Transition

At 1:21 p.m., Ning Zhe finished giving his statement and walked out of the police station.

Three accidental deaths had occurred in Ancient Tablet Town in a single day: Ye Miaozhu, Gu Yunqing, and Xie Sining... If Ning Zhe hadn't hidden Zhang Yangxu's body and taken his place, there would have been four murders in one day.

On top of that, all three had died in exactly the same way. There were no external injuries, no internal injuries, and no signs of poisoning, yet the places where they died were nearly five kilometers apart.

These bizarre, sudden deaths had left no clues behind. There was no way they could be classified as accidents, and they were enough to give any forensic examiner a massive headache.

"If nothing unexpected happens, we won't even have to wait for tomorrow's news. Speculation and conspiracy theories about these bizarre murders will be all over forums and short-video platforms by this evening."

Ning Zhe had always had faith in the internet's ability to feast on drama and pick it apart.

But then he reconsidered. "Still, maybe not. If we get to tomorrow and there's still no online discussion about these three murders, and not even much of a stir offline... then that'll be interesting."

That would mean someone had covered up the news right away.

With some time before seven that evening, Ning Zhe took the opportunity to look into the details of the land development project in Ancient Tablet Town.

Ancient Tablet Town was a small place without any major industries to drive the local economy or large companies capable of creating jobs.

Neither heavy industries like coal and steel nor cutting-edge sectors such as automobiles and digital technology had anything to do with this impoverished backwater.

Qinzhou did have abundant rare-earth deposits, but they were strategic resources, and mining had been prohibited for nearly half a century. Anyone caught mining them illegally faced a prison sentence of at least fifteen years.

In the end, the town's only advantage was its pristine natural environment and breathtaking scenery, which made it well suited for tourism.

The local government hoped to revitalize the town's stagnant economy by developing a sizable tourist area centered on Xuanhu Waterfall, to the west of Ancient Tablet Town. The generous funding had attracted bids from several massive real estate developers.

Among the bidders, Zhang Yangxu's New World Group and New Homeland Group, owned by the husband of Feng Yushu, Bai Fugui, had the deepest pockets. They were the two companies with the best chance of winning the bid.

In terms of business scope and company size, New Homeland was actually even larger than New World, and it could offer a more enticing proposal.

But Zhang Yangxu was a local of Qinzhou, while Bai Fugui was an outsider from Yongzhou. The local government favored awarding the main contract to a homegrown Qinzhou company, since that would do more to create local jobs. That was what gave Zhang Yangxu the leverage to compete with Bai Fugui.

...That was the official story, anyway. But what was the saying? When two fellow townsmen meet, tears fill their eyes.

Personal connections were one thing; business was another. Unless Zhang Yangxu offered some concessions and put a few chips on the table, being a Qinzhou native alone wouldn't be enough to persuade the person with the final say to approve his bid at tomorrow's meeting.

After all, a company from Yongzhou could hire workers from Qinzhou too.

The bidding meeting was scheduled for three in the afternoon the day after tomorrow. Zhang Yangxu's main agenda for today was to survey the terrain around Xuanhu Waterfall and get in touch with the people who had influence.

"Zhang Yangxu's an interesting guy. With his status, he's still willing to go out and inspect the site himself." Ning Zhe was somewhat surprised.

But that worked out perfectly. He'd been wondering what to do with Zhang Yangxu's body.

Southern China was hot in June. A few hours after death, a body would start to smell, and it took plenty of air freshener to keep the odor down.

Over the course of the afternoon, Ning Zhe visited several of the local landmarks around Ancient Tablet Town, accompanied by the driver and a few locals. Quite a few New World Group employees had arrived before Zhang Yangxu, so Ning Zhe only had to review the reports they submitted.

By the time he had finished inspecting all the sites, it was 5:47 p.m.

Ning Zhe sent the driver off to take care of the hotel arrangements and get something to eat, then said he wanted to explore the scenic area a little longer. He drove up the winding mountain road alone.

A high school senior like him obviously hadn't had time to get a driver's license, but Zhang Yangxu had. He'd been driving for nearly twenty years.

With Zhang Yangxu's seasoned driving skills, Ning Zhe made it to the heart of the future scenic area—Xuanhu Waterfall—as steadily as could be.

Strictly speaking, Xuanhu should have been called Xuan Lake. It was a high-altitude barrier lake in a mountain hollow west of Ancient Tablet Town, perched more than ten meters above the surrounding ground. The rushing water poured over an opening as if someone in the sky were tipping a teapot and dumping water down below. From a distance, it was a spectacular sight.

Ning Zhe pulled over on the mountain road about ten meters from the shore. After making sure no one was around, he opened the trunk, hoisted Zhang Yangxu's body onto his back, and took a footpath into the mountains.

He'd grown up in the area and knew the terrain around Xuan Lake like the back of his hand. Before long, he found his destination in the mountains at dusk:

It was a deep cave entrance, enclosed by barbed wire and surrounded by ferns. The sound of trickling water came from within, and a warning sign marked "DANGER!!!" stood out front.

The mountains around Ancient Tablet Town were mostly red earth and limestone. After years of erosion by flowing water, the landscape had become karst terrain. Deep underground rivers ran through pitch-dark caves, while fissures in the rock and black sinkholes plunged more than a thousand meters down.

"If I dump Zhang Yangxu's body in here, no one will ever find it." Ning Zhe climbed over the barbed wire and casually tossed the body from his back into the cave. A full seven seconds passed before he heard it splash into the water below.

With the body taken care of and nothing left to worry about, Ning Zhe returned to the car and drove down the mountain.

With three murders in Ancient Tablet Town in a single day, it wouldn't be appropriate to hold a lavish welcome banquet at the hotel. Even if they did, the people who were supposed to attend wouldn't be able to show up.

Ning Zhe was more than happy to enjoy the peace and quiet. He returned to his hotel, ate a simple dinner, then went to his room and waited patiently.

Ancient Tablet Town was a small place, and even the best hotel in town wasn't much to speak of. Someone like Zhang Yangxu would never have stayed somewhere like this unless he'd been there on business.

At 7:24 p.m., the sun sank in the west, and darkness settled over the town.

Ning Zhe felt a vibration in his pocket as a call came in. Notably, it wasn't Zhang Yangxu's phone that was vibrating, but his own.

He glanced at the caller ID, sat down on the edge of the bed, and answered.

Before Ning Zhe could say anything, an urgent voice came through the speaker. "Ning Zhe, are you all right?"

"Thanks for asking. I'm fine." Ning Zhe chuckled. "Congratulations, Auntie. Looks like you made it out of there alive too."

Rapid, unsteady breathing came from the other end of the line. Feng Yu Shu's voice sounded emotional, though tightly restrained. "Thank you, Ning Zhe. If it weren't for you, I... I never would've made it back alive. I'm truly grateful..."

"If you really want to thank me, give me something worthwhile. What good is just saying it?" Ning Zhe said casually. "Come meet me in person, will you? I have a few things I need to ask about your daughter, Baizhi."

For example, why had that girl dreamed of scenes from He Family Village again and again?