Chapter 140 17

Chapter 140.17

Inside the old Ding residence, the conversation continued.

Faced with Li Shang's obvious displeasure, He Lin explained, "I don’t mean we shouldn’t solve this case, but I suggest we pause the investigation temporarily."

As he spoke, he took Li Shang’s hand and sat by the bed, discussing with him, "First, we’ve already done most of the preliminary investigations we can. The most important tasks now are to crack Jiang Lai’s phone and locate Ding Ming's hiding spot. Both of these require us to leave the village. Also, I’m considering your health…"

He Lin didn't see himself as a particularly patient person.

In fact, although he usually appeared approachable and easygoing, able to get along well with the team, those who had worked with him knew that He Lin was actually decisive and action-oriented, firm and swift in his actions.

But when it came to Li Shang, He Lin always found endless patience. Although he often joked in front of Li Shang that, as the leader, he should listen to him, He Lin never truly wanted to pull rank in front of him. So, at this moment, He Lin was more focused on persuading the person before him rather than giving orders.

Moreover, He Lin was struggling to articulate his current feelings. In his impression, Li Shang was someone who understood boundaries, but his behavior in the ice cave at noon had genuinely alarmed him.

Hearing this, Li Shang remained expressionless, dropping his gaze silently and clenching his fists slightly on his clothes.

He Lin then continued to explain his plan: "Our goal is to solve the case, and we’ve already made significant progress in the investigation."

"After leaving here, you can rest and recover. We can also consolidate all the information and evidence. Once Jiang Lai’s phone is cracked and Ding Ming is found and interrogated, we can always come back to continue the investigation."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Shang sincerely and continued to seek his opinion: "Alternatively, we can hand over the relevant materials to the Xincheng police. This case could even be reclassified as a criminal case and handed over to the major crimes unit."

The accommodation conditions in Xincheng were significantly better than here, and there were several relatively large hospitals. If Li Shang’s fever persisted or his old injury acted up, he could receive timely treatment.

Li Shang understood He Lin’s meaning—some things couldn’t be rushed, and the approach He Lin suggested was the most rational.

Unlike Li Shang, who sometimes tended to get tunnel vision, He Lin was more adaptable.

Li Shang had to acknowledge the differences in their working styles. He always charged ahead relentlessly to complete tasks, but for routine criminal investigations, a more indirect approach was often necessary.

Perhaps in this regard, He Lin was indeed more suited to be a leader than he was.

After a moment of hesitation, Li Shang lowered his eyes and compromised: "Alright, we’ll take the early bus back tomorrow."

He Lin finally let out a sigh of relief and said, "Let’s not take the bus. I’ll book a car service to pick us up. It’ll be faster, no need to transfer, and you’ll be more comfortable during the ride."

Li Shang didn’t refuse his kindness. His rising fever made him feel increasingly drowsy and eager to sleep.

As night fell, the wind outside grew stronger, howling like a pack of wolves, putting everyone on edge.

Having made this decision, both of them felt somewhat relieved.

He Lin told Li Shang to rest in bed first while he took the initiative to pack, placing items one by one into the suitcase.

Li Shang lay down for a while before taking out his phone again. The files he had downloaded earlier were already saved, and he wanted to thank Shi Ren, but the message wouldn't go through.

Frowning slightly, he said to He Lin, "There’s no signal on my phone."

He Lin also took out his phone to check. Both the network and mobile signals had disappeared, as if the phone had entered airplane mode.

He Lin reassured him, "The cold front is moving through tonight. The snow should stop by tomorrow, and the signal will likely return by then."

This situation had happened before, and today’s strong wind and heavy snow only made things worse.

It was just that they weren’t used to it, while the locals had long gotten used to it.

Just then, there was a frantic knocking on the door.

He Lin went to open the door and saw Jiang Chongli and his wife standing outside, their faces filled with anxiety.

As soon as they saw him, they urgently said, "Officer He, our Jiang Waner suddenly ran out tonight, saying she was going to the small supermarket to buy something, but she never came back. We went out to look for her and followed her footprints to this area. Have you seen her?"

"No…" He Lin was stunned by the question, then asked, "No one came by just now. Was there anything unusual before she left?"

Li Shang also heard their conversation and looked over with concern.

