Chapter 2 Begins

  The little policeman saw that he was completely bewildered and didn't know anything, so he lowered his eyelids and asked suspiciously: "If you two are just coincidental acquaintances, why should she only have you as a friend? Why did she come to find you specifically?"

  "Maybe she has other things that are inconvenient to tell, I don't know if there are other friends, this is your responsibility now..."

  The little policeman also sensed her impatience, paused for a moment and said, "This is the last question. You said she needed money, what was the process like? The camera captured him hastily pulling you, although it was dark and his expression couldn't be seen clearly, but the action could be seen clearly. I just find it strange that from the time you met until she left, it only took a minute, and I didn't see you give her any money, why did she leave?"

  What a terrible insight, Mushe's eyes suddenly lifted his head and stared at him with piercing eyes, the corners of his mouth curled up in a smile, and he said calmly: "Do you think she asked me for money on the phone, or medical expenses? How much can I take out? I gave her 700 yuan in cash, she took the money and was very excited, very grateful to me. Although this little money is insignificant, it helped a bit, but at least it's my intention. As for you guys not seeing me give her money, it's because when we met, she pulled me over and I had already given it to her."

  The little policeman's unfathomable eyes stared at her calm face, without any cracks, but... her reaction was too quick, it was good if it was true, if she had made up for the loopholes in her words in an instant, it was really...

  Mu Shu's expression turned thoughtful, with a calm and gentle demeanor. "But tell me, what's going on? Has something happened to Hu Fei?"

  The little policeman nodded and said in a low voice: "She was murdered."

  Mu Shu was stunned, his eyes overflowing with sadness, and he muttered: "How could it be?" Just saw each other last night, how could it end up like this?

  The little policeman saw her sadness was not fake, and said the information he had learned, "The body was discovered by a cleaner, who found it while sweeping the trash can. The clothes were all taken off, but there were no signs of violence on the body. It should have been looking for something. Her fatal injury was a strangulation mark on her neck. It is estimated that she was strangled to death with a rope. The scene of the crime is only about 500 meters away from here. The time of death is approximately six hours ago, which means she was killed shortly after you two parted ways."

  He paused for a moment, and said in a low voice: "If it's really about finding something, the culprit took it away. If they didn't find what they wanted, then you, who have met her, may be in danger now."

  "Then what? Are you going to protect me?"

  The little policeman stood up and said, "This depends on the arrangement of the superiors. Any police officer will take good care of your safety, so don't worry too much."

  "Hmm——" The tone was drawn out, but she didn't care.

  The little policeman watched her leave, thinking that the girl's reaction was too calm, and when she heard that her life was threatened, she didn't flinch, with an inscrutable expression, somewhat unfathomable.

  "Hmph, a bit too much, but she's just an 18-year-old high school girl after all." He shook his head and left.

  The Municipal Police Bureau - The man stood facing the director who was sitting in a chair, reporting to him. The director nodded his head in satisfaction, looking at the young and handsome guy with a hint of apology in his eyes, saying: "Rù Fēng, this time it's really troublesome for you. Originally, I came here to investigate the public security situation, but encountered such a thing. We don't have enough manpower, and we even let you personally take charge of investigating this case. It's really sorry, alas! If I had a son like you, I would be at ease. It's really a bargain for Ge Fei!"

  "Uncle Ma, this is the police's responsibility. This case isn't simple and there are no leads to follow. Captain Liang has also taken many people to participate in the anti-drug task force in B city. How can I just stand by and do nothing? Ge Yufeng smiled slightly: "You're not my godfather too, if it wasn't for you back then, I would have been gone long ago."

  Ma Zhitian shook his head and sighed: "That incident has been over for twelve years, the mastermind has been caught, let's not mention that tragedy again, I won't let it happen again!"

  Ge Yu didn't say anything else. He knew something about that matter, and he knew that the case had caused great harm to the police at that time, bringing irreparable sorrow.

  "Oh, right, although you're only 24 years old, your talent is outstanding and exceptional in all aspects. I have a letter of recommendation here that recommends you to be the police chief in H city. I believe you are capable of taking on this role."

  Ge Yu frowned and said, "Sorry, I'm afraid I won't be able to take on such a high position. Moreover, I need to stay here for the time being. This case hasn't been solved yet, and I won't leave until it is. Besides, there's Mu Shu Zhen - I think I'll go protect her and observe her every move."

  Suddenly, he stopped and thought that she might not be telling the truth or hiding something, whatever the reason was. His intuition told him that this case was not simple and would likely involve far more than they could imagine.

  Ma Zhitian also frowned, seeing that he had made up his mind and couldn't be changed. With a hint of hope, he said: "You think carefully about it after you've solved the case. I'll keep this letter." The implication was that after solving the case, he would go to H City. He felt some doubt, as if Ma Zhitian was urging him to leave in a hurry.

  Ge Yufeng suddenly asked, "Where's Hu Ping?"

