Chapter 141 The Miao Village (ETL) Part 2
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Chapter 141 Gu Ye: The Walking Grim Reaper
Before coming, Gu Ye had told Xie Cheng that Ge Qiaojun was arrogant and aloof, rarely interacting with strangers and not fond of talking to them. He was rather withdrawn, but actually had a kind heart. It was just that his temper was terrible and his tongue was sharp. If he said something wrong, Xie Cheng should not take it to heart.
Xie Cheng already knew what kind of person Ge Qiaojun was and didn’t mind his aloofness. “Then it’s up to Gu Ye,” he said. “Use all your skills to find the murderer.”
Ge Qiaojun said coldly, “Summon their spirits for me. I’ll make that idiot pay with his life!”
Gu Ye said with difficulty, “Summoning the spirits of insects… I really can’t do that.”
Ge Qiaojun said disdainfully, “You’re useless!”
Gu Ye: “…Can’t you be reasonable? Who summons the spirits of insects?”
Ge Qiaojun said angrily, “I don’t care, summon them for me.”
“I can’t do it!”
“Useless!”
“I…”
“Useless!”
Gu Ye took a deep breath. “Say that again, and I’m leaving!”
“Hmph!” Ge Qiaojun stopped talking, letting out a haughty snort. He gave Gu Ye a disdainful look, his face saying, ‘You’re such a useless piece of trash, you can’t even summon the spirits of insects.’
Gu Ye said helplessly, “Let’s clean up your place first, see if there are any clues. Then we’ll build you a new house, and ask the villagers to help. How about I build it for you? Father has money, Father will raise lots and lots of insects for you.”
Ge Qiaojun glared at Gu Ye. “I want to poison you.”
“Don’t!” Gu Ye stopped teasing Ge Qiaojun. “Let’s stop joking around. I’ll go offer incense to Auntie first.”
The aunt Gu Ye mentioned was Ge Qiaojun’s master. Gu Ye still couldn’t understand the relationship between the aunt and his master. When he was little, he even thought the aunt was his master’s wife, but later he found out that wasn’t the case. The two seemed to have feelings for each other, but they never confessed their feelings until the two elders passed away.
Gu Ye’s master was 2 years older than the aunt. After his master passed away, the aunt, who had always been in good health, also fell ill and passed away two years later. He and Qiao Qiao were the ones who handled the funeral arrangements. At the time, Gu Ye considered whether to have their graves next to each other, but Ge Qiaojun said that his aunt had left a will before she died, stating that she did not want to be buried with Gu Ye’s master. Gu Ye was very confused about why. However, as the younger generation, they shouldn’t pry into the affairs of adults. In short, during Gu Ye’s childhood, the aunt was the one who gave him some maternal love.
The aunt was buried behind the house; there was only a small mound, a simple tombstone, and not even a photograph.
Gu Ye respectfully offered incense, then knelt down. He kowtowed to the aunt and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m back. I’ve come to see you. Qiao Qiao recognized me at a glance, and you should be able to too. Auntie, I wanted to eat your chicken meatball soup, but unfortunately, I can’t anymore.”
After exchanging a few banter with his aunt, Gu Ye stood up and said with a smile, “I’m going to build a house for Qiao Qiao. Before I leave, I’d like to ask for a tablet of you; I want to place your tablet in my home.”
The wisps of smoke lingered around Gu Ye for a long time before drifting into the air, like the deceased’s lingering affection and reluctance to part with the living. Gu Ye raised his hand, grabbed a handful of smoke, looked at his empty palm, and laughed to himself. Indeed, nothing can be grasped.
After offering incense to his aunt, Gu Ye called to Ge Qiaojun and Xie Cheng, “Let’s go, we’ll check out the village.”
Holding the key, Ge Qiaojun called out towards the door, “Gu Ye! Gu Ye!”
Gu Ye replied, “Here I am, are you blind?”
But Ge Qiaojun only gave Gu Ye a disdainful look and called out again, “Gu Ye! Gu Ye! Bastard Gu!”
Gu Ye’s lips twitched: “Are you crazy?!”
Just then, a ‘meow’ came from the basket beside the bed. Gu Ye went over and saw a half-grown orange cat crawl out of the basket. Its legs were incredibly short, barely longer than a lipstick. When it ran, it rolled forward like a ball of fur, its legs almost invisible.
Ge Qiaojun crouched down and picked up the cat. He introduced it with a cold face, “I forgot to introduce you. This kitten’s name is Gu Ye, and its nickname is Bastard Gu. Gender male, neutered a week ago, no balls.”
“…I’ll friggin strangle you!”
Gu Ye couldn’t take it anymore. He rushed over and grabbed Ge Qiaojun by the neck. Then he slammed him against the door and pounded on him. “Change its name! If you don’t change it, next year on this date will be your death anniversary!”
Ge Qiaojun’s cat saw its owner being hit and angrily raised its paw to hit Gu Ye. However, because its legs were too short, it couldn’t reach Gu Ye’s face, which was practically right in front, and missed.
Gu Ye, who was initially angry, was amused by the action. “What kind of cat is this?”
Ge Qiaojun pursed his lips, wanting to laugh too. “A short-legged cat.”
“Are you secretly in love with me? If you’re not, why did you name your cat something like that?”
