Chapter 37

The sky, clear throughout the morning, became a bit misty around noon. Song Wen and Lu Siyu emerged from the somewhat stifling courtyard. The village streets were narrower than those in the city, and the village, known for tea cultivation, had a tea plantation in the nearby mountains. Half-height tea trees dotted the area, occasionally visited by birds flying in circles.

Lu Siyu suggested, “I brought some food. Shall we find a place to heat it up?”

Song Wen nodded. It was mealtime, and the village was quiet, with occasional dog barks. He stretched and did some chest-expanding exercises. “I have to say, the air here is indeed good, much better than in the city. It’s quite suitable for a tourist attraction or a rural resort.”

While Song Wen was appreciating the surroundings, Lu Siyu was still lost in thought, responding with a soft “mm.”

Song Wen continued, “This case doesn’t seem too complicated. There are not many people in the village, and even fewer fit the criteria. If we investigate one by one, it will only take one or two days to find the killer. Consider it a short vacation, breathing in some fresh air.”

Walking along the village road, the two went forward for a few hundred meters. Suddenly, Song Wen pointed to a mountain path on the side, saying, “Someone here actually had the same idea as me. There’s a small resort.”

Interrupting Lu Siyu’s thoughts, Song Wen pointed to a sign on the side of the road. It read, “Welcome to Wentou Village Resort,” with additional lines below, “30 million square meters of natural oxygen bar, standalone villas, four-star hotel, modern hot spring bath.”

The promotional language was quite impressive. Looking up the mountain along a shaded path, they could see several particularly tall trees with lush crowns. In the midst of the new greenery, a few small villas were visible.

Lu Siyu, who had concerns about the accommodation environment, found the resort quite appealing. They walked along the path and entered the resort. Although not large, the design was clever. Several villas were connected by a closed corridor, creating a picturesque setting in the summer breeze. Outside the corridor was a small artificial lake, likely intended for a hot spring, but it was still under construction.

At the front desk was a young girl from the village who introduced them. She mentioned that the owner was originally a tea farmer in the village. After becoming wealthy, he leased land in the village to build these villas. The project aimed to create job opportunities, develop tourism resources, and give back to the hometown that nurtured him.

Lu Siyu turned his head, and his eyes glanced at the lake. The sparkling water surface shimmered with the wind, reflecting in his pupils like scattered diamonds.

Song Wen looked at the scenery, then turned back to the beautiful man, jokingly said, “The view here is nice, considered a high-end lake view room. Are you satisfied?”

Lu Siyu’s pointed jaw lightly nodded, choosing not to be critical.

This resort caters to elderly tourist groups, offering affordable prices and good facilities. Unexpectedly, it was quite popular. Recently, a group went to Xiqiao, treating this resort as a transit point. Although the people weren’t here, the rooms weren’t canceled, and their luggage remained. In the end, only two rooms were available—one standard room and one with a king-size bed.

Song Wen took three room cards, turned to Lu Siyu, and asked, “What’s the plan for tonight?”

Lu Siyu lowered his head and whispered, “I sleep lightly at night.”

Song Wen generously handed the king-size bed room card to Lu Siyu, saying, “Then I’ll sleep with Lao Lin tonight. You rest well.”

After checking into the resort, Lu Siyu asked the front desk to help reheat the packed meal he brought. Then the two went to a farmhouse restaurant.

The restaurant in the wilderness had simple tables, chairs, and dinnerware, but the ingredients were exceptionally fresh. And this freshness, a kind that couldn’t be replicated no matter how many seasonings or advanced techniques were used.

The *loofah was tender and sweet, feeling like it was just plucked from the vine. The free-range chicken soup had been skimmed of excess oil, making it less greasy. The golden-colored soup and firm chicken meat emitted a fragrance that could be smelled just by bringing it close. Drinking a sip of the soup, one could tell it was a different breed compared to those from poultry farms. There were also freshly picked bamboo shoots and various mushrooms from the mountains, stir-fried with newly slaughtered pork. The combination of rural flavors and aromas burst forth, almost making one’s taste buds tingle. Upon hearing that they were investigating police, the owner even served a plate of white-cut meat, the seasoning of which had a slight spiciness, yet the aroma was delightful.

