On the street corner, Chen joined a line of people edging toward a Shanghai snack stall. When his turn came, he bought for himself a sesame-covered sticky rice ball, which the peddler ladled out of the sizzling oil in a large wok.

The sticky rice ball tasted hot, soft, sweet with red bean paste inside, but somehow not as tasty as before. Possibly because of the ‘gutter oil’, he speculated. So many things turned out to be toxic or unhealthy in today’s society. Still nibbling at the golden-colored sticky rice ball, he did not want to worry too much about it for the moment, walking aimlessly and thinking.

Then he noticed the young, slender girl who had stood wearing a large mask in front of him in the line at the snack stall. She was now biting a sesame-covered earthen oven cake in her hand, walking abreast of him. The mask off, she looked strikingly vivacious in spite of the sesame stuck to her lips and cheeks in the gray morning.

Was there something youthful about her, reminiscent of Shanshan?

Slender, supple, she’s just thirteen,

the tip of a cardamom bud

in the early spring …

Chen found his mind helplessly wandering away into Du Mu’s lines in the Tang dynasty.

Peiqin was on the way from the state-run restaurant to the private-run eatery, wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead, when she got a text message from Lianping.

‘Some people came to talk to Zhou this morning. Zhou worked with Xiang that evening, but he left the office shortly after, around twelve.’

Apparently, it was not a convenient moment for Lianping to talk on the phone in the office. So Peiqin typed a question in response.

‘The people from Yu’s bureau?’

‘No. Not in police uniform.’

‘They have found something about Zhou during that night shift, haven’t they?’

‘That I don’t know. For the night shift, usually it requires only one person in charge to stay there. When things get too busy, two or three may stay on in the office. Zhou worked a couple of extra hours that evening before going back home, leaving her alone there.’ Lianping then added, ‘At least that’s the version Zhou gave us about that night. Nothing has been announced in the newspaper, but Zhou left with those men. He looked ghastly pale according to the doorman who saw them walk out. Not handcuffed, though.’

‘Thanks. I’ll let Yu know.’

Chen was still reprimanding himself for getting lost in Du Mu’s Tang dynasty again when he had a phone call come in from Ouyang.

‘Something happened, Inspector Chen.’

‘What?’

‘Qiang disappeared. Mrs Qiang called into the association in the morning. Qiang is a family man, having never stayed out overnight without calling back home. She had dialed his cellphone numerous times, but it remained turned off. That’s strange. Because of the nature of his job, he made a point of keeping his phone on all the time. By this morning she got so frantic that she contacted us. People in the association started calling around, too. However, his cellphone is still shut off.’