Detective: Open your eyes, I am handcuffed in the interrogation room.

Chapter 485 Almost Collapsed

The Hengli Mountains are 400 kilometers long and stretch like a natural barrier between Ruicheng and Bagan, dividing the land into two countries.

If the boundary is drawn accurately, the tributaries of Ruijiang River will be the boundary markers. The Hebei side is Huaxia, and the Henan side is Bagan.

Water is the source of all things. Yulu Village is built on a tributary of the Ruijiang River. It is located in a valley deep in the Hengli Mountains and is surrounded by mountains on three sides.

Compared with the villages I had visited in Yicheng before, Yuluo Village was even more isolated. No outsiders came here at all, and the people inside didn't go out. Only Yushu, who was out purchasing, would occasionally show up in the town.

Is it true that no one has left the village to live? Not really. Every few years, if one or two people leave the village, it is considered a big event in the village, and the whole village has to see them off. Over the past few decades, the number of people who have left the village can be counted on one hand.

These are what Yushu said on the way. Although he looked reluctant when he was in the town, after getting to know him gradually, Chen Yi found that he was actually a very talkative guy and not introverted.

Perhaps, this is why the village allowed him to go out to purchase goods, so that he can communicate with people outside.

There were a lot of cargo on the horse. In order to take care of Chen Yi and the other two, Yushu moved most of the cargo onto his own horse, which made the three of them have a good impression of him.

Chen Yi also felt that he might have been overthinking it. Han Yuedong's injury might really be an accident. After all, the mountain road leading to Yuluo Village was indeed very rugged, and people who were not familiar with horse riding would fall off if they were not careful.

"Ashu, do you know Tu Xiangnan?" Chen Yi asked as the group walked slowly.

Yushu in front turned around and said, "Tu Xiangnan? I've never heard of him."

Chen Yi said, "I heard that Yuzhai is the birthplace of jade in China. You can pick up a piece just by strolling around. Is that true?"

Yushu smiled and said, "It's true, Boss. You don't want to go in and pick up jadeite, do you?"

Chen Yi rode his horse closer and said, "Of course not. Can you tell me about Yuzhai? Why is it said to be the birthplace of jade in China?"

Yushu was not shy about telling the story.

It is actually a bit of an exaggeration to say that Yuzhai is the birthplace of jadeite in China. It was only once the first stop for Bagan jadeite to enter the country. It is more like a warehouse transit station. Jadeite first goes from Bagan to Yuzhai, and then from Yuzhai to the whole country.

At that time, transportation was not well developed and basically relied on horses and livestock. Therefore, Yuzhai, which was the closest in terms of distance, became the transit point for transporting jade.

Nowadays, cars are widely used and roads have been repaired. Although a detour is farther, it takes less time and is more convenient, so Yuzhai has been gradually forgotten.

As for whether you can pick up jadeite, absolutely you can.

When a wild goose flies by, it leaves a sound; when a wind blows by, it leaves a trace. Thousands of tons of raw stones once stayed in Yuzhai. Some were broken and cut on the spot, and some were thrown away. Even if it was garbage cleaning, it would be impossible to clean them up completely, let alone stones that could be perfectly integrated into the village.

Even the foundation and walls of the village are made of raw jadeite. The quality is very poor. If you cut off a piece and sell it now, you can get dozens or hundreds of dollars.

The value of jade has continued to rise since its development. It was worthless before, but now it is very valuable.

Therefore, it is not a false rumor that you can pick up jade by taking a stroll in Yuzhai.

This is the gap between the times. What was once trash has become treasure. Yuzhai doesn’t care about this. After all, they can’t demolish and sell the houses and roads for money.

Besides, it can’t be sold for much money.

After listening to Yushu's words, Chen Yi felt quite in awe of Yuluo Village. A village made of jade... Can you believe this? It's really rich.

"Is it possible to pick up a good one?" he asked.

Yushu: "Okay? How good?"

Chen Yi: "Several tens of thousands?"

"Haha." Yu Shu was very happy. "How is it possible? Such a good jadeite can be picked up by outsiders."

Chen Yi understood what he meant. From Bagan to Yuzhai, and from Yuzhai to the country, the quality of the stones had already been screened layer by layer. Even if there were occasional omissions, the local villagers in Yuzhai would take them away and would not be left behind.

However, when it comes to gambling, there is no such thing as 100% certainty. Even gold can be covered in dust.

"There must be a few inconspicuous ones lying in some corner. No one has noticed them, but they are actually very expensive. What do you think, Ah Shu?" Chen Yi joked.

Yushu did not deny it and nodded, "Maybe there is. Unless it glows at night, it will definitely not be found. How about you go and look for it?"

Chen Yi smiled and said, "If you find it, it will belong to me?"

