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…

………..

Wuxian County, Wangli Village!

Just as Xiao Zhanwu and his men were preparing to search the Yan residence, they heard a chaotic commotion from outside.

Immediately afterward, they saw seven or eight villagers armed with shovels, rakes, and wooden sticks storm into Yan Minsheng’s house, with more people trickling in behind them.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhanwu and Li Yi both knew trouble was brewing.

Judging by the look on these people’s faces, they certainly weren’t there to help; more likely than not, they’d come to obstruct their arrest.

In rural areas, clan ties are deeply ingrained; these relationships, bound by blood and marriage, are fundamentally exclusionary.

When outsiders aren’t around, these people might bicker over trivial matters, but if a fellow clan member is in trouble, they’ll certainly unite against outsiders.

Consequently, what worried Xiao Zhanwu and his team most was going into the village to make arrests, as they were often surrounded and confronted by villagers.

Moreover, today’s situation was particularly unusual. First, they were conducting an investigation across county lines without having informed their bureau in advance, let alone notifying the Wuxian County Public Security Bureau.

Second, they didn’t even know what crime Yan Minsheng had actually committed, let alone have any substantial evidence.

If the villagers really blocked them from making an arrest, they would be in a real bind.

But since the officers had already arrived, they couldn’t very well shut the door and hide from them, could they? So Xiao Zhanwu immediately led two police officers out.

Seeing this, Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang immediately followed them out!

As soon as they stepped outside, they saw a woman in her fifties with graying hair shouting at the top of her lungs: “What right do you have to arrest our Minsheng? What exactly did he do wrong? You can’t just make this up!”

“That’s right! What gives you the right to come into the village and arrest people without even saying hello? You’ve got to explain yourselves!”

“If they take him away, our whole village will be the laughingstock of everyone…”

Xiao Zhanwu immediately shouted, “Villagers, please be quiet. We are conducting a police investigation. Do not obstruct us, or you will be committing the illegal act of obstructing official duties!”

Immediately, a middle-aged man stepped forward and said, “Don’t try to scare us. Bring Minsheng and his wife out here so we can ask them what they’ve done. Otherwise, don’t even think about taking them away!”

“That’s right, bring out the Minsheng couple!”

“It can’t be that you just do whatever you want. We want to see Minsheng…”

Xiao Zhanwu knew that if he didn’t let them see the couple today, it simply wouldn’t work.

He immediately ordered Xiao Liang to bring out Yan Minsheng, who was handcuffed. As for the woman inside the room, she refused to get off the bed no matter what.

Under the circumstances, Xiao Zhanwu and his men couldn’t force her off the bed, so they had to leave her under Xiao Yun’s watch.

After Yan Minsheng was brought out, he saw that his parents and uncles were all present, along with quite a few other members of his clan, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He knew how much his parents loved him; they would never let these police officers take him away.

So, before his clan members could say a word, Yan Minsheng shouted at the top of his lungs, “Father, Mother! They came to arrest me for no reason at all, and they beat me—my arm is almost broken!”

Hearing this, the Yan family members instantly flew into a rage. Filled with righteous indignation, they began hurling insults, and the scene quickly descended into chaos.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhanwu immediately shouted, “What are you doing? Are you trying to assault a police officer? Do you know that assaulting a police officer is a serious crime?”

“Don’t think you’ll escape punishment just because there are so many of you. Anyone who dares to lay a hand on them will spend at least three years behind bars. Go ahead and try me!”

His shout instantly deflated the villagers’ earlier bravado.

Shouting a few threats while outnumbering the officers wasn’t a big deal, but when it came to actually attacking the police together, they didn’t have the guts.

Besides, since he’d already laid out such severe consequences, they had to be even more cautious and think twice.

At that moment, Yan Minsheng’s mother spoke up again: “Comrade, my son has always been timid and avoids trouble. How could he possibly do anything illegal? Have you made a mistake?”

It was clear that Yan Minsheng’s mother was a shrewd woman; if force didn’t work, she’d try a softer approach.

Xiao Zhanwu glanced at Li Yi; he wasn’t sure how to proceed with what he was about to say, since even now he still didn’t know exactly what was wrong with this man.

Of course, this Yan fellow was definitely up to no good; his instinctive reaction upon seeing them just now spoke volumes.

He was confident that, given enough time, they would certainly be able to unravel the mysteries surrounding this man.

But unfortunately, the villagers had arrived too quickly, leaving them no time to investigate!

Seeing this, Li Yi knew it was time for him to step in.

He strode to the front of the crowd and said, “Fellow villagers, my name is Li Yi. I’m the one who filed the report—I’m the one who called the police to the Yan household!”

Yan Minsheng’s mother immediately shouted, “What right do you have to have my son arrested? What right?”

Li Yi replied calmly, “Who said we’re here to arrest anyone?”

Hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

Wasn’t that the obvious truth? After all, the man was still in the hands of the police…

“Here’s the situation: we originally came to Wangli Village to visit relatives, but just a moment ago we discovered that something very valuable was missing from our car—and before that, only Yan Minsheng’s wife had been near our vehicle!”

Li Yi continued, “More importantly, when we confronted her, she looked completely flustered and even stumbled twice. So we have reason to suspect she stole our belongings, which is why we called the police to investigate.”

Yan Minsheng’s mother shouted, “Then just investigate Minsheng’s wife! Why are you arresting him?”

“Exactly! Setting aside whether Minsheng’s wife stole anything, even if she did, they should be arresting her!”

“Exactly! It makes no sense to arrest the husband when it’s his wife who stole something…”

By now, seventy or eighty villagers had gathered in the courtyard to watch, and many more were still on their way.

The villagers gathered in front of Yan Minsheng’s house, chattering away, while some pointed fingers at Li Yi and his men!

Facing the villagers’ accusations, Li Yi sneered and said, “As for why we’re arresting him, you’ll have to ask him yourself!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“We originally came here to question that woman. We didn’t expect this man to see us and immediately try to escape by climbing onto the roof. Naturally, the police moved in to apprehend him!” Li Yi explained.

As soon as he said this, the villagers’ murmurs grew even louder.

But this time, not everyone sided with Yan Minsheng; some villagers began to harbor doubts about him.

In the simple minds of the common folk, only those with a guilty conscience or something to hide would run away at the sight of the police.

Therefore, Yan Minsheng’s reaction was proof enough that he was up to no good!

Even Yan Minsheng’s father couldn’t stand it anymore. He immediately turned to his son and said, “You good-for-nothing! Did you take something that doesn’t belong to you? If you did, you’d better give it back right away!”

“That’s right, son. If you two really took something from them, just admit it right away. Maybe they won’t arrest you then!” Yan Minsheng’s mother chimed in.

“Dad, Mom, I really didn’t steal their stuff. If anyone did, it was that damn woman—I really didn’t know!”

Seeing Yan Minsheng’s desperate defense, Li Yi couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

At the same time, a saying came to mind: The person who falsely accuses you knows better than you do just how wronged you are.

Yan Minsheng really was being framed this time, and Zhou Shuxia was being framed as well—after all, the one framing him was none other than Li Yi himself.

Of course, his framing of the couple was merely a ploy to secure an opportunity to search the Yan household—nothing more.

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately turned to Yan Minsheng’s parents and said, “You’ll have plenty of chances to discipline your son later. For now, just focus on how to handle this situation!”

“You… what do you want?” Yan Minsheng’s father said in a low voice.

“I’ve questioned both of them, and they both deny stealing anything. However, that woman is currently the only suspect. Therefore, to thoroughly investigate their involvement, I demand a search of the Yan residence!” Li Yi said.

“And what if you don’t find anything?”

“If we find nothing, I’ll apologize to the couple and compensate them 1,000 yuan for their loss!”

Before Yan Minsheng’s father could speak, Yan Minsheng shouted, “No way, I won’t agree to it. What right do you have to search my house…”

Li Yi immediately gave Zhang Ziqiang a look. Zhang Ziqiang caught the hint and promptly grabbed Yan Minsheng by the collar, dragging him into the house.

Seeing this, Yan Minsheng’s parents tried to step forward, but Li Yi stopped them.

“I can guarantee you this: even if we find the missing items, given the couple’s situation, I won’t make things difficult for them. We’ll take the items and leave immediately. What do you think?” Li Yi said.

“You’d better remember that. If we really do find what’s missing, you can’t give Minsheng and his wife a hard time!” Yan Minsheng’s mother said.

“I promise. With so many villagers watching, why would I deceive you?” Li Yi said.

“Well… then go ahead and search!”

Having obtained permission from Yan Minsheng’s parents, Li Yi immediately exchanged a few quiet words with Xiao Zhanwu, then instructed the police officers in the room to conduct a thorough search of the Yan household…

………

By the time the convoy arrived at Wangli Village, it was already 3:30 p.m.

Seeing Li Yi lead Xiao Zhanwu inside, everyone—from Ye Lingyun and Jiang Xue to Liu Juanjuan and Li Xiaoyan, as well as Factory Director Yang and the others—was stunned.

Everyone stared at Li Yi with wide eyes, their faces filled with astonishment!

“Xiao Yi, what’s going on here…”

Before his mother-in-law could finish, Li Yi said, “Mom, we ran into a bit of an emergency, but it has nothing to do with Aunt Juan and the others!”

Then, turning to the equally bewildered Li Xiaoyan standing beside him, Li Yi asked, “Comrade Xiaoyan, could you do us a favor?”

“What… what kind of favor? Tell me.”

“Take me to Yan Minsheng’s place!” Li Yi said.

“What for? That couple is a total pain in the neck. Don’t get involved with them unless you absolutely have to—otherwise, you’ll never be able to shake them off!” Li Xiaoyan said.

“Don’t worry, we just want to talk to them to get some information. It’ll be fine!” Li Yi said.

“Really… really?”

“Yeah, like I’d lie to you!” Li Yi said.

“All right, then!”

Li Yi then gave Jiang Xue a reassuring look and led Li Xiaoyan out of Liu Juanjuan’s house.

Although Li Xiaoyan was a married woman, she had grown up in the village and knew the layout of the area very well.

Before long, Li Xiaoyan led Li Yi and the others to a large courtyard with high walls at the eastern end of the village.

“This is Yan Minsheng’s house!”

The group glanced at the compound and found it somewhat peculiar.

It wasn’t anything else—it was mainly because the walls of this courtyard were simply too high, standing at a full 1.6 to 1.7 meters.

In contrast, most of the other homes in the village had walls no more than 1.2 to 1.3 meters high, and some were even less than a meter.

The Yan family’s house was just a mud-brick structure a little over two meters tall, yet the courtyard wall was built to a height of 1.6 to 1.7 meters—which seemed somewhat out of place.

