It seemed that the discoveries made by Zhong Xiaoyu and Qi Bai the previous night had sparked many new speculations, leading to an enthusiastic flurry of messages in the group chat.
One new message after another popped up, leaving Guan Xia somewhat overwhelmed as she tried to keep up.
After reading through all the messages, Guan Xia went back and reviewed them again, mulling over the details in her mind. Before she could reach any conclusions, she suddenly felt a nudge on her arm.
The only person sitting next to Guan Xia was Pang Le, so the touch could only mean one thing—a signal. Instantly, Guan Xia understood. She glanced at Pang Le, who gave her a meaningful look, then followed her gaze upward, where she spotted a familiar small drone.
Guan Xia hadn’t expected that Li Miao would already be observing them with a drone at the crack of dawn, just as the village was stirring from its quiet slumber into lively activity.
Fortunately, the drone wasn’t hovering directly overhead but was instead positioned a few meters away—close enough to be noticeable, yet far enough that it couldn’t have captured the contents of her phone screen while she was reading the group messages.
Uncertain whether the drone had audio recording capabilities, Guan Xia decided to play it safe. She didn’t say anything to Pang Le and simply put her phone away. After staring at the drone for a moment, she stood up casually and strolled through the village with Pang Le by her side.
Yesterday, the two of them had taken a boat ride on the river, spent the afternoon in the small square, and even ventured unexpectedly into the villa district and Li Miao’s home. Today, they needed to change locations. Following their original plan, after breakfast, Guan Xia and Pang Le crossed the entire village and arrived at a designated fishing area downstream, catering to tourists.
Though it was still early, a few middle-aged and elderly men were already seated on camping chairs, fishing rods in hand.
Perhaps because young women were a rare sight at the fishing spot, the moment Guan Xia and Pang Le appeared, heads turned, and curious glances followed them.
Neither of them had ever fished before, but they’d seen enough videos to know that silence was key. Without speaking, they approached a staff member, rented a decent-looking fishing rod and two camping chairs, and picked a spot near a tree with enough space for both chairs.
They had just set up the chairs side by side, and Guan Xia hadn’t even assembled the fishing rod yet, when a middle-aged man—who had apparently been there for a while—approached. He stopped at a polite distance, neither too close nor too far, and asked with curiosity, "This is the first time I’ve seen such young ladies come fishing. Did you lose a bet last night? Is that why you’re here so early?"
Guan Xia and Pang Le exchanged a glance. Pang Le, quick-witted, seized the excuse and replied with a smile, "Yeah, that’s why we came while it’s still cool. Neither of us has ever fished before, so we’re not sure if we’ll catch anything. If not, we might just have to buy one."
After Pang Le finished, Guan Xia added, "Sir, since you’ve been here a while, have you caught anything? If you have, could we buy one from you? It’d save us the trouble—we really don’t know what we’re doing."
The man chuckled warmly. "Fishing has a beginner’s luck factor. The first time I ever fished, I caught a huge one, but once I got hooked on the hobby, I couldn’t catch anything for ages. Don’t worry—since you’re here on vacation, just give it a try. If you really can’t catch anything, there’s a fish farm on the other side of the village. You can always buy one there if you need to."
Having satisfied his curiosity, the man didn’t linger. He soon returned to his spot and resumed chatting with his friends.
Guan Xia turned her attention away and focused on setting up the fishing rod. Once it was ready, she leaned back in her camping chair, first glancing toward the distant villa district, then looking up at the empty sky—now devoid of drones—before pulling out her phone again to check the group messages.
Pang Le’s goal for the morning was simply to accompany Guan Xia while she fished, so she sat back, relaxed, and started reading as well.
Nearly half an hour had passed since Zhong Xiaoyu sent the first message, but the group was still buzzing with lively discussion. Qi Bai even earnestly suggested they revisit the graveyard that night. If time allowed, he even wanted to dig up a grave to see if it contained two sets of remains—proof that their theory about Li Feng’s frequent mountain visits was correct.
Since they were in a public space, Guan Xia didn’t dare focus too intently on her phone, wary of someone accidentally seeing her screen. She read a couple of lines at a time, periodically diverting her attention to their surroundings.
Her original plan had been to take advantage of the quiet fishing area’s sparse crowd, hoping that idle staff might inadvertently reveal useful information. But before she could even strike up a conversation with any workers, the same middle-aged man who had spoken to them earlier wandered over to a staff member and struck up a casual chat.
