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At this moment, Xiao Yefeng was riding a bicycle he had borrowed from a household at the village entrance, having only covered half the distance. However, the distant rumbling sound that reached his ears made him turn the bike around without a second thought and head back to Huang Gou Village. Based on his location, it was clear that the explosion had occurred at Landslide, and everything became evident—Landslide must have been caused by these people.
Looking back, the situation at that time was indeed strange. However, in his haste to get moving, Xiao Yefeng hadn’t taken a closer look. There were many questions left unanswered; that location was not where Landslide should have occurred. If he had examined it more closely, he would have surely discovered traces of micro-explosions. Unfortunately, it was too late now; these people had vehicles and were certainly beyond his reach. Since he couldn’t catch up, there was no point in pursuing them any further!
After calling Jiang Xing to report the appearance of the Constellation Mercenaries and the Evil Wolf Squad in the ravine, the issue of pursuit was no longer something Xiao Yefeng needed to consider. Now, all he had to do was return to the village to investigate. It seemed that after discovering Xiao Yefeng, Evil Wolf had chosen to enter the village to meet another group of people. He could simply find out which house they rummaged through.
Following the tire tracks in reverse, he soon came across a courtyard that appeared wealthier than those of other villagers. It was a two-story building, which naturally stood out compared to ordinary villagers' homes. The tire tracks at the entrance confirmed that Evil Wolf had just come here to pick up another group of people. Leaving his bicycle aside, Xiao Yefeng slipped into the courtyard. Outside a doghouse in the yard lay a large black-backed wolf dog sprawled at the entrance, with a flying needle embedded in its abdomen, trailing a red string.
It was clear that there was a reason all the dogs near the roadside had fallen silent; this was a tranquilizer dart. Not even a strong wolf would stand a chance against such a dose. It seemed these people didn’t want to cause a commotion; judging by the amount of drug used, its effects would wear off shortly after exposure.
Crossing over the doghouse, Xiao Yefeng quickly reached the front door. During their escape, this group clearly hadn’t had time to tidy up; the door stood wide open. From his watch’s display, he knew there was no one inside, so he entered directly. Indeed, as expected from high-level mercenaries, even after rummaging through things, they had preserved the integrity of the scene—there was no evidence of any disturbance.
However, since this group had left in such haste, Xiao Yefeng believed there must be something they overlooked. After searching both upstairs and downstairs, he noticed something unusual on a calendar hanging on one wall: it had been torn violently and was slightly askew. Most notably, one page belonging to this month had been ripped off. Considering that this month had only just begun, such an occurrence was nearly impossible.
Turning on his flashlight and examining the calendar closely revealed two small scraps of paper still clinging to it. Upon closer inspection, Xiao Yefeng found deep pencil marks on it!
Searching around, he soon found a pencil and carefully traced over the marks; indeed, a hasty scrawl emerged: "Boss Zhang hired four workers at three hundred per day: Old Zhou, Li, Zhang, A-Wang; location: Night Hall." However, after this point, the marks disappeared—perhaps because the writer hadn’t pressed down hard enough when writing here.
Carefully tucking away this calendar page, Xiao Yefeng continued searching and soon discovered a photo wall where he found an image of Zhou Zhiguo. Combining this with other photos allowed him to confirm that this was indeed Ergou's home—a man who appeared to be about the same age as Zhou Zhiguo. However, there were no women's clothes in the bedroom, clearly indicating that Ergou did not have a wife. Yet how could such a disheveled bachelor with such sloppy handwriting maintain such a clean home?
Ergou must have hired someone else to clean for him; in this village, hiring maids like in the city wasn’t common. Therefore, those hired would definitely be locals. After sorting through his thoughts, Xiao Yefeng secured the house door behind him and picked up his bicycle by the roadside. After returning it to its owner’s home, he noticed wisps of azure smoke rising from distant houses as roosters began crowing throughout the village.
As an outsider unfamiliar with this place, Xiao Yefeng was soon stopped by an enthusiastic old man at the village entrance. With his conversation skills ensuring no flaws were detected in his story, Xiao Yefeng presented himself as Zhou Zhiguo’s insurance agent investigating matters here. Sure enough, the eager old man had gathered several villagers familiar with Zhou Zhiguo and Ergou around him.
"Well! What can I say! Old Zhou is a decent person, really unfortunate! Both of his children are studying in the city, and this time, who knows what happened!" An older woman immediately opened up when she saw Xiao Yefeng was from the insurance company investigating.
"Yes! Big sister! Fellow villagers! I understand all that. What I want to know is what the insured, Zhou Zhiguo, was doing before the incident. Did he have any strange jobs?" Xiao Yefeng asked.
