Chapter 95: Tracks in the Snow |
Zhang Shutong nodded, gesturing for her to keep her voice down.
He had already made up his mind to tell them.
Take the figure in the Forbidden Zone, for instance—that fake Lu Qinglian. Zhang Shutong couldn't be certain whether his close friends would encounter her.
If they did, what were the odds they'd be in danger?
Even if he didn't voice this incredible discovery just yet, he at least needed to make them aware that a killer was lurking around Gu Qiumian, and that there was an incredibly strange presence on this small island.
He simply typed out a message on his phone and showed it directly to Lu Qinglian:
"But whether to mention that person's existence requires your consent."
Lu Qinglian decisively shook her head.
She didn't have a phone and couldn't friend them for private chats. Zhang Shutong had initially wanted to hand her his phone so she could type, but then he remembered witnessing Autumn Rain Lingering's hunt-and-peck typing—that alone had been painful to watch. Lu Qinglian would probably be even slower.
Lu Qinglian nodded.
"I think if we keep hiding it, we'll blow our cover."
This time Lu Qinglian didn't react, just stared at him expressionlessly. Zhang Shutong felt like he could read four words in her eyes: "Stop stating the obvious."
Fine.
He typed again:
"I'm not getting them involved, just giving them a heads-up."
Nod.
"Can I tell them about the killer?"
Nod.
"But not about the Forbidden Zone?"
Lu Qinglian sighed in exasperation and lowered her voice: "Zhang Shutong-tongxue, if typing is meant to facilitate communication, you'd better use vocabulary I can understand."
"Sorry, sorry." Zhang Shutong also spoke quietly.
He'd almost forgotten she didn't know about the "Forbidden Zone" yet.
Well, she would after this.
"That one's off-limits." Lu Qinglian's lips barely moved.
"Don't want people finding out about someone who looks exactly like you?"
Nod.
"Then I know what to do."
Zhang Shutong then opened their group chat of four: "There's something I've been hiding from everyone. I'm really sorry."
He also @'d all members.
Ruoping, who had been listening to music, immediately popped up: "There's only four people—what are you @'ing everyone for?"
"..."
Zhang Shutong just felt it added a sense of ceremony.
"I noticed something was off with you ages ago. Spill it. If you keep hiding things, I'm kicking you out." As group admin, the girl had that power. "Also, I get the feeling you all know something you're not telling me."
"Actually, I don't know anything either." Du Kang chimed in weakly.
"No way, I was just helping Shutong with a favor, you know, man stuff..." Qingyi tried to deflect blame but got muted.
If Zhang Shutong didn't still have "value," he probably would've been muted too.
"A killer."
After thinking for a moment, he typed just those two words.
Looking up, everyone's eyes had left their phone screens and were staring at him in shock.
Zhang Shutong continued typing: "I can tell you all very responsibly—this isn't a joke. Zhou Ziheng's family's revenge is nothing. Behind all this lurks a real killer.
"And all the strange things I did today were to find this killer, including that pit."
"Pit?!" Ruoping actually shouted out loud.
"Where's a pit?" Father Feng hit the brakes.
"There's no pit... oh wait, nothing, Dad, just drive carefully." She replied without looking up, then quickly typed: "So you got hurt because you fought with that killer?"
Uh, actually, not exactly.
Though in a sense, she had hit the nail on the head.
Zhang Shutong continued: "No fight. I originally wanted to ambush them with this, but it failed in the end. I didn't even find any trace of the real killer on the mountain."
"So what do we do?"
"What else can we do? It's related to what we're about to do next." Qingyi, feeling stifled from being muted, jumped in to explain.
Zhang Shutong then told them about the footprints: "What we can confirm now is that an unidentified person visited that mountain road this morning, which is why I asked Uncle to drive me there."
"So we're going to check again?"
Zhang Shutong paused. They seemed to have already assumed they'd be participating in the next phase of action.
He actually didn't want to drag the three of them into this—ideally, they'd stay at the level of being informed and alert. But some things are like water already spilled. Even if he didn't let them participate, their curiosity had been piqued. What if they chose to investigate on their own? His finger hovered over the screen, and he turned his head to find Lu Qinglian also reading the chat contents.
After all, she was the only one without a phone.
This time she wasn't smiling, but Zhang Shutong could tell from her expression that she was observing something interesting unfold, as if she'd anticipated his hesitation all along and was therefore watching from the shore.
—Don't think not lying is easy. Once you choose to tell the truth, you must learn to bear the corresponding risks.
Zhang Shutong had understood this principle long ago. Before he could respond, Ruoping's questions came one after another:
"How does this involve Qinglian?"
Zhang Shutong instinctively glanced at the girl, thinking that now she couldn't just sit on the shore, but given her personality, she'd probably ignore the question, leaving him with another headache.
Who knew Lu Qinglian would suddenly speak up: "Because I was the one who discovered that person first."
