Urban Night Returner

There was too much fog to see anything.Zhong Lecen put his hands around his mouth and shouted: "Hey, is there anyone in front?"

No one answered.Shen Gu followed the footprints on the beach to find the direction, and was about to jump onto the reef, when he heard the sound of something slapping the water in front, and the mournful cry had stopped at some point.

Shen Gu jumped to the end of the reef with a few steps, and sure enough there was a man in the water, his head was smashed by the reef, probably the pain brought him back to his mind, and he was struggling to swim to the reef.Shen Gu flicked off his shoes and jumped down to drag him back. The man was clutching his bleeding wound with a confused expression on his face.Zhong Lecen shook him a few times: "Is there another person?"

The man seemed to wake up at this time: "Ah, Shuning, where is Shuning!"

Shen Gu raised his eyes and saw that the sea was shrouded in mist, as if a curtain had been drawn in front of them, and the figure of the woman could not be seen at all.In this case, he has good water skills, and he doesn't know where to go to save people.

Zhong Lecen suddenly pulled him back: "Listen—" Before he finished speaking, Shen Gu heard a sound, like a huge fish swimming in the water, and it seemed to be going to the beach along the nearby reef .He rushed over quickly, and sure enough, he saw the middle-aged woman on the edge of the water. Her lower body was soaked in the water, and her upper body was lying on the sand. Her expression was calm, as if she was asleep, but her chest was heaving and her breathing was normal.Shen Gu looked at the surface of the sea, only seeing layers of waves passing by, and there was no movement.

"How did it fall?" Shen Gu used Zhong Lecen's handkerchief to cover the wound on the man's head, and asked knowingly.The man's expression was confused: "I - I don't know... Anyway, when I opened my eyes, I was in the water, like a dream. Shuning, what's going on?"

The woman was even more confused: "I don't know... I just remember hearing someone crying, and I suddenly wanted to see it, and then I didn't know."

Shen Gu and Zhong Lecen looked at each other and exchanged glances. Shen Gu stood up and said, "Let's take you to the hospital. The wound is quite deep and you need a tetanus."

The woman staggered and wanted to stand up, Zhong Lecen went to help her, Shen Gu suddenly caught a glimpse of a small thing falling from the corner of her clothes, it was too far away, when he reached out to grab it, it had already fallen, fell into the water on the shore In a shallow puddle.

"What's wrong?" Zhong Lecen was taken aback when he saw him stretch out his hand suddenly.

Shen Gu didn't care about answering, and immediately squatted down to search the shallow puddle.He clearly saw that when the thing fell, it reflected a little soft light, and it was another bead, but it was silver-white.But he searched, and there were no beads in the shallow puddle.That is a small puddle left by the sea on the shore, and there is only a strand of seaweed in it, and nothing else.

The man was sent to the hospital, the doctor was treating the wound in the emergency room, and the woman held Shen Gu and Zhong Lecen outside to thank him: "Thanks to you today, otherwise we would all drown. I don't know what happened at the time, Why do you jump down when you get dizzy? It seems like a ghost is fascinated..."

Zhong Lecen patted her hand comfortingly: "It's okay, it may be that you were too sad at the time... a little too sad. When people are too excited, the brain will be a little lack of oxygen."

The woman let out a long sigh: "Oh, how can I not be sad."

Zhong Lecen asked softly: "That——is your child?"

The woman's eyes turned red, and she nodded: "My son died of leukemia. When he left, he told us to scatter his ashes into the sea. I don't want to. I think it's better to go to the ground when he dies, but it has never been done. Later, his father said that this was his son's last wish. He has loved the sea since he was a child. Let him go to the sea after he dies... That's why I said that I will do this today..."