Jiang Chongli thought for a moment and said to He Lin, "After dinner, around seven o’clock, her phone suddenly rang, as if she received a lot of messages or something."

"Seven o’clock…" He Lin suddenly remembered that was the time when Jiang Lai’s phone had automatically turned on. The signal was still available then, and the phone had automatically connected to the network, receiving some messages. It was possible that some previously undelivered messages had been sent out at the same time.

He Lin’s heart sank.

Could it be that Jiang Waner saw something, which was why she left home?

But now, where could she have gone?

He urgently asked, "Have you asked anyone else? Where else might she have gone?"

Jiang Chongli was already beside himself: "It’s the middle of the night, and the phone signal suddenly disappeared. I’ve asked several households nearby, but no one knows where Waner went."

His wife, Ye Huiyi, also panicked and pleaded, "Officer He, could you please help us find our daughter? What if… what if she ends up like Jiang Lai? What would we do then?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Chongli glared at her: "Don't put that out into the universe. Waner is perfectly fine. She just went out for a while. How could she possibly go missing?"

Ye Huiyi immediately fell silent.

As the three stood at the door, Xie Kaiyun ran over from the other end of the village and said urgently, "Uncle, someone said they saw Jiang Waner heading toward the snow mountain. Should we go into the mountain to look for her?"

Jiang Chongli’s hands trembled: "Yes, I’ll go, I’ll go… Please gather more people to help. Let’s search the mountain together."

Tears streamed down Ye Huiyi’s face as she pleaded with He Lin again: "Officer He, I beg you. Waner trusts you the most, and she disappeared nearby. Could you please help us find her?"

As she spoke, the woman dropped to her knees in the snow outside the door.

Before He Lin could help her up, Jiang Chongli also knelt down and bowed deeply to him: "Please, Officer He, save my daughter!"

He Lin looked at the panicked elderly couple before him. After considering the situation for a moment, he made a decision: "Wait here. I’ll go with you to take a look."

Only then did Ye Huiyi stand up. She glanced into the room and asked, "What about… that other officer… isn’t he coming along?" She then explained, "With one more person, we might find Waner faster."

He Lin refused: "He has a fever and isn’t feeling well. I’ll go with you."

He told the elderly couple he needed to grab something and returned to the room.

Li Shang had already heard their entire conversation. By now, he had pushed himself upright and said to He Lin, "My fever isn’t too bad. I’ll go with you."

He Lin glanced at the drawn curtains and closed door, ensuring those outside couldn’t hear their conversation.

He pressed his forehead to Li Shang’s, feeling the noticeably higher temperature, and refused again: "No need." Then he hugged him and said, "Be good and get some sleep. By the time you wake up, I’ll be back."

He then handed Jiang Lai’s phone to him: "Make sure to keep this phone safe."

Li Shang checked his own temperature—it seemed even higher than before. He didn’t dare to follow recklessly. If his fever spiked suddenly, he might hold him back.

Jiang Waner was missing, and her parents’ desperation was clearly heartfelt. As police officers, they couldn’t ignore this.

Still, Li Shang felt a sense of dread. Why, on another snowy night a year later, was there another phone service outage, and another girl suddenly vanishing into the mountains…

Is this a conspiracy, a curse, or a coincidence?

It seemed that from the moment they entered the mountains, to the red-and-white event, and now Jiang Waner's departure, everything felt eerie.

Li Shang held He Lin's hand and reminded him, "Be careful." He lowered his voice and whispered in He Lin's ear, "One must always be wary of others. You need to confirm Jiang Waner's safety as soon as possible."

He Lin grunted in acknowledgment. He had also thought of it, that this might be a trap—perhaps Ding Ming had returned, or there were other hidden murderers in the village, or maybe there was another reason altogether.

Then He Lin thought of something and looked at Li Shang. Frowning, he asked, "What if this is a diversion to lure the tiger from the mountain..."

He didn’t want to bring Li Shang along, but leaving him alone also made He Lin worry.

Li Shang, however, patted him reassuringly, "There are only this many people in the village. I can handle it. Besides, those people aren't bold enough to go that far."

He Lin nodded. Staying in the village was definitely safer than going out with the others.

As long as Li Shang stayed inside with the door locked, even if someone came, with his abilities, few could do anything to him.