Because the wall was so high, anyone outside the main gate could hardly see what was happening inside the courtyard.

Of course, people outside couldn’t see inside the courtyard either, unless they climbed onto the wall.

“Comrade Xiaoyan, you should head back first. Once we’re done here, we’ll meet up at your second brother’s place, and then we’ll all go back to the county seat together!”

Thinking of the terrifying scene he might witness, Li Yi didn’t want to involve this outspoken woman in it, so he asked her to leave.

“Can I—”

“Better not. Just listen to me!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, then!”

With that, Li Xiaoyan turned and left, though she kept glancing back every few steps—it was clear she was still very curious.

Li Yi couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly. “Sweetheart, I’m doing this for your own good.”

Just think of those terrifying scenes described in the news reports—if she actually saw them, she’d probably have nightmares for the rest of her life.

If she were to get so scared that something happened to her, that would be a real problem!

Once Li Xiaoyan was out of sight, Li Yi immediately turned to Xiao Zhanwu and said, “I already explained the situation to you in the car. There are only two people in the courtyard—a short guy who hasn’t grown much, and a disabled woman.”

“Once we go in, don’t hesitate—just take control of those two right away!”

“Are we really going in?” Xiao Zhanwu said in a low voice.

To be honest, he felt deep down that this whole thing didn’t seem quite right.

After all, Li Yi didn’t have any concrete evidence that the couple was up to something. He’d simply brought them here to arrest and search the place based on a hunch that the woman’s gaze seemed off. If word of this got back to higher-ups, he’d be in serious trouble.

“I trust my instincts!” Li Yi said.

“What if they’re not there?”

“We saw that woman coming back this way earlier; she should be home. Even if she isn’t, she’s disabled—where else could she have gone?” Li Yi said.

To be honest, Li Yi wasn’t worried at all that the evil couple might not be home.

After all, he’d come here today to find evidence. Whether the killer was there or not was none of his business—arresting people was the police’s job.

If Banbanhaobang wasn’t there, so much the better. That would give Xiao Zhanwu and his team a little more credit to claim. After all, if they found the body and caught everyone, the credit would be too easy to come by.

It would be almost embarrassing to write in a commendation request to their superiors!

“Alright, since you put it that way, brother, I’ll go along with your crazy plan!”

He immediately issued orders to the police officers standing nearby: “Xiao Liang, you enter the courtyard from the left wall; Xiao Zhu, you go in from the right. Awei and Dabing, take up positions behind the house. If anyone tries to climb over the wall to escape, subdue them immediately. Xiaoyun, you take Huzi (the police dog) and enter with us from the front!”

“Roger that!”

With Xiao Zhanwu’s command, the operation began immediately!

Once everyone was in position, Xiao Zhanwu took the lead, appearing right at the Yan family’s front gate and pushing open the wooden gate.

Immediately after, Xiao Yun, accompanied by the police dog as well as Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang, quickly made her way into the courtyard.

At the same time, Xiao Liang and Xiao Zhu scaled the wall surrounding the Yan residence.

The sudden commotion startled Yan Minsheng inside the house. He immediately grabbed the dagger hidden under his pillow, tucked it into his waistband, and then slipped on his cotton shoes before running out to investigate.

When he saw several uniformed police officers entering the courtyard, accompanied by a large wolfhound, he was instantly startled.

Without hesitation, he turned and ran toward the side of the house, where a ladder stood.

In no time at all, he had scrambled up onto the roof, then leaped directly to the ground, ready to flee.

However, the moment his feet touched the ground, he was pinned down by two men in uniform!

Instantly, cold sweat broke out on Yan Min’s forehead; he knew he was finished…

Xiao Zhanwu hadn’t expected the short man to run off the moment he saw them, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

They’d seen this kind of thing too many times; clearly, this guy had something to hide.

As for whether the guy could escape, Xiao Zhanwu wasn’t the least bit worried.

He had served as a reconnaissance soldier in the military; capturing prisoners on the battlefield was a basic skill. And the soldiers under his command were mostly elite veterans from the front lines—they might not be great at solving cases, but hand-to-hand combat was their forte.

Sure enough, before they even reached the house, they heard Dabin and the others’ voices coming from behind it—clearly, the guy had already been caught.

Without waiting for Awei and Dabin, Xiao Zhanwu and his men strode into the house.

Once inside, the group was instantly taken aback.

They saw that, apart from a filthy woman sitting on the kang, there was no one else in the entire room.

Not only were there few people, but the furnishings were pitifully sparse: two large earthenware jars and a wooden cabinet so weathered its original color was unrecognizable.

Other than that, there was nothing but a thick stack of quilts on the kang!

“You… you… who are you? What are you doing in our home?”

As she spoke, a look of fear and anxiety spread across the woman’s face, leaving Xiao Zhanwu and the others at a loss for words.

Just as Xiao Zhanwu was at a loss for words, Li Yi immediately spoke up: “I lost something very important from my car. A moment ago, you were sneaking around our vehicle, so we suspect you stole it. We’re going to search your house now!”

“I… I didn’t steal anything from you… I didn’t!”

“If you didn’t steal it, then why did your husband run away?” Xiao Zhanwu barked.

“I… I don’t know…”

Just then, Dabin and Awei escorted Yan Minsheng in, handcuffed.

As soon as they entered, the woman suddenly burst into tears, wailing, “Husband, they say I stole their stuff, but I really didn’t…”

Hearing this, Yan Minsheng silently breathed a sigh of relief.

He had thought it was… but it turned out they were only suspecting his wife of stealing. That made things much easier.

“My wife definitely didn’t steal your stuff. She’s a cripple who can’t even walk straight—how could she possibly steal anything? Even if you gave it to her for free, she couldn’t carry it away!” Yan Minsheng said.

“If she didn’t steal anything, why did you run?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

“I wasn’t running. I just saw a brick had fallen off the chimney on the roof. I wanted to put it back in place, but I ended up falling off the roof. I’m a good person, you know…”

Before he could finish, Dabin cut him off: “You’re lying. What kind of good person carries a knife tucked at their waist?”

Li Yi didn’t want to get tangled up with this pair of devils any further, so he turned directly to Xiao Zhanwu and said, “Captain Xiao, let’s search him!”

“Alright, let’s search…”

Before Xiao Zhanwu had even finished speaking, a commotion erupted outside, and immediately afterward, seven or eight men and women burst into the Yan family’s courtyard…

………

After accidentally discovering the hideout of the demonic couple Yan Minsheng and Zhou Shuxia, Li Yi decided to bring these two murderous demons to justice.

Regardless of whether they were actually involved in the missing women cases in Yong County, they could not be allowed to remain in this world and continue harming others.

The main reason was that these two were simply too depraved. While others might kill out of revenge or passion, Yan Minsheng and his wife had a very simple motive: they killed merely to satisfy their need for labor and money at home.

To this end, Yan Minsheng would deliberately approach migrant workers or people with intellectual disabilities in crowded areas. He would tell them he could help them find a partner or hire them for high-paying jobs.

Once he lured them into his home, he would first have them perform chores for him, then, after they fell asleep at night, he would kill them.

In just three short years, this diabolical couple murdered a total of 48 people, 17 of whom were women.

That’s 48 human lives!

So, even if only to prevent further harm to these people, Li Yi would never allow this couple to remain in this world.

Soon, Li Yi had figured out how to search the Yan residence.

After all, hadn’t he just scared Zhou Shuxia so badly that she fell to the ground? Wasn’t that the perfect excuse? He could easily enter the Yan residence under the pretext of apologizing.

Once he was inside the Yan residence, he’d have the chance to search it!

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Li Xiaoyan’s voice rang in his ears again: “Comrade Li Yi, that couple from the Yan family is like a pile of stinking dog shit that nobody in our village wants to get near. That thieving woman probably saw you guys driving by and was planning to come steal something—we’ve got to be on our guard!”

“Comrade Xiaoyan, from what you’re saying, does that woman steal things often?” Li Yi asked again.

“Yeah, Yan Minsheng is a petty thief, and that thieving woman is always stealing corn and potatoes from people’s fields. She isn’t afraid of getting caught—after all, with her being the way she is, no one dares to do anything to her!” Li Xiaoyan said.

From their interactions along the way, Li Yi had gotten to know Li Xiaoyan a little bit and didn’t get the impression she was the sharp-tongued, mean-spirited type.

The way she spoke about the Yans clearly meant they’d really messed up.

Plus, Liu Juanjuan had just said the same thing, so it was clear the problem lay with that couple.

Since that was the case, Li Yi decided to take his men straight to the Yan household for a search!

As for a reason? He’d just say he’d lost something in his car, and that woman had been lingering by the car earlier, looking very flustered—that should be reason enough, right?

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately turned to Ye Lingyun and said, “Mom, you and Aunt Juan keep chatting. I’ve got something I need to take care of!”

“All right, don’t go too far!” said Ye Lingyun.

“Okay!”

After saying that, Li Yi led Zhang Ziqiang away from the Liu family’s home!

Once they were out the gate and back in the car, Li Yi immediately said, “Qiangzi, let’s head back to the county seat!”

Zhang Ziqiang didn’t start the car. Instead, he looked at Li Yi and said, “Brother Yi, are you planning to go back and find Captain Xiao?”

Li Yi looked at him in surprise, then asked, “How did you know?”

“Brother Yi, are you planning to investigate that woman?” Zhang Ziqiang said, once again making a startling remark.

“Huh? Why would you say that?”

Li Yi was even more shocked. He hadn’t been very obvious just now—how had this guy seen right through him so quickly?

“There’s something off about that woman!” Zhang Ziqiang declared with absolute certainty.

“How do you know?”

Zhang Ziqiang replied immediately, “The way she looks at us is off!”

“How exactly was it off?”

“Although there was panic, fear, and resistance in her eyes just now, and her facial expressions were convincing, what I saw in her eyes was mostly madness and murderous intent!” Zhang Ziqiang said.

“Murderous intent?”

“Yes, exactly—that kind of murderous intent that seeks to kill someone. For a disabled woman to possess such a killing intent makes me seriously doubt her identity!” Zhang Ziqiang said.

“What identity?” Li Yi asked.

“An enemy spy infiltrating the ranks of the people!”

Zhang Ziqiang continued, “There are quite a few enemy agents from across the strait operating within our country. They’re embedded in every corner of every industry. Some even go so far as to train disabled people as intelligence operatives—or deliberately maim people—just to lull us into a false sense of security!”

Although Zhang Ziqiang’s analysis was somewhat off the mark, Li Yi still found it quite impressive.

He smiled and said, “You’re not quite right, but you’re close enough. Come on, let’s go back and find them!”

“Brother Yi, you really don’t need to go back to get reinforcements. With me and Zhiwen here, we’re more than enough to handle those two!”

