Chapter 67: If I Can’t Win, I’ll Hide

The village leaders gathered.

Even Jin Fu and Chen Cheng showed up. Jin Fu had even contacted Xiao Jie.

Xie Aiguo glanced at Jin Fu’s emotionless face, and his heart skipped a beat.

He couldn’t quite figure out what was going on.

He felt uneasy.

With everyone’s help, the fire was completely extinguished—not even smoke remained.

But Jing Xi’s earthen house was utterly destroyed.

A few people went inside to check, but all they found were some metal remnants, charred wooden stakes, and burnt utensils. Nothing else remained.

Xia Lichun and Xia Lidong told Xie Aiguo that Jing Xi had indeed been asleep at home and hadn’t gone out; they were the ones who had locked the door for her.

Xie Aiguo’s heart turned cold.

He didn’t even dare to look at Jin Fu’s expression.

These two so-called agricultural experts actually had another identity…

Jin Fu and Chen Cheng examined the scene for a while and ultimately came to one conclusion: the girl had escaped.

But they didn’t say it out loud.

They weren’t fools.

Everyone was discussing the recent events in the village—checking land claims,

Jing Xi being part of the inspection team,

her temporary accounting role,

the many people who disliked her,

and the incident with Zhou Shu.

No matter how they looked at it, they both felt that Jing Xi had simply gone into hiding.

She was avoiding trouble.

Perhaps she had other plans.

Not a single trace of human remains was found at the scene. Even if she had been cremated in a funeral home, there would still be bone fragments left behind!

Chen Cheng asked, “So, what do we do about this? Should we intervene or not? If we meddle too much, will it expose us?”

Jin Fu replied, “Expose what? We don’t know anything. What is there to expose?”

Chen Cheng nodded. “You’re right, Jin-ge. But have you noticed? This girl is really something. Everywhere she goes, trouble follows.”

Jin Fu glanced at the village leaders, who were still discussing whether to call the police.

Then he added,

“That’s why I say she’s not ordinary. Maybe that’s why the Long family is so interested in her.”

Chen Cheng wanted to say more, but at that moment, Xie Aiguo walked over.

“Technicians, should we report this to the police?”

Jin Fu raised an eyebrow. “Why are you asking me? This is a matter of life and death. Do I have the authority to decide? The fire burned everything down. Clearly, someone set it on purpose. It’s either arson for money or murder—at least one of those two.”

Xie Aiguo nodded. “Then I’ll call the police.”

Jin Fu shrugged. “Village chief, you don’t need my opinion. I’m just a regular technician. I won’t meddle in your village’s affairs.”

Chen Cheng added, “Same here.”

Xie Aiguo: “…”

In the end, Xie Aiguo still reported it.

This matter was too serious.

If they dared to burn down Jing Xi’s house today, who knew if his own house would be next tomorrow?

And the day after, it might even make national news.

He scanned the crowd.

Among all the onlookers, the only ones missing were Zhou Wenwu’s family.

But he knew Zhou Wenwu was at home.

Given the current situation, Zhou Wenwu was the prime suspect.

When the police arrived, they immediately surveyed the scene and took all relevant individuals in for questioning.

Of course, their focus was on Zhou Wenwu and the Zhang family.

Zhou Wenwu was the primary suspect.

The Zhang family of three was secondary.

This time, the case was serious. At the scene, they even found a gasoline canister that hadn’t completely burned.

It was obvious that someone had deliberately set the fire.

And they did it knowing there was someone inside.

Arson with intent to kill.

That made it a major crime.

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When Zhou Jiwen went to the hospital to notify the family, Li Fenghua lost her mind upon learning that Zhou Wenwu had been arrested.

Especially after Zhou Jiwen told her that Jing Xi might have been burned to death.

Zhou Jiwen carefully observed the expressions of everyone in the hospital room:

Li Fenghua—angry, worried, shocked.

Chen Xiaowen—disappointed, grieving, silent.

Zhou Shu—his eyes darted around, his expression odd, his face filled with guilt.

Zhou Jiwen didn’t overlook this.

He suspected that Zhou Shu might be involved.

After all, he still remembered the conversation Zhou Shu had with those yellow-haired and red-haired guys the other day.

Just then, Li Fenghua anxiously asked, “Officer Zhou, when can my husband be released?”

Zhou Jiwen said, “He is now the primary suspect and will be temporarily detained. If no evidence is found before the detention period ends, he can be released on bail. But if evidence is found, he will await trial.”

For the first time, regret flashed across Li Fenghua’s face.

She kept wondering—had she whispered too many things into Zhou Wenwu’s ear, leading him to set fire to Jing Xi’s house?

Meanwhile, Zhou Shu felt conflicted.

His best friend had sought revenge on his behalf, but in doing so, had gotten his father arrested.

And to make matters worse, his father had just had a dispute with Jing Xi on the very same day.

His own injuries hadn’t even healed yet, and now this mess had unfolded.

“Officer Zhou, I really don’t think my father did this. Sure, he has a bad temper, but he wouldn’t dare commit arson and murder. There must be someone else behind this.”

Zhou Jiwen remained calm. “Whoever did it will be determined by the evidence. As I said before, everything depends on the proof. You say it wasn’t him, but someone else says it was—so who should we believe?”

Zhou Shu nodded. “I trust you to find the truth.”

The Zhou family’s case was becoming a tangled mess.

First, Zhou Shu accused Jing Xi of assault, but there was no evidence, and now the alleged victim had disappeared.

Whether she was dead or alive remained unknown.

How was the investigation supposed to proceed?

Zhou Jiwen felt like his head was going to explode. On top of that, Wu Dazhuang’s case was still ongoing, with his accomplices yet to be found.

Everything was happening at once.

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Jing Xi went into seclusion.

She was truly exhausted.

Ever since she entered her space, she hadn’t checked on the outside world at all.

She could guess that many people were probably worried about her, but she simply didn’t want to deal with this mess right now.

She needed time to think—about what to do next and which path to take.

So, for the past few days, she had been resting, tending to her health, farming, and tidying up her house inside her space.

In this secluded paradise of hers, she found peace.

Being alone did help clear her thoughts.

She went over everything that had happened in the past few months and realized she had been far too soft-hearted.

People always said to leave some room for reconciliation, but clearly, others had never given her that courtesy.

She had been the one constantly giving in.

But at least, in this space, everything was perfect. It provided her with a temporary refuge in times like this.

If she couldn’t fight back, at least she could hide.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine—if she didn’t have this space, she might have already perished in the fire.

This space was her true savior.

But she knew hiding was only temporary.

She had already made up her mind—once she figured out her next step, she would leave.

Whether it took one month, two months, or even a year, she had all the time she needed.