Chapter 47

Chapter 47 Mountain Blaze (07)

Qiao Heng said, “That’s a very bold guess.”

Hai Shu said, “There’s another coincidence. The Liu family used to be the wealthiest in Guibai Village, but at that time Guibai Village hadn’t started developing tourism yet. It was only after they disappeared that Guibai Village launched the Flower Viewing Festival.”

“If the villagers killed the Liu family of four, what would the motive be?” Qiao Heng asked. “Are the people of Guibai Village resentful of the rich?”

Hai Shu said, “But the Liu family’s wealth wasn’t extreme. The gap between rich and poor was small. Is it possible that the existence of the Liu family prevented Guibai Village from pursuing its future plans?”

Qiao Heng thought for a moment. “The Liu family opposed developing tourism?”

Hai Shu said, “When a small place wants to transform, it will inevitably face resistance from vested interests.”

“So that would give Liu the Fool a motive for his actions,” Qiao Heng said. “Whether he’s truly foolish is hard to say, but when he learned the truth back then, if he wanted justice for his family, he couldn’t rely solely on his own ability. So he came up with this stunt at ‘Live Toward Death’.”

Both ends of the phone went quiet. This reasoning made some sense, but many details remained unexplained. Most importantly, who was the victim, Xiao Wei, and who killed her?

Qiao Heng said, “Team Leader Hai, I’m sure you already have an idea, but as your superior, I must remind you not to rely too heavily on your own deductions.”

Hai Shu said seriously, “I understand.”

During the investigation, the police gathered information on about ten young women who traveled alone to Guibai Village last year. Nowadays, most homestays use electronic payments, leaving records. The police verified these records one by one and found that they were all living well. When asked about Liu the Fool, none of them remembered him.

This investigation was tedious but necessary. Eventually, the police found a female tourist surnamed Zhang. She stayed at a homestay on the same lane as the Liu family’s courtyard, separated by only two courtyards.

Initially, the homestay owner said she had seen Xiao Zhang talking to Liu the Fool and taking something from his hand. When the police confirmed with Xiao Zhang, she thought for a moment and said, “Is that Xing Ge? I remember him!”

Xiao Zhang, in her twenties, ran a secondhand digital products business. In her free time, she liked to take her camera out to explore. Last year during the Flower Viewing Festival, she was too busy and missed it. In late summer and early autumn, Guibai Village wasn’t as crowded, so she thought fewer people would be better for photos. She brought her equipment and went.

But Guibai Mountain after summer was really underwhelming. Xiao Zhang regretted coming, but just as she was about to leave, she heard someone call her. Liu the Fool, calling himself Xing Ge, asked if she wanted to climb the mountain. He knew the scenic spots for good photos.

Xiao Zhang, being a bit of a lookist, saw that Xing Ge looked clean and not like a bad person, so she followed him up the mountain. Xing Ge didn’t lie—he led her to hidden spots she would never have found herself. She was thrilled and took many beautiful shots. Later, she released them along with digital reviews, drawing traffic to her shop.

On the way down, she got closer to Xing Ge and casually chatted, “Xing Ge, do you live here?”

Xing Ge smiled. “Yes.”

“Then you often bring guests up the mountain?”

“Not always.”

“Then why bring me? Because I’m pretty?” Xiao Zhang, due to her work, often interacted with men and had often been teased. A senior taught her a trick: strike first, and men won’t dare tease you.

Xing Ge’s answer was simple: “You look like a guest I guided before. She was very beautiful.”

“Did he say who it was?” an officer immediately asked.

Xiao Zhang shook her head. “He only said she was beautiful and gentle. That time on Guibai Mountain there were chestnuts. When we parted, he gave me some, saying a previous guest wanted them but couldn’t get any because it wasn’t autumn. Officer, is he really a fool?”

Xiao Zhang still refused to believe Xing Ge had low intelligence. She said he seemed completely normal, even smarter than most people.

This was undoubtedly an important clue. Hai Shu had already suspected Liu the Fool wasn’t truly foolish, and now there was a witness.

