Rebirth 78, the beginning of the marriage was broken off by the female educated youth

The atmosphere seemed to freeze in the underground archives room of the Yanjing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The discovery of nineteen charred corpses, along with one hundred and twenty-one missing persons, has brought the Mu family fire case to a new level!

The source of the body could not be matched with the missing persons, and the complete disappearance of the Mu family overnight was even more bizarre!

This major fire case became an unsolved mystery without any warning!

Even today, when Li Xiangnan reopens this dusty historical case file, he can still feel the bizarre and uncanny nature of that fire!

Seeing Li Xiangnan remain silent with a flickering gaze, Wang Defa took the file from him and carefully read it under the light of Song Ziming's flashlight.

"The 29th year of the Republic of China...isn't that 1940? Was that the time of the great fire?"

Song Ziming nodded: "According to the timeline, it was indeed that time! That is, the fourth year of the War of Resistance!"

After saying this, he looked at Li Xiangnan and comforted him, "Perhaps, at that time the whole country was resisting foreign enemies, and under such circumstances, there was indeed no energy to investigate the Mu family's affairs!"

Li Xiangnan nodded, patted his pocket, and realized he was out of cigarettes. Song Ziming reached for a pack on the table and handed it to him. He took one out, lit it, pondered for a moment, and then said thoughtfully:

“There are a few pieces of information in this file that I have sorted out.”

"Firstly, the fire occurred in 1940. My grandmother, Mu Huanying, should have returned to the Mu family's ancestral home in Yanjing at that time. I remember my grandfather saying that my grandmother was on the battlefield in 40. My grandfather Qin and Uncle Zhang also said that they met on the battlefield! But my grandmother and grandfather must have known each other much earlier than 42! Because my third uncle is 42 years old this year, according to the timeline, my grandparents were still in Lijia Village at the latest in 37!"

"Hiss!" Wang Defa clicked his tongue in surprise and said, "Xiao Li, I've always heard you say that Grandma was a heroic girl. Do you think it's possible that when the War of Resistance broke out, Grandma gave birth to Uncle San and went to fight, and then had to return to Yanjing for some reason?"

“That’s possible!” Song Ziming nodded.

“Of course there are!” Li Xiangnan frowned and sighed. “Grandpa always emphasized certain things when he talked about those days. He probably didn’t want us to know the cruelty of the war and only wanted us to appreciate the beauty of life. He didn’t want to talk about it, and we didn’t feel comfortable asking. Besides, the Li family’s spirit has always been to avoid showing off. Otherwise, how would I know that my grandfather knew so many big shots!”

“That’s true!” Wang Defa and Song Ziming exchanged a knowing smile, then asked in unison, “And the second point?”

"What exactly was the Mu family doing that night?" Li Xiangnan frowned. "I heard Shangguan Wanqing mention that when the Mu family caught fire that night, the Shangguan family seemed to have been invited as well. Moreover, Master Lang Zhipin also said that the Han family and the Shen family seemed to be there as well. Were all these families there to discuss business? Or was it just a gathering, a meal, to connect with each other?"

Song Ziming pondered, "They were probably discussing business, otherwise how could a fire start against the wind? Perhaps the discussion didn't go well, and they had murderous thoughts!"

"Who was killed?" Wang Defa asked, puzzled. "The guests who came? The Mu family? Who is the murderer? And who is the victim?"

The three of them looked at each other and fell silent.

The truth of what happened back then cannot be deduced from the few words in this file.

Moreover, as Song Ziming said, it was during the War of Resistance against Japan, and people generally did not have the energy to deal with these nonsensical cases. Everyone's attention was focused on escaping the war, avoiding disasters, and trying to survive.

Even survival is incredibly difficult, so who would care how many people in another family have died or gone missing?

In those days, people died every single day.

When does someone not go missing?

The fact that the Mu family's affairs were recorded in the dossier is enough to prove that the Yanjing police station at that time still valued the Mu family.

"So……"

Li Xiangnan offered the two men a cigarette and said gravely, "Just one last question: why were there bodies after the fire, and why did the entire Mu family disappear? Whose bodies are they?"

“I was just thinking about this!” Wang Defa scratched his head. “Xiao Li, since the case has happened, we can investigate who has been to the Mu family. Wouldn’t that be more accurate? For example, we can go to the Han family and see if Han Xu has been to the Mu family. If he’s not there, he’s probably been burned to ashes!”

Song Ziming pondered for a moment and said, "That is indeed easy to verify, unless..."

Li Xiangnan looked at him and said in unison, "Unless no one admits to having been to the Mu family!"

Wang Defa opened his mouth, froze, and then exclaimed, "Then there's an explanation!"

Of course there's an explanation!

The case file reveals that someone was invited to the Mu family, so the investigators must have gone out to inquire about this matter, but very few people admitted to going to the Mu family!

That means you have something to hide!

Are they afraid of being associated with the arson and disappearance cases?

Or are they afraid of being held accountable, and therefore their actions during the fire cannot be exposed?

"Now let me analyze this," Li Xiangnan flicked his cigarette ash and said calmly, "The complete disappearance of the Mu family members makes it impossible to match the identities of the bodies. Logically speaking, as a prominent family in Yanjing, they have power, influence, and deep-rooted connections in the area. If someone were to harm them, they wouldn't easily back down and would definitely retaliate! So, reasoning in reverse, could we assume that the situation the night before was very complex, leading the Mu family head at the time to decide to do something to ensure the survival of the entire family..."

Wang Defa's eyes widened as he said, "So, someone tried to set fire to the Mu family that night, but the Mu family used that opportunity to escape?"

Song Ziming exclaimed in shock, "Holy crap, Brother Nan, they all faked their deaths and escaped?"

Li Xiangnan nodded slightly, remaining perfectly calm.

"But what if the Mu family started that fire themselves?"

"..." Wang Defa and Song Ziming's pupils contracted slightly.

"A party, suddenly a fire breaks out. What if this wasn't an accident, but a carefully planned escape?"

Li Xiangnan narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps the Mu family already knew in advance that night would be a coup, so they used a few unidentifiable corpses and a few unlucky people to create the illusion of the entire family being wiped out. It's not difficult at all!"

Wang Defa exclaimed, "Then, under the cover of night and chaos, the entire Mu family escaped and vanished without a trace!"

Song Ziming asked in a trembling voice, "Brother Nan, then tell me... what kind of danger could possibly make the Mu family do something like this? This is a major decision that could destroy their very foundation! They are one of the top five families in Yanjing!"

Li Xiangnan remained silent, unable to answer himself. He slowly stood up and looked into the deep underground depths.

"Perhaps this is related to the Mu family's account book, or perhaps it's related to another file!"

"!!!"