"Knock knock knock—"
A rapid knocking sounded at the door.
Feng Qiushi quickly looked in the mirror, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened the door, trying to appear calm. "What...what are they investigating this time?"
"Excuse me, Comrade Feng, for the safety of the entire village, we need to check your cellar again. Is that convenient?"
Feng Qiushi dared not say it was inconvenient, so he could only nod stiffly and step aside to make room for him.
Xu Xinghe had just stepped inside when she suddenly stopped, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing slightly as she looked over. "Were you crying just now?"
Her voice was soft, yet incisive.
Feng Qiushi's nasal voice hadn't subsided, and his eyes were red; it was clear he had just been crying.
She quickly lowered her head and forced a bitter smile. "It's because I had a quarrel with Shen An."
She gripped the hem of her clothes tighter, and the prepared explanation slipped out, "I grew up in the city and really can't stand the hardships in the village. I wanted to complain a little, but he didn't understand and even said I was being spoiled..."
That makes sense.
Xu Xinghe didn't ask any more questions and went into the cellar with Lian Xiao.
Cellars are places that are dark all year round, somewhat damp, and don't smell very good.
Xu Xinghe sniffed and vaguely smelled a bloody smell, but it didn't seem like it; it also smelled like earth.
Lian Xiao then began to inspect the surroundings.
The flashlight beam kept flickering.
Feng Qiushi's heart was in his throat.
All she can do now is pray to God that they won't find out...
"Xinghe, there's blood here!"
Boom!
Feng Qiushi felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, he managed to grab the door frame in time and dig his fingertips into the wood to keep his balance.
We've been discovered!
"Comrade Feng, could you please come down here for a moment?" Xu Xinghe's voice came from the cellar.
Feng Qiushi, trembling, climbed down the ladder.
Her hands were practically digging into the ladder; only then could she hold on.
Once inside the cellar, she instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes. "No... I'm sorry, the flashlight is too bright, I can't open my eyes."
Xu Xinghe pointed to a drop of blood on the wall next to him, "Comrade Feng, what's the deal with this bloodstain?"
Feng Qiushi's heart was pounding, his throat was tight, and he tried to make his voice sound natural. "Oh... this is... I came down to get potatoes a few days ago and accidentally cut my hand on the wooden shelf of the cellar. I guess I wasn't paying attention and splattered blood on the wall."
As she spoke, she quickly stretched out the back of her left hand, where there was indeed a faint scar, a scratch from luggage on the train, which she could now use as an excuse.
Xu Xinghe nodded, but her gaze did not leave her face.
Under the lamplight, Feng Qiushi's face was pale, and his eyes darted around.
Although the old scar could explain the bloodstains, her reaction betrayed her guilty conscience.
"Comrade Feng, did you really put this bloodstain on me?" Xu Xinghe asked again.
"Yes...yes." Feng Qiushi chuckled dryly, his eyes drifting elsewhere. "Actually, I don't remember very clearly either. After all, it's been several days. Maybe it was Shen An who did it? Why don't you go and ask him again?"
Xu Xinghe didn't ask any further questions, but simply shook her head at Lian Xiao, and the two climbed up the ladder.
As Xu Xinghe walked out of Feng Qiushi's house, she couldn't help but look back and saw him hurriedly closing the door, almost locking it in the wrong place.
She stopped and turned to look at Lian Xiao and Zhang Cishu. "Don't you guys think there's something strange about this Feng Qiushi?"
Shen An stayed in the house the whole time. Except for the time he had a physical examination, he basically never got off the kang (a heated brick bed), so nothing could be seen.
But Feng Qiushi was really strange. Not only had she cried, but when she faced them, her eyes kept darting around. When she mentioned the bloodstains, her hands were shaking, and she was obviously a little guilty.
Lian Xiao immediately nodded in agreement, "That's true. When we ran into her in the village before, she always kept her head down and took a detour, as if she was afraid of running into us."
"Then keep a close eye on her house." Xu Xinghe's eyes darkened. Although she hadn't found any substantial evidence, her intuition told her that Feng Qiushi was definitely up to something!
Any doubts must not be overlooked!
This night was finally spent in turmoil.
Xu Xinghe didn't wake up until noon the next day.
I'm just too tired.
Even if she is in good physical condition, she can't withstand not sleeping all night and being under high stress.
She quickly washed up and went to the village chief's house for dinner.
The village chief also looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes. "Comrade Xu, what do we do now that we can't find the murderer? Could it be that the person wasn't even from our village and has already run away? I'm afraid to sleep now that you've made things like this."
"Maybe, I don't know." Xu Xinghe felt irritated whenever this was mentioned.
Why can't I find it?
Where exactly is the other party hiding?
Achoo!
Xu Mingli sneezed loudly.
He opened his eyes, and what he saw was not the familiar layout of his home, but a cold cave.
The cave was small, filled with rubble and withered grass. The cold wind blew in through the entrance, making it even colder than a cellar.
He slept here last night.
To be precise, he didn't sleep for long at all, because in the latter half of the night, his nose started to get stuffy, and his throat became dry and sore, clearly indicating that he had caught a cold.
It's like when it rains, it pours!
Not only were you injured, but you also caught a cold!
Now all I can do is pray that I can go back soon.
Xu Mingli took out a cornbread from his cloth bag. It was hard and frozen like a rock. He took a bite and his teeth ached.
With no other option, he opened the kettle, poured himself a mouthful of cold water, and was so shocked that he couldn't help but shiver.
After finally finishing my meal, the pain in my arm became noticeable.
He touched his right arm; the wound was swollen and burning hot, and he couldn't lift his entire arm.
If we don't find a way to treat it, the wound will definitely get infected. At that point, not only will we not be able to escape this ordeal, but we might not even be able to survive.
He took a deep breath, stuffed the hem of his cotton-padded coat into his mouth, bit down hard with his teeth, and with his left hand trembling, grabbed the tear in his right arm and ripped it open!
With a ripping sound, the blood-stained fabric was torn open, revealing a swollen, red wound underneath.
The scabs were stuck to the fabric, and when pulled, fresh blood immediately seeped out.
"Ah!" Xu Mingli convulsed in pain, his inner clothes instantly soaked with cold sweat, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
It took him a long time to recover before he could examine the light coming through the cave entrance.
The bullet didn't penetrate the arm; instead, it lodged in the flesh of the forearm.
He had no tools at hand and dared not do anything carelessly. He could only take out the half bottle of anti-inflammatory powder from his cloth bag, and then take out a clean strip of cloth from his pocket, dip it in water, and wipe away the bloodstains around the wound little by little.
When the strip of cloth accidentally touched the wound, the pain almost made him faint.
After cleaning the wound, he trembled as he opened the bottle of anti-inflammatory powder and sprinkled some on it.
The white powder burned with intense pain the moment it touched the swollen wound. Xu Mingli groaned, his vision blurred, and he almost fainted.
He quickly wrapped the wound tightly with a strip of cloth before collapsing to the ground, panting heavily.
The cave was so quiet that only his breathing could be heard.
He was cold and in pain, and had no strength at all.
But the hatred in his heart grew wildly like weeds.
If it weren't for Xu Xinghe, how could he have ended up in this situation?
"Xu Xinghe..." he gritted his teeth, squeezing out the name through clenched teeth, his eyes filled with a chilling malice, "I will never let you go!"
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