allonlinenovel Chapter 107: Observe People and See Their Hearts
Chapter 107: Observe People and See Their Hearts
After thinking for a while, Jiang Lian'an asked, "Did anything unusual happen before Wu Sanshan left?"
"Something unusual..." Village Chief Wang lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then suddenly remembered something and raised his eyes and said, "There are some unusual things. Before Wu Sanshan left, he hadn't left the house for about three days. I was thinking that he hadn't left the house. How did he know about the magical herb Sanhuncao? When he left, he looked very panicked. The weather was getting colder, but he was sweating all over. I think he was really worried about Qiao Ying."
"But..." Wang Hewei looked at Jiang Lian'an and asked with vigilance: "Why do you want to know about Wu Sanshan? Could it be..." As he said this, a hint of uneasiness appeared on Wang Hewei's face.
Realizing that he had not explained his purpose, Jiang Lian'an quickly bowed and said, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I am Jiang Lian'an. I wanted to investigate the strange things happening in Pinghai Lake. I happened to run into Qiao Ying in the town last night. After hearing about Qiao Ying's experience, we all came together to send Qiao Ying back. I never thought that this would happen. That's why I came to bother Village Chief Wang."
Hearing what Jiang Lian'an said, the vigilance on Village Chief Wang's face disappeared, replaced by a look of joy. He hurriedly stepped forward, shook Jiang Lian'an's hand and said, "So you are the world-famous Jiang Lian'an, Jiang Guitan. I have heard of your name for a long time."
"Thank you for the compliment, Village Chief Wang." Jiang Lian'an smiled and responded gently.
As he spoke, Village Chief Wang looked at Liu Yunhe and said, "No wonder this young master said I didn't leave the lights on last night. It turns out you were here last night. Oh, you see my old eyes are blurry and I thought you were suspicious. Please come in and have a seat. I'll prepare some hot tea for you."
"My dear, we have distinguished guests at home. Please boil a kettle of hot water!" Village Chief Wang shouted enthusiastically into the house.
“Hey, here it comes——!”
Following the shout of Village Chief Wang, a gentle and kind old woman came out of the house. Seeing Jiang Lian'an and his group, she smiled kindly and welcomed them, "It's a cold morning. Come in and have some warm tea."
After saying that, the old woman waved at Qiao Ying and said, "Qiao Ying, come here!" Qiao Ying ran over happily and followed the old woman into the woodroom.
After a while, Qiao Ying helped bring tea into the room and distributed it to everyone present.
For a moment, Qiao Ying, who had a smile on her face and was obediently helping to take care of the guests, looked like a normal person.
Village Chief Wang's wife smiled amiably and said, "Our two children are away doing business all year round. On weekdays, we are the only ones at home. We haven't had any guests for a long time. Your presence has made our home more lively. Come on, come on, have some tea."
Jiang Lian'an looked at Village Chief Wang and asked, "How can you be sure that Wu Sanshan has not left the house for three consecutive days?"
"I'm sure of that." Village Chief Wang continued with certainty, "In the past, Wu Sanshan would take Qiao Ying to the lake to fish early in the morning and then sell them at the market. But during those days, Wu Sanshan's boat stayed by the lake and did not move, and the door of his house was always closed."
"What's more, the neighbors in the village are friendly and everyone knows each other. If he had gone out, there would always be villagers who would have run into him. That's right." Village Chief Wang remembered something and continued, "When I got up that night, I heard a strange noise coming from Wu Sanshan's yard. Because it was the middle of the night, I heard it very clearly. My wife also heard it that night, right, my wife?"
Village Chief Wang's wife was sewing the soles of her shoes while saying, "It's like this. I heard a noise like something was being dragged on the ground, accompanied by a rustling sound."
Village Chief Wang took over the conversation and continued, "We thought we were just changing the position of the furniture in the house, so we didn't pay much attention to it at the time."
"A few days after Wu Sanshan left, Qiao Ying came back from outside and went straight to Wu Sanshan's house. We thought Wu Sanshan was not at home again, so we went to bring Qiao Ying back. After entering the house, we found that the arrangement of the furniture in the house was still the same as before."
"Have all the ships in Pinghai Town been blocked by County Magistrate Chang?" Jiang Lian'an asked.
Village Chief Wang waved his hand and said, "It's not just that. A month ago, County Magistrate Chang not only ordered a blockade of ships on Pinghai Lake, but also blocked ships in the entire Qujiang County. Because of this, everyone realized that the situation on Pinghai Lake was not that simple. Once the news spread, the number of foreign tourists and merchants coming to our Pinghai Town also decreased."
"Does Village Chief Wang know what Wu Sanshan's boat looks like?"