*luffa(loofah) – sponge gourd

The farmhouse exceeded their expectations, and Lu Siyu couldn’t resist picking up his chopsticks this time. Song Wen also made an appointment with the owner to return for dinner later.

After the meal, Song Wen couldn’t sit still and wanted to stroll around the village to gather information. Lu Siyu felt a bit dizzy from the mountain road when he arrived in the morning, so he chose to stay in the room and rest.

In the afternoon, Song Wen returned with gathered information.

This village was of medium size, and everyone knew each other. Any small movement or news could spread throughout the entire village in half a day.

Song Wen took a stroll around the village and received quite a bit of information. After returning, he shared the valuable information with Lu Siyu.

Firstly, around ten o’clock last night, someone saw a person in a raincoat wandering nearby. It had already stopped raining at that time, making the raincoat a bit conspicuous. However, due to the darkness, no one could see who it was, only recognizing it as a thin and tall man.

Secondly, there was recent tension in the village due to the construction of a modern farm on a piece of land. The village’s branch secretary took charge of acquiring the land, and the city’s bosses offered a good price. The land needed covered dozens of acres, slicing through the Wang family’s land from the west and the Zhou family’s land from the east. This dispute had strained the relationship between the Zhou and Wang families, even resulting in a recent physical altercation. The village committee had been trying to mediate the situation.

The third incident involves the drowning of the child from the Zhou family. The child went out with his father, Zhou Chuguo, around noon. According to Zhou Chuguo, he looked down at his phone for a while, and when he looked up, the child was gone. Immediately, he sought help from the village branch secretary and Zhang Dahai, and the entire village joined forces to search for the child until they found him downstream of a small creek in the evening.

The village children often played in the pond, and this child could swim a bit. It was puzzling how he drowned. Moreover, there were houses and shops along the creek, and if the child had called for help loudly, someone would have heard. Some villagers said the child might have been grabbed by a water ghost, covering his mouth and nose, making it impossible to shout for help. Others mentioned that at night, cries could be heard by the creek, as if there was a ghost…

Song Wen recounted these details and added, “I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but whenever people in this village talk about the Zhou family’s child, they always seem hesitant.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Siyu furrowed his brows slightly and said, “The person in the raincoat is likely the murderer; the characteristics and timing match. As for the land dispute, that recent altercation might be related to the injuries on Zhou Chuguo. As for ghosts, they definitely don’t exist. I always feel there’s something suspicious about the child’s death.”

Song Wen nodded and said, “I heard that Zhang Dahai also went to the Wang family after dinner. Let’s go there first and see what’s going on.”

Following Song Wen, Lu Siyu took a shortcut down the mountain from the back of the resort. As they approached the Wang family, they saw a commotion at the entrance. When they reached the farmhouse’s door, they saw a young policeman under Zhang Dahai blocking the door. A crowd of melon eating villagers had gathered outside,they hated not grabbing melon seed and brought their campstools. Inside, there were cries and shouts from both men and women, creating a lively scene.

Song Wen separated the crowd and saw Zhang Dahai standing in the courtyard, handcuffing a man in his forties, ready to lead him out. The man had a burly figure and dark skin. In the yard, a middle-aged woman was tugging at Zhang Dahai’s trousers and refused to let go. The three were at a standstill, unable to move each other. Zhang Dahai shouted, “*You’re going against the heavens! How dare you not listen to the police!” The man yelled, “Chief Zhang, I didn’t kill anyone! Why are you arresting me?” The woman also shouted, “Who will reason with us? What kind of world is this? The police are wrongly accusing people!”

*referring to an outrageous situation

Song Wen hurried over and asked Zhang Dahai about the situation, “Didn’t I ask you to investigate the suspect? What’s going on here?”

