Chapter 19, Case 1, Part 2: It looks like a crime scene...

After get off work, Shen Qinghuai was delayed by a meeting and didn't leave the company building for more than half an hour.

As soon as he got downstairs, he saw a young woman leaning leisurely against a Roman column by the door, arms crossed, smiling at him.

The smile looked kind and harmless, like a cute little white rabbit, but it sent chills down his spine.

He quickly looked away, trying to pretend he hadn't seen it, but this rascal still rushed up to him and said with a smile, "Hey, old man, can I borrow your car for a bit? It's urgent."

Shen Qinghuai had a terrible headache. His family owned three cars. He usually used a Mercedes to go to work, a BMW was left for Liang Yuting's family, and he had lent a sports car to his nephew.

If he really wanted to borrow a car, he would have to give up his own Mercedes, but then how would he go to see his clients?

He could only turn to Manager Zhao and ask, "Xiao Zhao, where's your car? Give her the keys."

Manager Zhao had a swear word in his name, but he decided against it, since Shen Qinghuai was his boss.

He took out his keys, somewhat puzzled: "Mr. Shen, who is this person? Should we call the police?"

Qiu Xiaoman raised an eyebrow, sized up Manager Zhao, and sneered, "Want to call the police? Don't be shy, I'll help you." With that, she turned around and waved, "Brother Jiang, someone called the police."

Jiang Mingyuan was both amused and exasperated. He silently stepped forward and asked Manager Zhao in a serious tone, "Although it's after get off work hours now, we police officers are on call 24 hours a day. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Manager Zhao was dumbfounded. He looked at his boss and then at the confident Qiu Xiaoman. In the end, he gritted his teeth and handed his car keys to Qiu Xiaoman: "Underground parking lot, parking space 316 in section B."

"Thanks, old man." Qiu Xiaoman waved politely to Shen Qinghuai, called Jiang Mingyuan, and left.

Shen Qinghuai sighed silently. What a mess! He didn't know how he would be entangled with him in the future.

He quickly picked up his mobile phone and called his friend surnamed Jiang: "Help me ask your brother what your nephew is up to with that young girl."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Qinghuai still went to socialize as planned.

Instead of karaoke today, we'll go straight to the hotel for dinner. Manager Zhao is supposed to accompany us anyway, but now that we don't have a car, he'll have to squeeze in with Shen Qinghuai.

He kept staring at Shen Qinghuai the whole way, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Actually, he had just asked earlier that day if the girl asking for money was a relative of Shen Qinghuai, like a brother's child, but Shen Qinghuai refused to say.

Now that a similar situation has arisen again, he still wants to get to the bottom of it: "President Shen, who exactly is that girl?"

Shen Qinghuai remained silent, only tugging at his tie. Manager Zhao understood that President Shen only did this when he was under a lot of pressure.

This girl seems to have some background. Could she be the child of President Shen and another woman?

As this possibility came to mind, Manager Zhao suddenly slapped his forehead. That's right, Mr. Shen cut in line before, so this kid is actually…

But judging from President Shen's attitude, it seems he doesn't want to acknowledge her. Well then, he should just keep quiet. Less talk, less mistakes, and staying away from trouble will keep him safe.

As for the car, even if he drives it away and doesn't return it, it's fine. President Shen definitely won't let him suffer a loss.

Thinking about it that way, I didn't feel so bad about the car that I'd only driven for less than a year. It would be best not to return it to him and instead have Mr. Shen buy him a new one.

*

Qiu Xiaoman sat in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, and gave Jiang Mingyuan directions.

It was as if she had a map loaded in her mind, able to accurately point out every intersection. So much so that when they arrived at their destination, Jiang Mingyuan couldn't help but praise, "Wow, Xiao Qiu, you have a great memory."

Qiu Xiaoman smiled and opened the car door, gesturing for Mango in the back seat to get out.

She didn't rely on the system's help; she genuinely found her way based on her own memory, so she accepted Jiang Mingyuan's praise.

The two walked forward with flashlights, and Mango quickly rushed to the front: "Woof woof, Master, there's a dog over there."

Qiu Xiaoman was quite surprised that she could smell it from such a distance.

Mango's nose is really sharp; she quickly caught up and warned, "Slow down, be careful of your stomach."

Mango turned around excitedly: "Woof woof!"

This is to say, "Don't worry, she knows what she's doing."

Mango quickly rushed to the little wooden house from last time and found a blind, wounded spotted dog.

When the dog saw her coming, it struggled to its feet, circled her twice, and barked as if it were crying.

Jiang Mingyuan heard it from afar, and he looked at Qiu Xiaoman curiously: "Did you arrange that dog too?"

"No, it was Mango who arranged it. I'll go see what's going on. You keep watch around here." Qiu Xiaoman quickly stepped forward and was shocked when she arrived at the wooden house.

The first thing you see is a spotted dog covered in wounds, with bloodstains and several different colors of dog hair on the floor, as well as dog feces and bloodstains splattered on the wall.

It looks like a crime scene.

As for the spotted dog, its wounds had dried and cracked due to the cold weather, revealing bright red flesh and blood.

Qiu Xiaoman quickly turned around and went out: "Brother Jiang, can I borrow your scarf?"