But when she mentioned Xiao Zhang to Liu the Fool in the interrogation room, he put on a blank expression, showing no reaction to the name.

“Who did you tell Xiao Zhang the girl was?” Hai Shu stared into Liu the Fool’s eyes, which were full of confusion. “She looks like Xiao Zhang. Did you want to invite her to eat the chestnuts you picked?”

Liu the Fool shook his head, indicating he didn’t understand.

Hai Shu said, “What, do you have a switch for comprehension and communication? One press makes you normal, one press makes you a fool?”

Liu the Fool angrily said, “You call me a fool—you’re disrespecting me!”

He didn’t seem to be pretending; perhaps years of acting foolish had truly altered his behavior.

“Then let’s talk about another matter,” Hai Shu said. “We learned in Jianglu City that your parents may never have reached Jianglu City. Your two brothers’ disappearance is clear. Do you remember why your parents left Guibai Village?”

Liu the Fool stiffened his neck, motionless.

Hai Shu said, “Have you ever considered that your parents didn’t disappear in Jianglu City? That they were killed in Guibai Village? That Liu Village Chief wasn’t even going to Jianglu City to find your family?”

Liu the Fool said, “They came to my house looking for my parents, but my parents had already left for several months and couldn’t be found, so they went to Jianglu City.”

Hai Shu said, “Several months? Do you remember when they left?”

Liu the Fool nodded hard. “June!”

Hai Shu felt conflicted. She imagined that Liu the Fool knew the truth about his parents and brothers’ disappearance and wanted to use the police to reveal it. So why, after she had probed so far, wouldn’t he speak his mind?

June was the time the villagers said Liu’s parents left for Jianglu City, and Liu the Fool said the same. If the deduction was correct, he had no reason to lie.

“They were killed!” Liu the Fool said. “By people from Jianglu City. It was Liu Village Chief who helped me.”

Even when speaking for Liu Village Chief, there wasn’t a hint of resentment in his words. Hai Shu began to doubt—had her previous deduction been wrong?

Now Xiao Zhang was no longer in Huiyong City and couldn’t speak with Liu the Fool face to face. But the woman she mentioned was valuable to the police; she could possibly be the victim.

Hai Shu paced in front of the whiteboard, head down. The woman had also visited Guibai Village; Liu the Fool had taken a fancy to her. Spring and summer were peak tourism seasons in Guibai Village, and the mountains produced chestnuts in autumn. The woman hadn’t received any chestnuts, so she may have visited in spring or summer. But the villagers didn’t remember her. She hadn’t come last year; maybe the year before, or even earlier?

This made the investigation even harder.

Hai Shu paused, then contacted Wen Xu. This time, the comparison made progress. Wen Xu found a man named Hua Zhanping who had a kinship with the victim. Hua Zhanping was 35 years old, from Tiepinh County, not in Huiyong City but in the same province. Five years ago, he had participated in a group fight in a KTV, and his DNA was collected then.

Finally, there was a breakthrough. Hai Shu decided to go to Tiepinh County immediately. At this time, Wen Xu and Sui Xing were not in the village; Cheng Wei and the other team members were doing the investigation. Hai Shu thought for a moment and decided to call Sui Xing, leaving the matter in her hands.

After arranging this, Hai Shu was about to go downstairs when she heard commotion outside. From the police station’s position, she couldn’t see what exactly was happening, only heard shouting.

Hai Shu hurried downstairs and saw a team member running back with a serious expression. “Team Leader Hai, there’s trouble outside!”

Hai Shu asked, “What’s going on?”

“Sigh, isn’t it because of our investigation!” the team member grimaced. “They’re saying if we can’t solve the case, we should get lost, stop hogging the toilet without doing anything, messing up their profits! And Liu Village Chief’s words didn’t help at all!”

Hai Shu thought, maybe it wasn’t that Liu Village Chief’s words were ineffective, but that as the police gathered more clues, some people started to panic.

She left the station and headed toward the lane from which the noise came. Turning the corner, she saw a group of young men gathered, many holding tools, and several loud women crying, saying the guests were scared away and their children couldn’t go to school. A few officers were trying to reason with them, but reasoning clearly wasn’t their skill.

