FS-novel Chapter 916 - 476: This Village Is Very Strange (2)
Chapter 916 - 476: This Village Is Very Strange (2)
He pondered briefly and speculated, "Could it be that we happened to arrive at mealtime, and the women are at home cooking?"Jiang An furrowed his brow slightly, his gaze cautiously sweeping over the tightly closed courtyard doors and silent alleys surrounding them. He whispered, "Cooking sounds reasonable, but I can’t shake the feeling... that there’s a pair of eyes watching us closely from the shadows."
"Hey!" Mr. Qin raised his hand and heavily patted Jiang An on the shoulder.
"Mr. Jiang, are you perhaps too exhausted from investigating cases lately?"
"It’s inevitable to have some illusions when you’ve been under constant mental strain."
"It’s not entirely about psychological stress..."
Just as Jiang An was about to continue arguing, a slight engine sound came from the alleyway.
They saw a man wearing faded overalls driving a convertible electric cart coming towards them. As he passed by, the cart noticeably slowed down, the tires making a faint sound against the gravel road.
Qin Feng keenly noticed this detail and immediately looked up and waved at the man with a friendly gesture.
The man hesitated for a moment but eventually stopped the cart in front of them.
Qin Feng seized the opportunity to ask, "Excuse me, can I ask why we’ve only seen men in your village? Are the women not at home?"
The man grinned, revealing teeth stained yellow from tobacco, and answered casually, "Hey! The women all went up the mountain to pick tea together."
"Spring tea is about to go on the market, and it’s our village’s most important source of income."
"They set out before dawn, so naturally, the chores are left to us as the labor force."
After saying this, he didn’t wait for further questions, suddenly twisted the throttle, and the electric cart sped off into a side alley, disappearing from sight.
Mr. Qin turned to Jiang An with a "told you so" smile, his tone even more relaxed. "See, I told you there’s nothing to worry about, right? The women are all out picking tea, so it’s natural that we don’t see them in the village."
Jiang An nodded slowly, but his gaze still trailed in the direction where the electric cart disappeared.
The look that man gave them lingered in his mind—it wasn’t the curiosity of an ordinary villager seeing strangers, but a kind of scrutinizing observation, as if confirming something.
"When we suddenly asked about the whereabouts of the women in the village, that man showed almost no hesitation or question."
"He didn’t even ask about their identity or purpose—wouldn’t it be natural to be cautious upon seeing two strangers in this remote mountain village?"
"Unless... he already knew they would come?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Qin paused his steps slightly, a flicker of surprise passing over his face.
He pondered for a moment before responding in a lowered voice, "It indeed seems unusual."
"Ordinarily, strangers speaking to you would provoke inquiry into their background—it’s common sense. However..."
He paused slightly, his gaze thoughtfully scanning a figure laboring not far away, "it’s also possible this person has an outgoing personality, naturally accustomed to initiating conversation."
"Outgoing?"
Jiang An shook his head gently and subtly signaled to the right rear, "Mr. Qin, look over there."
"That person working in the field, although holding a hoe and tilling the ground, don’t you think his movements are too deliberate?"
"I’ve been observing him for a while. During each bend, his gaze inevitably drifts in our direction."
Hearing this, Mr. Qin maintained his usual pace but subtly slowed his steps.
Under the pretense of adjusting his collar, he used his keen peripheral vision, honed by years of police work, to discreetly observe the right rear.
Their extensive experience in law enforcement had trained them with superior anti-surveillance skills—typically, they were the ones tracking suspects.
At present, being observed covertly triggered their sharp instincts immediately.
About ten meters ahead, Mr. Qin subtly turned his head.
"It certainly raises suspicion. He appears to be working diligently, but each action seems staged."
"His rhythm with the hoe is unnatural, and the timing of his glances at us is spot on. It’s not the behavior of an ordinary farmer."
"With these observations, this place indeed feels quite odd."
"Should we approach and probe a bit?"
"Don’t act hastily." Mr. Jiang’s voice was extremely low.
"It’s just the two of us here. While well-trained, it’s risky to engage barehanded."
"If there’s a confrontation with an organized group, we wouldn’t even have the chance to call for help."
Mr. Qin took out his phone from his pocket, only to find the signal bars at the top of the screen were entirely empty.
He turned the screen toward Jiang An with a wry smile, "Look, even the most basic communication signal is nearly nonexistent."
"Under such conditions, we’re like kites with broken strings, entirely cut off from the outside world."
Jiang An took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. "It seems we need to reassess our strategy."
"Our top priority is to leave here and remember the exact location."
"I can’t shake the feeling that the people in this village—their eyes, actions—are indescribably strange."
"I’m afraid all this is far from being as simple as it looks."
Mr. Qin nodded gravely and said with a deep voice, "There’s a saying that extraordinary occurrences indicate underlying problems."
"The village’s heavy vigilance towards strangers is truly inexplicable."
"I have this feeling that there’s likely some unknown secret beneath all of this."
Hearing this, Jiang An chuckled softly, his tone carrying a hint of understanding. "It’s probably not just strangers they guard against."
"Mr. Qin, don’t forget our identities—we’re police officers. It seems the village is particularly sensitive to those in uniform."
As they spoke, the two had returned to the village entrance.
The old man who had been herding sheep earlier was nowhere to be seen. Instead, four young men appeared to be working in the fields, though every one of their gazes inadvertently locked onto them.
Jiang An quickly lowered his voice and urged, "Keep moving, don’t linger!"
"Watch out for the tools in their hands, those iron implements could be deadly if a fight breaks out."
Half an hour later, as they finally exited the village boundary and reached the fork road leading to the town, Mr. Qin let out a long sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"It truly was a close call earlier. If a conflict had arisen, it would be difficult for the two of us to extricate ourselves unscathed."
He looked towards the expanse of tea mountains in the distance, his tone increasingly grave. "We must immediately request support from higher authorities, mobilize enough police force to conduct a thorough search of this village."
Jiang An furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "Mr. Qin, don’t you find it strange?"
"Ordinary villagers usually cooperate with the police, but the people here treat us like the enemy."
"What exactly are they afraid of? Or perhaps, what are they deliberately hiding?"
"It’s only mid-March now, and spring tea can only be picked around the time of the Tomb-sweeping Day, yet the family we spoke to said their women went to pick tea..."
Upon this reminder, Mr. Qin was suddenly taken aback, realizing instantly, "That’s right! It’s definitely not the spring tea picking season. How could they be out picking tea?"
"The timeline doesn’t add up! So what exactly are these women doing, disappearing collectively?"
After a long pause, Jiang An finally spoke, his voice deep and heavy. "I have a hypothesis—the women are quite possibly being held captive."
"Captive?" Mr. Qin raised his head abruptly, a flash of shock in his eyes.
"Exactly." Jiang An nodded, his expression growing more serious. "Think about it, we’re investigating a case of missing women.
If this village is a hub for trafficking women, those women would all be controlled by them, explaining why we wouldn’t see them.
And from the moment we walked into the village, did you notice the reaction of the villagers?
They seemed friendly enough, yet their eyes were evasive, as if deliberately hiding something."
Hearing this, Mr. Qin suddenly slapped his thigh hard, producing a loud "thump!" sound. "Damn!"
"When you say it like that, the whole logic makes perfect sense!"