Chapter 143 Senior Brother and the Dog "Senior Brother, what brings you here?"...
The victim, a 14-year-old girl, went missing yesterday. She has an older brother and a younger brother.
Like the other three victims, she was a student who failed the high school entrance exam, but her walls were clearly covered with certificates of merit, which puzzled Qiu Xiaoman.
Could it be that I got my period during the exam? And that's why I didn't perform well?
It wasn't convenient to ask her two brothers about this, so Qiu Xiaoman called her mother to go to her room to talk.
This is a simple rural woman; her clothes are patched, showing the considerable pressure she faces in supporting three children.
According to her, the child usually suffers from menstrual cramps, and she happened to get her period the day before the exam. The tension and anxiety in the exam room amplified this discomfort.
The woman, tears streaming down her face, said, "My child was devastated on the day of the exam. She cried all night and barely slept. When the results came out, she was even more heartbroken. Her father and I wanted her to go to vocational school, but she refused, saying she had made plans with her classmates to go work in the south. I told her, 'You're only fourteen! What kind of work are you going to do? You might get sold off and not even know it!' But she wouldn't listen. She felt ashamed of failing the exam and desperately wanted to leave. I had to coax her, saying I'd sell our chickens, ducks, and geese and go south with her. But who would have thought that, whether she was impatient or what, after I sold the chickens, ducks, and geese, she was gone. I asked all the neighbors, but nobody had seen her. Tell me, how could a perfectly healthy person just disappear like that?"
This matter sounds very strange, and there are many suspicious points. Qiu Xiaoman is not sure to draw a conclusion for the time being, but she feels that there is something wrong with that so-called classmate.
She asked, "Do you know what her classmate's name is?"
“Her name is Luo Qin, she’s from town. Her grades weren’t good to begin with, so it’s normal that she didn’t get into high school. She didn’t want to go to vocational school, and she kept urging my daughter to go out and work.” The woman wiped away her tears, turned around and opened the three-door wardrobe. “My daughter sleeps with me on this side, and her father, her brothers and she sleep on the east side. Look, all the clothes inside are there, not a single one is missing. Not a single penny of money is missing either. Where do you think she could go empty-handed?”
Qiu Xiaoman glanced at the clothes in the closet; they were all very pretty and made of good quality, far better than the clothes the woman herself wore. Clearly, this was a mother who doted on her daughter.
Qiu Xiaoman felt a pang of envy for the girl. She advised the woman, "Auntie, don't worry. I'll go ask Luo Qin later. Think about it, besides Luo Qin, does your daughter have any other close friends?"
"No, she studies very hard and doesn't like to go out and play with others. After school, she always goes home to do her homework and then helps me with the housework. She's such a good girl. Who was the bastard who stole my child away?" The woman lost control of her emotions and sobbed uncontrollably. Qiu Xiaoman had no choice but to go outside and call her son in.
The two children, one seventeen and the other twelve, looked relaxed and not in a hurry, which seemed rather strange to Qiu Xiaoman, making her suspicious.
In addition, the two resemble neither their father nor their mother.
Unfortunately, the system didn't react to the two people. Considering that the system has a mechanism to protect minors, she was still cautious. After going out, she asked the neighbors and found out that the family was a blended family.
Both sons were born to the man from his previous marriage, while the daughter was brought from his previous marriage. The couple did not have any more children after their remarriage.
So maybe both boys resemble their biological mother?
Regardless, this at least illustrates one point: the girl's disappearance should be investigated by focusing on factors within her family.
After all, if someone disappears from home, their family members are bound to be suspects. And now, these so-called "family members," apart from her biological mother, are not related to her by blood, so they are naturally suspicious.
If the other three families also exhibit similar characteristics—such as blended families—then perhaps there's more to the story.
Strange, this information should have been reflected in the case file, but unfortunately it wasn't in the file that Qiu Xiaoman received.
According to the process by which Miyun police station submitted the case file to higher authorities, who then photocopied it and gave it to Captain Meng, the problem originated at the Miyun police station.
It's possible that the relevant personnel were not doing their job properly and overlooked such important information.
Qiu Xiaoman planned to visit the other three places herself and search the surrounding area for any trace of the girl.
So she asked the girl's mother to find a pair of shoes the girl had worn and let the dogs smell them.
When he turned around, he saw Fang Jiadong's gloomy face and felt disgusted, so he ignored him, just said something to Dou Lei, and then took the two dogs out.
Fang Jiadong immediately stopped her: "Hey Qiu, where are you going again? Can't you show some respect for others? At least say so?"
Qiu Xiaoman turned around with a sneer: "What, you want to scatter nails in the middle of the night to make my tires blow out again? If you do this twice more, even the King of Heaven can't protect you. You'll be fired!"
Fang Jiadong's face darkened: "Who said I spilled it? It was He Rui. You caused him to lose his job, and he's coming after you for revenge. I was just trying to break up the fight. Don't make false accusations!"
