Listening to what the old man said, Gu Chen felt that the old lady might have actually met Xu Yaxuan.
But what Gu Chen couldn't figure out was why Xu Yaxuan, a girl who had never been to Jiangnan City, suddenly appeared in this ancient village in Yicheng after leaving without saying goodbye.
You know, even in Yicheng, this is a village far away from the city.
And it is almost in the depths of the mountains, a village with a very small population.
In such a place, why does Xu Yaxuan appear here?
In other words, is there someone here that Xu Yaxuan wants to meet?
Since Xu Yaxuan was mysterious and there was no pattern at all, it was difficult for Gu Chen to judge.
I can only think about discussing it after Officer Wang and others come back from the investigation.
"Uncle, then ask Auntie, how does she judge that the person is the person we are looking for? Is it the appearance? Or the way he wears clothes?"
"Okay." Seeing Gu Chen's request, the old man immediately started communicating with the old lady in the local dialect.
Even though they are from the same village, due to the language barrier of the old lady, the old man needs to be close to her ear to communicate.
After the two of them exchanged babbling words, the old man acted as a translator for Gu Chen and said:
"She said, probably judging from the clothes."
"Clothes? That means the aunt didn't see her face clearly?" Gu Chen suddenly felt anxious after hearing this.
After all, this old lady is a bit older. If her eyesight is really dim, all the things we are doing now may be in vain.
So Gu Chen needed to make sure.
But after some exchanges with the old lady, the old man continued to explain: "She said they look similar and the clothes are similar."
"It's just like what you posted on the missing person notice. That's why she chose to call the police. Otherwise, she wouldn't bother. She just felt that if she knew the truth and didn't take the initiative to provide clues, she would be afraid that the person would be a bad person, so..."
"Okay." After listening to the old man's report, Gu Chen could understand that the old lady was actually a warm-hearted person.
Although language communication is not convenient now, I still have a warm heart.
"Auntie, did that woman have any other communication with you? For example, talk to you or something?" Gu Chen asked.
The old man quickly followed Gu Chen's words and translated them in dialect.
The old lady thought about it for a few seconds and then continued to explain.
The uncle quickly translated: "She said that when she found the woman in the forest, the woman just looked at her and then quickly disappeared into the jungle."
"It seemed that she was quite afraid of being discovered. At that time, she also wondered if this woman was an outdoor hiker who happened to hike here and then got lost in the mountains."
"Because there were some groups of hiking enthusiasts who came here before, and some people came to ask for directions and so on."
"So she was afraid. The woman was a lone hiker, so she wondered if there would be any danger."
"But the woman seemed to be very resistant. She didn't want to be discovered by herself, so she disappeared into the jungle in such a hurry."
The uncle basically translated the old lady's meaning to Gu Chen.
Gu Chen's eyes suddenly lit up and he quickly asked the old man: "Master, are there many people who come to hike here?"
"Well……"
The uncle hesitated for a moment and then said slowly: "Some people have been here before. At that time, they were all wearing outdoor clothing and carrying big bags."
"At that time, they came to the village to drink water and also wanted to borrow some things from the village and make a fire to cook outside."
"I'd rather buy something from the village. Oh, they seem to call it purchasing supplies or something."
"Just buying some food and drinks from our villagers."
"Then how did you do it?" Lu Weiwei asked curiously after hearing this.
The old man quickly explained: "Of course we are selling things. For the vegetables grown in the garden at home, if they want anything, they can pick it from the vegetable field themselves, and then we can calculate the money together."
"They like to buy tomatoes and cucumbers the most. In addition, we have some fruit trees in the village. When the fruits are ripe, we sometimes sell them half and give them half."
"Anyway, there aren't many people coming here. They say they are here to explore the route. It's the kind of outdoor route that requires someone to explore the route in advance."
"Then plan some supply points, camping spots, etc. on the route. Their group of people seems to be quite professional, and they seem to be some kind of professional guides."
"Are there many such people here?" Lu Weiwei asked again.
"Not many." The old man waved his hand and denied: "There are not many outdoor hikers who come to the village. It is mainly because those of them who explored the trails came back and told us."
