Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Seeing Qi Mo nod, Huo Huakang spoke up, "If you don’t know how to butcher a pig, I can help you."

Qi Mo replied, "I can manage it myself. By the way, Uncle Huakang, if you still haven’t stored enough food, you can go to Huangjia Village. There are lotus root fields there—you can make lotus root starch."

"You should still be able to buy some now," Qi Mo reminded him.

Hearing this, Huo Huakang immediately brightened. "Oh right, lotus root starch just needs to be mixed with hot water. Thank you, Momo. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely build your heated brick bed properly."

Qi Mo wasn’t in a hurry. "It’s fine. Storing food is the most important thing."

After unloading the sand and cement, Huo Huakang left.

Qi Mo locked the door and went to town again. He bought more canning jars and ordered fifty fermentation crocks—the kind with a fifty-pound capacity each, featuring narrow openings.

Sealable plastic containers were already hard to come by, having vanished from the market entirely.

With the ongoing blackout, warnings issued by officials, and the continuously rising temperatures, everyone had realized how bad things were getting.

After returning with Baby Yan, Qi Mo started boiling water to butcher the pig.

His movements were swift and precise. In his past life, though he hadn’t resorted to cannibalism, it didn’t mean he hadn’t killed before.

Those who were too kind-hearted or timid rarely survived beyond half a year.

To protect himself and Baby Yan, Qi Mo had long since learned to wield a blade against anyone who sought to harm him.

He deftly scraped off the pig’s hair, gutted and cleaned it…

The larger cuts were salted and preserved, while the smaller ones were coated with seasoning for roasting later.

Next came the organ meats—heart, liver, tripe, lungs—though the intestines were troublesome, being small and too precious to waste.

After all, in a few months, these things would become impossible to find.

Bearing the stench, Qi Mo patiently scrubbed them clean with flour and salt, blanched them, and put them in his storage space.

Once the piglet was fully processed, Qi Mo rinsed the yard clean and scattered laundry powder around.

By early afternoon, after cleaning himself up, he spent some time playing with Baby Yan and the cat Snowball…

Last night, the village head and the two young police academy students had been investigating, but it was unclear what they had found.

When Qi Mo went out in the morning, he ran into the village head, who said Huo Jingzhong wasn’t home—he had gone to visit some great-aunt.

Baby Yan and the cat Snowball were napping, so Qi Mo took out a box of peaches to wash.

After cleaning them, he returned to the living room, placing the peaches in a large basin. Beside it was a stainless steel bucket, half-filled with water, doubling as both a container and a pot.

Qi Mo began peeling the peaches, planning to make peach jam. The peaches delivered last night were getting too soft.

Having bought so many things, he had to put them to good use.

Huang Ming, after thinking it over, decided to visit Huo Liangzhou’s house to see that feisty little cat.

There was a knock at the door, and Qi Mo went to open the courtyard gate.

Huo Jingxuan and Huo Jingtan’s young faces popped into view.

Qi Mo looked at the two sweaty young men and immediately greeted, “Come in quick—it’s scorching out here! How did your investigation go?”

Huo Jingxuan studied Qi Mo, who looked like a teenager, around their age but baby-faced and stunningly pretty—no wonder Uncle Liangzhou was hooked.

Huo Jingtan glanced over Qi Mo. Last night’s dim lighting hadn’t allowed a clear look, but now he could see Qi Mo’s fair skin and delicate features—downright gorgeous.

Huo Jingxuan and Huo Jingtan followed Qi Mo inside and first washed their faces at the faucet in the yard.

Qi Mo called to them, “There’s boiled water that’s cooled off at home—don’t drink straight from the tap.”

In the living room, Qi Mo poured them glasses of boiled water before returning to the living area to start peeling peaches.

One by one, the peeled fruits were skinned and plopped into water to prevent oxidation.

“What are you making, Qi Mo?” Huo Jingxuan asked after gulping down his water.

Qi Mo explained, “The pig farm owner gave me a bunch of peaches. Grab the ones with skin still on—go nuts. I’m making peach jam so they don’t go bad.”

Huo Jingxuan set his cup down, pulled over a small stool, and grabbed a peeled peach.

Damn, it was juicy, sweet, and downright tasty.

After setting his cup aside, Huo Jingtan said, “This morning we went to Huo Jingzhong’s aunt’s house in town. Last night, he took his grandson to visit relatives.”