"Yes, everyone in the village knows that Wu Sanshan has always hoped that Qiao Ying's soul and spirit can come back, so he asked the Taoist priest to kneel down and beg for a soul-calling bell."
"Because the Black and White Impermanence are soul-collecting messengers, black and white strips of cloth are tied under the three bells. We hope that when the Black and White Impermanence see this, they will be moved and return Qiao Ying's soul. Wu Sanshan has been hanging outside the cabin for more than ten years, so he is easy to recognize."
After hearing this, Jiang Lian'an nodded thoughtfully.
As he spoke, Village Chief Wang showed a worried look on his face, sighed deeply, and said slowly: "We all know that County Magistrate Chang ordered the blockade of ships for the good of our people, but our Qujiang County relies on many water systems and makes a living from water. This blockade has also made many fishermen who make a living lose their way to make a living, and their lives are miserable."
After saying that, Village Chief Wang suddenly stood up and was about to kneel down in front of Jiang Lian'an. Seeing this, Jiang Lian'an immediately stood up and supported Village Chief Wang, and said in panic: "Village Chief Wang, what are you doing?"
Village Chief Wang, who was old, was supported by Jiang Lian'an. He looked into Jiang Lian'an's eyes and said with tears in his eyes, "Everyone hopes that the strange things in Pinghai Lake can be investigated as soon as possible and the peace and tranquility of the past can be restored. I am an old thing and useless. I hate that I can't do more for everyone, but Jiang Guitan is different. I have to rely on Jiang Guitan for this matter."
Liu Yunhe disagreed with what Village Chief Wang said, but he had learned his lesson and kept it to himself without refutation.
However, Lin Lezhi looked at Liu Yunhe's expression and tried to hold back his laughter.
Guan Ziheng noticed it and nudged Lin Lezhi with his elbow, and Lin Lezhi quickly regained his serious expression.
"I will do my best to Pinghai Lake." Jiang Lian'an said with gentle and firm eyes.
Village Chief Wang wiped away the tears from his eyes and said gratefully, "Thank you, Detective Jiang Gui, thank you very much!"
Jiang Lian'an helped Village Chief Wang back to his seat and said softly, "Thank you for everything you told me. I want to go to Wu Sanshan's house again."
"I'll take you there." Village Chief Wang said as he was about to stand up.
"Village Chief Wang has helped me a lot. We came here last night and know the location. You just need to have a good rest. If you need anything, I will come back to trouble you."
"Okay, if you can use me, I will do my best."
After leaving Wang Hewei's courtyard, Qiao Ying followed out curiously, and Village Chief Wang and the others did not stop her.
Liu Yunhe looked back and saw that Village Chief Wang had not followed him out, so he could no longer hold back his thoughts and said bluntly, "What do you mean by old age? He was still so nimble when he was sweeping the yard in front of me. I think he just doesn't want to take care of this matter, and he just said it in a nice way."
"That's a bad word."
Liu Yunhe felt someone patted his left shoulder, but when he looked to the left he didn't see anyone. Then the voice came from the right. Seeing Lin Lezhi, Liu Yunhe's expression was a little evasive, but he still listened honestly.
“Sometimes, you can’t judge a person just by what he says, you also have to look at what he does.”
"What did he do? I think he just doesn't want to deal with it."
Lin Lezhi smiled and said, "There are people in this world who are willing to sacrifice their lives for people who have nothing to do with them, and there are also people who consider various interests and retreat to protect themselves. These two choices vary from person to person. As long as you have no intention of harming others, there is nothing wrong with doing it for the public good. Being able to say things that are not wrong, while preserving your own face and not offending others, is also a great wisdom that is well versed in the ways of dealing with people."
Lin Lezhi looked at Qiao Ying who was walking in front and continued, "Also, you can see that Qiao Ying's clothes are clean and tidy, without a trace of dirt. This shows that even though these two old people knew that Wu Sanshan might not come back, they still took good care of Qiao Ying."
Liu Yunhe was somewhat persuaded by Lin Lezhi, but he still expressed his confusion, and said stubbornly: "Isn't it because Qiao Ying is from Zhenling that they are so nice to Qiao Ying? When the waiter heard that Old Man Wu was missing last night, the look he gave Qiao Ying changed immediately. Even though the truth of the matter hasn't come out yet, he already thought it was Qiao Ying's fault."
Lin Lezhi hummed for a while, looked at Liu Yunhe and said, "Do you believe what Zhenlingren said?"
"Of course I don't believe it. There are many people who are born mentally retarded. It's obvious that the Taoist priest is trying to cheat people out of their money. If he is really a god who saves people, why would he accept money from the world?"
