Chapter 764: The Terrifying Cellar!

Wangli Village. The Yan Family!

Faced with the police search, both Yan Minsheng—who was being held—and Zhou Shuxia, who was clinging to the kang, looked utterly terrified.

They both knew they hadn’t stolen anything, but they were well aware they couldn’t let these people search the place.

Because compared to stealing, if the crime they had committed were discovered, it would truly cost them their heads!

But now, with one of them in custody and the other suffering from polio, they were completely powerless to stop the police from searching.

However, after Xiao Zhanwu and his team turned Yan Minsheng’s house inside out, they found nothing out of the ordinary.

As night fell, they realized that if they didn’t find any clues soon, they would be the ones in a bind.

In light of this, Xiao Zhanwu approached Li Yi and whispered, “We haven’t found any clues. What should we do now?”

Li Yi glanced at Yan Minsheng, whose face was etched with tension, and Zhou Shuxia, who looked terrified. Their behavior was clearly suspicious.

With that in mind, he said in a stern voice, “Have the police dogs search the premises. Don’t overlook a single nook and cranny!”

“Brother Li Yi, what exactly are we looking for?”

“People!”

“People?”

“And dead ones at that!”

“Dead… people? Are you suspecting…”

Before Xiao Zhanwu could finish, Li Yi cut him off and said, “Let’s search first. We’ll deal with the rest later!”

“Alright!”

With that, Xiao Zhanwu immediately called over the K-9 handler, Xiao Yun, and began assigning her tasks.

Shortly after, Xiao Yun, accompanied by her partner “Huzi,” began searching the Yan family’s courtyard.

The villagers outside were seeing police dogs at work for the first time, and they were all buzzing with excitement.

Some said police dogs were amazing, especially their noses—there was nothing they couldn’t find.

But others argued that a dog’s sense of smell isn’t as sharp in the winter.

In short, those who believed in them praised the police dogs to the skies, while those who didn’t dismissed them as worthless.

However, just as the crowd was arguing heatedly, Xiao Yun led the police dog into the Yan family’s pigsty.

Suddenly, the police dog leaped straight into the pigpen and began barking furiously at a corner.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhanwu and Li Yi immediately walked over, while Yan Minsheng’s parents and other villagers also gathered around.

“Xiao Yun, what’s going on?” Xiao Zhanwu asked, sounding a bit nervous.

“Captain Xiao, Huzi senses something’s wrong here!” Xiao Yun said in a low voice.

“Then let’s dig it up and take a look!”

Li Yi took a look and said, “It’s frozen solid here; we won’t be able to dig it up anytime soon, and besides, we don’t have enough people. Why don’t we ask the villagers for help?”

Xiao Zhanwu nodded and then addressed the gathered villagers: “Who is the village chief of Wangli Village?”

An elderly man in his sixties stepped out of the crowd and said, “Comrade, I’m the village chief!”

“Comrade Village Chief, we’re short on manpower. To resolve this as quickly as possible, we’d like to ask you to help us dig around the pigsty. Would that be okay?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

The village chief agreed readily, saying, “We’re happy to help, but let’s be clear from the start: if we don’t find anything, you’ll have to apologize to the Minsheng couple and compensate them for their losses!”

“Alright! A promise is a promise—we won’t go back on our word!” said Xiao Zhanwu.

“Good!”

The village chief immediately called out a few young men by name, instructing them to fetch digging tools and bring some firewood.

In such cold weather, digging the ground required first using firewood to thaw the frozen layer on the surface.

While the villagers were busy with their tasks, Li Yi’s gaze fixed on a pile of wheat straw in the center of the courtyard.

Then, he told Xiao Yun to bring the police dog and follow him!

As soon as they reached the pile of straw, the police dog began barking frantically again.

Hearing the commotion, Xiao Zhanwu and the others rushed over once more.

Upon seeing this somewhat conspicuous pile of wheat straw, Xiao Zhanwu immediately said, “This is a pile of straw covering a cellar; there should be a cellar for storing potatoes underneath!”

Clearly, he was very familiar with the layout of the villagers’ homes.

As he spoke, the group worked together to move the pile of wheat straw aside, revealing a tattered tarpaulin.

Lifting the tarp revealed the entrance to the cellar.