The backpack prepared for the morning hike was still packed, containing water, food, a flashlight, safety ropes, and various equipment. Although there was no signal, He Lin still installed the power bank for his phone, tucked a small dagger into his leg pocket, hid an ice pick in his sleeve, and finally loaded his police pistol and fastened it at his waist.

With all this gear, he was fully armed.

He Lin’s expression was serious and alert, without the slightest relaxation.

Li Shang approached him and slipped an open recording pen into He Lin’s chest pocket.

Once everything was prepared, He Lin turned back, gripped Li Shang’s chin, leaned in for a quick kiss, and then turned away, opened the door, and left with the others.

Instead of heading out immediately, He Lin had Jiang Chongli and his wife lead him along the path to examine Jiang Waner’s footprints.

They advanced against the wind, by the light of street lamps and flashlights, inspecting the traces in the snow.

The ground was covered in a thick layer of snow. Although Jiang Chongli and the others had walked the same path, they carefully avoided stepping on Jiang Waner’s footprints.

Jiang Waner’s shoes had distinct patterns and were easy to identify.

He Lin crouched down not far from the old house, only about ten-plus meters away from where they were staying. Jiang Waner had indeed been in the area—the two old people hadn't lied about that.

But then the footprints changed.

The traces on the ground suddenly became messy.

"There are two additional sets of men’s footprints," He Lin identified, taking a few photos with his phone. "The direction they’re heading..."

He looked up toward the snow mountain wrapped in wind and snow in the night.

"...is Northward Gaze Peak."

.

As soon as He Lin left, the house immediately felt much emptier.

With just one person gone, the temperature seemed to drop as well.

Amid the howling wind outside, disorderly dog barks mixed in.

Li Shang was completely awake; the feeling was as if his heart had gone with He Lin.

He coughed a few times, forced himself to bolster his spirits, put on his clothes, and sat at the table to review all the email materials.

To organize his thoughts, Li Shang took out a notebook and began organizing the materials on paper.

Though he had some fever and felt dizzy, it didn’t affect his working state.

During their time investigating the village, he had managed to match many names with the actual people.

Li Shang made himself concentrate fully, starting with the three case files Shi Ren had retrieved for him.

The cases had occurred around the Spring Festival in previous years, all involving young women who reported being violated. There were police dispatch records, but no actual handling was done against the suspects.

The reasons given were insufficient evidence, vague definitions of criminal acts, and the victims and their families eventually reaching understanding with the perpetrators.

After comparing the cases, Li Shang quickly identified the similarities and differences.

The three cases involved different victims and different perpetrators.

All three incidents took place around the New Year, at night, and the girls had been out on nighttime errands.

Among them was a familiar name: Zhou Xian, the female shopkeeper of the supermarket.

Not long after returning to the village that year, Zhou Xian returned to Hanhua Village, then married, had children... So what was the real reason she had come back to Hanhua Village?

In such a closed-off village, theoretically people should be more cautious after such incidents. Yet these events kept happening repeatedly, contrary to reason.

Combined with what they had learned about Jiang Lai and Jiang Waner’s experiences, a flash of inspiration crossed Li Shang's mind: a terrible thought emerged: "Could someone be doing this intentionally...?"

He remembered something and quickly flipped through the documents Cheng Xiaoyi had provided, which contained all the administrative registrations for Hanhua Village in recent years—including household transfers in/out, marriages, divorces, deaths, and births.

Comparing with the materials, he found the familiar names one by one, his frown deepening.

Shortly after each assault, the girls had married their attackers!

He thought to himself, "What kind of underworld story is this?"

"Is this marriage by capture? Whoever defiles which family's girl, that girl belongs to him?"

He recalled Zhou Xian’s grim, sinister wedding photo, where the woman looked as if she were about to cry, showing no hint of happiness.

And the bride at the red-and-white event, who had resembled a wooden puppet.

Li Shang went back to examine the victim statement records from the three cases.

In each instance, the girls had been required by their parents to go out alone at night.

And each time, the families had quickly forgiven the perpetrators.

Thinking back to the enthusiastic matchmakers and the high betrothal gifts they mentioned...

A chill ran down Li Shang’s spine. He broke out in a cold sweat, shocked by his discovery. Why hadn’t he noticed this earlier?

