The 80s Female Detective's Guide to Self-Preservation [Criminal Investigation] - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The dirt roads were indeed difficult to navigate, especially slick ones; a single hurried step felt like losing one’s center of gravity. Furthermore, the terrain of Lingnan was hilly, and most houses in this era were built wherever a family could find a patch of land on the slopes.

The pursuit felt more like urban parkour—a series of vertical leaps and drops. Xia Qiuyuan, watching the middle-aged man ahead of her move with a vigorous, nimble stride, was fuming with frustration.

How is this body’s physical stamina so poor? Didn’t they have mandatory physical training in the eighties?

The black figure ahead was clearly familiar with the terrain, but he couldn’t shake off Xia Qiuyuan’s relentless pursuit. The three of them had run all the way from the mountainside into the fruit orchards owned by Xiatang Village.

The middle-aged man wove through the fruit trees, adding another layer of difficulty for Xia Qiuyuan. The ground was covered in fallen leaves, making every step unpredictable; at times, it felt like her foot wouldn’t even hit solid ground. Rotting leaves mixed with damp mud made her shoes slide.

One moment of distraction could lead to a head-on collision with a tree. Fortunately, since it was the Start of Spring, farmers were already in the orchard pruning the trees.

Xia Qiuyuan shouted, “Comrades, help! Stop that man ahead! Police business!”

She shouted several times. People in the grove, originally busy with their shears, began chasing after the man. Just as the suspect was about to dash out of the orchard, a hearty middle-aged female voice rang out: “Xiao Qin! Help the police catch him!”

“What?” Suddenly, from a corner of the field bank, a tall woman appeared, covered from head to toe in clothing. She was holding a thick rope and was dressed in a riot of colorful patterns.

Xia Qiuyuan only heard the voice’s response before seeing the fleeing man trip and fall at the edge of the orchard. By the time he scrambled to get up, Xia Qiuyuan had caught up. She grabbed his arm, wrenching it behind his back, delivered a heavy elbow drop to his lower back, drove her knee into his abdomen, and pinned him to the ground with a seamless over-the-shoulder throw and restraint.

The move was incredibly cool, but unfortunately, the handcuffs wouldn’t open.

Xia Qiuyuan: “…” Who left this ancient piece of junk hanging on the office wall?

The man pinned beneath her wouldn’t stay still, struggling and cursing her for “indiscriminately accusing an innocent person.”

“Accusing you? If you’re innocent, why did you run? And why run so far?” Xia Qiuyuan rolled her eyes, panting heavily. The chase had nearly killed her. Most importantly, aside from the fresh scent of the trees, the strongest smell coming from the man beneath her was that woody aroma—exactly the same scent she had detected in the pigsty.

Even if he wasn’t the killer, he had at least sneaked into the pigsty last night. There was no mistake.

The man continued to struggle. Fearing he might break free, Xia Qiuyuan delivered a swift, clean knife-hand strike to his neck, knocking him unconscious. Instantly, the world became much quieter.

Hou Ming arrived shortly after, breathless. “Xia Qiuyuan, you can really run!”

Hou Ming had been following closely, but he had gotten stuck in a narrow alleyway. Being broader than the other two, he couldn’t fit, and the red bricks were topped with steel spikes, making it impossible to climb over. He had been forced to take a detour. By the time he arrived, he saw Xia Qiuyuan sitting on the ground.

“Hehe, it’s just that your stamina is lacking, Captain.” Xia Qiuyuan raised an eyebrow and handed her broken handcuffs to Hou Ming. “Mine are broken. How are yours?”

“He’s already unconscious; what do you need handcuffs for?” Despite his words, Hou Ming dutifully cuffed the man. He checked the suspect’s pulse; he was still alive. His heart settled.

Covered in dirt, Xia Qiuyuan scrambled up from the ground, dusted off her hands, and looked at the group of women in headscarves working in the orchard. Her eyes curved like crescent moons as she said sweetly, “Thank you, Aunties! If it weren’t for you, I’d have had to run several more miles.”

