Chapter 33: Bury Her

The criminal investigation team knew the higher-ups were paying close attention, but they hadn't expected it to happen so quickly, let alone with a surprise raid. Realizing the gravity of the situation, they immediately stopped pestering him.

"Alright, Captain, you go ahead and handle your business. Just get over here as soon as you're done."

After saying this, the administrative officer hung up the phone and looked at the livestream on his colleague's phone, his teeth grinding in frustration.

This Jiang Xiaoya really knew how to stir up trouble. Just look at the mess she had caused: Qing Tianfeng was stuck in the detention center, and the leadership had moved into the police station. What kind of chaos was this?

The members of the criminal investigation team took deep breaths, telling themselves to pull it together. The scale of what Jiang Xiaoya had caused this time was not small; if they failed to handle it properly, they wouldn't just be staying in the police station—they'd be "resting" at home (unemployed).

"..."

"I'll call the traffic police and tell Xiao Liu to hurry up. We're running out of time."

After speaking to the person beside him, he placed a call to the traffic police.

Qing Tianfeng hung up the phone and went to his office. He waited at the door, smoking his cigarette until it was finished, stubbed it out, and only then entered.

The atmosphere inside had already frozen into ice.

Being a man of keen intuition, Qing Tianfeng cast a glance toward the officer from the detention center.

The detention center officer leaned in and whispered, "Things have escalated. Someone from above has called for a halt, and the official approval document is already halfway here. However, another high-ranking leader wants us to secure ironclad evidence and clarify the matter before the document arrives, effectively slapping the face of the person who issued the halt."

In short, the tomb-robbing case was a massive issue. Someone from the top wanted to stop the investigation, but his political rival wouldn't allow it, firmly believing the matter was not simple and insisting on getting to the bottom of it. If the suspicions were true, it might even be enough to pull down the rival who had called for the halt.

In essence, this was a confrontation between two high-ranking officials: one refusing to investigate, and the other insisting on it.

As they were speaking, the representative sent from above tapped the table and spoke in a heavy voice.

"We don't have much time left. I am limiting you to the fastest possible speed to obtain evidence. Otherwise... this matter is too large, and you won't be able to bear the consequences."

His meaning was clear: if they secured evidence, everyone would get promoted... or at least get bonuses. If they failed, they would be held collectively responsible, suppressed, and might spend the rest of their lives stuck in their current positions, never to be trusted with important roles again.

This was an opportunity many in their line of work would encounter—it could also be described as a disaster. Success meant opportunity; failure meant catastrophe.

"Let's begin."

After finishing his speech, the person he brought with him stepped forward, placed a briefcase on the conference table, and began taking out various documents.

Qing Tianfeng's brow twitched. He thought to himself, *As expected, this is not simple.*

The tomb-robbing case was no accident. In fact, the higher-ups had been tracking this case for a long time. Despite investigating for so long and gathering considerable evidence, they had always lacked a breakthrough.

Now, the breakthrough had arrived. As long as they could find enough evidence to complete the chain, they could uproot this entire group.

They had come prepared.

They were clearly on a mission to take down that political rival.

Qing Tianfeng's heart raced, but he also knew this wouldn't be easy. After all, the authorities had been tracking this for years without any significant progress.

With trepidation, Qing Tianfeng and the detention center officer hurriedly reviewed the materials.

As they finished reading all the documents—the so-called "evidence" these people were presenting—their expressions grew increasingly solemn and dark.

They felt utterly despondent.

*Is this something a human being would do? Is this even human?*

To pile on such a massive array of charges—and such heavy ones at that—felt like the sky was falling to the officer. To demand they investigate such a world-shaking matter against these tomb robbers without any concrete proof... what kind of madness was this?

Yet, the opposing side remained adamant, claiming these charges were by no means fabricated and that if they only dared to investigate, they would surely find the truth.

Qing Tianfeng and the detention center officer exchanged looks of speechless frustration.

It was easy for these people to talk. They claimed they were "daring to investigate," yet after years of investigation, all they had were two briefcases and a facade of "excellent secrecy," yet they had found nothing. They did nothing but repeatedly describe how arrogant and brazen the targets were, acting like emperors within the Dragon Kingdom.

But what could Qing Tianfeng and the other man do about their dissatisfaction? Regardless of whether these materials were sufficient, even if they weren't, they were still ordered to investigate.

"Everyone, speak up. Where should we start?"

The representative from above tapped the table, leaning his hands on the surface, staring intensely at the two most capable officials in Licheng.

Qing Tianfeng and the detention center officer looked at each other. How were they supposed to say it?

Sometimes, one really just wanted to curse.

*Dammit, you give us a bunch of vague, headless information and then ask us where we plan to start?*

"This... we currently have no leads. How do you see it?"

*Since you're so good at talking, why don't you show us the way?*

"The suspects are currently in the detention center. Start with them. You must pry their mouths open for me!"

The representative pointed at the table, sounding utterly indignant.

Qing Tianfeng: "..."

The detention center officer: "..."

Judging by his tone, they thought he was offering a clear path forward, only to find out it was the most obvious thing in the world. What kind of "clear path" was this?

If it were really that easy to pry them open, would they be sitting here listening to this youngster's arrogant bluster?

"We will follow your lead. Would you like to go with us and take a look?"

Qing Tianfeng nodded seriously, his gaze sincere.

The representative slammed the table. "Let's go. Let's hear what they have to say. This time, no matter what, we must pry their mouths open."

Qing Tianfeng and the detention center officer rose simultaneously and made a polite gesture for him to lead the way, their attitude extremely courteous.

"After you!"

***

Meanwhile, the scene in the livestream was exceptionally dramatic.

After Jiang Xiaoya was dragged into the car by a tall man, her hands and feet were tied with rope, and a wad of paper was stuffed into her mouth. She was shoved into the back seat.

She wiggled her hips to sit steady, listening to the bearded man in the front cursing in a foreign language.

She couldn't understand which country's language it was, but the livestream was full of netizens proficient in multiple languages. Very quickly, translations began to appear.

The general meaning was that they were discussing finding a place to bury Jiang Xiaoya.

They had already chosen a location: the vast wilderness at the foot of Mount Qiong.

Wait, isn't that place right near the ancient tombs?

"I heard the Dragon Kingdom's archaeological experts are researching the ancient tombs over there. They've been implementing lockdowns recently. Burying her there definitely won't cause any issues."

"The commotion today was too big; the police will definitely come knocking."

"What are you afraid of? Someone will settle this. It's just burying one dead woman. If they can't even handle a small thing like this, how can they do business with us?"

The more the netizens listened, the more alarmed they became, and they began flooding the police with emergency calls.

Fearing the Licheng police wouldn't understand, they repeatedly typed out the foreign words they heard along with the translations.

The criminal investigation team had been monitoring Jiang Xiaoya's livestream. At first, they hadn't paid much attention to the gibberish in the foreign language, but once they saw the bullet comments—with polyglot netizens translating and countless others spamming the translations—they realized the gravity of the situation.