Hai Shu saw Cheng Wei. Small in stature and young, he was the easiest target in Criminal Investigation Team One. Surrounded by villagers and sweating profusely, he looked like he had been beaten.

Hai Shu scanned the scene and noted the locals were clever. The intruders were sloppily dressed, clearly uneducated, while Liu Village Chief and several big homestay owners hadn’t come. If they ever tallied things up, the villagers could say the young people were reckless, and even though Liu Village Chief tried to reason, he was too old to control them.

Someone raised a phone, pointing it at Hai Shu. Almost immediately, more people raised their phones. Hai Shu knew their intent: to provoke the police, maybe even attack them, continuously obstructing the investigation. If the police retaliated or said something slightly excessive, it would be filmed and posted online to incite uninformed netizens against the police.

Hai Shu approached Cheng Wei. The thugs stared at him like predators, grinning like hooligans. Though tall, she couldn’t dominate the space among the young men. Their gaze made her nauseous, but she had to solve the problem, rescue her teammate, and minimize interference with the investigation.

Her temporary silence only excited the men further. Someone whistled, saying crude things. As she moved into the crowd, some brushed against her, and one daringly swung a stick, hitting her arm.

The air was full of laughter and obscenities. She tried to remain calm, telling herself she was here to resolve the situation. But the crowd’s disorder was disgusting. She inhaled deeply, digging her nails into her palms.

The thugs, clearly enjoying bullying the police, became more brazen. Finally, someone swung a stick—not in testing, but aiming at Hai Shu’s shoulder.

Hai Shu was prepared but hadn’t acted when a black shadow flashed. A scream followed; the stick and the man wielding it fell. The stick rolled to her feet, and the man clutched his wrist on the ground, screaming in pain, seemingly dislocated.

Hai Shu lifted her head and met a pair of deep eyes, lightly smiling, casually. The chin and nose had appeared in her recent dreams, but the eyes were most familiar. She was sure she had seen them before.

The gaze lasted only a few seconds. As the man turned, she felt an even stronger sense of familiarity. They had met not only in the city bureau corridor, not only in Xingchen Amusement Park, but long before that.

Now was not the time for reckoning. The man had suddenly appeared, kicking the thug’s wrist and breaking it. Villagers, now incited, were swinging sticks to demand justice, cameras pointed at him. If the act was filmed, it would be hard to explain.

Suddenly someone shouted, “Why can’t we record?”

The voice grew louder; more realized their phones weren’t working. Those holding tools surrounded the crowd but dared not move against him.

“Obstructing police enforcement, openly attacking police. Officer Hai is reasonable and doesn’t want a fight,” the man’s deep voice was magnetic. He twisted his wrist. “But I’m not as courteous. I’ve recorded everything you did. Anyone foolish enough, come test yourselves?”

The thugs looked at each other, the front ones retreating, all tensely staring at the man, none daring to confront him. The one with the broken wrist wailed in pain and cursed his team. The man took a step forward; he was immediately pursued by Dou Liantian, who scrambled into the crowd.

The man smiled, continuing toward the crowd. “What, not coming? Didn’t you have a grievance to air? Didn’t your children have no school? Now you won’t speak? Officer Hai is listening.”

Then he looked at Hai Shu, smiling. “Officer Hai, isn’t that right?”

Hai Shu stepped forward. “Everyone, let’s settle complaints face to face.”

But these people had only come to make trouble. Seeing it was hopeless, those in the back ran off, others fled. Within five minutes, the alley was empty.

The man clapped his hands and prepared to leave.

Hai Shu raised her hand to stop him, scrutinizing his face closely. “Just trying to leave?”

The man stood with his back to the sunlight, his upright figure casting a shadow around Hai Shu. “Officer, why can’t I leave?”

The distance was too close, and their height difference was magnified. Hai Shu had to lift her chin. “Since you are a witness and participant in the earlier chaos, you’ll come back with me to the station for a record.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “I thought there was another reason.”

