Did Wang Yanlin know that Wang Xia had impersonated him?
Was the matter of Wang Xia telling him to return to the city true or fabricated?
All these remained to be verified.
"I think we can try to trick him," Hu Jia suggested.
"How?" Lü Qingqing asked, her eyes darting around.
"Have you forgotten 'the man who wielded the knife'?" Hu Jia looked towards the village ancestral hall. "I don't believe he has no connection with those people."
"What if he doesn't?" Zhan Ruoxuan, as usual, interjected.
"Then we'll try to trick Wang Yangang," Hu Jia said.
"What if..."
Before he could finish, Hu Jia shot him a look. "Are you from Tianjin? Your mouth is so talkative."
Uh.
Zhan Ruoxuan was taken aback. "Is being from Jiangjin okay?"
Hahaha...
Guan Jinsong burst into laughter. He had never seen such a shameless person!
...
In the following time, the village returned to its quiet state.
This quietness was such that you knew everyone was busy, but you had no idea what they were busy with, to the point where you'd just sit there in a daze.
Lü Qingqing and the others also began to return to the gathering place of the senior disciples at the transmission hall.
They chatted with everyone about the case, its progress, and their frustrations. "It seems this case can't proceed any further. In a vast sea of people, and it happened years ago, where are we supposed to find the victim?"
"Yeah. It's truly frustrating. We finally had a chance for practical experience, only to return defeated."
"Isn't Captain Hu here? Why don't we ask him for help?"
"Isn't he handling his own case? Besides, he probably doesn't want to touch such an old case."
They gathered together, their conversation straying further and further. Lü Qingqing also appeared disheartened.
They wanted Tong Meng to believe that the case could no longer be investigated.
Only when the enemy is most relaxed can a fatal blow be struck.
"Since this case has no possibility of being solved, when are we going back?" the stout senior disciple asked.
Lü Qingqing's gaze swept over Tong Meng as if by accident. She saw her looking down, her thumbs constantly fidgeting with the corner of her clothes.
This was a sign of nervousness and anticipation.
Lü Qingqing confirmed it. The stout senior disciple was asking on behalf of Tong Meng.
Heh, you want to go back once you've finished your business?
No way!
...
At this moment, Wang Yanlin was pretending to be asleep in his room. Suddenly, there were two light sounds from the window.
It was the sound of fingers tapping.
Wang Yanlin frowned. There was a crumpled piece of paper by the window.
As he unfolded it, his face changed drastically.
He immediately looked around. The room was empty. Then, without hesitation, he closed the window, opened the door, and walked forward.
This was the path to Wang Xia's old house?
Hu Jia followed Wang Yanlin. It seemed the words on the paper had indeed worked.
As long as Wang Yanlin appeared in Wang Xia's house, he would have a way to pry open Wang Yanlin's mouth.
Just as Hu Jia was full of confidence, Wang Yanlin suddenly stopped. He seemed to be thinking about something, and then he turned a corner.
He walked as if strolling in a leisurely garden.
"Damn it!" Hu Jia had picked up Lü Qingqing's catchphrase. This Wang Yanlin was truly cunning. He walked around the village and then returned home, never to leave again.
Since Wang Yanlin wasn't taking the bait, they would try Wang Yangang.
The same method, the same content on the paper. But this time, Wang Yangang did not disappoint Hu Jia. He rushed into Wang Xia's old house without any hesitation.
"Come out!" Wang Yangang seemed a bit simple-minded, completely lacking any sense of caution. As soon as he entered the temple, he let out a loud shout.
At his angry roar, "the man who wielded the knife" appeared.
The two looked at each other. "It's you?"
Hu Jia, standing outside the door, felt a jolt. Damn, these two knew each other.
"How can you be here?" they both asked in unison.
However, before "the man who wielded the knife" could answer, Wang Yangang seemed to recall something and turned to leave.
But right at the doorway, Hu Jia blocked his path. "Since you're here, let's talk!"
Seeing Hu Jia's appearance, Wang Yangang became even more certain of his suspicions. "You wrote that note?"
"Tell me about it," Hu Jia did not answer directly, but it was tantamount to giving an affirmative.
"I have nothing to say." With that, Wang Yangang tried to push past Hu Jia and leave.
Hu Jia reached out to stop him. To his surprise, Wang Yangang suddenly pulled out a cleaver from his embrace. Hu Jia quickly retreated. Just as he was about to give chase, "the man who wielded the knife" grabbed him from behind by the waist.
After a brief struggle, Wang Yangang had already vanished.
Hu Jia glared at "the man who wielded the knife." "Do you think he'll come back to save you if he escapes?"
"I owe him my life," the man with the knife said.
"So, he's also part of your organization?" Hu Jia asked.
Seeing the other party's silence, Hu Jia sneered. "It seems so."
...
Lü Qingqing, of course, was unaware of what had happened at Wang Xia's house. When she saw Hu Jia again, he had already issued a general announcement.
The individuals being sought were Wang Yanlin and Wang Yangang.
"I had anticipated Wang Yangang's escape, but I didn't expect Wang Yanlin to flee too. It seems my note alerted them," Hu Jia said.
"What did your note say?" Lü Qingqing asked.
"Life returns to the collective, blood chills first, wind rises across the four seas."
These were precisely the ten characters on the old wall of Wang Xia's house!
Hu Jia said that Wang Xia's death was definitely related to the Wang brothers. He also suspected that Liu Li's death was related to Wang Yanlin, because Guan Jinsong had uncovered another detail.
Wang Yanlin had meticulously detailed every action he took on the day of the incident. He knew what recruitment notices were posted where, and what content they contained; he could recite everything by heart.
However, he had mistakenly recalled the time he went to his friend's house to stay.
The fire occurred around 9 PM. According to Wang Yanlin, after reading the recruitment notices, he went to his friend's house at 9 PM.
But Guan Jinsong's investigation revealed that Wang Yanlin had actually arrived at his friend's house around 9:40 PM.
A person who could recite every detail of their day of the incident by heart, yet mistakenly recalled the time of their lodging – was this an accidental oversight, or was he deliberately trying to conceal something?
The answer was obvious!
Wang Yanlin had memorized those recruitment notices in advance to use as an alibi.
...
Meanwhile, the most bewildered were the trainees from the transmission hall. Weren't they just complaining and lamenting a moment ago? How could Lü Qingqing now tell everyone that the murderer had been identified?
How was it solved?
They didn't know!
Where was the evidence?
They didn't know!
What was the basis?
They didn't know!
Why was Wang Xia the victim?
They didn't know!
But the two suspects Lü Qingqing mentioned had run away, which made them have to believe that the case was indeed solved.
Heh.
The pie falling from the sky was indeed surprising, though it made their heads spin, making them a bit disbelieving.
However, what puzzled Lü Qingqing was that when she heard the case was solved, the murderer identified, and the victim Wang Xia, Tong Meng also showed a surprised expression.
This didn't seem like an act. After all, she was only a third-rate actress, and even her best performance lacked genuine emotion.
Therefore, Lü Qingqing was perplexed. If Tong Meng truly had no idea about the cause, effect, and murderer of this case, then what was the purpose of her existence?
Was it to practice scraping walls?