Who was Hu Jia chasing?
Lü Qingqing watched his retreating figure from afar, pondered for a moment, and then hurried after him.
But by the time she reached the alley entrance, Hu Jia had vanished. As Lü Qingqing anxiously looked around, suddenly, a flash of red light appeared in the distance.
Although only for a few seconds, it was particularly conspicuous in the dark night.
Lü Qingqing took off towards the direction of the red light. There, she saw two figures standing opposite each other.
One was Hu Jia, and the other was masked.
"I want to see who's faster between us," the voice, that of a man, declared.
Hu Jia let out a soft snort, saying nothing.
Just then, the masked man pulled out a glass bottle and threw it at Hu Jia. Hu Jia agilely dodged, and the bottle landed at Lü Qingqing's feet, erupting in a burst of flames with a boom.
This startled Lü Qingqing.
"It's you?" Hu Jia spotted Lü Qingqing.
While Hu Jia was distracted, the masked man turned and fled.
Hu Jia, quick as lightning, threw a flying dagger decisively. The masked man grunted and swiftly disappeared into the darkness.
"This fire?" Lü Qingqing was still unnerved.
"That's white phosphorus; it ignites upon contact with air," Hu Jia said, looking in the direction the man in red had escaped. "Quickly notify the surrounding residents to store water. We might have a fire."
What?
Lü Qingqing blinked.
"He attacked me with white phosphorus. The weather is dry; it could easily cause a fire," Hu Jia said, then chased after the man in red.
But looking at the quiet surroundings, Lü Qingqing was hesitant.
This didn't look like it was about to catch fire at all.
If I shout about it for nothing, won't I be cursed to death?
But…
Lü Qingqing glanced in the direction Hu Jia had disappeared. Forget it, no matter. "Fire! The flames are burning our butts…"
With Lü Qingqing's booming voice, Tongyuanmen quickly became lively. Many people ran out with buckets, and some didn't even have time to put on their outer clothes, grabbing their vests before rushing out the door.
Clang, clang…
Banging pots, striking gongs, everyone was shouting, and soon, the entire street was awake.
They were holding basins, carrying buckets, and wielding brooms.
When everyone rushed to the street in a frenzy, they discovered that Tongyuanmen was pitch black, with no sign of any fire.
Lü Qingqing looked at the scene before her, dumbfounded.
This… it seems like things have gotten a bit out of hand.
"Miss, where is the fire?" an old man approached.
Lü Qingqing was so embarrassed she wished she could dig a hole in the ground with her feet.
This damn Hu Jia.
…
The next time Lü Qingqing saw Hu Jia was at the Tongyuanmen branch office not far away.
The masked man had been apprehended by him.
As expected, it was Tang Kai.
The police officers on duty were all drowsy, only Hu Jia's eyes were gleaming.
"We'll interrogate him tonight!" Hu Jia slammed the table.
"Huh?"
"No way…"
The police officers began to groan.
"What is it?" Hu Jia looked at them.
"Captain Hu, can we interrogate him tomorrow?" someone spoke up. Hu Jia could handle the interrogation alone, but the paperwork required their assistance.
"As a police officer, how can you be afraid of fatigue or sleepiness? Tonight, if Tang Kai doesn't sleep, we don't sleep. If the case isn't solved, we don't sleep. If the truth doesn't come out, we don't sleep. Brothers, buck up!"
Lü Qingqing stared, dumbfounded, at the man with one foot on a stool. Was Hu Jia on stimulants?
She didn't mind working overtime, but that slogan was a bit excessive.
"Lü Qingqing!" Hu Jia's shout startled her.
"What do you want?" Lü Qingqing's eyes were full of wariness.
"Prepare yourself. We're digging up graves tonight!"
Lü Qingqing: …
I'll dig up your ancestors!
…
This was the first time Lü Qingqing felt something was off with Hu Jia. Compared to the Hu Jia of the previous two days, he was like a different person.
The Hu Jia of the past two days, even when eager to solve cases, was steady. But the current Hu Jia, how to describe him? Like a husky that had been cooped up for days, finally let loose on the street.
See, the current Hu Jia was pacing around Tang Kai, making clicking sounds with his tongue.