Zhang Ziqiang added, “Even if they have accomplices, we’re not worried. The two of us are more than a match for them.”

Li Yi shook his head and said, “I’m not worried that we can’t handle those two. I just want Captain Xiao to come over here!”

Zhang Ziqiang was taken aback for a moment, but then immediately realized that Li Yi was trying to give Xiao Zhanwu a chance to prove himself.

After all, if that couple really were up to no good, it would be a major achievement.

Realizing this, Zhang Ziqiang immediately said, “I understand!”

With that, he started the car and headed straight for Yong County!

Zhang Ziqiang was right—Li Yi really did want to give Xiao Zhanwu a chance to earn merit.

The Yan Minsheng case was known as the biggest case since the founding of the People’s Republic, and its impact was comparable to the Hai County smuggling case supervised by his father-in-law.

Yan Minsheng might not have harmed many people yet, but any murder case was a major case—and one that could earn him credit.

After all, he wasn’t part of the system, and since Zhang Ziqiang and Yang Zhiwen were special security personnel, solving cases wasn’t their job—so claiming these merits would be pointless.

It would be a shame to let such a major achievement go to waste.

So, after much deliberation, Li Yi decided to let Xiao Zhanwu take the credit—it might come in handy later!

………

Yong County Police Bureau!

Xiao Zhanwu had just returned to his office when, before he could even catch his breath, he saw Li Yi push the door open and walk in.

Sipping some cold tea, he asked, “Finished up? You don’t need to rush to return the car…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “I’m not here to return the car!”

“Then what are you here for?”

“Gather a few people you trust and come with me. Bring a police dog too!” Li Yi said.

“What for?” Xiao Zhanwu asked urgently.

“To catch someone and solve a case!”

“Solve what case?”

“A murder case!”

Not wanting to explain further, Li Yi cut to the chase: “Stop dawdling—get everyone together right now!”

Although Xiao Zhanwu had no idea what Li Yi was up to, he quickly summoned four or five police officers to gather in the courtyard and, as Li Yi had requested, brought along a police dog.

“Brother Li Yi, this is all the manpower we have left in the squad. Do you think that’s enough?”

Li Yi glanced at them and said, “That’s enough!”

Yan Minsheng and his wife relied entirely on underhanded tactics to commit their murders; in most cases, they struck after their victims had fallen asleep or simply knocked them unconscious. Their actual combat capabilities were actually quite weak.

This was evident from the details of their crimes in his previous life. According to reports, the Yan Minsheng couple’s crimes were linked to the disappearance of a young man.

Back then, the couple lured a young man to their home and killed him. A few days later, the victim’s older brother discovered his younger brother was missing. After some inquiries, he identified Yan Minsheng as a suspect.

Coincidentally, just as the investigation was focusing on Yan Minsheng, another villager searching for a missing relative also arrived at Yan Minsheng’s home.

When both groups realized something was amiss, they immediately took Yan Minsheng to the police station to file a report, which finally exposed the true nature of this diabolical couple.

Setting aside everything else, this evil couple were nothing more than a pair of complete pushovers.

Never mind the heavily armed police officers—even Zhang Ziqiang alone would have been more than enough to easily subdue the couple.

After receiving Li Yi’s approval, Xiao Zhanwu waved his hand and ordered the police officers behind him, “Get in the car!”

Then, he hopped into Li Yi’s car.

Next, the two Jeeps roared out of the county bureau, heading straight for Wangli Village in Wu County.

What Xiao Zhanwu and his men didn’t know was that their journey would uncover a sensational case that would shock the entire nation…

…………

Wuxian County, Wangli Village!

Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang, seeing a stranger by the car, immediately quickened their pace.

Seeing people approaching, the person by the car looked panicked and tried to leave immediately.

But for some reason, the moment he turned around, he stumbled and fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang immediately went over to check.

As they drew closer, they realized it was a woman in her twenties lying on the ground.

The woman was thin, wearing tattered clothes, her hair was a mess, and in the middle of winter, she was wearing nothing but a pair of thin canvas shoes.

If it weren’t for that braided ponytail, you’d never have guessed she was a woman.

Upon seeing Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang, the woman looked flustered and terrified, backing away frantically.

Her reaction left Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang a bit baffled. Were they really that scary?

“Comrade, don’t be afraid. We’re not bad people…”

Before Li Yi could finish, the woman scrambled to her feet and began walking forward in a strange, unsteady manner.

However, perhaps because she was too panicked or walking too quickly, she fell again after just a few steps.

Seeing the woman’s wobbly gait, four words immediately popped into Li Yi’s mind: “Polio!”

It turned out this woman wasn’t quite right in the head, which was why she’d suddenly fallen.

Zhang Ziqiang was about to step forward to help her up, but Li Yi pulled him back.

It was clear the woman was quite wary of strangers; if they approached to help, they might cause her to misunderstand their intentions, so it was best not to go near her.

Sure enough, after resting on the ground for a moment, the woman quickly got back up and walked off into the distance, disappearing from their sight in no time.

Zhang Ziqiang furrowed his brow, watching the woman’s receding figure in silence for a long time.

“What are you looking at? She’s probably from this village and will find her way home. Don’t worry!” Li Yi said.

“I’m not worried. I just think…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “Enough. Hurry up and help me—there’s a lot of stuff here, and I can’t carry it all by myself!”

His mother-in-law had heard that the two young women were living in hardship, so she had made a special trip to the county supply and marketing cooperative to stock up on supplies.

In addition to rice, flour, cooking oil, and meat, she’d also bought plenty of supplements like milk powder, malted milk powder, brown sugar, and white sugar.

Additionally, after asking Li Xiaoyan, she bought a new set of clothes for each of Liu Juanjuan’s children.

The two of them unloaded all the items from the car and then carried the bags, big and small, back into the house.

At that moment, Ye Lingyun was telling Liu Juanjuan about Jiang Xue’s background. Liu Juanjuan had left the cotton mill eight years ago, and due to her limited mobility and the need to care for her paralyzed husband, she hadn’t been to Yong County in many years.

As a result, she had no idea what had happened over the past two years.

Upon learning the truth, Liu Juanjuan was both shocked and outraged, and she felt deeply for her dear friend’s plight.

As she spoke, she thought of her own situation, and finally couldn’t help but shed tears!

Just as the two women were weeping, Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang pushed open the door and walked in.

Seeing yet another pile of items, Liu Juanjuan immediately said, “Wanwan, I know your family is from Beijing and doesn’t lack these things, but you really didn’t have to buy me so much!”

“Juanjuan, why are you being so formal with me? If it weren’t for you and Chunfang taking care of me back then, I might not have even lasted a month!”

Ye Lingyun continued, “Do you remember that time when you were named a model worker at the factory and received a five-yuan bonus? You treated me to a plate of braised pork—it was the best braised pork I’ve ever had in my life. I still remember that flavor to this day!”

“How could I forget? A single serving of braised pork cost 70 cents—that’s about the same price as a pound of pork! The factory cafeteria was way too expensive!” Liu Juanjuan said.

Hearing this, Factory Director Yang and the others nearby lowered their heads, not daring to breathe a word.

At the same time, they were secretly wondering if they should ask the cafeteria to lower their prices when they got back—especially for that braised pork…

Just then, Ye Lingyun suddenly said, “By the way, Juanjuan, where are your kids? I haven’t seen them around.”

“We sent Dachun and Ernie to the military. The two younger ones went into the mountains to chop firewood—we’re running low at home. They should be back before dinner!” replied Liu Juanjuan.

“Isn’t it dangerous for two kids to go into the mountains?” Li Xiaoyan asked.

“It’s fine. There aren’t any large wild animals in the mountains. As long as they don’t fall or get hurt, they’ll be okay!”

Liu Juanjuan continued, “Besides, that’s just how things are at home. Neither of us can go out, so we have to rely on the kids!”

“Do the kids go to school?”

“The third is in ninth grade, and the fourth is in seventh, but their grades are just average. I’m not sure if they’ll continue their studies,” Liu Juanjuan said.

Ye Lingyun fell silent. She had originally intended to urge Liu Juanjuan to make sure the children stayed in school, since only through education would they have a chance to leave the mountains.

But since Liu Juanjuan had already mentioned that the children’s grades were average, Ye Lingyun didn’t know what to say for a moment.

The atmosphere in the room grew heavy in an instant.

At that moment, Li Yi, trying to ease the awkwardness, quickly changed the subject: “Aunt Juan, when we went out just now, we saw a strange woman by the car at the gate, looking around. I wonder what she was up to?”

“What strange woman?” Liu Juanjuan asked immediately.

Li Yi then briefly recounted what had just happened.

After listening to Li Yi, Liu Juanjuan said with a hint of contempt, “It must be that thieving woman from the Yan family. Thank goodness you went out just in time; otherwise, who knows what mischief that thieving woman was up to!”

“So that woman is from your village too?” Li Yi asked.

“Right. That woman’s name is Zhou Shuxia. She’s from the village next door. She’s been lame since childhood because of some illness. Later, she married that good-for-nothing from the Yan family in our village, so now she’s technically one of us!” Liu Juanjuan said.

At that moment, Liu Xiaoyan chimed in from the side, “That scheming woman and that good-for-nothing Yan Minsheng are a perfect match. It’s actually a good thing they got married—at least they’re not causing trouble for anyone else…”

Hearing Liu Xiaoyan’s words, Li Yi’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly asked, “Comrade Xiaoyan, what did you just say that woman’s husband’s name was?”

“Yan Minsheng—our village’s notorious good-for-nothing!”

“Boom!”

Yan Minsheng, meningitis, a disabled wife, polio…

One piece of information after another flashed through Li Yi’s mind, nearly causing him to cry out.

According to reports from his previous life, the murderous monster Yan Minsheng also had a disabled wife. Although the broadcast at the time didn’t specify where she was disabled, it did mention that she was a woman with a disability caused by meningitis.

And in this era, meningitis could easily lead to polio.

When he connected the name Yan Minsheng with the location of Wuxian and linked it to the disabled wife, Li Yi was almost certain that the strange woman was the wife of the demonic couple.

With this deduction, Li Yi sighed to himself—it truly was a case of searching high and low to no avail, yet finding the answer came effortlessly.

Seeing the pensive look on Li Yi’s face, Jiang Xue immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking about something else!”

Then Li Yi turned to Li Xiaoyan beside him and said, “Comrade Xiaoyan, could you tell me about this Yan Minsheng? How did he end up marrying a woman like that?”

Li Xiaoyan assumed Li Yi was simply curious and replied immediately, “It’s a case of birds of a feather flock together. Yan Minsheng and that woman are a perfect match!”

