Hu Jia didn't want the pawn ticket back for a simple reason: didn't Tong Meng suspect there was a secret in the pawn ticket?
So she would give it to her.
The more calmly she appeared to have lost the ledger, the more confused Tong Meng would become.
Besides, what good would it do Tong Meng even if she got the ledger? Could she figure out what clues were hidden inside?
Lu Qingqing heard this and thought it made sense.
As a result, the decision of these two people truly confused Tong Meng.
Sitting alone in the room, flipping through the thick ledger, Tong Meng couldn't find anything unusual.
"Mysterious Iron Cleaver, Pawn Price 20 wen."
"Anhui Ancient Ink, Pawn Price 380 wen."
The further Tong Meng read, the worse her mood became.
This ledger recorded pawn transactions from 1924. From the first page, the contents showed no abnormality.
She couldn't understand why Lü Qingqing kept it like a treasure.
Of course, Lü Qingqing pretended to look for the ledger after it was lost, but she only searched for a day before giving up. "I was going to take it back for Lü Duo Bao to use as a picture book to learn characters, but I accidentally lost it."
Hearing Lü Qingqing's words, Tong Meng's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. So she had worked hard for half a day to get a useless book, no wonder it only recorded events from five years ago.
However, Tong Meng didn't intend to return the ledger.
What Lü Duo Bao's studies had to do with her was none of her business. She casually tossed it aside, and the ledger flew into the grass.
After Tong Meng left, Hu Jia picked up the ledger, blew the dust off, and thought, "Good, I got the clue back without shedding a drop of blood."
However, she had been out for a while and should find an opportunity to provide Tong Meng with a clue. After all, she couldn't let others run around for nothing.
Meanwhile, Yu Yi'an and others had almost turned the entire town upside down, especially the shops and residential areas near the well.
But after searching everywhere, they didn't find the killer. Instead, they confirmed the identity of the deceased.
That day, a group of镖师 (bodyguards) entered the town. From their behavior, it was clear they were recruiting. Yu Yi'an thought of the male corpse in the wedding dress and went to ask. It turned out this group was looking for a missing friend.
The deceased was named Han Xiu, a 镖师.
Five days ago, Han Xiu and his team arrived at Zhong County. While waiting for work, Han Xiu proposed to walk around town. Everyone knew that Han Xiu couldn't stand loneliness, so his saying he wanted to "walk around" probably meant he was going to seek pleasure.
Such things were common, not just for Han Xiu.
However, Han Xiu was different from others; he had a particular fondness for married women.
But after five days, Han Xiu still hadn't returned. This was a bit unusual.
Even if the married women in town were extremely possessive, they couldn't have captured Han Xiu's unrestrained heart, right?
So, the group came to town to find him and to see what the woman who had made Han Xiu linger and forget to return looked like.
As a result, they didn't see what the woman looked like, but they found Han Xiu, who had been hacked to death.
"Alas, I said this person wouldn't live long," the 镖师 in the team sighed. They knew that Han Xiu had been beaten by many people because he liked married women.
The 镖师 had even joked that he would eventually fall victim to his hobbies.
"He looks lawless, but in reality, he's more cowardly than a dog," the team masters said. Han Xiu had a strange illness: he was afraid of confined spaces.
Once in a closed space, he would become restless, breathe rapidly, and even faint.
"Hmm," Hu Jia nodded. It seemed Yang Yuegu was right; Han Xiu must have fainted from fear of the closed space of the wardrobe.
However, this person was too foolish.
Knowing he had a phobia of confined spaces, he still ran into the wardrobe.
Wasn't he asking for death?
Alright, I admit, there was nowhere to hide in Yuegu's room.
Furthermore, Hu Jia and the others also confirmed a piece of information: Han Xiu did not have a wedding dress on him, nor was there one in his luggage.
This meant that Yuegu was not lying, and the wedding dress was indeed something she had put on Han Xiu.
But just confirming the identity of the deceased was not enough; who killed him was the key.
After a day of searching, they found nothing.
According to the plan, Hu Jia and the others were supposed to return to Chongqing that day. However, the matter of the male corpse in the wedding dress had delayed their itinerary.
Seeing Hu Jia and Lu Qingqing still busy with the case every day, Li Han's eyes flickered. He had once been a member of this team.
To solve a case, he could hide in a corner and sift through all the garbage.
To catch a killer, he could chase them for two kilometers without rest.
To find a clue, he could read hundreds of documents without shedding a tear.
But now, he couldn't even get a chance to take on a case.
"Captain Wen!" Li Han looked at Ouyang Wen, his throat bobbing. "Can a tree that has grown crooked ever grow straight again?"
"There are no crooked trees in this world, only trees that grow upwards," Ouyang Wen said with a smile. "Who can guarantee that a tree will always be perfectly straight? But everyone can guarantee that as long as the tree is still growing, it will definitely reach for the heights."
Li Han looked up in the direction Ouyang Wen was pointing. Indeed, the tops of the trees were reaching towards the sun, lush and vibrant.
"Leverage, Tong Hua has a lot of leverage," Li Han inexplicably dropped a sentence and quickly left.
Although Li Han said it simply, Ouyang Wen understood the meaning behind his words very well. He had been feeling strange lately, wondering why those people were getting so close to Tong Meng, even seeming to subtly promote Tong Meng to the "leader."
Like last week, when Lü Qingqing was speaking as the leader of the second team, the people below deliberately made things difficult for her. They either repeatedly asked the same question or disagreed with Lü Qingqing's thoughts on the case.
But as soon as Tong Meng offered an opinion, everyone would start clapping.
Now it seemed that those people weren't being nostalgic; it was that Tong Meng had no choice but to act this way.
Leverage?
Very good!
Then these leverages would be removed.
...
"Old Zhang, I heard you went on a mission with Lü Qingqing last week."
"She was the team leader, and she called me. How could I refuse?"
"Do you have time to eat? Do you have time to go home and see your elderly parents? Do you have time to take your children out for a stroll? You don't!"
"But such an excuse is too harsh. She is, after all..."
"That's exactly the kind of harsh excuse needed. Otherwise, how would she know you don't like her?"
In the police station's judicial department, Tong Hua was reprimanding Old Zhang.
Old Zhang didn't dare to retort; his wife's superior had made his stance clear.
If he didn't obey, he'd have to go home.
This family couldn't rely on a single income.
Old Zhang knew this was a game, a game between Lü Qingqing and Tong Meng, and a game between Lü Qingqing's backers and Tong Meng's backers.
He was just a pawn in it. No matter who won, he wouldn't be the hero.
Therefore, he wanted to play both sides, but Tong Hua had deliberately blocked his way home.
And the other members of the team were facing the same dilemma as Old Zhang. Tong Hua had them all in a tight grip.
...
One day, Hu Jia fainted again.
When a case couldn't be solved for a long time, he would faint.
Hu Jia was unconcerned after waking up, but Lü Qingqing knew that his body seemed to be increasingly unable to withstand the pressure.
The fainting spells were not only happening earlier but also becoming more frequent.