January 1, 1929, New Year's Day, Tuesday.
The academy was on holiday that day.
The Special Operations Unit had given themselves a holiday.
Chongqing Nanshan, across the river, offered a view of the Yuzhong Peninsula.
Hu Jia and Lü Qingqing were enjoying a scene of pastoral bliss. Lü Duobao weaved through the woods. The combination of a handsome man, a beautiful woman, and a cute child drew many glances from hikers.
Those who didn't know better might have thought they were a family of three.
After offering incense at the Laojun Temple in the mountains, Hu Jia sighed with emotion, "In my hometown, we also have a mountain like this, with an ancient temple nestled within. Back then, my father often took me and Ouyang to climb it. I used to swing from tree to tree like a monkey. Later, when I chose to become a policeman, my father said my agility was honed from those days."
It was Lü Qingqing's first time hearing Hu Jia talk about his childhood. "I always thought you were a native of Chongqing."
Hu Jia shook his head. "Not really. I lived in my hometown until I was seven. We only moved to Chongqing after my father established himself here."
Hu Jia said that later, due to various wars, his hometown became deserted, and they never returned. He fondly recalled a lychee tree in front of the Ouyang family's old house, where he and his brother often picked lychees to eat.
When recalling childhood anecdotes, Hu Jia became talkative. "Back then, everyone in the village knew each other. We ran around everywhere, causing mischief at one house and then another. Adults would chase us with rattan whips. Once, we even wandered into the home of a wealthy family and were mistaken for thieves, almost being sent to officials."
Seeing Hu Jia's expression, Lü Qingqing knew he was thinking of Hu Shilong.
She squeezed Hu Jia's hand and offered a gentle smile, which warmed Hu Jia's heart.
"Sister, brother-in-law," Duobao ran up, holding a wildflower. "Brother-in-law, I picked this especially for you."
"For me?" Hu Jia asked with feigned surprise.
"Yes," Lü Duobao nodded. "But I don't care who you give it to in the end."
Hearing this, Hu Jia had an epiphany. He turned and handed the wildflower to Lü Qingqing. "Then I'll present this gift to you."
Lü Qingqing was delighted and pinched Lü Duobao's nose. "You little rascal."
Lü Duobao put his hands behind his back and put on a mature air. "Alas, what would this family do without me? I can't even give a flower."
...
The New Year's holiday lasted only one day. After this day, everyone's lives seemed to return to normal: those who worked returned to work, those who studied returned to school, those who investigated cases returned to their investigations, and those who were injured returned to their recovery...
Tong Meng was also attending to Sixth Master. "Are you still being followed by anyone recently?"
Tong Meng shook her head. "They probably suspect Gao Liang. Ouyang Wen hasn't assigned him any work."
Sixth Master let out a cold snort. "Your little tricks can't even fool me, let alone that kid Hu Jia. They're openly suspecting Gao Liang, but they might be watching you very closely in secret."
Tong Meng sounded unconvinced. "No way?"
Sixth Master sneered. "No way? You had tails following you when you arrived, we just dealt with them for you."
Tong Meng was shocked and immediately knelt to apologize.
However, Sixth Master did not punish her this time. "I heard that a male corpse was discovered in Beibei a while ago, in a severe state of decomposition."
Tong Meng's body trembled, and she remained silent.
"Who do you think that person was?" Sixth Master hooked Tong Meng's chin with his finger.
"I... I don't know..." Tong Meng had already vaguely guessed the identity of the male corpse.
Sixth Master chuckled. "He's just a dead man, you don't need to be nervous. Even Xian Hai knows many things over the years. You helping me deal with him is exactly what I want."
"Sixth Master, I..."
"Alright, I have other matters to attend to shortly. You can go back now."
Sixth Master waved his hand, and Tong Meng respectfully withdrew.
After dressing properly, Tong Meng walked to the entryway to put on her shoes. However, after searching for a long time, she couldn't find her shoes.
Sixth Master had a peculiar habit: outsiders' shoes were not allowed in his shoe cabinet. Only two people could open Sixth Master's shoe cabinet: himself, and the family's maid, Aunt Li.
But now, Tong Meng couldn't find her shoes. She thought, perhaps Aunt Li had put them in the shoe cabinet?
So, Tong Meng opened the shoe cabinet.
Wow, there were at least fifty pairs of shoes inside. The entire shoe cabinet was divided into two halves, one side for leather shoes and the other for cloth shoes. Yet, Sixth Master only appeared in public wearing a long gown and cloth shoes. Tong Meng frowned secretly. Since Sixth Master didn't like wearing leather shoes, why did he keep so many of them?
Of course, this might have been his personal preference.
Just as Tong Meng was about to reach for a pair of shoes to examine, Aunt Li appeared.
"Miss Tong," Aunt Li's voice was extremely cold, startling Tong Meng.
Tong Meng quickly retracted her hand, still shaken.
"Miss Tong, the master's shoe cabinet has never allowed anyone to open it."
"I just couldn't see my shoes, so I opened it casually. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
Aunt Li remained silent, staring intently at Tong Meng as if observing something. Tong Meng felt a shiver run down her spine.
After a long while, Aunt Li handed Tong Meng a pair of shoes. "I noticed your shoes had mud stains just now, so I've cleaned them for you."
"Thank you!" Tong Meng quickly changed into them and fled Sixth Master's residence as if escaping.
Aunt Li's gaze was too terrifying. For a moment, she felt that this woman was more than just a maid.
As soon as Tong Meng left the luxurious mansion, Aunt Li went to Sixth Master's room.
"Get up," Sixth Master commanded indifferently.
"It was my mistake, allowing Miss Tong to approach the shoe cabinet," Aunt Li said, still with her head lowered.
"Are you sure she didn't discover anything?"
"I'm sure. I called out to her as soon as she opened the cabinet."
"Hmm. She's lucky to have gotten away with it this time. Go and receive your punishment."
"Yes!"
After Aunt Li left, Sixth Master slowly walked out of the bedroom, holding a wine glass. He gazed at the shoe cabinet not far away, lost in thought.
...
In the past couple of days, the Criminal Investigation Team also reported a bizarre incident.
Wang Yangang had escaped by jumping into the water while being escorted for review. This infuriated Qiao Huali, who reprimanded Ouyang Wen several times.
Li Yang and Ouyang Wen had also been frequenting Huayan Village these past two days. Whenever asked, they claimed to be investigating the skeletal remains case and the arson case.
In reality, no one knew that Wang Yangang was deliberately let go by Ouyang Wen. Only if he escaped would the Special Operations Unit and the Criminal Investigation Team have a pretext to continue appearing in Huayan Village.
And Huayan Village was likely where Wang Xia had hidden the key.
Lü Qingqing returned to the academy for classes, still clashing with Tong Meng daily. She would often brag to Cai Xiaojuan and the others about her interactions with Hu Jia in front of Tong Meng.
To provoke her.
Luo Wenwu's health was also gradually recovering. Hu Jia occasionally went to make him soup.
"You two lovebirds are living such a sweet life, doing all the legwork for us. You just get to be happy at home," Yu Yue teased Hu Jia, seeing his leisurely demeanor.
"What else can we do?" Hu Jia actually wanted to go investigate cases, but he ultimately decided that he and Lü Qingqing would lie low. Only by remaining inactive would Sixth Master not pay them too much attention, and would believe that he hadn't brought back any valuable information after his amnesia.
This way, they could shift the focus of suspicion and buy time for Li Yang and Ouyang Wen.
Of course, this was their own presumption. If they knew that Sixth Master was doing all this precisely to have him investigate cases and find the key, who knew what he would think.