Qin Feng quickly came out, pulling Lin Fan towards the village entrance, "Got the photo."

Lin Fan glanced at the photo; it was the person she saw last night. He looked down without saying anything, seemingly scared. She nodded and whispered to Qin Feng, "The person I saw yesterday was him."

Whether the bones were Song Liang's was unknown, but it was certain that Song Liang was dead. Lin Fan saw the soul, not the living person. Qin Feng put away the photo and walked quickly forward under the scorching sun, saying, "Let's find a place to eat and then head to Dahuai Tree Village."

They made a loop and came back.

In the hottest part of the afternoon, they arrived at the dock, where many boats were docked. Several people were playing cards in the shade. The mines had stopped, and the mining company had withdrawn, so the ore-carrying cargo ships were now converted into tour boats. But there were no tourists at noon, so they could only play cards there.

One person noticed Qin Feng and the others getting out of the car and quickly ran over, "Need a boat?"

"Can I ask you about someone?"

Xiao Wang, dressed in a police uniform, also walked over. The man straightened up out of respect, "Are you the police?"

"Yes." Qin Feng took out his ID, "How many years has it been since the dock stopped transporting ore?"

"Let's talk under the tree; it's too hot here."

Qin Feng followed him under the tree, took out a cigarette, and handed it to the man. The man lit one and said, "The mine stopped in 2011."

Qin Feng saw a stone pillar by the roadside, jumped on it, squatted down, and lit a cigarette, "Are you all from Dahuai Tree Village? Why are you staying here? What do you do without the ore?"

"We transport tourists. Many fishing enthusiasts come here to take the boat." Meeting Qin Feng's gaze, he quickly added, "We all have operating licenses, and we have safety measures in place."

Qin Feng took a photo from his pocket and handed it over, "Have you seen this person?"

The man took it and frowned, "He looks familiar."

Qin Feng observed their expressions. The others finished a round of cards and took the photo to look at it. A tall, thin man said, "Isn't this the fool who used to get bullied by Luo Long?"

"Oh, I remember now. I haven't seen him in years." The man returned the photo to Qin Feng, saying, "He worked at the dock for a while loading ore. The ship would transport the ore from the mine to the dock, and then it was manually loaded onto trucks."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"2010? I don't remember. There were a lot of people loading ore at that time; no one paid much attention to him. He disappeared at some point. Why? Did he do something wrong?"

"Who was the foreman in charge of loading at that time?"

"There were shifts. Our village had one foreman, and there was another from a few villages down."

"What was the foreman's name?"

"Luo Long."

"Where does he live now?"

"He's in town now."

"Thank you."

Lin Fan observed the surroundings and followed Qin Feng to the car, massaging her temples and leaning back in her seat. Qin Feng opened a bottle of water and handed it to her, "Don't get heatstroke."

In the heat of July and August, Lin Fan took a big gulp, sighed, "He was just a fool. How could he have bothered anyone? Why kill him in such a cruel way?"

"Who knows?"

Xiao Wang poked his head from the back, "Captain Qin, any more water? I'm dying of thirst."

He panted like a dog in the heat. Lin Fan handed her half-finished bottle back to Qin Feng, who pushed her face away and said to Xiao Wang, "No more. Buy a case in town and keep it in the car."

Xiao Wang lay on the seat, feeling like a dead dog, "I don't want to live anymore!"

Lin Fan gave the remaining half bottle to Qin Feng. He asked in a low voice, "Not drinking anymore?"

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Lin Fan shook her head. Qin Feng finished the rest, then started the car and drove to town. The town was an hour's drive away. When they stopped, Xiao Wang tumbled out to buy water, while Qin Feng went to the gas station.

After refueling, Xiao Wang carried a case of water over, threw it in the trunk, and handed over two popsicles. He stuck his face near the air conditioning vent, "I'm about to die in this weather. It must be 40 degrees today."

Lin Fan and Qin Feng moved to the sides, showing their disdain.

"Where to next?"

"To find Luo Long."

Half an hour later, Qin Feng looked at Lei Weiyu, "You said the person caught for reckless driving yesterday was Luo Long? How old is he?"

"Thirty-four, an idiot. He risks his life and others', a local thug."

"Is he at the county police station?"

"Yes."

Qin Feng squinted, pondering for a moment before saying, "What's the story with the mine on the mountain? Can we still find the person in charge?"

"It's been shut down for several years. The company has moved out. What's wrong with the mine?"

"I need to go back to the county town. Keep me updated if you hear anything here."

"Oh, by the way, we found the village chief of Xiliang Village, but he doesn’t know much about Song Liang."

"Keep digging and contact me by phone."

By the time they reached the county town, it was dark. Xiao Wang got carsick on the winding mountain roads and vomited as soon as he got out of the car. Qin Feng asked Lin Fan to stay and take care of Xiao Wang, while he strode into the police station.

Luo Long was a burly middle-aged man with a rough appearance. Seeing Qin Feng, he frowned, "I was just driving a bit fast, not enough to get a death penalty, right? How long are you going to keep me here?"

