Dao Liu Ye's voluntary departure left everyone at the scene, except for Hu Jia, breathing a collective sigh of relief. It wasn't that they were afraid to confront Dao Liu Ye, but there was simply no need. If a fight had broken out, it was believed that at least half the people present would have died.
"Let's go too," Ouyang Wen called to the others. They nodded, all except for Hu Jia. Li Yang, knowing Hu Jia's prejudice against Ouyang Wen, was about to step forward to explain when Ouyang Wen gently stopped him with a smile. "Don't worry, let him be arrogant for tonight. Someone will get revenge for me today." Following Ouyang Wen's gaze, he saw that Lü Qingqing looked very upset. Li Yang understood and smirked gleefully, thinking that the boss was going to have a rough night again.
Sitting in a small boat, Hu Jia looked around curiously. "How did I get here?" Ouyang Wen, not having the time to tease him, briefly explained the situation, which made Hu Jia rub his head.
"You mean, that person was my father's killer? He was the mastermind behind the shooting?" Hu Jia's emotions erupted. He had worked so hard for so long, just to find the truth about the case. Now, the moment he opened his eyes, the villain was standing right in front of him, and he hadn't recognized him.
"Why didn't you make a move just now?" Hu Jia questioned Ouyang Wen. "You're afraid of dying, aren't you? You didn't want me to investigate the case, you were afraid I would die, and now that I've found the murderer, you just watched him leave right in front of us?" Hu Jia already held resentment towards Ouyang Wen, and now, knowing that he had let his father's killer go, he was even more enraged.
"Xiao Jia, it's not what you think. In that situation, do you think we could have captured the killer? If we had actually fought, could you guarantee that everyone here would have escaped unharmed?" Ouyang Wen was displeased to hear Hu Jia questioning his courage, but remembering that Hu Jia was in a new amnesiac phase, he patiently explained again.
However, Hu Jia was not listening at all. "You're making excuses, you just didn't dare to act." Saying this, Hu Jia stood up and turned back to look at the Coral Dam. Li Yang sensed his intention. "Boss, calm down. Not to mention they've already left if you chase after them now, even if they hadn't, you couldn't beat so many people." Yes, Hu Jia intended to jump into the river and swim to the Coral Dam. But Li Yang's persuasion was useless. As soon as Hu Jia made a move, Li Yang and Ouyang Wen pounced on him. The small boat, already unstable, began to rock even more violently.
"Hu Ergou!" Ouyang Wen was also angry. "Is that how you see me?" Hu Jia was still shouting, "I don't care, I have to catch that person. Damn it, he was even wearing a mask, I don't even know what he looks like." Hu Jia was still struggling, and Li Yang and Ouyang Wen had to worry about the rocking boat while also preventing themselves from hurting him, making it a painful ordeal.
"Splash..." A handful of river water was thrown in Hu Jia's face. Lü Qingqing held half a gourd ladle and glared at Hu Jia. "Are you done causing trouble? If you're done, then be quiet."
Uh... Everyone fell silent. Even Hu Jia was jolted awake by the sudden splash of water. Who was this person? Hu Jia was stunned for a moment before snapping back to reality. Wasn't she the masked man's wife? Why was she on the boat too?
Lü Qingqing sat at the head of the boat, holding the gourd ladle towards Hu Jia. "If you move again, believe it or not, I'll hit you to death with this ladle, scoop by scoop."
This time, Hu Jia truly dared not move. He felt a familiar sense of suppression. It was strange, he clearly didn't know this woman, yet for some reason, he had no inclination to oppose her. On the contrary, he found it impossible to even retort.
My goodness, Li Yang was completely dumbfounded. Was this Lü Qingqing's charm? Tsk tsk. So domineering, no wonder she could be a sister-in-law. Seeing that Hu Jia had stopped struggling, Lü Qingqing put down the gourd ladle and clapped her hands. "We'll settle this later when we get back."
...