Qiu Xiaoman suddenly realized why Fang Jiadong could come back to be a policeman; it turned out that He Rui, that idiot, had taken the fall for him.
"So what?" Qiu Xiaoman sneered, "You know perfectly well whether you've escaped once or not. You can't expect someone to help you every time. You'd better watch yourself."
"Wait, where are you going?" Fang Jiadong just couldn't stand her; he felt uncomfortable if he didn't cause her trouble.
Qiu Xiaoman turned around disdainfully: "Who gives you the right to tell me what to do? Are you my boss?"
Helpless, Fang Jiadong could only look at Chen Jianjun, who was leading the team.
Chen Jianjun grabbed him and said, "Xiao Qiu, you wait here. We're unfamiliar with this place, and the victims are all women. I'll go with you. Dou Lei, you and Fang Jiadong stay here to get more information. I'll be back soon."
Helpless, Fang Jiadong had no choice but to grit his teeth and go with Dou Lei to inspect the scene.
Once outside, Chen Jianjun lit a cigarette and asked Qiu Xiaoman for her opinion with a lighter. Qiu Xiaoman shook her head, so Chen Jianjun put the lighter away and kept the cigarette in his mouth without lighting it.
The other three victims were in other villages, which were a bit far to walk from, but that would allow the dog to track their scents, so the two officers didn't drive the police car.
As they walked, Chen Jianjun advised, "Why are you arguing with Fang Jiadong? His grandfather and father are still alive and well. It's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester."
"I didn't provoke him, he just acted like a jerk." Qiu Xiaoman spoke very rudely; she felt disgusted just looking at that person.
Chen Jianjun said helplessly, "Then you should bear with it. It's in a public place, so that others won't find fault with you. Don't be upset by what I'm saying, but you need to change this temper."
Qiu Xiaoman fell silent. As she passed by the door of an old acquaintance's house, she subconsciously turned around and glanced back, only to find the door closed. She couldn't see what was inside, but she could hear Xiao Hua's voice, barking as she played with Xiao Bai and A Fu.
Qiu Xiaoman didn't want Chen Jianjun to know about the three dogs, otherwise they wouldn't survive—according to the city's rules, a dog that bites someone should be killed.
Although she wasn't sure if it was the Wu Haoxiong they had accused of killing, what if it was? She looked away.
Seeing that she was unhappy, Chen Jianjun tried to comfort her again, but she got annoyed and waved her hand, saying, "I know, I'll be more careful next time."
"You weren't this impulsive before. What's wrong with you lately? Are you having trouble getting along with Liu Kun?" Chen Jianjun didn't want to get involved, but he had been asked to say something, so he couldn't help but chime in.
Qiu Xiaoman didn't know how to answer, so she changed the subject: "Don't you think there's something wrong with the case files submitted from Miyun? They didn't even investigate blended families?"
Chen Jianjun, however, was not swayed by her. After thinking for a moment, he still spoke frankly: "I ran into Liu Kun at the hospital. He was seeing a psychiatrist. If you ask me, if he has a mental illness, your relationship won't last long. It's better to end it sooner rather than later. Look at your temper now; you're prone to causing trouble at work."
Qiu Xiaoman got annoyed, snatched the cigarette from his hand, snapped it in half, and threw it into the roadside trash heap. With a dark face, she warned, "This is none of your business. You're here to lead the team to handle the case, not to lecture me."
Chen Jianjun surrendered and stopped talking. He stopped at the intersection ahead and said, "I'll have a smoke, calm down."
Qiu Xiaoman hates the smell of cigarettes the most, but since everyone else is smoking nearby, she can't interfere too much. So she just walks away and waits for the smell to dissipate.
After circling the area twice, she asked Huihui and Mingming, "Can you smell that girl's scent on the street?"
Huihui shook her head: "It started to fade from the doorway, and it was gone by the time it got here. She probably left by car."
"What about Mingming?" Qiu Xiaoman needed them to agree.
Mingming tilted her head back and sniffed hard for a while: "We really can't find it. The wind is blowing behind us, so there should still be some smell over there."
Huihui naturally knew about the influence of wind direction. She said, "Even if it did, it wouldn't matter. It should have blown from the girl's house. I still think she left by car from her doorstep, and it was a sedan. If it were a bicycle, the smell would be much stronger, since she only went missing yesterday."
"Hmm, that's a reasonable guess." Mingming stopped offering his opinion. He had gotten used to playing the supporting role every time he went on a mission with Huihui.
Qiu Xiaoman was confused. If she was taken away by car, there should have been witnesses, right? How come the case file said that no one saw her leave? The girl's mother said the same thing.
Unless it's not a car, but some other enclosed, portable tool.
Thinking of this, Qiu Xiaoman was startled. She opened the case file and verified the victim's height: 1.5 meters tall and weighing 39 kilograms, short and thin...
Could it be that it was hidden in a suitcase and dragged out?
