Chapter 4

Li Hao remembered!

Speaking of swords, the Li family did indeed have one... or was it a pendant?

The reason for his uncertainty was that the sword Li Hao remembered... it didn't really look like a sword.

But Li Hao knew for sure that it was a sword.

It was a contradiction.

However, it was the truth.

When he was young, Li Hao's father put a sword-shaped jade pendant around his neck and told him very seriously, "This is called the Starry Sky Sword. It's the only heirloom passed down in our Li family. In the future, you should pass it on to your children. Don't think it's just a piece of jade; it is a sword."

When he said this, his father was very serious.

Of course, after being serious for a moment and seeing Li Hao's confusion, his father was also helpless and added, "This is what your grandfather told me, and it's what the ancestors have always said. If you must call it a sword, just call it that."

So Li Hao immediately thought of the Starry Sky Sword, the sword of the Li family.

In fact, it was a small sword-shaped jade pendant hanging around his neck at that moment.

Li Hao was slightly confused at this moment.

If the sword mentioned in the folk song was this jade pendant, then the Li family did indeed have a sword.

Does the Zhang family have a knife?

Li Hao wasn't quite sure about this. Zhang Yuan's parents passed away early, and Li Hao had known him for many years, so he was very familiar with Zhang Yuan.

"The knife of the Zhang family..."

Li Hao carefully recalled for a while, wondering if the Zhang family had a knife.

Recalling the past, Li Hao's eyes slightly changed, and he thought the Zhang family might indeed have a knife.

Unlike his own jade pendant, which was at least a valuable item and an old piece of jade, the Li family did value it somewhat.

The knife of the Zhang family, Li Hao suddenly remembered when he was young, he went to Zhang Yuan's house to play, and Zhang Yuan once secretly took out something to play with Li Hao. They were quickly discovered by Zhang Yuan's father, who beat Zhang Yuan severely.

That thing... seemed to be a stone shaped like a knife.

At this moment, Li Hao's memory was a bit distant and blurry, but he vaguely remembered that when Zhang Yuan's father scolded him, he said it was something left by the ancestors. Although it wasn't valuable, it was still something passed down, and it shouldn't be thrown away.

Of course, Li Hao clearly saw that Zhang Yuan's father casually threw the stone aside. Li Hao suspected that Zhang Yuan's father just wanted to beat his son and used this as an excuse.

"Could this be the knife of the Zhang family mentioned in the folk song?"

If it was, then it would match.

Later, Li Hao never saw that stone again. As they grew older, Li Hao and Zhang Yuan wouldn't just go out to play with a stone, as there were plenty of stones on the roadside.

At this moment, Li Hao was largely convinced that what was mentioned in the folk song might be true.

He subconsciously touched his chest, where the jade pendant was cool and unchanged.

This coolness also instantly woke Li Hao up. He quickly looked at Chen Na, feeling a mix of desire and impulse, and said, "Sis Na, can I meet your grandmother?"

He wanted to know where the song came from, who spread it, how long it had been around, and whether the song was complete.

Why would a self-immolation case be related to a folk song from the countryside?

What was the red shadow, and why did it want to kill the people mentioned in the folk song?

Moreover, if it was killing, was it just one person, or anyone related to the eight families? If so…

"Hmm?"

Before Chen Na could speak, Li Hao suddenly paused.

He quickly flipped through the files, which he had already read countless times, and muttered, "Hong Jiao's parents have already passed away. She died young, so after Hong Jiao's death, there was no one else in the Hong family."

"Zhou Qing's wife is still alive, but Zhou Qing had no children. They never had any offspring after many years of marriage."

"There's no need to mention Zhang Yuan…"

The Zhang family only had Zhang Yuan, and his parents passed away early, so Zhang Yuan was the only descendant of the Zhang family.

"Wang Haoming died before he got married, but Wang Haoming wasn't an only child; he had a younger brother…"

"Liu Yunsheng was an old bachelor all his life."

"Zhao Shihao had a daughter. After Zhao Shihao's death, his daughter left Yincheng with his wife, and their whereabouts are unknown."

Li Hao quickly reviewed the files. Some of them were married, and some had children, so he hadn't noticed any issues before.

But at this moment, Li Hao suddenly thought of himself.

"My parents passed away in an accident three years ago… a definite accident caused by a car losing control and flipping over. But… is it still an accident now?"

Li Hao's parents passed away three years ago.

It was caused by an accident!

It had nothing to do with the self-immolation case, so Li Hao had never associated his parents with this case before, as it was a self-immolation case.

At this moment, Li Hao's mind was filled with thoughts.

The Zhang, Hong, Zhou, and Liu families were completely cut off, with no direct descendants left.

Wang Haoming had a younger brother, and Zhao Shihao had a daughter. If Li Hao was the "Li" mentioned in the folk song, then the Li family… seemed to be just him.

