The cold wind howled.
Almost all the lights in the village were turned on.
Xu Xinghe wrapped her cotton-padded coat tighter and followed behind the village chief.
Lian Xiao and Zhang Cishu stood on either side, and the four of them knocked on doors one by one.
"Li family, open the door, it's me." The village chief's voice was exceptionally clear in the darkness.
After knocking three times, rustling sounds came from inside, and then the door clicked open.
Aunt Li poked her head out, her face still showing shock. "Village chief, what was that gunshot just now? Could it be that the Japanese have entered the village again?"
"What village are you going to enter? The Japanese devils have already been driven away!" the village chief explained. "It was the murderer who showed up and tried to touch Erlaizi's father's body. The soldiers discovered him and opened fire, but unfortunately, he still got away. Now, comrades, we need to check who is injured."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Li quickly stepped aside. "Come in. My husband and child heard the gunshots and are so scared that they've hidden in the stove hole."
The lights were on inside.
The man and two children stood by the heated brick bed.
He was covered in dirt, clearly having just crawled out of the kang (heated brick bed) hole.
Xu Xinghe took Aunt Li to another room for a medical check-up, while Lian Xiao and the others were examined in this room.
After a short while, once they confirmed that everything was alright, they left and headed to the next place.
"Old Wang, open the door!"
"Old Liu, it's me. Open the door, I'm here to investigate the murderer!"
...
We inspected more than a dozen households, and none of them had any problems.
When they reached the fifteenth house, they knocked for a long time but there was no response.
The village chief looked puzzled. "There's someone at his house. The lights are still on. Why aren't they coming out?"
After saying that, he pounded on the door harder.
After a long while, the door slowly opened a crack.
An old man poked his head out, his eyes darting around. "Investigate...investigate what murderer? I just woke up, I don't know anything."
"Is anyone injured? Are your family members all home?" Lian Xiao sensed something was wrong, stepped forward, and scanned the room with sharp eyes.
The old man stammered, about to speak, when suddenly a woman's cough came from the inner room.
He hurriedly said, "Everyone's here, everyone's here, no one's hurt. It's just that my wife caught a cold, so please don't come inside..."
Xu Xinghe frowned, and was about to speak when the village chief interrupted, "This is a big deal now, everyone has to be informed, and your family can't be an exception."
As he spoke, he pushed open the door and walked inside.
The old man tried to stop him, but Lian Xiao held his arm down.
The room was dimly lit. An old woman, wrapped in a quilt, sat on the kang (a heated brick bed). When she saw them come in, she instinctively shrank back a little.
Her left hand was hidden under the blanket, and her sleeve seemed a little bulging.
"Auntie, what happened to your hand?" Xu Xinghe walked over and asked softly.
The old woman's eyes widened in panic, but she remained silent.
The old man hurriedly explained, "It's nothing, I'm just cold, I don't dare to show it..."
"Even if she's frozen, we should still check on her. If she's frostbitten, I happen to have some frostbite cream here." Xu Xinghe reached out to lift the blanket, but the old woman suddenly grabbed him tightly.
Now, a small corner of the fabric was showing.
Lian Xiao immediately stepped forward and said, "Roll up your sleeves!"
The old man tried to stop him, but Zhang Cishu held him down.
The old woman had no choice but to slowly roll up her sleeves.
A dirty strip of cloth was wrapped around his wrist; although it wasn't bleeding, it was clearly newly bandaged.
"How did you get this injury?" The village chief's face darkened.
The old woman's lips trembled, and she couldn't speak for a long time.
Finally, the old man sighed and told the truth, "I accidentally chopped it while chopping wood this afternoon. I heard the military is investigating the injured, and I didn't dare say anything for fear you'd misunderstand..."
Xu Xinghe had Lian Xiao examine the wound, which was indeed a knife wound with clean edges, unlike a gunshot wound.
She kindly left the medicine, saying, "Auntie, we're checking on people with gunshot wounds, don't be afraid. Don't use this cloth strip anymore, it will cause infection. After cleaning it, apply this medicine, then bandage it with a clean cloth strip, and don't let it get wet for the next few days."
Only after calming them down did they continue their investigation.
As they checked along the way, they found that most people were awakened by the gunshots, and their families were all home and there was nothing unusual. Only two or three households had minor injuries, but these were all from working earlier and were unrelated to gunshot wounds.
When Xu Xinghe reached the vicinity of Feng Qiushi's house, he paused.
She remembered Shen An, that teacher. He seemed to have been quiet lately, and apart from seeing him once that day, he was practically invisible.
The village chief stepped forward and knocked on the door, "Girl Feng, open the door, find the murderer!"
The door opened after a while. Feng Qiushi, wearing a cotton-padded coat and with messy hair, looked like he had just gotten out of bed. "Village chief, what's wrong?"
The village chief explained again, as usual, "Where is Teacher Shen?"
“He…he’s inside.” Feng Qiushi said, then stepped aside to make way for the doorway.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Xu Xinghe stepped into the room first. Only a small oil lamp was lit inside, and everything was shrouded in a blurry shadow under the dim light.
Shen An leaned against the headboard, and at some point he put on those glasses. The lenses reflected the light, and half of his face was hidden in shadow. His originally gentle temperament had faded, and he exuded an indescribable gloom.
Xu Xinghe's gaze lingered on him for a moment before she cut to the chase, "The murderer was just shot by our men. We need to check if anyone in each household is injured. You two were both inside the house and didn't go out, right? Are you injured?"
"No, no, no!" Feng Qiushi stepped forward, blocking Shen An's path, his hand unconsciously gripping the hem of his clothes. "Shen An and I heard the gunshot and were so scared that we stayed inside and didn't dare to move. We were perfectly fine, no injuries!"
As she spoke, she deliberately rolled up her arm a little to reveal her smooth wrist, as if to prove that she wasn't lying.
Xu Xinghe looked at her tense profile and suddenly smiled. "That's true, but according to the rules, we still have to check. Lian Xiao, you check Teacher Shen's face, and I'll take Comrade Feng to the small room next door."
Lian Xiao stepped forward in response, but Shen An did not move. He merely raised his eyes, his gaze behind his glasses devoid of warmth.
Xu Xinghe then led Feng Qiushi to the small house next door. As soon as she opened the door, she sensed something was wrong.
The kang (heated brick bed) inside was warm, the quilts were messy, and there were still some pressure marks on the pillows, clearly indicating that someone had lived there.
"Don't you two live together? Why is someone else living in this house?"
Feng Qiushi's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his back. His mind raced. "I...I live here! I had a fight with Shen An a few days ago, so I moved into this room to sleep. We just made up today."
She forced an awkward smile and reached out to touch the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). "I was thinking that if he made me angry again, I would have to go back to this room, so I didn't dare to remove the kang and just kept it warm."
Xu Xinghe nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
She checked it carefully but found nothing unusual.
Lian Xiao finished at this time and said, "Teacher Shen is not injured."
Xu Xinghe looked at Feng Qiushi and said, "If you remember anything later, or if any outsiders come by, remember to inform the military headquarters."
After saying that, they left.
Feng Qiushi stood at the door, watching their figures disappear into the night, before leaning against the door frame as if all his strength had been drained, his hands still trembling.
I almost gave myself away!
The double in the inner room also breathed a sigh of relief and asked in a low voice, "They... won't come back, will they?"
If the lighting hadn't been so dim, and if he had deliberately adjusted the angle of the oil lamp, someone might have noticed.
The village chief has seen what a real sunken shore looks like!
“I don’t know…” Feng Qiushi shook his head, “I hope they won’t come again.”
One more time, and her heart was pounding out of her chest!
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