sjar Chapter 378 The Unyielding Village Chief
Chapter 378 The Unyielding Village Chief
After hearing the bad news about Tiezhu, Shitou was unable to recover for a long time. He shuddered when he met the sharp eyes of Qin Miaoxi and the others.
"Do you suspect I killed him?"
A hint of ridicule flashed across Lu Qingchen's lips, "Isn't it?"
"of course not."
Shitou suddenly cried out in shock, his chest heaving violently as he tried his best to calm the fear in his heart, "I didn't kill anyone, that's not right!"
He stared at the two of them with shocked eyes, "You not only suspect that I killed Tiezhu, but you also suspect that I killed Xu Xiaoru a year ago."
Qin Miaoxi nodded calmly and said, "Yes, you and both of them have..."
"Although I borrowed their money, I have already paid it back!"
This answer was something they hadn't expected. "When did you pay it back?"
"I borrowed the money not long ago." Shitou boasted, "Although I'm not very reasonable, I know how to repay my debts. It's not difficult to borrow again if I pay it back well."
[Hehe, no matter what they paid back, I paid it back anyway, so I don't owe them anything.]
"Do you have a receipt? Or did anyone see you pay it back?"
Lu Qingchen still couldn't believe that he could still be so self-aware and kept asking him.
Shitou was furious. "Sir, I'm telling you the truth, why don't you believe me?"
"It's not that I don't believe it, but we need evidence."
"I don't have any evidence. Believe it or not." Shitou curled his lips and said angrily, "Since you say I killed someone, then show me the evidence to prove that I did it."
"I'm telling you, I was at the gambling house in the county town all night last night and made thirty taels of silver! Everyone in the gambling house can testify to this."
Qin Miaoxi narrowed her eyes, "Were you in the gambling house last night?"
"Yes, it took at least half an hour to get back from the county town. You can go and ask me if I've ever left, and that will prove my innocence."
"We'll definitely ask."
Shitou yawned and said, "If you have nothing else, please leave. I need to catch up on some sleep."
The two left Shitou's house and the door slammed shut.
Lu Qingchen was angry, but no one dared to give him, the young marquis, a cold shoulder.
"No, the murder is more important."
When they returned to the thatched hut, the lights were on and Tiezhu's body was lying in the yard, with the village chief, Tiezhu's mother and many young men beside him.
Each of them held a wooden stick, with a ferocious look in their eyes. They stared at the two people who came in without saying a word, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
The village chief stepped forward and said in a cold voice, "The two officials have returned. We need to bury Tiezhu's body."
Lu Qingchen immediately stopped him, "How can that be possible? We haven't found the murderer yet."
Tie Zhu's mother roared indignantly, "The dead in our village must be buried immediately, otherwise it will ruin the feng shui of the family and even the entire village."
More than a dozen villagers echoed, "You really have bad intentions and are here to ruin our village's feng shui."
"That's ridiculous. What good will it do us if we ruin your village's feng shui?"
"Who knows? Didn't the government come a year ago and rob the village of everything they had, including food and loot?"
"That's right. That year, we couldn't even afford to eat. Don't even think about succeeding this time."
"If you don't let us, we'll kick you out."
Qin Miaoxi ignored their wooden sticks and walked straight towards them.
The village chief's gloomy eyes narrowed, and he secretly winked at one of the villagers. The latter raised a wooden stick in front of her and warned: "Don't come over, I'll beat you."
"Hit me, hit me hard on the head."
Qin Miaoxi raised her hand and pointed at her head nonchalantly, her brows full of calmness, her eyes filled with a bit of disdain and indifference, and there was even a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.
It's better to ignore this threat than to pay attention to it.
The villagers seemed to be irritated by her and actually raised their sticks and smashed her down.
"stop!"
slap~
Click!
The villagers stared at the broken sticks in their hands in horror, and Qin Miaoxi's cold warning rang in their ears: "This is just a reminder. If there is a next time, I don't mind breaking your neck."
Everyone stood there in a daze. What was even more shocking than her words was the long whip in her hand, as white as jade.
Qin Miaoxi glanced at their frightened eyes with satisfaction and said word by word, "You can take Tiezhu's body away, but if you do it again, you will be charged with obstructing the investigation."
