Outside the forest, by the reservoir!
On the way out of the woods, none of them spoke a word; they didn’t even have the heart to collect their prey, focusing solely on making haste.
It wasn’t until they emerged from the woods that they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, Li Yi suggested they rest temporarily by the reservoir before returning to the village.
The reason for this was, on the one hand, that they had been on the move for over two hours and were indeed quite tired.
More importantly, Li Yi wanted to check if there were any pursuers behind them.
After all, the General’s Tomb was in a remote location where few people ever went, and with the fresh snow on the ground, their footprints were particularly distinct.
Although Zhang Ziqiang had already tried to cover their tracks, footprints that fresh would be easy to spot no matter how much they tried to hide them.
If those people sensed something was amiss and followed the tracks to track them down, that would be trouble.
Judging by the number of guns those men were carrying, they were a gang of desperados. If they caught up, there was no way they could be brought back to the village.
Otherwise, it would bring utter disaster upon the village.
The group hid beneath the reservoir’s spillway for nearly half an hour without seeing anyone following them, and only then did Li Yi breathe a sigh of relief.
Then Li Yi looked at Zhang Ziqiang and asked, “What do you make of this?”
Zhang Ziqiang paused to think for a moment, then said, “These guys are armed and showed up in the middle of the night in a remote forest—they definitely aren’t up to anything good. Judging by the way they’re digging a pit and building a fire, they must be digging for something…”
Before he could finish, Yongzi immediately piped up, “Brother Yi, do you think these guys might be digging for Zhang Gai’s treasure?”
“Who is Zhang Gai?” Zhang Ziqiang asked, looking puzzled.
Li Yi replied immediately, “Zhang Gai was a local warlord from around here. It’s said that before he died, he buried all the treasures he’d plundered and amassed over his lifetime. Years ago, the county organized a search party specifically to find Zhang Gai’s treasure, but they came up empty-handed!”
Zhang Ziqiang glanced over at the woods and said, “So, you’re saying those people are digging for Zhang Gai’s treasure?”
Li Yi shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure. After all, Zhang Gai’s hometown is still forty or fifty kilometers away from here, and I’ve never heard of him burying his treasure near our village of Nianzishan.”
Before 1985, the villagers knew nothing about the general’s tomb on the back mountain.
There had never been any related legends or rumors in the village, and it wasn’t even recorded in the county annals.
So, Yongzi naturally suspected someone else.
But Li Yi knew that what those people had been digging for wasn’t Zhang Gai’s treasure, but the tomb of a great general from the Jin Dynasty.
“Brother Yi, what should we do now?” Yongzi asked, looking at Li Yi.
Li Yi paused to think for a moment, then said, “Although we don’t know if these people are digging for treasure or a grave, one thing is certain: these guys aren’t up to any good. Plus, they’re armed with guns, and they actually dared to light a fire in the woods in the middle of winter. We have to stop them!”
“But… how are we supposed to stop them? Those guys are armed with real shotguns!” Yongzi said.
“We definitely can’t handle this on our own. We need to find some backup!” Li Yi said.
“Where are we going to find help?”
“The police!” Li Yi said.
“Brother Yi, are you saying we should go to the commune right now to ‘report the incident’?”
Li Yi shook his head and said, “We’re not going to the commune—we’re heading straight to the county seat!”
“The county seat?”
“Right. There aren’t many people at the police station in the commune, and they’re only equipped with standard handguns. They’re no match for the rifles and submachine guns those guys have!”
As he spoke, Li Yi glanced at his watch and realized it was nearly three in the morning.
He continued, “Once we get back to the village, you two go report the situation to Uncle Feng right away. Have Brother Lei gather the village militia to secure the village in case those guys chase us back here. Meanwhile, the two of us will drive straight into town to file a report!”
“Yes!”
After finalizing the plan, the group immediately set off at a brisk pace toward the village.
Upon returning to the village, they dumped the game and the rabbit-trapping gear all at once into Li Yi’s courtyard, then split up to carry out their tasks.
………
Qingshan County!
The entire county police bureau was deathly quiet. Apart from the lights in the duty room, the vast police station was pitch black.
Suddenly, the muffled roar of a car engine shattered the silence.
Immediately afterward, a Jeep with Beijing license plates pulled up in front of the county police headquarters.
Seeing that the main gate was locked, Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang immediately got out to investigate.
They discovered that while the main gate was locked, the small side gate was unlocked.
Without hesitation, Li Yi pushed open the side gate and strode inside.
Perhaps because the area had enjoyed a long period of peace, or perhaps because no serious criminal cases had occurred in the county for several years, security at the county police station was extremely lax. The two men practically walked in as if no one were there.
When Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang entered the county police station’s duty room, they saw through the reception window that although there was someone inside, the officer on duty was sound asleep on a single bed, completely unaware that anyone had entered the station.
Fortunately, it was them who had come today; if criminals had arrived instead, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the entire county bureau had been wiped out.
With that thought, Li Yi immediately tapped on the glass of the window.
However, the officer on duty inside didn’t react at all. Li Yi stood by the reception window and called out a few more times.
Still, the man inside didn’t stir—it was utterly outrageous!
Time was of the essence, and Li Yi dared not delay. He walked straight to the door and kicked the wooden door with all his might.
“Thud!”
After a loud crash, a large hole appeared in the wooden door, and Li Yi’s foot slipped through the opening.
The police officer sleeping inside was startled awake and immediately got up to investigate.
When he saw a foot sticking through the wooden door, the officer on duty was startled. He immediately drew his pistol and shouted, “Who goes there?”
Li Yi pulled his foot back through the door and shouted, “I’m Li Yi from Nianzishan Village. I’m friends with Li Gang from your bureau. I have an urgent matter to report!”
The officer on duty was taken aback for a moment—he knew Li Yi—and immediately went over to open the door.
Seeing that it was indeed Li Yi standing at the doorway, he hurriedly asked, “Comrade Li Yi, it really is you! What are you doing out here in the middle of the night…”
Before the officer could finish, Li Yi said in a stern voice, “Time is of the essence. Wake up everyone at your station immediately. By the way, where’s Li Gang? Is he at the station?”
“Um… ah… Captain Li went home tonight; he’s not at the station…”
“I’ll go pick him up at his place. You immediately notify everyone at the station to assemble right now, and make sure they bring their weapons and gear—we have an emergency to handle!”
With that, Li Yi turned to leave!
“Comrade Li Yi, what exactly is going on? I need to know what’s happening before I can rally the team…”
Before he could finish, Zhang Ziqiang, who was standing beside Li Yi, pulled out a small red notebook, flashed it in front of him, and said, “I’m from Beijing. I have the authority to mobilize your bureau’s personnel. Carry out the order immediately. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility!”
“This… is it!”
With that, the public security officer immediately rang the bureau’s alarm bell!
In an instant, the once-quiet county bureau was filled with the shrill ringing of the bell.
Soon after, lights began to flicker on in row after row of buildings within the compound, and the once pitch-black courtyard quickly came alive with activity.
But Li Yi had no time to watch this. It was already 3:30 a.m., and he had to act quickly; otherwise, those armed tomb raiders might slip away.
Back in the car, he took the wheel himself and drove straight to Li Gang’s house…
………
PS: Another chapter before midnight!