Scolded by Xu Sanhu, Hu Liu lowered his head in fear, not daring to meet his gaze.
"Our East Village is currently in a time of trouble. I hope everyone can unite and face the coming disaster together. Only then can we survive. If anyone dares to betray the village at this time, they will be the enemy of the entire East Village. You all know best how to treat enemies."
He said this while glaring fiercely at Hu Liu.
This impassioned speech made even Ye Fan feel a surge of excitement.
Moreover, everything seemed logical: Hu Liu was afraid, and Xu Sanhu was angry.
There was cause and effect, but for some reason, Ye Fan felt something was off, as if Xu Sanhu's anger was a bit excessive.
Although he was the village chief, he shouldn't interfere with the personal freedom of the villagers.
Especially the last part, which was indeed stirring, but upon closer thought, it seemed to be directed at their group.
"Village Chief Xu, we will definitely stand with you through this difficult time. Currently, our people have died tragically in East Village. We will not rest until we find the killer."
Indeed, Old Lei had been moved by Xu Sanhu's attitude and said earnestly.
"Thank you, Old Lei. Our East Village will absolutely not stand idly by in this matter. We will fight that evil to the end, even if it costs us our lives."
Ye Fan glanced at them indifferently and turned towards Xue Zhonglong's body. He squatted down and carefully examined it. It was no different from Xue Tao's, and he found no other problems.
Aside from the scratches on his face, there were no other injuries.
"Take the body away."
Seeing Ye Fan get up with nothing found, Xu Sanhu ordered the body to be carried away.
But the moment they lifted Xue Zhonglong's body, Ye Fan keenly noticed a shard of broken porcelain pressed under Xue Zhonglong's wrist. It was only the size of a fingertip and was inconspicuous on the ground. If not for a careful look, it would be impossible to spot.
If not for Ye Fan's sharp eyesight, honed from his past life as a tomb keeper, he likely wouldn't have noticed it.
"Let's go back and discuss what to do next."
Xu Sanhu suggested.
Everyone nodded and walked back alongside him.
Only Ye Fan lagged a few steps behind. While everyone was distracted, he quickly picked up the porcelain shard.
...
"Two people are already dead. It seems the killer is specifically targeting us. If we don't bring him to justice soon, I fear we are all in danger."
Ji Nanshan said with a somber face, his eyes filled with anger.
No matter how much he disliked the two from the Xue family, they had come together. Now that they had died in a foreign land, how could he not be upset?
Moreover, this was no longer just about Xue Zhonglong and Xue Tao; his own life was now threatened.
In Jiangcheng for so many years, he had never encountered such a situation.
Old Lei also had a grim expression. It seemed the killer was specifically targeting people from the Jiangnan antique appraisal industry. Both Xue Tao and Xue Zhonglong had been brought by him.
"We must catch the killer and punish him severely."
These were Old Lei's words.
As for Shen Tianyin and Ye Fan, they remained silent. Shen Tianyin was unsure what to do and didn't know what to say, while Ye Fan had other concerns.
"Brother Ye, all of us here will follow your orders. Tell us what we should do next."
Ji Nanshan asked, turning his gaze to Ye Fan.
Unknowingly, Ye Fan had become the pillar of strength for these people.
"The remaining members of our group should temporarily live together. This way, we can look out for each other and be aware of any incidents immediately."
Ye Fan said with a deep voice. The safety of these people was the most important thing now. If more people died, morale would likely collapse.
"Alright, let's do that."
Ji Nanshan agreed without hesitation, supporting whatever decision Ye Fan made.
Xu Sanhu immediately arranged for people to make preparations. Since there were only eight of them left, there were no suitable rooms, so they had to stay in the ancestral hall of East Village.
Although it was somewhat eerie, it was the most spacious.
Ye Fan and the others, who had been dealing with antiques for years and had handled countless burial artifacts, did not mind the ancestral hall.
That night, Ye Fan sat alone in a corner and took out the porcelain shard from his pocket.
Ji Nanshan, Old Lei, and Shen Tianyin were nearby.
Seeing Ye Fan take out the shard, Shen Tianyin asked softly, "What is this?"
In the lamplight, the shard had no luster. Its surface appeared matte, and beneath the matte finish, it seemed as if bloodstains were subtly flowing.
"It was under Xue Zhonglong's body. I picked it up this morning."
Ye Fan's gaze was fixed on the shard as he pondered.
"From the appearance, it seems to be a folk kiln porcelain from the Sui and Tang dynasties. The clay is ordinary, and the glaze is dull, with no color. Throughout the history of porcelain, only the folk kilns of the Sui and Tang dynasties had this style."
Old Lei, worthy of being a master from the Jiangnan Antique Appraisal Association, immediately recognized the anomaly.
Ji Nanshan and Shen Tianyin frowned, confused.
Such knowledge couldn't be obtained through study but required extensive practice.
However, Ye Fan shook his head and said, "This is not a porcelain shard, nor is it from the Sui and Tang dynasties."
Hearing Ye Fan's words, the others were stunned. "How did you figure that out? It's just a small piece, could you be mistaken? And if it's not porcelain, what could it be?"
Ji Nanshan frowned, completely bewildered.
Ye Fan then placed the shard in his palm and gently rubbed it with his fingers.
"This should be a fragment of unfired clay, before glazing. It has only undergone the initial firing, and the color is still fresh, meaning it was fired recently."
"It has a grainy texture to the touch, a matte surface, and is lighter than a porcelain shard. This is because it hasn't been glazed."
Ye Fan handed the fragment to Old Lei.
Old Lei examined it carefully and nodded heavily. "Indeed, this is a fragment of unfired clay. But how did such a thing appear here? Could it be that there is a kiln site in Qianfo Mountain?"
This matter was indeed strange. If there was a place that fired porcelain in Qianfo Mountain, it would surely be known throughout Jiangnan.
After all, firing porcelain was not a simple matter. Anyone who could operate their own kiln was basically an expert.
How could such a person not be known?
Ye Fan narrowed his eyes and turned to Shen Tianyin, "Do you remember what I said before, that Shen Shiyun and the others needed a lot of porcelain shards to imitate fake porcelain?"
Shen Tianyin quickly nodded, then suddenly froze. "You mean..."
"It's just a guess, I don't have conclusive evidence. After all, this is too coincidental. I don't believe in such coincidences, and if this is true, then everything can be explained."
Old Lei, unaware of their conversation, was utterly confused.
"What are you talking about? What imitation?"
Ye Fan shook his head. "I will explain this to you later. The most important thing now is to find out the cause of Xue Zhonglong and Xue Tao's deaths. Since we've discovered a kiln site here, let's find it."
Ye Fan clenched his fist, a cold glint in his eyes.
But at this moment, the shard was in his palm. As he clenched his fist, the sharp fragment instantly cut through his palm.