Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Xiao Yao, how much do you have?” His uncle asked tentatively.

“I’ll just add on to the amount you still need.”

“Really?” His uncle replied gleefully.

In the end, his uncle borrowed 35 thousand from him at once. Of course, the money was not given to him immediately. It could not be given as well because he had to go to the bank to transfer the money the next day.

The couple was very happy when they left. The most worrying matter in the town now was the house. Borrowing money from relatives and borrowing money from the bank were completely two different concepts.

Wang Yao’s parents did not ask much.

They did not ask how much money their son had. They also did not ask how the money came. They knew that their son did not do evil things. It was fine as long as the money came rightfully. As for lending their relatives the money, it was a reasonable matter.

After Wang Yao’s uncle’s family left, he massaged his parents’ muscles and bones to relieve the fatigue. After that, he left the house and went up to Nanshan hill.

It was a very quiet night.

A car was driven into Lianshan County in a hurry.

Two middle-aged men were sitting inside the car.

“Is your source reliable?”

“It’s very reliable. He’s now in this county town.”

“Alright.”

In a budget hotel somewhere in Lianshan County.

Inside a room, a thin and bony man leaned against the window, smoking the cheapest cigarette and looking at the night sky of the small town outside. There was an intractable sorrow on his face.

On Nanshan hill, Wang Yao looked up at the sky.

“Oh?”

He realized that the night sky that night was a bit strange. Ever since he suddenly had a wild idea to observe the astronomical phenomena, this was the first time he encountered such a peculiar incident.

“Why are there red clouds in the black sky?”

In the room, Wang Yao wrote the strange color of the night sky down in his book.

The next day, the sun was shining brightly in the sky.

It was already June. The temperature began to rise significantly. People also wore lesser clothes.

The most atrocious crime since the town was built happened in Lianshan County.

A family of three was killed in their own courtyard and the scene was extremely tragic.

It was said that the police investigators who first arrived at the crime scene vomited on the spot and their faces were pale. It was no wonder that they acted that way. They mostly met gangsters on normal days and had never witnessed such a scene. Regarding such a cruel incident, the county government naturally attached great importance to it and immediately set up a task force. The town also gave instructions to solve the case within a time limit.

“Have you heard? It was a multiple murder of a family!”

“I know. They must’ve provoked their enemy on normal days.”

“They had children too!”

“It’s said that the murderer is still in Lianshan County!”

“What.”

Suddenly, there was a bit of a panic and a taste of apprehending danger in every sound in the small town.

“It’s easy to say to solve the case within a time limit. How are we supposed to solve it? The murderer may have already escaped?!” At that moment, the police chief in charge of the case was also very impatient.

The small town had been peaceful for many years. There would be just a wounding case at most. He had been a policeman for more than 20 years in the small town. It was his first time encountering such a vicious homicide case which happened the night before.

There would be no experience when such an incident was never encountered before. In reality, solving a case was completely different from what was described in television and in books. He knew very well about the abilities of his men. Each of them was better than the other in drinking, boasting and pleasing the leader. Asking them to solve a case was a joke. They did not have the brains!

There was no choice. Since the higher-ups had made arrangements, they had to do it even if they did not know how. The most basic presentation had to be done.

As a result, Lianshan County started a massive investigation that had not been implemented for many years across the county. The suspicious people in all hotels were investigated.

Policemen were also arranged at bus stations and train stations to check for suspicious individuals.

What were suspicious individuals?

It was difficult to determine its definition.

“Sigh, when is this matter coming to an end?” At the crossroads, two policemen who were on duty sat inside the car and smoked. It was awful to be on duty outside in such a hot weather. If this was in the past, they should now be in the office with the air conditioning, happily drinking tea and boasting.

“That damn murderer!”

“Li Ge, how are we going to go against the murderer just by relying on the two of us and the two batons if we really run into him? We may even be perished in the line of duty.”

