After a three-hour manhunt, the three fugitives were captured by the fourth squad led by Su Xiaonuan.
Just as she expected, the three men hid in a cave on the cliff.
Following the footprints, they found the entrance to the cave. Using Su Xiaonuan's method, they smoked it out, adding chili powder inside. The people outside were choked by the smoke, let alone those inside.
There is no open flame, and it will not cause forest fires.
Finally, the three fugitives had no choice but to come out obediently.
There was no fight, and Su Xiaonuan was a little disappointed. She felt that the three fugitives were too weak, and that she had made a big fuss over nothing. Instead of catching some high-IQ fugitives, she had caught three such stupid petty thieves.
When asked why they fled to this mountain, one of them said that when they were young, they heard stories from the elders that Laojun Mountain was a good place to hide bandits. They would not starve to death if they hid there, and they could live off the mountain. No one had been able to catch them yet.
"So you want to take over the mountain and become bandits here?" Su Xiaonuan waved her hand.
"So what if I am?" The leader of the fugitives glared at Su Xiaonuan with hatred. "If I succeed, the first person I'll capture is you and take you to the mountain to be my wife."
Slap! Slap!
Two crisp sounds rang out, and the fugitive who had just been cursing had his face instantly swollen like a pig's head.
As she waved to signal for them to be taken away, the other two fugitives immediately knelt down and begged for mercy. "Heroine, spare our lives!"
"Take her away!" Su Xiaonuan exuded a heroic aura, waving her hand with great force.
The other three teams had already returned to the rendezvous point, and they were discussing how to go and support the fourth team.
The four squads have returned triumphantly with three fugitives in tow.
On the way back, everyone listened to the members of the fourth team talk about Su Xiaonuan's courage and resourcefulness.
Last time, Su Xiaonuan's outstanding performance in the murder case was already being talked about by these people. Now, having witnessed her assisting in the capture of the fugitive, all the police officers were filled with respect for Su Xiaonuan.
The people of Xiaolong Village cheered when they saw the three fugitives being captured.
"Comrade Su Xiaonuan, you have once again made a great contribution to our Fengshou Town. On behalf of all the people of the town, I thank you." The town mayor bowed respectfully to Su Xiaonuan.
"Don't be so polite, leader. It's my duty. I'm also a member of Xiaolong Village. With a few fugitives on the mountain, the people in our village won't have a peaceful life." Su Xiaonuan reached out to stop the town mayor from bending down.
"Comrade Su Xiaonuan, I have another request. I wonder if you can grant it?"
"Please speak, sir."
“There’s an old case in Taiping Town that’s remained unsolved for years. If you have time, I’d like to invite you to Taiping Town,” the town mayor said. “My classmate is a leader there. I had this idea before, but I didn’t feel comfortable saying it out loud. Of course, you can also choose to decline.”
“Okay, I’ll go to Taiping Town with the leader when I have time.” Su Xiaonuan got excited as soon as she heard about the case. Although she had transmigrated, she was still interested in all the big and small things about her previous life’s profession.
The mayor expressed his gratitude many times before leaving.
After watching the arresting force leave, the village chief led the villagers in expressing their deepest gratitude to Su Xiaonuan before dispersing.
The midday sun was scorching, which became the fuse that ignited the blazing fire.
Fires broke out one after another in dozens of households in the village.
Some were on rooftops, some in yards, some in pigsties, some in rooms, some in kitchens, and some even caught fire while someone was sleeping in a bed.
Fortunately, it was broad daylight, and no major damage was caused.
The fires have all been extinguished.
After the fire was extinguished, everyone gathered together and learned that, apart from the Xiao family compound, every household in the village had experienced a fire of unknown origin.
Various rumors are circulating:
“Our village has been quite unsettled lately; it might be due to something unclean.”
"What dirty thing?"
"It's possible that Su Xiaonuan fell into the deep pool and was possessed by that thing. Look at her after she woke up, she's a completely different person. She even knows martial arts. What could the old Su Xiaonuan know?"
"You know what, it's really true. This woman is completely different before and after."
“Our village has been peaceful for decades, and we’ve never had so many incidents before. First there was a murder, and now there are three fugitives. Who knows what else might happen if things continue like this?”
"So that's really strange. A fire broke out in broad daylight for no reason, and the Xiao family was the only one in the whole village that didn't catch fire?"
...
For a time, the villagers would turn pale at the mention of Su Xiaonuan.
People were filled with anxiety, and rumors spread like wildfire.
Meanwhile, Su Xiaonuan and her family were completely unaware of what was happening.
So many people stayed at the Xiao family's house for several hours, making a complete mess of the place. The women were busy cleaning up the house, quickly cooked a bowl of noodles, and then took a nap. They slept for two hours straight, completely unaware of the fire that had broken out in the village. They were all fast asleep.
When they woke up, the courtyard had already been surrounded by villagers.
"Xiao Nuan, something terrible has happened!" Zhang Yulan rushed in in a panic.
Su Xiaonuan, who was putting shoes on the children, looked up and asked, "What happened?"
"Sister-in-law!" Moxi rushed in, panicked. "Come quick, they've surrounded our house, saying they're going to catch a demon."
"Catching demons?"
“Yes.” Moxi nodded. “They say you’re a demon, sister-in-law, don’t go out, quickly think of a way to escape.”
"I'm not a demon, why would I run away?" Su Xiaonuan sneered. "These people change their tune faster than flipping through a book. I, Su Xiaonuan, always think of them first, and yet they turn around and call me a demon. It's outrageous!"
Wang Yibo and Xu Yong burst in through the back door of the woodshed.
"Sister Xiaonuan," Wang Yibo and Xu Yong called out.
"What are you trying to do?" Su Xiaonuan shouted.
“There’s no time to lose. You have to leave with us through the back door right now. These people are going to set you on fire. My dad, Aunt Hua, and Hao are there trying to stop them, but they outnumber us and might not be able to stop them. Hurry up!” Wang Yibo reached out to grab her. “If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.”
"What exactly happened?" Su Xiaonuan shook off Wang Yibo's hand. "I won't run away until you explain clearly. If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear."
Having no other choice, Wang Yibo had to recount the fire that occurred at noon.
"Xiao Nuan, you'd better run away quickly!" Zhang Yulan trembled with fear after hearing this. The whole village was on fire, but her house was the only one that wasn't. If these people went berserk, Xiao Nuan was likely in grave danger.
"Sister-in-law, you should go to the provincial capital to find my brother. Leave things here to us. They're only targeting you; they won't make things difficult for us."
"I'm not leaving," Su Xiaonuan said, enunciating each word clearly.
Zhang Yulan even knelt down before her. "Xiao Nuan, don't be angry. Let's not suffer this loss now. We'll come back after this is over."
"Mom, get up!" Su Xiaonuan reached out to help Zhang Yulan up. "This fire is strange, I won't leave."
"Moxi, you take care of Mom and the children. Leave everything outside to me. Don't be afraid!" Su Xiaonuan saw her aunt looking at her with teary eyes and knew she was worried about her, so she comforted her instead. "Sister-in-law won't let you down. I will definitely make the real demons and monsters show their true colors."
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