Chapter 14

Xiang Yang leisurely descended the stairs, then strolled through the courtyard toward the main gate, where he stood still, occasionally glancing around.

Boss Zhao, who had been sweeping the courtyard with a broom, noticed this and approached while continuing to sweep. “Officer Xiang, what are you looking at? Is there anything special you’d like for dinner? I can prepare it for you.”

“That’s too much trouble!” Xiang Yang waved his hand dismissively. “I’m waiting for my colleagues here.”

“Colleagues?” Boss Zhao’s eyes lit up. “Oh, so you all planned this trip together? You’ve been so kind to support my business—I don’t even know how to thank you! Please come often in the future, and I’ll definitely give you a discount!” He eagerly pressed further, “How many more are coming? I’m not sure if I have enough rooms available.”

“Not many, just four or five,” Xiang Yang replied with a faint smile.

“That’s good, that’s good.” Boss Zhao leaned the broom against the corner of the wall, wiped his hands on his apron, and turned to head inside. “I’ll go tidy up the rooms.”

But before he could take half a step, Xiang Yang stopped him, forcing him to stay by the gate. They chatted about everything from the roof tiles to the bird’s nest under the eaves, from the gravel path at the entrance to the ants busily relocating in the nearby drainage ditch. Just as both were growing hoarse from talking, a police van finally appeared in their line of sight.

When the police car parked at the gate, Boss Zhao stared blankly at the uniformed officers stepping out, muttering, “Wait… Officer, did you just get off work? Why are you dressed so formally for a vacation? It’s a bit unsettling.”

Xiang Yang smiled faintly. “Take a guess?”

Boss Zhao: …

Pride Farmhouse was in trouble. Great Peace Village was just a small place, and news traveled fast. Soon, a mix of villagers and tourists had crowded around the entrance, blocking it completely.

“That female tourist who was murdered last time stayed at this farmhouse. Do you think someone else died here?”

“Surely not? Didn’t they catch the killer already? Don’t spread rumors—it’s scary!”

“If it’s not a death, then what could it be? This place seems to have bad feng shui. Good thing we didn’t book here this time…” A few young female tourists whispered among themselves.

Inside the courtyard, Boss Zhao looked ashen as he watched the officers carrying equipment into the building. His mind raced—this was it, everything was over… The day Ni Yue went missing, sensing trouble, he had taken advantage of the chaos when everyone was out searching to remove the surveillance equipment from the room she and her boyfriend had rented. Just yesterday, thinking the coast was clear, he had reinstalled everything—only for the first guests today to turn out to be police officers.

After lunch, when the four guests went to the stream, he had planned to go upstairs and retrieve the equipment. But Yan Fei unexpectedly returned to collect his luggage and check out, startling Boss Zhao into a cold sweat. Before he could recover, the other three guests also returned.

Boss Zhao pursed his lips and exchanged a glance with his wife beside him. Both looked on the verge of tears.

Over there, Jiang Li led Fang Jiamao and others in sweeping from the top floor down, uncovering two to three pinhole cameras in every room without exception. The implications behind this were enough to send chills down one’s spine. By the time the last camera was dismantled, Jiang Li’s face had darkened like the bottom of a pot.

Fang Jiamao jumped down from the table, fiddling with the tiny device no larger than a grain of sorghum. He clicked his tongue. “Quality stuff, not the cheap knockoffs you find everywhere. These pinhole cameras have a wide reception range—they receive remotely via WiFi, so pinpointing the receiver’s location won’t be easy.”

“A small-time Agritainment owner… I figured he’d just bought the ordinary kind online, the type with a 30-meter direct reception range. Whoever’s using these…” Fang Jiamao bared his teeth but didn’t finish the thought.

“Can you trace it?” Jiang Li asked.

“Yeah, but it’ll be tricky,” Fang Jiamao nodded.

“Take it back to the station,” Jiang Li said before heading downstairs. He glanced at the two men trembling in the corner and motioned to Xiang Yang with a tilt of his chin. “Take them in for questioning!”

…

“Alright, stop shaking and start talking.”

In the interrogation room at the city bureau, Xiang Yang looked exasperatedly at Boss Zhao, who sat quivering like a sieve. He pushed a cup of water forward. “What’s the point of keeping your mouth shut? You can’t guarantee your wife in the next room will stay tight-lipped too. Might as well cooperate. You’ve probably heard this a million times, but I’ll say it again—leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist!”

Su Yan, permitted to observe the interrogation from the corner today, pursed her lips and scratched her forehead at the remark.

Xiang Yang himself felt a bit pretentious after saying it. Noticing the young woman’s reaction, he coughed lightly to ease the awkwardness.

Jiang Li shot him an indifferent glance before rapping his knuckles on the table, drawing Boss Zhao’s attention. His voice was low and firm. “What were those pinhole cameras in your Agritainment used for? And we didn’t find any receivers on-site—where were the recorded images being transmitted?”

Boss Zhao nearly buried his head under the table.

“Boss Zhao, understand this—it’s only a matter of time before we locate those receivers. By then, anything you say will be too late.”

