Investigation obstructed

Snap!

In front of dozens of people in the room, Secretary-General Xie slammed his fist on the conference table: "He Hu Zi, don't undermine unity! You're making a mistake by filing a case based on a few statements from the Socialist Party without any factual basis."

"Who is undermining unity? Testimony has always been one of the bases for filing a case. The testimonies of several people all point to Xie Gaosheng. If he has nothing to hide, he can cooperate with our task force's investigation. We will not wrong an innocent person, nor will we let a criminal go free." He Shuying retorted with a strong voice.

"He Hu Zi, you're desperate for merit. Although that child is illiterate, I've watched him grow up since he was a child. He may have made some minor mistakes in his lifestyle, but he's not a bad person at heart. Someone is definitely trying to settle a personal score and slander him." As soon as Secretary-General Xie finished speaking, several cadres behind him echoed his words, and the referee department was not to be outdone.

The meeting room was filled with arguments. The shouting match between the two sides of the long table had been going on for several days. He Shuying could hardly remember how many times Secretary-General Xie had come to obstruct their investigation.

Secretary-General Xie, as Xie Gaosheng's introducer to the Party, was a fellow villager and elder. Based on the outdated idea that "if one suffers, all suffer; if one prospers, all prosper," he disregarded the facts and vehemently favored Xie Gaosheng. At first, he secretly came to pass notes, but later he simply led a team to force the referee department to release him.

No, he wasn't protecting Xie Gaosheng, but his own bright future. He couldn't let his resume be tainted in the slightest. Thinking of this, He Shuying felt even more contemptuous. Like father, like son.

"Secretary-General Xie, we are investigating a series of murders, which are extremely heinous. Now, for your own sake, you are disregarding the laws of the Soviet Area, protecting the suspect, and falsely accusing the victims. Do you have any respect for the oath you took before the Party flag back then?" He Shuying became more and more agitated as she spoke, and stood up abruptly, pointing her finger at Secretary-General Xie's nose.

The political and legal cadres next to He Shuying couldn't help but speak out in support.

"If you want to act like an official, don't try to be our colleague! Our referee department doesn't buy into your bureaucratic style."

"Although the laws of the Soviet area are still being compiled and supplemented, murder and robbery are capital crimes in any dynasty or era, without exception!"

"Pah! What socialist party? All we've interviewed are poor people. You haven't done any investigation and are just distorting the truth for your own selfish interests. How are you any different from the original oppressors?"

"You...you just wait and see!" Secretary Xie's face turned ashen. He snorted coldly and left, leaving the conference room almost empty.

Once the bystanders left, He Shuying continued to discuss the case with her comrades. They now had roughly three directions for the investigation: smuggling, murder, and opium trafficking.

The murders are the most difficult to find. The bodies of the previous victims are likely to have been eaten by wild animals and are hard to find. Only the recently deceased Awang may have some bodies and eyewitnesses. Hopefully, the comrades who are investigating will have some results.

The evidence for the opium trafficking is conclusive, but Lu Wei, who had direct contact with Xie Gaosheng, is in a coma and cannot testify. The statements of the other agents who changed their tune are awkward and not convincing enough. The male homeowner has a personal grudge against Xie Gaosheng, which could be used by someone with ulterior motives to frame him.

The female homeowner seemed determined to resist to the end, even going on a hunger strike during the interrogation. Secretary Deng had no choice but to detain her for the time being and interrogate her later.

In addition, Wu Hao hoped to suppress the news about Zero and hand it over to Comrade Zhao Fengnian for a secret investigation.

The court could use murder and smuggling as grounds for filing a case to avoid alerting the lurking big spy and letting him escape punishment. The opium trafficking line was temporarily transferred.

The case returned to the initial smuggling case. Jiangxi does not produce salt, and all salt had to be purchased from other places. Coarse salt grains were more precious than pearls of the same size. In the Soviet area, salt was a hard currency comparable to gold and silver.

The peasant woman who reported the case had received ten catties of coarse salt and two catties of fine salt from Xie Gaosheng. She later donated the ten catties of coarse salt to the Military Commission to support the front line. This matter has been verified to have a donation record.

According to the male homeowner's statement, Xie Gaosheng smuggled mostly salt. The fact that he could casually hand over twelve catties of salt indicates that he had even more stock at home. However, a search of his house yielded nothing, suggesting that the guy must have another warehouse.