“Shut your big mouth up. How can it be so coincidental that we’ll happen to meet him face to face?”

They were chatting in the car. A young man in a black shirt came to the side of the police car with a smile on his face.

“Hello, police comrades.”

“What’s the matter?” Both of them looked at the handsome young man in front of them.

“A person fainted in the woods over there. Can you go over and take a look?”

“Why, it’s hard to see that you’re actually a kindhearted person.” one of the policemen said.

“Not at all. I’m afraid of faking an accident to swindle compensation. I happen to come across some policemen here. You’re not afraid of faking an accident to swindle compensation, are you?” the young man asked with a smile.

“Well, let’s go take a look.”

The two policemen got out of the car and followed the young man into the woods beside the road.

“Who had nothing to do and came inside here?”

“Maybe it was to take a leak?” The young man’s voice was a bit soft.

“We’re here.”

“Where’s the person?”

“He’s on the ground.”

Thud,

woo, the police siren whistled. In the small mountain city of Lianshan County, the police cars had never seemed to be this busy as it had today.

The police chief’s face turned ghastly pale, as if someone owed him more than a million and had not returned him the money. Moreover, the person even farted. He just had two of his men killed in the woods beside a road and their death was extremely terrible. He went to the scene in person. Their hearts were taken out alive.

Such a barbarous incident had never happened in Lianshan County before since it was built. Two policemen were even sacrificed at once.

“Bring up all the nearby surveillance monitors!”

“They had already been checked and nothing was discovered,” a criminal police said.

In fact, the surveillance monitors near the road happened to be a blank area. No one would notice because it was in the suburbs.

“Go check then. Don’t stand here dumbly.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And also, inform the subordinates to be careful. They must not act alone when they notice any suspicious situations.”

“Understood.”

“Is there a mistake? Five people are dead in less than two days. A family was exterminated and another two were policemen. Is he crazy?!”

Inside a hotel somewhere in Lianshan County, a tall man said shockingly after seeing the news on the Internet.

“He’s indeed a madman,” the other man who was quite thin said.

“With him acting like that, the province will soon send an ace in solving cases here. Things will get a lot more troublesome.”

“That’s why we’re here.”

It was a holiday on Saturday.

Wang Ru returned to the mountain village. She told her family about the breaking news that happened in Lianshan County these two days and exaggerated the story.

“Sister, five people died. Why are you so excited?” Looking at his sister who was so excited that her face was flushed, Wang Yao really did not understand what was there to be so excited about. She was already 27 years old. It was no wonder that nobody wanted her until now.

“What a storm in the small town. Such a horrifying vicious incident has never happened.”

“Then, I think we should be worried instead, sister. The murderer who kills without blinking might appear next to us at any time.”

“There should be no chance for him to do so. The criminal investigation expert from the province and town have already come to the county. It is said that there are more powerful departments.”

“More powerful departments. Where did you get this information?” Wang Yao asked while laughing.

“It’s a gossip, but the criminal investigation expert has really come to the county. The province is also very concerned about such an atrocious incident and has set a time limit to solve the case.”

Lianshan County was 20 kilometers away from the mountain village. The distance was not far, but the storm in the county town had yet to affect the small mountain village.

Nine mountain peaks were connected in Mountain Jiulian. Therefore, that was how Lianshan County got its name. There was a temple called Guangming Temple on the mountain. Its name was pretty common. However, it was heard that the plaque of the temple was inscribed by Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty. Just that during the years of upheaval in the early founding days of the country, the infrastructures in the temple were more or less destroyed. The ones now were all newly built. At a glance, it lacked the precipitating of history.

There were still people who visited the mountain because it was Saturday.

In the temple, there was a special monk who was responsible for drawing and breaking down the meaning of the divination sticks. To say it in a more popular way, it was to tell a person’s fortune.

“Master, can you please help to tell my fortune?” a young man in a white shirt with a handsome face said smilingly to the monk in front of him who seemed to be in his thirties.