Chapter 100 Behave Well, Don't Move
Zhao Wenchang raised his hand and waved: "Pry it open!"
The young soldier immediately responded, pulled out tools from his waist, and quickly pried open the sturdy lock.
As soon as the cellar entrance was opened, a stench of mold and decay rushed out, making people feel nauseous.
"I'll go down and take a look!" The young soldier who had just picked the lock volunteered and was the first to climb down the ladder.
Everyone was waiting upstairs, but just a few seconds later, a heart-wrenching scream came from the cellar.
"ah--!"
Immediately afterward, the young soldier scrambled out of the cellar, his face deathly pale, devoid of any color. As soon as he emerged, he leaned against the wall and began vomiting violently, even bringing up bile.
His comrades quickly gathered around him, patting him on the back: "Xiao Zhang, what's wrong? What's down there?"
The young soldier vomited and couldn't speak, only trembling uncontrollably. He pointed at the cellar entrance, his eyes filled with terror: "Dead...dead people...so many dead people..."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenchang's deputy frowned, walked over, and lightly patted the young soldier on the back of the head: "Look at you, so pathetic! What are soldiers afraid of dead people for! I'm going down!"
As he spoke, the deputy took a flashlight and went down into the cellar without hesitation.
Seeing this, Zhao Wenchang took a long stride and followed closely behind.
The cellar was pitch black, and because it was completely sealed off, the temperature was higher than outside, and the stench was so strong it was almost pungent.
The deputy turned on the flashlight, and a blinding beam of light flickered in the darkness. When the beam illuminated the corner of the cellar, even the deputy, who was used to seeing such things, couldn't help but gasp and feel a wave of nausea.
Deep inside the cellar, there weren't just a few dead bodies, but a whole pile!
One body after another, men and women, some already skeletons, others still recognizable, piled up densely like stacks of firewood, a truly horrifying scene!
Zhao Wenchang stepped forward, and after seeing the scene before him, his face darkened considerably.
He didn't say anything, but carefully swept the flashlight over every corner, his brows furrowed into a knot.
Things were much more serious than he had imagined.
This is no longer a simple case of human trafficking; it is an extremely heinous serial murder case!
After emerging from the cellar, he immediately gave his deputy the order: "Seal off the entire Zhoujia Village immediately! No one is allowed to enter or leave! This matter must be reported to the military region immediately. Before reinforcements arrive, control all villagers and do not allow anyone to leave the village!"
After making the arrangements, he walked over to Jiang Wanqiu and softened his voice: "I'll take you home first."
It's too dirty here, and the scene that's about to unfold isn't suitable for her to see.
On the way back to the military compound, the jeep was silent.
As soon as he entered the house, Zhao Wenchang closed the door, turned around and hugged Jiang Wanqiu tightly. He buried his head in Jiang Wanqiu's neck, his voice full of guilt and fear: "Wanqiu, I'm sorry, it was my negligence."
If he had been more vigilant, if he had noticed something was wrong sooner, she wouldn't have had to suffer that night.
Jiang Wanqiu shook her head in his arms, reached out and hugged his strong waist back, and said in a muffled voice, "How can this be your fault? It was my own fault for not being on guard and underestimating how bad these people are."
Zhao Wenchang released her, cupped her dusty little face, and gently stroked it with his thumb. "Your clothes are all dirty. Go change and take a bath to get rid of the bad luck. Don't go to the public bathhouse. I'll get you some hot water."
"Mm." Jiang Wanqiu nodded.
While waiting for the water to boil, Zhao Wenchang found some clothes to help the woman change.
"Raise your arms, I'll help you take off your sweater."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu obediently did as instructed, but as soon as she raised her arm, a piercing pain shot through her chest, causing her to involuntarily hiss and gasp.
Zhao Wenchang, ever perceptive, immediately grabbed her wrist, his dark eyes fixed on her: "What's wrong?"
"No...it's nothing," Jiang Wanqiu didn't want him to worry, and subconsciously tried to hide it, "It's just that my arm was tied up for a while and it went numb."
"Don't lie to me!" Zhao Wenchang looked at the woman with deep eyes. "Let me see."
Without giving Jiang Wanqiu a chance to refuse, he directly unbuttoned her blouse.
When the wrinkled clothes were removed, revealing the lining underneath, Zhao Wenchang's pupils suddenly contracted.
On the woman's snow-white skin, a shocking bluish-purple mark was clearly imprinted in the center of her chest, and on her two slender arms, there were also red marks and bruises from the ropes binding her.
The gruesome scars made her small, delicate face appear even more charming and pitiful, making one's heart clench.
Zhao Wenchang's thin lips were pressed tightly together, and a terrifying ferocity surged in his eyes.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his urge to rush forward, and then almost squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Who did it?"
Jiang Wanqiu was startled by his appearance and realized how hard Zhou Youfu had kicked her. She whispered, "It was...it was Zhou's eldest son."
Zhao Wenchang stared at Jiang Wanqiu for a long time, and the urge to kill her subsided a little. Then he turned around, took out some safflower oil from the cabinet, walked up to her without saying a word, and unscrewed the cap.
He had Jiang Wanqiu sit down by the bed, while he knelt in front of her, his rough fingertips dipped in some medicated oil, and carefully rubbed it in circles on the bruises on her chest.
The cooling sensation from the medicated oil was quickly replaced by the pain from the pressure. Jiang Wanqiu gasped in pain and involuntarily shrank back.
