Chapter 268: All Talk And No Substance
Time flew by until noon.
Inside the office at the barracks station of Zhang Xiaofeng of the Security Brigade.
Zhang Xiaofeng’s face was gloomy, tinged with some worry.
Because Liu Dadan still hadn’t returned home, and there was no news at all!
He vaguely felt that something was off. No matter how rampant Liu Dadan was, he couldn’t be arrogant to this extent, right?
He hadn’t shown up all morning, nor was there any notice—this was clearly not normal!
“Xiao Zhao!”
“Here!”
“Go, send people out to search everywhere Company Commander Liu usually likes to go. Make sure to find him for me!”
“Yes!”
This search lasted two hours, and Zhang Xiaofeng grew increasingly anxious inside.
“Still not found?!”
“Go check Company Commander Liu’s home, ask his concubine if their family is missing anything.”
“Alright, I’ll go right now.” Xiao Zhao couldn’t help feeling exasperated inside. Liu Dadan had really made money—a company commander, and he was already keeping a concubine.
No matter the era, women all needed money to keep!
If you didn’t have a certain foundation in your pocket, how dare you find a mistress or a fourth? You couldn’t even support yourself.
When Xiao Zhao arrived at Company Commander Liu’s home and asked his concubine, he got this response from Company Commander Liu’s concubine:
“All our family’s money is controlled by big sister. I know nothing about what family fortune we have, how much money, or where it’s kept.”
“Normally the master gives me a little money for spending. When shopping, I just charge to account. I really don’t know about all the family money.”
Xiao Zhao had no choice but to ask the concubine to take him to Liu Dadan’s bedroom to check it out.
He was Zhang Xiaofeng’s trusted aide, had followed him for some time, wasn’t stupid, and naturally sensed something was wrong.
The concubine seemed to realize something, asking nervously, “Boss, has something happened?”
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t. Lead the way ahead.” Nothing had been found yet, so Xiao Zhao naturally didn’t dare speak carelessly.
“Alright, alright.” The concubine grew even more panicked inside, hurrying ahead to lead the way. She had no mind to sway the perky butt usually wrapped in her qipao, and her steps were more flustered.
After entering Liu Dadan’s bedroom, Xiao Zhao carefully checked around.
The quilt on the bed was neatly spread, no signs of mess, very much like how women habitually tidy up after a normal person gets out of bed.
There were no traces of fighting inside the room; everything was clean and tidy.
While carefully checking, he asked, “When did you notice your family master wasn’t home?”
The concubine quickly replied, “This morning. The master’s officer called home, ringing nonstop, and no one picked up, so I got out of bed to answer.”
“Boss Zhang asked me to check on the master, so I went to his room and saw he wasn’t home.”
Xiao Zhao kept searching, but his forehead furrowed involuntarily.
Not just because Liu Dadan’s concubine’s words were useless to him, but because everything here was too normal—no issues visible at all, at least not to him.
“Alright, I understand.”
After searching around but still finding nothing, he hurriedly left Liu Dadan’s home and returned to the camp headquarters.
“Officer, everything at Liu Dadan’s home is normal, no signs of him running off at all.”
Why say running off?
Because he understood the meaning in the officer’s words.
So much time had passed, the man had vanished inexplicably without a trace, impossible to find—naturally, one would think of embezzlement and flight.
Zhang Xiaofeng’s face was somber, his fingers lightly tapping on the table.
Still no sign of Liu Dadan, making his heart sink deeper and deeper.
He couldn’t help thinking of a rumor: supposedly, a number of little devils living in Beiping had gone missing without reason recently.
There had been a full search before, on a grand scale, hard to keep secret. He had a friend in the East Asia Academic Research Association who had casually mentioned it.
Reportedly, those who vanished had their necks twisted, found in the dump—unrecognizable when discovered.
Combined with the ghost rumors from the little devils’ unit stationed in Beiping these days, a chill slowly rose in his heart.
“Could it be because our Security Brigade took over the curfew, and with so many people, that ‘thing’ couldn’t find a chance to strike, so it turned its eyes to officers not involved in curfew patrol?!”
Thinking of this possibility, his scalp tingled, a chill rushing from his soles straight to his head, paling his face.
“Officer, officer?” Seeing the officer’s face grow worse, Xiao Zhao called out softly in worry.
“Hm?”
“Officer, what’s wrong with you?”
