A live stream that dramatically transformed a depressed schoolgirl shocked netizens across the count

In the side room, black ledgers were spread out on a wooden table.

Gu Qingshang turned to the last page.

The record stops ten years ago on the night the forest ranger station caught fire.

Cheng Shou-chou injured his right hand.

A truck carrying medicine left the northern foothills of Cangshan Mountain at 2:17 a.m. and headed east along the county road.

The driver's name was covered with a blot of ink, which was smeared back and forth more than a dozen times, leaving rough edges on the paper.

Those three words were completely hidden in the ink.

Zhou Henian sat in front of the shrine, his gaze fixed on the pages of the account book.

"The driver died three years ago."

"Less than half a month after he left, his family moved to another province. The cooperative's old address book was also missing several pages, including his phone number."

Gu Qingshang's hand stopped beside the ink stain.

The truck had no next stop.

No refueling records, hospital registrations, or accommodation information could be found along the way.

Once the car left the northern foothills of Cangshan Mountain, the trail left by Cheng Shouzhou was cut off.

Over the course of ten years, someone followed that road and erased all the records related to him, one by one.

Zhou Lan moved the metal box in front of her and pressed the lid down with her palm.

"Over the years, my grandfather has asked around a lot."

"Some people said they'd never met him before, and others hung up as soon as they heard Mr. Cheng's name. There were also two elderly people who agreed to meet him the day before saying they were too old and had misremembered."

Su Niannian leaned against the wall, slowly lowering her arms that were crossed over her chest.

"What a coincidence!"

"These people know, they just don't dare to admit it."

Outside the eaves, the sound of the drums of the circumambulation echoed through the walls.

The drumbeats pressed into the side room, one after another.

Ye Xingyu looked down at the seven overseas shipping lists, the pages creased slightly in her hand.

"Ten years ago, the He family sent seven people to Switzerland."

"Ten years later, they used Switzerland's medical access to force Qing merchants to marry into their country."

She looked up.

"Did they foresee that Old Master Gu would have to ask the He family for help?"

None of them spoke.

Su Niannian ground her back molars.

"They'll use seven lives to pave the way, and then collect the money ten years later."

"With such a far-reaching plan, aren't you afraid of getting yourself into trouble?"

Gu Qingshang pressed down the folded corners of the ledger one by one, and put the list of trial residents, the review report, and the copper key back into the kraft paper bag.

She looked up at Zhou Henian.

"Old Zhou."

Zhou Henian placed his hands on the wooden cane, waiting for her to continue.

Gu Qingshang straightened up, the hem of her white silk skirt brushing against the floor tiles.

"These things cannot be given to the Gu family."

"Mr. Cheng's name will no longer appear in the Gu family's health and wellness projects."

She put the brown paper bag back on the table.

"Mr. Cheng has been burdened with infamy for ten years, I'll investigate."

"I'll find out where those seven people were sent."

"I will investigate and find out who suppressed the review report and whose pocket the money went into, one by one."

"The costs of lawyers, auditors, and investigations will all come out of my account."

"Someone from the Gu family wants to use this matter to negotiate business, so I'll investigate the entire Gu family as well."

"If the He family still dares to send people to silence us, I'll investigate right up to their doorstep."

Gu Qingshang looked at the cover of the ledger.

The red line passed through the middle of the four characters "He Family of Shanghai".

"They're trying to stop us; let them come find me."

Zhou Henian gripped the wooden cane and tapped the tip of the cane on the floor tiles.

"Miss Gu, think it through."

"Once you take on this task, it's hard to get out of it."

Gu Qingshang met the old man's gaze.

"I'm not getting away."

"A debt that's been owed for ten years has to be collected eventually."

Chen Lang stood by the door, turning the brass key in his hand.

"Collect the accounts slowly, leave the original documents here for now."

Gu Qingshang turned to look at him.

Chen Lang took out his phone and dialed the grid worker's number.

"Please have the village police officer come back again."

"We have a batch of materials here that need to be secured as evidence on-site."

He walked to the wooden table and tapped the ledger with the back of his hand.

"The video recording must continue. Photograph each page of the ledger, and number each page."

"Before sealing, make sure to count the total number of pages, and take pictures of the seams, tears, stains, and creases to avoid disputes later."

"The village police officer, the grid manager, Old Zhou, and Zhou Lan all signed the seal."

"After sealing, the number is transmitted to the duty terminal."

Zhou Lan was taken aback.

"Do we need to go through so many procedures?"

"If one step is omitted today, someone might say the ledger is fake tomorrow."

Chen Lang looked at the iron box.

Keep four electronic copies.

"Give one copy to the police, one to the lawyer at Qingshang, one to the offline hard drive, and the remaining copy for verification."

Su Niannian frowned.

"I didn't understand the last sentence. Speak plainly."

Chen Lang leaned against the edge of the table.

"If anyone dares to switch a page, the computer can detect it."

Su Niannian nodded.

"Got it. We're keeping an eye on those shameless people."

"Use more polite language."

Chen Lang twitched the corner of his mouth.

"We are doing this to protect ourselves from malicious people in accordance with the law."

"The He family has even brought crossbows into the village, so I need to treat them well and also teach them a few criminal laws."

