“What’s wrong?” Along the way, many people were running. The village was small; if anything happened to any household, everyone would pitch in.
“The Wang family is on fire.” Before the person finished speaking, they ran off with an empty basin, clearly having just gone to fetch water.
The Wang family?
Wang Yanlin?
Lu Qingqing’s mind immediately recalled what Aunt Luo had told her: Wang Yanlin and Wang Xia were very familiar.
Now that she had just started investigating Wang Xia, something happened to Wang Yanlin. There must be a problem.
But after she ran a few more steps, she discovered that it wasn't Wang Yanlin’s house that was on fire.
Lu Qingqing had never been to this place before. Dense smoke billowed from the scene, but judging by the appearance, the burnt area was not large.
“Qingqing…”
Zhan Ruoxuan and Guan Jinsong ran over. Upon seeing Hu Jia, both of them were stunned for a moment.
Guan Jinsong gave a knowing smile, while Zhan Ruoxuan wore a look of confusion.
Lu Qingqing didn’t have time to explain more. She looked around: “Where is Tong Meng?”
Almost everyone was present, but Tong Meng was missing.
“She went to help with the fire,” Guan Jinsong replied.
Oh?
Tong Meng went to help with the fire?
“Is anyone inside the house okay?” Hu Jia asked, looking at the smoke.
“The house caught fire as soon as you arrived. Do you think anyone is okay?” Zhan Ruoxuan retorted.
Hu Jia was taken aback: Who is this person? Does he dislike me intensely?
Conversely, Guan Jinsong promptly smoothed things over: “Don’t worry, everyone is fine. We heard no one was living in this house.”
Just then, Tong Meng ran out of the burning room, “This is bad, someone’s dead!”
Guan Jinsong: “……”
Everyone was shocked by Tong Meng’s words. Hadn’t this house been empty for years? How could someone be dead?
After the fire was extinguished, everyone discovered a woman lying on the bed in the bedroom. The woman’s body was severely burned, and she had no vital signs.
However, her face was still recognizable.
An elderly woman trembled as she pointed at the corpse and said, “This is Gang Wa’s wife. Why is she back?”
Gang Wa?
Aunt Luo had told Lu Qingqing that Gang Wa was the owner of this house. He had gone out to work two or three years ago. He had returned once last month, bringing a woman with him, who was the deceased.
“Didn’t you say no one was living here? How did his wife return without anyone knowing?”
Lu Qingqing’s question left Aunt Luo bewildered. “That’s right. When did his wife return? And what was her name again?”
Lu Qingqing pressed her forehead, her face etched with exasperation.
“Qingqing, look here,” Hu Jia called Lu Qingqing over. “This death is rather peculiar. Her entire face is blackened by the smoke, but there are faint traces of blood visible around her mouth and nose.”
Blood?
Lu Qingqing was startled. Just as she suspected.
“And the spot where the fire started is also strange,” Guan Jinsong pointed to the origin of the fire. Lu Qingqing then noticed that although the entire room appeared dark and smoky, it was clearly only stained by the smoke. Only the bed where Gang Wa’s wife lay showed signs of being burned.
This was too strange.
With so much smoke inside, how could the fire have only been confined to a bed?
Lu Qingqing looked at Hu Jia. Investigate?
Investigate!
Their unspoken communication was completed in the exchange of glances.
Meanwhile, outside, quite a few people from the Research Institute and the local police station had gathered. Inspector Chen was directing the operations. He was currently cursing fate for its unfairness; usually, not even a mouse died in the village for ten days, yet now there were murders every few days.
The shift was too drastic; he was finding it hard to cope.
“Inspector Chen,” Lu Qingqing called out to him. “This is Captain Hu Jia from our city bureau’s Special Operations Team.”
Lu Qingqing was affiliated with the Research Institute and already had a case to handle, so she couldn’t openly take charge of this arson case.
However, it was fortunate that Hu Jia was here.