She found Chen Jianjun smoking and fanned away the smell: "The dogs have already searched the area, there's no trace of the victims nearby. Get the police cars out, hurry up, I need to verify the family situations of the other three victims as soon as possible."
Chen Jianjun immediately put out his cigarette. The two returned to the victim's house, got into the car one after the other, and drove away before he asked, "Why is there no smell? Didn't it just disappear yesterday?"
“Really, that’s all. That girl doesn’t like to go out, and there’s no trace of her scent nearby, so she must have been taken out of her home by someone.” Qiu Xiaoman made her bold guess. “There are no witnesses nearby, so she might have been stuffed into a box and dragged out.”
Chen Jianjun was startled by her and quickly slammed on the brakes. He turned around and stared at her blankly: "Really? You're not thinking of murder and dismemberment, are you?"
“No, it couldn’t be dismemberment. If it were dismemberment, the smell of blood would be so strong that it wouldn’t dissipate so quickly. I’m talking about stuffing the whole person inside. Look, these girls are all short and thin.” He handed the file to Chen Jianjun.
Chen Jianjun had seen it before he came, but he didn't think there was anything special about it—after all, it's easier to make a move if you're short and thin.
But if it's stuffed into a suitcase... then it's possible to get someone out without anyone noticing. It's normal for a girl to want to go to work and for her family to help carry her luggage.
Considering that the fourth victim was a blended family... in a flash, Chen Jianjun and Qiu Xiaoman had the same idea.
He quickly drove to check out a few other places.
As expected, these were all blended families, but they were unwilling to tell the truth at first, always emphasizing that they were a family and trying to confuse the issue.
The household registration book does not record information about second or first marriages. As long as the local staff do not go to the household registration department to check the paper files to verify the woman and her daughter's relocation time, it is easy to get away with it.
Unfortunately, age doesn't lie.
Qiu Xiaoman verified the age of the second victim's mother, who was thirty-five years old. Then she looked at the age of their eldest son, who was twenty-one years old. Clearly, either the male homeowner had assaulted the female homeowner when she was a minor, or the eldest son was born to someone else.
Faced with her questioning, the man finally told the truth: they were a blended family and didn't want the children to have any misunderstandings, which was why they didn't want to mention the matter.
Qiu Xiaoman couldn't help but sneer. They can't even lie properly? There's definitely something wrong with this family.
The ages of the members of the other two families didn't reveal whether they were blended families, but one family had a family photo of the male head of the household at his wedding, making it difficult to deny the truth. Meanwhile, at the other family, the victim's maternal grandmother happened to be confronting the victim's stepfather. Qiu Xiaoman stopped the elderly woman and, after inquiring, the whole truth came to light.
Leaving the third victim's house, Qiu Xiaoman was deep in thought: "The missing women were all daughters of the women from their previous marriages. They all disappeared from their stepfathers' homes. There were no witnesses when they disappeared. Each stepfather has sons from his previous marriages, aged between eleven and twenty-one. Apart from one eleven-year-old and one twelve-year-old, the others are capable of harming the girls on their own. Also, the two younger ones have older brothers, so age isn't really a problem."
Chen Jianjun also felt there were too many coincidences. After getting into the car, he instructed, "Don't make a fuss yet. Go back and sort out all the details before you speak."
Qiu Xiaoman was forced to confront a terrifying reality: "Don't you think these cases are too similar? They don't seem like isolated incidents; they seem like they were organized and targeted, specifically targeting girls from blended families, and they're all students taking the high school entrance exam this year."
"You mean, even if the murderers are their family members, there is some kind of connection between the murderers?" Chen Jianjun's expression was solemn. This deduction was reasonable; otherwise, it would have been impossible to select families with similar circumstances in different villages so precisely.
So who exactly is it? And what is their purpose?
He didn't understand. He was upset and wanted to smoke, but knowing Qiu Xiaoman didn't like it, he had to park the car on the side of the road and walk away to smoke.
Bored while waiting, Qiu Xiaoman turned on the car radio to see if there were any Asian Games broadcasts.
She has two beloved dogs that are on patrol, and she hopes they will have a smooth patrol.
Unexpectedly, by sheer chance, I tuned into an unknown radio station, and the voice that came through was one I hadn't heard in a long time. The voice was clear and melodious, and it spoke slowly and deliberately: "If you want to know more clues, wait for me at your house at midnight tonight."
What? Qiu Xiaoman stared at the radio in surprise, wondering if she was hallucinating.
She switched to another radio station, then switched back, and the voice appeared again, saying the exact same words, this time with an added title: "Junior Sister."
The last syllable rose in pitch, carrying a mocking laugh.
It was that glib, unserious old acquaintance, her senior brother. He actually had the ability to send her a message over the loudspeaker; she wondered if their master had arrived yet.
Just as she was wondering what was going on, Chen Jianjun came back after finishing his cigarette. Qiu Xiaoman subconsciously turned the tuning knob one full turn and stopped it on a different band.
