This sudden development left Shen Xin with no time to worry about Bubu. He quickly scooped him up and rushed down the mountain.

At the park entrance, Chen Chao’s SUV screeched to a halt, and he called for Shen Xin to get in.

He knew Shen Xin had dealt with Yang Huixia for quite a while, which was why he chose to bring him along.

"Captain Chen, what’s going on?"

’Didn’t they say she was going to see her son? How did it turn into a hostage situation?’

Chen Chao said as he drove, "His grandmother called the police. The two old folks were going to work in the fields this morning. They had just left when Yang Huixia showed up at the house."

"Yang Huixia was probably waiting nearby. She just wanted to see the child alone."

"Then, we don’t know what happened, but Yang Huixia probably tried to take the boy with her. He didn’t want to go and made a scene, which is how the neighbors found out."

"A neighbor called the grandparents, and they came back. Then they had another huge argument. In the end, Yang Huixia locked her son in a room, grabbed a kitchen knife, and threatened to kill herself if they didn’t let her take her son."

"That’s when they called the police."

Shen Xin cursed Gou Jinlan under his breath.

’The grandfather, Zhu Zhenyuan, seemed reasonable enough, but these parents-in-law were really dead set on fighting with their daughter-in-law.’

’Making such a scene that they actually had to call the police, claiming Yang Huixia was holding a hostage.’

’That was her only son. The same son she’d carried for miles in the middle of the night to find a taxi when he had a fever, right after she’d injured her back being rammed by a goat, completely ignoring her own pain.’

Soon, the two of them arrived in Hutang Town.

The mouth of the alley leading to Zhu Zhenyuan’s row of houses was already crowded with neighbors, all pointing and whispering.

Officers from the Hutang Town police station were also at the scene, trying to reason with Gou Jinlan.

But she couldn’t be reasoned with. The door to the house was shut tight, and Gou Jinlan stood at the entrance, hands on her hips, pointing inside and hurling curses.

Her curses were exceptionally foul, some of them archaic phrases in the local dialect.

Zhu Zhenyuan was squatting by a nearby wall, smoking in silence.

"Captain Chen."

A middle-aged officer at the scene came over. His name was Zhou Xiaoyuan.

Only two cars and three officers had come in total.

It was called a hostage situation, but it was really just a domestic dispute, not enough to warrant a massive response.

Chen Chao asked, "Where are the boy and Yang Huixia?"

Zhou Xiaoyuan pointed to the second floor.

Gou Jinlan was screaming curses, and Yang Huixia was screaming them right back from inside.

Just then, the sliding window of the second-floor bedroom balcony opened. Yang Huixia appeared with a basin of water and dumped it straight down.

It soaked Gou Jinlan.

After hitting her target, Yang Huixia let out a triumphant cackle.

"You crazy bitch! You shameless thing!"

Furious, Gou Jinlan plopped onto the ground and started wailing, beating her chest and stamping her feet as she cursed.

She started howling again, yelling about how her son must have been blind to fall for such a lunatic.

"Captain Chen, we have to get this old woman out of here. This isn’t helping," Shen Xin said.

’What an ugly scene.’

’If this provokes Yang Huixia any further, she might do something stupid.’

Chen Chao nodded.

Zhou Xiaoyuan and the others moved forward, trying to take her away.

It was no use. Gou Jinlan flopped onto the ground, grabbed a sickle and held it to her own neck, yelling, "She wants to die? Fine, I’ll die too! I haven’t wanted to live for a long time anyway! If you dare come any closer, I’ll die right here in front of you!"

This scared Zhou Xiaoyun and the other two, who immediately stopped daring to approach.

"Go on, die! If you’ve got the guts, slit your own throat! I’ll fucking collect your corpse for you!"

From the second floor, Yang Huixia continued to provoke her, laughing raucously.

"Yang Huixia!"

Shen Xin stepped forward and shouted, "What the hell do you think you’re doing!"

Yang Huixia was clearly in an agitated state, her emotions spiraling. She yelled, "I don’t know what I’m doing! My husband is dead, and my son won’t even acknowledge me as his mother! You tell me, what’s the point of me living anymore?"

She gripped the windowsill, her expression dazed.

"Don’t, Yang Huixia! Calm down," Shen Xin urged, frantically waving his hands to stop her.

Gou Jinlan, still lying on the ground, yelled, "Jump! If you’ve got the guts, then jump down!"

