Chapter 1131

The train puffed out steam, clack-clack...

The thousands of passengers inside the train were also so hot that they had the windows wide open.

This was because the world was warming up, the ice and snow were melting, and the swallows had returned to their nests. The swallows believed it was the same family as last year, and that family believed even more firmly that it was the same nest of swallows.

On the train, people were packed like sardines.

Ma Kui was in his uniform, looking like an old tree in spring that had just sprouted new buds—full of spirit and vigor.

He wore a smiling face, displaying a positive and friendly demeanor.

Back, it's all back...

"Look how excited he is. Sigh, I can't bear to watch..." Wang Xin, looking utterly disgusted, followed behind and quietly leaned in to whisper to Wang Yan.

Wang Yan laughed: "He's a true policeman, he loves it. You know his situation, so you know that being able to return to the force now would make anyone's head spin."

"That's true, I can understand that, it's just annoying to watch."

"Then you're going to be annoyed a lot." Just as they reached the carriage junction, Ma Kui turned his head back: "I'm forty this year, I can still work for another twenty years, so you'll just have to deal with it."

"This guy, his ears are sharp." Wang Xin had no sense of being caught bad-mouthing someone behind their back and continued to bicker: "What, do I have to work under you for twenty years? Forget about being an official, with all the skills I have, shouldn't I at least be a criminal investigator? And I have to catch pickpockets on this train every day? If I ever become an official, hmph hmph..."

"Hmph hmph..." Ma Kui also huffed, looking utterly dismissive.

"What, you don't believe I can become an official?"

"I believe it, why wouldn't I? Forget about you, if I hadn't been locked up, I would have been an official too. You were second in the police academy, you've got great ability." Ma Kui's words were cutting; 'second' and 'great ability' were heavily emphasized.

"You're a grown man, and you're just like me, such a nag."

"You know you're a nag?" Wang Yan shook his head, amused.

Ma Kui nodded repeatedly: "You have a clear understanding of yourself, you can be a big official."

Then, ignoring Wang Xin's gnashing of teeth, he continued forward to patrol.

"That old guy has a truly poisonous tongue." Wang Xin curled his lip and resignedly followed behind.

Wang Yan smiled and followed along, swaying...

"Yo, old man, you've changed carriages again today. I have to hand it to you, you change every time." At the carriage junction, Wang Xin looked at the old blind man and said.

"That's fresh, I have to know which is which too."

"Oh, you're so amazing, old man. You can smell everything with that nose, better than a dog. Besides, you're blind, not mute; can't you ask?"

"So you know the old man isn't mute, eh?"

Wang Xin let out a 'heh'...

The old guy let out his signature phlegmy, triumphant laugh and reached out his hand: "Come on, let the old man have a cigarette."

Wang Yan took out a cigarette, but before he could move, Ma Kui, who was watching from the side, took it, pulled one out, placed it in the old blind man's mouth, struck a match to light it, and then naturally patted the rest of the pack into the old blind man's hand.

"Brother, let me see your ticket?" Ma Kui said.

"No ticket." The old blind man was slightly impatient, stretching his cigarette-holding hand to the side and sniffing hard: "New guy? And an old one at that. Where's Little Li? He shouldn't be at retirement age yet, right?"

Little Li was Wang Yan and Wang Xin's previous leader, Old Li. But this old blind man was certainly entitled to call him that; he was quite old himself, and after so many years, he had aged significantly. He called Old Lu 'Little Lu' as well.

Ma Kui laughed: "He hasn't retired, he changed shifts. From now on, I'm in charge of these two troublemakers."

"These two are troublemakers? Let me tell you, if you're their leader, you must have accumulated eight lifetimes of virtue. They're amazing; they're great at catching thieves, and they're not bad at catching human traffickers either—I heard they've already caught five. This old man is still counting on them to help me catch people."

Seeing Ma Kui look over, Wang Yan said: "His daughter was abducted on this line, he's been looking for twenty years."

"Brother, you can't see, how are you looking?"

"By smelling, didn't you hear that kid call me a dog-nose? I can smell the scent of those traffickers. If I smell it again, she won't be able to run. They're both on this train too, and they're better than each other; who knows when they might catch her."

Ma Kui let out a long sigh and patted the old blind man's shoulder: "Brother, it hasn't been easy."

"That's easy to say, but who has it easy? You smell like medicine, bitterness, and sourness—you're also destined for a life of toil."

"You know, you're actually right; it is a life of toil."

The old blind man patted Ma Kui's arm: "You think I'm pitiful, but I have food and drink, and cigarettes to smoke—isn't this life good enough? The old saying goes, only those who are content can always be happy. I'm quite happy right now. Alright, the old man is happy just having a cigarette to smoke, you guys go get busy."

"Look at that, he's even shooing us away." Wang Xin spread his hands helplessly.

"No ticket! Do whatever you want!"

"If you don't have a ticket, I'll just buy you one, it's convenient for getting in and out of the station."