As expected, upon hearing that the person before him was from the city bureau, Inspector Chen’s anxious expression eased. He quickly extended his hand to shake Hu Jia’s: “Captain Hu, hello. This matter happened so suddenly, I haven’t had time to speak with you properly.” Inspector Chen assumed Hu Jia was sent by the Research Institute to supervise the trainees.
“No need, Inspector Chen, please let me handle this arson case,” Hu Jia said. Unlike Ouyang Wen, who was more by-the-book and would follow procedures for case transfer or takeover, Hu Jia was different.
Hu Jia had no such rigid rules. If he fancied a case, he would simply claim it.
His demeanor was commanding and unrefutable.
The trainees from the Research Institute at the scene recognized Hu Jia. Although they were surprised to see him here, no one dared to question his investigative capabilities.
Tong Meng was clearly startled by Hu Jia’s appearance as well. She glanced at Lu Qingqing, then at Hu Jia, her heart feeling like it was being twisted.
This man had traveled so far to meet Lu Qingqing, could he not even wait a single night?
Jealousy!
He wouldn't even wait one night for me!
Hu Jia’s主动 request to investigate the arson case was unexpected by Inspector Chen. But considering Hu Jia’s status and his irrefutable words, he conceded.
“Fine, take it. It’s not like it’s a prize catch anyway.”
“Qingqing, go find Wenwu. I’m worried he might be in trouble,” Hu Jia whispered to Lu Qingqing after Inspector Chen agreed to his request.
Luo Wenwu?
Lu Qingqing then remembered he was still in the village.
But with such a major incident, he hadn’t shown up. Could this fire be related to the group Luo Wenwu was surveilling?
Following the direction Hu Jia indicated, Lu Qingqing ran into the darkness.
The village was not large, but the houses were scattered.
After walking for a long time, Lu Qingqing finally identified Luo Wenwu’s hiding spot.
It was a small hill at the edge of the village. Legend had it there was a mountain god temple, and Luo Wenwu was hiding there. From this temple, one could see the entire Huayan Village.
Lu Qingqing looked around; it seemed safe.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, not even the wind dared to linger.
As Lu Qingqing stepped near the mountain god temple, she smelled a faint scent of blood.
Bad!
She dashed into the temple in a few steps. As expected, Luo Wenwu was lying on the ground, unconscious. A dagger was still stuck in his abdomen.
Damn it!
“Wenwu, Luo Wenwu!” Lu Qingqing nudged Luo Wenwu’s body, trying to wake him.
Fortunately, Luo Wenwu wasn’t completely unconscious. Under Lu Qingqing’s less-than-gentle handling, he slowly opened his eyes. “Guai guai…”
He tilted his head and fainted again.
Lu Qingqing wanted to curse. At a time like this, he’s still saying “guai guai”? Guai your sister!
Lu Qingqing gritted her teeth, wanting to take Luo Wenwu back to the village first. But looking at his 180-pound weight, she decided it would be more convenient to call for help.
As she stood up, Lu Qingqing sensed a movement behind the mountain god statue.
She wasn’t mistaken; a shadow had definitely moved.
Lu Qingqing immediately tensed up. She slowly drew a dagger from her waist and crept towards the back of the statue.
Normally, Lu Qingqing would be bold and meticulous, but now, with Luo Wenwu lying unconscious, she was starting to sweat.
As she got closer to the statue, the hand gripping the dagger tightened.
*Crack!*
Damn it, she stepped on a twig!
Before Lu Qingqing could react, the person behind the statue charged out.
There were two of them, dressed in black.
They were holding cleavers. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Lu Qingqing dodged to the left, narrowly escaping their encirclement.
“Who are you?” Lu Qingqing demanded sternly.
“The ones who wield the blades!” Without a word, the two of them attacked. Lu Qingqing barely managed to dodge a downward strike and landed a kick on one of their shoulders.
But those two were clearly not weaklings. More importantly, the cleavers they held were intimidating. Lu Qingqing felt somewhat restricted fighting them.
Several times, Lu Qingqing was almost “sliced flat.”
“The ones who wield blades really know how to wield them!” Lu Qingqing rubbed her wrist, extremely annoyed.