Chapter 177

After watching the performance and returning home, Shi Tingyu went back to her room to continue working on her comic series.

Summer vacation was her most productive time.

The more time she spent with Lijian, the easier it became for her to draw. Lijian’s habits and small gestures were already ingrained in her mind, so her drawing flowed naturally, even more smoothly than the previous two volumes.

If it weren’t for Lu Weiguo periodically pulling her out for a break, she could stay in her room for most of the day.

Since encountering the spy, Lu Weiguo had become more rigorous with Shi Tingyu’s training.

He approached training his wife with the same mindset he used to train his soldiers.

“Suffer in peacetime to bleed less in wartime.”

However, compared to training soldiers, Lu Weiguo was more patient and meticulous with his wife.

Shi Tingyu’s physical fitness was excellent, and training her gave Lu Weiguo an even greater sense of accomplishment than training his own troops.

Sometimes, during camp training, seeing those who consistently scored low, Lu Weiguo couldn’t help but say, “Even my wife performs better than you in training.”

His words made the soldiers want to laugh.

They clearly didn’t believe it and thought the captain was just using his wife to motivate them because he was disappointed with their performance.

However, they did become more diligent in their training.

They couldn’t slack off, especially after the captain had brought up his wife. They felt they owed it to him to work harder.

Lu Weiguo had resumed training, but Shi Tingyu still worried about his health. She would often go to the market to buy meat or a chicken to make a special meal for him.

With the hot weather, meat couldn’t be stored for long, and Shi Tingyu didn’t dare store too much at once, fearing it might be too obvious and raise suspicions.

She planned to go to the market the next day to get some meat to make dumplings for Lu Weiguo.

Concerned for her safety and comfort in the summer heat, Lu Weiguo decided to go early in the morning to buy the meat himself.

The market opened early, and when Lu Weiguo arrived, there were already people there.

Two elderly women were chatting while buying vegetables.

“Did you hear? A Red Committee leader was murdered,” one long-haired woman said mysteriously, shivering as she recalled something. “When they found him, he had nearly bled out.”

The short-haired woman seemed unaware and looked surprised. “When did this happen?”

“It was discovered this morning. The leader lived near us, and there were a lot of police around this morning. It was quite a scene.”

“Which leader?” the short-haired woman asked, “Tell me more.”

The long-haired woman pursed her lips, clearly not fond of the leader. She lowered her voice, “It was a minor leader named Hong Bo. Many people had suffered under him.”

Lu Weiguo, with his keen hearing and being close enough, caught every word of their conversation.

Hong Bo? (See Chapter 20)

Why does that name sound so familiar?

Before he could think further, the long-haired woman continued with more gossip.

“I heard he even drove someone to their death, but no one dared to speak about it.”

If the man hadn’t been killed, she wouldn’t dare reveal such things.

The short-haired woman whispered, “Then his death isn’t undeserved.”

The long-haired woman nodded in agreement, “Maybe it was revenge from someone he persecuted.”

The short-haired woman agreed as well.

At this point, the market worker handed the two women their purchases, and they stopped talking.

As they turned to leave, they were startled to see the tall and imposing Lu Weiguo standing behind them.

Under normal circumstances, they might have commented, but given the recent murder, everyone seemed suspicious to them.

Especially since Lu Weiguo’s stern face made him look even more intimidating, they were even more scared.

Although the minor leader from the Red Committee indeed deserved it, they were still terrified of the murderer.

Forcing someone to their death and blatantly killing someone were two different things; they were much more afraid of the murderer.

Seeing the two elderly women quickly running away, Lu Weiguo decided not to ask them anything.

Oh well, this was none of his business anyway.

After buying the meat, Lu Weiguo hurried back home to not miss the morning training.

When he arrived home, Shi Tingyu had already prepared breakfast. He picked up the bowl of porridge and gulped it down quickly.

Every time Shi Tingyu saw him eating like this, she wanted to tell him to slow down, but habits developed over time couldn’t be changed easily.

Luckily, when reminded by Shi Tingyu, he could slow down, but it wouldn’t take long for him to revert to his old ways.

When Lu Weiguo arrived at the training ground, he remembered who the murdered person was.

Wasn’t that Hong Bo the same minor leader who led the team when his in-laws were sent down?

He still remembered the arrogant look on the guy’s face and the way he looked at his wife.

It was just that when he heard the name in the morning, he didn’t immediately make the connection.

After training that day, Lu Weiguo went home and told Shi Tingyu about it.

Shi Tingyu was also surprised. She had always thought that with Hong Bo’s behavior, wanting her to sell her body, his good days would be over once people were gradually rehabilitated.

She hadn’t expected him to be killed before the end of the big movement.

But, as she said, he deserved it.

People like Hong Bo had undoubtedly made many enemies. It was probably one of his victims seeking revenge.

“Things might be unstable outside for a while. If there’s anything you want to buy, just tell me, and I’ll get it,” Lu Weiguo advised, thinking about the recent murder case and the unrest it caused.

Shi Tingyu readily agreed.

She was currently content and didn’t need to eat meat at every meal. Staying home and avoiding socializing suited her just fine.

However, sometimes, even if you avoid trouble, trouble finds you.

One day, the police arrived at the camp.

Seeing two officers in dark blue uniforms with red epaulets and large caps bearing the national emblem, the sentry immediately approached them.

They were wearing the 72-style police uniforms.

The reality was this:

Although the camp and the police both served the people, they were different systems, and the sentry didn’t know why these two officers were here.

The two officers, surnamed Li and Bai, were there to investigate Hong Bo’s murder.

Hong Bo had died a gruesome death, his mouth gagged, his blood drained, his body covered with countless knife wounds, and even his genitals severed.

When they arrived at the scene, many people had vomited.

Their investigation at the scene led to the discovery of a discarded knife in a ditch, which was identified as the murder weapon.

However, the knife looked ordinary, except for its unusually sharp blade.

From the wear on the knife, it had been used for several years, making it difficult to trace the suspect through hardware store records.

Therefore, they had to start by investigating Hong Bo’s network of relationships.