Gu Qingshang dialed the lawyer's number.

"The materials were submitted in my personal capacity."

"Apply for evidence preservation simultaneously. Illegal drug surveillance, fund transfers, and overseas transfers of personnel should be submitted to the relevant departments separately, not mixed into one document."

The lawyer said a few words on the phone.

Gu Qingshang listened with his eyes lowered.

"Don't transfer calls from the He family to me."

"They refused all offers of private meetings, withdrawal of materials, and settlement talks."

"If they really want to talk, let them go through the written process."

Zhou Lan hugged the tin box to her chest.

"I'll keep the original. Nobody can touch it unless the village police come and seal it up."

Ye Xingyu took out her spare phone.

"After the shoot, I will check the number of pages, the number of files, and the upload time."

Bai Weiwei walked to the side window and pushed the wooden window open.

"The front door of this house is narrow, but the back wall is low."

"If someone really wants to break in, the back window is an even better place to do it."

Su Niannian picked up the bronze incense burner from the corner of the wall and stood by the window.

"Then I'll guard the back window."

"Anyone who dares to stick their head in here, I'll bless them first."

Bai Weiwei glanced at the incense burner in her hand.

"This is quite heavy, don't break it."

Su Niannian weighed it in her hand.

"Don't worry, I'll try to only hit people."

Ye Xingyu pursed her lips and her shoulders twitched slightly.

Chen Lang chuckled and handed the phone to Shen Qingci.

The screen is connected to the village police's duty terminal, which displays location data, the number of people on site, and real-time video feed.

The red alarm button is listed at the top.

"Close the door properly."

"Press the alarm button if communication is lost."

"Read the address, number of people, what they brought, and which side they came in from, in the order shown on the terminal. Don't try to come up with words on the spot."

Shen Qingci took the phone and placed her palm against the metal frame.

"Then what will you do?"

Chen Lang glanced outside the door.

"Received a package."

"Twelve items, all quite sturdy, and they won't even let us refuse them."

Shen Qingci didn't ask him where he got the numbers from.

She held her phone to her chest, her gaze passing through the crack in the door, pausing briefly at the alley entrance before returning to Chen Lang.

"The materials are inside."

"We're all here."

"When you come back, come in and count the people yourself."

Chen Lang raised an eyebrow.

"You'll blame me for every single one missing?"

"Including you."

Shen Qingci looked at him.

"OK."

Chen Lang stopped smiling and turned to look at the door.

The drumming and music outside stopped.

People were still laughing and talking in the distance, while hushed footsteps could be heard coming from the side rooms.

Tactical boots trod across the bluestone slabs, strides even, and landings crisp.

Tourists wouldn't walk like that, and villagers wouldn't wear these kinds of shoes into Citang Lane.

Chen Lang listened intently for two seconds.

Seven people in the front alley.

Five people behind the wall.

Both sides pressed in towards the side room.

The twelve people he had sent away with false orders returned to the village.

This time they changed their tactics, blocking both the front and back, instead of waiting in line to be dealt with in one alley.

"close the door."

As soon as Chen Lang finished speaking, Zhou Lan pressed the latch into the slot.

Bai Weiwei moved a wooden stool and used it to block the back window.

Su Niannian held the bronze incense burner horizontally and stood guard by the window.

Shen Qingci turned on the terminal and scanned the moving markers on the screen.

"Seven at the front gate, five at the back wall."

"Communication is still working."

"The village police are 460 meters away and are on their way back."

Chen Lang pushed open the door and casually picked up the short jujube wood stick used for drying medicine in the corner.

At the front of the narrow alley, seven men wearing black windbreakers stood.

Tactical boots tread the ground, and telescopic batons and stun guns are hidden under the cuffs.

Behind the side house, two people had already climbed onto the wall.

The other three carried black toolboxes and walked along the wall toward the back window.

The man in the baseball cap walked at the front, with a scar on his right cheek.

He examined the short stick in Chen Lang's hand.

"You think you can guard both the front and back gates all by yourself?"

Chen Lang weighed the stick in his hand.

"Dude, you twelve guys went into the village as a group, how come you didn't even check where the police station is?"

"You don't need to worry about it."

The scarred man stared at the side room door.

"Bring out the ledgers, we'll take them and leave."

Chen Lang looked at the crossbow handle protruding from behind his waist.

"I've brought everything: crossbows, knives, stun guns, and restraints."

"You're telling me you can just take it and leave?"

He tapped the other person's toolbox with a short stick.

"When your He family issued employee ID cards, did you also hand out a copy of the Criminal Law?"

The scarred man's face taut.

"Stop talking nonsense."

"I'm asking you one last time, are you going to let me through or not?"

Chen Lang held the short stick across the alley entrance, blocking it.

"It's a festival in the village today, and I don't want to spoil the fun."

"Turn around now, and I can still let you walk to the police station yourselves."

"If you take one more step forward, you'll have to lie down and wait for the bus."

The scarred man stared at him for two seconds, then raised his hand and pressed down.

"Cut off communications."

"The people behind are smashing the window."

"We must get the ledgers."

He reached for the short crossbow at his waist.

"Whoever is blocking the way, deal with them together."