After the night had passed, the sun brilliantly shone. After about a week of continuous frigid weather, the weather suddenly warmed up.

It was the same situation throughout the northern areas. The temperature in southern Yunnan was more comfortable, and the sunlight appeared to be brighter. Regardless, Guo Zhenghe was in a foul mood because another incident had occurred in He County. There had been more deaths. Three people had died this time. The three people had eaten dinner together. All three were poisoned. It was obviously not an accident. The owner of the restaurant, who had been detained, was shocked.

How did things turn out to be like this? How did things turn out to be like this?

He had been repeating this sentence over and over.

After the preliminary investigation, the restaurant could be ruled out because there had been no problems with the raw materials that had been used. So, how did those three people get poisoned?

The criminal investigation experts in the province were stressed and puzzled. The original case had not yet been solved. Now, a new problem had occurred.

Find out what the poison is! This was the first step they took.

For this reason, they had sent blood samples of all the dead people from the previous cases to Jing for special laboratory analysis. A preliminary conclusion had been reached. The people in those three cases had all died due to the same toxin. The only difference was the amount used. The blood sample for the fourth case was immediately sent to Jing.

This is such a small county, so why do these things keep happening here?

Dont complain so much. We are here to solve this problem.

I wonder if those two have made any progress.

In the Valley of Thousands of Medicine, hundreds of miles away

What? Someone has died again? Yang Guanfeng, who had received the news, was shocked beyond words.

Lu Guanfeng lit a cigarette and quietly smoked after hearing the news.

Alright, I got it. We have found something here, but there is no breakthrough yet. Yang Guanfeng said a few words and hung up.

Another incident has happened in He County. Three people suddenly died while they were eating in a restaurant. They were poisoned.

At this time, I dont think it was done by the people in this stronghold as it would be akin to committing a crime despite tightening law campaigns, Lu Xiufeng said. We are still investigating here now. As long as they are not stupid, they would not do such a thing.

Planted and framed? Yang Guanfeng asked.

Yes, very likely, Lu Xiufeng replied.

What about the incident that happened in the forest a couple of days ago? Yang Guanfeng asked.

There must be a dirty secret in this stockade, but it should be completely unrelated to that case, Lu Xiufeng said.

Yang Guanfeng lit a cigarette and said, I think that even if the case outside has an undeniable relationship to the people here

He puffed out a ring of smoke.

They did that to lead us here and use us to uncover the mystery here. In all likelihood, those people are probably also from this stockade. They are just another group of people who have a deep-seated hatred for Miao Xihe.

Yes, I agree with your analysis, Lu Xiufeng said.

Its a pity that Miao Xihe has absolute authority here, he added. The people in this stronghold are too conservative. As Miao Qingfeng said, they abide by the rules that have been passed down for hundreds of years. Those things are more binding than the law. We were outsiders from the start. Its normal for them to reject and doubt us. Also, there may be eyes and ears everywhere in this stronghold. Even if some people think otherwise, they will not dare express their opinions aloud regarding Miao Xihe except for that person.

Who exactly is that person? Yang Guanfeng asked.

Why dont we give him a call?

No. Lu Xiufeng shook his head.

Its too risky, he said.

An undercover agent played a very important role at the critical moment. Still, they did not know what the undercover agent really thought or whether he wanted to kill someone using the hands of another.

Ugh, what a headache! Lu Xiufeng laid on the bed, staring at the top of the wooden house.

People outside keep killing others. The purpose is to guide us to pay attention to this stockade. Now that we are here, we cant find anything that is of use.

No matter what kind of secret this stockade is harboring, those people who keep killing innocent people outside are the most damned, Lu Xiufeng said. His low voice was filled with anger.

Maybe we can talk to Chief Miao tomorrow, Yang Guanfeng suggested.

Talk to him? About what?

Well openly talk to him and ask him to have someone go out with us to help settle the case outside, Yang Guanfeng said.

What if our judgment is wrong? What if this matter is related to him? Lu Xiufeng asked.

There would still be telltale signs, Yang Guanfeng said. Well keep our eyes on it as much as possible. There wont be any more progress even if we stay here.

If there isnt any more progress, well both be going to lay in the ground.

OK, thats settled, Lu Xiufeng said after thinking for a moment.

They had been there for several days. They had found some problems and made some inferences, but there was no evidence for those problems and inferences. It was purely their logical inferences.

In the stockade, among the wooden houses

Someone has died again?

Yes, three more have died.

Well, the people outside are really incompetent, a middle-aged man said. His voice sounded hollow.

Its not that theyre incompetent, Miao Xihe replied. It is that their opponents are too cunning.

Chief, shall we send someone out to help?

How can we help? Miao Xihe asked. If we were to go out, we might be regarded as a prime suspect. Besides, the enemy is hidden in the dark while we are exposed out in the open. If we were to become entangled in this matter, we wouldnt be able to clear our names no matter how we phrased it.

If he had known that the situation would have led to problems like this, he would have cut down all the root in the first place, leaving no chance for a revival or latent danger.

You guys can leave for now, Miao Xihe said. Let me think about it some more.

Yes.

Miao Xihe sat with his legs crossed and eyes closed, contemplating the next step.

The next morning, the sun rose as usual.

Early in the morning, Yang Guanfeng and Lu Xiufeng found Miao Qingfeng and said they wanted to see Miao Xihe.

Please follow me.

After meeting Miao Xihe, they told him about the purpose of their visit.

Alright, Ill send someone to help you, Miao Xihe said. After a little thought, he agreed to their request to send out two people. One of them was their old friend, Miao Qingfeng, and the other was a middle-aged man named Miao Changhong.

They left the stockade in the morning. Yang Guanfeng drove speedily toward the outside. They arrived in He County after 8 p.m.

At night, the small county town was serene and peaceful, but the people living there were a little fearful. In recent days, there had been all sorts of rumors flying around. There were rumors that a terrible infectious disease was spreading in the county. So far, more than 20 people had died, and it was still spreading. The province had already sent experts over, but no treatment had been found. Both panic and rumors easily spread.

Bam! Guo Zhenghe threw a cup on the floor.

Young Master, please calm down, Xu Xinyuan who was beside him, hurriedly said.

The experts from the province have made little progress! he furiously exclaimed. If people keep dying, it will alert Jing!

Xu Xinyuan remained silent. He knew the stakes involved in this situation. If Jing were to get word of this matter, then it would no longer be possible to keep the matter hidden.

A phone suddenly rang.

Alright, I got it, Guo Zhenghe said. Yes, I agree.