Chapter 402 Undercurrent

The hunchback said: "Promise me not to spread this, or I will kneel down and not get up."

Liu Jian also hurriedly followed Xu Lin to persuade: "Uncle, please get up first and tell us what's going on!"

Hearing they showed no sign of giving up, the hunchbacked uncle grew anxious. He shouted, "If Erniu finds out which shelter his wife is in and takes her back, his wife will be dead. Aren't you doing something with good intentions but doing something bad? This is like indirectly taking someone's life!"

Xu Lin knew that there must be something behind this, so she might as well pretend to agree with him and take the opportunity to find out some inside information.

"Uncle, we won't tell anyone else, but you have to tell us the whole story first, so that we can better help that poor woman Dingxiang!" she comforted.

The hunchbacked uncle stood up and said with a guilty conscience, "Do you know? Our village used to be notoriously poor and poor. The girls in our village couldn't stand the hardship. They were rushed out to work and get married in their teens before they even finished their education. Few of them were willing to come back. Erniu's wife was sold to our village. She was often beaten by Erniu until her face was swollen and her nose was bruised. She tried to run away secretly but was always caught by the villagers. A few years later, because she didn't give birth to a child, Erniu beat her even harder, and she became even more crazy. Erniu's wife has finally managed to leave this den of evil. How can you push her back into the fire pit?"

Liu Jian clenched his fists in anger: "You devils, don't any of you want to call the police?"

The hunchbacked uncle said: "I want to! But I don't dare! If they knew that I was the one who called the police, they would definitely kill me without anyone knowing. It's better to live a miserable life than to die! I'm scared..."

Seeing a helpless and disabled old man shaking uncontrollably with fear makes one feel pity but unable to be cruel.

Xu Lin glared at Liu Jian, then quickly held the hunchback's hands and said something soothing: "Uncle, don't blame yourself or be afraid. You've done a great job. We just want to get a general understanding of the situation. If that's the case, then we can just pretend we don't know anything about it."

The hunchbacked uncle's trembling body slowly calmed down.

Seeing that the uncle's mood had just improved, the ignorant Liu Jian added: "What do you mean by 'poor bachelor village'? I see that everyone in your village is a millionaire except you. I think you are pretending to be pitiful here to cheat the government out of money. Otherwise, tell me, why are your houses and cars almost more luxurious than those of the middle class in our city?"

It would be fine if this matter was not mentioned, but as soon as it was mentioned, the hunchbacked uncle became a different person as if he was possessed by a ghost.

He was furious and completely lost the kind old man he had just been.

"Get out, all of you, get out. You are not welcome here."

The hunchbacked uncle dragged them both out of the house.

Xu Lin and Liu Jian were stunned for a moment and didn't know what to do.

Liu Jian looked confused and asked Xu Lin, "Did I say something wrong to piss off the uncle again?"

Xu Lin: "I want to know about this, too! But who should I ask? Look how excited the uncle is. Let's not provoke him. He has many hidden illnesses that we can't see. If he collapses and says he had a heart attack, you and I won't be able to wash away our guilt even if we jump into the Yellow River."

Liu Jian: "Then let's go! It's better to wander around the village by ourselves than to stay here. I don't believe we can't solve the case without him."

Xu Lin: "That makes sense."

After saying that, the two of them walked one after the other on the path in the village.

A strange purple light shone through the small windows of every household, and at night, the air was filled with an indescribable sour smell.

This surprised Xu Lin, and also made her roughly understand why the hunchback uncle was so scared and angry just now.

Liu Jian: “Did you notice?”

Xu Lin: "It's impossible to pretend not to know."

Liu Jian: "No wonder that old man was so anxious to get us out. It seems he wanted to protect himself. Do you think he knew about this?"

Xu Lin: "He's been forced to live here his entire life, never having any contact with the outside world. How could he not know? Doesn't his change just now prove that point? I hope he just knows about it and isn't involved. At most, he's just keeping it a secret."

Liu Jian: "Bullshit! Looking at him, the villagers look down on him and they definitely won't leave him out. Otherwise, how could he be so poor and in stark contrast to the people around him? Oh, right, let's call the police first! Otherwise, if we run into a wolf in sheep's clothing, our lives will be in jeopardy."

He searched his pockets and said in surprise, "Xu Lin, my phone is missing. I'm going to call the police first. Did you see where it went? Damn it! My police ID and wallet are gone."

Upon hearing this, Xu Lin subconsciously touched his trouser pocket and was shocked to find that not only Liu Jian's things were missing, but his own things were also missing.

Xu Lin: "Oh no! I don't know where my stuff is. Luckily I didn't bring my gun on this business trip, otherwise the consequences would be very serious. Do you think we were robbed?"

Liu Jian: "Do you even need to ask? We were sold out by that old man."

At this time, a group of people came out from all directions and slowly surrounded the two of them.

The village chief came out from the crowd and said with a smile, "Now you are not only going to be robbed, but you are also going to be in trouble."

Before they could come to their senses, a group of people tied them up and dragged them into a basement.

The lighting in the basement was dim and eerie, and the musty, bloody, and sour smells made it hard to breathe.

The village chief lit three sticks of green incense in front of the dazzling red statue of Guan Gong, bowed sincerely, then sat down on a throne with a swagger and looked at the two men ferociously.

Liu Jian thought to himself, "Guan Yu was a loyal and righteous man throughout his life, and you've done so many bad things. Don't even think that Master Guan will protect you."

As they looked, they found a person lying in the corner. They couldn't see her face clearly and didn't know whether she was dead or alive, but judging from her clothes and hairstyle, she seemed to be a woman.

The village chief placed their police IDs on the table and said with a smile, "Officer Xu, Officer Liu, didn't I warn you to leave our village immediately? Why are you so stubborn and refuse to listen? And you're even pretending to be a couple to gain sympathy? Do you think we're all three-year-olds? Tell me, did you receive some information specifically to investigate us?"

Xu Lin: "No, it's just that our city rescued a crazy woman named Dingxiang, and we heard that she appeared in your village. We are just following the routine to investigate her background."

At this time, two people appeared and brought the hunchbacked uncle to the village chief.

The hunchbacked uncle glanced at the two of them furtively, his eyes avoiding them and not daring to look them in the eye.

Village Chief: “Is what they said true?”

Probably because he had never seen such a big scene, the hunchbacked uncle seemed to be frightened and didn't say a word for a while.