Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The trio came out of the neighbor's house and stood at the entrance of the Miao family’s courtyard, where white cloth had already been hung on the gate.

The courtyard gate was wide open, allowing a clear view of Sun Qin's room.

The door to her room was open, revealing a dark interior that looked like a gaping maw, sending chills down one's spine.

It was unclear whether it was psychological, but Sun Qin's room seemed particularly cold and eerie.

The case remained unsolved, so although Sun Qin's body had been taken away, her room had not been tidied up and remained as it was.

Wang Heizi spoke with certainty, "The murderer must be Zhou Qiang. Let's go catch him now!"

"Have you forgotten how close we came to losing our lives last time?" Tang Qingqing said irritably.

Wang Heizi rubbed his nose; he had indeed been terrified then, thinking his life was over, but now it was something worth boasting about.

Miao Shuixiu emerged from the eastern wing of the house, looking nervous and avoiding eye contact.

Suddenly, she spotted several shadows in the corner of her eye, which startled her and made her scream.

"What's wrong? What's wrong!" Aunt Luhua rushed out upon hearing the commotion.

Old Lady Zhang and Old Man Miao were also anxious, trying to get out of bed. With such a major incident happening at home, both elderly people had collapsed.

Miao Shuixiu took a closer look and realized it was Tang Qingqing and the others, immediately feeling relieved.

Since they had been discovered, Tang Qingqing stepped into the courtyard.

Aunt Luhua saw them and hurriedly asked,

"How is your uncle? Qingqing, your uncle couldn't possibly be the murderer. He can't even kill a chicken, how could he be a killer? Please help me plead with the Public Security Bureau to release him quickly."

Aunt Luhua's eyes were red. She had just returned from her natal home yesterday to find this major incident.

Her husband had been taken away, and the whole family was at a loss about what to do.

Tang Qingqing approached and held Aunt Luhua's hand, patting it reassuringly,

"Aunt Luhua, Accountant Miao was only taken for routine questioning. He will be back by tomorrow at the latest."

"Really?"

"When have I ever lied to anyone?"

Hearing Tang Qingqing's words, Aunt Luhua felt relieved.

She knew the weight of Tang Qingqing's words and trusted her abilities. If she said it was fine, it must be fine.

"We are innocent. We really don't know why that person targeted Sun Qin and didn't harm anyone else in the courtyard. We may have had some conflicts, but who doesn't have conflicts? It's impossible to think of killing someone over such trivial matters."

"My little brother-in-law is definitely not that kind of person. I raised him myself, so I know his character very well. No matter how angry he gets, he wouldn't do something like this. Besides, he treated Sun Qin well."

"To put it bluntly, we still live in this house. How could he do something like this here? He is so filial, he wouldn't want to scare his parents. The children are hiding in their rooms, too scared to come out. They have nightmares every night just thinking about the opposite room."

If it weren't for the Public Security Bureau's order to stay put, Aunt Luhua would have taken her children back to her natal home for a while.

Living here was terrifying. Thinking about Sun Qin's gruesome death sent shivers down her spine.

"Aunt Luhua, I came here to ask you a few questions."

"What? Go ahead."

"Do you know Zhou Qiang?"

Aunt Luhua was taken aback and took a moment to react.

"Oh, you mean Qiangzi? Of course, I know him."

Aunt Luhua's expression changed, "Why are you suddenly asking about him?"

Tang Qingqing did not answer and continued, "Did you see him when you went to your natal home for the wedding?"

"Yes, he was sitting next to your uncle. Your uncle got drunk because of him."

Aunt Luhua still felt upset about it. Accountant Miao had a low tolerance for alcohol, but he rarely drank, so he seldom got drunk.

He had something important the next day, so he was usually careful.

But Zhou Qiang kept urging him to drink, using various excuses if he refused, so Accountant Miao ended up drinking too much.

Tang Qingqing and Zhai Hongyi exchanged glances.

Zhai Hongyi asked, "Did he know that Sun Qin had a lot of money?"

Aunt Luhua's expression changed, as if she had thought of something.

"Recently, my younger brother Jian Gong received a bonus and sent it to Sun Qin along with an allowance. The old lady complained about not getting any of it. At that time, Zhou Qiang said he would help the old lady teach Sun Qin a lesson."

Aunt Luhua looked flustered, "The old lady was just talking casually. Every mother-in-law complains about her daughter-in-law. She was equally harsh when talking about me. Could Qiangzi have taken it seriously?"

"When was the last time he came here?"

Aunt Luhua thought for a moment, "It must have been almost a month ago. Sometimes he comes frequently, sometimes he disappears for months."

"Does he know about Tang Qingqing's abilities?"

"Of course, everyone in our commune knows about Qingqing's abilities. Besides, our brigades are not far apart, and Qingqing has solved a theft case in their brigade before, so they are quite familiar with her."

Tang Qingqing is the pride of Rongshan Brigade, and the people in the brigade often mention her when they are outside.

Especially since Tang Qingqing's presence, theft cases have noticeably decreased.

