Chapter 36

"Master!"

"Master!"

Gu and Hu shouted almost in unison.

"6:38! You two arrived at the compound gate at 6:30. It took you 8 minutes to cover this distance. Are you two plotting some bad ideas again?" Lu Haoxuan looked at the large clock on the wall and said unhurriedly.

"Heh heh, Master, what bad ideas could we two have? Besides, even if we did, they wouldn't escape your sharp eyes, would they?" Gu Changzheng changed his usual seriousness and said with a grin.

Wei Jie, who was cooking in the kitchen, heard the commotion and hurried to the door: "Changzheng, quick! Come and give me a hand! Jinquan, help me go check that pot of Clivia on the balcony. Why have the leaves been turning yellow these past few days?"

"Okay! Okay!"

"Coming! Coming!"

The two heard their Master's wife's summons and bypassed their dignified Master to go about their respective tasks!

The old man saw that both of them had run off and muttered somewhat angrily: "These two brats! Now that they've both gone to work, who's going to play chess with me?"

The dignified air on Lu Haoxuan had never changed, but these two disciples of his knew him too well, knowing that beneath his serious exterior was a kind heart, especially toward them, treating them like his own.

On the dining table, the chicken and yam soup was fragrant. When Gu Changzheng brought the last dish of Mapo Tofu to the table, he saw a bottle of Five-Star Moutai tied with a red ribbon placed on the table.

"Oh Master! We can't bear to drink this treasure of yours!" Gu Changzheng deliberately raised his voice and said.

Hu Jinquan, who was tending to the flowers and plants on the balcony, heard the commotion and hurried over. As soon as he saw the iron-cap Moutai on the table, his eyes lit up!

Lu Haoxuan snorted a few times through his nose: "Hmph! Stop pretending for me. Haven't you two been eyeing this iron-cap of mine for a long time? Let's finish it tonight! It'll save you from thinking about it!"

"Alright! Oh Master, sit down quickly. Master's wife, come quickly, dinner is served!" Gu Changzheng no longer looked like a criminal police detachment captain at this moment; he was the spitting image of a spoiled child!

Dinner proceeded amidst laughter and joy. Lu Haoxuan couldn't drink much, so the three of them slowly tasted the fine wine while chatting about family matters.

In the hearts of Gu and Hu, this place was just like their own home, and the two old people in front of them were just like their kind parents.

Of course, Gu Changzheng knew that today at his Master's place, they would definitely talk about that earth-shattering major case. He knew this old man in front of him too well—his Master, the old criminal policeman who led them to solve the most heinous extermination case that had occurred in Zizhen City since the founding of the country. Although he had left the criminal police post, he was always concerned about this profession. Therefore, chatting with him about the case today and letting the old man find the feeling of the past was also the main purpose of him and Hu Jinquan coming over.

Lu Haoxuan listened carefully to Gu Changzheng's narrative. He toyed with the wine glass in his hand with two fingers, seemingly deep in thought. After a long while, he said to Gu Changzheng: "That Tan Yang is the key person in the entire case!"

Gu Changzheng heard him say this and nodded: "Master, I think so too, but I'm troubled by the lack of direct evidence to convict him. Moreover, Liu Baoshan's case of killing the police and seizing the gun had a very bad influence, and the higher-ups also want to settle the case quickly. That Tan Yang might end up spending the rest of his life in the Anding Hospital!"

Lu Haoxuan put down the wine glass in his hand, leaned back in the chair, and said: "Do you two still remember what I said to you when you first joined the police force? What is the duty of a policeman? What we want is the truth, not to add bricks and tiles to politics! As long as there is a single doubt in a case that hasn't been resolved, it must be cleared up! Seeking the truth! Restoring the facts! This is the duty of a policeman!"

Lu Haoxuan became more and more indignant as he spoke, and by the end, he even became angry.

Gu Changzheng smiled hurriedly: "Master, don't get angry. I haven't given up. I've been keeping an eye on that Tan Yang! I also think he is the mastermind behind the scenes. Liu Baoshan was just a gun in his hand. Now I'm just waiting for him to make a mistake; otherwise, there's not enough evidence to convict him!"

The three master and disciples were chatting when Gu Changzheng's phone suddenly rang! He picked up his mobile phone and saw it was from the office. He immediately answered, and Luo Fei's urgent voice came from the other end: "Captain Gu! The City Anding Hospital just called to say Tan Yang is missing!"

Gu Changzheng's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. As expected! Tan Yang couldn't help but make a move after all!

"I know. You go to Anding Hospital immediately. I'll go directly there, and we'll meet there."

Gu Changzheng hung up the phone and said somewhat guiltily to Lu Haoxuan and Wei Jie: "Master, Master's wife, I have an urgent matter and must leave now. You two..."

Before he could finish, he heard Lu Haoxuan say: "Go! All of you go! Handle the case well and thoroughly! That's my good disciple! Go, I'll take care of the dishes today!"

Gu Changzheng smiled sheepishly: "Heh heh, Master's wife, then we're leaving. Master will arrange this mess, don't you intervene!"

Wei Jie knew they were deliberately teasing the old man, so she didn't mind. Afterward, she and Hu Jinquan took a taxi to the City Anding Hospital.

Luo Fei, who had arrived a step earlier, was questioning the medical staff. It turned out that Tan Yang had indeed been diagnosed with schizophrenia. But during dinner, it was discovered that he was gone!

The Anding Hospital had standardized management, and before Tan Yang, there had never been a case of a patient escaping, so the hospital attached great importance to this. After Gu Changzheng arrived, the hospital had already prepared the surveillance for every area of the hospital.

Gu Changzheng looked at Luo Fei, and Luo Fei replied: "The video from after Tan Yang received treatment today until he went missing has already been watched, and there are no abnormal findings at the moment." Gu Changzheng thought for a while and said: "Before you discovered Tan Yang was missing, were there any outsiders in the hospital?"

The hospital security chief replied: "Our hospital has records for people entering and leaving. Shall I bring them over for you to look at?"

Luo Fei heard this and said: "That's good, please bring them over."

The security chief brought the entry and exit record book over and handed it to Luo Fei. Luo Fei looked through it carefully. It was densely recorded with the names, ID numbers, and phone numbers of people entering and leaving every day. There shouldn't be any problems.

Gu Changzheng asked: "Does this registration book record everyone entering and leaving the hospital? Are hospital staff registered? What about other personnel?"

Gu Changzheng saw that there was only information about daily personnel entering and leaving in the registration book, but in such a large hospital, there were new patients admitted every day, as well as nearly 400 staff members entering and leaving, so problems could also arise here.

The security chief said: "Yes, we have duty logs for these. Shall I bring them over for you to look at?"

Gu Changzheng nodded and said: "Have someone bring them to Officer Luo, and you take me to Tan Yang's ward to have a look."