She said calmly: "I'm also looking for him."
"What do you mean? So you already know who they are?"
"No."
"Then how..."
"He destroyed some things in the temple," she lied without batting an eye. "After Zhang Shutong-tongxue and I discussed it, we believe they're the same person."
"Not only related to the Gu Qiumian family matter..." Ruoping glanced at her dad mid-sentence and changed course, "but also to the temple incident?"
"For now, you can understand it that way."
"By the way," as they talked, Lu Qinglian somehow seized control of the conversation. With a maturity far beyond her years, she commanded: "If you want to come along later, then follow my orders completely. Don't wander off."
"Deal!" The three friends naturally agreed readily.
After speaking, they tightly shut their mouths and began discussing in the group chat.
Only Zhang Shutong was left stunned: "You..."
"You worry about too many things."
"Thanks..."
Zhang Shutong hadn't expected her to voluntarily step up and shoulder part of the pressure for him.
"Mm."
Lu Qinglian was noncommittal.
Something that had been giving Zhang Shutong a massive headache was just resolved like that, light as a feather.
The group happily made their agreement, leaving only Father Feng completely baffled: "What are you kids plotting now?"
"It's a secret. Oh, and Dad, just wait in the car for us later."
Zhang Shutong had mentioned in the group earlier that Lu Qinglian wanted as few people as possible to know about this.
He looked out the window again. The car was almost at the Gu family villa. Zhang Shutong leaned forward and pointed out a few easy-to-miss turns. Looking back at his friends, they were as excited as if they were going on a grand adventure.
Well, the four of them crammed into a small car, actually heading off to explore—just with an unknown outcome.
Soon they reached the mountain road entrance. As the car drove past, they could still see the tire tracks his mom had left that morning.
This discovery made everyone tense up again.
"Oh no, looks like there's more than one person. They even have a car."
Du Kang pressed against the window nervously.
Zhang Shutong had to tell them not to scare themselves—that was Old Song's blown tire, someone came to deliver a replacement.
"Old Song was there too?"
"Gu Qiumian's dad is away on business. He was worried so he came. I discussed it with him."
"You're pretty invested." Ruoping habitually jabbed, earning another strange look from Father Feng.
"I'm saying he's practically at her doorstep—of course he's invested." Du Kang chuckled along.
Come to think of it, when Zhang Shutong first called her saying he needed to go near Gu Qiumian's house, he'd worried she might disagree. But Ruoping always had a clear head about important matters—sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. Without a word of complaint, she'd rushed over with her dad.
Amid the chatter, the car stopped. Zhang Shutong thanked the man again and followed right behind Lu Qinglian as they got out.
"Where are the footprints you mentioned?"
"Just up ahead. A few steps and we're there."
They walked in front, their steps never faltering, then broke into a run.
Behind them, Ruoping was still shouting for them to slow down, she needed to put on gloves... but the two had already stopped caring. Lu Qinglian was moving even faster than him. Zhang Shutong realized he didn't need to guide her at all, because there were only two sets of prints in his line of sight—one he'd left coming down the mountain, and one discovered this morning.
"Look, they disappear up ahead..."
Zhang Shutong said as he walked.
One side of the mountain road was a cliff, and the footprints disappeared right there.
"Maybe they came to scout first?" Zhang Shutong analyzed. "Found the snow too heavy and turned back?"
He looked around somewhat disappointedly. No other discoveries. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or let down.
This morning when he came down the mountain road, that should have been the closest he'd gotten to the real killer. Lu Qinglian had been in the car then too, but his attention had consequently been on her.
Looking at it now, the "crime scene" had already been damaged by his mom's and the auto repair shop owner's tire tracks, making it impossible to tell where the person had gone.
"Wait." Lu Qinglian's brow furrowed.
"What?"
"This set of prints you left is wrong. She's walking up following your footprints."
Zhang Shutong immediately turned, but by the time she finished speaking, Lu Qinglian had already taken off at full speed.
"Keep up."
She dropped those two words and ran upward.
Zhang Shutong's heart also lurched. In those few brief exchanges, he'd leaned in for a closer look and realized that on top of his footprints was an even smaller set of prints.
His worst fear had come true.
"What? What? Any new discoveries?" His friends caught up at that moment.
But Zhang Shutong had no time for more explanations. Even as he spoke, his body was already reacting: "Someone's here."
By then Lu Qinglian's figure was already several meters away. Zhang Shutong's expression turned grave as he tossed out a sentence, then sprinted at full speed.
His violently swaying vision showed a shaking expanse of white. He'd changed shoes now—as long as he ran along his earlier footprints where the snow was already packed down, he'd thought he'd be much faster, but found the distance between him and Lu Qinglian growing ever wider.
Her foot showed no sign of injury whatsoever. Only her azure robe's hem and high ponytail danced behind her.
"How is it?"
Zhang Shutong couldn't help but shout.
"Still going forward."