"Illegal motorcycle racing, reckless driving—do you call that just driving a bit fast? You also provoked the police and rammed a police car. Behave yourself. Answer our questions, and if you provide useful information, you might earn some credit for your crimes." The officer turned to Qin Feng with a smile, "Go ahead."

Qin Feng took out a photo and handed it to Luo Long, "Do you know this person?"

Luo Long glanced at it, instinctively touching his neck and rubbing his nose, "I don't know him. Who is this?"

"Take a good look. Are you sure you don't recognize him?"

Qin Feng sat up straight, staring at him.

Luo Long picked up the photo, his gaze shifting, "He looks a bit familiar."

Qin Feng noticed that Luo Long had drawn his legs up, his whole body in a defensive posture. Luo Long definitely knew about Song Liang's death and might even have been involved. Otherwise, why lie? That "I don't know him" was an obvious falsehood.

"He used to load ore at the dock, right?" He tentatively looked at Qin Feng. Qin Feng's gaze was calm and cold, making Luo Long feel uneasy. The pressure from the person opposite was immense. Luo Long touched his neck again, "Was he a fool?"

"When was the last time you saw him?"

Luo Long clutched the photo, his eyes darting around again, "In 2010, I think."

"Are you sure?"

Luo Long started to sweat, "It was the year before the mine stopped... I think."

"What season?"

"Autumn."

Qin Feng fell silent, flipping through the file in his hand, "You had a conflict, and then you killed him?"

"I didn't!" Luo Long sprang up, eyes wide open, "Don't falsely accuse me! His death has nothing to do with me."

"How do you know he's dead?"

Luo Long froze. The officer next to him stood up and slammed the table, "Sit down! What do you think you're doing?"

He quickly glanced at Qin Feng, who maintained his expression but changed his sitting posture, "How do you know he's dead?"

Luo Long began to panic, sweating even more, "Weren't you asking if I killed him?"

"I never said he was dead."

Luo Long didn’t argue, staring intently at Qin Feng. Qin Feng tapped the table, "How did you kill Song Liang? Confess now, and we might be able to reduce your sentence. If not, you’re looking at the death penalty."

"I didn't kill anyone!" Luo Long tried to jump again. Qin Feng's expression darkened, leaning forward to loom over Luo Long, "We found your belongings at the crime scene. How else do you think I found you? Still not confessing?"

After all, it had been over five years; there was too little evidence.

"An eyewitness said the last time they saw Song Liang, he was with you. How do you explain that?"

"He came to me for money. Wages were paid at the end of the month. How could I give him any? He demanded it, and when I didn’t, he made a scene. That fool was an idiot. I got angry and cursed him."

So he did have dealings with Song Liang.

"Just cursed him?" Qin Feng sneered.

"And kicked him twice."

"And then?"

"Then..." Luo Long looked around, his eyes wandering, "Then he left."

"Did you ever pay him his wages?"

"Yes, I paid him. That fool said all sorts of nonsense. How could I shortchange him? Am I that kind of person?"

"After you separated, which direction did he go?"

"Towards the river."

"How tall was Song Liang?"

"About the same height as me."

Qin Feng flipped through Luo Long's file. He was 1.72 meters tall.

"Where did he go after you separated?" Qin Feng asked again.

"Maybe he went home."

"But you just said he walked towards the river, didn’t you?"

Luo Long froze, looking at Qin Feng and the other officer. "So, which way did he go?" the other officer demanded.

Luo Long began to sweat again, wiping his brow. "It’s been so long, I can’t remember clearly."

"Are you really not remembering, or are you just unwilling to say? No problem. We can wait. We can keep at this until you feel like talking."

Outside the county police station, Lin Fan and Xiao Wang were squatting, eating old-fashioned ice pops. Xiao Wang's face scrunched up in distaste. "I hate these old popsicles. Why couldn’t you get me a pudding pop instead? They're the same price."

"You get carsick. If you eat a pudding pop, you’ll probably vomit, right?"

"I won’t. I never throw up when I eat pudding pops." Xiao Wang gnawed on the old popsicle with a look of deep resentment. "This thing tastes awful, just sugar water."

"Pudding pops are also just sugar water."

"… How are you sure the victim is Song Liang?"

"Of all the missing persons, only Song Liang had six fingers." Lin Fan glanced at Xiao Wang. "Process of elimination."

Xiao Wang felt insulted, like the car ride had shaken his brain loose. He continued to gnaw on the popsicle. "Let's hurry and solve this case. I want to go home."

Just then, Xiao Wang's phone rang. He sprang up energetically, tossing the popsicle into the trash, and answered, "Hello, darling…"

Lin Fan didn't feel the heat, even though it was forty degrees today. She still didn't feel warm. To hide her uniqueness, she deliberately rolled up her sleeves to expose her arms. The wind blowing past felt cool. When Xiao Wang walked away, she quickly rolled her sleeves back down.