After handing over the discovered evidence, the two remaining detectives who had come to assist were assigned to the newly uncovered case. Since Guan Xia's team also had an even number of members, they followed the same pairing arrangement as in Jianyang City—Guan Xia was once again teamed up with Xu Nian.
Based on the various clues uncovered, it was clear that this was a criminal organization that had been active in the area for quite some time—longer than they had initially suspected.
Following the distinct trail of disturbed vegetation deeper into the mountains, Guan Xia kept her head down, focusing on the path while carefully controlling her breathing to conserve energy. Suddenly, Xu Nian, who was walking ahead of her, stopped abruptly. Guan Xia nearly collided with his back before catching herself.
Xu Nian instinctively steadied her, and once she regained her balance, he pulled an evidence bag from his pocket and picked up a cigarette butt he had spotted.
Guan Xia quickly grasped his reasoning. "You think this was left behind by a member of that criminal group? Would they really be so careless, leaving such obvious evidence along the mountain path?"
Perhaps influenced by too many crime dramas, Guan Xia had the impression that the longer a criminal organization existed, the more cautious its members would be—especially since the more crimes they committed, the more likely they’d face the death penalty if caught.
Xu Nian glanced back in the direction they had come from before answering, "I calculated that we’ve followed this trail for over two kilometers. Even local villagers wouldn’t come this deep unless they had a specific reason. Also, it’s possible they left this evidence in frustration after realizing they’d taken the wrong path."
"Wrong path?" Guan Xia was puzzled.
Xu Nian stepped aside and gestured. "Look."
After a careful search, Guan Xia noticed that the trail of trampled bushes and hacked vines had abruptly disappeared. Ahead of them lay untouched wilderness—a true stretch of untouched forest.
"No wonder this path felt so exhausting," Guan Xia sighed, wiping sweat from her face.
Though the dense forest canopy shielded them from direct sunlight, the air was stiflingly humid. Guan Xia felt her clothes sticking to her skin, and judging by Xu Nian’s state, he wasn’t faring much better.
Handing him a tissue to wipe his sweat, Guan Xia used her hiking pole to sift through the undergrowth. As expected, it didn’t take long for her to find a second cigarette butt near the one Xu Nian had discovered.
Pulling on a pair of gloves, she picked it up and remarked, "Looks like this group also works in pairs. The question is how old these cigarette butts are—if they’ve been here too long, biological samples might be too degraded to extract."
Xu Nian smoothly produced another evidence bag for the second cigarette butt, smiling as he asked, "How did you figure that out?"
Guan Xia thought for a moment. "It came from observing those two middle-aged men we arrested earlier. I noticed they exchanged signals and worked in sync, so I guessed they weren’t new to burying bodies together. If one of them got frustrated after taking a wrong turn, the other might’ve joined him in smoking."
Watching Xu Nian tuck both evidence bags into his backpack, she added hopefully, "Let’s just hope these aren’t too old. Otherwise, after repeated exposure, all this effort would be for nothing."
Xu Nian reassured her, "Don’t worry. Cigarette butts, due to their structure and material, preserve biological evidence better than most other traces—even if they’ve been soaked by rain, they’re still valuable."
This was news to Guan Xia. Surprise gave way to excitement. "Then those two kilometers were definitely worth it!"
She glanced back at the path they’d taken, then at Xu Nian. "Should we head back now and try to catch up with Wang Yu’s team using other leads?"
Xu Nian removed his gloves. "Let’s go. If we move fast, we might even reach them before they uncover the burial site."
The two picked up their pace, no longer needing to scrutinize the intermittent trail markers. The return journey felt much quicker.
When exhaustion set in, they took a short break on a relatively flat patch, nibbling on bland but filling compressed biscuits and washing them down with water. For an extra energy boost, they shared a chocolate bar.
Between bites, Guan Xia remarked, "You guys really came prepared—even packed emergency rations."