Chen Jianjun assumed she was searching for Asian Games broadcasts and didn't think much of it. After sitting down, he said seriously, "I just thought about it, and that Luo Qin is a big problem. She might be the one who connected these girls, and the so-called job search is just bait."
"Mmm." Qiu Xiaoman sat down in the back row, her mind seemingly having a tape recorder installed, repeatedly playing those three words: junior sister.
Smiling, playful, and unserious.
That guy looked like an honest person when he was holding Xiaohua, but he turned out to be the same as always.
Helpless, Qiu Xiaoman patted her head, trying to get rid of his influence, but it was no use. The voice seemed to have taken root in her brain, repeating over and over again, "Junior Sister, Junior Sister, Junior Sister."
She gave up, leaned back in her seat, and closed her eyes to rest.
But as soon as she closed her eyes, images automatically flashed through her mind—the way her senior brother used to make funny faces to cheer her up. The images lingered, like a curse.
She gave up and could only sigh resignedly, deciding to settle the score with him that night.
When they arrived at Luo Qin's house, the system reacted, indicating that Luo Qin's parents were suspicious. They insisted that Luo Qin had gone to work in the south that morning.
What a coincidence? Qiu Xiaoman was skeptical, but there was nothing she could do. The parents insisted that Luo Qin was not home, and she couldn't very well tie them up and torture them, could she?
Just as I was about to leave, I heard Grey and Mingming barking in the backyard.
Luo Qin's family runs a shop in town, with a front house and a back yard, and three more rooms in the back. There is a well and a cellar in the middle of the yard.
Grey and Mingming were barking incessantly around the cellar entrance.
As soon as Qiu Xiaoman walked over, Luo Qin's guilty parents rushed over to try to stop her, but Qiu Xiaoman was quicker and had already pulled the latch off the cover on the ground and let the dog in.
In a moment of panic, the husband grabbed Qiu Xiaoman and held her shoulders down to prevent her from moving, while the wife hugged Chen Jianjun, grabbed his hands to tear at her clothes, and threw a tantrum, accusing Chen Jianjun of being a pervert, determined to destroy the whole thing right there in the yard.
Qiu Xiaoman understood. They were just being unreasonable and trying to buy time for their daughter.
No way! She wasn't going to sit there like a block of wood. She lowered her head and bit the man's wrist. The man felt the pain and instinctively shoved her away. He slapped her again, but not on the face. Instead, he slapped the back of her head and then kicked her into the cellar.
The two dogs had just brought a pile of clothes from the very back of the cellar, barking and complaining. According to them, one set belonged to the fourth victim and was covered in her scent, while the others belonged to other people.
In addition, there were several large suitcases inside.
Qiu Xiaoman rolled down in front of the two dogs, rubbed her sore head, picked up the clothes and looked at them. They were similar in style and material to the ones in the closet.
The most urgent thing is to find a way out. Damn it, Luo Qin's father actually put the lid on the cellar entrance and even plugged it in with a click.
Even if Qiu Xiaoman jumped from the spot, she couldn't reach the lid. She wanted to call for help, but when she reached for her bag, she realized that she had left it in Chen Jianjun's car.
She had no choice but to ask the dogs, "Where's the box?"
The two dogs led her inside, and it got darker and darker as they went in. Fortunately, she grew up in the mountains and got used to it after a while. In the blurry light and shadow, there were four huge suitcases stacked together.
She pulled all the suitcases to the entrance, but the empty ones couldn't support the weight and would collapse. She then went around the cellar and stuffed all sorts of bottles and jars into the suitcases. Fortunately, there was a basket of radishes inside, which she picked up and stuffed in as well. However, this made it impossible to stand four suitcases on top of each other, so she could only stack two.
She tried it and found it was within reach, but unfortunately she didn't have any suitable tools on hand.
She jumped down again, picked out two of the biggest and roundest radishes, wrapped them in her coat, and banged the lids on them.
It was a wooden lid, not very durable, but unfortunately the radish wasn't very powerful either; after a few hits, it splattered juice all over her face.
Helpless, I had no choice but to give up and think of other solutions.
She could try holding the box, but an empty box was useless. If it was full, she couldn't lift it, and if it was half full, it was even worse. She couldn't smash it.
After thinking it over, I decided to let the dog go.
Wait! Why is there no sound outside? Has Chen Jianjun been taken down? This is the inconvenient thing about men; once they're entangled with a shameless woman, they can't act freely.
Please don't let anything happen.
She quickly squatted down and asked Huihui and Mingming, "You know how to dig in the dirt, right?"
"Yes." Gray immediately stepped forward, wanting to contribute.
Qiu Xiaoman wanted to give Mingming a chance, so she waited for Mingming's answer.
Mingming didn't want to argue with Huihui, so she humbly said, "I grew up in the city and haven't done much digging."
"Alright then, Gray Gray, go ahead. The sides of the lid are all muddy, you can dig it, but the soil is too hard, it might hurt your claws. Gray Gray, bear with it, I'll give you something good to eat when we get back." Qiu Xiaoman had no choice; she wanted to dig it herself, but unfortunately, she had just trimmed her nails.
