The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 297 The Tombstone in the Painting

In front of a brand-new tombstone surrounded by a large bouquet of flowers, Qi Bing gently put down the white lilies she had brought and looked at the young man with a buzz cut and a cheerful smile on the tombstone. Although the photo was in black and white, one could still see the cheerfulness and open-mindedness of the man in life.

"In the association, I haven't had much interaction with you."

Qi Bing spoke softly, "But everything you've done will not be forgotten by me or anyone else in the association."

"farewell."

Behind Qi Bing, Qin Lang and the other four also looked somber. The emotional Zhao Qian couldn't help but have her eyes redden and was sobbing softly while holding Fatima.

As for the more sentimental one…

The soft sounds of musical instruments filled the air. Zuo Ge, tears streaming down his face, gently plucked the strings of his instrument and softly sang a poem filled with mournful sorrow and regret.

When the music ended, Zuo Ge wiped away his tears and choked out, "It was so moving. I must write a new poem about Mr. Yue Kang's story as my special tribute."

"I think Yue Kang will like it." Qin Lang pulled himself out of his sorrow and gently placed the bouquet he had bought on the spur of the moment.

Thank you so much for today.

Qi Bing looked at Qin Lang and the others with a faint smile on her face, "It's getting late, I'll drive you back."

"Wait a moment, Sister Qi Bing." Qin Lang shook his head. "I have some things to take care of here."

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at the other tombstones around him.

When Qi Bing mentioned that all the deceased in Yuehu City would be buried here, Qin Lang thought of his fifteenth painting.

Based on the previous patterns in the Traveler's Book, the location of the fifteenth painting is most likely still in Yuehu City, so if nothing unexpected happens, that special tombstone is located in this cemetery.

Qin Lang happened to be passing by and decided to look for it first.

If we can find the tombstone in the picture, we might be able to complete this check-in directly.

"What's the matter?" Qi Bing asked. "If you need my help, I will do my best."

"It's nothing major, just looking for a tombstone." Qin Lang took out his hand-drawn sketch from his pocket. "This is it."

Qi Bing reached out and took it, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Judging from the style of this tombstone, it does indeed resemble the tombstones in Yuehu Cemetery."

"But why has the inscription on this tombstone been worn away?"

"I'm not quite sure either." Qin Lang shook his head. "I just happened to see this tombstone, so I wanted to look for it."

"In that case, let's search together." Qi Bing nodded, released all her food spirits, and they split up to search.

“We want to join too!” Cao Dongdong quickly said.

It had been a while since I'd seen Qin Lang's hand-drawn paintings, and past experience told me that the tombstone in these paintings was definitely not simple.

"I'll help look too!" Zhao Qian summoned Bubu and Agate, and after looking at the hand-drawn picture, they quickly got to work.

Zog and Fatima followed closely behind.

Although there are only six of them, including the Food Spirits, they still have quite a few helpers.

Based on the general features of the hand-drawn tombstone, Qi Bing quickly made a discovery.

"Qin Lang, come and check if this is it!"

Hearing Qi Bing's distant call, Qin Lang hurried towards her location, and the others who had split up quickly rejoined her.

Soon, the group stood in front of a tombstone.

It was a tombstone with the inscription worn away beyond recognition, and both its shape and the surrounding environment were exactly the same as the one Qin Lang had drawn.

"That should be it."

Qin Lang compared the hand-drawn illustration with his own and nodded excitedly, but after finding the right angle, he still didn't hear the notification that he had successfully checked in.

Upon taking another look at the hand-drawn sketch, Qin Lang immediately noticed the problem. The jade was nowhere to be found in front of this tombstone!

To successfully complete the check-in, it seems one still needs to find that piece of jade.

Realizing this, Qin Lang pondered for a moment and then handed the hand-drawn sketch back to Qi Bing, "Sister Qi Bing, have you seen the jade pendant in the drawing?"

“This…” Qi Bing examined it carefully, then shook her head.

"I have never seen a jade pendant like this before."

As for the other four people, they had naturally never seen a similar jade pendant.

It seems we've reached a stalemate...

Qin Lang looked at the tombstone in front of him and couldn't help but stroke his chin.

"Are you looking for this jade pendant?" Qi Bing asked.

“That’s right, I want to look for it.” Qin Lang nodded.

“In that case, perhaps we can start by investigating the identity of the tombstone’s owner.” Qi Bing’s gaze turned to another tombstone next to her.

"The tombstones in this area are mostly from the same period of the deceased. Based on the inscriptions on other tombstones, it can be determined that these are tombstones from fifty years ago. At that time, technology was not advanced, and the identities of the tombstone owners were not uniformly recorded in the association's system."

"It is somewhat difficult to find out the identity of the deceased."

"But the caretaker in charge of this area might know something."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lang's eyes lit up instantly.

Qi Bing, as expected of the captain of the public security management team, quickly sorted out the current situation.

The jade pendant's appearance in front of the tombstone must be related to the identity of the tombstone's owner, so the most important thing now is to find a way to confirm the tombstone's owner!

A gravedigger...

Qin Lang looked around and soon saw a man dressed as a staff member of Yuehu Cemetery walking among the tombstones.

After a moment's hesitation, Qin Lang quickly walked up to the other person. "Hello, I'd like to ask if you remember that tombstone over there with the worn-out inscription?"

The gravedigger was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. After hearing Qin Lang's words, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you a relative of the deceased?"

"No, that's not it." Qin Lang shook his head.

“Alright.” The gravedigger sighed, as if regretting something. “I thought you were here to rebuild the tombstone for the deceased.”

"Rebuild the tombstone?" Upon hearing this, Qin Lang was taken aback, only then realizing a problem.

Logically, if the deceased's relatives discover that the inscription on the tombstone has been worn away, they will definitely try to rebuild the tombstone.

But the wear and tear on this tombstone has been there for many years.

This indicates that no one has come to repair the tombstone over the years.

"Excuse me, do you know the deceased's identity information?" Qi Bing stepped forward and asked softly.

"Hmm?" The gravedigger glanced at Qi Bing's police uniform and shook his head helplessly. "Sorry, I don't know."

“I am responsible for looking after all the tombstones in this area, but this tombstone was already like this before I came.”

"Perhaps my previous gravedigger, Old Zhang, knew, but..."

"The other person has been dead for several years."

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed in unison.

It seems that the investigation into the identity of the tombstone's owner has also reached a stalemate.

(End of this chapter)