Chapter 29

After killing the snakes and retrieving the treasure in the primeval forest, Xiao Hai was busy as ever. Meanwhile, the police in Huyan Naxi, outside the primeval forest, were almost overwhelmed with work.

There was solid evidence that the robber who had stolen the workers' wages had fled to Huyan Naxi. The police from Hark City had already joined forces with the local police in Huyan Naxi, and they had launched a joint operation to capture the suspect.

The primary suspect: Xiao Hai!

According to analysis, Xiao Hai had not yet left Huyan Naxi. To avoid alerting him, the police had devised a secret operation, increasing the number of officers at all hotels, stations, and key traffic points in the county, setting up a tight net.

As soon as Xiao Hai appeared, there would be no place for him to run. Moreover, Officer Zhao provided a crucial clue: Xiao Hai had once entered the primeval forest to dig for medicinal herbs. According to Officer Zhao's analysis, he might have hidden the stolen money in the forest. Now that he had disappeared without a trace, it was likely that he had entered the forest again to retrieve the loot.

This clue was extremely important, and the police immediately deployed forces outside the primeval forest, waiting for Xiao Hai to walk into their trap.

Xiao Hai had no idea that he had become a wanted criminal. He sent a sparrow to inform Lion General, Turtle Chancellor, and Wolf Forward that he had successfully dealt with the snake queen and was safe, asking them not to worry. Just as he was about to leave the primeval forest, the sparrow suddenly flew back, reporting that some mysterious people had gathered outside the forest, and they were armed.

Mysterious people? Armed? Xiao Hai did not think of the police; he only thought of the persistent Deng Chenglong. Could he have followed him all the way to Huyan Naxi and wanted to take back the 50,000 yuan?

Frowning, although he was not afraid, he decided to take precautions. He took off his backpack, hid it somewhere, and summoned several venomous snakes to guard it. Then, he left with Xiao Qi, his hands empty.

After walking for about half an hour, he left the primeval forest and saw a teahouse, so he went in.

There were already two tables of guests inside. As soon as a young boy with a dog entered, they cast wary glances at him.

Xiao Hai suddenly smiled. Who did he see among the guests? The beautiful policewoman, Yin Yuno!

Before he could greet her, Yin Yuno pointed at Xiao Hai: "It's him!"

"Whoosh," the "tea guests" around her stood up, and several gun barrels were aimed at Xiao Hai: "Don't move!"

"We are the police, don't move!"

Xiao Hai was utterly confused. Police? Why were the police making such a big deal out of him? Hmm? Was entering the primeval forest now illegal? Or was killing a centuries-old snake queen illegal?

Several police officers quickly approached Xiao Hai and pinned him to a table.

If Xiao Hai had resisted, these few people could not have restrained him. But he wanted to find out what was going on, so he let the police search him and even smiled at Yin Yuno, thinking how nice it would be if the beautiful policewoman searched him.

Seeing Xiao Hai smile at her in such a situation, Yin Yuno's face turned red...

The police found nothing on Xiao Hai. A young officer put handcuffs on him: "Where is the stolen money?"

"What stolen money?" Xiao Hai was completely confused.

The young officer wanted to ask more, but an older officer whispered, "The situation is complicated here. Take him back to Officer Zhao's station."

Before being pushed into the police car, Xiao Hai suddenly turned to Yin Yuno and said, "Hey, Officer Yin, take care of my little dog for me."

What was this young college student thinking? In such a situation, he was still worried about his dog. Yin Yuno almost wanted to stop her colleagues and ask for a clear explanation.

The dog, however, seemed unconcerned...

...

The case was urgent, and the police who had successfully captured the suspect did not return to the county bureau but directly interrogated him at the police station where Officer Zhao was the instructor.

Participating in the interrogation were Officer Zhao Wanglin, Captain Ding Yuan from the Huyan Naxi County Bureau's Criminal Investigation Team, and Captain Du Songwei from the Hark City Bureau's Criminal Investigation Team.

Captain Du Songwei, the lead interrogator, asked straightforwardly, "Xiao Hai, have you ever been to Hark City?"

"Been there?" Xiao Hai still did not understand the situation. Had he committed a crime by going to Hark City?

"On X month X day, a robbery occurred at the entrance of X Bank. Xiao Hai, do you know about this robbery?"

"No," Xiao Hai answered honestly. But he began to understand. Did the police think he was involved in the robbery?

