Familiar voice, familiar catchphrase.
Li Yang had arrived!
He also brought Lu Qingqing a piece of news.
That the case of Yang Xiaohong was officially closed.
Yang Xiaohong, do you remember? Gong Tishi's wife, a plump man was found in her coffin.
That man was a well-known local magnate, who owned various businesses in town and had a harem of wives and concubines. At first, Mother Yang insisted she didn't know where the male corpse in her daughter's coffin came from. Later, the detective from the local police station found Yang's weakness for favoring her son over her daughter. He claimed he would only torture Yang Xiaoren, which frightened Mother Yang into confessing everything.
It turned out that due to Mother Yang's doting, Yang Xiaoren not only failed to achieve anything but also became addicted to gambling, losing all the family's money and accumulating a mountain of debt.
For this reason, the magnate proposed exchanging a woman for debt, which led to Mother Yang faking an illness to lure Yang Xiaohong home.
However, how could the steadfast Yang Xiaohong yield? Just as the magnate was about to force himself upon her, Yang Xiaohong chose to commit suicide, stabbing her own neck with scissors.
But instead of mourning their daughter's death, the Yang family worried about the magnate demanding the debt. They decided to kill him and steal his wealth in one go.
Ironically, the magnate had been dead for several days, but his wives and concubines hadn't noticed, thinking he was out carousing.
"That's how the two ended up in the same coffin, and the Yang family attempted to deceive the heavens and cover up their crime," Li Yang said. If it weren't for Gong Tishi's persistence, this case would have been buried forever.
After listening to Li Yang's retelling, everyone sighed.
Lu Qingqing, in particular, felt deeply for Yang Xiaohong as a woman. Families that favored sons over daughters harmed everyone, including the boy who was spoiled into misdirection.
While everyone was chatting, Hu Jia returned, covered in mud.
His hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot. Although he appeared energetic and spirited on the surface, only those in the courtyard knew he was depleting his vitality.
"Why are you here?" Hu Jia was quite surprised to see Li Yang.
"The investigation in Nantuo police department is complete. They're having a celebration banquet this weekend and want to invite Lu Qingqing and me." Li Yang replied.
"Lu Qingqing?" Hu Jia narrowed his eyes.
Li Yang blinked, "I handled that case with her."
"You call him Lu Qingqing?" Ouyang dragged out the last syllable.
Uh...
Li Yang was stunned. What was going on? Was there something wrong with calling him Lu Qingqing? Li Yang's confused gaze was a blur.
"Cough cough!" Lu Qingqing was extremely embarrassed. Damn it, how could she have forgotten this? "Uh, I think the name is quite good."
"Sister-in-law..." Ouyang, hearing Lu Qingqing's words, was displeased. "This rule cannot be broken."
Sister-in-law?
Lu Qingqing felt like she was splitting apart.
And Li Yang, on the other side, had completely fallen apart.
"Call her Sister-in-law!" Luo Wenwu reminded him in a low voice.
"What?" It wasn't that Li Yang didn't hear clearly, but he suspected he hadn't heard correctly.
"Sister-in-law..." Luo Wenwu was annoyed. Wasn't this kid usually quite sharp?
Li Yang looked up at Lu Qingqing. Seeing her make a face worse than crying, he suddenly understood: "Greetings, Sister-in-law!"
"Cough cough..." Ouyang Wen coughed lightly.
"Greetings, Second Sister-in-law!" Li Yang immediately corrected himself, a bright smile on his face.
Scram...
With the case in Xiajiezhi Village unfinished, Lu Qingqing naturally wouldn't attend the celebration banquet in Nantuo. Besides, there was another reason: she was worried about Hu Jia.
He went out day and night, and she feared he would collapse suddenly.
"Can't you just sleep? Even for a little while." That night, Hu Jia's behavior was already showing that of a terrier.
He was no longer jumping around but sitting quietly, lost in thought.
Although she had seen similar situations before, Lu Qingqing didn't think much of it then because she didn't know about his amnesia.
But this time was different. He was right in front of her, and she knew exactly what problem he was facing. She couldn't just ignore it.
Hu Jia raised his eyes slightly. "You should go to sleep. I can't sleep right now."