Hearing that, Ge Qiaojun was disgusted. “Don’t make me sick. Last time I came back from your place, I passed a pet store and bought it because of its short legs.”
Ultimately, it was because of its short legs.
Gu Ye was furious. “I’m going to get a dog when I get back, and I’ll name it Qiao Qiao.”
But Ge Qiaojun said nonchalantly, “Whatever.”
Gu Ye thought about it. He really couldn’t name it Qiao Qiao; his Yu Ze would be jealous.
Ge Qiaojun put the cat down, ruffled its hair, and locked the door. After the incident, he installed security cameras around the area, afraid someone would come back to burn down his house or steal his cat.
At the side, Xie Cheng was laughing uncontrollably. “Oh my god, this cat’s name is Gu Ye! Your compound burned down, and Gu Ye is still alive? How lucky!”
Ge Qiaojun said arrogantly, “I took it to get neutered last week; it wasn’t home.”
Gu Ye couldn’t resist grabbing Ge Qiaojun by the neck again and punching him repeatedly. “You dog! I’m going to get a Corgi! Name it Qiao Niu’er1!”
Hearing this nickname for the first time in a long time, Ge Qiaojun’s expression changed, and he punched Gu Ye back.
Xie Cheng secretly took a picture, intending to use it to blackmail Gu Ye later. The next time Gu Ye bullies him again, he will threaten to send the picture to Yu Ze.
…
It took them more than twenty minutes to circle around to the burned-down compound. What used to be a two-story bamboo house was now just ruins. Ge Qiaojun’s face was cold; he didn’t say anything, but his eyes were full of heartache. This place held so many memories and recollections, all gone in an instant. He genuinely wanted to kill the arsonist; he wasn’t joking with Gu Ye.
Gu Ye comforted him, “We’ll rebuild it. Out with the old, in with the new. Maybe it’s fate. Maybe Auntie felt you were too lonely here, so she wanted to burn it down so I could come back and see you.”
Ge Qiaojun’s expression was cold. “I don’t care. He burned down my village. I’ll find him and kill him. Tonight, you summon the spirits of the wandering ghosts nearby and ask who saw it.”
“No problem. As long as it’s not about summoning spirits from insects, anything is fine.” Gu Ye patted his chest. “Don’t worry, leave this to your bro, me. We’ll go down the mountain in a bit and find some villagers to help us clean this place up. We’ll restore it to its original state. Bro will pay for it. Once it’s finished, I’ll even build you a house to raise insects.”
Ge Qiaojun’s expression softened considerably. “I don’t need your money. I have my own.”
Xie Cheng then realized that although these two talked in a disdainful tone, they actually considered each other family. Gu Ye used a similar tone when comforting Gu Yang. Xie Cheng was puzzled. Gu Ye was clearly much younger than Ge Qiaojun, yet Ge Qiaojun seemed to act several years younger in Gu Ye’s presence. His sharp-tongued and aloof demeanor vanished like a child’s in front of Gu Ye. When had they even met?
Fortunately, Gu Ye spoke to the female shopkeeper in the local language, which Xie Cheng couldn’t understand. Otherwise, Xie Cheng would have also become suspicious of his identity as well.
The three young men descended the mountain and found the villagers, asking for their help to clear the ruins. Fortunately, Ge Qiaojun had a good reputation in the area, often treating villagers for free, so the villagers all refused payment and volunteered to help.
About half an hour later, the remaining bamboo walls were dismantled. The villagers found a spot, dug a large pit, and threw all the discarded bamboo into it, letting it rot naturally. Then the villagers began cleaning out the inside of the house, which was also burned, leaving little usable material. Gu Ye and the others also helped.
As they were cleaning, someone suddenly shouted, “Oh my god, what’s that?”
“There’s someone! Someone burned to death here!”
The villagers scattered in terror. Gu Ye and Ge Qiaojun’s expressions instantly changed. Gu Ye felt a chill; not again?!
Xie Cheng couldn’t understand what they were shouting and anxiously asked, “What happened? What happened inside?”
Gu Ye and Ge Qiaojun walked over, explaining, “The villagers said there’s a body inside.”
“Holy crap! No way?!” Xie Cheng scratched his head. “I’m so poisonous!”
The three men went over and saw that the body was charred. They didn’t know whether the man or woman had been burned to death while alive or had their bodies dumped there after death. In any case, the person who killed this person was likely the arsonist.
Having come this far, the only option was to call the police. Gu Ye asked in a weary tone, “Qiao Qiao, did this person offend you? Did you kill him to cover it up?”
Ge Qiaojun retorted irritably, “If I wanted to kill him, I wouldn’t let him die here. I’d make him die a thousand miles away, his body never to be found.”
Hearing that, Gu Ye’s expression turned cold, and he slapped2 Ge Qiaojun. Then he scolded, “Your thinking is too extreme!”
Ge Qiaojun snorted, still angry.
More than an hour later, the police arrived in the mountains. They examined the scene and took the body back for an autopsy. Ge Qiaojun had taken his cat to a big city to be spayed/neutered a few days ago; he wasn’t in the village. His train ticket could be checked, so he wasn’t a suspect.
The police were also perplexed. There were only a few dozen households in the area, and no one from any of them had gone missing, so it was obvious the killer wasn’t from the village. Where should they begin their investigation?
Raw word count: 6003 (whole chapter)
EditedMTL
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