Chapter 121 He died from a fall.
Cai Huanhuan pointed to one of the dilapidated houses, with broken windows, and said, "This is it."
There was a gravel path, and a few steps away was a vegetable garden. "He tried to drag me into the house—but I clung to the small wall with all my might."
The garden is surrounded by small walls about one meter high on both sides, with handprints stained with sweat on them.
“When he hit me with the stick, I was terrified that he would beat me to death, so I dodged to the side. He couldn’t hold on and fell over there. When I saw him fall, I ran away immediately, afraid that he would catch up with me again.” She then pointed to the small wall on the other side of the vegetable garden.
Yu Xiaolu walked over and examined it closely. There was a round pit in the soil there, about the size of a head.
“There is no blood here. He must have gotten up quickly and tried to chase after you, but he must have run into someone else after only a few steps.”
Upon hearing this, Cai Huanhuan and her father exchanged glances, their hearts filled with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy. The burden that had been weighing on their hearts for the past few days was finally lifted.
Yu Xiaoluo said nothing more and walked into the house. She found a relatively intact room with a good window, except for one that was cracked.
On the ground, scattered among the tattered clothes and a worn-out mat, a foul odor emanated from them. Yu Xiaoluo kicked at the clothes and discovered a stone with bloodstains on it.
“There should be homeless people living here. But there are no blankets. It’s very likely that homeless people used to live here, but then they moved away.”
Yu Liang looked at his younger sister, "Luo Luo, are you saying that Zhang Yue's disappearance is related to this homeless man?"
Yu Xiaoluo nodded without saying anything.
"Can't you summon Zhang Yue's spirit?"
“That’s the problem. I can’t sense his spirit, so I can’t find him. I suggest you call Brother Nanshan and ask him to come over.”
Yu Liang took out his phone and called Nanshan. Soon, Nanshan arrived with his men.
Yu Xiaoluo then briefly explained the situation, "Go and investigate the homeless people who used to live here. There should be more than one in this alley. Check carefully. It's very likely that when Zhang Yue was chasing Cai Huanhuan, he happened to run into Zhang Yue coming out of his house. She thought he had stolen her things, and that's how the argument started."
“There’s a blood-stained stone in the room. The blood on it might be Zhang Yue’s. You guys should check it.” She turned to Cai Huanhuan and asked, “Huanhuan, did Zhang Yue throw the stone at you? Or, did you bump into the stone?”
Cai Huanhuan thought for a while and shook her head, "He was holding a stick, I didn't hit the stone."
Yu Xiaoluo nodded. "Okay, you and your dad should go back. There's nothing for you to do here."
Mr. Cai and Cai Huanhuan were very grateful to Yu Xiaoluo because they could finally put their minds at ease. They had thought that their attempt to avoid Zhang Yue had led to his death or disappearance, but now they realized that it had nothing to do with them.
"Thank you, sister." After thanking them, she left.
So Nanshan immediately sent people to visit the homeless people in this alley. One of the homeless people was sleeping in another house, so they brought him over.
"Do you know anyone who lives here?" Nanshan asked.
The homeless man nodded. "Yes, I've seen it before. I was the one who first liked that house, but as soon as I moved in, that man threw me out, saying it was his territory. Because he's strong, I had to find another place to live."
There was a security camera after they left the alley. Nanshan had someone pull up the surveillance footage and asked the homeless man to identify it. Few people went in this direction. After watching it for a while, the homeless man pointed to a large homeless man on the screen and said, "That's the one."
"Alright, I understand. You can go back now."
Nanshan handed the photo on his phone to Yu Xiaoluo, "This is it. Luoluo, can you figure out where he is?"
Yu Xiaolu stared at the photo, her expression suddenly changing. "Go quickly to the bridge underpass in Qingyun Park. It seems his life is in danger. If he dies, it may be very difficult to find Zhang Yue's whereabouts."
Nanshan stopped talking, got into the car with Yu Xiaoluo and Aunt Zhang, and headed straight for Qingyun Park.
——————
Under the bridge in Qingyun Park, several thugs were beating up a tall homeless man.
Although the homeless man was tall and strong, he couldn't withstand the sheer number of them. He was initially quite brave, but soon he was at a disadvantage.
Finally, he was ganged up on by a group of thugs and could only protect his head, howling and shouting, "Stop hitting me! I really don't have any money. If you have any, I'll give it to you!"
The ringleader, Liu Hai, had a tuft of dyed yellow hair. He held a dagger in his hand and lightly sliced the homeless man's leg. "Two hundred thousand? You think you can hide and I won't find you? You owe me money, and you just run away like that? Aren't you too naive!"
The homeless man looked miserable. “I’m trying to make money. I robbed a few hundred yuan a few days ago. I’ve found a family today, and I’ll do it tonight. Please forgive me for one more day, okay? It’s not easy to rob money these days. Everyone uses mobile payment. You know how hard it is to get cash.”
"Then it'll be easy for me." The blond-haired man plunged the dagger into the homeless man's thigh. The homeless man screamed in agony as blood gushed from his thigh.
The blond-haired man pulled out a dagger. "I'll cripple your legs today. If you don't pay me back in two days, I'll take your life."
He tried to draw attention again when alarms and horns sounded in the distance.
"Brother, something bad has happened! The police are here."
As soon as the police officers got out of the car, they took off running, got into the car next to them, stepped on the gas, and drove away.
Nanshan ignored them and found the homeless man lying in a pool of blood.
The homeless man was quickly taken to the hospital and bandaged up. Afterward, Nanshan sternly questioned him, "Liu Mao, what did you do to Zhang Yue? Tell me the truth!"
Liu Mao looked a little confused. "Who is Zhang Yue?"
"It's that student who appeared in that alley three days ago. We still can't find him. Did you kill him?"
Liu Mao seemed to remember someone. At first, he refused to make any promises, but Nanshan said, "We found a stone in your room. There was Zhang Yue's blood on the stone. Are you still going to deny it? Did you kill Zhang Yue and then dispose of his body? Tell me, where did you bury him?"
Liu Mao then realized that he couldn't hide it any longer if he tried.
“I really didn’t kill him. When I got home that day, I found that boy was running through my room and had even found several hundred yuan of mine. I tried to take it back. This was money I had worked so hard to earn to eat, and I couldn’t let him take it away. But he wouldn’t let go. During the struggle, he lost his balance and fell, hitting the back of his head on a rock.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com