"You, shut up!"

Shen Xin roared, shooting her a fierce glare.

She froze for a second, then started howling.

"Zhu Yuchen, what are you doing in there!" Shen Xin shouted up at the second floor.

A moment later, Zhu Yuchen poked his head out.

"Quick, talk your mom down."

But Zhu Yuchen shook his head. "Officer, I’m not going with my mom. She said she wants to take me away from Nanjiang, and I don’t want to go."

Shen Xin glared at him. "Just get your mom to come down first."

The boy’s stubborn streak flared up. He yelled, "Anyway, I’m not leaving!"

With that, he pulled his head back inside.

’Damn kid!’

Cursing inwardly, Shen Xin said, "Yang Huixia, I know you feel wronged, and that there’s a deep misunderstanding between you and your son. But if we can just talk it out calmly, he’ll understand you."

Yang Huixia had clearly reached her breaking point.

"It’s no use." She shook her head. "You all say I killed my husband. I didn’t! I’ve said it a hundred times, but nobody believes me. Even my own son doesn’t believe me. So you tell me, what else can I do?"

She sniffled, turned, and went back into the room. When she came out again, she was holding a kitchen knife.

"You’re all trying to drive me to my death."

Her voice was desolate as she pointed down at Gou Jinlan. "You wanted me to pay for your son’s life with my own, right? Fine. I’ll pay him back."

"Don’t!"

Shen Xin yelled frantically, then said, "Yang Huixia, we’ve reopened the investigation! I can tell you, we’ve made a new discovery—we have a lead. We’ll have results soon. Yang Huixia, don’t you want to know what really happened to your husband?"

At a time like this, Shen Xin couldn’t worry about leaking details of an ongoing investigation.

’In her current state, Yang Huixia looked like she might actually slit her throat on the spot.’

Yang Huixia froze.

"What do you mean?" Yang Huixia asked, her voice trembling. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Chen Chao walked over and said in a grim voice, "Yang Huixia, I’m the vice-captain of the Tingyang Branch’s Criminal Investigation Division. Xiaoshen is right. We have indeed made a breakthrough in the case. We have a new lead, and we may be able to find out what happened to your husband very soon."

"Put the knife away. Your son is in there. He’s already lost his father; you can’t let him lose his mother, too."

Yang Huixia turned her head, presumably to look at Zhu Yuchen.

Faintly, Zhu Yuchen’s voice could be heard. "Mom, why don’t you just go home for now?"

"No!"

Yang Huixia still shook her head. She glanced at the gawking neighbors in the distance and said, "I’m too ashamed to go on living. You have to prove my innocence. Tell everyone that I didn’t kill my husband."

"No! You said you found a lead, right? Then go find the killer! Find the killer, tell me who it is, and then I’ll come down. Otherwise, I’ll die right here in front of you all!"

Shen Xin frowned. ’There’s no reasoning with her.’

Seeing Yang Huixia retreat back inside, Shen Xin asked in a low voice, "Captain Chen, what’s the play? Should we rush in?"

Chen Chao shook his head slightly. "No, let’s not provoke her any further. For now, I think we have the situation under control."

Shen Xin nodded.

’Harming the hostage was out of the question.’

’If Yang Huixia was going to hurt anyone, it would only be herself.’

Chen Chao waved Zhou Xiaoyuan over and told him to contact Yang Huixia’s parents.

And also, to get Gou Jinlan out of there.

’That old woman is just too good at stirring up trouble.’

Gou Jinlan was still throwing a fit, refusing to leave.

"Sir, please don’t just stand there watching," Shen Xin said to Zhu Zhenyuan.

At the critical moment, the old man proved he could take control. He went up, snatched the sickle from Gou Jinlan’s hand, and scolded impatiently, "Haven’t you caused enough of a scene?"

With that, he dragged her away.

Chen Chao relaxed a little and asked, "By the way, any luck with that monkey of yours?"

Shen Xin thought to himself, ’Who could possibly guarantee something like that?’

"Captain Chen, all we can do is try our best."

Chen Chao nodded and didn’t press the matter.

They spent more time trying to persuade her, exhausting every gentle approach, but it was still no use.

Yang Huixia was dead set: since they had a lead, they should go catch the killer. She would only come down once the killer was caught.

That boy, Zhu Yuchen, was just as stubborn. He wouldn’t say a single comforting word and flat-out refused to come out.

