"And then what? Didn't you see him come down?"
"Speaking of which, I really didn't! But I was usually busy or not paying attention. How could someone go upstairs without coming down? Could it be that he's staying with the person they were looking for? But the houses here aren't big, it'd be tight for three people."
I ignored the man and, after asking for the room number, took the elevator upstairs. At unit 802, we were all on guard with our guns, but didn't immediately force the door open. Instead, I asked a service staff member, "Mr. Ou, are you there? I'm from the service staff..."
There was no sound from the room. The service staff member looked at me apologetically. I whispered something in her ear, and she immediately understood, "Mr. Ou, there's an issue with your identification information, and I need to verify it. Could you please open the door?"
I had expected a response from inside, but there was none. Then, I tried to pull the door open. However, as if blown by the wind, and because it wasn't locked, the room door automatically swung open.
The service staff member was startled and jumped back, while Xiao Yuande, Liu Yuning, and I raised our guns and pointed them into the room. But as we entered, we saw no one.
Despite this, a strange and chilling aura emanated from the room. Having dealt with corpses for years, and with a sense of smell superior to that of ordinary people, I quickly realized that the atmosphere here was off. Could someone have died?
At that moment, Liu Yuning's nose twitched, and he immediately turned his head to look at me. I understood his meaning and went directly to the TV stand. We began our investigation. We used fluorescent powder but found no traces of blood. In a paper cup on the TV stand were several cigarette butts. I noticed that among them were Huanghelou cigarettes, the kind my grandfather favored. These cigarettes were very expensive, but my grandfather could afford them. I wasn't sure how he got his money, but seeing these cigarettes, I knew he had definitely been here. Of course, I deduced this from the bite marks on the cigarette holders.
My grandfather had a habit of biting the cigarette holder when he smoked. Seeing me staring intently at a cigarette holder, Ma Biao asked confusedly, "What's so interesting about this cigarette holder?"
"Rookie, different people smoke differently. Some bite the holder, others suck on it, so the holder gets wet..."
Ma Biao suddenly understood. When he realized that He Jianquan had indeed stayed here, he became excited, "It looks like they haven't been gone long! But if they didn't leave through the main door, could it have been the window..."
Mentioning the window, I went to a window frame in the room. This room was very ordinary; the inn wasn't even a one-star establishment. The simple furnishings were normal. On the windowsill, I discovered two sets of footprints, proving that He Xin and my grandfather had indeed left from here. But this was the 8th floor!
At that moment, I was incredibly confused and surprised. How could a normal person do that?
I looked at the pipe below. Although it provided a platform to descend, could He Xin manage it in her condition?
Thinking this, I became even more worried about her. After all, she wasn't alone anymore. Dao Zhi Yong looked at the footprints above and became as tense as I was, "He Xin, what exactly are you doing? Why are you leaving so stealthily, not even daring to use the main door?"
At this point, Gao Mingqiang brought up the hallway surveillance footage and watched it on his tablet. After a while, he said, "That's not right. Aren't these two people them?"
Upon hearing this, we all gathered around and watched the video with him. We discovered He Xin and my grandfather appearing on the screen. It was the video of them entering the room. There was no third person present. It was as if they had willingly hidden themselves. And my grandfather was indeed with He Xin. They now seemed like two people on the run, which completely baffled us. What was the reason for their actions?
"They came out! Although some time has passed, it seems the innkeeper didn't see them!"
"I told you, it's difficult to get down from the 8th floor. But how do you explain the footprints on the windowsill?"
"This doesn't seem like my grandfather's style. He wouldn't resort to such a crude method!"
As Gao Mingqiang and I were discussing this, Liu Yuning added, "I also don't believe the Judge of Verdict would be so evasive. But those footprints are real. Judging by their depth, someone was definitely standing there!"
We returned to the room and re-examined the footprints. It was then that I realized why they had stood on the windowsill. This conclusion was drawn by combining it with the video. Strange noises seemed to have come from outside the room. My grandfather probably intended to descend with He Xin from here. However, given He Xin's condition, it would have been very difficult for her. He hesitated. When the noises outside stopped, my grandfather descended with He Xin, then opened the door and observed the outside. Confirming that everything was clear, my grandfather quickly took He Xin away.
Synthesizing these phenomena, Xiao Yuande analyzed while smoking a cigarette, "The two of them are on the run!"
"That's right. It seems they're being targeted by someone. If they don't keep moving, they'll face mortal danger!" I added.
This situation reminded me of what my grandfather had told me before: he had lived in seclusion precisely to avoid assassins. Could it be that since the case 12 years ago, the Judgement Pursuers had been relentlessly targeting my grandfather? Now, those people had reappeared, but by bringing He Xin with him, wouldn't he endanger her?
Speaking of endangering her, it wasn't that I didn't want to help my grandfather, but considering He Xin's situation... with so many bodyguards around my grandfather, he should be safe. Suddenly, I felt that this time was different. Grandfather, what are you thinking?!
After leaving the inn, the forensic investigators informed me that they had found some living traces in the room. They had likely stayed there for one or two hours, which matched the surveillance footage. However, there was no record of them in the room registration. But for my grandfather, opening a room door was a simple matter. The reason he left no traces was not to prevent us from discovering them, but to prevent the assassins from finding them.
All these signs led me to believe they were once again targeted by assassins, but what about the other missing persons?
Were they all killed?
Upon returning to the provincial department, based on our investigation, Director Ma became anxious, "It seems we have to go back to the situation 12 years ago. This time, even He Jianquan is deeply involved. He probably fled because he didn't want to implicate us. However, Director He, I believe he has only one purpose in bringing He Xin along."
"You mean, she's safest with her grandfather, especially with so many bodyguards around!"