mtl008 Chapter 327 Forest
Chapter 327 Forest
As soon as Levi parked the car, Yan Xun saw Lily running away and Koy chasing after her.
When he saw the familiar car, he scratched his head and said, "So it's you guys."
He then looked at the dead pig on Levy's roof. "Weren't you going to investigate the old couple who lived up ahead?"
There was obvious confusion in his eyes. "Why is there a dead pig?"
"What were the hunting spoils?"
No matter how you look at it, that pig is clearly domesticated.
Yan Xun waited for Levi to speak, but after a while, seeing that he had no intention of explaining, he simply recounted what had happened.
“That’s fantastic!” Koy exclaimed happily.
"...?" Yan Xun wondered if he had misheard. "That's amazing?"
"What's so amazing?"
“A dead pig is great!” Koy said nonchalantly. “Do you want this pig?” he asked Yan Xun.
Yan Xun immediately shook his head.
Koy looked at Levi again, and Levi shook his head.
“Then I’ll take this pig with me.” Koy looked pleased. “I can sell it to someone at the market.”
As he spoke, he walked to the car, planning to untie the dead pig from the roof. Lily, seeing Koy's actions, immediately tried to bite his trouser leg—it seemed as if Koy was stealing its master's prey.
"Don't you care?" Yan Xun still had that incredulous feeling. "Perhaps Liam encountered their request for help on his way back."
"Ah, help, yes, help," Koy said absentmindedly. He was now completely infatuated with that dead pig and had no interest in the truth about Liam's disappearance.
After he finally pulled the dead pig off Levi's car roof, he turned to look at Yan Xun and said, "You're right. We'll go back to the city first thing tomorrow morning and investigate this matter."
“We can ask those men wearing hats for help; they deal with these places often and should know where their daughters live.”
"Once we find her, we'll know what else Liam encountered that night."
That's all we can do, Yan Xun thought. "We also need to mention the corpse in the house, so we don't let it rot there."
“Someone will take care of it,” Koy said.
"Are you planning to bring this up with that church?" Koy seemed disapproving. "I think they're a bit crazy."
“Maybe they know something,” Yan Xun said. “Your boss also suspected that Liam’s disappearance was related to this church.”
"He felt that the recent disappearances of newsboys on the street were also somewhat related to this church."
Koy looked at Levi, who opened the driver's side door, patted Lily's head, and then said, "We can go and investigate."
“The detective said that the bodies found around my farm might also be related to Liam’s disappearance.” He closed the car door. “Koy, take the detective back to his room to rest.”
The trucks that were parked by the roadside were nowhere to be seen, it seems that Koy had already parked them at the usual unloading spot.
As he spoke, he gently patted Lily's head, signaling it to take the two guests back first.
Lily let out a soft sob, then turned to look at the two guests, gesturing for them to follow her.
“Wait,” Coy said. “I need to get this onto the truck first.”
Yan Xun turned to leave with Lily, but was grabbed by Koy. "Detective, you have to help me."
"I can't lift it onto the truck by myself."
Yan Xun glanced at the dead pig on the ground. "Where's your truck?" he asked an obvious question.
“Of course it’s in the warehouse.” Koy’s expression was as if Yan Xun had asked a silly question.
"Can I take him with me?" he asked Levy again.
Levi looked at Yan Xun, who was clearly unwilling, and said, "Okay."
“As long as you don’t go to the barn.” He was referring to the building connected to the warehouse, the one specifically for keeping animals.
“Of course.” Koy made a reassuring gesture, then gestured for Yan Xun to help him move the dead pig from the ground.
Yan Xun looked very reluctant—or so it seemed, since he was going to investigate the unloading warehouse—he grabbed the pig by its hind legs and, looking somewhat resigned, carried the dead pig toward the warehouse with Koy.
Lily followed them around, barking every now and then, as if she were supervising the work.
"Be careful," Koy said, watching Yan Xun's movements with concern.
“This is a dead pig,” Yan Xun couldn’t help but say. “It’s not a living person.”
There's no need to be so careful.
Koy muttered a few more words, which Yan Xun didn't understand, but he guessed they were some complaints.
