Chapter 287 - 285: Knock, Knock, Knock...

Chapter 287: Chapter 285: Knock, Knock, Knock...

She quickly washed up and lay down.

The room had two single beds with an aisle between them and a table by the window.

The wooden beds weren’t new, but they seemed to have been recently moved in. The room had also been freshly cleaned and arranged.

Su Miaoyi lay in bed, not feeling the least bit sleepy.

Her mind was consumed by the case, constantly reviewing the details, afraid she might have missed something.

Chu Xingrou was in the other bed. She didn’t move after lying down.

She was exhausted from the day and still feeling carsick.

Before long, she was fast asleep.

Listening to her steady breathing, Su Miaoyi stared at the ceiling for a while before closing her eyes as well.

That night, the wind picked up outside, rattling the windows.

Chu Xingrou slept restlessly, tossing and turning.

Su Miaoyi, who hadn’t fallen into a deep sleep, listened to the sounds.

A short while later, she heard Chu Xingrou sit up, slowly and quietly.

Chu Xingrou sat on the edge of her bed, peering out the window.

It was pitch-black outside, and the wind was howling... and the toilet was so far away.

Chu Xingrou glanced outside, then looked over at Su Miaoyi.

Seeing that Su Miaoyi was asleep, she silently tried to give herself a pep talk.

’There’s nothing to be scared of. It’s just a strange place, it’s just dark. What’s so scary about that?’

’Sigh—I shouldn’t have had those two big bowls of soup tonight, or the two glasses of water before bed.’

’No, no, no. What’s so scary about a strong wind? What’s so scary about that whistling sound? It’s just a sound created by pressure waves from the wind interacting with the environment. Not scary. Not scary at all.’

’Ah! Why did I have to drink that water?!’

’I’ve lived a good, virtuous life for over twenty years. I’m sure I won’t run into anything beyond the scope of my understanding. I won’t. I won’t.’

’If only I hadn’t drunk those two glasses of water.’

’It sounds like there are monsters and ghosts hiding in the wind.’

’If I run into a thug, I can just arrest them. But what if I run into... something else...’

Chu Xingrou clenched her fists. ’No, no, no, think positive. What if I run into the killer... I could just catch him, and we could crack the case right then and there!’

At this thought, she suddenly felt the howling wind outside wasn’t quite so frightening anymore.

She stood up.

"What’s wrong?"

Su Miaoyi’s sudden voice made Chu Xingrou jump and fall right back onto the bed with a gasp.

"Sister Miaomiao, did I wake you?"

"No," Su Miaoyi said. "I wasn’t asleep. Are you not feeling well?"

"I need to use the toilet," Chu Xingrou said.

Su Miaoyi sat up. "Let’s go together."

"Okay." Chu Xingrou instantly felt much more at ease.

"Put on your coat," Su Miaoyi said.

Chu Xingrou put on her coat.

The two of them went out together. The moment they stepped outside, the wind whipped their hair about, though it was less intense than they’d imagined.

The toilet was at the far end of the courtyard. They used their phone flashlights to light the way.

When they reached it, Su Miaoyi switched on the toilet light and waited outside for Chu Xingrou.

She looked up at the stars in the sky and the rolling hills in the distance.

The temperature difference between day and night was indeed significant. Although it had been a clear day, the night was cold and the wind was stronger.

A moment later, she heard the toilet flush.

The villages in this area were indeed relatively underdeveloped, and the economy wasn’t strong. But it was clear they were overcoming various difficulties, little by little, and slowly improving.

For example... the toilet renovation project had been carried out well; the toilet was very clean.

"Sister Miaomiao, I’m done." Chu Xingrou came out and washed her hands at a water pipe installed to the side.

Su Miaoyi went to use the toilet as well.

Afterward, they walked back together.

Chu Xingrou linked her arm with Su Miaoyi’s, feeling more secure being close to her.

When they reached the door to their room, they stepped onto the wooden stairs.

The steps creaked slightly.

After taking a few steps up, they both suddenly froze, standing still and silent for a few seconds.

Mixed in with the sound of the wind was a mechanical noise:

DUM DUM DUM, DUM DUM DUM... ...descending... the guilty one... sheep horn... sent...

DUM DUM DUM, DUM DUM DUM...

Chu Xingrou turned to Su Miaoyi in terror. "Sister Miaomiao, you heard that too?"

Su Miaoyi turned to look into the distance.

The sound wasn’t loud, perhaps because it was far away and muffled by the wind. It was intermittent and incredibly strange.

It was coming from the south.

It sounded like it was coming from a loudspeaker.

The wind was also blowing from the south, carrying the sound with it.

The closest place to the south was Yanjing Village.

It was four li away. If it was the village’s loudspeaker, the sound could carry on the wind.

In that single instant, Su Miaoyi analyzed a great deal of information in her head.

The sound continued, still intermittent.

DUM DUM DUM, DUM DUM DUM... ...the guilty one... Sheep God... sent to home...

Chu Xingrou grabbed Su Miaoyi’s arm.

"Go get Lu Zhishen," Su Miaoyi said.

Chu Xingrou immediately went to wake up Lu Zhishen and Duan Wenrui.

The two men came out and listened to the fragmented sound drifting over.

"From Yanjing Village?" Duan Wenrui asked.

"Get the car. We’re leaving now," Su Miaoyi said.

Duan Wenrui went back to the room to get the car keys. The four of them ran out of the courtyard, got into the car, and headed for Yanjing Village.

They hadn’t driven far when Duan Wenrui received a call from the police station.

Someone in Yanjing Village had called the police.

With the car windows down, the four-li drive passed quickly. By the time they reached the outskirts of Yanjing Village, the four of them could clearly hear what was being broadcast.

DUM DUM DUM, DUM DUM DUM. Judgment is descending, the guilty cannot escape, the Sheep God has been sent to their home.

"The guilty cannot escape," Chu Xingrou repeated.

"The Sheep God has been sent to their home," Lu Zhishen also repeated. "The Sheep God?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Su Miaoyi.

Since their arrival, they hadn’t yet mentioned the ghost-face mask murders.

They wanted to understand things in more detail—to understand the case, and also the investigators handling it.

They were worried there might be a mole or a protector.

That’s why they had temporarily held back certain details.

Su Miaoyi and Lu Zhishen exchanged a look but said nothing.

Throughout the entire village, the lights were on in every house.

But there wasn’t a single person outside.

The broadcast was still playing.

Duan Wenrui drove directly toward the source of the sound.

It was a small convenience store.

The lights inside the store were off, and the door was locked.

The call Duan Wenrui had just received said the sound was coming from the store’s loudspeaker.

Since the person who called it in knew where the sound was coming from, why hadn’t they come to turn it off?

The store didn’t look abandoned, so why hadn’t anyone come over?

The store had a door in the front with two windows beside it.

As soon as the four of them got out of the car, they secured the door and windows.

Duan Wenrui glanced at the lock, then kicked the door open.

Lu Zhishen went in with him. The store was empty.

The sound of the chant stopped, and the lights inside the store came on.

Su Miaoyi and Chu Xingrou checked the windows.

The window Su Miaoyi was examining wasn’t locked from the inside and could be opened from the outside.

She opened the window and shone her flashlight on the sill. There were no footprints, but there were signs that it had been wiped clean...