Huo Mian nodded. “Because the owner said that Doctor Lan never sold their house and didn’t take their furniture or even their clothes. It’s like they disappeared into thin air. It’s not logical.”
“But still, you can’t be sure that they were murdered. What if they left because of an emergency?” Qin Chu didn’t agree with Huo Mian’s theory.
“That’s also possible, but the chances are really slim. Think about it, from the death of Uncle Yang, we can tell that the killer is an abomination who won’t even let an old man live. Therefore, there was no way they will let Doctor Lan, an important witness, off the hook. Don’t forget, she was the key person to that incident all those years ago, and if she died, no one would be able to give witness to what happened. I don’t think that someone who was smart enough to quietly kill Uncle Yang and make it seem like a suicide will let Doctor Lan and her family escape.”
Qin Chu sucked in a breath of cold air upon hearing Huo Mian’s analysis. “You sure are meticulous, I forgot that these two cases may be related. You’re right, someone who is willing to kill an old man must be an abomination. But… we need proof, so should we check out Doctor Lan’s old place?”
“Of course not… unless absolutely necessary, we should never come back to this town again.”
“Why not?” Huo Mian’s meticulousness made Qin Chu worry.
“Because there are too many informers and suspicious people in this town. We don’t know who we can trust, so we can’t risk ourselves. If we identify a new witness, we have to find them before they’re killed… The owner’s husband, that man… I didn’t really talk to him, but he’s really weird.”
“Weird how?”
Huo Mian thought about it for a second and then recalled, “I think it’s my woman intuition, I have a feeling that there’s more to him. We met for the first time yesterday, but he’s so unfriendly towards me that I feel like something’s off about him.”
“Maybe you were too nervous…” Qin Chu speculated.
“Maybe… but I also made sure of one other thing.”
“What’s that?”
“The fire at the health center’s archive room all those years ago was not an accident… Not only that, whoever did it was very familiar with chemical principles.”
“Oh? How so?” Qin Chu hadn’t thought about that.
“The owner told me that the fire was really weird, they couldn’t even extinguish it at all. Therefore, the older people in the village claimed that it was a fire from the Gods, sent here to kill monsters and demons, and that’s how word got out. But the owner said that she witnessed the fire and that it became even bigger when they tried to put it out. Apparently, it was really scary… tell me, under what circumstances will water make a fire worse?” Huo Mian smiled as she looked at Qin Chu.
“I got it, whoever set the fire was a chemistry expert, they probably stored some sort of chemical or easily inflammable substance in that room, like potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium carbide, or calcined lime. These substances react to water, so not only will the fire refuse to die down, it’ll make things worse. That’s why regular folks thought it was a fire sent from the Gods.”
“Right, that’s exactly it.” Huo Mian nodded.
“I’m surprised that weird things like this would happen to that little town. Mian, I have a feeling that your birth parents aren’t ordinary people. Their identities may be really complicated.” Qin Chu looked at Huo Mian and guessed.
“I feel the same,” Huo Mian said restlessly.
“Either way, I will help you find them. Don’t worry.” Qin Chu consoled her again.
After they returned to C City, they immediately went to work. As soon as Huo Mian arrived at South Side, one of the nurses told her, “Head Nurse, Deputy Director Guo asked you to go to his office.”
“Okay.” Huo Mian nodded; she quickly changed into her white lab coat and headed up to the deputy director’s office.