Chapter 17

"Language of Diamonds, Formation of Snakes"

After ensuring Anger was asleep, Mo Fei checked the bedroom's doors and windows again, then closed the door and went downstairs, yawning. As usual, he went shopping, collected mail and newspapers, and prepared porridge while watching the news.

As the porridge in the pot started bubbling, Mo Fei returned to the living room, picked up the phone, and dialed Oss's number from the business card he left. The phone rang for a while before Oss answered, sounding rushed, "Hello?"

"Oss, this is Mofei," Mofei spoke, "You should visit the gallery sometime. Someone seems to be targeting Anger."

There was a brief pause on the other end before Oss replied, "Are you at the gallery now?"

"Yes, we are," Mo Fei responded. "Anger didn't sleep last night. Can you come over this afternoon if you're free?"

"Okay, I'll come in the afternoon... By the way, will there be lunch?" Oss asked. "I fancy chicken," he added, then hung up.

Mo Fei sighed wearily, hung up the phone, and after a moment of thought, picked up the handset again. He dialed a number and listened quietly. After a few rings, a gentle middle-aged woman's voice answered, "Hello?"

Mo Fei didn't speak, just held his breath, listening as the woman confusedly said "hello" twice. Then, a man's voice, somewhat distant, asked her, "Who is it?"

The woman, somewhat bewildered, said, "No sound, probably a wrong number." After that, the call ended.

Mo Fei sat with the phone for a while until the sound of the electric kettle whistling from the kitchen...

Mo Fei quickly hung up the phone, ran to the kitchen to turn off the heat, stirred the porridge in the pot with a spoon, and added shredded chicken, chopped preserved eggs, and some MSG, soon filling the air with a delicious aroma.

Mo Fei shook his head, glanced at the clock - it was almost ten. If An Ge'er didn't wake up soon, he might have trouble sleeping tonight. Mo Fei turned up the volume of the local news on TV and began to prepare side dishes for the porridge.

"This morning, a homicide occurred in a suburban residence in S City," the female news anchor's resonant voice came from the TV. "A farmer was bitten to death by a snake in her home. The police rushed to the scene for emergency handling. It's reported that nearly a hundred venomous snakes were found in her bedroom. The police are further investigating the origin of these snakes."

Mo Fei, carrying the porridge, frowned as he listened to the news. "Dying from that creature's bite is really disgusting."

Just then, the bedroom door upstairs opened. An Ge'er, rubbing his sleepy eyes, staggered down the stairs, and Mo Fei worried he might miss a step... Sure enough, An Ge'er slipped.

"Hey!" Fortunately, Mo Fei was quick and somewhat prepared. He darted forward in two steps, tumbling on the stairs to catch An Ge'er firmly.

Mo Fei, seeing An Ge'er caught safely and seemingly unharmed, let out a sigh of relief. He had run too hastily and now lay on the ground, catching his breath, scared out of his wits.

An Ge'er looked up at Mo Fei, who was holding him, and said, "You really are capable. I've fallen so many times, but this is the first time someone has caught me."

Mo Fei looked at him for a long while, then placed him back on the stairs and reached up to his forehead with a wry smile.

An Ge'er got up as if nothing had happened and said, "The porridge smells really good."

Mo Fei finished laughing, got up, and went downstairs to the bathroom to pour a glass of water for An Ge'er, squeezing toothpaste onto the toothbrush. "An Ge'er, wash your face and brush your teeth, and then you can eat."

An Ge'er sat at the table, lazily staring at the dishes, as if he was still not fully awake.

Mo Fei stepped forward, pulled up An Ge'er by the arm, and ushered him into the bathroom to wash up and brush his teeth. When An Ge'er emerged, he seemed more alert, yawning and sitting down at the table to sip porridge and eat.

Noticing the morning's mail nearby, An Ge'er nudged Mo Fei's arm with a finger. "From now on, you open the mail and filter it. Just give me the important stuff."