"This isn't just killing one person, but… exterminating a clan!"

His heart was filled with increasing fear and anger!

My parents, didn't they die in an accident?

Of course, this couldn't be completely confirmed yet, as the Wang and Zhao families still had people alive.

…

"Li Hao!"

Chen Na's shout woke Li Hao up.

"Are you okay?"

Chen Na saw that Li Hao asked a question, but didn't respond, as if he was lost in thought.

"I'm fine!"

Li Hao quickly shook his head. Chen Na looked at him and said, "You… do you think these people are related to the families mentioned in the folk song? But it's just a folk song, some of which are based on myths, and some are just casually sung. I think it might just be a coincidence. Aren't there still two families missing?"

As she spoke, she wanted to laugh but didn't. She suddenly paused and looked at Li Hao.

Two families were missing, one surnamed Zheng, and one surnamed Li!

Li Hao?

Is this related to Li Hao?

She was a patrol officer and had basic logic and reasoning. She instantly connected it to Li Hao. Li Hao had been investigating these people; could it be related to him?

"Li Hao, you're surnamed Li, right?"

"…"

Li Hao smiled bitterly. Could he say no?

Chen Na frowned, "Tell me the truth, is there something wrong with the deaths of these six people?"

She glanced at the files, which she hadn't read in detail, but they seemed to be accidental deaths, not concentrated in one year. Could they be related?

"Na Sis, let's not talk about this for now. Can I meet your grandmother?"

Li Hao didn't want to discuss this further.

Chen Na, seeing his reaction, didn't press further and said, "I just said, you didn't hear me. My grandmother passed away a few years ago…"

"Sorry!"

"It's okay. My grandmother was over ninety when she passed away, so it was a peaceful death."

Chen Na wasn't bothered and quickly added, "But many people in my grandmother's area knew the folk song… when I was young, but I'm not sure now. I haven't been back to my hometown for many years."

Seeing Li Hao's concern, she added, "How about this, if you're really interested, we can take some time to go to my hometown and investigate. If we meet any elderly people who know the song, we might find out something."

Li Hao thought for a moment and nodded.

"Can we go the day after tomorrow? Are you available, Na Sis?"

"Sure!"

They agreed, and Li Hao didn't dwell on it further. He quickly said, "Na Sis, you have more connections in the Patrol Bureau. Can you help me with something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

At this moment, because Li Hao had shown Chen Na the files, he didn't hide anything and said in a low voice, "Can you help me find the whereabouts of a few people? The first one is Wang Haoming's younger brother. He's not in Yincheng, and Wang Haoming was his only relative here. After Wang Haoming's death, he hasn't been back for a long time."

"The second one is Zhao Shihao's daughter. After Zhao Shihao's death, she moved away with her mother, and their whereabouts are unknown."

The Patrol Bureau of Yincheng only had jurisdiction over Yincheng and didn't have the authority to access files from other regions.

He asked Chen Na because she had more connections in the Patrol Bureau.

In the Patrol Bureau, Li Hao wasn't familiar with the Patrol Bureaus in other cities, but there were always colleagues, classmates, or friends working in other Patrol Bureaus. If he really wanted to investigate, he could find out information.

Chen Na's eyes flickered.

Investigate the family members of the victims?

What did Li Hao mean?

"Na Sis, can you find out?"

Chen Na thought for a moment and nodded, "If I have a general area, it will be easier to find. The problem is if there are no clues. You should know, outside of Yincheng, the world is vast, and we don't have the authority to investigate across regions or access files. If I ask for help, I need a specific target to investigate."

"I understand. I have some information on them. I'll write it down for you later. I don't know the exact locations, but I know which cities they are in."

Li Hao had investigated for a long time and had some information on the families of the deceased, but because they were in other places, he couldn't contact them.

"That makes it easier. I'll take care of it!"

Chen Na agreed readily.

Li Hao thanked her quickly.

They talked for a while, and Chen Na suddenly lowered her voice, "Li Hao, some things… just be careful. I think… this might not be simple."

She wasn't stupid and had a rough idea of what was going on.

At this moment, Chen Na was considering whether Li Hao, if he was the "Li" mentioned in the folk song, might also be in danger.

The Patrol Bureau wasn't afraid of danger, but they were afraid of unknown dangers.

The cases of those people were all caused by accidents.

Li Hao nodded slightly, not saying much more.

Li Hao had many things to do and needed to verify.

He needed to investigate the case from 10 years ago to see if the Zheng family had died.

If possible, he would go to Zhang Yuan's house, which had been empty since Zhang Yuan's death, to see if the knife of the Zhang family was still there.

Not just the knife of the Zhang family, but also the hammer of the Hong family, the gun of the Zhou family, and the other weapons mentioned in the folk song. He needed to find out if they existed and if they were still around.