“The Yan family is a prominent clan in the village, and Yan Minsheng is their only son. On top of that, he’s short—he stopped growing when he was around ten—so his parents spoiled him rotten. That led him to develop bad habits like being arrogant and idle. As an adult, he was always up to no good, stealing and causing trouble. What normal woman would want a man like that? He had no choice but to marry a disabled woman like Zhou Shuxia!”

Hearing this, Li Yi had no further doubts in his mind—this Yan Minsheng was the twisted monster he was looking for.

As mentioned in a previous broadcast, this murderous monster had been frequently bullied by classmates due to his short stature, which gradually led to a twisted personality.

Later, after marrying a disabled woman, Yan Minsheng came to hate her intensely due to his own feelings of inferiority. The hardships of married life gradually filled him with resentment toward society, and he began to immerse himself in a twisted psychological world.

Later still, Yan Minsheng encountered a mentally disabled man and, in a moment of impulse, killed him.

After ending this innocent man’s life, Yan Minsheng derived a twisted sense of pleasure and satisfaction, convinced he had “ridded the nation of a menace.”

From that moment on, he embarked on a path of no return, frequently venturing out to seek his next “prey.”

Once he confirmed that the person he was looking for was in this village, Li Yi immediately began to consider how to search the Yan household…

………

On the road from Yong County to Wu County, two cars were speeding along the bumpy gravel road.

Inside the car, Ye Lingyun gazed out the window with a worried expression, her mood somewhat low and filled with concern.

Just moments ago, she had met Li Xiaoyan, the younger sister-in-law of her close friend Liu Juanjuan, and learned from her about Liu Juanjuan’s recent situation.

According to Li Xiaoyan, Liu Juanjuan is her second sister-in-law. Originally, the couple had both held steady jobs—one at a cotton mill and the other quarrying stone at a mine outside the city. Together, their monthly income totaled over 80 yuan, and they lived a comfortable life.

However, eight years ago, Liu Juanjuan became disabled due to an injury and could no longer work in the city. To save on food costs, she took her four children back to their hometown in Wuxian County to farm the land.

Although life wasn’t as comfortable as before, thanks to Li Xiaoyan’s second brother’s wages from the quarry, they were still better off than most families.

But misfortune always strikes where it hurts most, and misfortune always finds those who are already struggling. Five years ago, Li Xiaoyan’s second older brother had an accident at work; his legs were crushed by a falling rock, resulting in comminuted fractures.

Although he was saved, he was left with severe disabilities and essentially lost his ability to work.

Although the quarry paid a substantial settlement, most of it went toward hospital bills.

Now that both husband and wife were disabled and had to support four children, life remained a struggle, even with their parents’ help.

Upon learning of such a major tragedy in her best friend’s family, the joy of reuniting with Qiao Chunfang was significantly dampened.

After chatting for a while at the factory, Ye Lingyun and Qiao Chunfang decided to go to Wuxian to visit Liu Juanjuan.

Learning that Ye Lingyun was a close friend of her sister-in-law and had come specifically to visit Second Sister-in-Law Liu Juanjuan, Li Xiaoyan immediately offered to show them the way when Ye Lingyun asked for the address of their hometown.

Factory Director Yang, not wanting to miss an opportunity to make a good impression, immediately offered to grant Li Xiaoyan time off and decided to drive her back himself.

Since they had offered so generously, Ye Lingyun and the others naturally didn’t refuse, and that’s how this trip to Wuxian came about!

Shortly after leaving the county town, the cars entered the rugged, potholed mountainous terrain.

Even though both of their vehicles were Jeeps with excellent off-road capabilities, the constant jolting still made it feel like riding a roller coaster.

Fortunately, Li Xiaoyan had mentioned this when they set out, so everyone was mentally prepared, and no one complained.

After driving along the mountain roads for over half an hour, they finally crossed a large mountain and arrived at a mountain village.

The village was called Wangli Village. The entire settlement was built in a small basin, and looking down from the rim, the whole village lay spread out before them.

The village wasn’t large; at a glance, there were roughly three or four hundred households.

Although it was only twenty or thirty li from Yong County’s county seat, because it was in the mountains, its economic development lagged significantly behind.

This was evident from the style of the houses in the village; in such a large settlement, not a single brick-and-tile house was to be seen—only low, mud-brick dwellings.

Apart from looking a bit poor, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the place; in fact, it even had a sort of utopian feel to it.

After the car reached the village entrance, guided by Li Xiaoyan, it pulled up in front of a low, dilapidated courtyard.

After getting out of the car, Li Xiaoyan said to Ye Lingyun, “Sister Ye, this is my second older brother’s house!”

With that, Li Xiaoyan pushed open the wooden gate at the entrance and led Ye Lingyun and Jiang Xue into the courtyard.

Li Yi, Zhang Ziqiang, and several colleagues from the cotton mill didn’t rush inside. Instead, they first unloaded the rice, flour, cooking oil, and over ten pounds of pork they’d bought for the trip from the car before entering the courtyard.

As for Li Xiaoyan and the others, the moment they entered the courtyard, Li Xiaoyan called out loudly, “Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, are you home?”

Her voice quickly alerted the people inside!

Immediately afterward, a woman wearing a headscarf emerged from the house.

Liu Juanjuan was taken aback when she saw her younger sister-in-law. Just as she was about to speak, she noticed the large group following her and grew even more puzzled.

“Xiaoyan, who are these people…”

Just as she spoke, Liu Juanjuan spotted Jiang Xue and blurted out, “Wanwan… No, you’re not Wanwan—you’re too young…”

Ye Lingyun immediately stepped forward and said, “Sister Juanjuan, I am Wanwan. This is my daughter!”

“You…”

Liu Juanjuan stared at Ye Lingyun for a long moment before finally making the connection between the slightly gaunt, well-dressed woman before her and the beautiful girl from the capital she remembered.

“You really are Wanwan! We haven’t seen each other in over twenty years—what brings you here?”

Li Xiaoyan immediately chimed in, “Second Sister-in-Law, Sister Ye came here specifically to see you. Quick, please invite her inside!”

“Look at me… Come on in!” Liu Juanjuan said hurriedly.

The group followed Liu Juanjuan inside, but upon entering, they were all stunned by the dilapidated state of the room.

The room was dilapidated and worn, poorly lit, and extremely damp; moreover, a pungent stench of urine and feces filled the air.

Worse still, despite the freezing weather, the stove wasn’t even lit, leaving the entire house as cold as an ice cellar.

“The place is a bit messy—please don’t mind!”

Just as everyone was staring in astonishment, a voice called out from the inner room: “Juanzi, who’s here?”

Hearing the voice, Liu Juanjuan hurriedly replied, “It’s Xiaoyan, and some friends of mine from the cotton mill!”

“Then you go entertain the guests. I’m not coming out!”

“Okay!”

Then Liu Juanjuan turned to Ye Lingyun and said, “Wanwan, my husband has been injured—he has no feeling below the waist, so he can’t come out!”

“It’s okay. I’ve heard all about it from Xiaoyan!”

Ye Lingyun sighed and said, “I never imagined so much had happened in your family. It’s just a shame I was so sick myself a few years back—I couldn’t help you at all!”

Liu Juanjuan, however, remained quite optimistic. She smiled and said, “Actually, things aren’t too bad. With Xiaoyan and my in-laws helping out, aside from the fact that life is a bit inconvenient for the two of us, everything else is manageable!”

“You, you’re always so optimistic and upbeat!” said Ye Lingyun.

“What else can I do? A day spent crying is just as long as a day spent laughing—why choose to spend it crying?” Liu Juanjuan said with a smile.

Just then, Li Yi and the others walked in carrying all sorts of things.

Seeing them carrying bags of white flour and rice, with some holding bottles of cooking oil and meat, Liu Juanjuan’s expression shifted slightly.

She knew this must have been bought by her good friend—after all, her sister-in-law gave them a third of her monthly salary every month. With two children to raise on her own, her sister-in-law was barely making ends meet; she certainly didn’t have any extra money to buy rice or meat!

“Wanwan, did you buy this? What are you doing…”

Before she could finish, Ye Lingyun interjected, “Today is my very first time visiting your home. I couldn’t possibly show up empty-handed. Besides, it’s nothing expensive!”

Jiang Xue chimed in, “Aunt Juan, my mother has wanted to visit you for ages. She came all the way from Beijing just to have a good chat with you, so please don’t be so formal!”

Liu Juanjuan looked at Jiang Xue and said with a touch of emotion, “Wanwan, your daughter really looks just like you did when you were young!”

“She really does!” Ye Lingyun said with a smile.

“How old is she? Is she married yet?”

“She’s 21, and she’s married!”

Then Jiang Xue pointed to Li Yi beside her and said, “This is my husband. His name is Li Yi!”

Liu Juanjuan looked at Li Yi, then smiled and said, “He’s a handsome young man. The lad’s a lucky one!”

“Thank you for the compliment, Aunt Fang!”

Then Li Yi added, “Mom, you and Aunt Fang keep chatting. I’ve got some things in the car—I’ll be right back!”

“Alright!”

With that, Li Yi led Zhang Ziqiang toward the front gate.

However, as soon as they reached the gate, they saw a slender figure standing by the car…

……….

PS: There will be one more chapter before midnight. I’ve been busy with my professional certification lately, so updates haven’t been very timely. Please bear with me!

Stepping into the courtyard of the Banbanhaobang Cotton Spinning Factory, Ye Lingyun felt as if she had been transported back twenty years!

The sights along the path from the main gate to the factory office showed almost no change from the cotton mill she remembered.

Especially the bulletin board beneath the factory office building—it was exactly as she remembered it.

She remembered that back then, at the beginning of every month, the factory would post the names of the previous month’s “model workers” on the bulletin board. Whenever this happened, male and female workers would crowd around to see if their names were listed.

Of course, given her social background at the time, she certainly had no chance of being named an “outstanding worker.”

But she did remember one time when Liu Juanjuan was named an outstanding worker. Since the award came with a 5-yuan bonus, Juanjuan, overjoyed, treated her to a serving of braised pork that day—a meal that cost a full 70 cents.

It was the first time she had eaten a dish made entirely of meat since she started working at the factory.

As her thoughts wandered, the group arrived at the cotton mill’s office building and, led by Factory Director Yang and others, entered a very nicely decorated reception room.

After entering and taking their seats, Director Yang said with a hint of nervousness, “Comrades… please have a seat. I’ll have someone fetch Comrade Chunfang right away, and I’ll also have them check on Comrade Liu Juanjuan!”

“Alright!”

Then, Li Yi looked at a middle-aged man standing next to Yang Junfeng and said, “If I’m not mistaken, you must be Deputy Director Huang, right?”

The middle-aged man replied immediately, “Comrade Li has a good memory. I didn’t expect you’d still remember me after all this time!”