Hai Shu said, “Oh, another reason isn’t impossible either.”

The man was intrigued. “Hmm?”

Hai Shu cleared her throat. “You look like a friend of mine.”

The man’s expression changed several times before he finally smiled. “So even police use such clichéd excuses to get close?”

Hai Shu stared at him, certain these were the same eyes she had seen at Xingchen Amusement Park. Looking down, she saw the man’s outdoor boots. Compared to the day at the city bureau, his current attire fit her aesthetic better: an iron-gray jacket zipped to the chin, black tactical pants, probably just a T-shirt underneath, maybe black as well.

“It’s not an excuse, it’s the truth,” Hai Shu said, returning her gaze. “I’ve imagined what he would look like grown up many times. It should be you.”

The man’s eyes paused slightly, seemingly surprised by her words.

Hai Shu extended her hand. “Criminal Investigation Team One, Hai Shu. If I’m not mistaken, you’re one of the special agents Team Leader Qiao invited?”

The man’s momentary surprise vanished; he smiled, taking her hand. “Xie Jingyu.”

“Xie Jingyu?” Hai Shu’s fingers unconsciously tightened slightly, adding warmth to her gaze.

Xie Jingyu looked down at their clasped hands. “Officer Hai, are you holding on too long?”

Hai Shu realized and immediately let go. “Looks like not only do you look like my friend, your name is similar too.”

Xie Jingyu just smiled, saying nothing.

Hai Shu said, “Normally, you’d ask—oh? And what’s your friend’s name?”

Xie Jingyu teased, “But I’m not an ordinary person.”

Hai Shu nodded approvingly. “When things are abnormal, there’s always a reason.”

Xie Jingyu: “…”

Hai Shu didn’t dwell on it. This suddenly appeared special agent vaguely reminded her of Xiaoyu; her heart raced when she noticed, but she had calmed down now.

She didn’t want to bring personal matters into work, and in such a short time, she couldn’t rationally judge whether what she said or did was correct. Even without Xiaoyu, Xie Jingyu carried a certain mysteriousness that caught her attention.

“I still need to trouble Xie…” Hai Shu suddenly didn’t know how to address him—Captain Xie? No. Little Xie? Too informal.

Xie Jingyu said, “Brother Xie?”

Hai Shu: “…” Is he trying to take advantage?

“Then Brother Xie, I still need your help to go back to the station. What just happened isn’t huge, but isn’t small either. You injured someone to protect me, a police officer, so a record still needs to be made.”

Xie Jingyu shrugged in mock grievance. “The world is going downhill; doing good deeds gets you dragged to the station.”

The station was already crowded. Liu Village Chief was pressed in the middle by villagers. The villagers loudly complained that the police investigation disrupted daily life in Guibai Village and affected their finances, and also accused the police of beating people. Xiao Qiang (the thug with the broken wrist) was nearly beaten to death.

Liu Village Chief tried to mediate, calming the villagers while appealing to the station chief, saying he was just an old man and couldn’t oppose public opinion.

The station police were overwhelmed. The chief saw Hai Shu return and reacted like seeing a savior. “Team Leader Hai! Quick, quick! The villagers are here to resolve disputes with us!”

A wave of gazes swept over her. Hai Shu looked and thought: just a while ago it was a group of young thugs stirring trouble; now the whole village had come? Perfect, she wouldn’t need to go door to door.

Xiao Qiang, the one with the broken wrist, was pushed to the center, crying that the police had beaten him, saying his whole wrist was broken. His companions cheered him on. “Yes, the police beat him! We all saw it!”

In the alley, these people had run like scared dogs; now with more people and Liu Village Chief backing them, their momentum returned.

Hai Shu snorted softly and stepped forward. “My colleagues and I never laid a hand on you. I went to retrieve my colleague, and this young man attacked from behind.”

Liu Village Chief was shocked. “You brat! How dare you assault the police!”

“I didn’t! They attacked first!”

“Yes, they attacked first! All our eyes were on them!”

Hai Shu calmly glanced back at Xie Jingyu, meaning—Brother Xie, the person you hit, you handle this?

