It doesn't matter if your souls are scattered, as long as you die.

As the sun rises, Qingshui Town becomes more lively. People rush to work, some even without time to sit down and eat breakfast, grabbing a steamed bun or a pancake and eating as they walk.

Some women carried baskets, their steps hurried, whether they were going to buy vegetables or to dig for wild greens in the mountains.

What a lively scene! This is the most lively scene Yun Li has ever seen in this world.

As a scream rang out, the lively scene suddenly seemed to be paused, with everyone, whether walking or eating, stopping in their tracks.

A second or two later, everyone turned their attention to the direction from which the screams were coming.

Everyone has a gossipy nature, and even those who were in a hurry at first are no longer in a rush. Their feet unconsciously lead them in that direction.

"That looks like the location of the commune. Could something have happened? Let's hurry over and check it out; maybe we can help."

Even when you're reading gossip, you need to find a legitimate reason for it.

"Yes, yes, let's go over and see, maybe they're in some kind of trouble."

With a legitimate reason, people of all ages started running.

Upon arriving at the destination, the person who had run ahead rushed into the commune courtyard and saw what had happened. His face turned ashen, and he immediately began vomiting.

The people behind them didn't know what was going on and kept asking what was wrong.

The people in front were already terrified, and with them vomiting so badly they were dizzy and disoriented, they had no time to answer.

Those who were impatient behind endured the sour smell and pushed their way to the front.

Then...

Naturally, a few more people started vomiting excessively.

Seeing them like this, those who didn't see it should know it's definitely not a good thing and should leave to avoid trouble.

But the allure of gossip overwhelmed their reason, and they insisted on going forward to take a look.

As a result, no one could avoid it; they all vomited.

The stench lingering at the entrance of Qingshui Commune will probably take several days to dissipate without the ground being cleared away.

After the communal incident, one person came to his senses and scrambled to the office to call the county public security bureau.

Qingshui County is under the jurisdiction of Menzhong County. When the Menzhong County Public Security Bureau received a call saying that more than a dozen corpses with their limbs smashed to pieces had appeared overnight in Qingshui Commune, their hearts sank.

Could the mangled corpse have any connection to Jiazigou?

Thinking of this, I immediately reported the matter to Director Guan.

Upon hearing this, Guan Tian's first thought was that the Qingshui Commune must have done something evil and was being retaliated against.

The thought of this possibility filled him with hatred; the crimes committed by public officials were the most intolerable thing to him.

It was unclear what was going on, but Director Guan brought a whole team of people with him.

Most of the people in this group were formerly members of He Bing's second team, ever since the incident involving He Bing, Zhang Kui, and Lin Mu.

For the past month or so, wherever the remaining members of the second team went, they were constantly being teased:

How could your captain and teammates do something like this? Didn't you notice anything?

If you honestly didn't notice, they would say sarcastically, "Aren't you the police?"

How come you don't even have this much observational ability? You must have gotten into the police force through connections, right?

As for whether or not to say in a fit of pique, "We found out, but we're not going to tell anyone," that's definitely not the right thing to do.

There was nothing I could do but let them ridicule me.

This time, they discovered a similar murder case to the one in Jiazi Village. From the moment they set off, these dozen or so people were determined to catch the murderer and bring him to justice.

Menzhong County is very poor. The entire Public Security Bureau only has one car, which is only used in special circumstances and is cherished very much.

Director Guan rode his bicycle to the very back, looking at his subordinates ahead, who were all pedaling their bikes with such fervor that they were practically smoking.

Shaking his head helplessly, he thought, if the murderer were so easy to catch, would they have waited until they committed another crime?

I tried to step on it, but it wouldn't budge.

It was an uphill road, and Director Guan had no choice but to get out of the car and push it along, a bitter smile on his face. He was really getting old and couldn't compare to the young people.

Whether it was because the effects of the stimulant wore off or something else, the group of subordinates who had been running ahead finally calmed down, realized that their director was missing, and turned back to look for him.

Director Guan looked at his subordinates, whose faces were flushed and who were sweating profusely, and said with a smile, "Why did you run back? Couldn't you have waited where you were? Aren't you tired in this heat?"

None of the subordinates uttered a sound. They didn't dare to say anything. When they realized the director was missing, they went back to look for him without thinking.

Fortunately, Director Guan was unaware of their thoughts, otherwise he would surely be worried about the future of Menzhong County.

What a bunch of idiots.

After riding for another hour, the group arrived at Qingshui County Commune.

At this point, no one lingered at the commune gate anymore; most had gone to work, while others were so frightened that they were trembling all over and went home to lie down.

There was only one dirty, skinny child playing with stones under the shade of a tree not far from the commune.

When Director Guan was led into the commune by the commune cadres, he glanced at the child.

He frowned slightly. This child was far too thin. Looking at those stick-like legs, he was afraid that the child would break under the weight of his upper body.

"vomit……"

"vomit……"

Even though they had seen such shapeless corpses once before, the police officers still couldn't get used to it.

I threw up after just one look.

The commune cadres showed no sign of anything amiss; it would be strange if they hadn't complained.

"Director Guan, look..."

Director Guan snapped out of his reverie, glanced at the corpse, and unlike the others, did not vomit; his expression remained calm.

These corpses are much better off than those in Jiazigou; at least they weren't disemboweled.

Looking at his subordinates who were vomiting uncontrollably, he shook his head, realizing they still hadn't experienced enough.

"Secretary Liu, do you have any food here?"

Liu Guowei was stunned. What did he hear?

Under these circumstances, how could Director Guan still be able to eat it?

But then I thought, they must have exhausted a lot riding here, and they can only work on the case if they are well-fed.

"Yes, yes, I'll put in a word with my state-run restaurant and they'll start cooking right away."

Liu Guowei was anxious, as the state-run restaurant probably didn't have much food.

I was thinking about whether I should go home and get a piece of cured meat that I had been saving.

Qingshui Town is a poor town with a small population, and even fewer people eat in restaurants.

To avoid waste, state-run restaurants typically prepare only enough ingredients for their working meals.

The only occasions are the market days on the first and fifteenth of each month. On these two days, villagers from various villages come to the town, and the state-run restaurants prepare extra dishes to keep on hand.

"No need to go to a state-run restaurant, just some whatever you want to eat will do."

Liu Guowei thought to himself, "With so many of you, even a little food wouldn't be enough to fill your teeth."

"Give some to that child."

Director Guan's gaze fell on the little girl under the shade of the tree.

Liu Guowei followed his gaze and suddenly realized that Director Guan wasn't asking for food for one of his subordinates.

Instead, it was given to that small, dark-skinned child.

"I have a bag of peach shortbread in my office, I'll go get it now."

As he spoke, he walked along the wall of the courtyard, avoiding the corpse, and entered the commune.