Hearing this, Yu Shu was afraid to promise: "I... I don't have the final say, you have to ask the village chief."

As we were chatting, we came to a narrow mountain road ahead. It made a U-turn and went deep into the mountain. Below was a bottomless cliff. The protruding gentle slope gave passers-by a rare sense of security.

Chen Yi restrained his smile. This was the place where Han Yuedong fell off his horse and was injured.

The three of them looked at each other, became alert, and focused their attention on Yushu in front of them, ready to jump off their horses at any time.

"Leader." Yu Shu suddenly stopped and said, "The leader fell from here before. Let's lead the horses over there. It's quite dangerous."

Chen Yi remained silent, followed the advice, dismounted, chose to follow Yushu on foot, and safely passed the corner of the mountain road.

The view ahead suddenly became clear, the mountain road became much wider, and safety was greatly increased. Even if the horses were frightened, they would have time to react.

Occasionally, animals pass by in the forest, adding to the fun of the journey.

"Are you thinking too much?"

Chen Yi's doubts about Yushu were reduced again. He was just a simple young man and there was no sign of him having any messy thoughts.

Criminal police suspect everything, and since they are suspicious, there is a possibility of wrong judgment. Investigating a case requires countless trial and error.

More than an hour after entering the mountain, a flat and refreshing forest appeared. Yushu suggested taking a rest first before continuing on their journey, and Chen Yi agreed.

Several people sat on the grass, smelling the fragrance of plants and soil. Their breathing became smoother and their mood became much better.

"Is Ashu married?" He Xin asked about Yu Shu's personal situation while drinking water.

Hearing this, the young man showed rare shyness and said, "Not yet. My father told me about a younger sister. We will meet in a while."

"Oh?" Several people started gossiping. He Shixin sincerely wished: "Congratulations. It's a pity that if you got married in the past two days, I would not be able to drink your wedding wine."

Qin Fei smiled and asked, "What does he look like?"

Being stared at by three people, Yu Shu felt even more embarrassed: "It's quite fair and beautiful."

Seeing that Yushu's face began to turn red, He Xin stopped teasing him. This child from the mountain village gave people a very pure and sincere feeling. There was no profit purpose in their communication and they felt comfortable with each other.

"I'll go pick some fruit for you. They're delicious. Wait for me." Yushu left as if he was escaping, and the three of them suddenly found it interesting.

Looking at Yu Shu's back, He Shixin whispered, "From the part, we can see the whole. Yuluo Village should not be as complicated as we suspected. The possibility of gaining something in this direction is probably not high."

Chen Yi nodded slightly: "Maybe, it's good, we can just treat it as a travel experience."

Yushu returned quickly with a few green fruits in his hand. He washed them with water from the horse and handed them over one by one.

He first handed them to He Shixin and Qin Fei, then picked up a big one and handed it to Chen Yi, turning over the fruit while picking it.

Although Chen Yi had basically dispelled his doubts about Yu Shu, it did not mean that he had completely lost his vigilance. Even during the joking conversation just now, he was always paying attention to Yu Shu's facial expressions and reactions, not to mention the other party's subtle movements.

This fruit may be specially for myself.

Watching the three people eating with big mouthfuls, He Shixin even praised the sweetness and deliciousness. Chen Yi lowered his head to observe that the back of the green fruit was slightly white, which was inconspicuous compared to other green wild fruits. "Leader, why don't you eat it? It's delicious."

Yushu was chewing wild fruit and seeing that Chen Yi didn't move, he asked in confusion.

Chen Yi thought for a moment and handed the wild fruit to him: "Eat it."

Yushu stopped chewing abruptly, and after a brief moment of daze, he quickly waved his hands: "I'll just eat one, leader, you can try it, it's not available outside, it's very thirst-quenching, right, big brother?"

When he said the last sentence, he looked at He Shixin.

He Shixin nodded in agreement: "It's really good, you should try it."

Chen Yi smiled and did not take his hand back: "I don't really want to eat it, Ah Shu, come on, you eat it."

Yushu shook his head: "I'll just eat one."

Chen Yi's smile slowly faded, and his tone turned cold: "I let you eat it!"

The sudden change made the breeze in the mountains become cold and sharp. He Shixin and Qin Fei reacted immediately. They looked down at the wild fruits in their hands and spit out all the fruits they had not swallowed.

Then they stood up and surrounded Yushu with grim looks on their faces.

Yu Shu was startled: "What...what...what happened?"

He Shixin asked coldly: "Is there something wrong with the fruit?"

Yushu swallowed the fruit in his mouth and said blankly, "What's the problem? It tastes good to me. Are yours not ripe?"

He was indeed eating. He Xin frowned and turned to look at Chen Yi.

Chen Yi also stood up and walked over, handing the wild fruit to Yu Shu's mouth: "Eat this."