Zhong Lecen was saddened by what she said, and nodded with reddish eye circles.The woman must have been depressed for a long time, and pulled him to chatter: "You are too young. I was only 26 when I left. I left last summer. Before I left, my father and I were arguing with him. He was outside I found a girlfriend who said she was from out of town and opened a small shop in Binhai. I am not very willing. His father’s friend’s daughter is interested in him. The conditions are good and there is a house. You said, we are also for him, right? ?Now the price of this house is going up and down, even if our house is demolished, the subsidy money is not enough to move back, let alone prepare a house for him if he gets married in the future. How can young people be willing now? I live with my parents! His father's friend is in business and has money, and the house has already been prepared. Besides, the girl is also nice, in all aspects. There was also a fight... Who knows, within a few days He was dying, and when he went to the hospital for an examination, he was told that it was leukemia... the first few days he quarreled and refused to eat, and it was summer again, and no one cared about losing weight, who knows..." She couldn't continue, sobbed.

Zhong Lecen comforted her frantically.At this time, the doctor sent the man out: "The wound is sutured, go for the tetanus, and I will write you an order."

The woman just got up, thanked the man again and went to the injection room with the man.Shen Gu came over and patted Zhong Lecen's shoulder, and wiped away the moisture from the corners of his eyes with his thumb: "Let's go, let's go home too, I have something to tell you, it's a little strange."

Zhong Lecen wiped his face embarrassingly: "What's the matter?" Shen Gu said the beads he saw twice: "Why can't I find it after falling? I'm sure I read it right."

Zhong Lecen thought for a while: "Maybe, it's the shark's tears."

"Shark tears?"

"The tears of the sharks can be turned into pearls, but they will melt when they fall into the sea. What you see may be the tears of the sharks. And what we heard today is the cries of the sharks, so it is probably reliable."

Shen Gu stretched out his finger: "Two questions. First, we heard the cries of the merman today, why did it cry? Second, if this is indeed the merman's tears, then was it the merman who killed Qiu Feng? If so, why did it kill Qiu Feng? Because I suspect that Qiu Feng's so-called 'girlfriend' had something to do with his death, could she be a mermaid? What is her motive for killing?"

Zhong Lecen frowned and thought: "Mermen are a kinder species. Sometimes they come to land, and if they spend the night in someone's house, they will reward their master with tears. If there is no reason, they will not kill people. Could it be that Qiu Feng just drowned himself, and was just touched by the sharks?"

Shen Gu shook his head: "No. Qiu Feng died very strangely, not to mention that he seemed to die after soaking underwater for three or four days, but his expression after death is similar to the expression of that woman today They were all very calm. Liu Wu said that he was indeed drowned, but how could the drowned person be so calm? And the mermaid you mentioned is a mermaid? I went to check the wedding dress shop in Taitung today The shop is called 'Daughter of the Sea'. There are many similarities between the owner and the 'girlfriend' of Qiu Feng that Xiao Nan mentioned, which cannot be doubted."

Zhong Lecen blinked: "What you said makes sense. But mermaids live in the deep sea and rarely come to land, especially now that ocean fishing and pollution are serious, so there are even fewer mermaids. There are very few supplementary materials in modern times. Therefore, Qiu Feng’s strange death—I really can’t explain it. I also can’t say whether it has something to do with the mermaids. As for the shopkeeper you mentioned, you have to Otherwise, I'll go and see it too?"

"What is the difference in appearance between a mermaid and an ordinary human?"

"It... doesn't seem to be any different, right? If there is, they may be prettier than ordinary people. Besides, their feet are made of fish tails, so they will get tired easily after walking for a long time."

Shen Gu frowned: "No matter which shark can go ashore?"

Zhong Lecen smiled: "You don't take things in fairy tales seriously, do you? It's true that young mermaids can't melt their legs, but adult mermaids can. But mermaids can't leave the water for a long time, so they I seldom go ashore. That’s why you say that the owner of the shop is a mermaid. I think it’s quite strange. To open a shop in Taitung, it is bound to leave the water for a long time. This is very inconvenient for the mermaid. Why did she do this? What about it? Also, sharks seldom cry aloud, the cries we heard today are not recorded in books. What is it that makes it so sad?"