Lily ran a short distance ahead, then turned back to stare at them.
Yan Xun felt that he was unlucky, and he even suspected that this instance was the main system messing with him.
The two of them dragged the pig into the warehouse, one after the other. When they saw the familiar truck, Yan Xun immediately dropped the pig leg he was holding. Koy complained, "You should be gentler."
"Ha," Yan Xun responded with a mocking laugh.
Koy reluctantly put down the pig leg he was holding and walked to the back of the truck. "Can you do me a favor?" he said, turning back to Yan Xun.
Yan Xun glanced at the truck. "Can I look at this compartment?"
He made a throat-slitting gesture. "You wouldn't kill me afterward, would you?"
Koy immediately retorted loudly, "You're my friend! I wouldn't do that."
“Besides, don’t you already know what this truck is for?” Coy said. “We’re in the same boat.”
Upon hearing this, Yan Xun grabbed the pig's hind legs and, together with Ke Yi, went to the back of the carriage, then tossed the pig onto it.
Unlike its dilapidated exterior, the interior of the carriage was surprisingly clean, and everything seemed normal except for a strange, unpleasant odor.
Koy looked at Yan Xun smugly, "You think we're the kind of people who don't clean the carriages?"
He jumped back onto the truck bed and pulled the dead pig further inside. "We clean the truck bed every time we finish transporting feed."
Yan Xun jumped up after him and looked inside the carriage. "Who usually cleans it?"
“Whoever delivers it cleans it.” Koy was still arranging his pigs with his head down. “Liam delivered it that day, so he was in charge of cleaning it.”
Where is cleaning usually done?
“The factory, that open space you see,” he said, turning to Yan Xun, “that’s our territory, so it’s safe.”
Yan Xun looked at the clean carriage and said, "So that day, after delivering the goods in Liam and encountering that couple who asked for help, he probably went back to the city first to drop off the woman, and then went back to his own apartment building."
"The next day, after returning to the factory, you cleaned the train carriages?"
"Has anyone seen him cleaning the carriage?"
“Maybe?” Coy said uncertainly. “We’ll have to ask the factory.”
What are you doubting?
“I’m wondering what if that woman dies halfway through,” Yan Xun said. “Those who grow wings, except for a lucky few, will die the moment their wings are fully grown.”
He was thinking about the homeless man he had seen downstairs that day.
“If she dies halfway through, Liam might put her body in the carriage.”
Yan Xun stopped abruptly at this point because he noticed that Koy was looking at him like he was an idiot.
"Did I guess wrong?"
“You’re completely wrong,” Coy said. “Liam isn’t that kind. If she dies along the way, Liam will just leave her there instead of taking her to town in the carriage.”
“Actually, I don’t understand if this has anything to do with Liam’s disappearance?” Koy asked.
“I just wanted to look for other clues,” Yan Xun said.
“When we get back, I’ll go to the factory with you.” He wanted to ask the people at the factory what Liam had done after returning.
“Whatever,” Koy said, glancing at the bloodstains on his hands and casually wiping them on his pants. “Anyway, you’re the detective.”
Yan Xun suspected that he was mocking him, but after taking a closer look at Ko Yi's expression, he felt that it didn't seem like it.
After settling his pigs, Koy jumped off the train, with Yan Xun following behind him.
He watched as Koy closed the trailer. "Do you usually unload here?"
“Hmm.” Koy nodded. Seeing Yan Xun’s curiosity, he pointed to the wooden door next to the warehouse. “Levi usually comes out from there.”
“That cart,” he said, pointing to the cart in the corner, “is what he usually uses to store feed, and also the haystacks he keeps outside.”
Yan Xun glanced at the triangular cargo bed and leaned closer for a closer look.
Lily noticed his actions and barked a few times as a warning.
“I’m not going to the other side of the door,” Yan Xun said. “I’m just looking at this.” He turned back and raised his hands to Lily.
Lily moved closer to him, looking at him warily.
Yan Xun looked at the cart bed, which contained only bloodstains left over the years and some weeds.
"You said Levy found those people with their bellies cut open outside the farm." Yan Xun looked away. "Where did he put those people?"