That night, everyone was sleepless. Even Luo Wenwu, who had just been rescued, came to beg for forgiveness after a brief rest. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't gone to Yongchuan without permission, Boss wouldn't have been put in such an awkward position and forced to make a deal against his will." Hu Jia, who already knew the whole story, didn't blame Luo Wenwu at all. He had heard that making the deal was his own initiative, with the purpose of investigating the truth of some matters. Unfortunately, he had lost his memory again and didn't know if his efforts had yielded any results. It would be terrible if he had found out something but forgotten it.
Seeing that Hu Jia didn't say much, Luo Wenwu thought Hu Jia was still angry. He turned to Lü Qingqing. "Sister-in-law, could you put in a good word for me?" Lü Qingqing shot him a sharp look. "Put that aside for now. Let's discuss the main business first. After we're done, I need to talk to him privately."
Hmm. The entire room felt chilly.
"You were already heading out when I came ashore?" Hu Jia tried to help Li Yang recall memories from before they met. "When you saw me, was there anything special about me or did I say anything unusual?" Hu Jia felt that if he had discovered any important information, he would have found a way to pass it on. Unless he hadn't met anyone trustworthy before losing his memory. But Li Yang said that when he bumped into him, he hadn't lost his memory yet. At the same time, Li Yang stated that he had only exchanged greetings and hadn't said anything special.
"Not a word? Not even one word?" Lü Qingqing also found it strange. The last time Hu Jia went missing, she thought he might have used orange peels to leave a message. This time, surely he wouldn't have done nothing. Was it too rushed, and he simply didn't have time?
"I don't think so..." Li Yang was also becoming unsure as he was questioned. He thought for a long time. "Did you call out Qiao Huali's name? Does that count?"
Huh? Everyone was stunned. Hu Jia called out Qiao Huali's name? While it was strange, it was hard to make a decision. Was Qiao Huali at the scene then? However, Qiao Huali being at the scene was quite normal; he had arranged this whole setup.
"Uncle Qiao? Oh, no, Qiao Huali?" Hu Jia hadn't gotten used to changing his address for him. "Yes, at that time, you said the four words 'Qiao Huali save.' I didn't know who you were asking Qiao Huali to save. Were you calling me to save Qiao Huali? That's not right. I didn't see Qiao Huali at the scene last night," Li Yang murmured, confused.
Qiao Huali save? Save what?
"Qiao Huali saved you?" Ouyang Wen guessed. "It's unlikely. Seeing Master Liu, it seemed he didn't intend to hurt anyone, so there's no question of saving or not saving," Lü Qingqing disagreed with Ouyang Wen's guess.
Everyone thought hard for a long time but couldn't come up with anything. Finally, they gave up.
"Oh right, Tong Meng was also at the scene," Li Yang suddenly remembered the fleeting figure.
"Tong Meng?" Hu Jia felt the name was very familiar. "It's Tong Hua's sister," Li Yang explained.
"Tong Hua? That man who was against me?" Hu Jia seemed to recall him. "Is he still causing trouble for me?"
"Not anymore," Ouyang Wen said. "Their mouths are sealed shut, how can they cause trouble." Speaking of which, they recounted Tong Hua's death. Hu Jia was very interested. "Shall we investigate tomorrow?"
Lü Qingqing glared at him unhappily. "Jinsong and Ruoxuan are investigating. You should rest for now."
Jinsong? Ruoxuan? Hearing the names of other men from Lü Qingqing's mouth made Hu Jia feel slightly uncomfortable, but he quickly let it go, as investigating the case was the most important thing.
"Well, I just thought that Tong Hua's death had a lot to do with Tong Meng. Perhaps pulling one thread would unravel the whole knot," Hu Jia explained.
"Don't worry, we'll know tomorrow," Lü Qingqing didn't buy Hu Jia's reasoning at all. Tong Hua's case was being investigated by others. What she needed to consider now was, since Tong Meng was at the scene, did she know everything about Hu Jia before he lost his memory?