After speaking, Hu Jia closed his eyes again. At this moment, his mind was like a movie playing, with every corner of the village flashing in his mind, including people, things, and all the details he had observed.
From Xiao Tao to Grandpa Lu, from the tree at the village entrance to the water in the pond, from the tall buildings at night to the bloated corpse...
They were like a carousel, constantly spinning in Hu Jia's mind, speeding up and then returning. How to describe it?
It was as if a minute ago, you could still clearly see it was a tree. Thirty seconds later, you could only see a blur. Fifty seconds later, they were like flowing light, forming a beam.
Hu Jia gradually became lost in the network woven by all these images.
"Should we knock him unconscious?" Lu Qingqing found Ouyang.
"It's useless." Li Yang immediately dismissed Lu Qingqing's idea. "We've tried. Once he wakes up, his mind works even harder."
Li Yang said it was like a task that had to be completed. For example, if there were 1,000 images in Hu Jia's mind, he had to review them five times within five hours. But if he fainted for an hour, he would have to review those images five times in the remaining four hours.
The task hadn't decreased, but the time had shortened, putting even more pressure on Hu Jia.
"Why is this happening?" Lu Qingqing was very worried.
"Inner demons!" Ouyang replied. "These are his inner demons."
Ouyang said that once, Hu Jia had found a clue in a case after great effort, but when he woke up, he had forgotten the suspect's appearance. This left a great shadow on Hu Jia's heart, and since then, he had developed this strange reaction.
If the case isn't solved, he can't sleep.
"But if it continues like this, how can his body withstand it?" Lu Qingqing said urgently.
"We've gotten used to it over the years," Li Yang sighed. "We've tried everything, and said everything nice, but he just can't stop."
"Hey? Sister-in-law, why don't you try?" Ouyang's eyes lit up.
"Me?" Lu Qingqing looked confused.
"Yes. You are his fiancée. Our Er Gou has never liked anyone. Since he chose you as his fiancée, it must be because you left a mark on his heart. Why don't you try? Persuade him to rest." Ouyang seemed to have found a direction.
Uh...
Lu Qingqing was a little hesitant.
Ouyang was right, but the problem was that she hadn't left any mark on his heart.
"That's right, sister-in-law, you should try. What if it works?" Li Yang also enjoyed the show.
Lu Qingqing bit her lip. Fine, she would try. She had nothing to lose.
She slowly walked up to Hu Jia. At this moment, her heart was in turmoil. It wasn't that she couldn't cast aside her pride, but she was hesitating about how to bring Hu Jia back from his thoughts.
Should she act as a spoiled girlfriend showering him with care?
Or should she roar like a shrew and force him?
Or act nonchalant and calm?
Finally, "Sigh, hey, you can sleep now."
Li Yang: "..."
Ouyang: "..."
Luo Wenwu: "Heh heh."
Everyone put their hands to their foreheads.
Hu Jia, who was in deep thought, was jolted out of the light and shadow lines in his mind by Lu Qingqing's nudge. He seemed to have been on the verge of grasping something, but in that instant...
"You should go to sleep first." Seeing it was Lu Qingqing, Hu Jia managed a slight smile. Then he turned to everyone else: "You all should go rest. Everyone has been tired these past few days."
Lu Qingqing sat down with a plop. "Do you know why a handgun jams? The main reason for jamming is that the extractor in the ejection mechanism cannot function properly. It could be due to wear or broken teeth on the extractor hook; it could also be due to the extractor hook being obstructed."
Hu Jia looked at Lu Qingqing, not understanding why she was saying this.
"Your mind is like that ejection mechanism. You keep thinking about the case, constantly recalling details. Over time, it will wear down, and in severe cases, it will break. A jammed handgun during a confrontation with the enemy can be fatal. If your brain malfunctions, it can also be fatal," Lu Qingqing said.
"I understand your concern, but I really can't stop. It's not something I can control. A swan leaves its trace. I refuse to believe they vanished into thin air." Hu Jia steered the conversation back to the case in a few sentences.
Lu Qingqing sighed. Although she didn't have Hu Jia's experience, she knew that such unconscious actions couldn't be controlled. Even if Hu Jia lay obediently in bed with his eyes closed, all the images related to the case would still appear automatically.
Was there really no other way?