Chapter 76: No Payment, Only Justice

Zhou Xi told them everything about the Liu family.

The Liu family took over the mining contract more than ten years ago. The villagers were simple and kind, considering everyone to be neighbors. They understood that others wished to make a living, so when the mining explosions sent rocks and dust flying, no one made a fuss about it.

But while the villagers showed him understanding, he did not return the favor.

Five years ago, when the mining business boomed, Liu Yuanchang set his sights on a small village at the foot of the mountain called Huai Tree Hollow. He wanted to raze the village to build a stone transfer station. However, how could the villagers abandon their ancestral lands for his ambitions? Seven or eight families had their fields and homes there, with the graves of generations of ancestors. Even at a glance, it was impossible—they would never sell their land, their homes, or their heritage.

So Liu Yuanchang resorted to underhanded tactics.

Thus began Huai Tree Hollow’s nightmare.

Their pigs, cattle, and chickens died in mysterious waves. Their fruit trees were chopped down, roads deliberately damaged, electricity and water restored only to be cut off again almost immediately afterward. Life in Huai Tree Hollow became unbearable.

If the villagers had anywhere to go, perhaps they would have left. But they were too poor, and had nothing outside; as hard as it was, they had to persevere.

Then the nightmare escalated.

One night, several boulders tumbled down the mountain, smashing two houses. This was too much—the villagers couldn’t bear it anymore. Four or five men went up the mountain to confront the Liu family. A quarrel broke out. Liu Lian, the third son, stepped forward and, with his fists and feet, beat the four or five men so severely that they couldn’t get out of bed for half a month.

This incident ignited the real conflict between the Liu family and the villagers.

After that, the Liu family stopped pretending. What they did next crossed all lines of humanity—and it was this act that made Zhou Xi realize the Liu family was capable of anything.

At this point, a flush of color appeared on Zhou Xi’s pale face. She took a sip of water and went on.

It was late at night. A family of three at the eastern end of Huai Tree Hollow was asleep; their child was only three. The door was forcibly broken open from outside. Liu Lian, the third son, barged in with a group of men. The thugs held the husband down. Liu Lian pinned the wife and, in front of her husband and child, raped the poor woman. Not only that—his men took turns as well.

That night, the woman’s desperate cries echoed through the darkness of Huai Tree Hollow. All seven or eight families heard it. No one dared leave their homes or call the police, for men were stationed outside every door.

Anyone who dared to make a sound—the men would be beaten to death, the women violated.

Before dawn, that family fled Feng City with their child. Their attackers had warned: report this to the authorities and your son will die.

Ten days later, all seven or eight families had moved away. In their minds, the place had become true hell.

Now, Huai Tree Hollow was gone. The peaceful water and bridges of the past had become the Liu family’s stone transfer station.

As she finished, Zhou Xi’s hand trembled as she held her teacup.

Miao Ruolan’s face flushed with anger. “Didn’t anyone report it afterward?”

“The police came. Maybe someone secretly reported it, but they couldn’t find a single witness. The family who suffered the most disappeared, living under new identities. Perhaps they’ll never return. With the victims silent and no witnesses, this atrocity of a kind that shouldn’t happen in modern times was simply left unresolved,” Zhou Xi said. “When I heard of this, I was determined to study law—to seek justice for my people. But I never expected that before I could stand up for my neighbors, I’d first need to ask you to seek justice for my parents.”

To study law, to uphold justice.

But justice must be built on evidence.

Without evidence, everything amounts to nothing.

That’s why Zhou Xi sought help from the detective agency.

Miao Ruolan stood up. “Xiao Su, let’s take this case.”

There was a fire of anger in her eyes.

As an inheritor of the ancient martial arts, it was in her bones to despise those who used their power to oppress the innocent. And this was oppression of the most monstrous kind—raping a woman before her husband and child. There were no words for such inhumanity.

Lin Xiaosu said, “We’ll take it.”

Zhou Xi bowed deeply. “Detective Lin, Detective Miao, I only have three thousand yuan now. I’ll give you everything. For the rest, just name the amount—I’ll pay it within a year.”

“We won’t take money for this case,” Lin Xiaosu replied. “I’ll accept something else instead.”

“What is it?” Zhou Xi asked.

“Justice and truth.”

They set out in two small electric cars. One was Miao Ruolan’s, carrying Lin Xiaosu and herself. The other was Zhou Xi’s, borrowed from someone else.

The two cars left Feng City, following the northwest road.

To their left was Xiang Stream.

The stream wasn’t really on the way. Lin Xiaosu had only been there once as a child, but the memory was vivid—the water was crystal clear, wildflowers bloomed along the banks, and there was a mysterious scent the elders often spoke of. But now, nothing of the old beauty remained. The river was milky white, not clear at all. Wildflowers still grew by the roadside, but dust seemed to coat their petals, and the northwestern sky was a uniform gray.