Yu Shu subconsciously raised his head and retreated, saying with a wry smile: "I...I don't want to eat anymore, I'll just eat one."

"Do you want to eat?" Chen Yi narrowed his eyes.

Yushu was angry: "I said I don't want to eat, why are you doing this! I kindly brought you into the village and picked fruits for you, but you bullied me! What kind of leader are you?"

He was about to stand up, but Qin Fei reached out and pushed him back: "Don't move."

Chen Yi squatted down, looked at the young man in front of him and said, "You just picked a different one for me, and now you don't dare to eat it. Do you think the police are all fools?"

Fortunately, Han Yuedong was not there, otherwise there would be no suspicion of scolding him.

After hearing this, He Xin picked up the fruit in Chen Yi's hand and observed it. He indeed found some differences. The color was wrong and the shape was slightly different.

"Yushu! What is this?!" He Shixin questioned, "Don't deny it, do you dare to eat it?! Poisoning is legally responsible, and you poisoned the police! You don't want to get married, right?!"

Yushu lowered his head, seeing that he couldn't fool people, and said, "It's not poisonous, it's just... similar to croton. If you eat it, you will have severe diarrhea and feel weak all over."

"what?"

When the new expression appeared, it was quite interesting. If Chen Yi had taken a sip just now, it would have been a huge outburst.

Eating wild fruits in the mountains is risky in itself. It is common for people to be hospitalized due to diarrhea and poisoning. At that time, people may not necessarily suspect that there is something wrong with the fruits delivered by Yushu.

It is impossible to enter the village, so we must return the same way.

Chen Yi stood up and looked down at Yu Shu: "The last person fell off the horse, was it you who did it?"

Yushu whispered, "No, he fell down by himself. I won't do something that's so dangerous. What if someone dies?"

Chen Yi: "You were going to give him some fruit to eat, but you didn't expect him to get hurt beforehand?"

Yu Shu: “Hmm…”

This statement is credible, but it cannot be verified. We need to look at the motivation.

If the police entering the village has a huge impact on Yushu, so big that they would even kill people, then the problem would be serious.

If the police entering the village has little impact on Yushu, then it would make sense to use diarrhea to try to stop it.

Chen Yi had a good impression of the young man and was more willing to believe the second situation.

"Why are you stopping us from entering the village?" Chen Yi asked the key question.

Yushu made a bitter face: "We don't allow outsiders to enter our village. I can't do anything if you insist on going. If the village chief knew that I brought outsiders into the village, he would definitely scold me."

Chen Yi didn't believe it: "Why don't you just refuse it sternly? How can I force you?"

Yushu felt wronged: "Uncle Shao treats us very well, and the people in the town respect him very much. I...I am embarrassed to refuse, and I will have to purchase goods from him all year round in the future."

Chen Yi thinks about his logic, does it make sense?

He was very reluctant to bring people into the village, but had to do so because of Lao Shao. Then he made some moves on the way so that the people who went in returned empty-handed.

In this way, we can prevent outsiders from entering the village and avoid offending Lao Shao.

Seems to make sense?
"It's that simple?"

"It's that simple. Why did you come into the village? There's nothing interesting in our village. You can't be here to catch bad guys, right?" Yu Shu was quite frustrated with this question and raised it again.

Chen Yi said: "Investigate the case, whether there are bad guys or not, we will know after we investigate."

"Investigating a case?" Yu Shu still couldn't understand. "What kind of case is there in our village? No one has left."

Chen Yi: "Are there any outsiders entering?"

Yu Shu: “No.”

Chen Yi stared at him: "Are you sure? Although the mountain road is long and rugged, as long as you have a strong purpose, you can still reach the destination by walking for a day and stopping frequently. Has no outsider ever been there?"

As long as a place can be reached by humans, no matter how remote it is, theoretically it can definitely be set foot there.

He suspected that Tu Xiangnan had been there, and even suspected that all four victims had been there, so he had to go into the village to check.

Yushu raised his hand and promised: "I swear to Sanduo that since I was old enough to understand, I have never seen outsiders enter the village!"

Chen Yi didn't know what the three mores meant. He guessed it was their own belief, which was similar to "swearing to heaven". People with faith would swear more devoutly.

Looking at Yushu's innocent look, Chen Yi sighed in his heart and said, "Forget about what happened just now. I won't pursue it. Now take us into the village seriously. I will explain it to your village chief and it won't affect you."

Intentional poisoning is an illegal act, and in serious cases may involve a crime. He gave face to Yunzhou, Ruicheng, ethnic minorities, and Lao Shao.

Individual illegal acts will not be reported or investigated. Since no consequences have been caused, he can forgive this incident alone.

Yushu rubbed his messy hair and agreed: "Okay...I'm sorry."

(End of this chapter)