“We broke it down,” he continued, pushing up his glasses. “Your main issue is with Huo Jingzhong’s family. The village hasn’t hit rock bottom yet—people aren’t desperate enough to steal. So we focused on them, but they didn’t cook pork last night—we checked with the neighbors.”

Huo Jingxuan finished his peach, washed his hands, and joined Qi Mo in peeling.

“We looked into Huo Jingzhong’s aunt’s place in town,” he added. “All hell broke loose there late last night—Huo Jingzhong got his eyes clawed out, probably by some big animal. He’s still in the hospital, but he’s gonna be blind, no question.”

Huo Jingtan picked up another peach, peeled it, and took a bite—juicy, sweet, packed with flavor.

“We dug through the trash they threw out,” he said. “Found little pig bones. That pretty much nails him as the thief.”

“But right now, Huo Jingzhong’s still getting treatment in town, so we can’t bring him back yet,” Huo Jingxuan explained, flicking away the peach pit.

Qi Mo watched the two helping peel—they were peeling like pros.

They’d cracked the case in a single day.

“Then we’ll wait for him to come back. No rush on my end. Once I finish processing this pork, I won’t leave anything outside. I’m also planning to secure the well cover better, so no one climbs up using a ladder,” Qi Mo said.

Huo Jingxuan and Huo Jingtan nodded. “Smart move.”

“If you need help, just say the word,” they offered. After scarfing down peaches, they figured they owed him a hand.

As the three worked, the yard gate creaked open again.

Huo Jingxuan stood up. “I’ll get it.”

The gate swung wide, revealing a middle-aged man standing in the yard, squinting in the blistering sun.

Most people wouldn’t know him, but Huo Jingxuan did—it was Huang Ming, the police chief from town.

“Chief Huang! What’s the occasion? Oh, this is Qi Mo’s place. Come in—he’s here,” Huo Jingxuan greeted.

Huang Ming followed him inside. He recognized the kid from the police academy—name escaped him, though, but he remembered seeing him before.

Entering the living room, Huang Ming spotted another young man—likely also from Huo Family Village—who had taken the police academy entrance exam last year or the year before.

Qi Mo looked at the visitor: “And you are?”

He didn’t recognize him—definitely not a local from Huo Family Village. For the older villagers in Huo Family Village, even if he couldn’t recall their names, he at least recognized them on sight.

“Hello, I’m Huang Ming, director of Taohua Town Police Station. I came to see your kitty,” Huang Ming explained.

Hearing this, Qi Mo widened his eyes in shock.

“Word about the kitty I picked up reached the police station? I’m keeping it. Even if it’s you, I won’t hand it over,” Qi Mo refused outright.

Huang Ming quickly smiled. “I’m not here to take your cat. I’m here to understand the situation.”

Relieved that the visit wasn’t about confiscating the cat, Qi Mo eased up. After all, the kitty was now part of his family, and Snowball was thick as thieves with his chubby baby.

With Snowball around, Baby Yan wouldn’t constantly pester him with grabby hands—one moment out of sight and he’d be tapping the floor calling for Dad. Now Baby Yan could play with Snowball…

“I’m Qi Mo. These two are Huo Jingxuan and Huo Jingtan. Director Huang, why do you need to know about my kitty? It’s just a fluffy ball of innocence—it hasn’t broken any laws,” Qi Mo asked.

Hearing this, Huang Ming side-eyed Qi Mo. *You sure you’re talking about your cat?*

Huo Jingxuan turned to Huang Ming. “What’s the deal with this cat?”

Both Huo Jingxuan and Huo Jingtan, having investigated the theft of Qi Mo’s piglets, were aware of the cat he had picked up.

“There is indeed something unusual. This goes back a few days. Because of the incident in Zhang Family Village, Huo Liangzhou sent me a message to keep an eye on people from there. I even arranged cops on night watch near Huo Family Village,” Huang Ming said, skipping what Huo Liangzhou kept from Qi Mo.

But with two cases of eye injuries, Huang Ming had to investigate.

Taohua Town was stirring trouble, but nothing had boiled over yet.

If reports of wild animal attacks spread, all hell would break loose. Huang Ming wanted to keep the lid on things in Taohua Town as much as possible.

“Did people from Zhang Family Village really come?” Qi Mo asked.

Huo Jingxuan and Huo Jingtan had also heard about this. Huo Jingzhong had made sure the whole village heard how Qi Mo supposedly killed someone—no one in the village was unaware.

