kvmb Chapter 228 Lantern Village Before the New Year
Chapter 228 Lantern Village Before the New Year
She paused, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Don't forget, the Nightingale Emperor and the Liao siblings are also involved. If the three of them die and the truth comes out, how will you explain it to the public?"
Fang Yanmu blurted out, "I watched your live stream and visited Jiang Tao. I know you know mystical arts. With you in Lantern Village, nothing unexpected will happen."
Cheng Ai took a deep breath, her eyes glancing almost imperceptibly at Ye Jingke, and mouthed the name "Jiang Tao".
Ye Jingke had just finished eating and, seeing this, obediently left his seat to make a phone call.
The maid had gone home, and Lu Xiao and Li Xiaolin were already asleep. Lü Hanmo put his phone on the dining table and quickly picked up the plates and washed the dishes.
"So, not only did you take advantage of me, you didn't even give me a single penny!" Cheng Ai's eyes narrowed, her tone icy. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. Because of you, I wasted so many talismans. That's really too much!"
Fang Yanmu was startled and quickly apologized, "Miss Cheng, please calm down. The higher-ups are taking the Lantern Village case very seriously, and I dared not make a sound!"
"Since you've used me, you can't deceive me." Cheng Ai's expression was cold and her gaze sharp. "Your actions have put me in a passive position. If I hadn't brought the talisman yesterday, or if I hadn't bothered with other people's business, photographers Fang Huan and Pei Yongyang would be dead!"
Fang Yanmu remained silent for a long while before weakly apologizing, "I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."
"It's alright." Cheng Ai waved her hand magnanimously, regardless of whether the other person could see her or not. "I'll forgive you once you pay for the talisman."
Fang Yanmu gave an awkward smile, "You're joking, Miss Cheng. I'm very poor, but if this case can really be solved, I can apply for a reward for you."
"Oh?" Cheng Ai blinked, a surge of joy welling up inside her. "A lot of money?"
“A lot, a lot.” Fang Yanmu carefully chose his words before tentatively speaking, “Our police station will even award you a banner, that’s a real honor!”
Cheng Ai then asked, "Does it happen every night too?"
Fang Yanmu realized she was referring to Ye Jingke and quickly replied, "Yes! Absolutely! Just imagine how impressive it would be to have a banner hanging in the president's office of Shengding International that says 'Brave and Fearless, Guardian of Justice'!"
Cheng Ai imagined it for a moment, then smiled with satisfaction. "Indeed, it's quite good."
Fang Yanmu's heart leaped into his throat. "So, Miss Cheng, you agree to cooperate with our police?"
“Hmm~” Cheng Ai raised her chin and said with a smile, “Resource sharing, tell me the information you’ve gathered over the past five years.”
After washing the dishes, Lü Hanmo went upstairs. The affairs of Lantern Village were none of his business, so it was best not to get involved.
Ye Jingke returned to the living room and whispered to Cheng Ai, "Jiang Tao is going crazy publicizing your treatment process to thank you for saving Jiang Haiyuan."
He glanced at his phone, seemingly looking through it at Fang Yanmu, "After my warning, I think he won't do it again."
Cheng Ai nodded to indicate that she understood, but Fang Yanmu was sweating nervously.
I hadn't heard Ye Jingke's voice for a while, and I thought he wasn't there. Turns out he was just being invisible the whole time.
The living room was quiet. Cheng Ai lost her patience. "Director Fang, are you going to talk or not? If not, I'm going back to my room to sleep."
Fang Yanmu snapped back to reality and quickly opened the file to tell the truth: "Ten years ago, Lantern Village was surrounded by mountains and had beautiful scenery. It was a very famous tourist destination, and the residents were all very rich."
Perhaps out of divine jealousy, a massive earthquake struck the area, causing landslides that killed many people and reduced Lantern Village to ruins. The incident made the news, and the authorities sent rescue teams, but they found no survivors.
He flipped through several pages of the case file, his voice trembling, “Just when everyone was gradually forgetting about this disaster, Lantern Village came back into the public eye. On October 21, a grand lantern festival was held there, attracting countless tourists, but only men returned.”
We immediately sent people to investigate, and the results showed that apart from the villagers being too timid to show their faces, there was nothing else unusual. Later, we conducted undercover interviews with the victims' families. Some said they saw two little girls, some said the village chief was collecting skins, and others said the days would get shorter and the nights were dangerous.
Cheng Ai lowered her eyes in thought, while Ye Jingke bombarded her with questions, "Are the two little girls named Xiaoyu and Xiaorou? What does collecting skins mean? Animal skins? Human skins? What will they be used for? Sold? I know it's dangerous when it gets dark, and there are only twenty-four hours in a day. How did you shorten the time?"
"Sell?" Cheng Ai's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she suddenly hugged his neck and kissed him. "I understand, Ye Ye, you're so smart!"
Ye Jingke felt a warm glow from the kiss, but he didn't get back to business. "What's wrong, Ai Ai? What are you thinking about?"
Cheng Ai smiled happily and said softly, "Do you remember what Chen Gu said when he gave us the task? He said that we hadn't gathered all the materials to make the lanterns yet, so we should harvest the corn first."
Ye Jingke frowned, and exclaimed involuntarily, "You mean to say that all the lanterns sold in Lantern Village are made of leather? Combining the clues given by Director Fang, all the materials Chen Gu selected are of women?"
"That's the most likely possibility." Cheng Ai rubbed her eyes, yawning repeatedly. "I can't understand why the time has become shorter. I'm so sleepy, I want to rest."
Ye Jingke tenderly carried her upstairs, helped her take a bath, removed the jade hairpin, washed her hair, and wrapped her in a bath towel.
Moving his belongings from the Lü family back to the Imperial Manor was the thing he regretted most.
He gently placed Cheng Ai on the bed, then tucked the jade hairpin under her pillow before returning to the bathroom to wash up.
Inside the living room, Fang Yanmu's voice came through Lü Hanmo's cell phone:
"Miss Cheng, Mr. Ye, Mr. Lü, are you still there?"
"The two little girls are indeed named Xiaoyu and Xiaorou. As for whether the lanterns are made of female skin, we don't know."
"I've said everything I know about this case. If no one says anything, I'm hanging up."
The call ended, and the villa returned to silence.
Fang Yanmu closed the case file, picked up his car keys, and walked out of the police station to go home.
I won't mention this to my wife since I didn't get Ms. Cheng's autographed photo!
Hopefully, the case in Lantern Village can be resolved as soon as possible so that he can get a promotion and a raise.
Around nine o'clock, Cheng Ai woke up groggily.
As soon as I sat up, I saw Ye Jingke sitting next to me, engrossed in working on his laptop.
The wound on her hand had healed thanks to the jade hairpin. She poked his arm, puzzled, "Why are you always so busy? Since I met you, it seems like you've never taken a break."
Ye Jingke gently stroked her delicate nose and smiled tenderly, "Being with you is the most relaxing moment for me."
Cheng Ai's cheeks flushed red. She whispered sweet nothings to him for a while before shyly running into the bathroom.
After coming out, he put on the clothes that Lü Hanmo had bought and went downstairs with Ye Jingke.
Lu Xiao took Li Xiaolin out for a walk, and the maid was notified at the last minute that she didn't need to come to work.