Chapter 218 - 95: Lost Tracks in the Snow

Chapter 218: Chapter 95: Lost Tracks in the Snow

Zhang Shutong nodded, gesturing for her to keep her voice down.

He had already made up his mind to tell them.

For instance, the figure in the forbidden zone—the fake Lu Qinglian. Zhang Shutong couldn’t be sure if his friends would run into her.

If they did, what were the chances they would be in danger?

Even if he didn’t mention this unbelievable discovery for now, he had to at least make them realize that a murderer was still lurking around Gu Qiuyan, and that there was an incredibly bizarre presence on this island.

He simply typed a message on his phone and showed it directly to Lu Qinglian:

"But whether or not I should tell them about that person’s existence depends on your approval."

Lu Qinglian shook her head decisively.

She didn’t have a phone, so she couldn’t be added to a private chat. Zhang Shutong had considered letting her use his phone to type, but then he recalled seeing Mianmian’s painfully slow, one-finger typing style. That had been frustrating enough to watch; Lu Qinglian would probably be even slower.

"Never mind," he typed on his phone. "I’ll type, and you can just nod or shake your head."

Lu Qinglian nodded.

"I think if we keep hiding this, we’re going to blow our cover."

This time, Lu Qinglian didn’t react. She just stared at him, expressionless. Zhang Shutong felt like he could read the four words in her eyes:

"Don’t state the obvious."

’Fair enough.’

He typed again:

"I’m not trying to get them involved, just give them a heads-up."

A nod.

"I can tell them about the murderer?"

A nod.

"But not about the forbidden zone?"

Lu Qinglian sighed, looking exasperated. She lowered her voice.

"Zhang Shutong, if you’re typing for the sake of more efficient communication, you should probably use words I can actually understand."

"Sorry, sorry," Zhang Shutong whispered back.

’I almost forgot she doesn’t know about the "forbidden zone."’

’But she’ll understand after this.’

"Not that," Lu Qinglian mouthed.

"You don’t want people to find out there’s someone who looks exactly like you?"

A nod.

"Okay, I know what to do."

Then, Zhang Shutong opened their small four-person group chat.

"Sorry everyone, there’s something I’ve been hiding from you."

He also tagged everyone in the group.

Ruoping, who had been listening to music, immediately popped up:

"There are only four of us. Why are you tagging ’@everyone’?"

"..."

’It just felt more official that way,’ Zhang Shutong thought.

"I knew something was up with you. Spill it. If you keep hiding things, I’ll kick you out," the girl typed. As the group owner, she had the power. "Also, I get the feeling you all know something and just aren’t telling me."

"Actually, I don’t know anything either," Du Kang chimed in weakly.

"Not at all! I was just helping Shutong out with some... you know, guy stuff..." Qingyi tried to pass the buck, but was muted.

If Zhang Shutong didn’t still have "value" at this moment, he probably would have been muted too.

"A murderer."

He thought for a moment, then typed just those two words.

He looked up. His friends’ eyes all lifted from their phone screens to stare at him in astonishment.

Zhang Shutong continued typing:

"I can tell you all, with complete certainty, that this isn’t a joke. The retaliation from Zhou Ziheng’s family is nothing. There’s a real murderer behind all this."

"And all the strange things I did today were to find this murderer. That includes the pit."

"The pit?!" Ruoping exclaimed out loud.

"What pit?" Ruoping’s father slammed on the brakes.

"No pit... I mean, it’s nothing, Dad. Just drive," she replied without looking up, quickly typing, "So you got hurt because you fought with the murderer?"

’Uh, not exactly.’

’Or, in a way, she’s actually right.’

Zhang Shutong continued:

"We didn’t fight. I was originally planning to use it to ambush them, but it failed. I didn’t even find any trace of the real culprit on the mountain."

"Then what do we do?"

"What else? It’s related to what we’re about to do," Qingyi, who had clearly been bursting to say something, explained directly.

So Zhang Shutong explained about the footprints:

"What we know for sure is that an unidentified person went to Ring Mountain Road this morning. That’s why I asked your dad to drive me there."

"So we’re going back to check it out again?"

Zhang Shutong paused. It seemed they had already assumed they would be part of whatever came next.

He didn’t actually want to drag the three of them into this; it would be best if they were just aware and on their guard. But some things, once said, were like spilt water. Even if he told them not to get involved, what if their curiosity was piqued and they decided to investigate on their own? As his finger hovered over the screen, he turned and saw Lu Qinglian was also reading the chat.

After all, she was the only one without a phone.

She wasn’t smiling this time, but Zhang Shutong could see it in her eyes—she was watching this unfold like some interesting spectacle. It was as if she had anticipated his hesitation and was now content to watch the fire from the other shore.

’Don’t think that not lying is the easy way out. If you choose to tell the truth, you have to learn to bear the corresponding risks.’

Zhang Shutong had long understood this principle. Before he could reply, Ruoping’s next question arrived:

"So how did Qinglian get mixed up in this?"

Zhang Shutong instinctively glanced at the girl. ’Now you can’t just sit back and watch,’ he thought. ’But knowing her, she’ll probably just ignore the question and leave me with another headache.’

But to his surprise, Lu Qinglian suddenly spoke up:

"Because I was the one who discovered that person first."