Thieves know there is such a capable person here, and they fear being caught after stealing, so they avoid this area.

This makes everyone even more eager to spread the word, hoping that Tang Qingqing can deter those with ill intentions.

Leaving the Miao family, the trio headed straight for the captain's house to inform him of their latest findings.

Without hesitation, the captain summoned the militiamen and decided to go immediately to apprehend Zhou Qiang, taking him first to the local police station.

"Qing girl, are you sure it's Zhou Qiang and not Miao Xiaohui?"

The captain's hands were shaking; as the captain, he did not want to see a promising young member of the brigade go astray.

"The perpetrator is not Miao Xiaohui, but Zhou Qiang is a major suspect."

The captain clenched his fists, "Alright, that's enough for me."

"Captain, I'll go with you."

"What will you do? I'll take him to the police station, and the officers will interrogate him."

"I need to see it with my own eyes to be more certain it's him."

Hearing this, the captain no longer hesitated, "Alright, let's go together."

If Tang Qingqing went, Zhai Hongyi and Wang Heizi would naturally follow.

Led by the captain, the militiamen marched with vigor and determination, their faces showing satisfaction.

They had previously learned that Miao Xiaohui was a major suspect, which left them feeling uneasy, as Miao Xiaohui was their hero!

If he had killed his wife over something trivial, they wouldn't know how to describe their feelings—anger, frustration, and regret all mixed together.

Now that the culprit wasn't Miao Xiaohui, they felt relieved.

Despite making a lot of noise on the way, upon reaching Bai Tou Mountain Brigade, the group suddenly became quiet, acting as if they were just visiting.

The captain first sought out the local officials. The captain of Bai Tou Mountain Brigade, Captain Ma, upon learning the situation, immediately led them to Zhou Qiang's house, only to find it empty.

Captain Ma asked Zhou Qiang's wife, "Where is Zhou Qiang?"

Zhou Qiang's wife was thin and small, her gaze filled with fear. Any loud voice would make her tremble.

"I, I don't know."

"How can you not know where your husband is?"

Neighbors, having seen the commotion, curiously peeked over the wall to observe the situation.

Upon hearing this, one shouted, "Zhou Qiang didn't come back yesterday. He must be somewhere else again."

"Do you know where he is?"

The neighbor's eyes darted around, and Captain Ma knew something was amiss.

"Hurry up and tell us. Zhou Qiang has gotten into serious trouble, and we need to find him quickly."

"If I tell you, you can't say it was me. Otherwise, I'll be dead meat."

"Stop stalling! Hurry up!"

The neighbor slid down from the wall, came over to Captain Ma, and whispered,

"Captain Ma, you can't betray me. If you do, that guy will kill me. You don't know how ruthless Zhou Qiang is."

Captain Ma frowned, "Tell me what happened."

"He must be at the quarry right now."

It was already past eight in the evening, and many families had gone to bed. Why would he be at the quarry at this hour?

"When did he become so diligent?"

"Come on, you know what I mean." The neighbor winked at Captain Ma.

"Are your eyes twitching?"

The neighbor slapped his thigh anxiously, "You know what I mean!"

Zhai Hongyi: "Is there a gambling game going on there?"

"That's what you said, not me. It has nothing to do with me."

After saying this, the neighbor slipped away home and closed the courtyard gate.

Captain Ma's face turned red with anger. He thought he had everything under control, but he didn't know about the gambling den on his turf, especially exposed in front of outsiders!

"Let's go now! Damn it, if I catch them, I'll skin them alive!"

Captain Wang Changfu of Rongshan Brigade remained calm, "Call your militia too. If there really is a gambling den, they'll scatter faster than anyone. We're not familiar with the area and might lose them."

Captain Ma reacted and quickly sent someone to gather the militia.

Wang Changfu added, "We need to search the house, or you can search while we watch."

This isn't their territory, so they can't enter the house without permission.

Captain Ma didn't want other squads searching his turf either, so he decided to go in himself.

Zhou Qiang's wife showed no resistance and silently stood aside with her child.

Captain Ma searched for a long time but found nothing.

Tang Qingqing had been watching Zhou Qiang's wife, hoping to read something from her expression. Then she noticed that Zhou Qiang's wife kept staring at one spot.

There was a pile of firewood there, and Tang Qingqing, on a hunch, walked over and moved the wood aside but found nothing.

Tang Qingqing scratched her head. Had she overthought it?

"What's wrong?" Zhai Hongyi approached.

"I saw Zhou Qiang's wife staring here, so I thought there might be something."

Zhai Hongyi glanced around and used his foot to clear away some dust and twigs, revealing a stone slab beneath.

He moved the slab aside, revealing a hole underneath.

Inside the hole was a bundle wrapped in clothing. Zhai Hongyi pulled out the bag and opened it, finding a recorder, a watch, a flashlight, and a stack of money and coupons.

After a quick count, there was over eight hundred yuan.

When Tang Qingqing saw the piece of clothing, she exclaimed, "This is Teacher Sun's clothes; I've seen her wear it before!"