The man's warm, large hand pressed down on her waist, preventing her from escaping: "Be good, don't move. It will heal faster if you massage it."
This gesture was so intimate that it made her cheeks flush.
Jiang Wanqiu bit her lip, looking at the man's focused and distressed profile, and couldn't help but tease him, trying to ease the heavy atmosphere: "What can you do if I'm not good?"
Zhao Wenchang paused in his movements, raised his head, and his deep eyes, in the dim light, resembled a bottomless whirlpool, threatening to suck her in completely.
He didn't say anything, but suddenly leaned forward and accurately captured her two soft red lips.
Jiang Wanqiu was a little dizzy from his kisses. His warm palm covered the wound on her chest, sending a strange sensation that was both painful and itchy, with a hint of numbness.
A hidden desire quietly rose from the depths of my body.
She remembered that when Zhao Wenchang was aroused in the past, he also liked to leave marks on her body, and the force he used was much stronger than this.
This man appears calm and reliable, but once the beast within him is unleashed, he might be more ruthless than anyone else.
Thinking this way, Jiang Wanqiu was not afraid at all. Instead, she stretched out her arms and took the initiative to wrap her arms around the man's neck, snuggling against him and responding to him silently.
Zhao Wenchang's breathing suddenly quickened, and he tightened his grip on her arms. Just as he was about to make his next move—
"Knock knock knock—"
A rapid knocking sounded on the door.
The ambiguous atmosphere in the room was instantly shattered, and the two of them snapped out of their reverie.
Jiang Wanqiu blushed, hurriedly pushed the man away, and quickly pulled her clothes up.
Zhao Wenchang's eyes darkened, a hint of displeasure at being interrupted flashing across his face, but he quickly composed himself, stood up, and said in a deep voice to the door, "Who is it?"
He asked the question as he walked toward the door.
Standing outside the door was Le Yunyun.
She was still wearing yesterday's clothes, her hair was a little messy, and although she still had exquisite makeup on her face, the dark circles under her eyes were not covered up, obviously she hadn't slept all night.
Upon seeing Zhao Wenchang open the door, she didn't even bother to greet him. She tiptoed and peered into the house, asking, "Wanqiu? How is Wanqiu? I heard she's been found. Is she injured?"
Zhao Wenchang raised an eyebrow and stepped aside to let her in.
"She's alright. Keep your voice down, don't scare her."
Upon hearing this, Le Yunyun finally felt half relieved.
She rushed into the room and immediately saw Jiang Wanqiu sitting on the edge of the bed, frantically adjusting her collar.
Jiang Wanqiu's small face, no bigger than a palm, still had a blush that hadn't faded. When she saw her, her pair of watery almond-shaped eyes flashed with a hint of panic, which added to her adorable charm.
"Yunyun, what brings you here?"
"How could I not come!" Le Yunyun rushed over and looked her up and down. Seeing that she looked alright except for her pale complexion, she breathed a sigh of relief and plopped down next to her, starting to complain like a flood of beans.
"I'm so angry! I didn't dare close my eyes all night, afraid something might happen to you! If something happened to you, my dad would never forgive me! What kind of people are these, always targeting us women, taking advantage of our soft hearts and compassion!"
Le Yunyun grew increasingly angry as she spoke: "I've seen this kind of scam before when I was abroad! It was even worse! They would wrap a newborn baby in a rag and leave it by the roadside, just waiting for kind-hearted people like you to come and look. As soon as you bent down, good heavens, several burly men would jump out of the bushes, stuff you into a sack, and drag you away! I almost fell for it back then, and I never thought that back in China, in our own backyard, there would still be such heinous things!"
Without further ado, she reverted to her commanding manner from her home, raising her chin and asking Zhao Wenchang, who was walking over, "Battalion Commander Zhao, have you caught the woman who lied to me? You must find out the truth for me!"
After the water on the stove boiled, Zhao Wenchang poured Jiang Wanqiu a cup of hot water and handed it to her before asking, "Which one are you talking about?"
"It's that one, that one... Oh, I don't know him either!" Le Yunyun described the other person's appearance again, "Skinny and small, looks quite pitiful, but his heart is blacker than anyone else's!"
Holding the warm enamel mug, Jiang Wanqiu couldn't help but interject, "She looks... like she was forced into it, she should be a victim too."
"A victim?" Le Yunyun raised an eyebrow. "What victim? Abetting evil makes you an accomplice! I don't care if she was forced or did it voluntarily, we have to deal with it according to the rules! Battalion Commander Zhao, you can't smooth things over in this matter!"
Seeing Le Yunyun's self-righteous demeanor, Zhao Wenchang didn't argue with her, but simply nodded: "I understand, I'll handle it."
He glanced at his watch and said to Jiang Wanqiu, "Things aren't over in Zhoujia Village yet, I have to go there. You get some rest, I'll be back before it gets dark."
Le Yunyun immediately patted her chest and said, "Go ahead, go ahead, I'll take care of things here!"
As soon as Zhao Wenchang left, only the two women remained in the room. Le Yunyun immediately approached, her face filled with barely suppressed curiosity and gossip: "Hey, Wanqiu, I have a question for you. My bodyguard just told me that when you were arresting people, Zhou's eldest son was clinging to one of their big, fat sows and wouldn't let go, constantly shouting that you were the one who killed him! What happened? What tricks did you use on him? It's so strange!"
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