She held Huihui like a charging gun, and it actually looked quite convincing. Huihui, meanwhile, immediately threw herself into her dusty and dirty work.
After digging a few times, he would turn his head away to catch his breath.
This can't go on. Qiu Xiaoman thought for a moment, then picked up Huihui and got downstairs. She tore off all the sleeves of her shirt, tied one to Huihui's face as a mask, and tied the other to herself.
This has greatly improved work efficiency, but Qiu Xiaoman's appearance is a bit comical.
After more than an hour of hard work, the man and the dog finally managed to pry open the lid. Qiu Xiaoman lifted Huihui up, and Huihui turned around and ran back, saying, "Master, the yard is locked, there is blood on the ground, and no one is in the yard."
"Oh no, something must have happened to Chen Jianjun," Qiu Xiaoman thought for a moment and said, "Go to the yard and see if there's a carrying pole or a long stick. Put it at the cellar exit and I'll climb up myself."
"Okay!" Huihui quickly went to find something, and Qiu Xiaoman took the opportunity to throw things out of the cellar: clothes, boxes, and finally Mingming.
There are two more boxes filled with things for her to stand on, but we can't get them up there yet. We'll have to wait until she gets up there.
After a while, Huihui exerted all his strength to place the carrying pole at the exit. Qiu Xiaoman grabbed the carrying pole, pushed off with all his might, and climbed up.
With one person and two dogs, they went to the yard and found two hemp ropes. They had Grey carry one end down into the handle of the box, and then let Qiu Xiaoman pull her up. Finally, Qiu Xiaoman could put the two ends of the rope together and pull the box up.
The other one followed the same method.
After all that fuss, both the man and the dog were covered in dirt and grime, except for Mingming, who looked relatively clean.
He had already located Chen Jianjun's whereabouts and was squatting on the ground waiting for Qiu Xiaoman to speak.
Qiu Xiaoman took a breath: "I'll rest for a bit, just one minute."
We definitely need to pursue Chen Jianjun, and we also need to find someone to take over Luo Qin's family, as there is a lot of evidence here.
But who could she ask to pass on the message? The door was locked, and she couldn't get out.
Never mind, let's just take the door down! She went around and found wrenches, screwdrivers, hammers and other tools in the storage room on the west side of the yard, and got to work right away.
With a loud bang, the two doors, hand in hand, slammed onto the main road outside, instantly attracting the attention of passersby.
Qiu Xiaoman pulled out a police badge from her coat: "Quick, go to the town police station and call some people to come to Luo Qin's house to help. I'll wait here."
Actually, doing this was a gamble, but there was no other way. She couldn't divide it into several pieces by herself, so she could only gamble that in this peaceful and prosperous world, there were still more good people than bad.
She won the bet, and soon police cars arrived with sirens blaring. The town's police officers got out of the cars and quickly approached her to find out what had happened.
She instructed the police to keep a close eye on the stacks of clothes and the four boxes, as they were important pieces of evidence. She also instructed them to seal off Luo Qin's house to prevent unauthorized personnel from entering or leaving.
The most urgent task was to rescue Chen Jianjun. Qiu Xiaoman glanced at the police officers present; there weren't enough men, so she had to borrow a police car to go to the police station and call Captain Zou for backup.
Upon hearing this, Captain Zou was shocked. Someone actually dared to kidnap a criminal police officer? He quickly found out the time, location, and details, and temporarily transferred Tiger's team to provide support.
Qiu Xiaoman hung up the phone, took her two dogs, got into the car, and started tracking the scent.
Qiu Xiaoman drove with the windows open, letting the two dogs sit on either side of the back seat to gather information, and gradually increased the speed of the car.
The whole way smelled of blood, making the chase easy. They chased each other until nightfall, finally reaching a hillside. Qiu Xiaoman found a police car abandoned by the roadside, but unfortunately, her cell phone was gone, and her bag was missing too.
They had no choice but to take the two dogs and head into the mountains.
The saying "fortune and misfortune are intertwined" applies here. If Chen Jianjun hadn't been injured, she wouldn't have been able to find him so easily.
But if he hadn't been injured, Qiu Xiaoman wouldn't have gotten hit on the back while rushing to check his injuries.
Fortunately, she still had the dog. Mingming finally had a chance to shine. She rushed up and bit the man's leg, baring her teeth. The huge bite force instantly pierced the man's skin and pierced his bone, causing him to howl in pain. He raised the stick, wanting to hit Mingming again.
Seeing this, Grey pounced on him and bit the man's arm. The stick crashed to the ground with a thud, and the man was completely rendered powerless.
Unfortunately, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The woman was still there; she picked up the stick from the ground and lashed out at Gray Gray.
Unexpectedly, Qiu Xiaoman recovered and grabbed her calf, pulling hard. With a thud, the woman fell to the ground, rolling around with Qiu Xiaoman, and the two began to wrestle.
