Gu Yan traveled through mountains and rivers for a whole day before arriving at Wangjia Village.

The village is located deep in the mountains and forests, and most of the houses in the village are dilapidated.

The mountains here are bare everywhere, and even the grass and water plants are not lush.

In such a poor and remote place, the women in the village have married out and the men are all single, making the place even more depressed.

Gu Yan walked on the mountain road all night and arrived at the village at noon the next day.

Compared to Yejia Village where men farm and women weave, the people here are just sitting lazily under the eaves basking in the sun.

The fields were abandoned, and even the vegetables planted by the roadside were covered with weeds and sparse bean sprouts.

No outsiders had been here for a long time, and as soon as Gu Yan entered the village, he attracted the attention of the entire village.

"Uncle, can Wang Shi live here?"

Gu Yan was a straightforward person, and he didn't beat around the bush, asking for information directly. But he was also a smart man, so no matter whether he knew the person or not, he would pass around a cigarette before talking.

"Which Wang Shi are you looking for? There are several Wang Shi in our village. Are you looking for the old one, the young one, or the younger one?"

The old men took his cigarettes, and the wrinkles on their faces smoothed out a little, and some of them even had a hint of a smile on their faces.

"He's in his fifties or sixties, not too old. He owes me money, and I have to make him pay it back!"

Gu Yan had never met Wang Shi and was just speculating based on the information he knew.

"That Wang Shi, he was caught stealing and cheating in the early years, and he was thrown into jail a long time ago."

An old man was smoking a pipe, his thoughts drifting far away.

It is said that poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people. Ever since all the women in the village were married off, the old bachelors in the village have become restless.

Because his family was poor, Wang Shi was still unmarried in his 40s. He spent his days hanging around in the village and doing a lot of bad things.

"If you're put in jail for petty theft, you shouldn't be in jail for long."

"Who knows him? He's a scumbag who's done so many bad things. Even if he comes back, we in Wangjia Village don't welcome him!"

The old man spent all his family wealth and finally found a wife for his son, but ended up being stolen away by Wang Shi.

In a fit of rage, the son committed suicide by hanging himself with a hemp rope, and the daughter-in-law, unable to bear staying in Wangjia Village, also jumped into the river and committed suicide.

His wife passed away many years ago. He is at an age when he should be surrounded by his children and grandchildren, but now he is left alone.

"Uncle, does no one in the village know Wang Shi's whereabouts? Or does Wang Shi still have relatives in this village?"

"No more, no more. Who can live long with a son like this? His parents would have died of anger at him long ago!"

The clues ended here, but Gu Yan naturally didn't give up. If the matter entrusted to him by Ye Jin was just hastily concluded, the girl would be worried about her sister and would definitely find a way to come to Wangjia Village.

"Then could you tell me where Wang Shi lives? I'd like to go over and take a look."

Even if a person leaves the place where he once lived, there will be traces of his existence.

"It's the shabbiest house at the east end. Go and see it if you want."

"Thank you, sir."

Gu Yan offered the old man another cigarette, and the old man took it with a smile and gave another reminder.

"If you want to go in and take a look, feel free to do so. We'll just pretend we didn't see anything."

What this means is that even if the door is locked, Gu Yan can still pry it open and get in, and the villagers won't care.

I don’t know if it was the effect of the cigarettes, but along the way there were people enthusiastically giving him directions, and some even personally took him to Wang Shi’s doorstep.

"This is it!"

Wang Shi's house was dilapidated, its windows shattered, leaving only empty, black holes. It was unknown how long the family hadn't been home; even the front door was rotten.

"I've been fed up with this shabby house for a long time!"

The young man kicked the door open, and dust fell down. The young man didn't have time to dodge, and his face was covered in dust. He was feeling a little sulky when Gu Yan handed him a cigarette in front of the door. The young man immediately took it with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, brother. Thank you, brother. You are so kind!"

The young man made this trip and kicked this ball just for this cigarette.

Although it is not a good cigarette, the men in the village all smoke dry tobacco, and ordinary people cannot afford ordinary packaged cigarettes.

As soon as Gu Yan entered the house, he smelled a rotten and moldy smell. The sunlight shone in from the door, and under the refraction of the light, he could only see dust flying.

Gu Yan searched the house carefully but found no useful clues. He only found a strange iron chain in a room.

These chains are nice, but they are all made into handcuff shapes, and some are big and some are small, which makes them look very irregular.

There are a total of 10 chains here, and there is a small "cow" character on the first loop of each chain.

Gu Yan weighed the iron chains in his hand. The ten chains put together were quite heavy.

Not giving up, he lifted up the bed boards, turned the bed upside down, and finally climbed onto the beams. He searched carefully, making sure that no corner was left out, and then left the house disappointed.

"Brother, what's going on in the house? Did you find what you wanted?"

The young man was squatting on the steps at the door smoking, with a greedy look in his eyes. Gu Yan simply threw the remaining cigarette and the cigarette box over to him.

"No, it was too long ago, and we didn't find any clues."

Gu Yan looked a little depressed. The young man took the cigarette with one hand and a big smile appeared on his face.

Gu Yan threw the chain aside again and asked casually, "Do you know where this chain was made?"

The young man quickly put the cigarette in his pocket, took the chain and looked at it carefully.

"I've never seen it, but I can ask around for you."

The young man got the cigarette and patted his chest and made promises.

Gu Yan nodded and said politely, "I'll leave you my address. If you have any news, please write to me or send me a telegram."

Gu Yan thought for a moment and took out another dollar from his pocket and put it into the young man's hand.

"This little money is a deposit. If you have any reliable information, I'll pay you 50 times the amount."

"Don't worry, brother. Your business is my business. Just leave it to me."

50 times the reward is equivalent to 50 yuan, which is not something the villagers can earn even after farming for a year.

Now it's just a matter of gathering some information, and once it's done, you can get so much, so young people are naturally willing to do it.

Seeing that it was getting late, if he stayed any longer he would have to spend the night here. Gu Yan patted the young man's shoulder and said familiarly, "Then I'll trouble you with this matter. I'll go back and wait for your good news."

Gu Yan left dragging the chain. Many villagers waved goodbye to him, and some even gave him some worried instructions.

"Young man, it's getting late. There are wolves in the mountains. You'd better stay in the village for the night!"

He put the chain around his neck and walked briskly while thinking.

Winter nights come especially early. When Gu Yan reached halfway up the mountain, it was already completely dark.

“Ouch—”

A wolf howl was heard, followed by a series of wolf howls in response. Dots of light flickered in the woods. Gu Yan slowed down his pace and stared ahead with a serious expression.