Winter Returns

Chapter 97 The Henchman's Humble Request (Bonus Chapter 2)

"Still moving forward."

The girl kept walking.

Zhang Shutong turned back and shouted to the others to watch their step before continuing to run. The wind blew against his face, time passed, and the scene in his sight remained unchanged.
One step, two steps, three steps, four steps, one meter, two meters, three meters, four meters... He didn't know how long he ran, he only knew that he started to pant uncontrollably, while Lu Qinglian's figure got further and further away, until it disappeared completely at a bend.

He finally leaned on his knees, panting heavily, knowing that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up. Their physical strength was on completely different levels. It wasn't that he was weak, but rather that the other person's physical condition was terrifyingly good. He paused for a moment, recovering from his initial shock, and suddenly cursed himself inwardly.

Damn.

Zhang Shutong then realized what he had overlooked.

Since the footprints went upwards, he should have called Lao Song to let him know earlier.

Zhang Shutong hurriedly took out his phone and dialed a number, which was quickly answered on the other end:
"Hey, did you hear that? How's it going, Shutong? Have you arrived?"

"How are you? I mean, can you see any people from outside?" Zhang Shutong asked hurriedly.

"Let me check...it seems...there isn't one?"

"The footprints are moving upwards."

"Upwards, they're really heading this way?"

"Yes." He nodded emphatically. "Lu Qinglian has already gone there, and I'm on my way..."

"Oh, okay, then you guys be careful too..." Old Song was also caught off guard.

Zhang Shutong hung up the phone before he could finish speaking. At that moment, his chest started to hurt again. He coughed a few times, and his best friends rushed to his side.
"Holy crap... what's going on... you two ran really fast..." Du Kang arrived first, still catching his breath.

"The person has already gone up."

"How far have you gone?" Qingyi asked.

"Not sure yet."

"I said, he wouldn't have already gone inside, would he?"

“No, not at all,” Zhang Shutong said solemnly. “I think the three of you can turn back now.”

"How can this be? Didn't Lu Qinglian go up herself?"

I said that because I didn't want you to see the two Lu Qinglians.

He said as he walked:

"It's her decision not to let you go up next. You know she's a good fighter, but if even she feels the situation is out of control, having more people will only be a hindrance. So I suggest the three of you go first..."

Before he could finish speaking, Du Kang suddenly pointed:
"Look, she's back now, she should be alright."

Zhang Shutong turned his head and saw a figure slowly walking towards him from the deserted corner.

It was Lu Qinglian.

Zhang Shutong wanted to rush over and ask how things were, but he stopped after taking just one step, his expression hardening.

The figure in my line of sight had long, flowing hair.

……

"How is Qinglian?"

Ruoping called out with concern as soon as she saw a figure in the distance.

Zhang Shutong slowly blocked her way, backing away step by step.

"Wait a minute, this doesn't seem to be..."

"It's me." The woman walking through the snow from afar seemed to guess what he was going to say, and casually gave him a secret code, "Safflower Oil."

"What happened to your hair?" Zhang Shutong was only half relieved.

"The hair tie got caught on a tree branch."

"The person hasn't been found?"

"The snow on top is starting to melt."

"how come……"

As he spoke, Zhang Shutong subconsciously turned his head.

He looked back at the path he had come from. The section he had already traversed had rocks that bulged outwards. In addition, he had been holding onto the rock face as he descended the mountain for fear of an accident, so his footprints were hidden by the shadows of the rocks.

But further up the stone wall, it becomes concave. The sunlight shines directly on the footprints, the snow melts, and the marks become blurred and indistinct, making it impossible for anyone to tell how many people have stepped on them.

"Did you call Teacher Song?" Lu Qinglian asked proactively.

"I called, but I didn't see anyone."

Upon hearing this, she walked to the edge of the cliff, lightly touched the snow with her foot, and frowned:
Why did your footprints suddenly turn here?

Zhang Shutong remembered what happened. At that time, he estimated the distance in his mind and figured there was about a third of the way left. So he went to the edge of the road and looked back, where he could no longer see the outline of the villa.

He quickly explained, and Lu Qinglian said she understood.

“There are three possibilities,” she thought for a moment. “Like this morning, we can go back the way we came. Or we can continue uphill. Of course, it’s also possible that we could just disappear off the cliff.”

"No matter what... disappearing off the edge of a cliff is a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?" Du Kang couldn't help but interject, looking down with some alarm. "It's so high."

Lu Qinglian ignored the question and simply asked:
What's behind the villa?

"A wasteland, then a cliff, a dead end."

To be precise, the villa was built on a spacious platform halfway up the mountain.

Lu Qinglian asked again:
"Could people hide in that wasteland?"

"It's hard to say," Zhang Shutong recalled. "Teacher Song didn't leave the house, so there must have been blind spots. And the footprints disappeared after the snow melted, which means she arrived here quite early."

He then thought, assuming the other party went onto the mountain road, perhaps they were lying in wait in that wasteland.

If that's the case, if they go up now, they can trap the other side inside.

But he still couldn't bring a few close friends, otherwise things would get complicated. Thinking of this, he gave Lu Qinglian a meaningful look, feeling that her words sometimes carried more weight than his own.

Lu Qinglian said:
"never mind."

"Aren't you worried about being seen...?"

"Because there's still one more problem."

"what?"

"Move closer, don't let them hear you." "Okay..."

He moved a little closer, and then Lu Qinglian tiptoed and whispered in his ear.