“Ah, nothing. Keep sending people to search for Liu Da and Company Commander Liu. Notify me when he’s found. Alright, go ahead if there’s nothing else.” Zhang Xiaofeng forced a smile and waved him off.
“Alright.”
Xiao Zhao vaguely felt the officer was hiding something from him, but as a subordinate, he naturally didn’t dare overstep.
After sending Xiao Zhao out, Zhang Xiaofeng slumped heavily into the chair, breathing heavily a few times to suppress the inexplicable chill and unease in his heart, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.
The strong nicotine went down his throat and into his lungs, warming his brain somewhat stiffened by the chill. He couldn’t help pondering: if Liu Dadan still wasn’t found before curfew, should he report to Regiment Commander Zhang?
After some unknown time, the burning pain snapped him from his thoughts; he reflexively tossed the cigarette butt. Though his fingers burned painfully, it cleared his mind more.
“Suppress it for now. What if Liu Dadan ran off for some reason, or left temporarily for a special cause? Reporting now wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“What if Liu Dadan comes back? Wouldn’t that make Regiment Commander Zhang think I lack control over my subordinates?”
“If not found before curfew, then wait until tomorrow.”
He had another unspoken reason: if Liu Dadan was really targeted by something unclean, even if reported, what could the higher-ups do?
They couldn’t have Regiment Commander Zhang dress as a Taoist or monk to exorcise and catch ghosts, right?
That would be ridiculous!
“But tonight, I need to stay with the brothers in the guard post. They say places with many people, especially men, have strong yang energy—those unclean things fear places with strong yang energy most.”
In his view, if there really was something unclean, the patrol team was safe last night because the gathered men had strong yang energy.
That thing didn’t dare approach, so it shifted target to Liu Dadan.
He said it and did it: after dark with still no Liu Dadan, he decisively withdrew everyone, then stayed with his subordinate soldiers in the guard post.
For a proper battalion commander to come patrol the guard post, the Security Team was very surprised.
The Security Team Captain was especially flustered: “Battalion Commander, with your status, how can you patrol with us ordinary soldiers?”
“What kind of talk is that? What ordinary soldiers or small soldiers—all brothers, no high or low, noble or base?”
His words sounded righteous, but he actually disdained it greatly inside.
The weather was warming up now, and few of these ordinary soldiers were clean, reeking of nauseating sour stink.
But he endured it. Compared to discomfort in taste, life was more important.
Having ‘suffered such humiliation’ and stooped to squeeze with the soldiers, Zhang Xiaofeng naturally didn’t mind winning some hearts.
“I know brothers work hard daily, but as soldiers, obeying orders is duty. I, as battalion commander, can’t refuse, but sharing hardships with brothers is only right.”
These words had a good effect; many simple-minded ordinary soldiers truly felt admiration from the heart.
In these times, one willing to share hardships with ordinary soldiers was a rare breed.
However, most shrewd or brainy ones sneered at it.
If you really cared for brothers that much, why take our military pay?
All that talk, but no mercy in action, right?
Don’t think we don’t know where the money for those two concubines at your home came from—sucked from our soldiers’ blood!
Plus searching for Company Commander Liu all day today, and the prior ghost incidents, it was hard not to connect dots.
There’s a saying: don’t think you’re so smart, or others fools who know nothing and are easily fooled!
Whoever really thinks that is the biggest fool!
Still, they were ordinary soldiers, he was battalion commander—they could only grumble inside.
Time passed quietly, soon reaching the latter half of the night.
The Security patrol teams still put on a show like yesterday; Beiping City’s curfew seemed strict but was actually nominal.
This gave much convenience to those wanting to act at night, like Cao Weida in night-walking clothes.
Those guard posts were built along main roads; avoid them, and all of Beiping City was unimpeded.
In the pitch-black night, Cao Weida headed straight to an address on the note.
Upon arrival, he crouched on the rooftop observing carefully, confirmed safe, then quietly flipped down.
Security Brigade First Regiment Second Battalion Second Company Squad Leader Feng Ergou lay naked on the bed snoring loudly.
Beside him, a voluptuous woman slept equally nude.
Feng Ergou was formerly a despised little thug in Beiping City, did plenty of wicked deeds, just never anything humane.
Later little devils came; Security Regiment under Cui Qi surrendered to them as traitors. Cui Qi, smug, expanded to form Security Brigade.
Thus, Feng Ergou keenly seized the chance, joined during expansion, spent all savings currying favor with superiors, got squad leader title.