"It is said that the situation in the mountains is more complicated. It may be quite difficult for ordinary professionals to go in, but if you bring a business team here."
"For those outdoor novices, it may be life-threatening, but it is not suitable for taking the commercial route. It is only suitable for some professional outdoor people to explore."
"Is that so?" Hearing what the old man said, Gu Chen probably had some confidence in his heart.
That is this place. Many outdoor adventure teams have come to explore the road, but in the end they all returned without success.
Because the conditions in the mountains are complex and changeable and not suitable for novices, we have not welcomed a large-scale commercial outdoor team, but there are still some outdoor enthusiasts who have come here.
In this way, Gu Chen thought of what the old lady said before, that it felt strange for Xu Yaxuan to appear alone in this forest.
After all, the old lady had seen some outdoor hikers before, so she felt that Xu Yaxuan might be a lone outdoor hiker.
But because Xu Yaxuan's whereabouts were too mysterious at that time, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
So the old lady was so frightened that she ran towards the village.
But now that I think about it, I feel like that person was an outdoor hiker.
So Gu Chen had some new ideas. After all, most people would never come to this forest.
So it is not difficult to see that Xu Yaxuan came here, maybe he learned about the situation from an outdoor team.
Or maybe Xu Yaxuan came here with an outdoor team.
This group of people usually go exploring, or they may go on an expedition to find the secrets of certain caves.
After all, in recent years, the outdoor craze has continued to rise, and more and more urban white-collar workers have joined the outdoor ranks.
And could Xu Yaxuan be a member of the outdoor circle? It's hard to say, but Gu Chen felt that this could be found out through people in the circle.
So after finishing the exchange with the old lady and the old man, Gu Chen went to a corner alone, took out his mobile phone, and contacted Jiang Xiaomi from Jiangnan Daily.
Since Jiang Xiaomi is Xi Ye's cousin, he and Gu Chen often interact in WeChat Moments, so Gu Chen has also seen a lot of news about Jiang Xiaomi's outdoor travels from WeChat Moments.
Reminiscent of the fact that Jiang Xiaomi has been very popular in the outdoor circles of Jiangnan City in recent years, I thought that Jiang Xiaomi might know something about the situation here.
So we called him together.
Not long after, Jiang Xiaomi's call was connected, and Jiang Xiaomi's sweet greetings came from the other end of the phone:
"Ah, our Director Gu, such a busy person, actually took the initiative to call me? I'm flattered, I'm flattered..."
"Haha, Xiaomi, stop making trouble, I have something to ask you for help." Knowing that Jiang Xiaomi was teasing himself, but Gu Chen had to rely on Jiang Xiaomi to solve the problem, so he said straight to the point.
Jiang Xiaomi said strangely: "Of course I know that our dear Director Gu, who is busy with everything, suddenly called me, a little reporter, so he must have something to ask for."
After a pause, Jiang Xiaomi said again: "It's just that, I really can't figure it out. How come I, a little reporter, have the turn to be asked by Director Gu when he has something to ask for?"
"I thought about it again and again, but I just couldn't figure it out. How can I help Director Gu?"
"Let's get down to business." Seeing Xiaomi doing Tai Chi with him here and going around in circles, Gu Chen also said something directly:
"Xiaomi, I see that in your circle of friends, there are often photos of outdoor travel. You should be familiar with the outdoor scene in Jiangnan City, right?"
"Huh? Director Gu actually peeked into my WeChat Moments? Oh my god!" Jiang Xiaomi suddenly started to shudder after hearing what Gu Chen said.
Gu Chen also smiled slightly: "Xiaomi, I really want to ask you for something."
"Okay, I won't joke with you anymore, Gu Chen, just tell me what you have to say. I've been having a lot of fun in the outdoor circles in Jiangnan City in the past few years."
"I know a lot about these outdoor circles in Jiangnan City. If you ask me, you are asking the right person."
"Okay." Seeing that Jiang Xiaomi also had confidence in himself, Gu Chen quickly asked:
"Do you know about the virgin forest here in Yicheng?"