Jiang Mingyuan quickly took it off: "What happened? Are there any wounded?"

"The dog is injured. I'll get you a new scarf later." Qiu Xiaoman quickly returned to the cabin, bandaged the dog, and asked what happened.

The dog wasn't familiar with her, but it was very respectful to Mango. Upon hearing this, it first asked Mango, "Is she your owner? Can I trust her?"

Mango circled Qiu Xiaoman twice, then squatted down, head held high and chest puffed out: "Woof woof, of course! She's a very righteous and kind person. Tell her what you know, and she'll figure something out."

The dog breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still a little curious: "Can your owner understand what we're saying?"

"Of course! My master is amazing! Tell me quickly, what happened these past two days?" Mango urged.

After Qiu Xiaoman finished bandaging his wounds, Hua Gou said, "Xiao Bai came back last night. Not only Xiao Bai, but also a bad guy. They left in a hurry that day. Someone lost their ID card and suspected it was left here. Afraid of being found by the police, they arranged for a man to come back and clean up after dark."

"What are the characteristics of that man?" Qiu Xiaoman quickly asked for key information.

The dog tried its best to describe him: "He's not even as tall as you, he has uneven eyes, a flat nose, walks with a limp, and he's very fierce."

"Very good, Xiaohua, the clues you provided are very useful. Continue, what did he come here for?" Qiu Xiaoman promptly affirmed and encouraged Hua Gou. Unfortunately, she came in a hurry and did not bring any food, so she could not give Hua Gou any material feedback. She could only make it up to Hua Gou when she got back.

The spotted dog wasn't thinking about getting anything in return; he was furious and complained, "It's been snowing lately, and a few other dogs and I have been spending the night here. We never expected someone to come in the middle of the night, especially with sausages, to lure us into a false sense of security. By the time we realized something was wrong, it was too late. My friends and I were all caught in his net. Little White was hiding in the car; when he saw us being caught, he rushed out to save us, but unfortunately..."

"Something happened to Xiaobai?" Qiu Xiaoman realized something was wrong and quickly glanced at Mango. "Can you still detect Xiaobai's scent?"

"Yes, there is, Master, don't worry." Mango reached out her paw and patted the spotted dog's head. "Where did Little White go?"

“We fought back together…they were all killed, only Xiaobai and I escaped.” Huagou said with great shame, sobbing, “I’m sorry, we were just too hungry and didn’t have much strength to fight back. Xiaobai pounced on the man’s leg to give me a chance to escape. I was focused on escaping and didn’t see what happened to Xiaobai afterwards. When I came back, Xiaobai was gone.”

Qiu Xiaoman stood up, pondered for a moment, and quickly turned to go outside: "Brother Jiang, which hospitals in Beidu can administer rabies vaccines?"

"Not many, just a few designated hospitals, what's wrong?" Jiang Mingyuan didn't understand dog language and looked bewildered.

Qiu Xiaoman quickly reminded him, "Let's not sleep tonight. Let's go to these hospitals and check on the people who went to get rabies vaccines today."

Jiang Mingyuan immediately understood: "Was one of them bitten by a dog?"

“Yes, you go back first and find someone to check the vaccination records together. The other person is a short, lame man with uneven eyes and a flat nose. I'll stay here and look for Xiaobai.” Qiu Xiaoman hoped that Xiaobai was still alive, still in some corner, waiting for her and Mango to rescue him.

Jiang Mingyuan refused: "That won't do. You're a young lady. What if something happens to you if I leave you in this desolate place?"

“Brother Jiang, police dog handlers are also part of the public security force. Please treat me as an independent policewoman.” Qiu Xiaoman insisted, “Go quickly. I grew up deep in the mountains of Yunnan. I’m very good at tracking and hiding myself. I’ll be fine.”

Jiang Mingyuan refused no matter what he said. He regretted it a little. He hadn't expected there to be any clues here. After all, the two police officers they left behind had been staking out the area and had only left because they hadn't made any progress.

Who would have thought that the human traffickers would dare to come back and destroy evidence as soon as they left?

What does this mean? It means the human traffickers were aware of our movements all along, indicating there was a mole within our ranks.

In this situation, how could he dare to leave Qiu Xiaoman here alone?

He insisted, "Find Xiaobai first, then you can come with me."

Qiu Xiaoman said helplessly, "Alright, let's go then. Mango, you lead the way. Xiaohua, you wait for us in the car. We'll leave together later."

The dog pleaded weakly, "Please be careful, I'm so sorry I can't help you look for it, it hurts so much, boohoo."

"It's okay, go wait in the car, it's warm there." Qiu Xiaoman stroked the dog's head and carried him to the car.

After locking the car doors and leaving a small crack in the window for the dog to breathe, Qiu Xiaoman asked Mango to lead the way to find Xiaobai.

The snow hadn't melted, making the path through the hill difficult to traverse. Jiang Mingyuan nearly fell several times, while Qiu Xiaoman moved with the agility of a swallow, as if walking on flat ground.

Jiang Mingyuan was quite convinced. It seemed that this young comrade hadn't exaggerated; he really was an expert in the mountains.

Soon, the two people and the dog stopped in front of a cave. Mango turned around and barked, "Master, Little White is inside. She's crying in pain. She's injured! Quick, Master, come with me!"