Xia Qiuyuan walked toward the woman dressed in “tropical rainforest” patterns—the one who had used the rope to trip the man—and reached out to shake her hand. “Thank you, Auntie. If you hadn’t pulled that rope to trip him, this would have been a real headache.”

“…Auntie?” Qin Yu looked at her, full of questions. To make farmwork easier, she had specifically dug out clothes from her elders’ generation. Though they were colorful and gaudy, the fit was snug, perfectly outlining her figure; she was clearly a beautiful rural maiden.

Where did “Auntie” come from?

As a twenty-two-year-old female master’s student—an agriculture student building a better future for her country—Qin Yu, who had spent her life hearing nothing but praise for her beauty, fell into a stunned silence.

Auntie. That cursed ‘Auntie.’ Who is your auntie?

The women standing around burst into laughter. The auntie who had first called for help stepped forward. “Officer, Xiao Qin is a university student who came to the countryside to support agriculture. She’s here today for soil quality measurement and planting distance calculations. She’s not an ‘elderly middle-aged person’ like us.”

“Exactly, Xiao Qin is quite a beauty,” another auntie teased, glancing over. “Just as pretty as you, Officer—fair and clean. When she first arrived in the village, a whole crowd of men and women followed her around. I couldn’t bear to look at how silly they were.”

“Hahaha, Auntie Fang’s son was so busy staring at Xiao Qin that he ran right into the old crooked tree at the village entrance.”

“…”

Only now did Xia Qiuyuan realize that the hand she was holding was indeed different from that of a lifelong farmer. It wasn’t rough, but smooth and fair. Looking closer, she saw the woman before her didn’t have a slouch; her amber eyes were filled with light. She was vivid and spirited, her gaze more beautiful than peach petals.

A crisp voice fell into Xia Qiuyuan’s ear.

“Great-niece, have you held your ‘Auntie’s’ hand long enough?”

“How much longer? Is this how people from the city show their gratitude?”

Xia Qiuyuan: “…”

“Pffthahaha, Xiao Qin’s tongue really is merciless.”

Xia Qiuyuan scratched her head awkwardly and let go. “Sorry about that, I… I just didn’t expect there to be young people in the village.”

“It’s fine, great-niece. Your ‘Auntie’ won’t hold it against you,” Qin Yu said.

Xia Qiuyuan thought to herself: You call this ‘not holding it against me’? You’ve clearly taken it to heart.

What a petty person.

Just as Xia Qiuyuan was wondering how to apologize, she heard Hou Ming say, “You’re Professor Cui’s student from the Lingnan University College of Agriculture, aren’t you?”

Qin Yu turned her gaze past Xia Qiuyuan to the man standing behind her and nodded. “Professor Cui was my undergraduate advisor.”

“Old Cui mentions you often. I didn’t think you’d actually come down to the countryside.” Hou Ming seemed to think of something, then frowned. “Old Cui is a careless one, but how could you be so careless too? He didn’t send anyone to accompany you?”

Qin Yu shook her head. “He did, but that colleague wasn’t feeling well today, so they’re resting at the village branch office.”

At this, Hou Ming understood perfectly. Either Qin Yu was being bullied but didn’t care enough to stop working alone, or the colleague was genuinely ill yet bold enough to let Old Cui’s favorite student wander a strange village by herself. Regardless, Hou Ming felt he needed to have a word with Old Cui later.

Qin Yu didn’t know what Hou Ming was thinking. She was currently sizing up Xia Qiuyuan.

With bright eyes and white teeth, the officer’s hair—originally pinned up—had come loose during the chase. Her police cap was slightly tilted, but that aura of youth and vitality was unlike anyone else’s. Qin Yu felt that even if this person were thrown into a crowd without her uniform, she would spot her at a single glance.