"Yicheng, virgin forest? Yicheng is just a virgin forest, and there is indeed an outdoor hiking route in it." Jiang Xiaomi blurted out after hearing this.
"Then do you know where the entrance to the mountain is?" Gu Chen asked again.
"It's hard to say. I remember that we had to drive to a village at the foot of a mountain first. That village was deep in the mountains and had a very small population."
"Is it a village named Gu?" Gu Chen quickly asked again.
"Yes, yes, the people here seem to have the surname Gu. What's wrong? Are you in this village now?"
"Yes." When Jiang Xiaomi asked, Gu Chen simply explained:
"We are currently looking for a missing girl. Someone has seen her. She once appeared alone in the forest here."
"And this person is very important to us. I don't know how she, a foreigner, ended up in this primeval forest alone?"
"So I suspect that when she came here, someone must have brought her here, and this person may be from the outdoor circle, and it is very likely that he has been here before."
"Uh..." Seeing what Gu Chen said, Jiang Xiaomi was a little confused, but still continued to ask:
"Gu Chen, you mean to ask me to help find the people who have been to this place, right?"
"Yes." Seeing that Jiang Xiaomi seemed to understand what he meant, Gu Chen quickly asked again:
"I need to find the suspect, but don't alert him, just ask around and ask, who in our outdoor circle in Jiangnan City have been here before?"
"Also, among these people, has anyone been here recently? If so, can you help find out who those people are?"
"Okay, your mission seems to be quite troublesome, but I can try to help and see if I can get some information."
Seeing that Gu Chen wanted the result very urgently, Jiang Xiaomi naturally knew that this case was very important to Gu Chen and had even reached a critical period, so he readily agreed.
Gu Chen also urged: "Then please help me inquire now. I'm waiting for your good news."
"Well, it might take a while," Jiang Xiaomi said.
"It doesn't matter, as long as you can help me find out who has been here recently, I can wait." Gu Chen said.
"Okay." Seeing that Gu Chen said so, Jiang Xiaomi felt that maybe she could give it a try.
So after the two briefly communicated the specific situation, they both hung up the phone.
At this moment, Lu Weiwei also asked Gu Chen after listening to Gu Chen’s phone conversation:
“Can Xiaomi help?”
"She should have a lot of acquaintances in this circle, and Jiang Xiaomi has a lot of clever ideas. She must have her own way of finding out who has been here recently."
With a faint sigh, Gu Chen said helplessly: "We can only wait a little longer."
"Okay." Seeing that Gu Chen said this, Lu Weiwei could only nod in agreement.
Since those people led by Officer Wang had not returned after entering the mountain, everyone could only continue to wait in the village.
Because it was dark, it would be dangerous to enter the mountain now, so Gu Chen, who arrived later, could only stay here and wait for news about Officer Wang and others.
However, after waiting here for more than an hour, Gu Chen's cell phone rang.
When he saw that the call was from Jiang Xiaomi, Gu Chen quickly opened the answer button and asked: "Xiaomi, have you already heard about it?"
"Yes." Seeing Gu Chen being so anxious, Jiang Xiaomi on the other end of the phone also smiled and said:
"I found out for you through those outdoor circles that some guides have indeed entered the primeval forest recently. It seems to have happened in the past few days."
"How did you get the news?" Gu Chen also asked curiously, mainly because he wanted to know the channel through which Jiang Xiaomi got the news.
Jiang Xiaomi on the other end of the phone smiled and said: "What's the point? I first posted a few beautiful photos of me showing off my figure outdoors in the outdoor circle, and immediately attracted a large number of outdoor dogs."
"Everyone asked me to go mountain climbing, so I said, I recently heard that hiking through the virgin forest in Yicheng is quite good. I wanted to go and asked if anyone had been there."
"Then someone said they had been there, and then gave a general description of the situation there."
"Later I inquired and found out that there were indeed not many wild donkeys hiking there, maybe less than 30 people."
"And it seems that there are only two senior outdoor guides who have gone there recently."