Grey wanted to let go of the man to help, but was afraid that the man would take the opportunity to pick up the stick and attack his master again, so she clung to the man tightly, hoping that her master could win.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. During the tumble, Qiu Xiaoman's head hit a rock, and a sharp pain shot through her. In the moment before her consciousness began to fade, she could only grab the rock and smash it against the woman's forehead.
Everything was still.
Stillness ensued amidst the prolonged, piercing, and incessant tinnitus.
Still in the dark, cold, and damp cave.
Seeing that its master had stopped moving, Grey Grey became anxious and simply bit the man's neck to eliminate any future trouble.
Then she rushed to her master's side and eagerly licked her cheeks: "Master, Master, wake up."
Seeing this, Mingming let go of the man and advised, "Stop licking him, you've hit your head and need to go to the hospital. Go and call someone, call that man, he should recognize the trainer."
"Can you stay here and keep watch?" Huihui knew that this was the best solution at the moment, but she was a little worried. What if bad guys came after she left?
Mingming said helplessly, "What else can we do? Leave everyone here and let the trainer die? Go quickly, I will do my best to protect her, unless I die too."
After hesitating for a moment, Huihui made a decision: "Okay, I'll go find someone. You must keep a close eye on things!"
"Go quickly, don't hesitate, or you won't be able to do anything right." Mingming's calmness came in handy, and he said decisively, "Go quickly, the sooner you get someone over here, the sooner the instructor will be out of danger. With me here, you can rest assured."
Touched, Grey ran over and licked Mingming's cheek: "It's all yours now."
Having said that, it transformed into a gray blade and shot into the boundless night.
Halfway there, I caught a familiar scent, carrying a hint of floral fragrance, as if it were a celestial being detached from the mortal world.
That was the taste her owner wanted her to remember. She turned around abruptly, looked at the van that had just driven by, and chased after it, barking loudly.
In the rearview mirror, the white-haired old man had already noticed Grey Grey and reminded him, "Stop the car, it's your junior sister's dog."
The serious-looking young man glanced at the rearview mirror and pulled the car over to the side of the road.
As he got off the bus, his flowing long hair was lifted by the wind, making his handsome face appear even more exquisite. Anyone who saw him would stop and turn around to look, sighing at his stunning appearance.
The young man walked back a few steps and saw the panting dog.
He squatted by the roadside, waiting for Grey to approach, and asked, "Where is your master?"
"He's injured and unconscious in the cave," Gray said, panting. "Did you come to help?"
"Mmm." The young man's voice was very pleasant, like a clear spring, pure and refined.
Huihui looked a little confused: "You can understand what I'm saying?"
"Mmm." The young man helped her into the car and handed her a bowl of water. "Drink some water." He then untied a plastic bag and pushed a cooked chicken breast inside in front of her.
Just as Gray was about to say thank you, she looked up and saw that Little Flower and Little White were there! There was also a black one that she hadn't seen before, but her owner had mentioned it, so it must be Ah Fu.
She greeted everyone with a smile.
Little Flower excitedly circled around her twice: "Grey Grey! I missed you so much!"
"I miss you all too." After saying that, Grey drank a lot of water. She was so thirsty. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day and was too tired.
After she had drunk her fill, she grabbed a piece of chicken breast and ate heartily, otherwise she wouldn't have the strength to help her owner.
After finishing her meal, she finally had time to chat with Xiaohua and the others. She asked curiously, "What are you all doing here?"
"We bit someone, so we can't go back. We'll only cause trouble for our owner," Xiaohua said with a regretful expression.
Grey was stunned: "I...I bit someone too, but I should be fine."
“Yes, you’re different. You’re a police dog. If you bite someone to protect your owner, you won’t be punished; you’ll be praised.” Xiao Hua had already figured out the difference and could comfort Hui Hui from the perspective of a former dog.
Grey breathed a sigh of relief: "Hmm. I wonder what this man's relationship is with Master, and whether he's good to you?"
“Great!” Little Flower said with a grin. “Look how much weight Little White has gained! Afu has gained weight too, but I haven’t gained much. I’m afraid my owner won’t recognize me, so I always pay special attention to eating less.”
"Come on, you've gained weight too." Xiaobai mercilessly mocked his teammate.
Little Flower let out a howl and turned to bite Little White: "Nonsense, you guys are the ones who have gained weight. I've only gained a little bit, which is practically nothing."
Xiao Bai jumped aside to dodge his attack and sneered, "Alright, alright, you're not fat, you're the most handsome."
That's more like it. Little Flower was happy and started chatting with Grey Grey, asking if Grey Grey was doing well at the base and if their owner had contacted them.
Upon hearing that her owner had a new dog, Xiaohua burst into tears: "Bad owner, how many good dogs does she have?"
“They’re all of them.” Gray Gray unkindly poked him in the heart. “There will be more and more in the future.”
Little Flower looked aggrieved and lay down on her seat without saying a word.