I heard from the neighbors that Xie Gaosheng's wife recently went back to her parents' home. If the investigators in Huangbai Village find Xie's wife and try to reason with her to get clues, they might be able to make a breakthrough.

Time is too tight; we must find solid evidence before they do anything. Is there anything else we haven't thought of?

Dodo!

Looking up, Zhang Hairui stood outside the door, smiling as he held a tightly wrapped box: "Old He, you sent a package home. It's probably for work. Your wife asked me to bring it to you."

"Oh, Brother Zhang, thank you so much. Come in and have a seat." He Shuying said gratefully, taking the rather heavy package with both hands. It was sent by Huang Baicun. He casually handed it to his investigators and told them to open it.

"No, I like sunbathing, cough cough." Zhang Hairui coughed twice, his sunken cheeks were bloodless, and even standing in the scorching sun, his hands looked cold.

“Your health isn’t what it used to be. What if you get heatstroke?” He Shuying immediately pulled her under the eaves.

When the two reached a secluded spot, Zhang Hairui asked with concern, "Have you found the gentleman who is recuperating in Jiuhua Mountain?"

"No, the people I sent haven't returned yet." He Shuying shook her head.

“Even if you don’t find Mr. Deng, you need to have a backup plan. Recently, some comrades have a lot of complaints about you and may go to the Central Bureau to deal with you. Communicate more with Secretary Deng. Although he is young and a parachuted cadre, he was the political commissar of the Seventh Red Army after all, and he still has prestige. He can help you win more support.” Zhang Hairui said all he wanted to say.

He was well aware that his work would offend certain powerful figures, and recently, various rumors targeting him had been rampant.

There were even rumors that the Central Bureau was going to dismiss him, but as long as he was in the court, he would do one more thing for the people. He Shuying felt that the burden on his shoulders had become even heavier. Sometimes, handling cases was like a tug-of-war, and whoever had more supporters had a better chance of winning.

Unfortunately, as the tug-of-war goes on for a while, some people forget why they are even playing. They just pull their weight wildly. There are only so many spots in the front row, and to maintain stability, those in the front row suppress those in the back, while those in the back ostracize those tied to the very end of the rope. Little do they know that those they look down on, those at the very back, are the very pillars of our Party.

Fortunately, there is still a group of people who remain true to their original aspirations and firmly believe that justice and truth will ultimately triumph over all conspiracies and darkness. He Shuying is one of them.

ah--

A sharp scream shattered the tranquility of the sky. He Shuying rushed into the conference room. Two young women huddled together in terror, huddled in a corner, and a nauseating stench filled the room.

Following their gaze, He Shuying found the source of the stench: a headless dead rat lay in a brownish-red liquid, its rotting, greenish body crawling with wriggling white maggots. Next to the dead rat was an overturned wooden box.

Zhang Hairui, who was following closely behind, frowned. The two looked at each other for a second. He Shuying reached out and stopped the male investigator who wanted to clean up. Her expression changed from unease to excitement. The case was stuck, and they could not easily let go of the evidence that was delivered to their door.

"Xiao Lan, go to the blacksmith shop and have Master Liu grind some fine aluminum powder or fine lead powder, as fine as flour." He Shuying turned her head and snapped her fingers at the female investigator. "Girls, don't just stand there, quickly go to the propaganda department next door and borrow a camera. We need to collect evidence."

Zhang Hairui adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and said uncertainly, "Old He, there seems to be another letter on the box lid."

In fact, He Shuying had already seen the letter. The envelope was stuck to the lid of the box and was not contaminated by the corpse fluid. He took out his handkerchief and carefully pulled the letter out of the envelope.

With a clatter, two bullets bearing red marks fell onto the cement floor. He Shuying glanced at them, then continued reading the letter. The letter, written in a crooked hand, read: "Immediately cease the investigation of Xie Gaosheng, or else..."

Threatening letter! Instead of getting angry, He Shuying laughed: "Comrade Zhang Hairui, you have to testify for me that no one has touched this box lid before."

Zhang Hairui, standing beside him, angrily assured him, "No problem! I can even testify for you at the Central Bureau. These people are simply lawless! If they had nothing to hide, why would they threaten you?"

“The closer we get to the truth, the more afraid they become, which means my investigation is on the right track.” He Shuying squatted down and carefully examined the bullets. These two bullets seemed to be a size larger than the ones we usually use, but not as long as rifle bullets.

