Winter Returns

Chapter 13 Bloodstained Chase (Part 1)
The road ahead was pitch black, with only a faint glow coming from the phone screen.

Zhang Shutong didn't turn on the flashlight; instead, he held his phone in one hand and leaned on the handlebars of his bicycle.

He forgot to put on his gloves before setting off, and his hands were stinging from the cold night wind, but he didn't have time to stop and put them on.

The road was difficult to travel at night. He had to be careful of potholes and icy surfaces. He himself didn't know where he was. According to the time, it was only a seven or eight-minute journey.

It turned out he had misunderstood one thing—the patrolling officer wasn't so easy to catch. He had assumed the other man hadn't gone far and that he should be able to outrun him on his bike.

But the sound of a motorcycle engine that he heard not long ago made Zhang Shutong realize that patrolling the island definitely requires a means of transportation; they can't rely entirely on walking.

It's estimated that they rode to one place first, then got off to search around, and only proceeded to the next location after confirming that nothing had happened.

Thus, an urgent choice came to mind:

Chase?
Or should we not pursue it?

Go after them. If we compare the two to the tortoise and the hare, it's true that the tortoise can't catch up with the hare no matter how hard it tries. But the other person will always have a time to get off the vehicle and patrol. Perhaps before long, this little opportunity will appear.

But how long exactly is this "how long"?

he does not know.

We can only place our hopes on the other party.

If he didn't pursue them, he would need to change his strategy. Zhang Shutong remembered that when he was walking back from the restricted area after school in the afternoon and passing through a certain location, his phone was suddenly bombarded with messages. All he had to do was find the location with a signal and then call the police.

But this method is easier said than done. If it were him back then, he would definitely know every place on the island like the back of his hand. However, he hadn't been back for eight years and could only remember general directions, such as where his home and school were. But finding a signal point was like finding a needle in a haystack, especially at night.

Even if they are found successfully, they still have to wait for the police to arrive, and how long will that take?

Time ticked by, and the longer he delayed, the slimmer his chances of finding the killer became. He quickened his pace and made a decision—

……

The footsteps grew closer.

Their minds went blank for a moment, and almost instinctively, they crawled into the reeds.

Feng Ruoping was the last to go in. She held her breath, her eyes wide, and her heart pounding.

Who is it, and why didn't they use a flashlight?
police?

No, it should be the man Du Kang saw!

But what should we do?
Should we continue to hide?

The surroundings were eerily quiet. They panicked for a moment, and by the time they realized their situation, it was too late to take any action.

At this point, nobody knew what to do.

Suddenly, a cell phone rang, breaking the silence and echoing across the open field.

The call was quickly connected, and with a few indistinct words, Feng Ruoping could tell that the caller was not a policeman, but a man with a hoarse voice.

The surroundings were empty and desolate, and a few sounds were squeezed out from the man's lips, carried away by the night wind.

"West...yes, there are cops..."

"They've already left, I'm on my way..."

"student……"

The man paused.

Feng Ruoping was also stunned, her hands and feet turning ice cold.

"...It doesn't matter if no one sees it."

"Be careful... um."

The man's voice rang out again, and she immediately realized that the students he was referring to did not mean the ones who had discovered them.

Before he could even catch his breath, more speculations surfaced in his mind—

Who are these "students"?

Zhang Shutong?
Has he already been discovered?

But this guess was immediately rejected. Shu Tong was walking west, but the man's footsteps came from the east. There was no reason for the two to bump into each other... So who else fits the criteria?

Du Kang?

It can only be him.

If the man above is the same one Du Kang encountered on the road, given the passage of time, perhaps the other person has circled back again, and the man is now heading west.

But isn't that the direction Zhang Shutong left in?
Thinking of this, Feng Ruoping became both anxious and angry.

Zhang Shutong, Zhang Shutong! You thought you were so clever by going looking for someone! Little did you know they'd already copied it from behind you! You'd never find it, no matter what!

