The room was indeed messy, but these were clearly signs of a struggle. Otherwise, why would the locked drawers remain intact?
"He was taken away?" Feng Chun asked incredulously.
"Or maybe he got into a fight and ran off," Lu Qingqing speculated.
"Yes, that kid is really a troublemaker," Feng Chun mused. He told Lu Qingqing that a few days ago, when Zhang Hanghai came to see him, he had mentioned being targeted. However, he didn't know who was after him or why, only that he was ordered to leave Chongqing.
"Just to leave Chongqing?" Feng Chun's words left Lu Qingqing bewildered. Normally, if one encountered truly wicked people, they wouldn't offer a chance to leave. Yet, this person had specifically told Zhang Hanghai to leave. Now, with Zhang Hanghai missing, could it be related to his failure to leave Chongqing?
To clarify this, Lu Qingqing specifically sought out Zhou Yun.
However, Zhou Yun stated that although Zhang Hanghai had sticky fingers and often caused trouble, he hadn't provoked any major enemies, let alone someone serious enough to warrant being kicked out of Chongqing.
To find Zhang Hanghai, Lu Qingqing quickly notified her superiors to strictly monitor all docks and checkpoints. If Zhang Hanghai passed through, there would surely be a clue.
...
Meanwhile, Hu Jia and Ouyang Wen had arrived at Shangtuwan Village. This was their first solo collaboration in many years.
To understand what had happened back then, they first sought out the village chief of Shangtuwan Village.
It was two years ago, in the 17th year of the Republic of China. Shangtuwan Village was holding a pig-slaughtering banquet. Usually, villagers would help out at such feasts.
Not for any other reason than to join in the excitement.
Of course, there were also freeloaders at such gatherings. Zhang Hanghai was one of them.
He didn't do much work but ate a lot.
However, since it was a banquet, even if the villagers knew the truth, they wouldn't bring it up. After eating, Zhang Hanghai, bored, started chatting with some other freeloaders in the corner.
A young man named "Zhao Jiwa," patting his round, full stomach, kept hiccuping. This displeased Zhang Hanghai, who mocked him a couple of times. Unexpectedly, Zhao Jiwa, angered, yelled loudly, "What? You think I haven't seen the world? I've seen more of the world than you can imagine. If nothing else, have you ever seen someone killed? I have."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Who couldn't brag?
So Zhang Hanghai deliberately provoked him, "Oh, you've seen someone killed? Where? Who killed whom? You just open your mouth and spout nonsense, aren't you afraid of your next meal leaking out?"
Seeing the laughter grow louder, Zhao Jiwa became flustered and stuttered, "Who says I'm talking nonsense? I just ask you, how long has it been since you last saw Chen Zapi?"
Everyone was taken aback. "Huh? That's right, where is Chen Zapi? It's unlikely he wouldn't show up at an occasion like this." Then, everyone started discussing, and finally realized that Chen Zapi's last appearance was in the spring of the previous year.
This completely piqued everyone's curiosity. They kept questioning Zhao Jiwa about Chen Zapi, but Zhao Jiwa, enjoying the attention, kept his mouth shut.
Finally, tired of asking, people slowly dispersed.
But Zhang Hanghai didn't leave. It wasn't that he was insistent on pursuing the matter of Chen Zapi; he simply had nowhere else to go.
So that evening, the two of them begged the hosts for some more wine.
But to everyone's surprise, Zhao Jiwa died the next morning.
He was found hanged from a rafter in his home.
The local police, based on the two ligature marks on his neck, determined it wasn't suicide.
Consequently, suspicion fell on Zhang Hanghai. Firstly, he had clashed with Zhao Jiwa the previous day. Secondly, he was the last person to see Zhao Jiwa. Thirdly, Zhang Hanghai was by nature an idle loafer; while not a hardened criminal, he wasn't exactly a law-abiding citizen.
Just as the local police were preparing to arrest Zhang Hanghai, he fled and never returned to the village.
Therefore, whether Zhang Hanghai was the real killer or an unfortunate scapegoat, no one could say for sure.
"Were the case files from that year retrieved?"
"Yes, they were. And the Shangtuwan police station even sent over a police officer, who was the investigator at the time."
Hearing that a helper had arrived, Ouyang Wen felt a sense of relief.
Having someone assist was a good thing, preventing the case from dragging on too long.
However, what neither brother expected was that the person who arrived recognized Hu Jia and his expression immediately changed. He kept calling out "Captain Hu" very warmly.
Hu Jia subtly gave Ouyang Wen a look: Who is this?
Ouyang Wen could only shake his head.
"When I heard someone from the Special Operations Unit was coming, I thought it was Qingqing. Then I figured she hadn't graduated yet, but I didn't expect Captain Hu himself to come." As the person spoke, both Hu Jia and Ouyang Wen were taken aback.
This person knew Lu Qingqing?
Perhaps realizing that Hu Jia didn't seem to recognize him, the person quickly introduced himself.
"My name is Cao Yang! I just returned from the training institute."
Upon hearing that the person was from the training institute, Hu Jia's attitude became much warmer. Friends of my fiancée are my friends.
However, people who came out of the training institute usually joined better units. Why was this Cao Yang still in the police station?
"Who knows, bad luck I guess. My overall evaluation for graduation was just barely passing." Cao Yang said his exam scores were mediocre, likely due to average performance during the course, which resulted in a low score in the auxiliary subjects.
Hu Jia and Ouyang Wen exchanged a glance. This year, Tong Hua was in charge of the auxiliary subjects. Perhaps this person's low score was related to his acquaintance with Lu Qingqing.
However, it wasn't important.
If he performed well during their collaboration this time, they could look out for him later.
After Hu Jia introduced Ouyang Wen to him, Cao Yang began to explain the case.
"This Zhao Jiwa was a penniless vagabond, idle all day, his home bare. You couldn't even find a piece of meat in his house." Cao Yang was telling Hu Jia that robbery as a motive was unlikely.
"Although he was lazy, he had his limits. He didn't steal or rob, just had some minor scoundrel habits. So, a motive for revenge is also unlikely."
Cao Yang said he was the one who surveyed the scene at the time and found nothing. Coupled with the villagers' love for gossip, the investigation was severely hampered.
In short, there was no physical evidence, no witness testimony, and the only suspicious factor was that Zhang Hanghai had interacted with the victim.
"Then let's go talk to the people who were there that day," Ouyang suggested.
Soon, the people who had been leaning against the wall were gathered. Hearing that the police from the city were investigating Zhao Jiwa's hanging case, everyone began to discuss.
"Stop investigating, it was Zhang Hanghai!"
"If it wasn't him, why would he run?"
"He must be guilty!"
Hu Jia signaled for everyone to quiet down. He knew Zhang Hanghai's escape was indeed suspicious, but as Zhang Hangji had said, he had no reason to lie to him.
Moreover, Hu Jia was someone who couldn't stand unsolved cases.
"I'd like to know what kind of argument Zhang Hanghai and Zhao Jiwa had that day? Did they get physical? What was their usual relationship like?"
The crowd chattered, quickly reconstructing the events of that day.
But as Hu Jia listened, he felt something was wrong. "You just said there were 9 people who bet whether Zhao Jiwa was lying. Why are only 6 people here today?"
Excluding Zhao Jiwa who was dead, and Zhang Hanghai who was missing, there should have been 7 people present.