"There should be no direct relations.h.i.+p between them," Miao Xihe said. "Obviously, it's not their way and style of handling affairs. Isn't Qingshan still a wanted fugitive? In times like this, he wouldn't be involved with the police. Alright, take care of these two bodies and explain it to their families."

"Yes."

"As for the cave, just seal it shut."

"Yes."

The people around him had dispersed. They were busy with their tasks. Only he and the middle-aged man who had been following him remained.

"Changshun, who do you think it is?"

Miao Changshun thought for a while and replied, "It's hard to say."

"Are there any restless people in the stockade?"

"Yes, but it has all been small things. They don't have the guts to kill people."

"It is impossible to judge a man's heart from his face," Miao Xihe said. "At the critical moment, there must be no trouble."

"Yes."

Hundreds of miles away from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine, two men stood on a hill.

"You shouldn't have killed those people," said Miao Qingshan, who had escaped from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine.

"Qingshan, you are too kind-hearted," the man wearing a baseball cap said. "What kind of consequences do you think awaited us if we had been caught by them last night? Would it have been death by insects or death by poison?"

"The chief won't be so vicious and hard-hearted." The words Miao Qingshan spoke lacked conviction.

"Listen to yourself. You don't even trust the words you're saying. You must know what kind of person he is. You just don't want to face and admit it!"

Miao Qingshan was silent. He had escaped the stockade and been living outside for nearly 30 years. Moreover, the two people killed the previous night might have been his childhood playmates. If it were him, he would not be able to kill them unless his life was threatened. In fact, what Miao Tianchuan had said was wrong. He didn't think that Miao Xihe was a bad man. He had not thought so before, and he was still lingering at the stage of doubt now. It was not completely certain. When he was in the stockade, Miao Xihe had treated him well. He was a nice and kind elder who taught him many things. He was reluctant to believe that the old man was the kind of person the man in front of him had described.

"They are doing experiments," said the man who was half a head shorter than him.

"What kind of experiments?" Miao Qingshan asked.

"Live experiments. I could vaguely see some corpses. There is a high chance that this is related to the Blood Orchid." He lit a cigarette. This was the first time he had smoked in recent days. He used to like smoking very much. Later on, he quit after an unforgettable experience. Now, he suddenly wanted to smoke again, so he lit one up.

"Can't the Blood Orchids just be taken?" Miao Qingshan asked.

"It should be possible," he said as he breathed out a ring of smoke. The taste was both familiar and strange.

He had taken some Blood Orchid. At that time, he was on the verge of death and had taken a large number of Blood Orchids. They allowed his health to take a turn for the better and be out of danger. Not only did the toxins in his body not erupt, but his body had also undergone some changes. He became more powerful. His vision was stronger, and he could hear more clearly. In other words, he became more powerful.

"Why do they still have to do experiments?"

"Maybe it's to make it into a medicine. There are many secrets in the stockade, especially when it comes to Miao Xihe. He has a lot of secrets."

"What shall we do next?"

"We shall wait a little more," the man replied.

Both their ident.i.ties were quite special now. They were wanted fugitives. Although they were in a relatively remote area where people were ill-informed about news and information and didn't pay much attention to those things, things were different now. The whole province was in a state of panic after hearing about the consecutive cases from He County hundreds of miles away. No one knew who did it, and no one wanted that misfortune to befall their area. As a result, the amount and frequency of police patrols had increased by several times. The two of them never stayed in the same place for more than three days to avoid being discovered.

In a hostel in He County…

Miao Qingfeng and Miao Changhong sat facing each other.

"There were people in the stockade yesterday," Miao Qingfeng said.

"Intruders?"

"Yes. They killed two people in the stockade."

"They killed our people!" Miao Changhong frowned. His expression became very ugly. It had been a long time since anyone had died in the stockade because of intruders.

"It was a trained expert," Miao Qingfeng said. "He killed with just a single shot. They were familiar with the mountain forest near the stockade. One of them was Miao Qingshan!"

"Miao Qingshan? How dare he come back!" Miao Changhong was stunned.

"It can't be wrong. The chief himself confirmed it," Miao Qingfeng said. "There was another person. They're not sure who it is at the moment."

"That can't be wrong, but is it necessary for us to stay here?"

"We'll stay for now," Miao Qingfeng said. "Aren't they drawing a portrait of the suspect? They should be able to produce it soon. Let's wait here to see who it will be. I have a hunch that I will probably know this person."

In He County…

Yang Guanfeng looked at a picture in his hand. It was a portrait of a person that had been inferred from the exposed half of the face.

After scrutinizing it, he handed the portrait to Lu Guanfeng. "Take a look. Have you seen him before?"

"Let me see." Lu Xiufeng stared at the picture. It seemed as if he was blanking out and his mind wandering off. Actually, many pictures were appearing rapidly in his mind like a series of films. There were various characters, but they all had one thing in common: they were all criminals.

"Yes!" he suddenly shouted.

"Who?"

"Search for the wanted fugitives from Qi Province this year."

"Noted."

The relevant staff moved quickly. They soon found a person.

"Zhang Wei?"

"Yes, it's him."

The photo was printed and compared with the portrait.

"It doesn't bear much semblance!" Yang Guanfeng looked carefully and found that the similarity between the two people was no more than 50%. That didn't sound high, but the similarity was not low. After all, it was only a portrait that had been inferred from a half exposed face that had not been particularly clear.

"Look here at the eyes, bridge of the nose, and forehead." Lu Xiufeng pointed at three particular parts, which bore a high resemblance.

"Why is a northerner coming over to southern Yunnan to poison and kill people? What's his purpose?" Yang Guanfeng had no impression of this person because he had not been under his jurisdiction or in a nearby province. He had paid little attention to that case.

"Ah, yes, ask those two to come and identify him," Lu Xiufeng said. "See if he was someone from their stockade."

"Someone from their stockade?"

"Didn't someone in their stockade escape because they were dissatisfied with Miao Xihe?" Lu Xiufeng asked.

"Alright, let's ask them here to have a look."

After receiving the phone call, Miao Qingfeng and Miao Changhong rushed down to the police station. After seeing the portrait of the man, they were stunned.

After seeing the other party's expression, Lu Xiufeng asked, "Do you know this man?"

"I'm can't be certain," Miao Qingfeng said. "How about you, Changhong?"

"Sorry, I haven't seen him before." Miao Changhong shook his head.

"What do you mean that you can't be certain?" Yang Guanfeng asked.

"I seem to have some impression of this man, but I'm not sure," Miao Qingfeng said. "That's what I meant. How about this, I'll take a picture and send it back to the stockade for the chief to have a look at. Is that alright?"

"Yes, please do it as soon as possible."

"Alright."

After taking the photo, Miao Qingfeng sent it back to the stockade. He left the police station with Miao Changhong and went to a nearby restaurant. They chose a private room. It was time to eat anyway, so they talked while eating.

"Isn't that person Miao Tianchuan?" Miao Changhong asked.

"I think there is a 50% resemblance," Miao Qingfeng replied.

"Isn't he already dead?"

"He must be dead," Miao Qingfeng said. "He had that terrible poison in his body. Besides, I saw him fall dozens of feet from the high cliffs into the West River. The current was so fast and strong that he could not have survived."

"Is it not him then?"

"It's very unlikely," Miao Qingfeng said.

"If it is him, it makes sense for Qingshan to be with him," Miao Changhong said.