Siheyuan came through and sent Jia Zhang to prison

Ma Xin sat down on the wicker chair beside her, her back ramrod straight, but her fingertips unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt. She hadn't expected He Feng to express his trust so openly, even using the phrase "one of our own"—those two words acted like a reassurance, easing her previously tense nerves considerably. She looked up at Jiang Hu, her gaze focused and sharp, waiting for him to say the thing that "had to be said."

Jiang Hu rubbed his hands together, a troubled look on his face. He looked at He Feng and said in a heavy tone, "Director He, to be honest, if this matter weren't so serious, involving lives, I would never dare to alarm the higher-ups. This mine is a long-established enterprise in our city; if things really escalate, I'm afraid..."

He Feng raised his hand to interrupt him: "Let's not talk about that now, what exactly happened?"

Jiang Hu took a deep breath and lowered his voice even further: "Three days ago, three night shift miners went down the mine and never came up again. The search and rescue team searched for two days and two nights and only found half a bloodstained miner's helmet at the bottom of the mine, with tear marks on it. What's even stranger is that all the food prepared for the workers in the mine's warehouse disappeared overnight. Old Wu, who was guarding the warehouse, was found lying at the warehouse entrance, covered in injuries and badly beaten. But when asked who did it, he said it was dark at the time, and he just felt everything go black and then he passed out. He didn't see anything clearly."

Ma Xin listened with a chill running down her spine. Her pen flew across her notebook as she jotted down notes, her fingertips growing cold. The mysterious disappearance of three miners, the theft of grain, and the knocking out of the guards—these events, when put together, exuded an indescribable eeriness.

He Feng frowned, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table: "Do you have any rivals? For example, those you compete with in business, or those you have grudges against at work?"

Jiang Hu shook his head decisively: "You know me, I'm a quiet person. I don't usually interact with outsiders except for mine matters. I rarely even have arguments, let alone make enemies. I really can't think of anyone who would be so ruthless to me."

Looking into his open and honest eyes, He Feng felt even more trust in him. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Where is Old Wu, the warehouse guard, now?"

“He’s staying at the city hospital,” Jiang Hu quickly replied. “The doctor said it’s all superficial injuries, no bones were broken. He was able to get out of bed and move around yesterday, but he was still shaken and his spirits aren’t very good.”

He Feng nodded and stood up: "Then let's go to the mine site first and see if we can find any clues. After we've seen the site, let's go to the hospital to see Lao Wu and ask him about what happened back then."

Jiang Hu quickly agreed and got up to lead the way. Just as He Feng was about to walk out, he suddenly stopped, turned to look at Jiang Hu, and said with a calm and deep gaze: "Director Jiang, let me ask you one more question—is there anything you haven't told us about this matter? I hope you can tell us everything. The more detailed the information, the more important it is. Don't let anything you've concealed delay the investigation."

A flicker of panic crossed Jiang Hu's face, but he quickly regained his composure and waved his hand with a wry smile: "Director He, are you treating me like an outsider? I really haven't been hiding anything; I've told you everything I know. This matter is suspicious, and I want to find out the truth as soon as possible, to give those three miners' families an explanation."

He Feng gave him a deep look, didn't ask any more questions, and turned to walk out the door. Ma Xin followed closely behind, but a doubt lingered in her heart—was Jiang Hu's momentary panic just now due to feeling wronged by being suspected, or was he really hiding something?

Seeing Jiang Hu's hesitant expression, He Feng knew he was hiding something. But given the current situation, asking would be pointless, so he suppressed his curiosity and followed Jiang Hu to the accident scene.

The accident occurred in the northwest corner of the construction site. A pile of discarded steel bars and cement was stacked like a small mountain, and next to it was a half-excavated foundation pit filled with murky rainwater. He Feng squatted down, picked up a bit of soil with his fingers, smelled it, and then circled the edge of the pit twice. His brows furrowed more and more tightly—the scene was badly damaged. Apart from some messy footprints, no useful traces were left. It was unusually clean.

"Looks like we won't find anything here." He Feng straightened up and dusted off his hands. "Then let's go see Old Wu, whom you mentioned."

Jiang Hu nodded hurriedly, "Okay, Director He, please wait a moment. I'll go get some things, and we'll set off right away." With that, he turned and walked quickly toward the work shed, his steps somewhat hurried.

As soon as Jiang Hu left, He Feng turned to look at Ma Xin beside him, raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you have something to say?"

Ma Xin pursed her lips, her eyes filled with certainty: "Yes, I don't think Director Jiang was telling the truth. When he mentioned Lao Wu just now, his eyes flickered, he must be hiding something."

He Feng nodded noncommittally, then looked at Zhao Lei who was following behind him: "Zhao Lei, I'm going to see Lao Wu with Director Jiang, you don't need to come with us." He pointed to the workers around him, "You stay here and talk to them, ask if anything strange has happened on the construction site recently, especially at night."

"Understood!" Zhao Lei replied, standing at attention.

After He Feng and Ma Xin left with Jiang Hu, Zhao Lei walked over to a few workers who were squatting on the ground smoking not far away. He took out a cigarette pack, handed it to them, and greeted them with a smile: "Gentlemen, taking a break? I'm from the Public Security Bureau, I'm here to find out something."

A dark-skinned worker took the cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and muttered as he blew smoke rings, "Officers, you've finally come. This construction site has been acting strangely lately; we're almost too scared to go to work."

"Oh? What's so strange about it?" Zhao Lei squatted down, adopting a listening posture.

An older worker nearby chimed in, his voice low: "A while ago, someone heard crying coming from the foundation pit at night, a muffled, sobbing sound, like a woman crying, but when they shone a flashlight on it, there was nothing there."

After speaking, he looked around again, as if someone hadn't said those words. Such a look couldn't be missed by Zhao Lei, who immediately knew something was amiss.

“Not only that!” another worker interjected. “Last time I was on night shift, I saw a white shadow drift past behind that pile of steel bars. It was incredibly fast, like it was flying. I shouted, and the shadow disappeared in an instant. The next day, when I went to check, the tarpaulin on the pile of steel bars was torn into a mess, as if something had stepped on it.”

"And Old Wu!" The dark-skinned worker who spoke first took a deep drag on his cigarette. "The day before yesterday morning, he discovered that all his tools, which he had left in the work shed, had been thrown into the mud pit. Apparently, the night before, he heard noises outside the window and thought it was a thief, but when he went out to check, he didn't see a soul. Now everyone on the construction site is saying that the foundation was dug too deep, disturbing something down there, and it's haunted!"