Several pieces of dead wood, each as thick as an arm, were strewn haphazardly across the opening—likely used to prop up the tarp and insulate the straw.

After removing these logs, Xiao Zhanwu immediately had someone fetch a flashlight and shone it down into the cellar opening!

However, the moment he saw what was inside the cellar, his hand holding the flashlight trembled uncontrollably, and the flashlight fell straight down.

At the same time, Xiao Zhanwu stumbled backward two steps, nearly tripping over the wooden logs behind him.

After Zhang Ziqiang steadied him, Xiao Zhanwu stood there pale-faced and panting, his expression still filled with terror.

This scene left everyone else dumbfounded, and they began speculating about what Xiao Zhanwu had seen!

Some of the bolder ones immediately tried to step forward to investigate.

Seeing this, Li Yi hurried forward to stop them.

It goes without saying what’s inside the cellar. If it could terrify a police captain like Xiao Zhanwu—a former reconnaissance soldier—to this extent, the scene inside must be utterly gruesome.

If the villagers were to see this, it would undoubtedly cause widespread panic.

In fact, Yan Minsheng’s case had already caused a huge sensation throughout Qin Province in his previous life, sparking widespread panic among the public.

Therefore, it was best to keep this gruesome scene hidden from the ordinary villagers; otherwise, for years to come, the villagers wouldn’t dare go out at night.

However, the villagers were clearly displeased with Li Yi’s attempts to block them.

“Hey, young man, why won’t you let us see? What gives you the right?”

“Exactly! This is Wangli Village—who do you think you are, some outsider trying to show off?”

“Move aside right now…”

Realizing he couldn’t reason with these ordinary villagers, Li Yi immediately called the village chief over.

When the village chief arrived, he asked in a stern voice, “What’s all this commotion about?”

Before the villagers could speak, Li Yi said, “Village Chief, the situation in the cellar might be a bit unsettling. It’s best not to let everyone get too close. If you really want to see it, just send one or two representatives over to take a look!”

The village chief was a sensible man. Seeing the gravity on Li Yi’s face, he thought for a moment and said, “Very well!”

He then looked at the villagers gathered around the cellar and asked, “Who among you wants to take a look?”

A middle-aged man immediately spoke up, “Me, I want to see!”

“Alright, then Shazhu, you go take a look for everyone and see what’s really inside that cellar!” the village chief said.

“Alright!”

With that, Shazhu strode over to the opening of the cellar and peered down inside.

By the light of the flashlight that Xiao Zhanwu had dropped, Shazhu first saw a pair of deathly pale feet, followed by a crouching figure.

Since the flashlight’s beam was focused directly on the figure’s head, Shazhu could clearly see the person’s face.

The face was covered in blood; half of it had been smashed to pieces, and the mouth was torn open, exposing stark white teeth and gums. Looking down from above, it resembled a malevolent demon grinning savagely at him.

Even more terrifying was the fact that, right next to that face, there was another pair of feet…

Sha Zhu stood frozen at the mouth of the cellar, as if struck by a spell, for a long moment.

It wasn’t until he heard the old village chief’s voice from behind him that he snapped back to reality.

“Sha Zhu, what on earth is in that cellar? Tell me quickly!”

“There’s…”

The next moment, Shazhu’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out cold.

The sudden turn of events startled the villagers, who rushed forward to help. Some called out his name, while others pinched his philtrum.

At that moment, Xiao Zhanwu also snapped out of it. He took a deep breath and said in a stern voice, “Old Village Chief, you must immediately order all villagers to leave this courtyard. Without government orders, no one is to come near it!”

“But… but…”

Just as the old village chief hesitated, Shazhu finally came to, thanks to everyone’s efforts.

The moment his eyes opened, Shazhu let out a terrified scream: “A ghost… It’s killing people… It’s killing people…”

Hearing Shazhu’s screams, all the villagers took several steps back in unison, moving away from the cellar entrance. No one dared to linger and watch anymore.

The old village chief’s expression darkened; he too realized the gravity of the situation and immediately ordered the onlookers to retreat to the entrance of the Yan family’s compound.

Then, while Xiao Zhanwu had his men detain the couple—Yan Minsheng and Zhou Shuxia—he ordered Xiao Wang to drive back to the county bureau immediately and call for reinforcements…

………..