"Help! The feng shui of my old house is bad."
"Help! My son is missing, please help!"
"Help! My best friend betrayed me."
"Help! My girlfriend dumped me, I'm so heartbroken."
"Help! I keep running into my grandfather's ghost."
...
Ma Xiaoniu browsed through the posts for a while; there were many, but for many cases, Ma Xiaoniu was currently unable to help, such as missing persons cases or cases without evidence. However, Ma Xiaoniu believed that these cases would eventually be solved, so he started a thread in the Demon Forum's comment section—"Good and evil will eventually be rewarded." (The recent severe encoding issues motivate us to update faster; please exit reading mode if you'd like. Thank you.)
===Chapter Thirty-Seven===
This message is for those in need: Be patient, for good will come, it's just a matter of time.
Shortly after the post was published, comments sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
"Support the devil!"
"The devil is the one on the side of justice."
"Hello, I would like to become your apprentice."
Same as above
"Demon, aren't you going to stop?"
"This is the X City Public Security Bureau. I advise you to turn yourself in immediately, or you will bear the consequences."
"Upstairs, look at that expression →_→"
Same as above
Same as above
...
Temporary office of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Fengxian County Public Security Bureau.
Guo Han, his face dark, scrolled through the posts on the Demon Forum, while Bai Xian next to him frowned as he looked at the forum. The others sat around the conference table reviewing information.
"Bang!"
Guo Han slammed his fist on the table, his face darkening: "Damn it, this devil is far too arrogant!"
The others were startled and all looked at Guo Han. Guo Han pushed the notebook aside with a thud, his face dark and he didn't say a word.
Bai Xian chuckled. "Boss, we haven't been completely without results lately. For example, that post on the Demon Forum titled 'Speculation on the Demon's Identity' wasn't too far off from our previous predictions."
Guo Han, his face dark, glanced at Bai Xian and sighed, "Old Bai, you know, the higher-ups sent us here because they suspected the Demon was from Feng County. We were given high hopes, but so much time has passed, and what have we found? We've made absolutely no progress! If we can't solve the Demon case in the end, not only will the leaders be disappointed in us, but our colleagues will also laugh at us!"
The others looked grim, as if they had already foreseen that outcome.
Bai Xian looked at everyone and suddenly smiled: "Boss, you're boosting the enemy's morale while diminishing our own! Besides, we're not without progress, are we? Haven't we already narrowed down the search to Cao Township? And this demon might be part of a gang; with more people, there will be more clues. So as long as we investigate little by little, are we afraid we won't find out?"
Guo Han's dark expression softened slightly, and he nodded: "Old Bai is right. We can't afford to lose our composure. Starting today, we will focus on monitoring Songzhuang and several nearby villages. We must visit every household and check every person. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must find this demon for me!"
...
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Ma Xiaoniu was taking a nap when he suddenly heard a commotion. Huh? What's going on? Ma Xiaoniu got dressed, washed his face, and went to the street. He saw groups of people gathered together, all talking loudly about something. Under the tree at the village entrance, Uncle Ma, Dazhuang, Dazhuang's wife, and Aunt Wang, along with several neighbors, were all gathered together, discussing something enthusiastically.
Ma Xiaoniu was surprised; he rarely saw anyone on weekdays, so why was everyone out today? Just as he approached, Dazhuang grinned at him, "Xiaoniu, you're here!" Dazhuang's wife, Zhou Yunyun, beside him, also nodded and smiled at Ma Xiaoniu. Ever since Dazhuang's job was recovered after his previous failure, the couple had been incredibly grateful to Ma Xiaoniu. Although Ma Xiaoniu wouldn't admit it, they weren't stupid; how could they not guess?
Ma Xiaoniu yawned: "Brother Dazhuang, what's wrong today? What happened?"
"Hey? Didn't you hear what they said on the village loudspeaker?" Da Zhuang's wife answered first.
"No, I was just taking a nap and I don't know anything." The tree stump under the big tree was full of people, and Ma Xiaoniu couldn't find a place to sit down.
"The loudspeaker just announced that the county public security bureau will be conducting door-to-door checks in these villages this afternoon, and that we should all stay home and obey orders!"
"Inspection? Inspect what?" Ma Xiaoniu's heart skipped a beat. Just as he expected, had the police seen that analysis post on the forum?
"Have you heard about the demon case that's been making headlines lately? I heard that this demon is from one of our villages!" Zhou Yunyun's face showed fear as she patted her chest. "My God, I heard that this demon is bloodthirsty, I never imagined he was so close to us!"
Dazhuang disagreed: "Although this demon killed a lot of people, I heard that he only killed people who had committed crimes, and didn't indiscriminately kill innocent people."
“Hey, that’s just the case that the devil posted online. What about the cases that weren’t posted? I reckon there are probably more that weren’t posted! I think this devil is actually a perverted serial killer! Uncle Ma, what do you think?” said Ma Shumei, who was sitting on a tree stump nearby. Ma Shumei lived not far from Ma Xiaoniu. She was in her twenties, had an average appearance, and was not yet married.
Ma Xiaoniu: "..."
How am I a pervert?
Uncle Ma sat on a tree stump, stroking his beard. Ever since he had that dream where he was forced to take that pill, his originally gray beard had started to turn black, and now it was half black and half white. Moreover, some of his previous health problems had disappeared without medication, and he was now strong and healthy. Although he couldn't be as young as he used to be, he was much better than before. He was now wholeheartedly supporting the construction of the Gourd Temple, going to the village committee every day to urge the construction to start as soon as possible.
“Xiao Mei, I don’t know how to use the internet, but after listening to what you just said, I think this devil did the right thing!” Since his health improved, Uncle Ma felt that even the sharpness he had lost for a long time had returned.
Ma Shumei pouted, clearly disagreeing with Uncle Ma's opinion.
They chatted and laughed for two hours, until five o'clock in the afternoon, when finally, people in police uniforms knocked loudly on Ma Xiaoniu's door. Ma Xiaoniu quickly ran over.
"Officer, I'm here! I'm here!"
Xiao Jin looked at Ma Xiaoniu running over and nodded. "Let's talk in the yard."
Ma Xiaoniu opened the gate, and Xiao Jin and another young policeman walked into the courtyard together. The three of them then sat down at the stone table under the tree. Xiao Jin looked at the large jujube tree next to him, his face showing a look of amazement: "Wow, this jujube tree must be quite old! It's really big!"