Mo Fei, also eating porridge, picked up the letters on the table and asked, "Do bills for utilities count as important?"

An Ge'er picked up a poached egg. "Completely unimportant."

Mo Fei, resigned, set aside all the bills and advertisement letters, then noticed an envelope made of kraft paper. It only had An Ge'er's address, with no sender information. Holding it up to the light, Mo Fei noticed a black lump inside, rigid to the touch.

"What's this?" Mo Fei opened the envelope and poured out its contents.

As the item landed on the table, a crisp sound echoed. Both An Ge'er and Mo Fei looked down to see a diamond ornament identical to the one received in an urn the previous night. This time, it was a diamond-studded snake.

"A snake?" An Ge'er picked up the diamond snake, puzzled. "I haven't taken any cases related to snakes."

Mo Fei glanced at the snake. "There was just a news report about a farmer bitten to death by a snake."

"In S City?" An Ge'er asked, surprised.

"Yes, in the countryside," Mo Fei nodded. "Apparently, there were hundreds of venomous snakes in the bedroom."

"That's impossible," An Ge'er shook his head. "Snakes are solitary creatures. It's unlikely for hundreds to appear in one place, and the vegetation near S City is too sparse, even in the suburbs, for so many venomous snakes."

"Yeah." Mo Fei nodded, picking up the envelope again to check. "Nothing else inside."

An Ge'er slightly furrowed his brows, continuing to eat his porridge in silence.

"I just called Os, he said he’d come over this afternoon," Mo Fei remarked while reaching for more food.

An Ge'er suddenly asked, "Did you call home?"

"Cough cough..." Mo Fei choked on his food, coughing and looking at An Ge'er with wide eyes... The phone in the gallery was an old rotary model, without caller ID or extensions. "How... how did you know?"

Finding Mo Fei’s flustered reaction amusing, An Ge'er said, "You looked a bit melancholic."

"Just because of that?" Mo Fei couldn't help but laugh.

Shaking his head, An Ge'er explained, "When you mentioned the phone, your expression had a fleeting look of sadness; you’re young, yet you never talk about your family; you linger on items suitable for the elderly as if wanting to buy them, yet hesitate... Are you not on good terms with your family?"

Mo Fei took a deep breath and waved his hand dismissively, "Let's just eat, I’m starting to get goosebumps."

Slightly puzzled, An Ge'er continued eating, "You said you wanted to buy curtains."

"Ah, right..." Mo Fei scratched his head, "I almost forgot, but I already made plans with Os... He said he’d come over for lunch."

An Ge'er looked up at the wall clock and suggested, "Then let's have lunch at three in the afternoon, and go curtain shopping before that?"

Mo Fei laughed, "Making Os wait, wouldn't that be a bit inconsiderate?"

Anger raised an eyebrow indifferently, about to speak, when the phone suddenly rang.

"Hello?" Mo Fei answered the call, listened for a moment, then looked at An Ge'er. "Os says he's in the countryside, urging us to hurry over."

An Ge'er frowned slightly, seemingly displeased. "I'm sleepy."

"He says he's sleepy," Mo Fei relayed honestly. "We're planning to go curtain shopping later."

After Os's response, Mo Fei looked puzzled and turned to An Ge'er. "An Ge'er, Os says he can't hold on much longer, he's asking for your help."

An Ge'er frowned. "If only he could die that easily."

Mo Fei, resigned, asked, "So, are we going?"

An Ge'er continued with his porridge. "Ask him what it's about."

Mofei asked, then startled, turned to look at Anger, "Oss said it's about a snake."

An Ge'er paused with his spoon in hand, thought for a moment, and then said, "Tell him we'll be there as soon as we can."

Mo Fei nodded, hung up the phone with Os, and came back to the table. "Could this case be related to that 'Black JK'?"

An Ge'er shook his head. "We'll ask Os about it when we see him, to see if he's heard of this person." As he spoke, he picked up the diamond snake for a glance. "Bring the urn and the envelope with us."