She said calmly:

"I’m looking for him, too."

"What do you mean? Are you saying you already know who it is?"

"No."

"Then how..."

"He damaged some things at the temple," she said, lying without batting an eye. "After discussing it, Zhang Shutong and I believe it’s the same person."

"So it’s not just related to Gu Qiuyan’s family..." Ruoping glanced at her dad, then changed her phrasing, "...it’s also related to what happened at the temple?"

"For now, you can understand it that way."

"Oh, and one more thing," Lu Qinglian continued, seizing control of the conversation. She gave orders with a maturity that seemed beyond her years. "If you guys want to follow along later, you’ll follow my commands. No running off on your own."

"You got it!" his three friends readily agreed.

After saying that, they clammed up and started discussing it in the group chat.

Leaving Zhang Shutong momentarily stunned.

"You..."

"You worry about too many things."

"Thanks..."

Zhang Shutong hadn’t expected her to step up and take some of the pressure off him.

"Mm."

Lu Qinglian’s response was noncommittal.

A matter that had been giving Zhang Shutong a huge headache was somehow resolved so casually.

The group thus came to a happy agreement, leaving only Ruoping’s father completely bewildered.

"What are you kids plotting now?"

"It’s a secret. Oh, and Dad, you can just wait for us in the car later."

Zhang Shutong had mentioned in the group chat earlier that Lu Qinglian wanted as few people as possible to know about this.

He looked out the window again. The car was approaching the Gu Family Villa. Zhang Shutong leaned forward to point out a few intersections where it was easy to make a wrong turn. Looking back at his friends, he saw their excited expressions, as if they were about to embark on a grand adventure.

’Well, the four of them crammed into a small car... they really were on the way to an adventure. It’s just that the outcome was unknown.’

They soon reached the entrance to Ring Mountain Road. As the car drove past, they could still see the tire tracks his mom had left that morning.

This discovery made them all tense up again.

"This is bad. It seems like it wasn’t just one person. They have a car, too."

Du Kang said nervously, pressing his face against the window.

Zhang Shutong had to tell him not to scare himself. It was from when Song’s tire blew out, and he had to call someone to bring him a new one.

"Why was Song here?"

"Gu Qiuyan’s dad is on a business trip, so he came because he was worried. I discussed it with him."

"You’re pretty dedicated," Ruoping jabbed habitually, earning another strange look from her father.

"I mean, he’s almost at the girl’s front door. How could he not be dedicated?" Du Kang added with a laugh.

Speaking of which, when Zhang Shutong had first called her and said he needed to go near Gu Qiuyan’s house, he had been worried she wouldn’t agree. But Ruoping always had her priorities straight when it mattered. She had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, and she’d brought her dad over without a second thought.

Amidst the chatter, the car came to a stop. Zhang Shutong thanked the man again and got out, following right on Lu Qinglian’s heels.

"Where are the footprints you mentioned?"

"Just up ahead. It’s only a short walk."

They led the way, their pace never faltering, their walk soon turning into a run.

Behind them, Ruoping was still shouting, "Hey, you two, slow down! Let me put on my gloves..." but the pair couldn’t be bothered. Lu Qinglian was moving even faster than him. Zhang Shutong realized he didn’t even need to point the way, because there were only two sets of footprints in sight: one he had left on his way down the mountain, and the other he had discovered this morning.

"See, they disappear up ahead..."

Zhang Shutong said as he walked.

One side of Ring Mountain Road was a cliff, which was exactly where the footprints vanished.

"Maybe they came to scout the place out first?" Zhang Shutong analyzed. "Then they saw the snow was too deep and turned back the way they came."

He looked around, somewhat disappointed. There were no other discoveries. He wasn’t sure if he should feel relieved or let down.

When he came down Ring Mountain Road that morning, it should have been the moment he was closest to the real culprit. Lu Qinglian was in the car at the time, but because of that, his attention had been focused on her instead.

Looking at it now, the "crime scene" had been destroyed by the tire tracks from his mom and the auto repair shop owner. It was impossible to tell where the person had gone.

"Wait," Lu Qinglian said, her brow furrowed.

"What is it?"

"This set of footprints you left isn’t right. She was following your footprints, going uphill."

Zhang Shutong immediately turned his head, but just as the words left her mouth, Lu Qinglian had already taken off at a sprint.

"Keep up."

She tossed out those two words and ran uphill.

Zhang Shutong’s heart leaped. In the short span of that conversation, he leaned in for a closer look and realized there was a smaller footprint pressed into his own.

The thing he had feared most had happened after all.

"What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Did you find something new?" His friends had caught up by this point.

But Zhang Shutong didn’t have time to explain. As he spoke, his body was already reacting:

"Someone’s here."

By then, Lu Qinglian was already several meters away. With a grim expression, Zhang Shutong dropped that one sentence and immediately broke into a full sprint.

His vision was a blur of shaking white as he pumped his arms. He had changed his shoes and now only needed to run along his old footprints where the snow was already packed down. He thought this would make him much faster, but he found the distance between him and Lu Qinglian only grew wider.

Her leg showed no signs of injury at all now. Only the hem of her green robe and her high ponytail danced behind her.

"See anything?"

Zhang Shutong couldn’t help but shout.

"They’re still ahead."