Cough cough cough... A few coughs pulled He Shuying back to reality. He got up and helped Zhang Hairui catch his breath with concern: "Old Zhang, your lungs aren't good, don't stay here breathing in this foul air. Xiao Jin, help me take Comrade Zhang back to the Agricultural Committee."

Zhang Hairui covered his mouth and nodded, saying in a hoarse voice, "Whenever you need me to testify, I will definitely do so without hesitation."

After being escorted to the main gate, He Shuying was about to go back to continue her investigation when she caught a glimpse of Sun Dadan. He was coming out of the Military Commission with a big smile on his face, which meant that his crimes had been explained.

"Battalion Commander Sun, what's the good news? You're grinning from ear to ear." He Shuying asked, waving her hand.

Sun Dadan ran over, excitedly recounting how he had been wronged and how he had cleared his name. It turned out that he had returned to the city from patrol that day, and the canteen was already empty. He was so hungry that he wanted to go out and buy something to eat.

He had just reached a steamed bun vendor when a drunk man leaned on him, spilling alcohol all over him. He didn't mind, bought some food, and went back to his shift. He was so tired after eating that he fell asleep without even changing his clothes, and was caught red-handed by the inspectors. Fortunately, he had witnesses to help him explain everything.

"It's good that you're alright. Just do me a small favor, consider it a good start to the resumption of work." He Shuying dragged Sun Dadan into the house.

After gesturing for a while, Sun Dadan put away his pistol and stated with great certainty that the two bullets on the scene were not the commonly used 7.63mm caliber, but rather the larger 11.43mm caliber.

This bullet could be used with an imported large-caliber pistol, the name of which Sun Dadan couldn't recall for a moment. In any case, he had seen it on a captured White Army officer, and he had worn it until it was almost patina-like before handing it over.

Upon hearing this, He Shuying frantically searched through the pile of evidence and finally found a gun wrapped in oil paper. He quickly took it out and showed it to Sun Dadan for identification.

"Yes, yes, this is the best one, it's so new, it hasn't even been oiled." Sun Dadan's gun obsession kicked in, and he touched the gun with eyes full of fascination. "Wait, this gun... looks like a replica. It's okay, I like replicas too, hehe."

"Imitation? How do you know?" He Shuying asked.

Sun Dadan explained that the imported gun had two rows of small foreign characters engraved on the barrel above the trigger. He was a roughneck and didn't know what they meant, but he knew that the foreign characters were deep and clear, so they must have been engraved with a large machine.

Although this one also has foreign characters printed on it, the engraving is shallow and there is some displacement, as if it was hand-stamped with a steel stamp. It would be best to compare several of them to confirm.

"Could it be a sample from the Hanyang factory?" He Shuying asked patiently.

"Then you have to let me take it apart and have a look." With He Shuying's tacit approval, Sun Dadan slowly disassembled the interior, blowing and examining it. Experts see the details, while laymen just watch the show. He Shuying, completely clueless, could only wait.

After a while, Sun Dadan said seriously, "It's not a Hanyang-made. That lousy factory could only make a decent imitation of the shape; they wouldn't bother to engrave foreign characters. This imitation is quite good; even the rifling is machined very evenly, making it very close to the original."

This gun was seized from the Crow Slope Special Agent Station. Staring at the English letters on the gun, He Shuying muttered to herself, "Where can I buy such a high-quality replica? What are they going to use it for?"

"I know that now, Lao He. Once the case is closed, can you allocate it to me?" Sun Dadan asked expectantly.

“Then you’ll have to wait a long time, but I can help you submit a report first,” He Shuying replied with a smile.

As they were chatting, Xiao Lan, who had gone to the blacksmith's shop, returned. In front of everyone, He Shuying poured some metal powder onto the envelope, swept it with a clean brush, and instantly, several clear fingerprints appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Old He, that's amazing!" Sun Dadan exclaimed, his eyes wide with admiration.

"This is nothing, our Chairman He knows a lot more than that," the investigator said proudly, flattering him.

"Being quick with your hands is worse than being quick with your mouth, why don't you learn from me? Here's the evidence you need." He Shuying handed the brush to the investigator, who then did the same thing again, finding fingerprints on the bullet and the box lid.

The door rang again. Without looking up, He Shuying said, "Please come in."

"Chairman He, there is a telegram from Secretary Deng for you. Please sign for it." The young soldier respectfully handed over the telegram.