Xie Jingyu said to the officer, “Is there a laptop? Let me use it, the screen should be big.”

The officer didn’t understand but quickly brought one. Xie Jingyu took out his phone, transferred the video to the laptop, and played it fullscreen, volume at maximum. The group of rowdy thugs around Hai Shu were constantly making small moves, cursing occasionally. When the stick “accidentally” brushed against Hai Shu’s arm, she didn’t retaliate, still trying to communicate with them—but this “weakness” only emboldened them, and the one with the broken wrist swung directly at Hai Shu.

The shouting suddenly quieted. Xie Jingyu said, “Everyone see clearly? Is it the police hitting the public, or the public attacking the police? Didn’t see it clearly? I’ll play it again!”

Liu Village Chief slapped the young men on the back several times, face full of anger and anxiety. “Tell me, what, what are you doing? How do I explain this to your parents?”

Xiao Qiang shouted miserably, “He hit me! Our phones just malfunctioned temporarily and didn’t record it! Otherwise, would I have broken myself?”

Hai Shu watched the farce, feeling puzzled. Weren’t the villagers just trying to catch her hitting someone on camera? But why did their phones fail at the critical moment? One phone failing is understandable, but how did no one record anything?

Xie Jingyu walked into the crowd. Everyone stepped back, afraid of him. He approached Xiao Qiang, half-smiling. Xiao Qiang’s legs trembled; he stepped back too slowly and Xie Jingyu grabbed his arm.

“Ah—The police are hitting again!” Xiao Qiang screamed like a slaughtered pig.

“Tsk.” Xie Jingyu held his wrist. “It’s already past Spring Festival; let’s leave this year’s pig for next year.”

Xiao Qiang had been crying and screaming, but the sound suddenly stopped. He stared at his wrist in shock. Damn, it moves!

“Your wrist isn’t broken, just dislocated.” Xie Jingyu adjusted the joint. “Any more complaints?”

Xiao Qiang was stunned, shaking his head like a rattle drum, took two steps back, and ran quickly into the crowd.

Xie Jingyu turned and returned behind Hai Shu, spreading his hands. “Officer Hai, no more business for me here.”

After that video played, some villagers dispersed. Liu Village Chief awkwardly stood in place. “Officer Hai, sorry. As village chief, I failed to lead properly and caused trouble for you. Ah, I’m useless; they’re still young, let’s not mark it against them. It’s all my fault!”

Hai Shu stood on the road outside the station. “I understand everyone’s feelings, but please also understand our work. The Flower Festival is Guibai Village’s most important tourist event. At its peak, a decomposed body was found. The news spread online and the public in this city and nearby cities are asking—what exactly is going on in Guibai Village?”

“That’s right. Our investigation has affected your business to some extent. A fine spring, wasted. But do you have a better way? I won’t talk about solving crimes being the police’s job; nobody likes to hear that. Imagine we leave now, the case unresolved. What will people outside say? Netizens will claim Guibai Village is dangerous, solo travelers are harmed, even the city bureau’s elite team can’t help! Once the bad reputation spreads, who will come to visit? Then it’s not just this spring wasted, but every future summer and spring! You’ve suffered, been poor—just ten years ago. Remember? Want to go back?”

Murmurs arose in the crowd, glances exchanged—they were struck to the heart.

“I promise, we will do our utmost to solve this case quickly.” Hai Shu continued, “When the truth comes out, tourists who love Guibai Village will return. Think not just of us in uniform, but also your family’s guesthouses. Don’t blindly listen to rumors and be exploited.”

The crowd dispersed, seemingly accepting Hai Shu’s explanation. Liu Village Chief turned, expression unclear, intending to leave with the others. Hai Shu called out, “Liu Village Chief, wait a moment.”

Liu Village Chief forced a smile. “Officer Hai, what else?”

“The matter with Liu Fool’s family—we have some new clues and want to verify with you.” Hai Shu led Liu Village Chief to the station entrance, then returned to the courtyard. “Brother Xie, don’t run off, the record isn’t done yet.”