If he had just come out on his own, Yang Huixia probably wouldn’t have done anything to him.

But Yang Huixia had already made her threat: she was tired of living and, if it came to it, she would die in this house today.

Her parents rushed over in the afternoon to try and talk her down, but it was useless.

At noon, Yang Huixia had even made instant noodles for Zhu Yuchen.

It left everyone at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. Who had ever seen a "hostage situation" like this?

Throughout the standoff, Chen Chao kept asking about the progress on the mountain.

There were still no new discoveries.

Shen Xin decided not to wait around any longer and went back to the pet park.

He didn’t see Bubu. He asked Yang Daoqiang and the others, but no one had seen him.

’He probably went up the mountain again.’

Shen Xin headed up the mountain along a small path, calling Bubu’s name as he walked.

There was no response.

The sky gradually grew dark.

Zhao Tianxing sent a message, saying they weren’t stopping and would work overtime to continue the search on the mountain.

"Bubu, time to come home for dinner!"

Shen Xin shouted again, shining his flashlight around.

After a moment, he heard a RUSTLING sound.

Soon, the leaves on a tree shook, and a shadow dropped down from the darkness. It was none other than Bubu.

He bared his teeth at Shen Xin, let out a series of whimpers, then took off running.

A thought struck Shen Xin. ’Could he be looking for Zhu Guishen?’ He immediately quickened his pace and followed.

Bubu didn’t stick to the path, so Shen Xin couldn’t move very fast.

But he could still call out from time to time.

Slowly, he made his way up the mountain, heading in the direction of Lotus Peak.

The hundred-meter range they had marked out before was the distance along the slope to the peak. In terms of altitude, it was probably only a drop of thirty to forty meters.

Now, Shen Xin looked back at the twinkling lights of the homes at the foot of the mountain, then at the scattered points of light in the direction of Lotus Peak, and finally stopped at a position about one hundred and fifty meters in altitude below the summit.

Bubu was just ahead, his back to Shen Xin, looking all around as if searching for something.

When he couldn’t find it, he began to jump up and down in frustration.

He would run off in different directions but quickly return to the same spot.

Shen Xin took in all of Bubu’s reactions. If his theory was correct—that Bubu was searching for Zhu Guishen based on his memory of where he last saw him—then this must have been the spot.

Shen Xin surveyed the surroundings.

The area was overgrown with weeds, and the slope was relatively gentle.

’If Zhu Guishen had rolled down from the summit,’ he thought, ’it’s possible he could have stopped here.’

Shen Xin immediately messaged Zhao Tianxing and the others, telling them to come and help.

This spot wasn’t far from the summit, and the group arrived quickly.

"Shen Xin, did the monkey actually work?"

Zhao Tianxing asked as soon as he arrived.

Their arrival startled Bubu, who climbed onto a nearby tree branch and stared fixedly at the ground below.

Shen Xin nodded, gesturing to the surrounding area. "Right in this spot. I have a good feeling about it."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get to work."

Zhou Zhongyi wasted no time, switching on his flashlight and starting to look for subtle discrepancies.

After everyone had looked around for a bit, Zhou Zhongyi pointed to a spot. "Shen Xin, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s here. Look, this five-meter clearing is flat. Everywhere else has trees and roots, which would make digging difficult."

"If I were picking a spot, this would be it."

He stomped on the ground beneath his feet.

The identification method Du Xin Kai had taught them was useless here.

So they could only guess.

Even now, Zhou Zhongyi was just going by his gut.

When surrounded by trees, someone would subconsciously choose to dig in an open space.

"Then let’s dig."

Zhao Tianxing wasted no words, grabbing a shovel and starting to dig.

They marked out an area of about five or six square meters, and all nine of them began to dig.

The work went quickly.

Besides, they didn’t need to excavate the whole area, just dig in targeted spots.

A grown man, even curled into a ball, would still be over half a meter long.

The soil was relatively soft. After digging for over half an hour, Shen Xin himself had already dug sixty to seventy centimeters deep.

Just then, their colleague Sun Jingyi suddenly stopped and said in surprise, "I think I hit something."

Everyone quickly gathered around.

Shining their flashlights down, they saw a piece of white bone protruding from the dirt in the nearly meter-deep pit.

In that instant, Shen Xin was overcome with a storm of complicated emotions.

He was relieved they had found the body.

But he was also saddened that Zhu Guishen had, as he’d feared, been murdered.