“Haha, it’s been less than two years—hardly that long!”

Then Li Yi added, “By the way, Director Huang, I need to use the restroom. Would you mind showing me where it is?”

“Sure, sure, sure. Please follow me!”

Led by Deputy Director Huang, the two left the reception room, one in front and one behind.

Once they arrived at the restroom, Deputy Director Huang immediately said, “Comrade Li, please go ahead. I’ll wait for you outside!”

“Wait a moment, Director Huang!”

“Is there something else?”

Li Yi looked at him and asked in a low voice, “Director Huang, I noticed that all of you changed color when you heard my mother-in-law’s name. Could you tell me what’s going on?”

Deputy Director Huang was taken aback for a moment. He opened his mouth but said nothing.

“Is there something you’re finding hard to say?” Li Yi asked, furrowing his brow.

“No… Comrade Li, you really don’t know?”

“Know what? If I knew the reason, I wouldn’t be asking!” Li Yi retorted.

Deputy Director Huang paused briefly, then said, “Comrade Li, haven’t you noticed that our factory has a new director?”

“I did. What happened to the previous director, Hu?”

“He was arrested and sentenced to 20 years!” Director Huang said.

“???”

Seeing the look of astonishment on Li Yi’s face, Deputy Director Huang immediately added, “It seems you really didn’t know about this, Comrade Li. Actually, it wasn’t just Director Hu who was sentenced. Four deputy directors and several workshop directors and deputy directors were arrested at the same time. More than half of them were sentenced to prison, and those who weren’t were all fired. The entire leadership of the cotton mill has undergone a massive shake-up!”

“As for why those people were arrested and fired, while there are many theories, the most widely circulated one is that they bullied a woman back then…”

At that moment, Li Yi interjected, “That woman is my mother-in-law—Ye Lingwan!”

“That’s right!”

Deputy Director Huang continued, “Although this account hasn’t been verified, it came directly from the mouths of those who were dismissed, so it carries a high degree of credibility!”

Hearing this, Li Yi had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

This must have been his father-in-law’s doing. The man was notorious for his ruthlessness; the nickname “White-Haired Blood Butcher” was no empty title.

In his previous life, he had sent no fewer than ten thousand corrupt officials to prison, striking such fear into the hearts of leading cadres throughout Guangdong Province that they trembled at the mere mention of his name.

Now that he’s set his sights on dealing with those scoundrels in the Tang family, he might very well be sweeping up the cotton mill’s leadership in the process.

Compared to a heavyweight like Jiang Shiying, the leaders at the cotton mill aren’t even worth mentioning—they’re nothing more than insignificant pests. Facing such overwhelming force, it’s only natural that these people now tremble at the mere mention of my mother-in-law’s name.

True to form for his father-in-law—he doesn’t act unless he’s going all out, and when he does, he uproots everything, digging three feet deep into the ground!

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately said, “Alright, just keep this to yourselves. Don’t go spreading it around!”

“Yes!”

“Alright, let’s head back!”

The two had barely returned to the reception room when, before Li Yi could even speak to his mother-in-law, they heard a rush of hurried footsteps outside.

Immediately afterward, a woman’s voice rang out from the doorway: “Report!”

Hearing the woman’s voice, Ye Lingyun immediately stood up, her eyes fixed intently on the newcomer, and she couldn’t help but look a little nervous.

When she saw the beauty mark between the woman’s eyebrows, the image of the older sister from her memories instantly merged with the middle-aged woman standing before her.

No sooner had Factory Director Yang said, “Come in,” than Ye Lingyun hurried toward the door and said, her voice trembling yet tinged with joy, “Sister Chunfang… is that you?”

Qiao Chunfang was taken aback at first. She stared intently at Ye Lingyun for a moment before exclaiming in shock, “You… you’re Wanwan?”

“I’m Wanwan… Sister Chunfang, I’ve seen you again!” Ye Lingyun said excitedly.

Qiao Chunfang was equally moved. She stepped forward, took Ye Lingyun’s hand, and said, “Two years ago, I heard someone say that someone had come to the factory to inquire about you—and that they were your daughter. I wanted to come ask about you right then!”

“But by the time I found out, several days had already passed, and I couldn’t find my grandniece anywhere…”

At that moment, Qiao Chunfang also noticed Jiang Xue standing behind Ye Lingyun and immediately said, “Wanwan, this… this must be your eldest niece, right? She looks just like you did when you were young—the resemblance is uncanny!”

“Yes, she’s my daughter!”

Ye Lingyun then turned to Jiang Xue and said, “Xue’er, this is Aunt Fang. Back then, it was thanks to Aunt Fang’s care that we managed to get through it—otherwise, the two of us might not have made it!”

Jiang Xue hurriedly replied, “Hello, Aunt Fang. I’m Xue’er!”

Qiao Chunfang studied Jiang Xue closely for a moment, then asked, “Dear, do you have a classmate named Kang Manyang?”

“Yes, Kang Manyang is my middle school classmate. Why do you ask, Aunt Fang?”

“He’s Aunt Fang’s son!”

“Oh, really? That’s such a coincidence!” Jiang Xue said happily.

“It really is a coincidence. When the Tang family scandal was all over the news two years ago, Manyang came back and told me you were his classmate. That’s when I found out that Wanwan’s daughter had actually been switched at birth. And you, my eldest niece, have been right by my side all along. It’s just a shame I hadn’t met you before—otherwise, I might have recognized you long ago!” Qiao Chunfang said.

“Ah, Sister Chunfang, I suppose you could say fate has played a cruel trick on us. But at least Xue’er has finally returned to me—that’s a blessing in disguise!” said Ye Lingyun.

“Yes, yes, yes—as long as the child is back, that’s what matters!”

Then Qiao Chunfang added, “Since you’ve finally made the trip back, come over to my place for lunch today. I’ll treat you to a proper meal…”

Ye Lingyun immediately replied, “Sister Chunfang, there’s no rush about lunch. I was wondering if Juanjuan is still working at the factory?”

Hearing Ye Lingyun ask about Liu Juanjuan, Qiao Chunfang sighed and said, “Juanjuan? She’s already retired!”

“Retired?”

Then Ye Lingyun spoke again: “She’s not even as old as I am—how come she’s already retired?”

“Oh, she’s had a rough life. Eight years ago, she made a mistake at work and had her arm severed by a machine. She became disabled and had no choice but to take early retirement,” Qiao Chunfang said.

“So, Sister Chunfang, do you know where Sister Juanjuan lives now?” Ye Lingyun asked.

Qiao Chunfang shook her head and said, “I heard that Juanjuan moved to the countryside after she retired, but I don’t know exactly where she lives!”

“But the factory took pity on her and gave her job to her sister-in-law. Maybe she’d know!”

“Okay, what’s Juanjuan’s sister-in-law’s name?” Ye Lingyun asked.

“Li Xiaoyan. She works in Workshop Two!”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Factory Director Yang hurriedly interjected, “You two continue talking. I’ll have someone bring Comrade Li Xiaoyan over right away!”

“Thank you so much, Director Yang!”

After that, Ye Lingyun took Qiao Chunfang by the hand and led her into the reception room, where they began to catch up on their sisterly bond…

………

Yong County Cotton Mill!

As Ye Lingyun stood once again before the gates of the cotton mill, her feelings were extremely mixed.

Although more than 20 years had passed, the factory hadn’t changed much from how she remembered it.

Especially this gate—aside from looking a bit dilapidated, it was almost exactly the same as when she had left.

When it came to this cotton mill, Ye Lingyun felt a bit more hatred than anything else.

Yes, hatred!

Although she had spent less than eight months at this factory in total, it had left her with wounds that would take a lifetime to heal.

She remembered that she had just turned twenty when she first came to this factory. At the time, the Jiang family had fallen on hard times due to certain circumstances, and most members of both families were implicated. Even she, as a daughter-in-law, was forced to be “sent down” to Yong County, a remote little county, where she became an ordinary female worker at this cotton mill.

To prevent others from discovering she was the daughter of the Ye family and the daughter-in-law of the Jiang family, her personnel file had been tampered with. Ye Lingyun became Ye Lingwan, and her once spotless family background was branded with certain labels.

And it was precisely these specific labels that sowed the seeds of her later tragic life at the cotton mill!

Due to her identity, she faced ostracism from the very first day she entered the factory. The factory director personally criticized her in front of thousands of workers and officials, completely humiliating her.

And that was just the beginning. During her time at the cotton mill, she had to endure severe morning sickness while performing grueling physical labor.

Because she was classified as a “re-educated through labor” individual, she was assigned the dirtiest and most exhausting tasks, and most days she worked over ten hours.

Compounded by poor meals, she continued to lose weight despite being pregnant.

As if that weren’t enough, she had to endure the gossip and whispers of others in her spare time; life during that period made her experience the full spectrum of human kindness and cruelty.

It was precisely this prolonged, high-intensity labor that left her body so weakened that she fell while working, causing her to give birth prematurely and providing those demons with the opportunity to switch the babies.

The ordeal surrounding her child tormented her for over twenty years, nearly driving her to the brink of a mental breakdown.

It could be said that the root of all this misfortune is inextricably linked to the cotton mill and the people there.

However, she did not come here today to seek revenge, but to find someone.

Although her memories of life at the cotton mill were mostly painful, there were some people who always made her feel warmth—people she will be grateful to for the rest of her life.

During her most difficult and helpless moments, there were always a few sisters who helped and cared for her.

Otherwise, given her physical condition at the time, she would never have made it through the delivery!

Back then, she suffered from severe depression and had long since lost hope in life, so she hadn’t given those sisters much thought.

But now that her daughter had returned and she had recovered from her illness, she remembered those sisters who had helped her…

Standing by the car, Li Yi looked at his mother-in-law’s face, which was filled with mixed emotions, and knew her heart must be a whirlwind of feelings.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and said, “Mom, let’s go inside!”

Ye Lingyun nodded and said, “Okay!”

Then, the four of them—Li Yi, Zhang Ziqiang, Jiang Xue, and Ye Lingyun—walked straight toward the main gate of the Yong County Cotton Mill, leaving Yang Zhiwen outside to watch the car.

As for Zhang Feng, Li Yi had left her at the guesthouse to look after the two young girls!

As soon as they reached the main gate, a middle-aged man emerged from the guardhouse and addressed them: “Comrades, who are you, and what are you doing here at our factory?”

Perhaps because he noticed that Li Yi and the others were dressed rather unusually, and there was a jeep parked nearby, the middle-aged man’s attitude was fairly polite.

Zhang Ziqiang stepped forward, produced a small red booklet, and said directly, “Notify your factory director immediately and tell him we’re here to see him!”

