Chapter 194: Stone Tablet

The sound made Su Qing’s heart skip a beat. She quickly focused her attention on the ice hole, straining her ears to listen to the sounds outside. There were at least two men out there.

"Third Brother, what the hell are you doing out here in the middle of the night? Aren’t you afraid of being seen? You idiot! It’s like you’re worried the police *won’t* catch us, is that it?" a man’s voice snarled. Su Qing couldn’t see the two men, only hear their voices. The speaker’s voice was very deep, and he was clearly trying to keep it low. Yet, even hushed, it struck a familiar chord with Su Qing, though she couldn’t immediately place where she’d heard it before.

"Second Brother, it’s the only thing my dad left me. He told me to wear it at all times. But now it’s gone. I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find it. I think it must have fallen into the river right then. I have to go down and look. Second Brother, please, just let me go in for a look. Just a quick look. If I can’t find it, I’ll come right back up, okay?" This was a younger man, his voice laced with an anxiety that made it clear the item was very important to him.

"Damn it, kid, you got a death wish? It’s the middle of winter! Don’t you know how cold this water is? If you go in there tonight, are you sure you won’t freeze to death? Besides, you’re not even certain your thing really fell in here." The man called Second Brother warned in a low voice, "And another thing, I don’t care if your stupidity gets you frozen to death in this river, but don’t you dare drag us down with you. If the police find us because of you, tearing you limb from limb won’t be enough to satisfy my anger."

"I... Second Brother..." The younger man seemed to hesitate, clearly unwilling to give up. But after the tongue-lashing from his Second Brother, he fell silent.

After that, Su Qing couldn’t hear their voices anymore. They had probably left the Pond.

Su Qing narrowed her eyes and stared at the hole in the ice. Things were starting to become clear. ’No wonder the woman’s body was so bloated, yet the ice hole looked like it was freshly dug. The people who killed that girl came back to find something in the water.’

’Could it be that the young man’s lost item really is in the water?’

Su Qing’s awareness detached from the reeds as she began to survey her surroundings. Visibility was too low in the water at night for her to see everything at a glance, so she decided to start slowly feeling her way across the bottom. In any case, the night was still young. Protected by the green mist, the river’s chill couldn’t harm her, and she could hold her breath for a long time underwater. So, Su Qing decided she would search the riverbed thoroughly.

And so, Su Qing began to search all over the water.

After about half an hour, Su Qing discovered something. It was a thin Stone Tablet, polished from stone and about two fingers wide, with simple patterns carved onto its surface. A hole had been drilled through the top, threaded with a thin hemp cord.

Su Qing thought for a moment, then took a pair of gloves from her personal storage space and put them on. She picked up the Stone Tablet by its hemp cord, quickly wrapped it in a handkerchief she also retrieved, and then placed it in her storage space.

After another quick sweep of the riverbed, Su Qing didn’t find anything else. She then deliberately swam a bit further, about a hundred meters from the large ice hole, and snatched a few black fish and silver carp. Then, she slipped out of the water, avoided the two police officers on watch, and returned home without anyone knowing.

When she got home, Su Qing saw that Cheng Beilin was sound asleep. She quickly changed her clothes, quietly climbed onto the kang bed, and went back to sleep.

The next day, when Cheng Beilin woke up and saw two big black fish swimming in the family’s water bucket, she cried out in delighted surprise. "Oh my god, Su Qing, when did you go fishing? Why didn’t you wake me?"

Su Qing, smiling, brought breakfast out from the kitchen. "I tried to nudge you this morning, but you were sleeping like a log. I couldn’t wake you up at all. I figured you might still be a little spooked by the Pond, so I just went by myself. The ice hole we chiseled the day before yesterday was still usable, so I just simply caught a couple of black fish. Don’t you love braised black fish?"

"I’m over it now," Cheng Beilin said, though she was still a little unsettled. But her eyes sparkled at the sight of the fish. "Su Qing, the black fish here are absolutely delicious. I’ve never had black fish this good in Xiangcheng. What’s the deal with your black fish? Why are they so tasty?"

Su Qing smiled and explained, "That’s because they’re wild black fish from our Pond here. They’re raised by nature. Plus, the water quality is good, so the meat is naturally tender and delicious. And you know, every place has its own unique character from its soil and water. If you took these same black fish to Xiangcheng, they would taste different because of the water there. So of course, you’d feel the flavor is a bit lacking in comparison."

"I knew it," Cheng Beilin said, nodding. "I was just saying, you really can’t get black fish this good in Xiangcheng."

"When you head back, I’ll catch a bunch more and make some smoked fish for you. It tastes great too. Whenever you get a craving, you can just have your family’s chef prepare it for you," Su Qing said with a laugh. "But the smoked fish only keeps for about three months, so don’t let it sit too long."

"Don’t worry, my family is full of foodies. I guarantee it won’t last three months." Knowing she could still eat black fish when she returned to Xiangcheng put Cheng Beilin in a wonderful mood. However, the death at the Pond had left her feeling somewhat uneasy, so for the next two days, she didn’t pester Su Qing about going back. Instead, she asked if they could go look around the county town.

"Su Qing, let’s go wander around the county town. I want to see the supply and marketing cooperative and places like that." Cheng Beilin was curious about everything here.

"Sure," Su Qing agreed. Cheng Beilin’s suggestion was exactly what Su Qing wanted. She had been trying to figure out an opportunity to give the Stone Tablet to the county police. It might be a clue left by the criminal; at the very least, it was a potentially useful lead.

As it happened, Grandpa Sun was also heading to the county town that day, so Su Qing and Cheng Beilin hitched a ride with him on his oxcart to Xiyuan County.

Watching Cheng Beilin excitedly darting all over the supply and marketing cooperative, Su Qing felt deeply that her friend was like a kid in a candy store. She was just... so excited.

"Oh my god, Su Qing, everything here is so cheap! How can it be this cheap?"

"These pastries are only a few cents a pound!"

"These little leather shoes are so pretty, and they’re only a little over ten yuan!"

"Ah, a watch for only seven hundred-some yuan? My god, it’s a Rolex! How is it so cheap?"

...