Moreover, nobody knows what this man is here for, and based on the previous guesses, it's definitely not something good.
She had already made up her mind. As soon as the man left, she would immediately call Zhang Shutong and tell him not to come back, otherwise what if the two of them happened to run into each other?
She had already reached for her phone in her pocket when she heard a noise from above her head, which startled her again.

No, to be precise, it wasn't any noise that startled her.

It was the man's movements that were the problem...

Just disappeared.

All was silent, save for the howling night wind.

But it was precisely this silence that made the girl's hair stand on end, because the complete absence of sound meant—

The other party was standing directly above them?

She dared not look up, nor did she dare to make any other unnecessary movements; before she knew it, her palms were covered in sweat.
The next moment, the footsteps sounded again, but before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the sound changed direction. It no longer came from above her head, but from the side and above!

The other party is going downhill!

As her shoes crunched over the weeds and pebbles, she saw a blurry dark figure walking down the slope through the dense reeds.

But why?
Why did we come down?

Discovered?

Should we call Qingyi Dukang and charge out?

Should we run now?
As various thoughts swirled, the clouds in the sky seemed to be gently stirred by the night breeze, and the moonlight poured down, making the man's figure suddenly clear.

It was a short, stout man. Feng Ruoping stared intently at his back, and the man's features matched the information Du Kang had given her!

The man was carrying a large woven bag on his back and some kind of long object in his other hand;
The object was wrapped in a cloth bag, like a stick, stretching from his feet to his shoulders, but suddenly becoming wide and flat at the end;
She turned her head with difficulty and met Qingyi's eyes, only to see him shake his head almost imperceptibly.

She understood what the other person meant; they were saying—

"Wait."

She saw the other person's gaze move downwards until it reached her own feet. Although their legs and feet were already hidden by reeds, Feng Ruoping reflexively remembered something; Qingyi was talking about her shoes.

She wore a pair of heeled loafers today. These shoes don't even have laces. Let alone running fast, they'd probably fall off if she walked too fast up a dirt slope.

Even if your shoe doesn't fall off, could you outrun an adult male? The answer is almost certainly yes. Maybe he won't chase you, but who can guarantee he won't?
At times like these, it's better to avoid trouble, so Shu Tong's first choice was to hide and wait. Thinking of this, the girl pursed her lips, feeling anxious because she had dragged the team down.

Then we can only wait.

They held their breath, silently watching the man's every move, their thoughts racing uncontrollably. What was he going to do? What did he mean by "not being seen"? Why was he hiding from the police?

Before these questions could be answered, Feng Ruoping saw the man walk to the shore, squat down, and unload the woven bag from his shoulder. Then he untied the strip of cloth from the stick-like object, and the girl's eyes widened in surprise—

That turned out to be an iron shovel.

The man gripped a shovel with both hands, swinging it and loosening the soil.
Under the moonlight, the man strangely dug something out of the ground...

pit.

……pit?

What does he want to do?

Various guesses scurried around like headless flies, but in fact, they no longer needed to rack their brains to figure it out, as more and more soil piled up around them.
The next moment, the man unzipped the woven bag. The metal clattered together with a hissing sound, and then a strong smell of blood and decay wafted out.

The moonlight shone on the faces of the boys, and their faces instantly turned deathly pale.

A certain guess suddenly welled up in my chest, and was about to be spoken—

Feng Ruoping turned to look at Meng Qingyi, and her gaze was still fixed on that expressionless face. Although he appeared calm, she could see that there was hesitation hidden in the boy's eyes.

However, they were now in a dilemma. They could neither call the police nor communicate with each other. Before, when the police were standing on the dirt road, they could communicate with each other by phone, but now that the man was right in front of them, they dared not even move slightly and could only communicate with their eyes.

Feng Ruoping had only one thought in her mind: she had to tell Zhang Shutong the news as soon as possible, since he was the only one among them who could move around freely.