Her breath gently brushed against her earlobe.

But the content of those words struck Zhang Shutong like a thunderbolt.

Lu Qinglian simply said calmly:

“This footprint is different from my shoe.”

……

no the same……

Zhang Shutong was taken aback:
"how come?"

“Look here,” Lu Qinglian squatted down, “I only noticed it halfway through. There’s a very deep heel mark here, which must have been left by a woman’s low heel. If you say that ‘incarnation’ is exactly the same as me, even the clothes are the same style, I don’t have these kinds of shoes, and this footprint is even bigger than my foot.”

After saying that, she stood up and said indifferently:

"Zhang Shutong, although I've said that being overly suspicious is a bad thing, I'm now starting to doubt the credibility of what you said."

"Two possibilities."

She tossed her long hair deftly:
"Since you were able to lead me into the trap you dug without making a sound, I can't rule out the possibility that you started making up a lie about 'another me' from that time onwards. All your reactions, whether surprise, astonishment, or disbelief, were just an act, even though I actually believed it before."

"The second possibility is that your deduction is completely wrong, and the person I'm looking for is not the same person you believe to be the murderer."

"But whichever the possibility, I now need to reconsider whether there is still a need for cooperation."

"I……"

Zhang Shutong opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment.

His mind was in a complete mess, even more chaotic than the messy footprints on the ground.

What is going on?
Suddenly, there were shoe prints?

And it wasn't the figure I saw last night?
Who else could it be?
He could only say:

"I can only guarantee that I haven't lied to you since you fell into the trap."

"Is that so?" Lu Qinglian asked expressionlessly.

"Never mind." After a while, she lowered her eyes. "Now is not the time for infighting. Since we're here, let's go up first and talk about it later."

As she spoke, she stopped in her tracks:

"But you'd better know that I'm not pursuing this because it's stupid to be suspicious of each other right now. I just hate stupid things to do, not because I completely trust you."

"So, since there's not just one shoe print, it doesn't matter whether the others follow or not. Let's go."

……

Speechless all the way.

Zhang Shutong frowned, and during that time he made several more phone calls to Lao Song to confirm.

He looked out of each window of the villa but didn't see a single person.

Zhang Shutong knew that if he looked out from the kitchen and across the backyard, he should be able to see that wasteland.

Wild grass grows in the wasteland, but it's not very tall. While it doesn't offer a complete view, at least you won't miss a single living person.

Perhaps "that person" really did return the way they came.

But no matter where the other person is, who exactly is he?
Why did a second set of footprints appear in the snow?

Furthermore, this incident has created a crisis of trust between him and Lu Qinglian. The idea of ​​an identical person is already unbelievable, and the other party chose to believe him at the time, but now she is raising doubts.

But Zhang Shutong was certain he hadn't misread it.

Could it be that the figure in the restricted area is not the same person who killed Gu Qiu Mian?
With this question in mind, the group finally arrived at the villa and could see the Ford Focus in the distance.

Next, led by Lu Qinglian, they first circled the villa and then conducted a thorough search of the wasteland. They couldn't find a single person, or even a spare footprint.

The clues that had been so hard to find seemed to have hit a dead end once again.

The group of close friends were still discussing each other's whereabouts.

"So the murderer went back halfway?" Du Kang wondered.

"Then here's the question: if he came to scout the location this morning, why would he come twice?" Qingyi asked.

"Is it because Shu Tong's footprints were used as cover this time? Is it possible that he didn't turn back halfway this time, but followed the footprints again, only to find that he couldn't get in when he arrived at the gate, so he had no choice but to go back?" Ruoping also analyzed.

"Ke Shutong has called Lao Song several times, but they haven't seen anyone around here," Qingyi said. "I didn't notice when I got off the bus just now. Should we go back and look again, or ask your dad to take a look?"

“He’s gone.” Ruoping said a little embarrassed. “Didn’t we say it was best not to let more people know? I thought it would take us at least an hour to go back and forth. If something else happened, my dad would definitely get worried and come looking for me if he waited too long. So I told him that I was going to visit a classmate and asked him to go home and rest first, and that he would come to pick us up later.”

"That's true." Qingyi nodded. "Then what do you think, Shutong? Where did the murderer go?"

"I'm completely out of ideas right now..."

Zhang Shutong exhaled a breath of stale air. The problem he was facing now was not just the whereabouts of the other party. Compared to that, he felt that what was more serious was that he had once again lost the "identity" of the murderer.

A slight sense of anxiety arose, but they had searched the area thoroughly and still found nothing.

He glanced at the time and realized that more than forty minutes had passed since he got off the bus. Looking at the others, although they were still excited, they were all freezing.

Zhang Shutong knew that staying outside was not a solution.

This may be the downside of group action.

If he were alone, he would probably rush to the next location without stopping—even though he had no clue where to go yet.

But with so many people together, he had to take care of everyone's feelings, especially from the perspective of his best friends. They came here in the cold weather, and although it was out of interest, they were still helping out.

If you don't bring it up yourself, they'll find it hard to open up.

Zhang Shutong took out his phone and dialed a number.

"What?" came a cold voice from the other end of the phone.

A prodigal son's return is more precious than gold. After a morning of commotion, Zhang Shutong returned to the villa. The henchman then humbly pleaded with the young lady:

"Um, could I bring a few of my friends over for a meal? Noodles will do..."

(End of this chapter)