Stepping out of the police station, the setting sun was already visible. Only then did Lü Qingqing remember that the most important task of the day had not yet been completed.
Without even stopping to eat, she rushed towards Huayan Village.
Halfway there, she suddenly remembered she hadn't brought Hu Jia's memo with her.
Ever since Hu Jia learned he had a fiancée, he had developed a habit. He carried one memo on him and kept another at home.
The one on his person was for recording his usual work and daily life, while the one at home was exclusively for him and Lü Qingqing.
Lü Qingqing was a little worried. If she couldn't get back to the city in time, and Hu Jia were to fall into a state of amnesia again, there might be a repeat of what happened by the Yangtze River.
Tsk, those long, beautiful legs.
She hadn't seen them in a long time.
Ugh.
Lü Qingqing shook her head, mentally chanting: Lü Qingqing, snap out of it, this is not the time to be thinking about that.
The originally not-so-short distance shortened with Lü Qingqing's self-talk and daydreams. By the time she arrived at Huayan Village, it was already close to 9 o'clock.
Just as she entered the village entrance, she saw Ouyang leading a group of people running past.
"Ouyang."
"Why are you here?"
"I came to find Hu Jia. Tomorrow is Monday, and I want to take him back to prevent any trouble." Lü Qingqing glanced at the people behind him and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you patrolling the mountains? Those two brothers are really good at hiding."
Unexpectedly, Ouyang showed a wry smile. "Qingqing, we are looking for Hu Jia."
Huh?
It turned out that after failing to catch anyone for several consecutive days, Hu Jia had become very angry. Thinking about the next amnesia period approaching, Hu Jia became anxious.
Around noon today, someone reported that food had been stolen from the village. Hu Jia suspected it was the Wang brothers' doing and took people to investigate.
However, they never returned from that expedition.
"No one came back?"
"No, only him!"
Lü Qingqing's heart sank. Given Hu Jia's skills, no one in the village should be able to harm him. But even the best horses can stumble. It was possible Hu Jia had fallen prey to someone.
Lü Qingqing quickly found the soldiers who had gone with him and returned. After some questioning, she learned that Hu Jia had voluntarily separated from them midway.
Hu Jia deduced that since the Wang brothers could sneak into the village and steal things without anyone noticing, there must be hidden places in the village that were unknown to people.
And these hidden places were usually where people rarely went. For example, abandoned houses, deep caves, or the granaries of wealthy landlords.
Houses and caves were out of the question; they had been thoroughly searched in the past few days. But the landlords' granaries were a possibility.
The granaries mentioned here were not actual places filled with grain, but generally referred to cellars, tunnels, or underground storage pits built by people.
In the previous years, due to the warlords' conflicts, most villagers would dig cellars in their homes, some even having tunnels connecting them.
Thus, Hu Jia immediately began searching. Finally, they found a disused pit in Wang Xia's ancestral home, right under the stove. If they hadn't been looking for it specifically, who would have found it?
There were clear signs of human activity at the entrance of this cave. Just as everyone thought they would finally catch their prey, an unexpected situation occurred.
As mentioned earlier, Wang Xia's house was located in a secluded spot, with a large locust tree in front and a dirt slope behind.
But no one expected that this tunnel had been dug through the dirt slope, directly connecting to a small patch of woods. Fortunately, this small patch of woods was at the foot of a cliff. Unless you climbed up, you still couldn't get out of the village.
Because of this, Hu Jia concluded that the Wang brothers were hiding in the woods. He ordered them to split up and search, but everyone else returned, and Hu Jia was still nowhere to be seen.
"So, Hu Jia is in the small woods now?"
"But we've already searched, and found no one."
"Let's go, take me there!" Lü Qingqing was decisive. She didn't know what had happened to Hu Jia, but the longer he was missing, the higher the risk.
...
Tong Meng was wearing a white gauze dress. Her fair skin and uncovered chest swayed slightly with her movements.
It was so cold.
This was late December.
Yet, not only could she not wear a coat, but she had to kneel on the floor to receive a reprimand.
"You are very good, you can even ignore my orders now." Master Six's voice was still as kind as ever, but an underlying coldness could be detected.
"Master Six, it's not that Meng'er is disobedient, but rather that I have a long-standing feud with Lü Qingqing. She simply cannot tolerate me," Tong Meng still tried to argue.
This was also what Master Six liked about her; he found this woman to have a unique spirit. Whatever you asked her to do, she would do it. Whether it was lying down or kneeling, this woman would not hesitate.
But as soon as you scolded her, she would definitely argue back.
Her stubborn defiance, coupled with a look of displeasure, gave Master Six a strong sense of conquest.
Her entry into the propagation institute this time was arranged by Master Six. His original intention was for Tong Meng to befriend Lü Qingqing so that they could discover Feng Si's whereabouts. But Tong Meng was unwilling. In her words, she felt a surge of anger the moment she saw Tong Meng. She couldn't pretend to be calm in front of her.
Master Six cupped Tong Meng's chin. "But if you don't befriend her, how will you complete the task I gave you?"
Tong Meng remained silent, her eyes still holding a stubborn glint. "If you let me kill her, I would do so without hesitation. But if you ask me to smile at her and try to please her, I really can't help it."
"Hahahaha..." Master Six's fingers brushed across Tong Meng's face. "There aren't many women who are willing to speak the truth these days."
As he spoke, his hand began to move downwards. "You are a woman who likes to speak the truth."
Suddenly, his palm reached her chest and squeezed hard. "Does it hurt?"
Tong Meng winced. "It hurts!"
"Heh, indeed, you are a truthful woman. I like hearing you speak the truth..."
After a tumultuous session, Tong Meng got out of bed.
Damn it!
It really hurt. This old pervert.
"Lü Qingqing has already started suspecting there's a mole in the police force. Who do you think would be a good candidate to replace that spot?" Master Six lay on the bed, watching Tong Meng put on her clothes, a look of satisfaction on his face.
Tong Meng was startled. "A mole? She suspects me?"
"It's likely you are on her list," Master Six said.
"Why not just kill her? If she's dead, there's no need to worry about any mole," Lü Qingqing turned around, only to see Master Six looking at her with a chilling gaze. This made her heart skip a beat.
Tong Meng knew very well what that look from Master Six represented. Just moments ago, even though Master Six was reprimanding her, she hadn't seen any emotional fluctuation in his eyes. But now, she could clearly feel that Master Six was angry.
"Master Six," Lü Qingqing quickly knelt down, her head bowed low, not daring to make a sound.
This was also what Master Six liked about her; she could be stubborn when necessary, but also submissive when required.
Masters liked little wildcats, but they didn't like wildcats that couldn't be tamed.
"Don't let me hear such words again in the future." Master Six withdrew his cold gaze and waved his hand, telling Tong Meng to get out.
Tong Meng lowered her eyes obediently and closed the door. The moment she turned around, her submissive gaze changed.
She didn't understand why Master Six kept Hu Jia alive, nor did she wish for Hu Jia to be killed. But why couldn't Lü Qingqing be killed either?
Furthermore, how did Master Six know that Lü Qingqing suspected a mole in the police force?
Had the spies around him gotten so close to Lü Qingqing?
...
Torches flickered like scattered stars throughout Huayan Village.
Lü Qingqing had been searching this small patch of woods for a long time. There were no signs of a struggle, no dropped items belonging to Hu Jia, no trace of the Wang brothers, and no response whatsoever.
Hu Jia, where exactly are you?