"Let's stop discussing here, otherwise, go to Taitung now."

Shen Gu and Zhong Lecen rushed to nothing, "Daughter of the Sea" closed the door, and the aunt next to her poked her head to see Shen Gu, and told him that the shopkeeper hurriedly took the little girl away last night, saying that someone in the family was sick and wanted to go back. home to see.Someone ordered two wedding dresses, and she took them home to make them, and they must deliver them on time. If the person who ordered them came to ask about the progress, please explain to her.

Shen Gu took a look through the gap of the rolling shutter door, and found that the items in the store were intact, but the two clothes on the model were missing.

"It's a pity. If the clothes are still there, I can see if they are made of shark silk."

"What's a shark like?"

"It's smoother and more delicate than ordinary silk, with better luster, and it doesn't get soaked in water."

Shen Gu suddenly thought of the pregnant woman by the sea: "That woman is a shark! At that time, I wondered why there was such a big puddle of water under my feet when my clothes were not wet. It turned out to be like this! We were one step too late!"

"You mean that pregnant woman?" Zhong Lecen recalled, "The pregnant mermaid can't leave the water, why did she come ashore?"

"And she is crying, who is she crying for?" Shen Gu's mind flashed, and he made a bold association, "Could it be that she was crying for the son of the couple just now? Just when the two of them arrived at the beach Afterwards, we heard the cries of the sharks."

"It's possible. Maybe it's for this reason that the sharks rescued the people who fell into the sea."

"But didn't those two people jump into the sea because they were attracted by her crying!"

"I don't think that's what she intended. The voice of the mermaid is fatal to all kinds of creatures, but they seldom make a sound. There are records about the siren in Western mythology, but the siren is actually a mermaid. However, I suspect that those records are exaggerated, because sharks generally do not make sounds if they are not for food. They sing when they are happy and cry when they are sad. From this point of view Similar to humans."

"Then let's go find the couple right away. Maybe we can find some clues from them. Hey, do you think their son died because he was with the shark?"

"It seems that there is no such record...and they said that the child died of leukemia."

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. By the way, there is another clue. Someone ordered a wedding dress in that store."

Han Jinyue was very happy to receive a call from Shen Gu, and brought his fiancé over here.The young man looks upright, with the look of an honest person between his eyebrows and eyes, and he doesn't talk too much. As soon as they meet, he solemnly apologizes to Shen Gu, which makes Shen Gu feel a little awkward.Han Jinyue was elated: "Officer Shen is free today? This is—"

Shen Gu hesitated for a moment: "My boyfriend, Xiao Zhong."

Han Jinyue took a sip of coffee and choked in his throat: "Huh?" Zhong Lecen didn't expect Shen Gu to be so direct, and he didn't know what to do for a while.On the other hand, Shen Gu's expression was indifferent: "My boyfriend."

Han Jinyue's expression twisted for a moment, and after being astonished, he actually smiled: "Ah? Really? Oh, what, that's great!"

This time even Shen Gu was surprised.Very good?What is it?

Han Jinyue's fiancé stabbed her quietly, Han Jinyue reacted suddenly, coughed dryly, and put on a serious expression: "No. I mean, it's pretty good. Mr. Zhong is a good person at first glance, and it's quite suitable , quite suitable. So what, let's go have a meal together?"

"We are looking for you today because we have a case to trouble you."

"Then talk about it while eating. Huh? Case? What case?"

After all, Han Jinyue found a restaurant nearby and took Shen Gu and Zhong Lecen to dinner.Shen Gu didn't tell her about the mermaid in detail, but only said that the shop was involved in a case and the identity of the shop owner needed to be found out.

"My wedding dress isn't ready yet. We're going to get married on May [-]st. Yu Ling said—oh, the owner's name is Yu Ling, and the little girl's name is Yu Man—she said that handmade wedding dresses are time-consuming, and she has already picked them up. One reservation, I can only postpone it for a while. But it must be in time before May [-]st. She said that it will be ready by the end of April. Oh, yes, we have her mobile phone number. Xiaokang, where is the mobile phone number? ?”