  As soon as this was mentioned, Ma Zhitian's face fell and he coldly snorted, "Don't mention it, who knows where that little brat has run off to now, always going on adventures! If only he had a third of your stability and prudence!"

  Ge Yu Feng smiled slightly and shook his head, saying: "It's also good for him to go out and gain some experience. Let's talk about the matter in H City later."

  Ma Zhitian also stopped persuading him.

  Ge Yufeng went back to the place where the body was found, and there was a question he couldn't figure out. According to the school's requirements, it was impossible for students to go out at midnight, let alone allow people to enter or exit the campus at midnight. However, Mu Shuqin and Hu Fei met not far from the school gate in the evening. According to the front gate guard, last night, for some reason, the door was knocked loudly several times, possibly because they were worried that the guard wouldn't hear it or come to open the door. The strange thing was that after the door opened, there was no one there. She thought it might be a mistake and didn't pay attention to it. A few minutes later, at the same time, the old man at the back gate also encountered the same situation, and he thought it might be because of his age and being mistaken.

  But it was so late, how could there be such a big noise on the street? And after they opened their doors separately, the street was pitch black, and there were no streetlights, so you couldn't see anyone's shadow unless you had night vision like a surveillance camera. Those sounds might have been made by Hu Fei, but in the surveillance footage, she just stood at the door and didn't do anything. The sound wouldn't come from inside the school either, which would be easy to detect. This way, Mu Shu's suspicion could also be eliminated, but how did she get from inside the school to outside? That was still a mystery.

  Ge Yu Feng looked in the direction of the school, his eyes cloudy and unclear.

  It was just lunchtime, and Mu Shu was going out to eat when he coincidentally bumped into Ge Yu Feng. Li Yang Hua was by his side, waving her arm excitedly like she had taken a stimulant, saying: "Wow, handsome guy! This must be the police officer who came looking for you this morning! He looks cool in his uniform, but even more handsome and masculine in casual clothes! Just like a celebrity, no, even more so than a celebrity! You said you didn't know him, but he still came looking for you!"

  Mu Shu gave her a cold shoulder, ignoring her frenzy. Of course, she wouldn't tell her the truth, and instead said: "Alright, I really don't know him, this must be a coincidence, or maybe there were some unresolved issues from this morning. Besides, how would I even know a police officer? I've been living in Qinan all my life, never leaving, and this is my first time in Sichuan, only two months! You should use your brain, silly!"

  It looks like he's here to investigate the case, coincidentally, okay, as for changing clothes, it won't arouse suspicion, after all, police are eye-catching and attention-grabbing.

  "Alright, I still have something to do, you go eat by yourself." After saying that, he walked in the direction of Ge Yu Feng, not even noticing Li Yang Hua's ambiguous 'I understand' gaze.

  He walked up to the tall and slender man, ignoring the surrounding girls' gossip and staring, and said to himself: "Is there anything else? Let's go first, we can talk about it while eating." He had already walked a long way before he finished speaking.

  "Kexin said with a shrug, 'There are still many problems, although the clues are very few and there has been no progress, but some information about her has been found.'"

  Mushu Ke and Ge Yu Feng both knew what was going on without saying a word, some issues were left unresolved, but as long as she wanted to keep it hidden and didn't want to say anything, no one could get any information out of her.

  Ge Yufeng didn't know her very well, but what he understood was that she wasn't as simple as she seemed. The less language in her eyes, the deeper a person hid, putting all their words and thoughts in their heart, this was the most unfathomable and most dangerous kind of person.

  "My name is Ge Yu Feng."

  Mu Shuqiang responded with an "oh", thinking to himself that he wouldn't remember even if he was told. Getting down to business, Ge Yufeng and Mu Shuqiang sat in a restaurant, starting their conversation while waiting for the food.

  Hu Fei, was abandoned on September 23, 1997 at Qinan Xin Su Orphanage. A piece of paper in her baby clothes had her name and birthdate written on it. She lived there for five years but disappeared on May 18, 2003 with a close friend Jiu Xia. Where they went afterwards remains a mystery until this appearance of death.

  "Is Jiu Xia a girl or a boy?"

  Ke Yuefeng was taken aback for a moment and subconsciously replied: "Female student, what's wrong?"

  "No, just asking casually, where's Jiu Xia?" Mu Shu asked absent-mindedly.

  Ge Yufeng looked at her thoughtfully and continued: "Jiuxia went missing then, and was found a year later on January 25th, 2004. She died in the deep well of a small forest next to an orphanage. The forensic examination confirmed that she had been dead for a year."

  Mushu lowered her head, the scattered hair on her forehead covering her eyes, her eyelids lightly closed, making it impossible to see the emotions in her eyes. All that could be heard was a faint murmur, "Why." Yes, why? Who was she asking, and what did she want to say? It was just that a chill spread from the bottom of her heart to every corner of her body.

  Ge Yu Feng thought she was asking why Jiu Xia was killed, but that's still unclear. It's not known who did it and there are no leads so far. Jiu Xia should have been killed shortly after her disappearance, but Hu Fei is alive, which means there must be a special reason.