The middle-aged security guard was startled the moment he saw the red booklet in Zhang Ziqiang’s hand. Although he didn’t know what it represented, the gold-embossed characters on the red background gave off an air of authority that commanded respect.

He swallowed hard and hurriedly said, “Comrades… please wait a moment. I’ll call the factory office right away!”

With that, the security guard hurried back to the guardhouse.

After a brief, mumbled report, the middle-aged man came back out and said to Zhang Ziqiang with some trepidation, “Um… I just called the factory office, and the plant manager said he’ll be right over!”

“By the way, would you like to come inside and warm your hands? It’s pretty cold out here…”

Before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, Li Yi immediately replied, “We won’t go inside, but I have something I’d like to ask you about. Would that be okay?”

“Of course it’s convenient—what’s there to be inconvenient about? Comrade, just ask whatever you want!”

Li Yi replied immediately, “To be honest, my mother used to work at your company. I came here today hoping to see an old friend from back then. I was wondering if Qiao Chunfang from Workshop 3 is still with the company?”

“We do have someone named Qiao Chunfang here at the factory, but she isn’t a regular employee—she’s the factory’s cashier. I’m not sure if she’s the person you’re looking for!”

At that moment, Ye Lingyun chimed in, “The Qiao Chunfang I’m looking for is very tall and slender, and she’s quite beautiful. Oh, and she has a beauty mark between her eyebrows!”

The middle-aged security guard quickly replied, “That matches the description perfectly—Cashier Qiao does have a mole between her eyebrows!”

Hearing this, Ye Lingyun’s face lit up with joy, and she felt a surge of excitement.

“Do you know a woman named Liu Juanjuan? Is she still working at the factory?”

“Liu Juanjuan? I really don’t recall her…”

Just then, Zhang Ziqiang suddenly tugged at Li Yi’s sleeve, gesturing for him to look ahead.

Li Yi looked up and saw seven or eight people walking toward them on the road ahead. Among them were a few familiar faces—people he’d met during his last visit.

Soon they reached the entrance, and a man in his fifties addressed Li Yi and his group: “My name is Yang Junfeng, and I’m the director of our cotton mill. May I ask where you comrades are from, and what brings you to our mill?”

Li Yi looked at the unfamiliar Director Yang standing before him and replied immediately, “Hello, Director Yang. My name is Li Yi. I’m from Beijing. I’m here mainly to accompany my mother to visit some of her old friends!”

“May I ask, who is your mother…?”

“My mother-in-law used to work at your factory when she was younger!” Li Yi replied.

Director Yang asked right away, “May I ask your mother-in-law’s name, when she worked at our factory, and who exactly you’re looking for?”

Ye Lingyun immediately stepped in to answer, “My name is Ye Lingwan. I used to work in Workshop 3. There are two people we’re looking for!”

“One is your factory’s cashier, Qiao Chunfang, and the other is Liu Juanjuan. We’ll need Director Yang’s help to check which workshop she was in!”

However, no sooner had Li Yi finished speaking than everyone, including Yang Junfeng, paled. The look in their eyes as they gazed at Ye Lingyun was one of deep apprehension.

“You… your name really is Ye Lingwan?”

Factory Director Yang’s expression was tense as he spoke, his voice trembling slightly.

“I am Ye Lingwan. Is there something wrong with that?” Ye Lingyun said earnestly.

The factory leaders’ reaction left Li Yi and the others completely baffled; they had no idea what was going on or why the leaders were reacting this way.

“No… there’s nothing wrong. This isn’t the place to talk. Please come to our factory office and have a seat. We can discuss whatever it is inside, all right?” Factory Director Yang said respectfully.

“Sounds good!”

Then, filled with deep confusion, Li Yi and the others, accompanied by Director Yang and his staff, walked toward the factory’s interior…

………

County Police Headquarters. Criminal Investigation Division!

Xiao Zhanwu was in the conference room analyzing the case with the deputy captain and several key officers when a frantic knock suddenly sounded at the door.

“Come in!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Xiao Zhanwu saw Li Yi push open the door and walk in.

Upon seeing it was Li Yi, Xiao Zhanwu immediately stood up and said, “Hey, Brother Li Yi, didn’t you just leave? Why are you back already?”

“Captain Xiao, I ran into something on the way here. I thought it might be helpful for that missing woman case of yours, so I came over!” Li Yi said.

Xiao Zhanwu’s eyes lit up immediately, and he hurriedly asked, “What’s the situation?”

He’d worked on cases with Li Yi before and knew he was no novice in this field. Since he’d mentioned it, there must be a lead.

Li Yi didn’t keep him in suspense; he immediately recounted his chance encounter with the woman searching for her husband!

After listening to the account, Xiao Zhanwu immediately said, “Are you suggesting that the disappearance of that woman’s husband could be investigated in conjunction with the missing woman case we’re currently handling?”

“Exactly. After all, they’re both missing persons cases, so combining them for investigation is definitely worth considering!” Li Yi replied.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a middle-aged police officer suddenly interjected, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. If we merge the investigations, it would conflict with our previous characterization of the case. After all, we’ve been investigating this as a case of human trafficking all along!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than another middle-aged police officer, slightly older, chimed in: “Exactly. If we take the wrong investigative approach, how are we ever going to solve the case?”

“Captain Xiao, I also think it’s a bit problematic…”

Hearing their unanimous opposition, Li Yi immediately retorted, “Then how can you be so certain that you’re right—that this case is definitely a case of human trafficking involving women?”

“Because all the missing persons reported to us are women. Based on our past experience, this is definitely a case of human trafficking targeting women!” the middle-aged officer said with certainty.

“That’s not necessarily the case. We’ve already had a male reported missing. Clearly, there’s a flaw in your reasoning!”

Li Yi continued, “Missing persons cases are major investigations. The missing individuals could have wandered off on their own, been kidnapped, held captive, trafficked, or—in the most extreme cases—murdered. When investigating, we must consider all possibilities comprehensively; we cannot simply classify it as trafficking just because the missing are women!”

Seeing that the middle-aged police officer was about to retort, Xiao Zhanwu immediately interjected, “Old Zhang, hold on a moment. Let Comrade Li Yi finish speaking first!”

Li Yi nodded and continued, “Most importantly, you’ve been treating this case as a missing woman case for so long without any breakthroughs. That alone proves your previous investigative approach was flawed!”

“Brother Li Yi, I know you have a strong talent for solving cases. In your opinion, how should we crack this one?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

Li Yi replied immediately, “I don’t think this case is a human trafficking case. The first thing you need to do is determine the scale of the victims!”

“Are you saying there might be other missing persons?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

“Yes, and you shouldn’t limit your investigation to Yong County. You might want to contact the police departments in the neighboring counties to see if they’ve received any reports of sudden disappearances in recent months!”

Li Yi continued, “Secondly, the woman who filed the report said her husband went missing while looking for work. You might want to check out the area near the bridge in the county—the day labor market—and see if you can find any leads!”

“You’ve got a point. We’ll get in touch with our colleagues in the other counties right away!”

Xiao Zhanwu then added, “By the way, where is that woman you mentioned? Where is she?”

“She’s in the reception hall filing the report!”

“Alright, I’ll go ask her myself!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Alright. By the way, Captain Xiao, do you have any spare vehicles here? I’d like to borrow one,” Li Yi said.

“We do. I’ll get you the keys!”

“Thanks…”

………..

After leaving the county bureau, Li Yi couldn’t stop thinking about the matter.

Based on his assessment, the missing women in Yong County, as well as the husband of that woman from the countryside, were very likely connected to that evil couple in Wu County.

After all, so many people disappearing from a single region in such a short time is rare even on a national scale.

And with a couple in the area who clearly took pleasure in murder, it seemed impossible that they weren’t involved!

But this was merely Li Yi’s own assessment; he had no evidence whatsoever, and there was no way he could share it with others—even if he did, no one would believe him.

Therefore, how to investigate this matter became a major problem.

More importantly, Li Yi’s understanding of the case was far from comprehensive; he had only heard a report about it by chance on the radio and retained only limited details.

So far, Li Yi only knew that the perpetrator’s name was Yan Minsheng and that the crime had taken place in Wu County.

But as for which commune or village this guy actually lived in, he knew nothing else.

Besides, even if he knew the suspect’s home address, Li Yi couldn’t just go investigating him without any grounds. Even if that actually solved the case, people would become suspicious of him.

Furthermore, the news reports at the time didn’t mention any details about the victims; they only stated that 48 people had been killed, without revealing their names or where they were from.

Perhaps the reports did mention it, but Li Yi hadn’t taken note; in any case, there was no way to trace the case through the victims.

However, Li Yi knew that to solve the case, he had to first track down that demonic couple and confirm their address.

According to reports from his past life, this diabolical couple liked to bury their victims’ bodies in their home after killing them. In other words, as long as he found their residence, he could locate the victims’ remains and convict them.

As for what excuse to use to search their home once he found their address, he’d figure that out later.

The problem was, figuring out that guy’s home address was another matter entirely.

The most direct approach would be to take this name to the Household Registration Division of the Wuxian County Public Security Bureau, compile a list of everyone with that name, and screen them one by one.

But this approach is rather inefficient. After all, in those days there were no computers; all household records were filled out by hand. Trying to track down every person with the same name in an entire county is no small task.

Not to mention having to screen them one by one—that would be even more troublesome.

Besides, what possible reason could he give to get the Wuxian County Public Security Bureau to investigate that Yan Minsheng?

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated Li Yi became!

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Zhang Ziqiang’s voice rang out: “Brother Yi, we’re here!”

Li Yi looked up and saw that the car had already returned to the guesthouse.

He composed himself and got out of the car.

Zhang Ziqiang locked the car, and the two of them walked into the guesthouse together.

Back in their room, they found the door locked, but the door to the adjacent room was ajar, and the voices of Jiang Xue and Ye Lingyun could be heard from inside.

Li Yi immediately headed toward his mother-in-law’s room and walked right in.

Seeing Li Yi enter, Jiang Xue immediately said happily, “You’re back! How did it go?”

Xiao Ya, standing nearby, also looked at Li Yi with eager anticipation!

“I’ve already spoken with Captain Xiao. They’ll do their best to find him, so we just need to be patient!” Li Yi said.

Hearing this, Xiaoya looked visibly disappointed.

“Did Captain Xiao and the others say how long it might take to find him?” Jiang Xue asked.

“No, they didn’t. After all, no one can say for sure with something like this!” Li Yi replied.

Ye Lingyun also noticed Xiaoya’s disappointment and immediately said, “Don’t lose heart. I’m sure the police officers will definitely find your mom!”

Watching the two young girls’ renewed hope, Li Yi couldn’t help but sigh.

If their mother really was connected to that evil couple, then the situation was looking grim. That evil couple was ruthless and had no habit of leaving anyone alive.