Silence was the only response.

Xiang Yang immediately rose to slam the table, but Jiang Li stopped him with a slight shake of his head. Catching the hint, Xiang Yang grumbled his way out, with Su Yan following close behind. Less than two minutes later, Jiang Li emerged as well.

“Jiang Dui, what’s the plan?” Xiang Yang asked, still muttering. “Everyone in Great Peace Village has lips sealed tighter than iron. This Zhao Guang looks ready to piss himself from fear, yet he’s still holding out!”

“The less they say, the bigger the issue must be. It means the people or matters involved are definitely not as simple as they appear on the surface.” Jiang Li instinctively reached into his pocket for a cigarette but suddenly noticed Su Yan standing beside him. He abruptly recalled how she had earnestly lectured him and Cai Chengji earlier that morning—before dawn—about this being a ‘no-smoking zone.’ His fingers lingered on the cigarette pack for a moment before he finally withdrew his hand.

“Could it be…” Xiang Yang was somewhat alarmed by his own speculation.

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying it.

Su Yan listened to their cryptic exchange with amusement. From the shifts in their expressions and glances, she could already guess most of what they meant—her thoughts aligned closely with theirs.

Just then, the door to the adjacent interrogation room opened. Cai Chengji peeked out before slipping through and shutting the door behind him. “The boss’s wife claims she knows nothing.” According to her statement, Zhao Guang handled all the room cleaning and sanitation duties, while she only took care of kitchen work.” He curled his lip. “What’s that saying? ‘Husband and wife are birds of a feather, but when disaster strikes, they scatter’?”

“Bullshit. Living under the same roof, how could she not know what her man was up to at home?” Xiang Yang scoffed. “What a pair—one plays dead and stays silent, the other dodges responsibility like a pro. Impressive.”

“I think…” Su Yan blinked twice and spoke softly, “Brother Cai, maybe you should go interrogate Zhang Liang again now?”

“Zhang Liang?” Cai Chengji, who had been griping about the couple with Xiang Yang, found her sudden topic shift jarring. “That bastard wouldn’t spill a word even if you beat him with a stick. I spent all last night staring him down—almost turned into an owl. My eyes still hurt!”

“Back then, we didn’t have anything to leverage to pry his mouth open. But now it’s different. We’ve brought in Zhao Guang and his wife, who lived in the same village as him for so long. Maybe he’s homesick and will start chatting with you?” Su Yan delivered her absurd-sounding suggestion with complete seriousness.

Cai Chengji and Xiang Yang stared at her, baffled, while Jiang Li beside them seemed deep in thought.

“Listen, little sis, not to lecture you, but…” Cai Chengji adopted a mentor-like tone, ready to school the intern. “A vicious psychopathic killer like Zhang Liang—do you really think he’d talk just because of some irrelevant fellow villager?” Huh? No way—”

“Cai Bao, I actually think Su Yan’s suggestion might be worth a try. Why don’t you give it another go?” Jiang Li abruptly cut off his rant.

Cai Chengji’s mouth hung open, unsure whether to close it or not. After shooting Jiang Li a puzzled look, he had no choice but to grudgingly agree. He dragged Xiang Yang toward the interrogation room at the far end, where Zhang Liang sat slumped and silent, possibly asleep.

Bang.

The closing door cut off their view from the hallway.

“Team Leader Jiang, don’t you think my suggestion was absurd?” Su Yan tilted her head up slightly, smiling at the man beside her.

“I’ve always felt something off about this serial murder case in Great Peace Village. It’s as if someone has been leading the police by the nose—like all the evidence we’ve found was intentionally left for us to discover.” Jiang Li felt his nicotine craving acting up again, his fingers twitching uselessly in his pockets. “Though on the surface, the Pride Farmhouse case seems completely unrelated to the serial killings, it’s always good to examine cases from every possible angle.”

Su Yan felt a surge of admiration. Indeed, no one who made it into the Evil Eradication Operation team was incompetent.

The two stood in silence until Jiang Li moved toward the stairwell for a smoke. Just then, Cai Chengji burst out of the interrogation room, looking stunned. “Holy… Jiang Dui! Zhang Liang confessed!”

“Who was it?” Jiang Li pressed.

“It’s… Pei An!” Cai Chengji swallowed hard. “He said after getting out of prison, he did recruit an accomplice due to health issues—the village Party secretary of Great Peace Village. He claims if we search Pei An’s place now, we’ll find all the evidence we need.”

As he finished speaking, Su Yan and Jiang Li exchanged glances, both seeing the same thought reflected in each other’s eyes: Just as expected. Another clue served on a silver platter.

“Zhang Liang also said those pinhole cameras at Pride Farmhouse were installed under Pei An’s orders. Almost every agritainment business in the village has them. Pei An profits from the recorded footage and distributes dividends to these businesses at year-end.”

“Su Yan, contact the local police station in Great Peace Village first. Have them prepare for joint investigation.” Jiang Li paused briefly. “Caibao, gather the team. We’re heading to Great Peace Village.”