Siheyuan came through and sent Jia Zhang to prison

Several workers huddled in the mining bureau's break room, discussing the matter animatedly. "Let me tell you," one worker, an older man with a face covered in coal dust, rubbed his chapped hands, his voice trembling, "the other night, I went to inspect the tunnels and heard strange noises coming from deep inside. It sounded like someone was crying, or maybe the wind, but there was no wind there!" He continued, "Someone else said they saw a white shadow floating in the mine, moving incredibly fast..."

The young worker next to him chimed in, "That's right! Old Wang was at work yesterday when he suddenly collapsed on the ground, muttering 'Don't look for me.' He's still unconscious even after being taken to the hospital!"

Fear lingered on everyone's faces, as if the unseen "thing" was lurking in a corner. Zhao Lei squatted to the side, listening silently, his pen flying across his notebook as he jotted down notes. His heart pounded with apprehension—these claims sounded absurd, like ghost stories told by a storyteller, with phrases like "white shadow" and "strange wailing." Yet so many workers spoke of them with such conviction, even matching some of the details, that it didn't seem like something made up out of thin air.

He pressed for more details: "What exactly did that white shadow look like? Did you see its features clearly?" "From which direction did the strange noise come? Around what time?" Seeing that the workers either shook their heads and said, "It was too fast, I didn't see it clearly," or stammered and couldn't give any more details, Zhao Lei closed his notebook, stood up, and looked in the direction He Feng had left, his brows furrowed—this matter was probably not so simple.

On the other side, He Feng and Ma Xin followed Jiang Hu into the hospital's inpatient department, where the smell of disinfectant filled the air. Reaching the door of a ward on the third floor, Jiang Hu pushed it open: "Director He, Expert Ma, this is it."

The ward was dimly lit. A man in his fifties was curled up on the bed, covered with a thick blanket, but still trembling uncontrollably. His teeth were grinding, and his eyes were staring blankly at the ceiling, as if he had suffered a great shock. Before He Feng could even speak, he could tell that Old Wu must have witnessed something extraordinary, otherwise he wouldn't be so frightened.

Jiang Hu clearly sensed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward, his tone carrying a hint of warning: "Old Wu, this is Director He from the Public Security Bureau. He's here specifically to ask you about things at the mine. Speak properly, don't ramble on, understand?" He was afraid that Old Wu would be so frightened that he would become incoherent and say something irrelevant, which would only make things worse.

Old Wu trembled, slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on He Feng. He nodded stiffly, his voice hoarse: "Chief...Chief, I know, I won't talk nonsense..."

Jiang Hu breathed a sigh of relief and gestured to He Feng, "Director He, please feel free to ask me anything. If he dares to hide anything, I will be the first to punish him."

He Feng walked to the bedside, his gaze gentle yet subtly scrutinizing. He pulled up a chair and sat down, trying to keep his tone calm: "Old Wu, don't be afraid, everyone here is one of us. What exactly did you see at the mine that day? Tell me slowly, no rush."

Old Wu lay on the bed, his face as pale as paper, his forehead wrapped in thick gauze. He glanced quickly at Jiang Hu standing beside him, his Adam's apple bobbing, before he slowly nodded, his voice hoarse as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper: "Ask away."

He Feng briefly mentioned the theft of grain from the mine that day, trying to guide Lao Wu to recall the details. But Lao Wu seemed terrified, his hands gripping the corner of the blanket tightly, his knuckles turning white, only repeating over and over, "I didn't see anything... I really didn't see anything... I was suddenly knocked unconscious from behind, and when I woke up, the grain was gone..." His eyes darted around, and his voice trembled uncontrollably, clearly hiding something.

He Feng understood the situation and didn't press further. He simply nodded, stood up, and looked at Jiang Hu: "Director Jiang, we'll head back now. We'll work out a plan for this as soon as possible, don't worry."

Jiang Hu quickly stepped forward, a polite smile plastered on his face, but a hint of anxiety lurked in his eyes: "Director He, I'm entrusting this matter to you. The miners are all waiting for news. If there are still problems with the food, I'm afraid everyone will be in a state of panic."

He Feng nodded and turned to look at Ma Xin, who hadn't said a word: "Then let's go back first."

Ma Xin opened her mouth, intending to ask Jiang Hu about the details of security at the mine, but seeing He Feng shake his head slightly, she immediately understood his meaning—some things shouldn't be said in front of outsiders. She swallowed the words she was about to say and silently followed He Feng out of the ward.

As soon as they stepped out of the hospital, Ma Xin couldn't help but ask, "He Feng, don't you think that Jiang Hu is definitely hiding something from us? The way Old Wu looked at him clearly showed that he was wary of something."

He Feng looked at the gray sky in the distance and nodded: "Old Wu's expression has already given him away. He's not afraid of us, but of Jiang Hu, or rather, the people behind Jiang Hu. We definitely won't get anything out of him now. We have to take it slow and plan carefully."

Ma Xin sighed, nodded, and the two walked side by side toward the police station.

When He Feng returned to the police station, Zhao Lei was just coming back from outside, carrying a stack of case files. When he saw He Feng, his eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over, looking like he had something important to say.

He Feng gave him a wink, shook his head slightly, and whispered, "Don't talk about it outside. Come to my office."

Zhao Lei was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening. He nodded hurriedly and followed He Feng into the office. Once the door was closed, he lowered his voice, his tone somewhat eerie: "Director, this is really strange! I just went to inquire around the mine, and many workers said that things haven't been peaceful at the mine lately. They keep hearing strange noises at night, and some people even said... they encountered 'ghosts' near the warehouse! It seems this isn't the first time the grain has been stolen; they've covered up the losses from previous thefts!"

He Feng frowned. He wasn't a complete materialist, but he didn't believe in ghosts either, let alone ghosts that steal coal and grain. He pondered for a moment and said to Zhao Lei, "The real breakthrough in this matter lies with Lao Wu. He's the only one who might have seen the murderer."

He paused, then instructed, "Find someone we trust and send him to the hospital to take care of Old Wu. Tell him it's an arrangement from the bureau. Have him slowly get close to Old Wu, don't rush it, and try to find out what really happened that day—as long as Old Wu is willing to talk, we'll be able to find some clues."

Zhao Lei quickly replied, "Understood! I'll arrange it right away!"

He Feng watched his retreating figure, his fingers lightly tapping the table. Where did Old Wu's fear come from? Was it the murderer's threat, or Jiang Hu's pressure? There must be a lot of shady things hidden in this mine.