Guan Xia immediately shifted her focus from her phone, straining to catch every word of their conversation.
Luckily, she had chosen a spot close enough to hear them, and with so few tourists around at this hour, their voices, though soft, were still audible.
The man asked, "Your sign says there are big fish in the river—wild ones, too. Is that true? Have any tourists actually caught any?"
The staff member replied, "Oh yeah, every year someone reels in a big one. Just a few days ago, on the 4th or 5th, an old man caught one nearly half a person’s length! His family couldn’t even finish it all in one meal. If you don’t believe me, I can show you the photo."
Guan Xia turned to look and saw the staff member pull out his phone, scrolling through his album to find the picture.
The mention of a "big fish" instantly drew the attention of the other anglers. One by one, they abandoned their rods and gathered around. Seeing this, Guan Xia stood up, and she and Pang Le joined the crowd.
They arrived late, so their view wasn’t the best, but Pang Le, being tall, could still see clearly. She leaned down and whispered to Guan Xia, "Someone really did catch a huge fish. I saw the photo. Guess the sign isn’t lying. If we put in some effort today, we might actually catch something."
Upon hearing this, the others chuckled good-naturedly. An elderly man even warmly offered, "Go ahead and fish to your heart's content. If you really can't catch anything, I’ll give you one of mine. After all, it’s just me, my wife, and our grandson here this time—we won’t be able to finish all the fish anyway."
Guan Xia and Pang Le immediately thanked him cheerfully.
While the elderly man was speaking, Guan Xia overheard the middle-aged man say, "Wow, there really are big fish here! Quite a few people have caught some. This fishing area must get pretty crowded during holidays, huh?"
The staff member replied with a smile, "Most visitors come for the rafting and fruit-picking activities. Although some do fish, it’s not that many. During major holidays like May Day or National Day, we might get twenty or thirty anglers a day, but usually, it’s just seven or eight. In the off-season, there’s hardly anyone."
"You just haven’t advertised enough," interjected a balding man with dark skin. "If you promoted it more, you’d definitely get more visitors. I’m an avid fisherman myself—I’m in dozens of fishing groups—but I’ve never heard anyone mention this place. My wife and I only came because she wanted a quiet getaway during her annual leave. Imagine our surprise when we found out we could fish here! Now we’re both thrilled."
His words struck a chord, and the others chimed in, all admitting they were seasoned anglers yet had never heard of this spot before.
The staff member explained, "The main reason is that our river isn’t very wide. Even if there are fish, the supply isn’t endless. If too many people came, the fish would be gone in no time. That’s why, when the project was first set up, Uncle Li insisted we didn’t advertise it."
At the mention of "Uncle Li," Guan Xia and Pang Le perked up.
The middle-aged man who had initiated the conversation asked with interest, "Uncle Li? Which Uncle Li? There are so many Lis in Lijia Village—are you talking about the one living in the villa area?"
Guan Xia was surprised this man knew about Li Feng and couldn’t help but study him more closely. However, he seemed like an ordinary, slightly overweight middle-aged man with nothing particularly remarkable about him.
She guessed he was just extremely sociable, striking up conversations with anyone and thus picking up more information than others.
The staff member was also taken aback. "You know Uncle Li? How? We’ve chatted these past few days while you were fishing, but I never mentioned him."
The man waved a hand. "Oh, I overheard my wife, her younger sister, and my mother-in-law talking about him. My sister-in-law is much younger than my wife—she’s obsessed with taking pretty photos. On our first day here, she wanted to check out the villa area but couldn’t get in. That only made her more curious, so she started asking around and eventually learned about him."
The staff member nodded. "That makes sense. But it’s not just your sister-in-law—many girls in our village want to go in too. The landscaping there is really beautiful, especially the peach grove near the river bend in the villa area. It’s not huge, but it’s stunning. In the early years after it was built, people could still visit, but as Uncle Li got older, he became more reclusive and stopped allowing visitors."
Guan Xia’s interest was piqued. "So you’ve been inside?"
The staff member glanced at her through the crowd and nodded. "Yeah, but it was years ago. I was only about ten, and my sister took me in. We even played hide-and-seek there. I tried hiding in Uncle Li’s house—his daughter was with me—but before we could step inside, Uncle Li caught us. After that, I never got to go back."
He added earnestly, "Uncle Li is a good man, but he dislikes crowds. Especially in recent years, he’s become more and more fond of peace and quiet. So, gentlemen, as a favor for my hard work serving you these past few days, please advise your families not to disturb him. After all, half our village depends on him for our livelihoods."
