Chang Jian failed to notice that the expression of the man in front of him changed as soon as he uttered those words. The man in black flicked his hand backward.
Without changing his cold tone, he commanded, "Arrest him!"
At this moment, the joy on Chang Jian's face had not yet faded. Looking utterly stunned, he was forced to the ground by several men in black before he could even struggle.
Only then did he belatedly shout, "Don't touch me! I have nothing to do with this. I'm not familiar with this person!"
The man in black in front of him wasn't particularly surprised. Instead, he crouched down on the ground, still holding the photo in front of Chang Jian, and asked, "Where is this person?"
Although the man's tone remained as cold as a robot's, it sounded like a ghost demanding his life to Chang Jian.
Stuttering, he replied, "Up... up there."
The man in black looked up in the direction Chang Jian was looking and asked uncertainly, "On the mountain?"
Afraid that these people wouldn't believe him and would spare him no mercy, Chang Jian nodded hurriedly. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm from up there."
Only then did Chang Jian feel the intimidating aura around him subside, finally getting a chance to catch his breath.
But the next second.
The cold voice rang out again. "Take him away!"
The two men beside him exerted force. Unable to resist at all, Chang Jian was hoisted onto someone's shoulder. Like a vengeful mafia, the group of men in black headed up the mountain.
The person secretly observing the situation at the foot of the mountain panicked and immediately took a shortcut up the mountain.
Meanwhile, the village head was having a drink. Suddenly, a man stumbled in, startling everyone sitting there.
"Kang Wa, what's going on? Why are you in such a hurry?" an elder asked.
The man in front of them was bending his knees, hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He wiped the sweaty face and struggled to speak.
Hearing this question, everyone around looked over, also feeling puzzled.
Kang Wa had been arranged by the village head to deliver tea early this morning, and there were several others going with him. Now he was rushing back alone in such a flurry.
Could something have gone wrong with the tea?
Finally, after the young man caught his breath, he pointed hoarsely behind him and stammered, "There... there will be many strange people coming up the mountain soon. Chang Jian has been captured by them. I suspect... they mean no good."
"Chang Jian?" Hearing this, the people around just then realized that they hadn't seen him in the village for a long time.
The village head stood up, interrupting the discussions around him, trying to suppress his speculation.
He said to everyone, "Disperse now."
Everyone was enjoying their drinks, with red faces and in high spirits. Naturally, they felt a bit uncomfortable.
"I bet those people must be related to the new people in the village. Otherwise, we've been living here for decades, and nothing like this has ever happened before!"
a villager complained as he walked by.
The village head just listened without refuting. He also had some suspicions in his mind.
However, without the truth in front of him, he couldn't jump to conclusions.
The wedding feast had been interrupted halfway. There were many scattered wine bottles around. He glanced around and his eyes landed on the wine bottles. Uncertainty welled up in his eyes.
Finally, he stepped out.
A rather large group of people headed up the mountain. They seemed tireless and quickly reached the top.
"Excuse me, have you seen this person?" the leading man asked, holding up the photo when he saw someone on the side of the road.
The man turned around, took a look, squinted as if sizing up for a long time, and finally shook his head.
"Never seen him." After saying that, the man was about to leave.
The man in black cast a suspicious look at the person behind him. The person was so scared that he struggled to get off the man in black's shoulder.
He scrambled after the man and cried, "Village head, that person is clearly in our village! Why are you saying this? If you keep saying this, I'll lose my life!"
He shouted angrily, never expecting that the village head would still protect an outsider at this moment.
The man in black sensed something strange from their conversation. With a glance, the people behind him dispersed in all directions to search.
Chang Jian knelt on the ground, afraid that they wouldn't find the person, and pointed in the direction of Huo Cheng's residence. "They live there. I saw him go back. And he even bought a woman."
The man in black nodded after hearing this. "Go and check. See if this kid is lying to us."
A man in black immediately rushed in the direction Chang Jian pointed.
"Wait a minute." The village head interrupted them.
Everyone looked over in unison.
"I think there might be some misunderstanding?"
Chang Jian's heart skipped a beat.
The village head continued, "There has never been such a person in our village."
At this moment, Chang Jian's heart sank to the bottom.
He went crazy. "No, he's lying to you." Then, as if remembering something, he knelt in front of the leading man in black and said sincerely, "You can ask others. There must be someone who hasn't been bribed by him."
At this time, Huo Cheng also received a hasty notice from someone.
"What?" Gu Sisi and Huo Cheng exchanged a look.
"Just now, the village head asked me to tell you to leave quickly. He said there are strange people looking for you." The person who came was a young man sent by the village head. His tone was urgent and his face was full of tension. "Mr. Wang, find a place to hide quickly!"
Gu Sisi and Huo Cheng glanced at each other.
After hearing this, Gu Sisi's heart was in her throat.
She knew that there were always people trying to put Huo Cheng in danger, and it was very likely that these people were here to cause trouble for him.
Could it be the person who injured Huo Cheng?
However, to her surprise, after hearing this, Huo Cheng was still sipping his tea leisurely. He shook his head. "The roads here are too remote. It's not easy to hide. So, there's no need to hide."
The young man who came to deliver the message became even more anxious. "You can go to the back mountain. There are many small paths down the mountain. Let me lead you!"
The desperate Chang Jian didn't know that the whole village was betraying him.
It turned out that after some thought, the village head called back the people who were about to leave.
He believed that Wang Hubiao wouldn't harm them.
This person didn't need to contribute so much to the village. He could just leave quietly. The people in this village didn't need to be controlled by getting them drunk.
Most importantly, it was his intuition. From his interaction with these people, he knew that this person had real plans in mind. He was definitely a shrewd businessman.
So, he called Kang Wa, who had reported the situation but hadn't told the whole story.
He asked carefully and confirmed that those people were looking for Mr. Wang. Therefore, he specially sent someone to inform him to take shelter. All the villagers also knew about this.
Everyone chose to keep silent because they had truly benefited from Mr. Wang and wouldn't bite the hand that fed them.
As a result, almost everyone they asked along the way gave the same answer - they didn't recognize the person in the photo and had never seen him.
Every time Chang Jian heard an answer, his face turned paler. He grabbed the person who answered and roared, "Why are you lying? Did he force you? Did he give you something in return?"
Usually, all he got was a disdainful look or a look of disgust and disbelief.
Another man in black knocked on a door.
"Do you recognize him?"
The door in the house opened slowly. A girl came out, frowned and looked at the photo for a few times, then shook her head. "Don't recognize him."
At this moment, Chang Jian was completely enraged.
He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Xiaocui, wake up! Are you brainwashed like them? We grew up together. Can you tell the truth? I'm begging you!"