"That's right. For these strange folk stories, people are half-and-half in terms of belief and half-belief. Many people only put on a show. The fact that these two old people took good care of Qiao Ying when no one else could see them shows their sincerity."
Jiang Lian'an turned around and agreed, "Mr. Lin is right. It is better to see a person's heart than to see his deeds. The children of these two old people are away from home all year round. I think this is why Wu Sanshan was confident in entrusting Qiao Ying to them."
Lin Lezhi immediately responded with a smile: "As expected of you, Detective Jiang, you hit the nail on the head."
Jiang Lian'an smiled slightly and praised: "I think Mr. Lin knows people's hearts better."
Lin Lezhi waved his hands quickly and declined with a playful smile: "No, no, no, compared to Jiang Guitan, I am still far behind."
Xiao Yihuo glanced in the direction of Lin Lezhi, then looked away.
"I think what Jiang Guitan said makes sense." Guo Yong suddenly said, then looked at Lin Lezhi and continued: "Brother Lin, don't be so modest. If it weren't for you, the three of us brothers would have been in big trouble and we wouldn't be able to stand here peacefully."
"My brothers are all open and straightforward people. I am just giving you a few reminders. It's nothing serious."
Because they were very close, they arrived at Wu Sanshan's yard in just a few words.
After the early morning, the sun gradually climbed up the sky, and both the yard and the house were slightly warm because of the sunlight.
Before entering, Lin Lezhi glanced at the gate of the courtyard and the wooden bolt behind it.
It was another night. Because the house was close to the woods, there were more leaves in the yard than last night. They almost covered the entire courtyard. The floor tiles could be vaguely seen through the gaps between the branches and leaves.
Without the cover of night, everything in the yard was clearly visible: fishing gear, firewood, a small thatched hut, a broom for cleaning the house, and a water tank for fetching water.
The water tank in the yard was covered with leaves, and there was a full circle around the water tank.
The courtyard is so small, but the water tank used is quite large.
Everyone came into the house and had a clear view of the entire room. If they really wanted to change the position of the tables and chairs in the room, it would not make sense to put them back in their original positions after changing them for a while, unless...
Jiang Lian'an lowered his eyes and said, "Is there a secret room?"
"What, a darkroom?"
Guo Yong was surprised and immediately looked around the room, but it looked like an ordinary mud house. Excluding the space taken up by the furniture, the room could only accommodate four or five adults, and there was no visible place to hide anything.
Guo Yong looked at Qiao Ying and asked, "Hey, do you have a darkroom at home?"
However, after hearing this, Qiao Ying just responded with an innocent smile.
Guo Yong suddenly realized that he actually wanted to communicate with a fool with three incomplete souls, and quickly said with a look of disgust: "It's useless to ask you, you just know how to laugh foolishly."
“There is a darkroom here, but it’s not inside the house.”
Hearing the voice, everyone looked in the direction where Lin Lezhi was speaking and found that Lin Lezhi was standing next to the water tank, fiddling with the branches and leaves floating on the tank.
Guo Yong squeezed out of the room and looked around the narrow courtyard, his face full of doubt and puzzlement as he asked, "Where is it? Why can't I see it?"
Jiang Lian'an walked out slowly, with a faint smile on his face. He understood clearly and said slowly, "Master Lin is already standing at the entrance of the dark room."
Guo Yong walked over and walked around the water tank. The suspicion on his face became even more serious, as if Lin Lezhi and Jiang Lian'an were joking.
Lin Lezhi squatted down and pushed aside the leaves under the water tank, and said with a smile: "It will be more obvious this way."
There were obvious scratches on the bottom of the water tank caused by dragging. Guo Yong tried to move the water tank but failed. He shouted to Liu Yunhe who was standing beside him, "Boy, come over and help me."
Liu Yunhe was obviously not satisfied with being called "boy", but he still put the sword on his waist and walked over, looking down at the water tank in front of him.
Guo Yong bent down, put his hands on his chest and said, "I'll count to one, two, three, and when I count to..."
Before Guo Yong could finish his words, Liu Yunhe had already stepped forward, grabbing the edge of the water tank with both hands, and lifted it slightly. Then, using the circle of the bottom of the tank and the weight of the water inside, he easily turned the tank to the outside.
There was indeed an entrance to a dark room under the water tank that was large enough for one person to pass through.
The whole action was smooth and flowing, and Guo Yong was stunned. He couldn't help but praise: "It is true that heroes emerge from youth. Boy, you have great arm strength."
Liu Yunhe smiled, a look of youthful pride on his face.
After the water tank was moved away, a faint damp and sour smell emanated from the dark room.