The mine wasn’t far. After half an hour in the electric car, they reached the foot of the mountain. The upper half of the mountain had been leveled; the lower part was green, but the green was unnatural. At a glance, Lin Xiaosu saw it was painted, not real vegetation.

“They painted it green!” Miao Ruolan noticed. “That proves there’s something wrong with the mine. Otherwise, why paint it to evade satellite monitoring?”

Indeed, Miao Ruolan had matured. She’d begun studying laws and regulations, and developed analytical thinking.

Lin Xiaosu nodded lightly, his head on her shoulder, acknowledging her point.

Miao Ruolan went on, “If we could catch them violating mining regulations, could we really shut down this quarry?”

“That’s complicated. The process would be long and uncertain,” Lin Xiaosu replied.

“But it’s the only breakthrough I can think of. The houses have collapsed—if the other side did something, it’ll be hard to find any clues,” Miao Ruolan said.

Lin Xiaosu didn’t answer.

Up ahead, Zhou Xi stopped; Miao Ruolan’s car also came to a halt, pulling up in front of a small roadside shop.

“Over there—that’s where Huai Tree Hollow was. Now only one old locust tree remains; the hollow itself is gone,” Zhou Xi pointed to a large open area ahead, piled high with stone, trucks loading and unloading. There was no trace left of a village.

Lin Xiaosu shook his head. “People online say dozens of villages vanish every day in Daxia, but I always understood it as urbanization. I never realized villages could disappear in this way.”

Yes, a new way—wiped out by criminal gangs.

“Let’s go. We’ll look at your house,” he said.

“There,” Zhou Xi pointed halfway up the mountain.

Following her finger, they saw, next to the mining road, some broken walls, remnants of a house. You could still make out its shape, but soon, a bulldozer would finish the job.

“Let’s go,” Lin Xiaosu said.

“Detective Lin… those men are still at the mine…” Zhou Xi’s face was pale.

“Don’t be afraid,” Miao Ruolan reassured, patting her shoulder.

“I’m not afraid! My parents are gone—what do I have to fear?” Zhou Xi said. “But you two… this isn’t your fight…”

“It is now,” Lin Xiaosu replied. “Let’s go.”

They followed the mining road uphill, covering about a mile. The ruined walls could be seen from the roadside.

The house was made of red brick and roofed with tiles, an ordinary rural home from twenty or thirty years ago. Not especially sturdy, but without outside force, it could have lasted forty or fifty years, even a century or more.

It collapsed seven days ago.

Zhou Xi had only come to the detective agency after her parents’ funerals were over.

Seven days—Lin Xiaosu felt uneasy. His ability to reverse time had limits; when he’d investigated the Qu Taiqing case at Qingyuan Temple, four days was his limit.

If too much time had passed, there’d be no firsthand evidence and they would need a new plan.

He tried his technique, and something miraculous happened—he crossed the seven-day threshold with ease. Maybe his repeated use of the ability had strengthened it, or perhaps his meridians were now fully open, but his power to reverse time had grown.

Under the influence of this ability, the scene before him changed as if a film were rewinding. The collapsed house was restored—a small farmhouse courtyard, wildflowers growing, the house shabby but clean. Two middle-aged people in their forties or fifties ate dinner inside. A man of similar age strode in, kicked the door open, splitting the door panel.

An argument broke out.

This was the quarrel between Liu Yuanchang and Zhou Xi’s parents that the villagers had spoken of.

Liu Yuanchang took out a piece of paper and slammed it on the table, which cracked beneath the blow.

Zhou Xi’s father shook his head vehemently.

Liu Yuanchang grabbed his right hand, pressed it into the inkpad, and forced his print onto the paper—Lin Xiaosu could see the man’s knuckles bend unnaturally.

Next was Zhou Xi’s mother, also forced to sign.

So, that was the origin of the agreement!

Liu Yuanchang took the paper and left the house. But before leaving, he slapped several of the house’s supporting pillars.

Then, without a glance back, he walked away.

As he left, Zhou Xi’s mother helped her husband up from the floor.

When Liu Yuanchang set foot on the mining road, he threw a stone at the house behind him.

With a crash, the house collapsed.

Lin Xiaosu closed his eyes, ending the time reversal.

Now he knew everything.

“Xiao Su, what’s wrong?” Miao Ruolan looked at the ruins, unsure where to start, but seeing Lin Xiaosu’s expression, her heart skipped a beat.

He stepped forward, picked up two red bricks from the rubble, still caked with cement, and handed one to Miao Ruolan. “See anything odd about this brick?”

She examined it closely. “This brick…”

Suddenly, the brick crumbled to dust in her hands.