Chapter 53

Early the next morning, as soon as Song Wen arrived at the City Bureau, Xu Yao called him to the evidence room and handed him a stack of documents, saying, “The results of the forensic examination are out on our end.”

Song Wen took the documents and flipped through them, asking, “What’s the news? Any new discoveries?”

“Due to the rain and the scene being previously compromised, there aren’t many traces that can be used as references. There are no clear footprints on the ground. There are some tire track marks, probably from a small cart, but no complete fingerprints or traces were extracted from the scene. The clothes on the deceased were just simple everyday wear, and there are no significant clues.”

Xu Yao leaned on the table nearby with a serious expression, “The only piece of evidence is that enormous black bag. Initially, it contained the body, and it was hard to see. Only when it was transported back did I realize that it’s more like a soft-sided suitcase than a bag. It has support on all four sides and the bottom, with an outer layer made of black Oxford fabric, very sturdy.”

Song Wen asked, “It seems like this kind of bag isn’t commonly seen on the market.”

Xu Yao nodded, “Yes, it’s large, lightweight, with good load-bearing capacity, but it doesn’t offer much protection and is prone to bumps. I can’t figure out what this kind of suitcase is used for.”

Song Wen said, “I’ll have Lao Jia check the market to see where this kind of black bag can be bought. Maybe we can gather more information. Transporting a body in such a large bag or suitcase, even with a small cart, would be a difficult task for one person to put it in the trunk or take the body out. To dump a body by the river, you need to travel a distance without being discovered, which is even more challenging.” After a moment of contemplation, he added, “Could it be that the killer had an accomplice, not acting alone?”

“In any case, regarding the physical evidence, I will continue to follow up. If there are any new discoveries, I will let you know,” Xu Yao said. After a pause, she added, “And about this knot, it is indeed very special… Yesterday, when you asked me to check, you also told me to expand the search period. Afterward, in an early case in Nancheng, I found a similar knot.”

“How long ago? What case?” Song Wen asked. He felt that Xu Yao’s tone was unusual, and a vague sense of foreboding arose in his heart.

Before Xu Yao could answer, he suddenly remembered a case. In his previous memories, the year of the case was blurry, but now thinking about it, wasn’t it precisely eighteen years ago?

If it was connected to that case, then the current case was probably not a small one but a major one.

Thinking of this, Song Wen looked at Xu Yao and said a few words as a signal, “Could it be… Wushan Nursing Home?”

Xu Yao’s lips parted, and she uttered five words, “Witch Xia Weizhi.”

A chill ran through Song Wen’s body as if pairs of eyes were peering at him through the abyss. His memories were instantly pulled back eighteen years ago when he was still just an elementary school student, hearing adults discuss that incident, his face showing a fearful expression.

Only those who had experienced that time in Nancheng knew how much those five words stirred people’s hearts. At that time, it was a major case that alarmed the entire Nancheng and even the entire country.

With the same knot reappearing, it suggested that Xia Weizhi might not be dead, or there was another possibility—that someone was using the methods she had employed to torture and kill people. Regardless of the possibility, both were terrifying.

After a moment of silence, Song Wen said, “If Zhang Peicai was investigating this before his death and was silenced, then this news is indeed significant.”

Xu Yao looked at Song Wen’s reaction, slightly lowering her head, “However, the photos from back then were not very clear, and the physical evidence of the knot is not in our city bureau. This is just my speculation based on the forensic photos. Perhaps these two cases are unrelated, and it’s just a coincidence that the knots are similar. You can verify with Dr. Lin later if there are more similarities between the two cases.” She then reminded Song Wen, “Do you want to inform Commissioner Gu?”

Song Wen nodded, “This will cause quite a stir. I will definitely report to Commissioner Gu and make all necessary preparations first.”

Looking at the information in front of him, Lu Siyu had a lingering feeling that he had seen this particular knot somewhere before. When he found out that Zhu Xiao had retrieved newspaper materials from eighteen years ago, he quickly associated this case with the Wushan Nursing Home.

The torture method close to death was once left behind by Xia Weizhi.

Now, he had synchronized with Zhu Xiao’s side, compiling all the available information related to this case.

Wushan Nursing Home was once a nightmare for the people of Nancheng, and the witch Xia Weizhi was considered a demon in people’s mouths.

This was one of the unresolved cases in Nancheng’s history, and the killer in the case still remained at large to this day. Interestingly, this case had some connection with the 519 Task Force. More than a year after the establishment of the 519 Task Force, they somehow followed a lead that led them to the Wushan Nursing Home.

Wushan Nursing Home was a long-established institution in Nancheng, operating for decades. In the 1980s, it was once extremely popular, and even in the 1990s, despite the rise of some private elderly care homes, Wushan Nursing Home remained the largest in the area.