Captain Du's attitude was still relatively good. Seeing Xiao Hai deny it, he did not get angry, and there was no solid evidence that the young man in front of him was the culprit: "Then please answer me, why did you suddenly go to Hark City, leave suddenly, and then come to Huyan Naxi?"

"I'm on summer vacation, traveling around," Xiao Hai said, feeling both amused and exasperated. "Comrade Officer, I have nothing to do with any robbery. I went to Hark City just for a trip. Ah, right, I found a meat lingzhi in the Hark Grassland and sold it for 50,000 yuan. Many people in the market can vouch for me. By the way, on the day of the robbery, I was having morning tea, sitting at the same table as the son and daughter of the president of 'Tianzi Group' in Xinan City. After finishing my tea, I got on the bus to Huyan Naxi. You can investigate all of this."

He provided very detailed information, even naming witnesses, which made the police officers somewhat doubtful. Had they arrested the wrong person?

Captain Ding Yuan had someone bring some photos to Xiao Hai: "Look, is this you?"

These were photos of the robber taken by the bank's surveillance cameras. Xiao Hai glanced at them: "It looks like me, the build is really similar. But you can't just arrest someone based on a few blurry photos, right?"

He hit the key point. The robber's face was not clearly captured, and the few frontal shots were deliberately disguised.

"Xiao Hai, don't get agitated," Captain Du said. "You are not a criminal yet, just a suspect. You are here to assist us in the investigation. If you are proven innocent, I will personally escort you back and apologize to you."

Hey, the police officer's attitude was quite good. But he had nothing to do with the robbery, let alone being a suspect.

Officer Zhao, who had not spoken until now, suddenly asked, "Xiao Hai, what about your backpack?"

"Lost it," Xiao Hai answered casually.

"Lost it?" Officer Zhao smiled. "There were a lot of good herbs in it. Just lost it like that? Ah, what did you do in the primeval forest this time? Kill a few black bears and lions?"

"Looking for herbs," Xiao Hai said indifferently. "This time, I didn't kill any black bears or lions, just a big python."

Captain Du and Captain Ding were puzzled. Officer Zhao recounted his first encounter with Xiao Hai, and the two officers laughed. This young man's boasting skills were not very good. Saying he killed a wild dog was possible, but claiming he defeated black bears and lions and killed a big python was just nonsense.

Either he was drunk and talking nonsense, or he had some mental issues.

After asking a few more questions and getting nothing, Captain Du had someone temporarily take Xiao Hai away and then turned to his colleagues: "What do you think?"

"He doesn't seem like a criminal," Captain Ding said first. "Which robber would appear so boldly in front of us? And he has solid witnesses in Hark City. As soon as we investigate, it will be clear. Also, although the robber in the photos looks similar to Xiao Hai, I just compared them, and there are significant differences if you look closely."

"I also don't think he is," Officer Zhao added. "Although the young man likes to boast and act carelessly, when I first met him, I saw that he was carrying herbs, not stolen money. It seems I was too eager to catch the criminal and wronged this young man."

Captain Du nodded slightly. "I agree with Captain Ding. The photos and Xiao Hai do not match. I suggest we release him. However, this young man has entered the primeval forest twice and came out unscathed, which suggests he has some other purpose. Officer Zhao, is there any way to enter the primeval forest?"

"Enter the primeval forest?" Officer Zhao smiled bitterly. "Forget it. We can't even find a guide, and our manpower is insufficient. Even after a day, we might still be at the edge of the forest. Even the most experienced hunters only operate at the edge of the primeval forest; no one has ever entered the core, which is full of unknown dangers."

Hearing this from a local colleague, Captain Ding gave up on the idea. He suddenly thought of something: "Does Yin Yuno know Xiao Hai?"

"Only met once in a hotel," Officer Zhao was taken aback.

Captain Ding pondered for a moment. "Although we are almost certain that Xiao Hai is not the robber, I still feel there is something mysterious about this young man. Let's release him, but have Yin Yuno keep an eye on him."

"Yes," Officer Zhao responded loudly. He then called Yin Yuno in and assigned her the task.

Hearing that Xiao Hai was indeed not a criminal, Yin Yuno felt a bit relieved. She had always thought that such a sunny young man could not be a bad person. But she was a bit reluctant to be assigned to monitor Xiao Hai.

Since he was no longer a suspect, why did she have to monitor him?

The polygonum multiflorum Xiao Hai had given her had not yet been delivered to Uncle Zhao.

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