Zhang Dahai explained, “Officer Song, during lunch, I checked with the town and confirmed this man is named Wang Yu. His height and other details match. He used to be quite familiar with the Zhou family, and he’s also the electrician in the village. Recently, he had a dispute with the Zhou family over the land division in the village. He just had a fight with Zhou Chuguo, threatened to teach him a lesson, and wasn’t at home for some time after the rain last night. The height, characteristics, and timeline all align. If it’s not him who killed the person, then who else could it be? We should investigate and clear this up quickly so you can go back sooner.”

Song Wen had heard about the disputes between the Wang and Zhou families from the villagers, but the inquiries weren’t conducted this way. He felt a headache coming on dealing with his less-than-competent colleague, saying, “There’s no evidence at the moment. Why handcuff him? Quickly release the man!” Then he pulled the woman away, saying, “We are conducting an investigation; we just want to learn about your husband’s situation.” Hearing this, the woman tearfully let go.

Zhang Dahai reluctantly unlocked the handcuffs. The chaotic scene was finally brought under control. With the help of Lu Siyu, the junior officer Meng, Zhang Dahai locked the door and dispersed the curious crowd.

Song Wen turned around and said, “There are too many people outside. Let’s not go to the police station. We’ll ask questions here. Both of you, come inside.”

Song Wen appeared not fierce but very serious. His posture was straight, and his speech was clear and concise. The two felt that this was the ideal image of a police officer, much more reliable than Zhang Dahai. They exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Entering the house, they sat face to face. Song Wen’s gaze swept over the man’s face. He had a typical rural appearance with thick eyebrows, a round face, and dark skin.

Whether it was an illusion or not, after entering the room, Song Wen caught a faint fragrance in the air, unable to identify its source.

Due to the need to clean up the mess, Song Wen didn’t follow the order and directly asked the man as soon as he entered, “Your name is Wang Yu, right? You had a fight with Zhou Chuguo before?”

The man named Wang Yu became agitated, speaking rapidly in the local dialect. Song Wen couldn’t catch a few words, so he coldly interjected, “Speak Mandarin.”

The man grunted and, gritting his teeth, said, “That kid is unreasonable. The land acquisition was settled two months ago, originally scheduled for my family. He took advantage of the village head not taking office yet, went to the village branch secretary and the boss coming here, and insisted on changing it.”

Song Wen asked, “Did you never consider revenge against their family for the land acquisition issue?”

Wang Yu replied, “The result of the land acquisition was reported, and then there was no further action. Honestly, if the result had come out and they were chosen, I would have confronted him. But since the result hasn’t been announced, I had no reason to act.”

Zhang Dahai, standing nearby, sneered and added, “During the fight, you clearly threatened Zhou Chuguo, saying you would show them some colors.”

Wang Yu said, “Well… during a fight, who doesn’t throw out a few tough words? Besides, I won the fight. If their whole family is in trouble now, it’s karma. But, Officer, I didn’t kill his family. I wanted to levy my family’s land for money, killing them wouldn’t get me any money.”

Song Wen continued, “When did you have this fight?”

“Last Wednesday, around noon, before lunch.” Wang Yu recalled, “He initiated the fight. Many people in the village can testify. I lost a tooth, but he didn’t gain much; I beat him up.”

In this village, the Wang family was influential, and the witnesses were mostly their relatives. There wasn’t much credible evidence. Song Wen let go of this topic and asked, “Are you the electrician in this village?”

Wang Yu nodded, “I learned the trade under a master for two years. I handle about 80% of the electrical work when building houses in our village.”

“Do you know that Zhou Chuguo’s family died from an electric shock?” Song Wen inquired.

Wang Yu scratched his head, “I woke up around nine in the morning and only heard about it later. But there’s no way it could be me. First of all, my master taught me that playing with electricity is no joke. It’s like a locksmith not turning into a thief. Think about it; I make a living doing this. In our small village, with just a few people doing this work, if someone died from an electric shock, wouldn’t they immediately suspect me?”