At this, the villagers erupted into discussion, each sharing their thoughts. From their chatter, Xiao Yefeng learned some details. Ergou's real name was Zhou Ming, who, according to the village elders' lineage, was Zhou Zhiguo's nephew. This young man was quite clever and had taken several people from the village to work outside. Over the years, he had made a fortune, building a western-style house and even buying a car.
However, just as Xiao Yefeng suspected, Zhou Ming did not have a wife. He usually hired two women from the village to clean his house, paying them one hundred yuan each time—a decent income in this village.
Xiao Yefeng also learned that when Zhou Ming left with Old Zhou, three other villagers—Zhang Hecai, Li Shaowen, and Li Wang—also left at the same time. Only Zhou Zhiguo returned to the village first and fell ill soon after; he was sent to the city yesterday.
Upon hearing this news, Xiao Yefeng felt a bit of a headache. This matter was indeed complicated. Besides Zhou Zhiguo, there was no news about the other four individuals. Based on his speculation, it was likely that those four were in grave danger as well. Under the villagers' guidance, Xiao Yefeng visited the homes of the other three.
Zhang Hecai was the oldest among them at sixty years old. His only son had already started his own family and worked outside, leaving Zhang Hecai alone in the village to do odd jobs.
Li Wang and Li Shaowen were cousins. Li Wang was twenty-four and unmarried; his parents farmed in the village while he had an eighteen-year-old brother still in school. Li Shaowen was twenty-five and already married; his parents had passed away long ago. During this visit, Xiao Yefeng met his wife—a fashionable woman with heavy makeup named Pan Yujie.
Pan Yujie was twenty-two years old and an Earth Dweller who had been married to Li Shaowen for over a year. Li Shaowen treated her with utmost care. However, despite her name suggesting purity and elegance, she had a poor reputation in the village as one of the two women hired by Ergou's Zhou Ming for cleaning.
The other woman was the older sister who had spoken with Xiao Yefeng earlier—a woman in her fifties with a waist as thick as a water barrel. Although Xiao Yefeng didn’t concern himself with Zhou Ming’s private life, he learned from her that she only worked when Zhou Ming was away from home to clean—dusting, mopping floors, and airing out bedding.
Pan Yujie only worked when Zhou Ming was home. Each time she was hired, Zhou Ming's large wolfdog would be let loose, making it impossible for anyone to approach his house. Rumors about their unusual relationship had long circulated in the village; however, Li Shaowen surprisingly trusted his wife completely and laughed off any suspicions.
The key point was that last time Zhou Ming returned home briefly; it was during this visit that he invited four people to go out with him. It coincided with when he hired Pan Yujie to clean his house. After sending off Old Zhou and the other three men, Pan Yujie didn’t return home until evening. Thus, besides those four men, Pan Yujie was the last person seen with Zhou Ming.
Although Xiao Yefeng's inquiries had gone beyond what an insurance worker would typically ask about, this enthusiastic woman didn’t mind at all. She shared everything she knew or speculated about with him but seemed to harbor a dislike for Pan Yujie. After dropping Xiao Yefeng off at Li Shaowen’s house, she turned to leave but invited him to lunch at her home later that day.
After sending off the enthusiastic woman, Xiao Yefeng couldn't help but question her eagerness. Perhaps she just hoped that this "insurance agent" could provide a larger payout!
Shaking his head, Xiao Yefeng recalled how the woman had wanted to help him with his backpack. If she discovered he was carrying a folding submachine gun, would she still be so friendly?
At that moment, Li Shaowen's dog had already spotted Xiao Yefeng, and its barking quickly drew the attention of Pan Yujie inside the house. This was when Xiao Yefeng first encountered Pan Yujie.
The new bride seemed completely out of place in the village. To describe her appearance, it was akin to a woman from a red-light district in the city—fishnet stockings, red high heels, low-rise hot pants, a strapless sports bra, and a somewhat overpowering scent of perfume. When Pan Yujie invited Xiao Yefeng inside for a chat, he outright refused, and they ended up conversing under the shade of an umbrella in the yard.
Xiao Yefeng had seen all kinds of women before. In the course of his missions, he had encountered various types—from exotic beauties to noble and elegant ladies, and fiery mercenary girls. He considered himself quite experienced in dealing with women. However, facing Pan Yujie, he felt no spark of attraction; it was almost unnecessary to analyze further—he already understood what kind of work this woman had done before her marriage.
Yet when Xiao Yefeng inquired about Zhou Ming and their last meeting, Pan Yujie's flirtatious demeanor darkened. With a questioning tone, she said, "Hmph, is it really necessary for an insurance agent to investigate other people's privacy?"
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