His plea drew a few laughs before people began responding.
"I’d love to help, but my wife calls the shots. She won’t listen to me."
"Same here. Who can I even persuade? Neither my wife nor my daughter takes me seriously."
"Sorry, young man, but there’s not much we can do. Don’t worry, though—they’ll lose interest after a couple of days if they can’t get in."
Amid the chatter, the middle-aged man spoke up again. "I’ve been to plenty of niche tourist spots, but your village is one of the better-developed ones. I’m envious—you’re earning money right at your doorstep. Unlike us city folks, slogging through commutes like pilgrims. My job starts at 9, but I have to get up at 7:30, or I’ll be stuck in traffic for hours and lose my attendance bonus."
The balding man sighed in agreement. "Tell me about it. Too bad my family doesn’t own land—otherwise, I’d go back to the countryside and farm. City life gets so dull. Speaking of which, young man, with all these projects in your village, do you have enough workers? Do you think I could apply? I can’t stand my job anymore. All I want now is to retire surrounded by nature."
The staff member laughed. "We’ve got more than enough workers—some even have spare time. In fact, Uncle Li helped a few find jobs outside the village. Those were the restless ones who wanted to see the big cities. But honestly, Uncle Li’s generosity is why he’s so successful. He even helped those who clashed with his daughter—some even fought with her—and got them well-paying jobs. I heard they’ve earned enough to build three-story houses back home."
His tone was a mix of admiration and nostalgia, and he would have gone on about Li Feng if the rising sun hadn’t made it too hot to linger. Eventually, everyone dispersed to resume fishing.
Guan Xia had gained unexpected insights but couldn’t leave immediately without raising suspicion. She forced herself to sit patiently for another hour or two, but her beginner’s luck failed her—she didn’t catch a single fish. In the end, she bought one from the kind old man’s bucket.
Carrying the fish openly, she and Pang Le returned to the resort. They handed it over to the front desk, paid a small fee, and requested it be cooked as a spicy fish dish. Since it was almost noon, they decided to stay in, waiting for lunch while reviewing the clues they’d gathered so far.
Zhong Xiaoyu, Qi Bai, Xu Nian, and Jiang Yingyao were out, but Wang Yu was in her room. Hearing Guan Xia and Pang Le return, she poked her head out and asked, "Back for a break? Are you heading out again this afternoon?"
Guan Xia glanced at a family of three emerging from a room nearby and heading toward the elevator, then said, "We just bought a fish from someone at the fishing area and asked the kitchen to prepare it as spicy fish. We came back to rest and wait for lunch. In the afternoon, we plan to visit the picking garden. Since we’re here, we might as well experience all the activities."
The two exchanged a few more lines of dialogue that fit their assumed personas, keeping up appearances until the family turned into the elevator lobby and disappeared from view. At that moment, Wang Yu swiftly stepped forward to close the door and followed Guan Xia into their room.
Pang Le had already drawn the curtains earlier, so there was no worry about being seen by outsiders. Once inside, Wang Yu shut the door casually, then immediately asked eagerly, "So? Any leads from this morning?"
Guan Xia unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, took a couple of sips, and replied, "Yes. We’re now fairly certain that the people Li Feng sent away for work were all those who’d had conflicts with Li Miao. But we don’t know the specifics of those conflicts. We didn’t dare press further, afraid of raising suspicion. Most of the information came from overhearing conversations."
Wang Yu asked, "Is the intel reliable?"
Guan Xia hesitated briefly before answering, "Even if there’s some exaggeration, at least half of it is likely true."
Wang Yu nodded. "That’s enough. Right now, it seems Qi Bai and Zhong Xiaoyu’s suspicions might be correct—Li Feng really did kill someone and buried the body in the ancestral graves of Lijia Village."
At this, Guan Xia recalled the message she’d seen in the group chat that morning and couldn’t help but ask, "By the way, didn’t Qi Bai say they wanted to go back into the mountains tonight? Did Xu Nian agree?"
Wang Yu replied, "Xu Nian checked with the task force, and they approved Qi Bai’s plan for tonight’s operation. But for safety, Xu Nian will go into the mountains with them. Jiang Yingyao is coming too—since he has some forensic skills, he’ll spot any clues faster than we would."
For a brief moment, Guan Xia felt a flicker of excitement, but considering her physical stamina, she restrained herself and simply nodded. "Alright. Then Pang Le and I will wait here in the room for their return."