And so much time has passed, and the only contact I've had with the other party is by phone, which I haven't even been able to get through to;
Feng Ruoping knew that the boy was always incredibly focused when he started doing something, and he was probably engrossed in a thrilling adventure right now. If she hoped that Zhang Shutong would notice that something was wrong with the group, the earliest she could do that would be when he got home.
Logically, he could get home quickly by bike;
But isn't that bastard still focused on finding someone?
You won't find it even if you search all night!
They're right here with us!
So she bit her lip, slowly took out her phone, and thankfully the wind had covered the rustling in the reeds. She imitated what Shutong had done earlier, pressed the phone screen tightly against her clothes, turned the brightness to the lowest setting, opened the text message, and was about to type with one hand.

But there was one thing the girl didn't expect—girls' hands are not the same size as boys'. What the other could do easily, she couldn't even touch the edge of the screen.

After finally finishing typing, she was about to press the send button when she realized she was just one step away but couldn't reach it. In her panic, her thumb suddenly cramped up, and she lost her grip on the phone, which slipped and fell into the grass.

In the silence, the sound of the phone falling was like a pebble being thrown into the water, and Feng Ruoping's face turned pale at that moment.

The man opposite them paused, then suddenly turned around, shining a beam of flashlight at them!

Then, the man bent over, groping for something at his waist, and cautiously took a step forward.

The man got closer and closer!

Feng Ruoping felt as if her heart had stopped beating.

How to do how to do? !

The girl was about to close her eyes and rush out;

Just then, with a "whoosh," a dark figure suddenly leaped out from the reeds!
It was a frog!
The man's gaze indeed fell on the frog. He cursed under his breath and turned back to the edge of the dug pit.

It took Feng Ruoping a while to calm down. She then turned her head and saw a boy named Du Kang grinning at her and raising an eyebrow.

Normally, Ruoping would have glared at him defiantly, but now she just felt a lump in her throat and thought to herself, "What should I do now?"
The phone fell to the ground and couldn't be picked up at all;
Who knows how long that man will dig? Besides, even if Zhang Shutong gets home and finds her phone, what information can a missed call convey?
At this moment, the girl could only listen quietly to her own heartbeat and pray silently:

Zhang Shutong! You have to find it quickly! Hurry!

……

Meng Qingyi, smelling the increasingly strong stench of blood, was equally solemn.

The man in front of me had been digging for almost ten minutes.

The other party was clearly an expert.

Under the moonlight, one could vaguely see him emptying the body parts from his bag, first filling it with a layer of soil, then emptying some more, and then filling it with another layer of soil.

His heart sank little by little.

What kind of corpse could fill an entire woven bag?

Perhaps there's no need to think about it.

Shu Tong's thinking is correct. In times like these, it's always better to avoid trouble. So when he saw Ruo Ping take out her phone, he didn't really agree with her actions.

We could simply wait for the other party to finish dealing with the situation and leave; there was no need for us to cause any further trouble.
Just be patient and wait.

Therefore, he had no intention of taking out his phone to contact anyone, which could easily backfire.

So the boy calmed his breathing, counted in his mind, and patiently watched the other person's every move. Rather than hoping to catch the murderer on the spot, he thought it would be better to try to find some clues from him.

Therefore, there was one thing that had been troubling Meng Qingyi for a long time, and that was—

What exactly is that man carrying on his back?
It wasn't the woven bag or the shovel, but rather that after the other person put those two things down, he noticed that the man had another item slung across his back.

Under the moonlight, only a rough outline could be seen:

It was probably a stick-shaped object, like a fire poker, but the end suddenly widened. He didn't want to guess in any particular direction if he could, but it was precisely the shape of that thing that filled him with a sense of unease.

That's probably...

It is a hunting rifle.

But whatever it is, it's beyond their control right now. Meng Qingyi lowered his gaze, trying to calm his breathing. All he had to do now was wait patiently for the other party to leave...

Thinking this, he turned his head and met Du Kang's gaze. The other man was winking at him and gesturing towards the man's back. Meng Qingyi knew what he meant. Du Kang was the best fighter among them. At this moment, he was probably not thinking about how to hide well, but rather taking this opportunity to kick the other man.
Didn't this idiot notice the gun behind the man's back?
He stopped the other person with a stern look, and was having a bit of a headache, when he saw Ruoping's shoulder suddenly twitch and then look ahead;
But they discovered;
The man moved.

