Chapter 68
Chapter 68
As Maozi spoke, he bared his teeth and pulled an exaggerated grimace.
It was so vivid it practically dragged you into the scene.
Wu Xiaojiu and the intern were huddled together, both trembling all over.
“The woman in that house is the Village Chief’s Wife. She’s the woman he remarried later. From what I heard, she and the Village Chief’s Daughter were middle school classmates, and they were about the same age. On the day the Village Chief’s Daughter was being buried, this young wife was there too. The pit was so deep that the body parts floating in the water had to be fished out, and someone inevitably had to step into the water.
“She wanted to show her loyalty too, so she went to help. But the moment she stepped into the water with a fishing net in her hand, she felt something crisp under her foot. She bent down and picked it up, and when she looked, it was an old turtle egg.”
The intern curled his lip and let out a disgusted sound.
“The Village Chief is pretty damn inhuman too. He married his own daughter’s middle school classmate? Doesn’t that make the whole family tree a mess?”
Maozi waved a hand at him, telling him not to talk nonsense.
“There are a lot of villagers around here. Don’t spout rubbish. If they hear it, it’ll just cause trouble again. Let me keep going.
“They say that after stepping on that old turtle egg, the young wife went crazy. She started crawling around the house like an old turtle, all the while shouting that she wanted to go home. A few people who knew what they were doing went over and asked her what home she meant, and the woman cried and said the Turtle Spirit had tricked her into dying there.
“After she died, she was married off to the Turtle Spirit. She even had a whole litter of little turtles with it. When someone came to collect her body and told her to go home, those little turtle spirits clung to her and wouldn’t let her leave.”
Wu Xiaojiu felt cold all over after hearing that.
He was still clinging to the intern, and when their eyes met, both of them suddenly thought of the scene of the woman turning around and going back down the stairs.
“Th-this… can Maozi handle this? Did we call the wrong department?”
Wu Xiaojiu bit his lip and spoke with difficulty. “We’re standing guard outside. Nothing should go wrong, right?”
Maozi glanced at him and reached out to tap him on the forehead.
“Why do you think the villagers out there are going crazy trying to stop us from moving the grave? Obviously the Village Chief is using this to stir things up, making them scared and panicked, worried that once the grave is dug up and the body and head are separated, ghosts and spirits will start causing trouble in the village.
“If we want the villagers to agree to the exhumation on their own, we have to investigate this thoroughly. I don’t believe any of this spirit and ghost talk. There has to be human interference behind it.”
Wu Xiaojiu and the intern were still clinging to each other, both nodding hard. The way they looked at Maozi had turned admiring.
He got embarrassed under their gazes, so he awkwardly scooted over, patted the straw mat made of cornstalks, and called out to them,
“Quit looking at me like that. It’s embarrassing. Come sit over here. The Village Chief’s family has moved out of the house. Tomorrow morning, we’ll go inside and talk to his young wife.”
Wu Xiaojiu nodded.
Just as he sat down on the cornstalk mat, his phone rang.
He picked it up and saw that the caller was none other than Bo Suihan.
“Are you calling to ask why I’m not home? Don’t worry, I’m out handling a case with Maozi. Nothing dangerous. I’ll be back home tomorrow morning to catch up on sleep.”
Wu Xiaojiu thought he’d sent his location because the place was too remote and the other man was worried.
Who knew there would be a two-second pause on the other end?
Then Bo Suihan’s muffled voice came through.
“I’m at the village entrance. The road’s blocked, so the car can’t get in. Is there another road into the village? Find a place for me to climb in and come find you.”
Wu Xiaojiu’s heart skipped a beat.
He had already sent the message late at night, and this village was a long way from the city.
Was Bo Suihan out of his mind? Driving into some mountain backwater in the middle of the night just to find him.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t you want me to come find you?”
The long silence on the other end made Bo Suihan a little flustered.
But the person on the other end of the line still didn’t speak for a long time.
When his question went unanswered, Bo Suihan let out a soft sigh.
Wu Xiaojiu heard the sound of a car engine through the receiver.
“All right, then. I won’t bother you. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Good night.”
Wu Xiaojiu’s face was burning bright red. He turned his head and clicked his tongue, then buried his whole face in the crook of his arm.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night? Forget it. It’s too dangerous to head back now. Stay in your car and wait. I’m going to the village entrance with Maozi right now.”
Both of them spoke in very low voices during the call.
The intern and Maozi watched as Wu Xiaojiu’s pale little face turned as red as an apple.
The two of them had very different thoughts.
One thought the young man had fallen in love, and even when out on a case, he still couldn’t forget to call his girlfriend for a long late-night chat.
The other clicked his tongue inwardly, thinking that Wu Xiaojiu’s flushed face must mean he’d been put in a difficult spot by his patron again. Embarrassed and humiliated, that was why he looked like that.
“Bro, someone’s looking for me. Could we make a trip to the village entrance and pick them up?”
Wu Xiaojiu tugged at the intern’s sleeve.
He was so mortified he didn’t dare lift his head, and without realizing it, his way of addressing him had grown respectful.
“What! You came all the way out to this remote mountain ditch in the dead of night, already pushing yourself this far, and that person still won’t leave you alone? That’s too much!”
The intern clamped his teeth together, his fists tightening hard.
“Why are you meddling in someone else’s relationship? Off you go, kid. We’re not busy here anyway, and you can check if the grave site needs more hands while you’re at it.”
Maozi clicked his tongue and reached out to shove the intern aside.
But the intern was already so righteously indignant that he shot to his feet with a whoosh, grabbed the patrol car keys, and decided to meet the patron behind Wu Xiaojiu once and for all.
The patrol car trundled off toward the village entrance.
Before they even got close, Wu Xiaojiu squinted and spotted the Rolls-Royce Bo Suihan was driving.
The moment the intern saw the badge on the car, he clenched his teeth.
He lowered his head and cursed under his breath: Shit!
The patrol car came to a stop, and Bo Suihan walked up almost at the same time.
As the weather was turning cold, he had shed the awkwardness of his teenage years and those washed-too-often white shirts.
Today, Bo Suihan wore a buttonless black wool coat and sweater, with decorative paneling on the lower half of the sweater that sent two straps fluttering at his sides as he walked.
Inside he paired it with a black turtleneck that covered half his neck, and beneath the collar a star-shaped necklace sparkled in the light.
He was tall, with a sharp, masculine face-needless to say, he looked fantastic.
He held a warm, still-sealed cup of coffee in his hand. The moment he saw Wu Xiaojiu climb down from the vehicle, he closed the distance in a few long, determined strides.
“Cold? Warm your hands with the coffee.”
Wu Xiaojiu took the cup and cradled it in the crook of his arm, his eyes fixed on those that stared at him without blinking.
He tilted his head, just about to speak, when the patrol car door behind him was suddenly slammed shut.
The next moment, the intern stormed up, fuming.
He pulled Wu Xiaojiu behind him in one swift motion.
Eyes narrowed, he glowered fiercely at Bo Suihan while giving him a harsh once-over from head to toe.
The more he looked, the more something felt off.
Why did this face look more and more familiar the longer he stared?
But he knew exactly how broke his family was; he had zero connection with a rich second-generation heir of this caliber.
So where on earth was that sense of familiarity coming from?