Xu Zhengqing was cunning. But the police were not so easily fooled by him. If this criminal had thought his little bomb would stop them, he was mistaken. Just in time, Captain Luo had managed to escape the deadly trap, together with Liao Shuang. Not two seconds longer and they would have been buried under the rubble of the house. 

In addition, Jiang Hao reported that he had lost Ding Wei and was now waiting by the latter's car, parked on Jinbao Street, for the young man to return. Whether Xiao Dao's disappearance had anything to do with Monsieur's plans, however, was a matter of speculation. 

The police were still in the dark as to the whereabouts of Xu Zhengqing. Captain Luo's worries grew with every lead that came to nothing. Would they succeed in finding Wenjie alive? If so, would he still be the young man he had come to know through the Water Lily case as a conscientious, righteous student? Or would his captor brainwash him, making him his loyal sidekick?

Luoshen held a secret related to the Tears of Moongoddesse case that Wenjie could help solve. In what way, Luo Jian wondered. Was it perhaps related to the Weiqi board on the painting? He knew Wenjie had mastered the game and his family had owned such a board. 

There was an image of a Weiqi board on the painting. At this point, the specialists had discovered dots that had been painted on the picture with invisible paint. The dots could be translated into numbers. But they did not make any real sense. Luo Jian suspected they might be coordinates, but four of the dots had to be wrong. 

Figuring out which positions led to the correct coordinates took time. Whether they had time was another question. Not enough, they learned shortly after that the traffic police had found a car in the water on Linjiang Road. Its front was dented, the window smashed. The scene of the accident showed similarities to the accident that had killed Zhuang Yaobai. 

To make matters worse, the police had found scraps of clothing. An investigation revealed that Wenjie had been wearing the jacket. But there was no trace of a body. Captain Su was quick to judge that Xu Zhengqing had killed Zhuang Wenjie after learning from him what he wanted to know. Luo Jian did not believe that. That was too obvious.

First the assassination attempt on Liao Shuang and him, then this. It all fit together too well. Xu Zhengqing hoped they thought Wenjie was dead, and Wenjie would buy the story that he had killed Captain Luo. That in turn reinforced Luo Jian's suspicions with the brainwashing. 

Time was running out and the only lead they had not yet sufficiently checked remained Xiao Dao, who had disappeared near Jinbao Street. An unknown person had taken him and left Jiang Hao behind. They could only wait for him to reappear, and that proved to be an unbearable ordeal. 

Three days passed when Officer Liao barged into his office. "There's news from the university. Ding Wei has shown up there." 

Luo Jian immediately threw on his jacket and left the office. 

"I've consulted with the gatekeeper. Ding Wei supposedly wanted to contact a friend. He also noticed that Ding Wei was brought to the university by a black car. He could not see the license plate from a distance. We should be able to find out via the camera surveillance on the road."

"Let Ma take care of that." In the hallway, they encountered Pang Dazhi. "Dazhi, come with us. We'll grab Ding Wei."

Liao Shuang temporally notified Ma Mingze about the car number of the vehicle Ding Wei had been traveling in. 

A little later, Captain Luo, Liao Shuang and Pang Dazhi set off for Qingcheng University. During the trip, Liao Shuang kept in contact with Ma Mingze, who also tapped into the camera surveillance around the university. This ensured that Ding Wei could not easily slip away from them. 

However, the young man did not leave the university campus. 

"I assume he will have met his girlfriend in the canteen," the gatekeeper told Captain Luo as the policemen arrived at the entrance to the university. "I can show you the quickest way through the screen." He let them into the gatehouse and turned the screen of his computer so they had a good view of the map of the inner complex. 

"Thank you." Such cooperative fellow citizens were a blessing every time. 

Without wasting any more time, Luo Jian and his colleagues made their way to the canteen. 

It was filled with numerous male and female students at this hour. As a result, the policemen in their civilian clothes did not stand out. But at the same time, the crowd swallowed Ding Wei. 

"Over there," Liao Shuang spotted him first. 

The young man was sitting at a table in the corner of the hall with two students. Luo Jian frowned. It was Lin Zhiyue and Sun Zhijian who were with him. 

He signaled his colleagues to approach the table from different sides while he chose the direct route. 

The young people at the table did not seem to notice them, so engrossed were they in their conversation. Ding Wei, in particular, looked extremely relaxed, whereas the faces of the other two reflected worry and tension. Luo Jian was sure Xiao Dao knew something about Wenjie. This trail would finally not come to nothing. 

He hadn't quite reached the table when Lin Zhiyue took notice of him. Her eyes widened noticeably. "Captain Luo." 

Sun Zhijian winced. He probably thought the police had come for him. Only Ding Wei remained completely calm, just as if he had been waiting for them. 

Luo Jian still remembered well his first meeting with the young man. He had wanted to talk him into conscience, but Xiao Dao had insisted that he knew nothing about Ding Shenghuo. At that time, he had seemed quite anxious. 

This time, there was no uncertainty clinging to his grin. "You see, rescue is at hand," he said, addressing Lin Zhiyue and Sun Zhijian. Then he put his chopsticks aside but remained seated. "It took you quite a while," he grinned, glancing at his wristwatch.

Luo Jian signaled to his colleagues to just take a stand for now and not intervene. Ding Wei had obviously been waiting for them. Whether that was good or bad was yet to be seen. 

"I'll turn myself in voluntarily." Slowly, he stood up. "But if you take me to the police office, you'll never see Wenjie again."

Luo Jian's expression darkened.

Only now did uncertainty show in Ding Wei's features. "I hope the police have the camera surveillance under control. Xu Zhengqing must not find out about my cooperation, or he will disappear with Wenjie. If you question me in an empty classroom, I'll tell you everything I know."

Luo Jian thought for a moment. Then he nodded. "Dazhi, come with us. Shuang, interview Wenjie's friends." He definitely wanted know about what Ding Wei had discussed with them. 

Xiao Dao nodded to Lin Zhiyue and Sun Zhijian before leaving the hall accompanied by the policemen. 

to be continued...