"Wang Yu’s doing," Xu Nian said. "She’s meticulous. If she prepares something, she goes all out. Besides the biscuits, she also brought energy bars. Want to try one?"
Guan Xia shook her head. "I’m full after the chocolate. That’ll keep me going till evening. You save the bar for yourself."
After finishing the chocolate, they rested a few more minutes before resuming their trek.
As they walked, Guan Xia recalled something. "Earlier, when Pang Le’s team returned, I forgot to ask what those two men had in their backpacks. If they traveled this far to bury a body, they wouldn’t carry anything unnecessary. There might be clues—fingerprints, maybe—that could lead us to other members."
Xu Nian checked the time. "We’ve been tracking for nearly three hours. It’s almost dark, and we’re close. We’ll ask when we catch up."
Guan Xia glanced at the dimming forest and quickened her steps. Thanks to her disciplined morning runs, her stamina had improved—still no match for Pang Le’s team, but at least she wasn’t holding them back.
After another half-hour of following the trail, just before sunset, Guan Xia and Xu Nian heard Zhong Xiaoyu’s voice through the tangled vines. She sounded excited, as if she’d made a discovery.
Exchanging a look, the two pushed through the thicket, calling out, "Zhong Xiaoyu!"
The chatter stopped abruptly. After a brief pause, Zhong Xiaoyu’s voice rang back, puzzled. "Guan Xia?" Soon, the sound of rustling foliage signaled her approach.
Zhong Xiaoyu moved with impressive agility. In what felt like moments, her voice grew louder, and soon she emerged from the bushes ahead, beaming at them. "You made it! Perfect timing—Wang Yu found something. We think we’ve located the burial site."
Relief washed over Guan Xia. "What about Pang Le’s team? Did you run into them again?"
Zhong Xiaoyu shook her head. "At first we could hear some movement, but then it completely died down. But it's fine—Wang Yu said the members of this criminal organization were most likely heading for this burial site. Of course, there might be other burial sites too, but they probably wouldn’t be too far away. As long as no one took a wrong turn, we’d all eventually regroup."
As she spoke, Zhong Xiaoyu suddenly realized something and gave Xu Nian a strange look before turning to Guan Xia. "By the way, why did you come from this direction? It feels like you took the same path as us. Did the trail you were following end up converging with ours?"
Guan Xia shrugged helplessly. "Bad luck. The trail we were chasing turned out to be what you just called 'taking a wrong turn.' Xu Nian and I walked nearly two kilometers before realizing the tracks had vanished. After studying it for a while, we concluded that the suspect who came here to bury the bodies must’ve gotten lost. We had to backtrack and follow another trail to get here."
"Well, that’s quite the coincidence," Zhong Xiaoyu said, still full of energy despite the long day. She tugged at Guan Xia’s sleeve. "Come on, hurry up! It’s almost dark. Let’s make the most of what little light we have left."
With Zhong Xiaoyu leading the way, Guan Xia and Xu Nian had an easier time, and soon they reunited with Wang Yu, who was examining something.
Guan Xia noticed faint movements in the distance to their right—likely others approaching.
Not wanting to wait, Guan Xia crouched beside Wang Yu and asked, "What did you find?"
Wang Yu turned and called Xu Nian over before pinching a small clump of soil with her gloved hand. "Take a look. It’s disturbed earth. They were careful enough to bring in decayed soil from elsewhere and cover it with fallen leaves to hide it, but they didn’t clean up their footprints. My guess is they’ve been burying bodies here for years without any issues, so they got complacent. That’s why they left these traces behind."
Standing behind them, Zhong Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up with excitement. She rubbed her hands together. "So what now? Do we start digging?"
Xu Nian crouched down to examine the soil, then stood and scanned the area. "No rush. Let’s mark the spot first and search the surrounding area. If we find any vegetation that looks different from the rest, we’ll mark it too. Once more people arrive with proper tools, we can start digging."