Was the red shadow targeting the people of the eight families, or the weapons mentioned in the folk song?

Fists and feet were irrelevant; if a person died, everything was gone.

But the weapons, if they were passed down like the Li family's, might provide some clues.

He needed to determine the purpose of the red shadow and understand it better to deal with the crisis more effectively.

…

Li Hao didn't go directly to the Zhang family or home; he had other things to do.

Patrol Bureau.

Archive room.

Aunt Zhao, who managed the archives, moved a stack of files from the dusty storage room, dusted off the dust, and raised a cloud of dust.

She handed the yellowed files to Li Hao, a bit puzzled, "Xiao Hao, what do you need these for? The list of Zheng surnames who died and had their accounts closed in Yincheng from 1715 to 1719 is here. There are a few hundred people, but they've been dead for many years…"

Li Hao smiled innocently, "Sis Zhao, there are some suspicious cases in the Confidential Room that involve these. I can't say much, but I'll treat you to a meal when I find some clues."

"Meals are fine, Xiao Hao. You're 20 now, not so young. My daughter is 22, two years older than you…"

"…"

Li Hao was a bit helpless but kept smiling, "Sis Zhao, let's talk about it later. I'm still young."

He quickly left with the files, a bit embarrassed.

The aunts in the Patrol Bureau were very热情, but this was one of their less desirable traits, as they liked to introduce their daughters to him.

Not just daughters, but also nieces or other young women.

Why? Because Li Hao had been admitted to Yincheng Ancient Academy, even though he dropped out, he was still very popular.

With the list in hand, Li Hao quickly flipped through it.

A few hundred names weren't many, and they generally included the cause of death. This was a list of closed accounts, and Li Hao needed to exclude some and combine other information to find the Zheng family members he was looking for.

The best outcome would be if there was a direct mention of death by self-immolation, which would be the easiest to identify.

Li Hao realized that the red shadow, or the force behind it, killed the direct descendants or only children of the eight families using self-immolation.

If not, Li Hao wouldn't have been able to identify the previous victims.

There might be some hidden secrets, which Li Hao couldn't yet uncover.

"Self-immolation cases occurred in 1720 and 1723, so the earlier time should be equal or longer, and the most likely time is before 1717."

Li Hao walked and read, needing to confirm whether the Zheng family member had died.

If they had, it would confirm his previous assumptions.

If not… If the Zheng family member was still alive, it wouldn't be a waste. A living person might provide more clues, and Li Hao thought it would be better if the Zheng family member was alive, as it might have a direct connection to the red shadow.

"In the folk song, the young master of the Zheng family is described as lagging behind, which is different from the other families… perhaps the Zheng family has some unique aspects."

As he thought, Li Hao flipped to a page.

"Zheng Yunqi, died on September 12, 1715, cause of death: gas explosion…"

Li Hao's eyes instantly sharpened. Gas explosion?

This could result in a body being severely damaged, similar to death by self-immolation.

Moreover, such a death wouldn't attract much attention.

"Is this him?"

Li Hao muttered. A gas explosion could kill more than one person, which could mean the entire Zheng family was wiped out!

Among the few hundred names, this person had the highest probability of being the Zheng family member mentioned in the folk song.

"Maybe… I should go and check."

Li Hao thought, noting the address. Of course, 15 years later, it was uncertain if the place still existed.

Chen Na's folk song had given Li Hao many clues.

In his mind, he gradually understood the key points of the self-immolation case.

If this Zheng Yunqi was the Zheng family member Li Hao was looking for, then among the eight families, he might be the only one still alive.

"Revenge? Or something else?"

"Is the red shadow a human creation, a special ability, or just an illusion?"

Li Hao touched the jade sword on his chest again. Was this ancestral jade sword just a family heirloom, or did it have some other purpose?

"Seven families are dead, so the next one must be me. How did they find me and the others? We have no special traits. Why can the red shadow target us?"

The threat of death seemed to be approaching.

At this moment, Li Hao felt the storm was coming. He quickly checked his communicator to find out when the next rainy day would be. According to the pattern, the next rainy day might be when the red shadow would appear.

"July 18th, overcast!"

Li Hao's expression changed. Today was the 12th, and the next few days were clear. On the 18th, it would turn overcast, followed by a period of rainy weather.

"In other words, the red shadow might appear in six days at the earliest. Even if not in six days, during the next overcast or rainy day, they might appear."

At this moment, Li Hao's heart felt like it was being squeezed!

Before, he wasn't sure if the red shadow was targeting him or if he was the next target, but now he was certain that the red shadow's next target was him.

"Did Zhang Yuan's last words, telling me to run, mean he guessed or learned from the red shadow that the next target was me?"

"Why didn't the red shadow kill me directly last time? Why wait a year to come after me?"

"Perhaps the red shadow