The funeral procession! Solemn! Majestic!
Amidst the wailing cries, it departed grandly from the Yuan Shun Escort Agency!
At the very front were five or six rows of Xiao family juniors dressed in mourning attire, holding white strears!
Behind the group holding the strears was Xiao Baijiao’s coffin!
Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi led the way in front of the coffin procession, with Xiao Yu holding Xiao Baijiao’s morial tablet in her arms!
Behind the coffin were the musicians playing mournful tunes!
Further back was the group of mourners in mourning attire!
At the very end were the people accompanying the funeral!
This last group was the largest, tightly packed together; Xiao Zongting was also supported by others, squeezed inside, weeping openly against the wind!
Ruan Fengshan and Luan Jingfu also brought their families, following behind the procession!
This long procession moved along West Main Street, heading straight for the west city gate!
People watching along the way crowded the streets and alleys...
Duan Rong, amid the procession, couldn’t help but be amazed at the grandeur of Xiao Baijiao’s mourning!
To manage such an arrangent and have so many people participate shows the character of Xiao Zongting and Xiao Yu, this father and daughter!
Duan Rong suddenly noticed that Zhao Mu, who was carrying the coffin in front of him, was frequently glancing sideways at Zhu Xiaoqi’s back.
"This guy... even at this ti can’t help but sneak a peek..."
In the morning, Ruan Fengshan personally went to the County Office, t Shen Yanliu face to face, and inford him about the funeral!
Marriage, funerals, and family celebrations are major life events, and now it’s getting hotter by the day, making bodies difficult to preserve for long! Investigating a case is certainly important, but you can’t let bodies rot at ho just for the sake of the investigation.
Shen Yanliu often interacted with Ruan Fengshan and had so camaraderie, so he agreed right away.
He asked Ruan Fengshan to make a list, which Shen Yanliu signed, and Qin Shuban stamped with the County Governnt Office seal, delivering it to the guard at the west city gate! Qin Shuban personally instructed the guards to verify and allow passage according to the list at the afternoon hour!
The front part of the procession was all listed by na, but for the last group accompanying the funeral, Ruan Fengshan only listed about twenty people.
Looking at it now, even though this funeral procession seems grand, most can only accompany it to the city gate, unable to leave the city.
Just as the funeral procession reached the city gate, Ruan Fengshan at the very end sensed sothing wasn’t right.
At the city gate, beyond the original group of governnt constables, there were unexpectedly several constables present!
Among them, a senior constable was evidently speaking with the head of the guards at the city gate!
Suddenly, a constable rushed away on horseback, galloping down the street!
Ruan Fengshan touched the sparse chin of his goatee, fearing there might be a turn of events!
"Why are there suddenly a group of constables other than just the guards at the west city gate?"
Imdiately, Ruan Fengshan squeezed out of the funeral procession, slowly walked past the long line, and headed to the city gate. He wanted to ask the constables a few questions to probe for information.
Just as Ruan Fengshan was about to speak, there was a sudden neigh of a horse, and a black steed stopped at the city gate, with a figure jumping off it, standing at the entrance.
The newcor was none other than the Chief Constable of the County Governnt Office, Jie Daohan!
Seeing Jie Daohan, Ruan Fengshan walked over, smiling and clasping his fists in greeting: "Chief Constable Jie, long ti no see!"
Jie Daohan returned the gesture, raising his brows: "Ah, Shopkeeper Ruan! How have you been!"
The two had been quite close so years back, but over the years, the relationship had grown a bit distant.
Ruan Fengshan glanced at Jie Daohan, noticing although he bore a smile, his expression was fierce, his eyes bloodshot, as if he had just cried.
Seeing Jie Daohan’s appearance, Ruan Fengshan’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he said solemnly: "Chief Constable Jie! Regarding the funeral! I personally consulted with the County Magistrate! The list was made, and the seal was affixed by the County Magistrate. The list should be in the hands of the guards here!"
Jie Daohan, hearing this, turned to look at the head of the guards and asked: "Where’s the list?"
The person imdiately retrieved a large sheet of paper stamped with the county’s seal: "It was delivered by Clerk Qin at noon!"
Jie Daohan took it, glanced at the list, detailing the nas under the categories of stream holders, coffin carriers, musicians, mourners, and funeral attendees, with the county’s seal prominently at the bottom!
Jie Daohan imdiately furrowed his brows, feeling sowhat troubled.
Speaking of this morning, at the County Governnt Office’s roll call, Jie Lei didn’t show up!
At the ti, Jie Daohan found it odd; he knew his nephew very well, reserved and sowhat cautious in his interactions.
Yet he was a highly disciplined person, and after being a constable for five or six years, he had never been late even once.
Jie Daohan assud he was overwheld by the pressure of the recent investigation, perhaps overslept, so he sent soone to call him from his ho!
The person returned saying they knocked on the door for a long ti with no response, indicating he was likely not at ho.
By noon, with still no sign of Jie Lei, Jie Daohan grew anxious and dispatched several people to search for him.
After lunch, as he reclined in the Grandmaster’s Chair for a nap, he suddenly dread of a tree!
The tree was quite eerie, with a trunk and branches pure black, like so kind of dark tal...
But its leaves and flowers were blood-red, continuously dripping with blood...
Jie Daohan woke abruptly, his brow jumping uncontrollably, seized by waves of panic!
By then, the people sent to find Jie Lei had returned, saying they went to the places Jie Lei often visited, like casinos and restaurants, but no one had seen him!
Feeling a chill all over, Jie Daohan saw the ominous tree from his dream as a warning!
He imdiately set aside his work and rushed to Jie Lei’s ho!
Upon entering the courtyard, Jie Daohan’s heart skipped again, the main hall’s door was wide open...
He knew Jie Lei’s cautious nature, if he were not ho, he would certainly lock the door!
"Did sothing happen suddenly, leaving him no ti to lock the door?"
Jie Daohan inspected the rooms thoroughly, finding everything in order, no signs of struggle!
He then checked the storage room and kitchen!
Jie Lei barely cooked at ho, the kitchen’s surfaces were dusty, and the stove contained only remnants of cold ash!
A wave of lancholy swept over Jie Daohan as he realized that he always thought, despite his brother being gone, he provided plenty of care for Jie Lei.
Now, he suddenly felt he hadn’t done enough. This place where Jie Lei lived seed unfamiliar to him!
"Lei’Er, Uncle won’t let anything happen to you!"
Saying this, Jie Daohan wandered to the well, initially not paying it any attention, but suddenly noticing its dryness, the soil around it even cracked!
If it were a water well, with years of drawing water, it should be moist!
Standing at the well’s edge, Jie Daohan faintly detected a foul odor...
Having dealt with cases for years, Jie Daohan was highly sensitive to such odors!
Leaning into the well, he swiftly leaped inside like a large bird!
Landing at the bottom, Jie Daohan struggled to adjust from the bright sky above to the dim light within!
From inside his coat, Jie Daohan took out a flint, flicked it open, and blew it at the edge, a weak fla erged. Using the faint glow, Jie Daohan saw a tunnel entrance at the bottom of the well.
Worried about Jie Lei, he entered the tunnel without hesitation!
Crawling a short distance, Jie Daohan stood up, using the light from the flint, he saw a very short passage ahead.
His brow pounding wildly, upon entering the passage, Jie Daohan inhaled a strong foul odor mixed with a tallic blood scent, forming a nauseating stench!
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