In the driver's seat, the young man remained serious and focused on driving. The old man asked one last time, "Are you sure you want to interfere with your junior sister's karma? If she can't break free from her inner turmoil this time, she won't be able to go back, and neither will you."
"So what if I can't become an immortal? What's the point of someone becoming an immortal? I don't care." The young man remained unmoved.
The old man, still wanting to try, deliberately brought up the very thing she didn't want to talk about: "Are you sure? She's already entangled with someone else, and maybe she'll get married and have children in the future. Even if they can't make it work and break up, do you think she'll develop feelings for you? You've been cultivating together for so long, if there were feelings, they would have been there already."
"Master, please stop talking. My mind is made up." His junior sister hadn't resolved her inner conflict before, so she had no interest in romance and love, and he never forced her to.
If she still can't fall in love with him even now that her relationship with her father has improved, then it's because he's useless, and he won't resent anyone.
As for the inability to go back, that's simply a choice.
If he were to go back like this, but couldn't let go of this relationship, he wouldn't be able to transcend worldly concerns and achieve liberation.
Why not just plunge headlong into it, into the vortex of my junior sister's fate? Whether she sinks or is saved, let it all be up to fate.
This is the path he chose himself. Whether it's bitter or sweet, he'll only know and won't regret it once he's walked it.
Half an hour later, he parked his car in the hillside. He didn't even need a flashlight; he walked straight past two police cars and headed towards the cave in the distance.
Huihui rushed to the front, followed closely by Xiaohua and the others. The old man didn't move, remaining in the car as if in a meditative state, waiting quietly.
Soon, he carried the unconscious Qiu Xiaoman back to the car, followed by five dogs in a grand procession.
They initially intended to leave, but then decided to go back to the cave, bring Chen Jianjun back to the car, and take them both with them.
As the police car turned around, the walkie-talkie inside rang; it was on a police-only frequency.
He got out of the car, picked up the walkie-talkie: "Hello, I'm an ordinary citizen. I just saw two police cars parked in the mountains and found two injured police officers. Please go to the western foothills of Yunmeng Mountain in Miyun to provide support. There are two suspects in a cave in the distance, their fate unknown. I will leave two police dogs in the police car to wait for you. I'll take the officers to the hospital first. Over."
He went back to the car, carried Huihui and Mingming out, and also took the meat that Mingming hadn't finished eating to the police car.
He told the two dogs to wait for backup there, and then drove off.
Less than half an hour after he left, Tiger arrived with his team, along with local police officers. Guided by Huihui and Mingming, they searched the cave and found the man dead, but the woman was still alive. They took her to the hospital for emergency treatment.
As for Luo Qin, Dou Lei has already found her. She is hiding in a video and audio product store, and the owner is her uncle, who is not related to her by blood.
As for the clothes in Luo Qin's cellar, they did indeed belong to the four victims, and the mothers of the other three families have already gone to claim them.
The boxes still bore traces of their stepsons' scent, and the general outline of the case had emerged—their stepsons were very hostile towards their daughters, not only fighting over food and clothing but also constantly making sarcastic remarks, calling them a burden and saying they should be married off as soon as possible to exchange for dowry money.
Unfortunately, these girls are too young, and it's easy for them to run into trouble if they get married, so we encourage them to go out and work.
Hearing such words from teenage girls will definitely make them overthink things. No wonder they didn't want to go to vocational school after failing to get into high school; they just wanted to get away from such families as soon as possible.
But what kind of work can someone that age do? Naturally, illegal work. And what kind of illegal work pays the fastest? Pornographic videos, of course.
Luo Qin's uncle ostensibly runs an audio-visual products store, renting out CDs and discs, but secretly that's what he's really doing.
These are all dirty tricks learned from the Japanese next door; the two people making the film are siblings.
Apart from the 21-year-old, all the other boys were minors, and the 21-year-old happened to have a younger brother.
All of this together forms a filthy underground pornographic video production industry chain.
They target underage girls from the lowest social classes.
Now, the biggest question is: what about the victims?
Just when Tiger and his team were at their wits' end, they received a phone call.
On the other end of the phone was a refreshing male voice, melodious and pleasant, like the tinkling of a mountain spring.
He told Tiger that he had rescued all four victims after the incident and settled them in a community in the northern part of the city. Their biological fathers were all aware of the situation, and the money for renting the community was raised by them.
"Why didn't you report it to the police sooner?" Tiger asked, puzzled.
The man said helplessly, "I don't know who the murderer is, so I can only protect the girl first. I didn't do anything wrong, did I, officer?"
"No, thank you. I'm going to rescue these children now. Please tell me your name and address so I can make a follow-up visit and take a statement."
"My surname is Fu, the Fu of the hottest days of summer, and my given name is Ze. My address is Qiu Xiaoman's ward at the hospital."
What? Tiger was startled. He hung up the phone and rushed to the ward that very night to check on the patient.