At this point, Zhang Dahai chuckled, “You have quite a lot of *graceful words and flowery speech, still think you can deny it?”

*elegant but insincere words

Song Wen raised a hand to stop Zhang Dahai and continued questioning, “Where were you after 8 p.m. yesterday?”

“I… I went to the village activity room to play cards.” The man hesitated slightly, stuttering.

“Nonsense. Those who played cards with you initially covered for you, but after I scared them a bit, they all told the truth. You didn’t go there yesterday evening.” Zhang Dahai exposed his lie and added, “If you didn’t go to fix the wires last night, why lie now?”

“Right ah, the police are asking you questions. You said you went to play cards at 8 p.m. last night, but you were out for more than two hours before coming back. Where did you go during that time?” The woman now realized the situation and turned to look at her husband, starting to dismantle his story.

“I initially wanted to play cards, but I walked around and couldn’t find a spot. Later, I came back. They probably didn’t see me. Afterward, I strolled around the village,” the man, now devoid of the arrogance and composure from before, confessed. He touched his nose and added defensively, “I haven’t committed any crimes. Why should you care where I go? You police need to provide evidence if you say it’s me. You can’t just accuse me without reason, right?”

A dispute broke out in the room again. When Song Wen was questioning earlier, Lu Siyu had been standing coldly on the side. Leaning against the door, he bit his fingernails in silence, watching the chaos in the room as if it had nothing to do with him. However, after hearing Wang Yu’s words, something seemed to strike him, and he raised his head with a blink.

Later, Lu Siyu stood up, looking at the footprints left in the yard. Some were from Zhang Dahai, others from Wang Yu and his wife. Lu Siyu contemplated for a moment, then looked at Wang Yu’s trouser cuffs, which had some light yellow powder on them. Shaking his head slightly, he murmured, “It’s probably not him.”

The room was in an uproar, and although Lu Siyu spoke quietly, his voice immediately attracted Song Wen’s attention. Song Wen was surprised; he hadn’t expected Lu Siyu to make a judgment so quickly.

Lu Siyu turned to the woman and asked, “How long was your husband out last night?”

The woman thought for a moment and replied, “About two hours.”

Lu Siyu then turned to Wang Yu, extending a clean hand, “Can you cooperate with the investigation and let me check your phone?”

Wang Yu swallowed hard, glared at Lu Siyu, and tightly covered his phone. His expression seemed like Lu Siyu was demanding his life, “I’m just cooperating with your questioning. Why should you check my phone?”

Lu Siyu retracted his hand. He had only been testing; he didn’t expect Wang Yu to hand over his phone so easily. Then he turned to the woman and whispered, “You should check the household accounts recently.”

Upon hearing this, the woman, now suspicious due to Wang Yu’s behavior, looked at him askance and questioned, “You…did you find someone else in this village? You refused to tell the police where you were for those two hours last night!?”

Seeing that another argument between the couple was about to erupt, Song Wen felt there was no need to continue the interrogation. He stood up and asked Zhang Dahai, “Besides this suspect, are there any other candidates?”

Zhang Dahai was a bit flustered, feeling that Wang Yu’s situation had made him lose face. While pulling the woman’s hand, he said, “Ah, look at my memory. Initially, I thought there was no suspect at a glance. But when you scrutinize it, there are grudges all over the village. Let me organize a list for you to inquire slowly.”

As they were talking, Lu Siyu got up, gestured to Song Wen, and walked straight out. Song Wen didn’t have time to deal with Zhang Dahai and quickly caught up. He chased after Lu Siyu, asking, “How did you figure it out?”

Lu Siyu, the instigator of this war, feigned innocence, saying, “I didn’t figure out anything. As a criminal investigator, we must rely on evidence and not make unfounded claims.” Then he whispered, “It was just a misunderstanding on his wife’s part. I don’t think he was having an affair.”

Song Wen was already used to his little machinations, “I’m still curious. What did you actually see?”