He Shuying glanced at it quickly and couldn't help but burst into laughter. It was like a pillow being delivered to someone who was sleepy. She had actually overlooked this clue. It was all thanks to the good intelligence gathered during the bumper harvest.

He grinned and approached Sun Dadan, brushing the dust off his shoulder: "Battalion Commander Sun, can you do me another small favor?"

A few wisps of clouds slowly drifted across the azure sky, and the land of Huangbai Village exuded a burning heat. Several farm tools leaned against tree trunks, and their owners sat in the shade to cool off, but they still couldn't escape the summer heat. Instead, they felt like fish in a steamer, about to be cooked.

"Who told you to rest? Get up and keep harvesting! If you can't deliver the grain quota this year, we'll give you ten times the amount next year!" The arrogant voice startled the farmers, who scattered like birds in flight.

Under the sun, seven or eight young men formed a circle, praising the leader: "Brother, you truly deserve to be the first chairman of our Huangbai Village."

"The elder brother's voice was booming and his imposing manner frightened those unruly people into not daring to utter a word."

"You're all talking nonsense. My brother wasn't doing this to establish his authority. He was doing it for the prosperity of the Soviet government, so that the soldiers on the front lines could have enough to eat, and he was spurring on those unruly people."

The young man walked smugly at the front, as if inspecting his own property: "Shut up, all of you. Don't I know who I am? What time are they coming from Crow Slope to deliver the equipment?"

"It's about three-quarters of the hour. There's still quite a while," the young subordinate said, pointing to the sun.

"Heh~tui, damn it, we're here too early. This brat came at the time when the yang energy is at its peak. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were going to be beheaded and displayed to the public." The young man spat to show his contempt.

"They're probably close to the front lines, and they're scared because they have something to hide," the subordinate replied.

“That makes sense. After all, they are White bandits. They would be nervous to attack a city map in broad daylight.” The young man patted his chest casually.

Just then, a petite girl with braids passed by them. The young man's eyes lit up, and he couldn't take his eyes off her.

Two henchmen considerately stopped the girl, but when they asked her name, they couldn't help but touch her inappropriately. The young man then performed a "hero saves the beauty" act.

He pushed his men aside, telling them to show some respect, but put his hand on the girl's back: "Which village are you from? Haven't I seen you before? Don't go, don't go. It's so hot, don't you want something cold to eat? I have some in my house."

"If you follow me any further, I'll report you to the authorities." The girl timidly backed away.

The surrounding youths burst into laughter, and someone reminded them: "This is Chen Tian, ​​the highest-ranking official in our Huangbai Village, the chairman of the county Soviet and the head of the county organization department."

"I don't believe it. You don't seem like an official from the Red Zone; you're more like a landlord or tyrant from the old days," the girl said seriously.

Someone must have said something to offend Chen Tian, ​​because his face darkened and he snorted coldly, "Hmph, I don't think you're any decent woman. You look more like an AB group member who's infiltrated the Red Zone. Brothers, take her to the fields and interrogate her."

Upon hearing this, several young men rubbed their hands together, and some even whistled. The girl screamed in fright, but the nearby villagers all shrank into the rice paddies, no one willing to wade into the muddy waters.

The young man licked his lips excitedly and grabbed the girl's chin: "It's no use yelling. Nobody dares to interfere in my business. I'm the emperor here, and my word is law. It's your good fortune that I've taken a liking to you."

Chen Tian hoisted the petite figure onto his shoulder and walked into the rice paddy. The young people instantly erupted in excitement, their excited shouts filling the entire paddy field.

ah! !

A scream echoed through the sky. The towering rice paddies blocked most of the view, and the crowd laughed at him for not being able to handle even a little girl.

Upon closer inspection, they saw that Chen Tian's nose was gushing blood like a fountain, one of his arms was twisted abnormally, possibly broken, and the girl was sitting on him for some reason, punching him repeatedly with loud thuds. The young men immediately sensed something was wrong and were about to rush forward to help.

Suddenly someone shouted, "Take them all down!"

The youths were dumbfounded. Before they could run away, they felt the world spinning around them, their hands clasped behind their backs, and they were pressed hard into the mud. Even then, they kept shouting, "Do you know who we are? You're tired of living!"

A group of men in military uniforms surrounded them, and one of them took out a piece of paper and read it aloud: "You have harassed respectable women in the street against their will and attempted to rape them. In accordance with the Fifth Law of the Soviet Area, you are hereby arrested."