Xiaokang looked down on his phone.Han Jinyue stuck out her tongue embarrassingly: "I lost my mobile phone again. Fortunately, Xiaokang kept it here. Here, this is it."

Shen Gu sent the mobile phone number directly to Xiao Heizi for him to check, and continued to ask: "Do you know anything else about her?"

Han Jinyue shook her head: "No more. Yu Ling doesn't like to talk, and Yu Man is a little girl who seems to be careless all day long. She doesn't know how her family educated her. She must be fifteen and she doesn't know anything. She's so confused. I can't talk to her. Besides, I'm just engaged to a wedding dress, and my friend introduced me to it in the first place-oh yes, I can ask my friend to see if she knows anything. Wait, I'll call .”

Han Jinyue's friend is Xue Ming, her college classmate, who got married earlier than her, and her daughter is two months old, a chubby little girl, very playful.Han Jinyue vaguely introduced that Shen Gu was a criminal policeman, and someone wanted to ask her about it.Xue Ming heard that he was asking about "the daughter of the sea", so he talked too much.

"I also saw it when I was wandering around Taitung when I was picking out a wedding dress. At that time, the shop owner was not the same. Now this one is called Yu Ling, and he is always cold. The other one is called Yu Yue, who is not as beautiful as Yu Ling, but has a very gentle temper. I saw her making a wedding dress for myself at the time. The wedding dress was extremely beautiful. I said that the silk was not like silk, nor was the gauze. Blue head, hand-embroidered lace, I liked it very much, so I asked her if I could order it. In fact, she sells cross-stitch, and she didn’t want to make it for me at first. I don’t know why, but when she saw my husband, she agreed to do it for me. I showed you the wedding dress, and she also gave me a pearl necklace, which I wore when I got married.”

The wedding dress is spread on the bed, and it really looks like yarn but not yarn, like silk but not silk.Xue Ming sorted it out cherishingly: "I also searched on the Internet, but I couldn't find this kind of material anywhere. It felt like water on my body, and it was very comfortable. Later, when I got married in Jinyue, I thought of her coming, so I recommended Jinyue. I also went to order wedding dresses, but I found out that I changed people when I went there. Fortunately, it is still a family, and the craftsmanship is also very good. It seems that there are quite a few people who go to that store to order wedding dresses, but it seems that not everyone can do it ordered."

Zhong Lecen took advantage of Shen Gu to block Xue Ming's line of sight, quietly picked up a cup and dripped a few drops of water on the wedding dress, and sure enough, the water droplets slid down the fabric, without seeping into the clothes at all.Xue Ming didn't notice, and took out another necklace: "This is the necklace Yu Yue gave me. I have a friend who knows that it is a real deep-sea pearl. I thought it was an artificial pearl at first, but I found out later. Gui, I wanted to return it to her at the time, but I couldn’t find anyone. I wanted to return it to Yu Ling, but she said that she would not take back what Yu Yue gave her. Don’t say it, I was really afraid of her cold appearance, so I had to go first Take it. By the way, Officer Shen, what happened to Yu Yue?"

"We're also looking for her, it's hard to say yet."

"Oh—ah, do you know that Yu Yue has a boyfriend, who seems to be called Zhou Zhi, and I heard that he works for some electronic company to build a website. I met once when I went to see a wedding dress, and Yu Yue and him The relationship is very good, but I heard that Zhou Zhi's family disagreed, and Yu Yue was quite annoyed, so he told me a little bit."

"Zhou Zhi? Is he thin, not tall, and well-mannered?"

"Yes, yes."

Shen Gu glanced at Zhong Lecen.Well, the clues are aligned here, but it is also broken.Because Zhou Zhi's parents had never met their son's girlfriend at all, and never listened to his son's introduction seriously, so they didn't know anything about Yue.