Sixteen corpses!
Sixteen desiccated and nearly mummified corpses!
This was the result unearthed by the Lingcheng police from beneath the ancient ginkgo tree in Xiaoque Mountain.
Once this result emerged, the matter was no longer within the Lingcheng police's control.
One piece of news, neither good nor bad, was that after an autopsy by local forensic examiners, these bodies had been buried there for several decades.
The bad news was that with so much time having passed, the case was impossible to trace, making it difficult to identify the deceased.
A grudgingly good piece of news was that precisely because of the long passage of time, the matter was not as urgent.
What was truly chilling, however, were the horrifying little stories, meticulously crafted, that the young girl recounted.
These stories spanned from modern times back to the past, some dating back decades, others occurring within the current year.
And it remained unknown how many more tales Lou Jusheng had left untold.
These were lives, lived and lost!
On the other end of the phone, a stern voice continued to inquire about Lou Jusheng.
Jian Sheng relayed everything Lou Jusheng had said, word for word.
All the little stories, and the heinous incidents revealed during her chat with Cheng Zhixian, were recounted.
"So, you learned about this burial site where he hid bodies before fleeing the country from listening to Lou Jusheng and his friend's conversation."
"You are unaware if there are similar burial sites elsewhere, correct?"
Jian Sheng softly hummed in assent, her mood subdued.
The discovery made by the other party corroborated Jian Sheng's own suspicions.
"Then, can you tell me how you were rescued?"
"Where is Lou Jusheng now? And who is his friend?"
The small figure curled into a ball, nestled in the back seat of the bus.
Her gaze drifted towards the various vehicles speeding past the window, becoming increasingly distant.
She recalled the words that Xiao Bai had impressed upon her on the plane.
According to Xiao Bai, this was an agreed-upon decision, made in consultation with her "scumbag dad."
Jian Sheng bit her lip lightly and spoke softly.
"Master Lou is already dead. For the specifics, you can ask my father, Gu Jiangyan, or my friend, Qi Suibai."
Hearing these names, the man holding the phone felt a jolt.
Immediately after, he heard the little girl continue:
"As for Lou Jusheng's friend, I'm sorry, I cannot say."
It wasn't that she didn't know, but that she couldn't say.
The man's voice suddenly turned stern.
"Little one, do you realize how serious the consequences of concealing their identity are?"
"Lou Jusheng harmed countless people. Can his friend, who could help him escape the country, be anyone good?"
"Do you know how many more people will fall victim to them because of your silence?"
However, his stern interrogation was interrupted by the girl's weak voice.
"I'm sorry, I'm tired."
Only then did the man realize that the other party was just a little girl, not yet five years old.
After such bizarre experiences and dangers, her current composure was already remarkable.
Yet, his mind was still plagued by countless unanswered questions.
Furthermore, his intuition told him that this little girl, who could befriend her captors and calmly analyze their conversations while in their clutches,
was by no means an ordinary person!
This was the intuition bestowed by his status, and the way his profession demanded he think!
It seemed he would have to meet the little girl himself, and her father.
With that thought, the man recalled the two names the little girl had mentioned.
He couldn't help but rub his temples.
Neither of those individuals was easy to deal with.
After saying all she could, Jian Sheng handed the phone to Hu Guangxu.
Hu Guangxu took the phone, politely agreed a few times, and then hung up.
A while later, the color gradually returned to the little girl's face.
However, she remained curled up in the back seat, appearing very silent.
Hu Guangxu hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"Sheng Sheng, can you finish telling your story?"
Jian Sheng hugged her knees, tilted her head, and asked with a hint of confusion:
"Why should I finish?"
"The bodies have been dug up. It's confirmed that the people who left in the stories have left this world."
"Are you still worried about causing panic by letting them listen to those terrifying stories?"
It was precisely because of the fear of causing panic that the other party had asked Jian Sheng, through Hu Guangxu, to be questioned privately.
Generally, most cases were not disclosed to the public.
This was because some cases were too sensational; if they circulated, they could easily incite social panic.
For instance, the stories Jian Sheng had just recounted, if people knew that in modern society, such a killer monster had been lurking,
who would dare to go out alone?
Hu Guangxu, merely acting as a mouthpiece, was still unaware of the full extent of what had transpired.
Hearing the little girl's words, countless "holy crap" moments erupted within him, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Dead people!
Corpses!
Heroes transformed into horrifying tales!
Extracting the core, Hu Guangxu felt an overwhelming sense of panic.
This was bad. If the situation blew up, it could severely impact the program team.
No, that wasn't right.
The authorities would release the news, meaning they had already prepared measures to appease the public.
If that were the case, then with proper handling, it could actually bring more traffic to the program team.
Hu Guangxu's mind raced. Through the live broadcast content and the information he had just received, he quickly grasped the situation.
He finally understood the meaning of the last few instructions given to him.
He conveyed the other party's words as instructed.
"The incident has already happened, so there's no need to continue hiding it."
"After all, you are back now, and the person who kidnapped you is dead, which is the most important thing."
"Based on the earlier content, the audience can already guess a lot of things."
"Hiding it now would only make the audience suspicious, so it's better to be forthright and clear their doubts."
The little girl nodded in silence.
She had also understood.
Panic would arise from the unknown; no one knew where the killer was hiding or when they would strike.
But now that the killer was dead, what was there to fear from a deceased person?
For people, only anger towards the perpetrator would remain.
Hu Guangxu observed the little girl's expression, unsure if she truly understood the deeper meaning or was simply obedient.
He had a feeling that the youngest guest on the program was perhaps a bit too clever.
He hoped it was just his imagination.
He led the little girl back to Jian Xiuhuan.
Jian Xiuhuan tenderly picked up the little girl, pinched her cheek, and asked nothing.
Instead, the live broadcast audience, who had been waiting for the results, grew impatient.
They began flooding the chat with questions.
Sensing the little girl's low spirits, Jian Xiuhuan gently stroked her head.
"If you're feeling down, just go to sleep."
"After you wake up, you can decide whether or not to continue telling the story based on how you feel."