The person reading the message was Sun Dadan. Hearing that the beating in the rice paddy hadn't stopped, he quickly ran over and forcefully pulled Chunmei away. When he saw Chen Tianhou, he gasped, "Hiss~ Girl, you went too far! You've beaten her up to a pulp. How are we going to interrogate her later?"

At this moment, Chunmei, panting, raised her head and picked up a roll of paper from the ground: "Battalion Commander Sun, I found a map on Chen Tian. Take a look."

"Alright, let's add another one: taking our military deployment maps out of the country without the Central Military Commission's permission. You bastard, you might as well change your name to Bold. Men, drag him away." A cold glint flashed in Sun Bold's eyes as he kicked Chen Tian hard. Chen Tian was already powerless to fight back and lay motionless like a dead fish.

I originally thought Chen Tian was just Xie Gaosheng's lackey, but I didn't expect this kid to be even worse than Xie Gaosheng. He's practically a carbon copy of a landlord bully.

A few heads peeked out from the golden rice paddies, swaying with the waves of rice. People who are used to being bullied are even more timid than ordinary people.

Chunmei took a deep breath of the rice fragrance and shouted loudly, "Fellow villagers, don't be afraid. We are sent by the Central Government of Ruijin. If you have any grievances, don't keep them to yourself. If anyone wants to expose Xu Tian's crimes, come to the village entrance. Our complaint box is open all day long, and we also have people to help you write your complaint."

This tactic worked. Villagers emerged from the rice paddies, pointing and whispering about her. A woman in her fifties pushed her way through the crowd, trembling as she grabbed Chunmei's arm: "Young lady, are you telling the truth? Xu Tian really was arrested?"

“Mother-in-law, everyone’s been taken away by the army, how could they possibly have a leave of absence?” Chunmei turned around and proudly pointed at the main force.

A sorrowful expression crossed her weathered face, tears welling in her eyes. The old woman choked out, "I want to report him! I want to report him! He's not really Xu Tian! He's actually the eldest grandson of the tyrannical landlord Chen Fukui..."

Despite the sweltering heat, a long queue had formed in front of the complaint box, with the end of the line almost invisible. The last time Chunmei saw this scene was in front of the soup kitchen during a disaster relief effort.

Oh, and there's still the task given by Section Chief Zhao. Chunmei picked up a stack of complaint papers and sorted them out. The papers on the table gradually fell into three categories: murder, rape, and intimidation; abuse of power and malicious apportionment; and smuggling. As for what exactly was smuggled, the villagers had various opinions. Some said it was smuggling water buffalo, some said it was smuggling grain... but no one said it was smuggling black lumps and salt.

That's strange. The biggest money-makers are definitely black market goods, followed by smuggled salt. Chen Tian doesn't touch either of those, so why is he so devoted to protecting Xie Gaosheng? He even went so far as to send threatening letters to Master He. Doesn't he know that fingerprints can be compared? Hmm, with his brain, he probably really doesn't know.

"Hey girl, do you have any more paper?" Sun Dadan rushed into the room, interrupting Chunmei's train of thought.

"Huh? In just three hours, all the petitions we brought were used up!" Chunmei deeply felt what it meant to have "too many to list." With a long sigh, she walked out of the inner room and told everyone to go home, saying that they didn't have enough petitions and they could come back tomorrow.

A commotion erupted in the crowd. A woman with a floral headscarf, her bound feet slipping out of the line, her face completely covered despite the sweltering heat, said she didn't need any legal documents, but would just take people to a place where everyone would find out.

Chunmei scratched her head and whispered to Sun Dadan if he was going. Sun Dadan nodded affirmatively and called a class to follow.

As the sun gradually set, the group, led by a woman with bound feet, left the village and arrived at a secluded hillside.

Swallowing hard, Chunmei felt an unusual coolness in the air. Turning her head, she saw groups of tombstones standing halfway up the mountain, their red color appearing eerie, as if they had just been brushed with blood.

Chunmei instinctively shivered, clutching tightly to Sun Dadan's clothes in front of her, barely daring to breathe, for fear of disturbing her ancestors.

“This is it.” The woman with bound feet squatted on a grave. Only the three-inch-long base of the tombstone remained. The tombstone itself was broken into pieces, and weeds were sticking out from the gaps. It looked like it had been there for many years.