The villagers lowered their heads, acting like quails. The village chief coughed twice and said, "Since the official has agreed, everyone, take the iron pillar away and bury it as soon as possible!"
Everyone seemed to have won a golden ticket to immunity from death. More than a dozen people carried a wooden board. Even if they couldn't squeeze in, they would lend a hand, for fear of being left behind by Qin Miaoxi.
When everyone was about to leave, Qin Miaoxi called out again, "Village Chief, please stay a moment."
The village chief paused slightly, looked up and waved to the others, "You go first."
After a while, they were the only three people left in the courtyard. Qin Miaoxi asked directly, "Village Chief, where were you at midnight today?"
"I'm sleeping at home."
"Really? Has anyone given you proof?"
"I live alone."
"Someone saw you halfway up the mountain at midnight. Is that true?"
The village chief remained calm and composed. "Who saw it? I demand to confront him."
Qin Miaoxi looked at him deeply. She had known that the village chief was difficult to deal with, but it still made her feel powerless when dealing with him.
So she decided to change the topic, which was also the question that had been lingering in her mind.
“Why are there cow mooing sounds in the village?”
"Because someone did something wrong and angered the Bull God, the Bull God issued a warning."
"Where did the sound come from?"
"Mountain."
"impossible."
That night they searched the mountains behind the village but found no trace of the cow.
"The Bull God is also the mountain god of our village. How could he be seen by ordinary people?"
"How many times have cow mooing occurred in the village, and when did it usually happen?"
The village chief pretended to be lost in thought. "About five or six times! Usually at night. During the day, everyone is working in the fields, so if there were any sounds, we wouldn't hear them."
“Do we find dead bodies after every bull mooing?”
"How is that possible? Our village isn't known for producing murderers. Tiezhu's death and the cow mooing are just coincidences."
Qin Miaoxi's eyes were filled with majesty and unquestionable. "What about Xu Xiaoru's death that year? Didn't he also hear the sound of a bull mooing when he died?"
The village chief was silent in vain, with a sudden evasive look in his eyes.
"Really? I'm old now, and I don't remember what happened a year ago. If you want to know the whole process, you can check the official files. There should be detailed records there."
"This is what we found out."
The village chief laughed, "Since you have already found out, why are you still asking me?"
Qin Miaoxi couldn't help but take a deep breath and said to him frankly, "Village Chief, we want to catch the murderer as soon as possible so that we can protect the safety of the villagers. Tiezhu's death this time is the same as Xu Xiaoru's death a year ago. It's not ruled out that the murderer is lurking in the village and committing crimes many times. Aren't you afraid?"
"Afraid?" The village chief sneered. "Our villagers are strong and healthy, how can we not deal with a stinkbug hiding in the gutter? I am their village chief, and I am naturally capable of protecting their safety. There is no need for you to worry."
"Then why did someone die this time?"
Qin Miaoxi's words hit the bull's eye like a sharp arrow. The village chief pursed his lips solemnly and said, "I'm sorry, my legs and feet are not convenient. If there are no other questions, I will go back to change the medicine."
After saying this, he left without waiting for Qin Miaoxi's consent.
"The people in this village are so cold and indifferent. When someone died in the village, no one wanted to find the real culprit. Even the deceased's parents were indifferent. They are all so indifferent."
Lu Qingchen was still muttering a few curses when he suddenly stumbled upon something hard. He subconsciously stopped and looked down at the ground.
"what is this?"
I picked up a silver lock from the ground, with a clasp on it, like a pendant.
Qin Miaoxi glanced at it and said, "Isn't this the gold and silver lock I wore as a child? Before the villagers leave, go ask who this belongs to."
Lu Qingchen went and came back quickly. As soon as he took out the silver lock, Tiezhu's mother snatched it away and said that it belonged to his youngest son.
Qin Miaoxi frowned, "Her youngest son is here too?"
"No, I've seen her youngest son. He's very skinny."
"Then how did his son's things end up here?"
Lu Qingchen's eyes suddenly lit up, and he suddenly realized: "Could it have fallen from the corpse?"
Qin Miaoxi: "..."