Wang Yan waved his hand: "Forget it, Old Ma. Whoever makes it inconvenient for this old gentleman, he'll just take his stool and sit at the entrance of their office, then bang his bowl—you'll see how convenient it is for them."

"Hey, that's exactly how I've been getting by." The old blind man was a little proud, but also self-deprecating.

In the past, everyone cared about their dignity, but now it was a last resort; this was the only thing he lived for.

"Fine, then I won't pretend to be generous. We're off, brother."

"Walk slowly." The old blind man smoked happily...

The three continued their patrol, having just passed one carriage and arrived at another. Someone saw the police appear and instinctively touched their bag, then immediately stood up and called out: "Comrade Police! Comrade Police! My wallet is missing. It was here just a moment ago, I don't know when it was stolen."

Wang Xin asked: "Was it still there after you got on the train?"

"Yes!" The passenger said firmly, "I just went to the bathroom, and the wallet was still there. Comrade Police, you must help me find it; it must still be on the train."

Ma Kui frowned: "Check again carefully."

"Oh, I've checked many times. I started searching as soon as I saw you coming, I've looked everywhere, it's not there."

Ma Kui turned back and tilted his head at Wang Yan, signaling: You're so hot-shot, come on, show us what you've got; let's see what you can do.

Wang Yan smiled and walked straight ahead, finding a man at the carriage junction who looked like he was smoking and watching the excitement, but was actually observing the situation.

The person who lost the item also looked over, and upon seeing this man's appearance, had a sudden realization: "I remember now, he was sitting right next to me just a moment ago, and I even let him help me hold my seat."

"Don't argue, let's go somewhere else to talk, and you'd better not try any tricks." Wang Yan patted the man on the shoulder and gently took the cigarette from his hand, leading him to the dining car just like that.

Ma Kui hadn't quite reacted, turning his head to look at Wang Xin: Is this how we usually catch thieves?

Wang Xin spread his hands—what else could they do?

The two immediately took the passenger who lost the wallet and followed Wang Yan over.

Once in the dining car, it was simple. Ma Kui was an experienced veteran policeman; one glare and one shout were enough to scare the guy stiff. The thief confessed, the victim got his property back, and it was a perfect ending.

It must be said that when public servants face the masses, looking older is an advantage, because people instinctively think older people are more reliable...

After handling the case and leaving the thief to squat obediently, Ma Kui looked at Wang Yan, who was blowing smoke rings, and asked curiously: "How did you figure it out?"

"Good luck."

"Hey, are you looking for a beating..."

Wang Yan laughed: "It's a feeling. I scanned the area, felt this kid was acting suspicious, so I asked him. Before I even finished asking, he was already trembling."

"Right, Uncle Ma, my Brother Yan has that 'criminal bacteria'." Cai Xiaonian was truly flattering him, but he had the potential to perform in skits.

"Get lost, that's called 'criminal intuition'." Old Lu glared at his good apprentice: "Bacteria? I think you're the bacteria. I tell you to read more and study more, but you just won't listen."

"I think what he said was quite funny, Uncle Lu, this is called humor." Yao Yuling on the side laughed heartily.

Cai Xiaonian felt like he had found a soulmate: "Look, look, Ling'er says this is humor, you guys don't understand."

Ma Kui furrowed his brows, looking at the disorganized and undisciplined bunch on the side, and finally let out a long sigh without saying anything else.

Wang Yan shrugged: "It's pretty much that meaning; anyway, as soon as I saw him, I felt there was a problem. Even if he didn't steal the item, he must have had something else going on."

"Looking down on young comrades, now you've seen it for yourself." Wang Xin laughed, "Don't be so surprised. This round trip is going to be a long one, just watch and learn. As the saying goes, among three people, there must be my teacher; learn more from my Brother Yan, Old Ma."

Not stopping there, Wang Xin walked over and patted Old Ma on the shoulder, looking like he was encouraging a junior to strive for progress.

Old Ma didn't hesitate to use a small grappling move, locking Wang Xin's arm and pressing him directly onto the table.

"Hey hey hey, I was wrong, I was wrong, Old Ma! Uncle Ma!!"

Wang Xin was quite cheeky.

Of course, Ma Kui didn't use too much force; it was just an awkward joint lock that caused a little bit of pain.

Ma Kui didn't disbelieve Wang Yan's intuition, because many things involved a bit of mystery. He couldn't lock onto the perpetrator immediately, so his original plan was to watch Wang Yan ask step by step and then identify the person. This was the normal procedure.

But Wang Yan had done it; after hearing a few words, without even being sure if the victim had misremembered, he had scanned the area and gone straight to catch the person. This was a bit terrifying...

But the shock Wang Yan brought him had only just begun. He had always heard about Wang Yan's track record, but today he had seen it with his own eyes. Whether it was a greedy thief or a habitual thief with special skills, catching people was fast, accurate, and ruthless—it simply defied logic.