"Alright," Mo Fei tidied up the dishes and cutlery, organized everything, and left with Anger, driving towards the suburbs.

As the car left the bustling city for the suburbs, Mo Fei kept an eye out for forests along the road. However, in the plains, there were scarcely any hills, let alone mountains. The few mounds that existed had been blasted open for stone quarries. The neatly trimmed green belts on either side didn't seem like a place where poisonous snakes could thrive.

With the car window down, Anger rested one hand on top of it. The wind tousled his hair as he asked, “Mo Fei, at your age, how come you have so many experiences? Did you leave home early?”

"Hmm," Mo Fei nodded, not saying much.

Anger didn't press further. He reclined his seat and lay down, saying, “I’ll take a nap. Wake me up when we get there.”

Mo Fei glanced at him, feeling drained, "We'll be there in half an hour."

Anger covered his face with his clothes, determined to sleep.

……

Seeing Mo Fei’s car approaching slowly, Oss heaved a sigh of relief. He was waiting in front of a farmhouse, waving to Mo Fei. But upon closer inspection, he was shocked not to see Anger! Startled, Oss jumped up, rushed to the car, grabbed the door, and looked inside, only to find Anger fast asleep. He felt relieved.

Mo Fei stopped the car and woke Anger.

“Boss, you finally made it. Things have been really strange this time!” Oss eagerly opened the car door and unbuckled Anger’s seat belt.

Anger gave him a disgusted look and said, “Being a detective like you is truly unprecedented!”

Unfazed, Oss nodded thick-skinned, “Being the last of my kind is fine too, as long as I solve the case, anything goes!”

Anger stepped out of the car, remarking, "The conclusion of being 'unprecedented' lacks sufficient evidence!"

"Let's not dwell on that for now!" Oss hurried Anger towards the farmhouse, adding, "Let’s check the scene first! I’ve kept everything as it was."

Anger was pulled into the house by Oss, with Mo Fei following behind.

Upon entering the room, Anger frowned, "What's this smell? So sweet?"

“The old lady was baking cookies before she died,” Oss replied. “She made some cookies and cupcakes. There’s a church not far from here where she and a few other old ladies had planned an event for today.”

The farmhouse seemed well-off, with its own gates and yard. The furniture inside the room was new, as if recently renovated.

“The victim's name was Zhao Ou, who had just moved in,” Oss briefed Anger on the case. “Her son does business abroad. Because Zhao Ou preferred the tranquil rural life, he arranged this house for her. She died early this morning. The door was left open, and another old lady discovered her when she came to visit in the morning. The lady who found her suffered a heart attack after calling the police and was taken to the hospital.”

“Getting up in the middle of the night to bake cookies?” Anger questioned, puzzled.

Mo Fei whispered, “Many elderly people get up around four or five in the morning.”

Oss nodded, “I asked around. Apparently, the old lady had a routine of sleeping at 7:30 PM and waking up at 3:00 AM.”

Anger pondered and asked, “Is she the old woman mentioned in this morning’s news, the one who was bitten by a snake?”

“Actually, she didn’t die from a snake bite,” Oss clarified, waving his hand and pushing open the bedroom door, gesturing for Anger and the others to look inside.

Anger and Mo Fei glanced inside the door and were met with a chilling scene — an old woman lay on the floor in the center of the room, her abdomen torn open with a gaping wound filled with snakes. Some snakes had spilled out, others were scattered around. These bloodstained snakes, including species like the banded krait, king cobra, and rattlesnake, were all venomous. Oddly, they lay motionless on the ground, their eyes wide open, as if they were rigidly dead.

More unsettling was the sight on the bedroom bed, where a massive python coiled on the pristine white sheets. By estimate, it was at least thirty centimeters in diameter, a rare South American green anaconda, one of the largest snake species in the world.

This snake, too, had its eyes wide open and lay motionless on the bed. After a long look, Mo Fei turned to Oss and asked, “Are you sure it’s dead?”