“Where else could it be?” Koy asked.
He looked around the carriage. "Of course, just like them."
Yan Xun: "..."
He discovered that the person in this instance always spoke in a very calm tone, saying things that sounded crazy.
Perhaps they had lingered there for too long, because as the two were talking, Lily quickly ran towards the warehouse door, where Levi soon appeared. He bent down and patted Lily's head a few times before looking up at them. "What are you talking about?"
“We were talking about where those people you found outside your farm are,” Yan Xun said.
"Koy said their fate was the same as those in the carriage."
Levi just smiled and didn't answer. "The sun hasn't set yet, we still have some time. Shall we go into the forest now?" he asked Yan Xun.
“I’m going too,” Koy said.
Levi looked at Yan Xun, seeking his opinion.
“Having an extra bodyguard is certainly a good thing,” Yan Xun said.
"Should I find you some weapons?" Levi asked.
"What do you have?" Yan Xun asked curiously.
“Wait a moment,” Levi said, gesturing for Lily to stay put, and then, in front of Yan Xun and Koy, he opened the small door.
Only after Levi's figure disappeared through the small door did Yan Xun finally speak up, "Did he go to the barn to get weapons?"
"He hid those things in the barn?"
"So he won't let us go to the barn?"
Koy yawned. "You'll be disappointed."
Before Yan Xun could understand what Koy meant, he heard footsteps, the small door opened, and Levi came out holding a three-pronged steel fork. "I usually use it to fork straw."
He handed it to Yan Xun, saying, "You can use it in case there's any danger."
Yan Xun accepted the steel fork expressionlessly, while Koy laughed loudly beside him.
Levy glanced outside the warehouse. "The sun will set in two more hours."
"Let's get back as soon as possible before dark."
He gestured for Lily to lead the way, and Lily, whether she understood Levi's hint or not, ran off quickly.
Yan Xun and the other two followed behind it.
They crossed the fence and reached the edge of the forest.
“The first body was found here,” Levy said, pointing to a tree. “He was lying there.”
"Their bodies are here, but where did the contents of their stomachs go?" Yan Xun suddenly asked.
He looked at Levy. "Didn't you find anything suspicious around here?"
Koy, who was originally following behind Yan Xun, immediately widened his eyes upon hearing his words.
He looked at Levi, then at Yan Xun, "The thing in your belly?"
"You mean those things were secretly hidden on the farm?"
Yan Xun looked at them both strangely, "Otherwise, where did those things go?"
“Since the body was found on the edge of the farm, those things could only have been ripped out at the edge of the farm,” Yan Xun said. He glanced at the tree and then at the farm, which was less than 50 meters away from the tree.
“They seem to have nowhere else to go besides the farm.”
Koy immediately frantically touched his arm, "I don't want to live on the farm."
"I'd rather sleep in my car."
He felt as if fleas were crawling on him. "Who knows if they've already quietly hidden in a corner of this farm?"
He told Levy, "They might be hiding under your bed!"
"After you fall asleep, I'll sneak into your fridge and look for something to eat."
Levi didn't understand why Koy had such a strong reaction.
"Don't you find it scary?" Koy asked. "Maybe they're a bunch of little monsters?"
“Lily didn’t call,” Levy said, “so they probably didn’t open the fridge to look for food last night.”
"It's just a metaphor!" Koy shouted in a fit of rage.
Yan Xun impatiently made a shushing gesture, "Quiet down, your voice is so loud, they'll run away if they hear you."
“That would be for the best,” Coy said.
He quieted down and followed Yan Xun cautiously.
Yan Xun followed behind Levi, holding up a steel fork.
Lily didn't understand these human arguments; she just ran briskly forward.
“Those bodies were all found around here,” Levy said, pointing to several trees nearby. “So the hiding place should be in this area.”
"I sent Lily to search for traces of the living."
He gestured for Yan Xun and the other person to follow him.
The trees in the forest were tall and blocked out some of the light. Yan Xun looked around and quickly found signs of human activity.
“Here,” he pointed to a dug pit, “someone is making a fire here.”
Koy and Levi also saw those traces.
They also saw opened cans of food, "It seems they came prepared."