With over three hundred beds, it had dedicated caregivers and medical staff, providing comprehensive care for the elderly in all aspects of their daily lives. Unlike many other elderly care homes, they accepted elderly individuals with serious illnesses such as strokes, paralysis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and more. Even though it might seem difficult, they took in all of them.

Throughout the years, the beds here were always in high demand. Essentially, as soon as one elderly person passed away or left, someone would immediately move in. Many people were willing to spend money or use connections just to secure a bed here.

The local police initially received a report of an elderly person’s death in the nursing home. Some family members discovered mysterious injuries on the deceased, and it was initially treated as a small case of elder abuse within the nursing home.

However, as the case progressed, it was somehow discovered that there was more to it, and it was transferred to the 519 Task Force for joint investigation.

At that time, the 519 Task Force was led by Song Cheng and Wu Qing. They conducted a preliminary investigation into the nursing home and found an unusually high mortality rate among the elderly residents. The number of deaths each year was significantly higher than that of other elderly care homes of similar size.

Afterward, it seemed as if someone had opened a long-hidden Pandora’s box, and the shadow of death followed suit. The entire Nancheng fell into a nightmare.

Wu Qing discovered that some of the elderly people had actually died from murder, and some individuals had been abusing and killing these elderly residents for a long time.

Initially, the director of the nursing home tried to cover up the fact that many severely ill elderly residents were being admitted. However, a brief investigation revealed that many elderly people had died from mysterious illnesses, and there were not even complete death records.

Song Cheng investigated the severely ill elderly residents and found that many of them had been injected with unknown drugs. On the photos of the deceased, there were even traces of being bound. A shocking truth was uncovered—some staff members in the nursing home were regularly injecting various drugs into these elderly people and recording changes in their conditions. Many elderly people died from torture, and due to their advanced age, their bodies were hastily cremated with various excuses, and no one delved deeper into it.

This fact was not an isolated incident but rather a collective event. According to later investigation results, there were as many as 13 elderly people suspected to have died due to this, with approximately 20 more elderly deaths of unknown causes. To make matters worse, this phenomenon had been ongoing for years. Due to some elderly individuals being paralyzed, unable to speak clearly, and having unclear thoughts, they were subjected to bullying, and the actual death toll might be even higher than what was known!

Everyone would grow old, and elderly care had always been a concern for the people of Nancheng. The incident at Wushan Nursing Home was still under investigation but had already been reported by the media. In no time, the entire Nancheng was in an uproar. Wushan Nursing Home was rumored to be a demonic nest of murderers, and the caregivers, nurses, and doctors there were possibly devils. As the investigation progressed, suspicion fell on Dr. Xia Weizhi, a doctor at the nursing home, as the mastermind. Xia Weizhi seemed to have anticipated this and disappeared on the day of the arrest.

Although many records were lost at the time, Lu Siyu learned some details from various reports. Experiments on the elderly residents included drugs, poisons, and more.

One elderly person rescued later had multiple wounds on his body. Holes had been drilled into his head, some were still bleeding, some had scabbed, and maggots had nested in his body. The horrifying scene resembled the deceased Zhang Peicai. All of this happened because the elderly person had suspected that the cause of death of his spouse was unclear and sought help from outside.

With the closure of Wushan Nursing Home, the then-director was dismissed, and relevant personnel were sentenced. Xia Weizhi, the mastermind of the case, was put on the top-level wanted list, but she never reappeared.

Later on, investigators from the 519 Task Force repeatedly faced misfortune. Lu Siyu’s mentor, Wu Qing, suffered a fall and fell into a coma. Due to various pressures and external factors, the 519 Task Force had to disband, and its members went their separate ways. The Wushan Nursing Home case was classified as an unsolved case, lying in the archives of the Nancheng City Bureau until today.

As Pandora’s box was closed, the box was submerged underwater.

The entire incident was eighteen years ago, and the people of Nancheng seemed to have finally forgotten the terrifying and evil past, emerging from the shadows. Time had washed away the fear in people’s hearts, and Wushan Nursing Home had become a topic for casual conversation.

As a staff member of the Nancheng City Bureau, only during the annual crackdown on unsolved cases would this case be singled out to investigate the whereabouts of Xia Weizhi.

But now… if the current case was connected to the previous one, the repercussions would likely be significant, and the situation would not be simple.

Lu Siyu knew what this type of knot and method of torture represented. It indicated that Xia Weizhi might still be alive and using the same method to kill. The witch who had shrouded the entire city for so many years seemed to have resurrected. Or perhaps, someone had inherited Xia Weizhi’s legacy and wanted to glorify the murder method that had been sealed away.

TN:

“You maggots make me sick, I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells within us all.”