Qiu Xiaoman had a bandage wrapped around her head and an IV drip in her hand. A man wearing a cross-collar robe, with his hair tied up and a crown, was sitting beside her, keeping watch over her. The man was resting his chin on his hand, seemingly half asleep and half awake.
There were three dogs in the ward: one lying by the door, one by the bed, and one at his feet.
The moment Tiger pushed open the door, Xiaohua stood up. Seeing that it was a policeman, she turned back to the bedside, lay down, and continued to doze off.
The man naturally heard the noise, opened his eyes, and politely greeted him.
Tiger was taken aback, thinking it was a period film shoot, and subconsciously asked, "Are you some celebrity? I've never seen you before."
Fu Ze smiled and stood up, offering his chair to Tiger Brother: "Sit down."
Tiger felt too embarrassed to sit down by himself, so he stood in front of the hospital bed and looked Qiu Xiaoman over: "Is she alright?"
"Concussion, cerebral hemorrhage. They drained two tubes, and the blood clot on his head has gone down." Fu Ze was also standing, clearly half a head taller than Tiger.
Tiger asked again, "You shouldn't have amnesia, right?"
"I don't know, I'll have to wait until I wake up to find out." Fu Ze's expression was indifferent, but his words were polite enough.
It's a very polite sense of distance.
Tiger didn't want to bother him any longer, so he went to check on Chen Jianjun in the next ward before returning to wait for news.
Soon, his subordinates called back, saying that all four victims had been found and were indeed in the neighborhood the complainant had described. The victims' biological fathers also provided testimonies to prove that what the complainant said was true.
Tiger was dumbfounded. This guy was really something. He could always save the victims with perfect accuracy, but he just didn't know who the murderer was.
Perhaps it's not that they don't know, but that it's inconvenient for them to take action? After all, ordinary people don't have law enforcement power.
With that thought in mind, he stopped worrying, picked up the police dispatch log, and began writing.
This overtime work lasted all night, and I still hadn't finished writing when it was dawn.
When Wu Shirong came to work in the morning, he saw that the light in his room was still on, so he kindly went over to turn it off for him and casually asked, "Brother Hu didn't go home all night?"
You only forget to turn off the lights after dawn if you don't go home for one night; you're too engrossed in it.
Tiger didn't even look up, just uttered an "ah" as a reply.
Wu Shirong didn't think much of it. Just as he turned around, Tiger remembered something and reminded him, "Tell Captain Zou that Xiao Qiu and Chen Jianjun are both injured and hospitalized. Everyone who is free should go to the hospital to visit them later."
"What?" Wu Shirong was dumbfounded and hurried to find Team Leader Zou. Unfortunately, everyone had work to do in the morning, so he could only go during lunchtime.
Wu Shirong was the only one who wasn't too busy. After thinking about it, he told Team Leader Zou that he would go and check on things first.
*
When Qiu Xiaoman woke up, she was immediately struck by the handsome face of an old acquaintance.
She was both amused and exasperated: "Senior brother, what brings you here?"
Fuze wanted to say, "If I don't come soon, you'll be someone else's wife." But the taste was too strong, too sour, it made his teeth ache.
He could only smooth his hair and proudly say, "Heroic deeds need no reason."
Qiu Xiaoman chuckled: "Was it Huihui who came to find you? You're still the same as ever, all talk and no action."
"Really? Where's the oil?" Fu Ze was hurt and stood up deliberately so she could see the tassel on his belt.
That was a gift she gave him before she left, jokingly saying that she was afraid her senior brother would forget her.
As it turns out, her senior brother didn't forget her, but she was seen hugging and cuddling with other men. It's infuriating.
Fu Ze was unhappy and deliberately turned away so that the pale yellow tassels would catch her attention.
Qiu Xiaoman noticed it as expected and reached out to touch it: "It's still hanging there."
"What, you want to go back?" Fu Ze finally succeeded and sat down on the edge of the bed again.
Qiu Xiaoman was both amused and exasperated: "Why would I come back after giving it to you? I'm clumsy and my typing isn't very good. I'm already grateful that you don't mind."
"It's very pretty." Fu Ze lowered his head and untied the tassel. There was a cute cat head hanging on it, crocheted with yarn by his junior sister.
However, when Qiu Xiaoman gave him the tassel, the cat head was still hanging on his satchel, how did it end up on the tassel?
Whatever, it's all a gift for him anyway, let him mix and match it however he wants.
She was a little thirsty and struggled to sit up.
Fu Ze quickly went to rock the bed and handed her the prepared sippy cup: "Are you hungry? Master went back to make soup. Come back later."
"Ah..." Qiu Xiaoman hadn't heard those two words in a long time and was a little dazed. "Master is here too?"
"Otherwise, are you just going to stand by and watch me call someone else 'Dad'?" Fu Ze tied the tassel back up, speaking up for his master. "Your father is no match for Master."
Just as he finished speaking, two people entered through the door.
One was Shen Qinghuai, and the other was an old man with white hair carrying a thermos.
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