The woman diligently dug away the soil in front of the grave, and slowly a cellar door was revealed beneath the soil. A black metal pull ring dangled, with half a white candle attached to it, its purpose unknown.

The woman with bound feet stepped aside, and Sun Dadan braced himself, pulling hard on the pull ring. Instantly, a musty, rotten smell wafted out. Chunmei waved her hand in disgust, watching as Sun Dadan peeked halfway into the cellar. Not to be outdone, she also peered inside. It was dark and deep inside, with only Sun Dadan's breathing echoing in the cellar. But the less she could see, the more she wanted to look.

Suddenly, a weight settled on her shoulder, and Chunmei screamed uncontrollably, "Ah—a ghost—!"

"Xiao Meizi, it's me." He Shuying scolded, signaling her not to shout.

"Master, you scared me to death! Why didn't you interrogate Chen Tian? Why did you come here instead?" Chunmei touched her chest to calm her wildly beating heart.

"No rush, he has too many charges, I need to verify them one by one. Hey, didn't a woman bring you here? Where is she?" He Shuying glanced around and indeed there was no one else. Her blurry face was like a ghost, appearing and disappearing suddenly.

As the two were talking, Sun Dadan lit a candle and went down into the cellar. Chunmei craned her neck and shouted into the cellar, "Battalion Commander Sun, what do you see?"

"A large coffin. I'll open it and take a look." Sun Dadan lived up to his name, showing no fear whatsoever. Chunmei also wanted to go down and see for herself, but her legs went weak. Fear ultimately overcame her curiosity, and she decided to wait for news from Sun Dadan.

"My goodness! I'm rich! I'm rich! Everything is so beautiful!" Sun Dadan's joyful voice came from afar, and before he even came out, he threw out several brand-new rifles.

Upon closer inspection, Sun Dadan himself was even more outrageous, with his waist adorned with pistols and grenades, a short carbine hanging around his neck, and two rifles slung across his back, making him look like a weapons supply rack.

Compared to Sun Dadan's joy, Master He looked worried. He rushed to the cracked tombstone, flipped it over and pieced it back together. The three large characters "Chen Fukui" appeared on the tombstone.

"Oh, another knock-off. It doesn't matter, as long as it works." Sun Dadan fiddled with the pistol, a hint of childlike innocence in his eyes.

Master He narrowed his eyes, stroked his mustache, turned around and hooked his arm around the excited Sun Dadan: "Battalion Commander Sun, come back with me, I need to interrogate the prisoner. Xiao Meizi, you go to the village to investigate right away, I need to know the name of the woman who just gave me the clue, and where she lives."

The bright moon hid behind thick gray clouds, and the twilight grew ever darker. Several furtive figures circled around to the back of the house, poured oil, and lit it in one swift motion. The flames spread rapidly, quickly engulfing the entire house in flames.

As soon as Chunmei came out of the villager's house, she saw the farmhouse they had borrowed for office use turn into a huge fireball. She instinctively took off running.

The strong smell of smoke and burning stung Chunmei, and she couldn't help but cough. The villagers around her were carrying basins or buckets, splashing water onto the fire. She found a basin and joined the firefighting team.

However, the fire intensified, and the wood crackled in the flames, seemingly on the verge of collapse. The investigators, who had just been rescued, tried to rush back in, but were held back tightly by the villagers.

"Let me go! Chairman He hasn't come out yet!" Their faces were distorted in the firelight.

"Where is Chairman He in the room?" Chunmei's voice was almost drowned out by the flames.

"Northeast, over by the desk." The investigator had barely finished speaking when a basin of water was poured over her head, soaking Chunmei's clothes. She then covered herself with a wet cloth and plunged into the fire.

Sparks exploded around her, and flames kept biting at her hair. Soon she caught sight of the black hem of her clothes and almost simultaneously strode toward Master He's location.

But a burning beam blocked their way. Master He was clutching a stack of legal documents, his mind was a little hazy. If they didn't leave soon, he would be burned to death.

Chunmei steeled her resolve, kicked out with a sudden burst of speed, and with a crack, the beam snapped in two. She waved a damp handkerchief and quickly extinguished the flames on her leg. Ignoring her burns, she carefully helped Mr. He up and, like a nimble cheetah, darted through the fire.

Time seemed to slow down. Chunmei handed Mr. He over to her comrades, then collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Before she could catch her breath, a series of gunshots rang out from the west of the village. Oh no, this is a diversionary tactic.