"What kind of crazy idea is this? I don't think Su Xiaoning and him are even close, yet you insist on making me beg her!"
Jiang Fang was extremely angry and shouted at him.
Jiang Lin was also at a loss for words. He opened his mouth awkwardly but couldn't say anything. He glanced hesitantly at Su Xiaoning.
"What's the rush?" Su Xiaoning raised an eyebrow and suddenly pulled out an oil paper package from her bosom.
She opened the oil paper package and found several fragrant chicken legs inside. She placed one of the chicken legs not far from the beggar, took a few steps back, smiled at the beggar, but said nothing else.
The chicken legs glistened with oil, looking incredibly tempting. The aroma filled the entire cell, even whetting Jiang's appetite.
The beggar's fingers twitched, finally stopping their lack of response. He glanced silently at the chicken leg on the ground and suddenly uttered some incomprehensible words.
As if summoned, the rats that had been surrounding the beggar suddenly gathered in a group and crawled toward the chicken leg on the ground not far away. After a rustling sound, several rats picked up the chicken leg and quickly scurried back to the beggar.
The beggar picked up the chicken leg from the rat's mouth and ate it without any hesitation. This bizarre scene truly shocked everyone except Su Xiaoning.
Su Xiaoning's face remained calm and expressionless. She waited quietly for the beggar to finish eating before walking over and saying with a smile, "As the saying goes, 'He who eats another's food is bound to do so.' Since you've eaten my food, shouldn't you help me out?"
The beggar paused in his act of gnawing on a chicken leg. He tore off the last bit of meat, threw the bone aside, and suddenly looked up at Su Xiaoning with a half-smile, letting out a soft, ambiguous laugh.
"Heh... I promise you."
Upon hearing that the beggar had finally relented, Jiang Fang was overjoyed. He stepped forward, about to ask what the beggar knew, when the beggar patted himself up, stood up, stared at him, and said, "I'm not entirely sure about this matter either. I need to go to the scene to see for myself before I can say anything. And I have another condition."
"This..." Jiang Fang hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should release the suspect from prison?
But there was no other way at the moment, so he could only nod and say, "Okay, I'll take you there. What are your conditions?"
The beggar's gaze suddenly turned to Su Xiaoning. He pointed at her and said, "I need her to come with me to investigate. She must participate in the entire process."
Su Xiaoning had thought she could leave after persuading the beggar, but she didn't expect to have the opportunity to go on the investigation with him. She smiled happily, her eyes crinkling.
Jiang Fang's expression was not very pleasant. He didn't want the "demoness" to get involved in this matter at all, but since the beggar had said so, he could only suppress his dissatisfaction and stiffly hummed in agreement.
After opening the prison door and reporting to the Ministry of Justice, they took the beggar away. Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai followed closely behind, while Jiang Fang and Jiang Lin led the way, taking the group to the crime scene—a small village outside the capital.
As soon as she stepped into the village, a chilling wind swept through. Su Xiaoning keenly sensed the eerie atmosphere in the village; she shivered and stopped at the entrance.
"Don't be afraid." Su Qingcai took off his coat and draped it over Su Xiaoning, comforting her in a low voice. He stood with her at the village entrance and did not go in.
The beggar seemed oblivious to everything. He left the others behind, ran into the village, looked around, and then came out with a serious expression.
"I've checked it, and the situation is about what I expected."
The four of them were puzzled and looked confused. What was he expecting?
The beggar frowned slightly and said, "This is not a copycat crime; the method is the same, but it's not the same perpetrator."
Hearing this, Jiang Fang was even more bewildered.
What does this beggar mean? Is he implying that he is not the main culprit in the Yunjiang Village case? Why does he say that he did not imitate the crime, but at the same time say that the method of the crime is the same?
Just as Jiang Fang was racking his brains, Su Xiaoning suddenly blurted out, "Could it be that the same gang committed the crimes separately?"
Upon hearing the correct answer, the beggar smiled slightly: "That's right, you're smart, unlike the others."
His words were full of sarcasm, as if they were directed at Jiang Fang. Jiang Fang blushed, so embarrassed that he didn't know where to put his hands, and could only cough loudly a few times to cover it up.
Su Qingcai didn't feel offended at all. After a moment's thought, she said, "It seems this is a criminal organization. But what are their goals? And how can we catch them?"
The beggar did not answer. He remained silent and turned to look around the village again.
No one knows exactly how he investigated. When he returned, he said, "The main perpetrator probably wasn't very skilled, but he had instructions from behind the scenes. We can look around; maybe we'll find something else."
Staying in this village all the time isn't going to work; we should explore the surrounding area—we might find something else. The four nodded in agreement and split up to search the area.
A moment later, Jiang Fang suddenly started shouting loudly.
"I caught him!"
Upon hearing this, the group quickly gathered around.
Jiang Fang dragged a man out of the nearby grove. The man was very thin, covered in dirt and filth, and his face was contorted in a grotesque expression. He had a small copper gong hanging from his waist, and his attire suggested he was a night watchman.
"Ah...ah..."
The night watchman struggled desperately, but couldn't utter any other words, only shouting loudly and making occasional "hoarse" gasps, which sounded extremely eerie. The more he struggled, the stronger Jiang Fang's grip became, twisting his entire arm into a bizarre posture.
The beggar looked closely at the night watchman and suddenly shouted.
"Let him go right now! He's not the murderer, and he could even be an important witness!"
"You can tell at a glance that he's not the murderer?" Jiang Fang frowned, but under the beggar's piercing gaze, he reluctantly let go of his hands.
As soon as he let go of her hands, he felt utterly ridiculous. How could a dignified General of the Cavalry be intimidated by a beggar? However, this might just prove that the beggar did indeed have some real skills.
Jiang Fang stood with his hands behind his back, silently stepping aside, his gaze towards the beggar carrying a hint of scrutiny.
Freed from his restraints, the night watchman collapsed to the ground, as if he had no bones. Su Xiaoning rushed over, helped him up, and brushed the disheveled hair from his face: "Are you alright?"
The night watchman did not answer, and even struggled desperately again with Su Xiaoning's help.
The beggar frowned, staring intently into the night watchman's eyes, and suddenly spoke:
"He's under a curse."
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