With that thought, Li Yi quickly changed the subject and asked, “Xiao Xue, Mom, do you have any plans for this afternoon?”

Jiang Xue replied immediately, “Mom wants to go take a look at the old textile factory!”

“Great. I just borrowed a car from the county bureau, so I’ll head over after I finish lunch!” Li Yi said.

“Okay…”

………

After leaving the county bureau, Li Yi felt a bit down and melancholy.

Originally, his trip to Yong County was meant to be a fun outing with Jiang Xue and his mother-in-law—to help his mother-in-law resolve her emotional turmoil while also giving everyone a chance to unwind.

But he never expected to step in dog shit the moment he stepped out the door. His mood was ruined by those two scumbags the moment he arrived in Yong County, and then he ran into the missing woman case.

Now, not only was he unable to help Xiaoya find her mother quickly, but he also couldn’t get to the bottom of the truth behind Tan Cheng’s case of meritorious service—naturally, his mood was severely affected.

Feeling frustrated, Li Yi took Zhang Ziqiang for a stroll along the county’s main street.

As they walked, Li Yi analyzed the current situation. From what Xiao Zhanwu had just implied, the county bureau had to solve the missing woman case first before they could investigate Tan Cheng’s case.

Li Yi understood this position.

After all, how many police officers could a small county town possibly have? Especially their criminal investigation team—even under normal circumstances, they’d have a staff of about twenty.

When no major criminal cases were pending, this number was barely sufficient.

But when a major case arose, they were inevitably stretched thin. Compared to the missing woman’s case, Tan Cheng’s matter clearly wasn’t as urgent, so putting it on hold was understandable.

But while others could afford to wait, Li Yi couldn’t. Not to mention that Jiang Xue and his mother-in-law were returning to Beijing to study and work, and he himself had to go to Lin’an in March—there was simply no way he could stay here for long.

The situation seemed to have reached an impasse!

That’s why Li Yi thought of the Hu brothers. If he gave them a call and requested some reinforcements from the provincial capital, it should work out.

After all, the Hu brothers both worked at the provincial bureau, and Hu Zhiqiang was the head of the provincial bureau. Given the relationship between the two families, he couldn’t possibly refuse to help.

But doing so would make Xiao Zhanwu look bad, since this was, after all, his turf.

Most importantly, Tan Cheng’s case was under his jurisdiction. If the investigation turned up nothing, that would be one thing, but if any irregularities were uncovered, he, as the case handler, would have to take responsibility.

Therefore, bringing in personnel from the provincial capital would be somewhat inappropriate!

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Zhang Ziqiang suddenly stepped in front of him and reached out to stop a middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman was startled by Zhang Ziqiang’s piercing gaze and stammered, “I… I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to ask you about someone…”

Li Yi looked at the middle-aged woman before him. She was dressed in a long tunic and trousers, her feet shod in homemade multi-layered-sole shoes, and her head covered with a pink headscarf—which, likely due to age, had faded to a pale pink—a classic rural woman.

At that moment, her sallow face betrayed her anxiety, and her eyes were filled with panic and terror.

Seeing this, Li Yi immediately stepped forward and asked, “Sister, don’t be afraid—we overreacted!”

“Oh… oh… um…”

Seeing that she was still a bit reserved, Li Yi quickly changed the subject: “By the way, you said earlier that you were asking us for information about someone?”

“Right, right, right…”

Then the middle-aged woman pulled out a black-and-white photo and said to Li Yi, “I’m looking for my husband. He said a while back that he was coming to the county seat to look for work, but I haven’t heard from him since. Have you seen him?”

Li Yi glanced at the photo and replied, “No, we haven’t. We’re not from around here either!”

The middle-aged woman said “thank you” with a hint of disappointment, then turned to leave.

Just then, a thought struck Li Yi, and he asked, “Ma’am, where are you from? When did your husband go missing?”

“I’m from Wu County next door. My husband hasn’t come home for half a month!”

Wu County!

Hearing that place name sent a jolt through Li Yi’s heart, suddenly reminding him of a horrific murder case he’d heard about in his previous life.

The reason this case was labeled “horrific” was mainly because the killer’s crimes and methods were truly shocking; even looking back over the decades since the founding of the nation, few had been as vicious as he.

The case had taken place in an ordinary village under Wu County, as mentioned by the middle-aged woman. The perpetrator was named Yan Minsheng, and his wife was his accomplice.

From 1982 until their arrest in 1985, over the course of three years, the couple murdered 48 innocent civilians—an average of nearly one person per month.

When public security authorities searched Yan Minsheng’s residence, they first discovered two bodies in a water jar; subsequently, police dogs detected a foul odor emanating from a cellar he had filled in.

When the police dug up the cellar, they were shocked to find 33 sets of skeletal remains neatly arranged.

That wasn’t all; they subsequently found 13 more bodies in the pigsty and other locations.

In the end, the police discovered a total of 48 sets of remains at Yan Minsheng’s home, confirming his long-standing brutal crimes.

At the time, this case caused a huge sensation nationwide, and people were horrified by the shocking crimes committed by Yan Minsheng and his wife.

That’s 48 lives—all lost at the hands of this demonic couple!

Thinking about this case, Li Yi couldn’t help but recall the women who had gone missing in Yong County recently, and a chill ran down his spine.

The news had reported that the perpetrator was from Wuxian County, but it hadn’t mentioned where the victims were from!

And since Wu County and Yong County are right next to each other, the perpetrator might have already set his sights on Yong County.

More importantly, according to the news reports at the time, the perpetrator had a particular penchant for torturing and murdering women, which gave Li Yi a sense of foreboding.

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, the middle-aged woman’s voice rang out again: “Comrade… Comrade, are you listening?”

Li Yi snapped back to reality and replied, “Ma’am, I’m listening… I’m listening. Could you tell me the details of your husband’s disappearance?”

“You…”

“To be honest, I’m good friends with Captain Xiao from our Yong County Criminal Investigation Team. Maybe I can help you find your husband through the police!” Li Yi said, half-jokingly.

“Really?”

The middle-aged woman hurriedly continued, “We live in Daijialing Village in Wuxian County. My husband is a carpenter in the village. During the off-season, he goes to town or the county seat to find odd jobs to supplement our household income.”

“After the tenth day of the New Year, he said he was going out to find some work, then he left the house—and he never came back. When he still hadn’t returned, I went out with my father-in-law and my two younger brothers-in-law to look for him, but we haven’t found him after all these days… Waaah…”

As she spoke, the middle-aged woman crouched down on the ground and burst into tears!

Li Yi immediately said, “Sister, please don’t cry—I still have some questions for you!”

“Ask away, comrade. Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you!” the woman said urgently.

“Your family is from Wuxian County. Why did you come all the way to Yongxian County to look for him?”

“Comrade, you don’t know the situation. Although our village, Daijialing, is in Wu County, it’s over 70 li from the county seat. On the other hand, it’s less than 30 li from Yong County. So when people from our village go to the market to find work, most of them come to Yong County!”

Hearing this, Li Yi’s heart skipped a beat. If that were the case, there was a strong possibility that the evil couple had come to Yong County to commit a crime.

With that in mind, Li Yi said again, “Sister, looking for someone this way is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The chances of finding them aren’t very high. I’ll take you to the county Public Security Bureau right now. You can file a report there first and have the police help you search. What do you think?”

“But… will the police actually look for them?”

“She’s been missing for so many days now; it meets the criteria for filing a case. The police will definitely look for her!” Li Yi said.

“All right… all right… I’ll go with you!”

“Alright!”

After saying that, Li Yi immediately took the woman and headed once again to the county bureau, which wasn’t far away…

………

Yong County Criminal Investigation Team!

By the time Xiao Zhanwu returned to his office, it was already past ten o’clock.

As he pushed open the door, he saw Li Yi hunched over his desk, writing furiously, with several pages of completed letters already laid out in front of him.

Xiao Zhanwu walked over quickly and asked, with a hint of surprise, “Have you discovered a problem?”

Li Yi put down his pen, nodded, and said, “Yes, something definitely doesn’t feel right!”

“Whose case?”

“Tan Cheng’s!”

“That doesn’t make sense. We’ve analyzed Tan Cheng’s case thoroughly. The evidence is solid, and the suspect has confessed to his escape. How could there be a problem?” Xiao Zhanwu frowned.

Li Yi replied immediately, “The sequence of events in the case is indeed flawless—there are no issues with that. But the person is wrong!”

“The person?”

Xiao Zhanwu asked again, “Who exactly are you referring to? Tan Cheng, or…”

“Jiang Lin!”

“This… what’s wrong with him?” Xiao Zhanwu asked, puzzled.

“You must have looked into this Jiang Lin’s background, right?”

“We have. He’s from a commune in our county. He was sentenced to three and a half years for theft, and this time, he had three more years added to his sentence for planning a prison break,” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“That’s exactly the problem. According to the case file, Jiang Lin was imprisoned in 1979. By the time his escape attempt was uncovered, he had already served one year and ten months of his sentence—meaning he had less than half of his sentence left!”

Li Yi continued, “He’s made it this far—was it really necessary to attempt a prison break at the very last moment?”

“Well… I asked the prisoner, Jiang Lin, about this myself. His reason was that life in prison was simply too harsh—the food was terrible and he had to work every day. He just couldn’t take it anymore!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

Li Yi continued: “Even if Jiang Lin really couldn’t stand prison life and wanted to escape, why would he let others know about it? He even left behind a complete escape plan—it’s as if all that evidence was deliberately left behind to get him caught. Isn’t that a bit stupid?”

“Also, there are dozens of people in a single cell block. How long has Tan Cheng been in prison?

Why would Tan Cheng just happen to see and expose this? Isn’t that a bit too coincidental?”

Xiao Zhanwu’s brow furrowed instantly. They hadn’t considered these points earlier during the investigation—after all, this was simply a case based on a tip-off.

Plus, the case had both witness and physical evidence, and the suspect himself had confessed to his actions without reservation, so they’d simply followed standard procedure without digging deeper.

But now that Li Yi had brought it up, something really did seem off!

“So, are you suggesting this is a fabricated case of seeking a reduced sentence through meritorious service—that Jiang Lin intentionally set this up for Tan Cheng?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

“It’s possible!”

“But… why would Jiang Lin do that? What would he gain from it?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

Li Yi replied immediately, “We’ll find out once we investigate. Start with Jiang Lin himself, then look into his family—it shouldn’t be too hard!”

If this matter is indeed as they suspect, there must be some exchange of favors involved. As long as they look into Jiang Lin’s family situation, they might find the answer.

“Alright, I’ll handle this as soon as possible, but we’ll have to wait a bit!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Wait for what?” Li Yi frowned.