But Qi Mo, all sweet-faced and quiet, had been reined in by the clan leader and village chief, so things stayed quiet.

Huang Ming nodded. “They came. The night before last, they tried to climb your wall—we caught them.

“One of them climbed over the wall when your kitty clawed his eyes out. He rolled off the wall blind. We found out later from questioning that he was attacked by a cat,” Huang Ming explained.

After hearing this, Qi Mo stood up to wash his hands.

Huo Jingxuan and Huo Jingtan exchanged glances, their expressions shocked. Could it be? Last night, Huo Jingzhong had gotten his eyes gouged out too.

Huo Jingtan asked, “Director Huang, why are you only asking about this today and not yesterday?”

Huang Ming sighed. “Because last night, another villager in town got his eyes scratched out by God-knows-what.”

Qi Mo washed his hands, dried them, then went to the baby playpen to pick up the sleeping kitty, now splayed out like a melted rug.

The sleep-drunk kitty mewed in protest as its father grabbed it by the scruff of its neck.

Qi Mo walked up to Huang Ming and said, “I don’t believe my kitty would hurt anyone. I’ve had it for days, and it gets along well with my baby. You should know how rough kids can be—Snowball has had its tail and ears bitten and been mauled by my toddler, yet not so much as a scratch has appeared on my child.”

Sitting on the stool, Qi Mo squeezed Snowball’s soft, pudgy paw and showed it off. “Look,” he said, “its claws aren’t sharp or hard at all—they’re quite soft.”

Huang Ming watched the kitten being held and squished by Qi Mo, docile and lazy, not even making a peep.

The paw really did look harmless, just like Qi Mo had said.

But when Zhang Ming was brought in, the deep wounds around his eyes were clearly caused by something with sharp claws.

No way this tiny paw could’ve done that kind of damage.

Seeing Huang Ming remain silent, Qi Mo added, “At night, Snowball sleeps in my room with me. I always lock up tight—no way Snowball could’ve gotten out.”

As he spoke, something flashed through Qi Mo’s mind, but he couldn’t catch it.

Never mind—it was probably nothing. His kitten was way too sweet to hurt anybody.

“I heard from Jingtan and Jingxuan that Huo Jingzhong had his eyes gouged out,” Qi Mo asked. “Was it the same as the injury from the guy you caught the other day?”

Huang Ming replied, “You’ve heard about Huo Jingzhong’s injury? Has the news spread back to the village yet?”

“Not yet, but we’re the ones who broke the news,” Huo Jingxuan said.

Huang Ming looked at Huo Jingxuan and Huo Jingtan in confusion. “How’d you two hear? Were you snooping around?”

Huo Jingxuan explained, “No. Yesterday afternoon, Qi Mo’s piglet was stolen. We were up all night digging into it, and all the evidence pointed to Huo Jingzhong.”

“We went to town this morning to check things out and only then found out about Huo Jingzhong’s accident,” Huo Jingtan added.

Qi Mo frowned. “I’m thinking it’s got something to do with the pig. It definitely wasn’t my kitten. There’s gotta be some vicious wild cat on the loose. Why would it show up in two different places?”

“Because both places had piglets?” Huo Jingxuan suddenly interjected.

The kitten nestled in its owner’s arms—good job, even the kitty’s chiming in now, clearing the little one’s name.

After Huo Jingxuan spoke, the two turned to Qi Mo.

Qi Mo nodded. “The night before last, there was already a piglet in my house.”

Huang Ming was puzzled. “What’s the piglet got to do with it?”

“The night before last, Qi Mo already had a piglet. Then last night, Huo Jingzhong stole it. So piglets were involved in both cases, along with the attacking animal—maybe a cat, maybe some other aggressive wild creature. The man you caught last night—he actually saw it was a cat? It was so dark—could he really tell?” Huo Jingxuan barraged him with questions.

Huang Ming frowned.

Even if the guy swore it was a cat, according to Chen Lei's account, a pair of glowing blue eyes appeared on the wall. Hard to say if it was really a cat.

Besides, looking at the tiny kitten in Qi Mo’s arms—no bigger than a fist—could it really scale a four-meter-high wall to attack someone?

Or sneak out, haul ass to town, and zero in on the pig thief? Unlikely.

If it could, we’d be dealing with a feline Sherlock.

Humans wouldn’t stand a chance!

Huang Ming found his own thoughts amusing. Maybe, as Huo Jingxuan suggested, there was a dangerous beast lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike…