Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 16.2

Chapter 16.2

When Yu Hongdou went to school after the meal, she went to the Political Science Department to find Qin Xuekai. On the way, she met Gu Yun.

Gu Yan looked at her friend in surprise and asked, “Hey, didn’t you leave already?” Gu Yun had a bunch of books in her arms like she had just left the classroom.

Yu Hongdou was eager to find Qin Xuekai and didn’t want to talk to Gu Yun at the moment. She walked ahead and said, “I need to borrow something from Qin Xuekai.” 

Gu Yun thought this was strange. She stopped Yu Hongdou and asked, “Aren’t you worried that Qin Xuekai will get the wrong idea?”

Yu Hongdou sighed and said, “I’m trying to find out more about the ‘Mysterious Incident Fellowship’. He is the leader of the association. I have to find him to get to know about something.”

Gu Yun: “I don’t have any classes in the afternoon, so why don’t I come with you?”

Yu Hongdou thought about it and realised that if Gu Yan came with her, Qin Xuekai wouldn’t have any misunderstandings. Also, having more people present would help with gathering information. So, Yu Hongdou agreed and said, “Okay.”

When they arrived at Qin Xuekai‘s classroom, there were only a small number of people in the class, and Qin Xuekai was not there. Luckily, there was a boy who was a friend of Qin Xuekai.

“Qin Xuekai is the most studious person. When there is no class in the afternoon, he will help the teachers in the department organise the lecture notes. I think he went to the library to borrow books from the library.”

The three people went to the library and found Qin Xuekai there.

Seeing Yu Hongdou, Qin Xuekai was very happy. He didn’t even bother to read the book. “Hongdou,” he said with a huge smile. And when they saw Gu Yun, his smile faded a little. “Gu Yun.”

Yu Hongdou smiled and asked, “Senior Qin, if it is not a problem, can I see all the documents related to the Mystery Incident Fellowship?”

Qin Xuekai: “There are a lot of fellowship materials. I borrowed a room from the school, and now all the materials are in the old classrooms behind the chapel. Are you here to see them?”

Yu Hongdou: “I need to check something important. Do you have the key to the utility room?”

Qin Xuekai stopped for a second and then walked towards Aisle. “I have the key, so I’ll take you there. But Hongdou, can you tell me what you want to check first?” 

Yu Hongdou pondered for a while. ‘Wang Meiping’s death was bizarre, and the police have kept it secret until now, so I can’t reveal anything.’

“A few days ago, I heard someone talk about some ancient folk magic, and I found it very interesting. It just so happened that it was my turn to give a lecture at the fellowship next week. I remembered that there must be information about this in the fellowship,” she replied.

Qin Xuekai said, “Our fellowship has been established for more than ten years, and half a room of books and old newspapers have been collected in these years. It will be hard to find it in the closet, and it will take a long time. I don’t have anything to do in the afternoon, so I can help you find it.”

Qin Xuekai was the president of the association, and if Yu Hongdou wanted to check the information in the fellowship, she couldn’t avoid asking him. Yu Hongdou thought about it, but then she couldn’t find a reason to get rid of Qin Xuekai, so she just smiled and agreed. “Then I’ll trouble Senior Qin.” 

Hearing her words, Qin Xuekai blushed and quickly turned around. “I am the president of the fellowship. Everything is fine, so there’s no need to talk about problems.”

The three of them walked through the campus, passing by the old classrooms behind the chapel. 

Qin Xuekai led the two of them to the innermost classroom and took the key to open the door.

Yu Hongdou asked Qin Xuekai, “Senior Qin, our group has been around for ten years. Who started it?

Qin Xuekai was surprised by that question. “Wasn’t it mentioned in the first event? This fellowship was established by a senior from Deng’s Department of Mathematics.

Yu Hongdou nodded. The first time she participated in the activity, the students were busy introducing themselves, and the scene was very chaotic. She never liked to listen to long speeches, so when Qin Xuekai introduced the origin of the fellowship, she didn’t pay attention to it.

Gu Yun pushed the glasses on her nose and said, “Hongdou was probably busy eating at that time.”

The door opened, and they all went inside. 

Yu Hongdou looked at the bookcase and asked, “What happened to the senior at Deng University who started the fellowship? Where is he now?”

“I don’t know exactly.” Qin Xuekai opened the bookcase, looked inside, and told Yu Hongdou and Gu Yun, “It’s all here.”

Yu Hongdou and Gu Yun looked at each other, and the two rolled up their sleeves to get busy. 

“You take these documents, and I will check the others,” Qin Xuekai said while pointing at a bunch of documents.

The three of them divided their jobs in the blink of an eye: Qin Xuekai was in charge of the top bookcase, Yu Hongdou was in charge of the middle, and Gu Yun was the shortest and was in charge of the bottom two shelves.

Qin Xuekai asked Yu Hongdou, “Is there a specific scope for what you are looking for? Is it a ritual or a strange art, Western or Eastern?” 

Yu Hongdou moved the things aside and looked through them by herself. “I only know that there are a few wooden nails about one foot long that were nailed to people for some reason. I can’t tell whether they are from the East or the West, and I don’t know what those things are used for.” She said while gesticulating with her hand, “It’s about this long and sharp.”

Gu Yun looked at her friend and asked with a curious look, “Hey, are there such weird things? Where did you hear them?” 

Qin Xuekai thought for a while and commented. “It’s a bit like the West’s way of dealing with vampires. But are they real? I think it was only used to scare children.”

Yu Hongdou was taken aback by those words. She didn’t expect those things to be related to Western culture. She hurriedly said, “Then I’ll look for the information of the Western Church.” 

The three of them looked for information for a long time but couldn’t find any useful information. 

Finally, Yu Hongdou found a cartoon drawn in a newspaper. In that, a priest was holding a wooden stake in his hand and was about to nail it to the chest of a so-called vampire.

However, the wooden stake was as thick as a rolling stick, and the murder weapon that He Yunqin drew on the table at noon was sharp and thin, so there was no slight similarity between the two.

Yu Hongdou thought about it again. ‘If Wang Meiping’s cases were committed by the same gang, not only could these people commit crimes again and again, but they also had ways to evade the police.’

Suddenly, Gu Yun said, “Look at the record on it. Is the thing painted on it a so-called wooden nail?” 

Yu Hongdou went over and saw that it was an ancient book bound in thread, and the pages of the book were yellow and brittle as if it could be blown to pieces by the wind at any time. On the page that Gu Yun turned to, there was an illustration that indeed depicted something like a slender wooden nail.

Yu Hongdou studied the picture carefully, recalling what He Yunqin said about the jewellery store at noon. Her expression changed slightly, and she wondered. ‘Could it be related to that person? It seems that I need to find my brother as soon as possible.’

End of chapter 16

Have a nice day!