Never mind Tang Kai, even Lü Qingqing felt her hair standing on end.
Finally, Tang Kai, after feeling the immense pressure from the man, broke down: "Can you just ask? Ask whatever you want to ask right now?"
Was this the damned oppressive feeling?
Thus, with the suspect caught red-handed, Tang Kai confessed everything about his unwillingness to move the grave. The sole reason: love!
According to Tang Kai's confession, he and his deceased wife, Yang Yunniang, had a good relationship. Although they had no children after ten years of marriage, their life together was relatively happy.
However, Yang Yunniang had always been in poor health. In the past, she could still manage to do some work outside to supplement their income, but later, her health deteriorated, and she returned home.
Tragically, Yang Yunniang passed away two years ago. His wife had once said that after she was gone, she still wanted to see Tongyuanmen, because Tongyuanmen was her home, and her husband was there.
To avoid moving the grave, and to allow his wife to continue seeing home, Tang Kai adamantly opposed the relocation.
Tang Kai spoke with deep sincerity, but Hu Jia saw no trace of love for his late wife in his eyes.
"You claim to be preventing the grave relocation to not disturb the peace of your ancestors and your late wife. Then why, for three years, has your wife's grave been overgrown with weeds, while your parents' graves are meticulously kept clean by you?"
"You say you deeply loved your late wife, yet there is not a single item of hers left in your home. How do you explain that?"
"You claim you had a deep affection for Yang Yunniang, yet your neighbors say you physically abused her multiple times?"
"And, when did your family's financial situation start to improve? Where did the money come from?"
One had to admit, Hu Jia had done his homework thoroughly that afternoon. This even surprised Lü Qingqing. If Hu Jia hadn't investigated Tang Kai beforehand, she would have been fooled by Tang Kai's performance.
This man was indeed quite capable.
Faced with a barrage of questions, Tang Kai stammered, unsure how to respond.
Seeing his silence, Hu Jia let out a long cry: "Let's go, get the shovels…"
Lü Qingqing: …
Are we really going to dig up graves? In the middle of the night!
Tang Kai was clearly startled by Hu Jia's actions. After a fierce exchange of glances, Tang Kai finally caved.
His body began to tremble, and this time, his story changed.
It turned out that because Tang Kai often went out to conduct business, he was always uneasy about his wife being alone at home. He was constantly suspicious, and if he heard anyone say that Yang Yunniang had laughed and chatted with another man, he couldn't help but resort to violence.
Over time, Yang Yunniang finally couldn't bear it anymore. She proposed a divorce.
But this only made Tang Kai believe that his wife was having an affair. So, he deliberately coaxed his wife into drinking and, while she was unconscious, drove a steel nail half a foot long into the back of her head.
With her hair covering the wound, there was little bleeding, making it difficult for outsiders to discover. Thus, the burial went smoothly.
However, when Tang Kai arranged for his wife's funeral, out of spite, he only spent the minimum amount of money on a cheap coffin.
Tang Kai knew well that once the coffin decayed and the grave was moved, the nail would be exposed for all to see. That's why he thought of creating a phantom fire to cause trouble.
They say you catch the thief with the stolen goods. This was pure fabrication.
Even if Yang Yunniang had cheated, it was no reason for her to die.
"How did you make the fire? And where did the money in the house come from?" Lü Qingqing was furious.
"The flame was made with white phosphorus. The money, I got from her lover."
Tang Kai explained that white phosphorus ignites upon contact with air. He just needed to put it in a glass bottle. When the bottle broke, it would create the effect of a phantom fire. After all, the scene of the fire was a mess, and even if people saw glass fragments, they wouldn't suspect white phosphorus. As for the lover, he treated Yang Yunniang quite well and gave her a lot of money. Especially after Yunniang's death, Tang Kai even went to confront him and extorted five silver dollars.
"Who was the lover?"
"The boss of Zhang Ji Xiu He Zhuang!"
Zhang Qing? Tang Kai went to find him?
This story sounded strangely familiar.
Hu Jia and Lü Qingqing exclaimed in shock: "Yang Yunniang was Yun Yi?"