Actually, I already knew what Hong Jie wanted me to help with, but I pretended to be clueless and asked, "Tell me, what help do you need?"

Hong Jie moved right up to me, put her arm around mine, and said ambiguously, "Rongsheng, actually, from the first time I saw you, I took a liking to you. You're so fair and clean-looking, and young, so attractive... How about this, if you ever want to have some fun, just come to me, I won't charge you."

I patiently watched her performance, and when she finished, I asked again, "Hong Jie, stop beating around the bush, just tell me straight what's going on."

Hong Jie smiled charmingly and nodded, "Alright, I won't beat around the bush with you. There's another corpse in the river, can you help me fish it out?"

This time she didn't make up any more lies, because she really couldn't justify it anymore.

The first corpse she could say was her boyfriend, the second corpse she could say was her boyfriend's father, what about the third corpse?

She couldn't very well say it was her boyfriend's brother, uncle, or friend, could she?

Otherwise, if a whole family was seeking death in this river, how evil would this river have to be?

And at this time, I had to appear curious, otherwise Hong Jie would guess that I already knew the truth, so I pretended to be puzzled, widened my eyes, and asked her:

"Hong Jie, what's going on? Whose corpse are we fishing out this time? Why is there another person seeking death?"

Hong Jie took my hand and said in a low voice, "Rongsheng, don't ask too much, just focus on fishing out the corpse. Don't worry, I won't treat you badly, I'll give you money."

After saying that, she took out a stack of hundred-yuan bills from her pocket, pulled out several and stuffed them into my hand, saying, "As long as you don't interfere, I won't treat you badly. When the corpse is fished out, I'll give you a few more."

I immediately put on a flustered look and said uneasily, "Hong Jie, there must be something going on here, right? How did these people die? Are you doing something illegal? I don't want to go to jail."

Hearing this, Hong Jie laughed instead. This time her smile wasn't charming at all, but a little creepy, especially now that it was dark and the riverside was dimly lit, her expression made my hair stand on end!

She grabbed my hand tightly and said in a threatening tone, "What? You're afraid of breaking the law? I'm a prostitute, why would I be afraid of breaking the law? Besides, you make money from corpses, you're not any cleaner than me, are you? We're all out here making dirty money, so don't pretend to be a law-abiding citizen!"

I quickly pulled my hand away from Hong Jie's and said, pretending to be scared, "Hong Jie, I'm not doing this anymore... I want to go home..."

But Hong Jie grabbed me again and said in a deep voice, "You want to run now? It's too late! Let me tell you, you've already fished out two corpses for me. If this gets exposed, you'll be an accomplice! Understand?"

"I... I didn't know! Hong Jie, you're坑人! I have no grudges against you, why would you坑 me?!" I shouted, straining my neck. (坑人 - keng ren, to trick someone.)

Hong Jie quickly reached out to cover my mouth, her tone suddenly becoming gentle, coaxing me as if I were a child:

"Rongsheng, don't shout, as long as you cooperate, I guarantee I'll help you make big money. Let me tell you a secret, my n70 wasn't given to me by someone else, I bought it myself. Do you want one? Do you want to make big money? As long as you follow me, I'll let you afford an n70 too!"

I asked uneasily, "How... how do we make big money? Hong Jie, I dare not do anything illegal."

Hong Jie smiled contemptuously upon hearing this, "Silly child, riches are found in danger! How can you get rich without taking risks? If you're really timid, just quit after one deal. This industry doesn't see business for three years, but when it does, you can eat for three years. One deal is enough for you to enjoy secretly!"

Hearing this, I used a ploy within a ploy, pretending to show a moved expression, and asked, "Really? Is this business really that profitable? Hong Jie, what exactly do you do?"

Hong Jie smiled mysteriously, kept me in suspense, and said, "Don't ask too much for now, go help me fish the corpse out of the river, and when the time is right, I'll naturally tell you."

I considered it and nodded, saying, "Alright."

After saying that, I propped up the corpse-fishing boat and set out again to fish the corpse out of the river.

After sailing in the river for a while, I saw another newly dead male corpse on the surface of the water. This man was in his twenties, with long hands and feet, and also had a strong smell of earth on his body. He was undoubtedly a tomb robber.

I suspected that Boss Wang and the others were drilling holes underground to drain water, which is why so many *haozis* were drowning one after another. This also meant that they hadn't had time to steal the cultural relics from the tomb, and Boss Wang should still be here. (耗子 - haozi, rat; slang for tomb robber)

Thinking of this, I became excited.

This time, there was a real hope of catching this big *haozi*!

After fishing out the corpse, I slowly rowed the boat ashore. At this time, I saw a box truck parked on the shore, and two men were transporting the first floating corpse to the truck, and another person was standing next to Hong Jie talking.

They were obviously all members of Boss Wang's tomb-robbing gang.

I hid on the boat and quietly listened, but I heard something that sent a chill down my spine.

Hong Jie said that I had become suspicious, and the man immediately suggested killing me to silence me!

Hong Jie shook her head desperately, saying that killing me would only make things bigger and wouldn't be worth it. She also said that I was exceptionally good at swimming and could stay underwater for a long time. My abilities were much better than those useless people underground.

The man asked Hong Jie, slightly surprised, if she was planning to bring me into the gang?

Hong Jie didn't hide it and nodded immediately.

When they said this, the corpse-fishing boat had already sailed past, and they quickly shut their mouths and came together to help me drag the corpse out of the boat and move it to the truck.

After dealing with the two bodies, Hong Jie took my hand and walked to the side, gave me a few more hundred-yuan bills, and said in a low voice:

"Rongsheng, you and we are already on the same boat. If we get caught, you won't be able to escape either, understand?"

I nodded timidly and said, "Understood."

Hong Jie pinched my face and put on a coaxing expression again, saying, "Rongsheng, as long as you are obedient, I'll help you make big money. Take this money back first, wait for my news, and don't talk about tonight's events, understand?"

I nodded again quickly and said, "Understood."

Hong Jie smiled charmingly, held my face and forcibly kissed me, then turned around and got into the box truck, taking the corpses and driving away.

After they drove away, I quickly reached out and wiped my face, while involuntarily showing a cold smile, and muttered to myself: "Hong Jie, ah, Hong Jie, your move is called inviting a wolf into the house! You'll regret it in the future."

...

When I got home, it was almost nine o'clock in the evening, and Uncle Mei and Xiao Liang were both waiting anxiously for me at the gate of the courtyard.

Seeing me come back, Xiao Liang quickly ran up and asked worriedly, "Chen Rongsheng, why are you only back now? The boat isn't by the river either, where did you go?"

I joked, "I went to Hong Jie's for a massage."

Hearing this, Xiao Liang slapped me on the chest and scolded, "Nonsense! Tell me properly, what did you go do?"

I pointed to the house and said, "Let's go, let's talk inside."