Zhong Xiaoyu nodded. "Good point. Without the right tools, we might damage the victims’ remains. Plus, digging without equipment would be exhausting."
With that, the four of them split up again, carefully searching for more clues.
After just a few minutes, Guan Xia heard excited shouts and looked up to see Qi Bai waving at them while dragging Jiang Yingyao along.
Guan Xia waved back in acknowledgment before returning to her task, using her phone’s flashlight to illuminate the area. Thankfully, she’d brought two 20,000 mAh power banks this time—unlike their last case in Jianyang City, they wouldn’t be left scrambling for battery.
With six people now combing the area, discoveries came quickly. Starting with Xu Nian, voices called out one after another as they found suspicious spots.
Guan Xia marked the areas with branches and stones. She’d considered marking the trees but hesitated, worried they might be protected species.
By the time night fully fell, distant noises—like the sound of many people walking—echoed through the woods. Guan Xia straightened up and peered into the darkness.
Only then did she realize how far apart the six of them had spread. She couldn’t see anyone, just the faint glow of flashlights in the dark.
Hesitating for a moment, Guan Xia started heading back. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed other lights moving closer—Xu Nian and the others must’ve heard the approaching group too and were regrouping.
Carefully avoiding the marked spots where bodies might be buried, Guan Xia suddenly remembered something she’d forgotten. When she spotted Zhong Xiaoyu’s shadowy figure in the dark, she hurried over and asked, "Oh, I meant to ask earlier—after you arrested those two middle-aged men, did you find anything in their backpacks?"
Zhong Xiaoyu, who seemed to be chewing something (probably candy), answered vaguely, "We searched them right after the arrest. Nothing unusual—just some food, water, and basic supplies. Oh, and a folding shovel with dirt on it. That’s why we thought they were here to bury bodies. We were going to tell you, but your theory matched ours, so we didn’t bother."
Guan Xia nodded. That aligned with their earlier assumptions. After a pause, she pressed, "Was there any blood on the shovel besides dirt?"
Zhong Xiaoyu took longer to answer this time before shaking her head. "No. I didn’t see any, and neither did Jiang-ge or the other officers who came as backup. So probably not."
As they spoke, the others arrived. Xu Nian asked, "Well? What did everyone find?"
Zhong Xiaoyu was the first to raise her hand. "I found three suspicious spots and marked them."
Guan Xia said, "Two for me."
Wang Yu followed, "Same here—two."
Jiang Yingyao looked at Xu Nian. "Just one for me."
Qi Bai scratched his head. "I got two."
Xu Nian was last. "Two as well. Looks like this place is packed with bodies."
Wang Yu’s expression was unreadable in the dark, but her voice was heavy. "If each spot means one body, we’re looking at at least ten—and that’s not counting the possibility of another burial site."
Zhong Xiaoyu suddenly remembered. "Right! Pang Le and the others never showed up. They must’ve followed a trail to a different location. Who knows if the rest of the team is together—could there even be a third burial site?"
No one answered. In the dim light, Guan Xia saw the same grim expression on everyone’s faces.
The silence lasted a few seconds before Xu Nian spoke again as the distant noises grew louder. "Backup’s here. With proper tools, we’ll know the full picture soon."
After another five or six minutes, the reinforcements finally came into view.
It was clear the local police took this case seriously—there were a lot of them. A dense crowd, too many for Guan Xia to count at a glance, but she estimated at least fifteen to twenty people. They carried an array of equipment, suggesting a mix of field officers, forensic technicians, and even two medical examiners.
There was no time for lengthy conversation. After a brief exchange between the two groups, shovels for digging were handed over. Due to the limited tools, Guan Xia and Jiang Yingyao—who didn’t seem physically up to the task—were left without any. They could only stand aside with the forensic team and technicians, waiting for the results of the excavation.
Less than ten minutes into the digging, Guan Xia heard an unfamiliar police officer shout, "Captain Hu, I’ve found something here."