Under the cover of night, the man pulled a dagger from his waist and strode toward the reeds.

what happened?

Meng Qingyi was taken aback upon seeing this;
What is he doing?
Were they discovered?

But this is impossible!
No matter how hard he tried to force himself to calm down, he was still a young man at heart and was momentarily at a loss.
Needless to say, Ruoping, standing at the very front and bearing the brunt of the attack, was now trembling unconsciously.
With their hearts pounding again, the group held their breath, their hearts pounding in their throats. But then they saw the man suddenly stop in front of the reeds, brandishing his dagger and cutting off a small clump of reeds.

Meng Qingyi suddenly realized.

—The contents of the woven bag were almost emptied, but the thick stench of blood and decay lingered in the air, even though the other party had dug the pit very deep and filled it with many layers of soil.
But it was all to no avail.

It turns out he wanted to use reeds to cover up the smell of blood!

The other person returned to the edge of the pit, filled it with the reeds in his hand, tamped them down with his feet, and then added a layer of soil.

But a deeper worry soon surfaced in his mind;

But if it's like this...

Can they really hide until the very end?

……

Taking advantage of the noise the men were making while filling the soil, this was the second time they had quietly moved back.

Meng Qingyi frowned deeply.

Their previously obscured view gradually cleared, revealing that a small patch of dense reeds had been cut down, and they had nowhere left to retreat.

Behind them were bicycles, and the space for the group had been compressed to the minimum.

The man slowly filled the pit with reeds, and there were very few left at his feet, but the large pit not far away still hadn't been filled. It was foreseeable that—

The next one will come soon.

There were only a few reeds left in front of Ruoping, barely enough to cover the girl's figure, and she would definitely be exposed.

Therefore, we must find a countermeasure before the other party takes action!

Run?

Or not.

I and Du Kang might be able to, but Ruoping and Lu Qinglian won't be able to run very far.

Why not just go all in?
Meng Qingyi clenched his fist, struggled for a moment, and then slowly opened it.

He didn't dare to gamble.

They didn't have any decent weapons. Shu Tong had taken the baton with him when he left, so they didn't even have a proper weapon. How were they supposed to fight back? A stool from their bicycle? Or a fishing rod?

There were indeed four of them, but the two girls' fighting ability was almost negligible. The only ones who could be of use were himself and Du Kang.

—The man's dagger can still be dealt with. A folding stool can be used as a shield. As long as the first attack is blocked, the opponent can be taken down.

However, Meng Qingyi's lingering doubts remained about the item slung across the other person's back.

So he didn't dare to gamble.

What if the four of them rushed out and the other side immediately pointed a gun? He knew that a man who could handle these situations without batting an eye would not show mercy or hesitate.

If they wait until the other side comes to cut the reeds and then launch an attack, Ruoping will be the first to be attacked, and she will easily be injured in the melee.

Therefore, sometimes being too meticulous in thinking can backfire. One solution after another arises in his mind, only to be rejected after careful consideration. For a time, Meng Qingyi was also at a loss.

There were hardly any reeds left at the man's feet, and he was clearly not satisfied. He glanced at the reeds, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, as if he was thinking about how much more he needed.

The boy's heart inevitably began to waver and feel anxious.

in case……

If Shutong were here, that would be great.

At that moment, such a thought arose in his mind.

Of course, it's not that they want the other person to be by their side, but rather that their best friend happens to be able to get back. Even if he himself can't do much, the sound of the car driving by will attract the man's attention, and they might be able to find some loopholes in the situation.

Instead of being as restricted as it is now, where even making some preparations is difficult.

Alternatively, if someone could cooperate, perhaps the current situation could be resolved.

But how could that be possible?

Seeing Ruoping holding her hands to her heart, staring intently ahead as if praying for something, shutting out all external sounds, Meng Qingyi took a deep breath and made up his mind.

We can't wait any longer—

But just as this thought crossed his mind...

Immediately afterwards, it was as if the prayer in one's heart had been answered by the gods;
Something slowly descended from the sky.

It landed on the boy's head.

(End of this chapter)