Li Shang examined those forms carefully, growing more alarmed the more he read. Soon, he uncovered even more issues.

In a seemingly ordinary village like Hanhua, the number of unmarried men and women between the ages of 30 and 50 who were permanent residents was surprisingly low.

Yet the birth rate was abnormally high, defying trends.

Moreover, the annual death toll in the village was noticeably higher than in other villages of similar size.

Putting together the village’s puzzling anomalies, Li Shang felt his heart tighten.

Whoever could do these things and keep them quiet must be someone with influence in the village.

And as for He Lin...

Li Shang checked the time on his phone. It had already been half an hour since He Lin left.

There was still no signal on his phone, and they were completely out of contact.

By now, he couldn’t sit still any longer.

Li Shang stood up, but as he rose too quickly, his vision went black. He swayed slightly, grabbed the table to steady himself, and after taking a moment to catch his breath, the black spots in his vision gradually faded.

His fever seemed worse, but he no longer cared about that.

A bad feeling washed over Li Shang’s heart—He Lin’s situation might be even more dangerous than they had anticipated. He had to get to the bottom of this case now!

He put on his coat, grabbed some medication, and was about to head out when he hesitated, then turned back, and took a few candies from He Lin’s suitcase, stuffing them into his pocket.

After thinking for a moment, he first went to the back door of the Ding residence. By this time, the back gate was closed.

Li Shang hesitated for a moment but didn't try to climb the wall. Instead, he knocked on the door.

The urgent knocking startled the dog in the yard, and the stranger’s presence set off a round of barking.

After a while, a voice came from inside: “Coming!”

Soon after, Village Head Ding walked out looking annoyed: “Who is it at this late hour?”

He grumbled as he opened the door and saw Li Shang standing alone outside. He seemed about to close the door again.

But Li Shang stepped forward, stuck his foot in the doorway and held the gate firmly.

Ding Sheng tried to put him off: “Whatever it is, let’s talk tomorrow morning…”

Li Shang’s voice was cold and firm, leaving no room for refusal: “I have something to ask you.”

Ding Sheng had always assumed He Lin was the team leader. In his eyes, Li Shang was just a lower-ranking officer, and he had no intention of giving him any respect. He tried to pull the door shut but found that despite the officer’s pale complexion, he was stronger than he looked. Even with all his strength, the door didn’t budge.

Ding Sheng strained until his face twisted with effort, but Li Shang remained expressionless, his eyes dark and piercing. He continued, “It won’t take much of your time.”

Ding Sheng’s tone grew impatient: “I said everything I had to say during dinner. If you have the ability, go ask my son…”

Li Shang cut him off: “Did you collude with the Jiang family in advance about that matter?”

Ding Sheng’s pupils flickered slightly, but he still asked, “What matter?”

Li Shang replied, “Defiling those girls—it’s the village’s method of forced marriage.”

He laid it all out there.

The air fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of falling snow.

“Don’t talk about it here. Come inside.” Ding Sheng’s expression changed, he glanced around, suddenly let go, and let Li Shang in.

Once inside, Li Shang asked him, “Who is really in charge of the village?”

He wasn’t referring to Ding Sheng, the village head in name, but the person behind the scenes who controlled everyone.

Seeing Ding Sheng hesitate, Li Shang offered two possible answers: “Jiang Ruoyu or Jiang Jingde?”

One was an elder of the Jiang family, and the other was the former village head.

Ding Sheng looked at him, his expression shifting. He hadn’t expected this junior officer to figure things out so clearly.

Ding Sheng was stunned for a few seconds before regaining his composure.

Village Head Ding sneered, “Figured it out, did you?” He paused before continuing, “Who else but Jiang Ruoyu, the local dictator? But you’re right—Jiang Jingde listens to his father above all else. In a way, they’re a single entity.”

Since Li Shang had already pieced it together, there was no point in hiding it any longer.

On the surface, the village head rotated with each term, but in reality, whoever held the position was merely Jiang Ruoyu’s puppet.

Jiang Shanren and Jiang Chongli, as Jiang Jingde’s brothers and Jiang Ruoyu’s sons, had daughters who also became victims of the village.

Li Shang’s heart suddenly sank—and He Lin…