luba’s reply, the abbot figured it was an inconvenient time to call. “I’ll call you later.”
“All right, thank you for your good wishes,” Luba hung up the phone and looked at Li Yun to explain. “Some of my brothers were worried about what had happened, and called to check up on me.”
Li Yun nodded, but he could hear the abbot’s voice from Luba’s cell phone quite clearly. It seemed that his poison was working.
“If it isn’t inconvenient, can mister drop me off at the grocery store?” asked Luba. “I should be able to manage my own transport back to the hotel.”
“All right,” Li Yun agreed and drove Luba to the grocery store.
Li Yun chatted in the car, and randomly complained about his patients. As a doctor, it was common to talk about unruly and unreasonable patients.
"The man was very sick, but none of his children allowed him to stay in the hospital," Li Yun explained.
"Sick patients who don't want to be treated is common," said Luba. "Many people do not trust your profession."
"But I managed to convince the family to let him stay in the end," Li Yun explained.
"Did you offer to pay for them?"
Li Yun shook his head. "My measly intern salary wasn't enough to pay for my own hospitalization, much less a stranger. I was just complaining to them about my cousin uncle’s funeral cost, and somehow they managed to convince themselves that it was better to treat their father illness than to pay for the funeral cost."
“You seem to be someone with immense patience,” Luba commented. “You probably don’t complain about them often enough.”
Li Yun laughed, “You’re right, just making conversation.”
Luba realized that the doctor was quite a good man. He had met many people, but few went out of their way to help others. Maybe that was why Li Yun became a doctor.
Once they reached the store, Luba bowed and thanked Li Yun before entering the grocery store. He turned back briefly to see Li Yun’s car driving away, and relaxed his shoulder as he grabbed a grocery basket. After thirty minutes in the grocery store, he approached the checkout counter with a basket full of fruits and vegetables. He looked outside occasionally to make sure that no one was following him. Once it felt safe, he walked across the street to the motel room.
Standing before room 389, Luba knocked and then waited. The door opened and he quickly entered.
“What happened?” Luba asked as he set the grocery down by the side table.
The short man, known as Abbot Haoyang, shook his head as he narrated what had happened. After taking the artifacts, the six monks had driven into an abandoned warehouse and loaded up a small tractor-trailer. Once everything was loaded up, they were planning to drive into CC City and store the artifacts until the investigation died down.
However, two of the monks collapsed midway through the operation, their legs paralyzed, and their faces squinted as though he was in immense pain. They were holding themselves back from screaming. Abbot Haoyang had inspected their body, but couldn’t figure out the cause. They could hold out until they reach CC City, but when the agonizing scream bellowed out throughout the warehouse, Abbott Haoyang halted the operation; he couldn’t sit by as his men suffered.
“Boss, were they poisoned?” Luba asked Abbott Haoyang.
“I’ve checked their pulses, if it’s a poison, then it is rather remarkable,” replied the Abbot. “The rhythm is too calm and normal and their temperature is normal. I’ve never seen a poison that causes paralysis and pain without elevating the heart rate.”
Luba saw the two monks laying on the bed. Their feet were paralyzed, but their upper body was squirming in pain. The only thing preventing them from screaming was a cloth in their mouth to prevent them from biting down too hard. He had never seen them in so much pain.
When they were in the army, Luba, known as Sargeant Ren, was one of the special forces. Aside from Abbott Haoyang, all of them had experienced some form of torture. Thinking back, they owed their life to Abbot Haoyang.