“To be honest, there have been several cases of missing women in the county recently, which has caused quite a stir. The higher-ups have ordered us to solve these cases within a deadline, so we simply can’t spare the manpower to investigate this right now!”

Xiao Zhanwu continued, “But rest assured, now that we’ve identified a lead, we certainly won’t just sit idly by! Once we’ve solved the missing women cases, I’ll personally look into this matter!”

Li Yi suddenly looked at Xiao Zhanwu and asked, “Are you saying there have been multiple cases of missing women in Yong County?”

“That’s right. To be precise, we’ve received reports of six cases so far!” Xiao Zhanwu replied.

“Do you know a young woman named Jiang Xiaoya?” Li Yi asked.

“You know Xiaoya… Wait, you ran into Xiaoya at the movie theater yesterday, didn’t you?”

Li Yi nodded, then briefly recounted what had happened the previous afternoon.

Xiao Zhanwu sighed and said, “Xiaoya used to be under Dalong’s protection, so I know this young girl. After her mother went missing, she came to me, asking me to help find her. I sent people out to look for her right away, but unfortunately…”

“Not a single clue?”

“No. Xiaoya said her mother went to her grandmother’s house in the village to borrow money, but when we went there, her grandparents both said her mother hadn’t been there. We also conducted a thorough search and canvassed the area both in and out of town, but her mother seems to have vanished into thin air, so…”

“So what?” Li Yi asked.

“So at the time, we assumed that Xiaoya’s mother couldn’t stand this kind of life and had run off with someone, leaving her two children behind!”

Then Xiao Zhanwu changed the subject and continued, “But recently, there have been a series of reports from people saying their wives have gone missing. So we’re starting to think our earlier assumption might be wrong—Xiao Ya’s mother might have been trafficked!”

“Trafficking?”

“Right. Since these cases are so strikingly similar, our unit decided to consolidate them for investigation. While looking into one of them, a witness mentioned that the missing woman had a brief conversation with a man of unclear appearance on the street and left with him. So we’ve preliminarily determined this to be a particularly heinous case of human trafficking!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“That’s certainly a lead, but if it really is a human trafficking case, it won’t be easy to find her!” Li Yi sighed.

“That’s true. It’s been so long; she might have been sold off already!”

But Xiao Zhanwu immediately added, “Regardless, we must track down these human traffickers and provide closure for the victim and her family!”

“Right! By the way, Captain Xiao, do you know where Xiaoya’s grandparents live?” Li Yi asked again.

“Are you thinking of sending the sisters to their grandparents’ place?”

“Yes. As you know, we can’t stay here much longer. If their mother isn’t found soon, these two sisters might not survive the winter. It’s better to entrust them to their relatives,” Li Yi said.

Xiao Zhanwu sighed and said, “There’s no need to go. It’s pointless!”

“What do you mean?”

“Xiao Ya’s grandparents don’t want them at all. We took the sisters back there a fortnight ago, but not only did the old couple refuse to take the girls in, their uncles and aunts did too!”

Hearing this, Li Yi’s brows furrowed involuntarily!

“Is it because of their family’s financial situation?”

Xiao Zhanwu shook his head and said, “That’s part of it, but more importantly, the elderly couple believe Xiaoya’s mother brought misfortune that led to their son’s death. Plus, since Xiaoya and her sister are both girls…”

Li Yi took a deep breath and said, “If that’s the case, what should we do about these two sisters?”

“Let’s first try to find their mother. If we can’t find her, we’ll have no choice but to send them to the county orphanage. What do you think?”

Li Yi paused briefly, then said, “Let’s do that for now. We’ll discuss the rest later!”

“Okay…”

…….

Faced with Xiaoya’s request, Li Yi and the others were somewhat taken aback.

Other matters were manageable, but when it came to finding people, that really wasn’t their forte.

After all, they were definitely outsiders here, and they couldn’t stay for long. Finding a stranger in such a short time was no easy feat.

But seeing the hopeful look in the young girl’s eyes, Li Yi simply couldn’t bring himself to refuse. At worst, he’d have to ask Xiao Zhanwu for a favor; as the captain of the criminal investigation team, he was surely better equipped to handle this sort of thing.

“Xiao Ya, get up first. I’ll agree to help you find your mom, but I can’t guarantee we’ll actually find her!”

“Thank you, big brother!” Xiaoya said eagerly.

“Then tell me about your mom. When did she go missing?” Li Yi asked.

“Okay!”

Xiao Ya immediately began telling Li Yi and the others about her mother’s disappearance. After hearing her story, they were all shocked by the little girl’s tragic background.

It turned out the little girl’s surname was Jiang, and her name was Jiang Xiaoya. Her father worked at a stone factory, while her mother was a temporary worker at a glass factory.

Four years ago, an accident occurred while quarrying stone, leaving only her mother to raise her and her sister on their own. Life had been exceptionally difficult.

That’s why, at the age of six, Jiang Xiaoya started selling sunflower seeds with Lin Xiaodie outside movie theaters and school gates to earn money.

Although they didn’t earn much, it helped supplement the household income and lighten their mother’s burden a little.

However, just a month ago, Jiang Xiaoya’s younger sister fell ill and urgently needed money for medical treatment. Xiaoya’s mother said she was going to borrow some money from her mother-in-law in the countryside and left home immediately.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Xiaoya’s mother never returned.

During this time, Xiaoya has been taking care of her younger sister all by herself, barely scraping by on the meager profits from selling sunflower seeds. Not only have the two sisters gone hungry, but Xiaoya has also frequently been bullied by a group of local thugs.

After hearing Xiaoya’s story, Ye Lingyun and Jiang Xue couldn’t help but tear up.

“Xiao Yi, you must help this child find her mother!”

Hearing his mother-in-law’s words, Li Yi nodded and said, “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll go find Captain Xiao right away and ask the police to help with the search!”

Jiang Xue hurriedly interjected, “Wait a moment before searching for anyone. Shouldn’t we take Xiaoya’s younger sister to the hospital first? We can’t let the child’s condition get any worse!”

“Xiao Xue is right—let’s check on the child first!” said Ye Lingyun.

Without waiting to finish the movie, the group followed Xiaoya and Xiaodie directly to Xiaoya’s home.

Xiao Ya’s house was on the outskirts of the county town, and it took them over twenty minutes to get there.

The house was a self-built structure; it didn’t look small, and it must have been built when Xiaoya’s father was still alive, though it looked a bit run-down due to a long lack of maintenance.

Upon opening the courtyard gate and stepping inside, everyone was shocked by the conditions inside.

There wasn’t a single piece of decent furniture inside; it was damp, dark, and bitterly cold.

On the cold earthen bed, several layers of bedding were spread out, and lying on top of them was a child of three or four years old.

Her long hair obscured her face, and since the child was filthy, it was impossible to make out what she looked like.

Even so, Ye Lingyun hurried forward and picked the child up from the cold kang.

She felt the child’s head—the temperature was normal.

Pushing the child’s hair aside, Ye Lingyun took a closer look and found that although the little girl was somewhat malnourished, her body temperature was normal and her breathing was steady.

But her handling of the child had woken her up, and she immediately began wailing in fright.

Hearing the little girl cry so vigorously, with such a loud voice, Li Yi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

With that much strength, the child’s health should be fine.

Perhaps it had just been a minor illness like a cold or fever recently, and the child had pulled through on her own after Xiaoya’s mother went missing.

But just to be on the safe side, they decided to take the child to the hospital for a checkup.

After that, the group hurried off to the county hospital!

After the doctor’s examination, it turned out that both Xiaoya and her younger sister were simply suffering from malnutrition and had no serious health issues.

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief!

The only problem was how to take care of these two little girls, which left everyone at a loss.

In the end, Li Yi made the final call: they would take the two children back to the guesthouse first, and he would go to the county bureau the next day to file a report on their behalf.

And so, Xiaoya and her younger sister Xiaoqin were taken back to the guesthouse by Li Yi and the others…

…….

The next day, early in the morning!

Li Yi got up early. First, he went out with Zhang Ziqiang to buy breakfast at a nearby state-run restaurant.

Then, after the county supply and marketing cooperative opened, he went to the store to buy warm clothes and shoes for Xiaoya and Xiaoqin.

After finishing these errands, he took Zhang Ziqiang to the county bureau.

Xiao Zhanwu was busy in his office, but upon learning that Li Yi had arrived, he immediately came out to greet him.

“You’re here. I’ve already retrieved the case files—they’re right here in my office!”

Li Yi first thanked him, but when he saw the bloodshot eyes in Xiao Zhanwu’s face, he immediately asked, “What were you doing last night? How did you end up looking like this?”

Xiao Zhanwu replied with a wry smile, “We ran into a bit of trouble at the bureau. I was up all night last night and haven’t had a moment’s rest yet!”

“That’s just how it is in your line of work. Once you get busy, you lose track of day and night. It really is grueling!” Li Yi said.

Xiao Zhanwu yawned and replied, “You’re absolutely right!”

After leading Li Yi back to his office, Xiao Zhanwu pointed to several file folders on his desk and said, “The materials you requested are right there. Feel free to look through them as long as you don’t take them with you!”

“Alright, thanks a lot, Captain Xiao!”

“You’re welcome…”

Just then, a young man suddenly pushed open the door and said to Xiao Zhanwu, “Captain, Brother Yang has made a discovery over there. He wants you to get over there right away!”

“Got it!”

With that, Xiao Zhanwu exchanged a few quick words with Li Yi before hurrying out of the office.

Li Yi had intended to talk to Xiao Zhanwu about Xiaoya’s mother, but seeing how urgent the situation was, he held his tongue, deciding to wait until Xiao Zhanwu returned to discuss the matter.

Li Yi then walked over to Xiao Zhanwu’s desk and picked up the file folders.

Following the file numbers, he took out all the documents inside and began to examine them carefully.

The case files were comprehensive, containing not only the detailed account of Tan Cheng’s report against his cellmate, but also the police investigation findings, the accused’s statement, and the court’s review report and approval regarding the sentence reduction.

After going through the contents of the case files one by one, Li Yi found that the evidence in this case was indeed irrefutable, and all the evidence formed a closed loop, effectively corroborating one another.

In other words, Tan Cheng’s early release was both reasonable and lawful, with no irregularities whatsoever.

This made Li Yi feel somewhat uneasy!

Leaning back in Xiao Zhanwu’s chair, Li Yi closed his eyes and replayed the details he had just reviewed.

Soon, the entire incident played out in his mind like a movie, replaying in vivid detail.

This time, Li Yi noticed something off. The case was simply too perfect—so flawless that it seemed… almost fake.

At this thought, Li Yi’s eyes lit up. He picked up the case file once more and began analyzing it with a focused eye.

And this time, Li Yi did indeed spot some issues…

………