A side room of the village chief's house.

Erlaizi sat cross-legged on the kang, sniffed, and didn't even look at Lian Xiao and Xu Xinghe.

No matter what they said, he pretended not to hear it.

He had already made up his mind that he would not say anything unless the evidence was presented to him!

Xu Xinghe sighed, "When you were in the mourning hall just now, you heard that your father was murdered. Didn't you feel sad? Erlaizi, that was your own father, the one who raised you with his own blood and sweat! He was beaten to death. Are you really willing to let the murderer get away with it?"

Erlaizi huddled deeper into the blankets. What was the use of being resigned to it? The person was already dead; could they possibly come back to life?

If his father is truly watching from heaven, he would surely want him to live a good life.

The father didn't leave any inheritance before he died, but now that he's gone, he can ask his son for compensation. He'll definitely be happy to do so!

Erlaizi thought about it more and more and it made more sense. Anyway, if he became a father in the future, he would educate his son in this way!

Lian Xiao slammed his fist on the wall. "You scoundrel, stop pretending you can't hear me! What do you know? Tell me now!"

Erlaizi retorted irritably, "I don't know anything! Don't you have experts? Why don't you just let the experts investigate?"

Lian Xiao became famous. He stepped forward, and the imposing presence of his height made Er Laizi tremble involuntarily.

“We’re giving you a chance! This case is now confirmed as murder, and the military and police will be working together to investigate. If you keep the clues to yourself and fail to report them when the investigation comes out, you’ll be an accomplice!”

As he spoke, he raised his fist, trying to scare him.

Before she could even touch Erlaizi, he jumped back like a cat with its fur standing on end, yelling at the top of his lungs, "They're hitting people! They're hitting people! Lian Xiao and Xu Xinghe are hitting people! What are they trying to force a confession into? Right, they're trying to force a confession into a coerced confession!"

Do you really think he doesn't understand?

He had learned quite a few words from Shen An before!

Erlaizi shouted as he ran towards the kang (a heated brick bed), the sound of which almost shook the dust off the roof!

“My father died, and you all came to my house to bully me. I’ve already said I don’t know anything, so why are you hitting me? Do you think ordinary people are easy to bully? Are you planning to beat me until I admit my mistake and then frame me?”

Lian Xiao's face turned pale with anger, and he clenched his fists, ready to chase after him.

He's determined to teach this kid a lesson today!

Erlaizi took off running outside.

I'm missing one shoe.

He ran and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Murder! The military has killed someone!"

"Help! Someone's trying to kill me!"

Lian Xiao laughed angrily, "Who said I wanted to kill you?"

Erlaizi ran all the way to the center of the village before finally stopping. He plopped down on the ground, slapped his thigh, and wailed, "My father died unjustly! He hasn't been buried yet, and now he's being cut up. The military is bullying me, interrogating me and even hitting me. They're trying to force a confession out of me! How could I possibly harm my own father!"

His cries were sharp and piercing, quickly alarming the surrounding villagers.

Seeing that there were many people around, Er Laizi cried even harder, "Lian Xiao and Xu Xinghe came to my house and insisted that I know who the murderer is. If I knew, could I not tell them? Lian Xiao even tried to beat me up. He's bullying me because I don't have a father to back me up!"

He was howling and sniffling, and coughing every now and then.

Lian Xiao clenched his fists angrily outside the crowd, and several times he wanted to rush up and lift up this unruly kid, but Xu Xinghe held him back tightly!

"Don't be impulsive," Xu Xinghe said in a low voice. "There are a lot of people here. If you really make a move, you'll fall into his trap. Then the military will accuse you of assault, which will affect you. Let's go. He probably won't say anything for a while. Let's go back to the military headquarters first."

She was going to leave with Political Commissar Wang to see the autopsy results from the military headquarters.

Lian Xiao didn't want to stay any longer either. "This scoundrel is now resistant to me. Let's have someone else keep an eye on him. Maybe we can persuade him."

The two turned and left, going to find Zhang Cishu together. They got into Political Commissar Wang's car and headed to the military headquarters.

The commotion was quite loud, disturbing Xu Mingli, who was fast asleep.

He slowly opened his eyes, his face still pale, his lips chapped and peeling, and the stray hairs on his forehead were soaked with cold sweat and stuck to his skin.

His whole body felt weak, and even the slightest movement sent piercing pain through the wound on his forearm.

He turned to the side with difficulty, and asked Feng Qiushi, who was standing guard beside him, in a hoarse voice, "Who's shouting outside? Is it Er Laizi?"

Feng Qiushi's expression was also not good. When he heard Xu Mingli ask, he could only nod with a forced smile, "Yes, it's him."

What is he shouting?

"It seems like the military interrogated him just now, asking if he knew any clues. He got upset, so he ran out and started making a scene, yelling that he was assaulted, that he was being tortured into confessing, and even that he was being murdered..."

"Interrogation?" Xu Mingli's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly sank to the bottom. Even the pain from his wounds was overwhelmed by the sudden panic.

He tried to sit up, but he was too weak and fell back onto the kang (a heated brick bed), his breathing becoming rapid. "They've started interrogating Er Laizi? Why are they suddenly interrogating him?"

“Maybe they think he’s hiding something…” Feng Qiushi was actually quite panicked too. “When you came back during the day, I told you that the experts found out it was murder. The military already suspected the villagers, and Er Laizi had been preventing the autopsy, so they must be watching him.”

Xu Mingli closed his eyes, his mind filled with Er Laizi's ugly, pockmarked face.

He is greedy and cowardly. If the military really interrogates him seriously, how long can he hold out?

What if I get scared and confess everything?

He confessed that he had given him the gold, and that he had killed his father…

Cold sweat trickled down his temples, soaking his pillowcase.

Xu Mingli could imagine that once Er Laizi spoke, the military would immediately come looking for him.

All his pretense will be torn apart!

His crime of murder will be fully exposed!

At that point, forget about revenge; you won't even be able to take the Xu family's assets, let alone save your own life!

"Er Laizi, you absolutely mustn't give in..." Xu Mingli clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, but he felt no pain at all.

He really didn't understand how things had turned out this way.

His purpose was clearly to suppress Jiang Linchuan, to falsely accuse him of accepting bribes that led to someone's death, so that he would be suspended from his post or even expelled from the military.

As a result, Jiang Linchuan is perfectly fine now, but he has turned into this state!

But no matter what, this matter absolutely must not be exposed!

And Er Laizi is now the biggest variable...

Looking at Xu Mingli's deathly pale face, Feng Qiushi panicked as well. "Then... what do we do now? If Erlaizi really confesses... Shen An, should we turn ourselves in? Let's not make another mistake!"

She was under immense pressure. Lately, she hadn't been getting enough sleep, sometimes less than four hours a night. The first thing she thought about every morning when she opened her eyes was where the military had gone and whether they had found anything about them.

Moreover, at the slightest sound at the door, she would become like a frightened bird, always afraid that someone would suddenly rush in and take them away!

Xu Mingli glared at her fiercely, "He won't say it. If he dares to say it... I'll risk my life to shut him up!"

Feng Qiushi covered his mouth in fear, unable to hold back any longer, and ran out.