Every time a theft occurred, Wang Yan could always identify the target in the shortest possible time; he had truly never heard of such ability.

People always need a process to adapt. Ma Kui was generally the same as everyone else; after seeing one round of arrests, he directly and simply accepted that Wang Yan was awesome. There was no other way to accept it; the efficiency was very high...

But in fact, people didn't expect that Wang Yan had only just started catching people, and his full power hadn't been displayed yet. By the time he had been catching people for three to five months, the effect would be fully shown.

It was certainly impossible to catch every thief, because there would always be thieves, but he could reduce the probability of theft occurring. After all, he was catching them so ruthlessly, and a significant portion of habitual thieves with special skills were being taken out, which was a fatal blow to the atmosphere of theft on the entire train.

Theft also had psychological factors to a certain extent. For example, if a habitual thief got on the train and someone lost something, they might just consider themselves unlucky. If this person lost something a second time, it might affect their mindset. Then, the next time they took the train, if they saw someone who forgot to take their belongings, they might just take them. If they saw something sticking out of someone's pocket, they might just quietly take it away...

In short, Ma Kui accepted their new working method as a trio. He was responsible for interrogation, transcripts, and signatures; Wang Xin wrote the train crew report while persistently catching thieves; and Wang Yan was mainly responsible for catching thieves. The main task of mediating conflicts and maintaining train order was definitely being done, and when the three of them patrolled together or in shifts, it was all resolved.

Moreover, Wang Yan and Wang Xin truly respected the veteran comrade. The two were now highly skilled in their work, and there was no need for Ma Kui to work the night shift, so Ma Kui basically slept through the night...

Four days later, Wang Yan and the others returned to Ningyang once again.

Wang Yan kept his word; the first thing he did upon returning was to find Old Hu to get a house for Ma Kui. Old Hu naturally promised with a pat on his chest that the matter would definitely be handled.

In fact, over the years, Old Hu had also been quite caring toward the widow and orphan pair, Wang Sufang and Ma Yan, sending things during holidays to help with their living situation. After all, things hadn't been good when Old Ma was locked up; they lacked everything, let alone meat—it was good enough if they didn't wake up from hunger.

After finishing this matter and reporting on the work situation, he finally went home.

Unexpectedly, on the way home, he ran into an acquaintance.

"Auntie, what are you doing here? Uncle Ma is talking to Old Hu, he won't be back for a while."

Wang Sufang nodded and said: "I'm waiting for you."

Seeing her hesitate to speak, and even starting to redden her eyes, Wang Yan sighed: "I asked Uncle Ma on the day we departed; he said he took you to the hospital, but you didn't go when the results came out. You've been hiding it, haven't you?"

"You really saw through it?"

"Uncle Ma told me everything; you bought the medicine for the last two months."

Wang Sufang wiped away her tears: "I just thought that since you, this child, saw through it, the medicine you prescribed must be effective. Wang Yan, tell your aunt the truth, can this illness be treated with your medicine..."

"It's effective, but it can't cure it." Wang Yan said, "I say it's effective because it can make you feel much more comfortable, without pain, and to a certain extent, it inhibits the spread of cancer cells. Simply put, it means you can live a few more years."

"Then how many years do I have left?" Wang Sufang asked with a trembling voice.

"Auntie, this illness isn't something that kills you immediately upon diagnosis; it has a process. My medicine affects this process. This is closely related to physical fitness and mood. If you're in a good mood and don't always think about funeral arrangements, you can live longer. But if you're thinking about life and death all day, frowning and unable to eat or sleep, then the medicine won't be of much use."

Wang Yan sighed and continued: "If you maintain the mood you had when I was drinking at your house, and usually worry less, don't overwork yourself, and rest when you're tired—don't force yourself—ten years is no problem, and even eleven, twelve, thirteen, or fifteen years is possible. However, you can't stop taking this medicine; you have to keep drinking it, but you'll drink less in the future. Now it's one bowl a day, later it will be one bowl every three days. The main thing is still your mood."

Wang Sufang's eyes widened: "Really?"

"Maintain a good mood, don't overwork, then it's true."

"Sigh..." Wang Sufang laughed instantly, wiping her tears: "I'm relieved now that you've said that. The doctor scared me, saying it was a terminal illness and I could only wait to die. There were no conditions for intervention in our country, and I'd have to go abroad. It was incurable. But now I have ten years, that's more than enough."

"Right, just maintain a good mood." Wang Yan nodded with a smile, then asked: "Auntie, still not telling Uncle Ma and Ma Yan?"

"I won't tell them. Didn't you say to maintain a good mood? If I told them, that father and daughter would act like I'm going to die tomorrow, crying and wailing at me every day. I wouldn't die of illness, I'd be angered to death by them. You don't tell them either, you hear me?"

Wang Yan didn't answer, looking into the distance and saying: "Ma Yan is coming over."

Wang Sufang quickly wiped her tears, thought about it, felt it was inappropriate, and decided to ignore her daughter and go home first...