In the cellar.
Xu Mingli leaned against the damp earthen wall, his left hand tightly covering the wound on his right arm. The smell of blood mixed with the stench of mud filled the small space.
The footsteps outside, each knock on the door, made him tense.
He had planned everything meticulously, but he never expected to be shot, much less that the military would conduct door-to-door searches.
Fortunately, he had arranged a body double in advance; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to escape tonight even if he had wings.
At that moment, he dared not move, and could only grit his teeth and endure the excruciating pain, closing his eyes to eavesdrop on the sounds outside.
Only after everyone has finished checking and left, and it is confirmed that it is safe, can he find a way to treat his wounds. For now, he can only endure it in this cold and damp cellar.
This lasted for two hours.
The inspection is finally over.
In the village official's office.
Xu Xinghe sat in the chair, her eyelashes trembling slightly beneath her lowered eyelids. Her once pink lips were bitten until they were almost red and bleeding. "It's really strange. Everyone in the village is here, and everyone has been checked, including the elderly and children, yet there isn't a single person with a gunshot wound! Who else could it be?"
The other party knew the layout of the village so well and was able to escape so quickly, so they must be someone from the village.
Why... is no one injured?
She was still full of hope that this time they would definitely find something, or even catch the murderer and clear Jiang Linchuan's name!
Unexpectedly, all expectations turned into disappointment!
Seeing her like this, Lian Xiao felt a little sorry for her. "Don't bite your lip anymore, or it will bleed. Maybe she's not from the village."
"Is that outside the village?" Xu Xinghe suddenly raised her head, a few stray hairs falling across her forehead swaying. "Is someone colluding with the people in the village?"
Zhang Cishu picked up his pen and wrote it down: "Very likely, otherwise it wouldn't make sense."
"Where could the murderer be hiding?" Xu Xinghe stood up, pacing back and forth irritably, her small face tightly furrowed. "If he's colluding with people in the village, then he's very likely hiding in someone's house!"
They checked the villagers, but they didn't check their homes!
Xu Xinghe suddenly thought of something, "That's right, the cellar! Could it be hidden in the cellar?"
Because winters in Northeast China are very cold, and houses are heated by stoves and kang beds, many vegetables are stored in cellars.
In addition, during the years of war, almost every household built a cellar to escape the chaos of war and artillery shells.
Before the two could respond, Xu Xinghe grabbed her cotton-padded coat draped over the back of the chair and headed out. "I'm going to find the village chief right now. We'll search the cellar tonight! We have to find him now, or he might escape!"
The village chief had just taken off his clothes and hadn't even gotten into bed when he went out again, exhausted.
There was no other way; even for the safety of the entire village, he had to cooperate with the investigation.
After all, it's not about whether Erlaizi's father is dead or alive now; it's about the murderer still hiding in the village, like a time bomb, and nobody knows who will be the next victim.
Before long, footsteps echoed through the village again, and knocks were heard on the doors of every household once more.
Feng Qiushi didn't dare to sleep, fearing something else might happen.
When she saw the village chief knocking on doors again, she became frightened and quietly put on her clothes to eavesdrop outside.
Upon hearing that the cellar and empty house would be searched, she froze, her face turning deathly pale. She turned and ran home, nearly bumping into the doorframe as she pushed it open.
"Shen'an, something's happened!" Feng Qiushi rushed into the cellar, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
Xu Mingli was leaning against the wall, the excruciating pain from his wound making him feel dizzy. Hearing the shout, he suddenly opened his eyes with a start. "What happened? Can you stop making such a fuss!"
He was now extremely sensitive to any fright, and his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.
"The military...the military is checking the cellars, and even empty houses!" Feng Qiushi gripped the wooden ladder of the cellar, his fingers trembling.
"What?" Xu Mingli was truly panicked now. He struggled to stand up, but the pain from his wound made him gasp. "Why would they think of checking the cellar?"
"They must have guessed who was hiding in someone's house because they couldn't find the person. Now is not the time to think about that!" Feng Qiushi was so anxious he was almost crying. "You have to think of something!"
Xu Mingli gritted his teeth, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, his mind racing.
Empty houses will be inspected, and so will the cellars of villagers' homes. Staying in the village is just waiting to die!
He suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with fierceness. "Help me up, get me some dry food and water, I'm going up the mountain!"
Now the only option is to hide deep in the mountains, where the forests are dense and it's difficult to search at night; perhaps there's a way out there.
"But you've still been shot, and it's so cold up in the mountains..."
"We don't care about the cold now!" Xu Mingli roared. "Pack me whatever food you have at home, a kettle of water, medicine, and a set of warm clothes. Hurry up!"
Feng Qiushi dared not delay any longer and turned to run into the house.
There were only a few hard cornbreads left in the house, which she stuffed into a cloth bag. She also filled a kettle with hot water, put in the only half-bottle of anti-inflammatory powder in the drawer, found a thick old cotton-padded coat, and ran all the way back to the cellar.
Xu Mingli took the things, first putting on his thick cotton-padded coat to cover the blood-soaked cuffs, then slinging the cloth bag over his shoulder, and gritting his teeth as he climbed up, "Clean the cellar, use a fan to disperse the smell of blood, don't leave any traces."
After saying that, he didn't linger. He pushed open the cellar door and, under the cover of night, went around to the small river behind the village.
If you continue walking uphill along the river, you can avoid the village paths and be less likely to be discovered.
Feng Qiushi watched his figure disappear into the darkness before quickly turning back to tidy up the cellar.
There were bloodstains in some places, and she wiped them several times with a rag but couldn't get them clean. In the end, she could only grab a handful of dry soil and cover them with it. She then found a palm-leaf fan and fanned it vigorously into the cellar, trying to get rid of the smell of blood.
As she fanned herself, tears suddenly fell and landed on the back of her hand.
She squatted on the ground, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
How did it turn out like this?
At first, Xu Mingli said he was only there to seek revenge on his sister and take back the Xu family's assets, which is why she came along.
But who knew he would kill someone and get shot? Things got worse and worse, and like a net, he entangled her in it too.
She grew up in a big city and had never even seen a fight, let alone murder. Now she lives in fear every day and has nightmares every night.
She felt she was about to break down. If this continued, even if the military didn't find out, she would be driven crazy!
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