Chapter 3, Case Analysis

Little Horse was speechless, but Bai Bai spoke up: "It sounds reasonable, but the more reasonable it sounds, the more I feel there is a problem. What do you think, Xiao Yu?"

Cheng Huaihuo also shook his head and said, "I do not understand"

My ominous premonition deepens, and I say: "I am Jin Yeyu"

Uncertain how much time had passed, suddenly, my colleague Xiao Ma spoke up: "The information is too sparse. The cause of death, hmm... let's tentatively call it unknown. The missing body has yet to be found. How are we supposed to initiate the investigation?"

I said: "Let’s leave it at that for now. Everyone should go back and rest, so we can regain our strength for tomorrow's battle"

After reading the report, Cheng Huaihuo asked his colleagues in the verification department: "Brothers, this half of the jade bracelet should be quite valuable, right?"

Everyone immediately turned their gaze towards me. I put down the statement I had in my hand, took out a cigarette from my pocket, lit it, and said, "If, and I mean if, the old lady's body was not taken away, but rather walked away on its own, what would the situation be like"

After giving Cheng Huaihuo a glare, he continued: "The second breakthrough point is the cause of death. Regardless of the shock experienced, I always feel that the murderer removed the victim's heart to conceal the true cause of death. Conversely, as long as we can determine the cause of death, we will be able to unravel the mystery of why the murderer took the victim's heart."

Cheng Huaihuo hurriedly said: "I can answer that for you. The issue lies with this old lady; she is quite sinister. Shortly after marrying into the family, both her father-in-law and mother-in-law passed away. Just as the funerals for the two elders were completed, her husband also died, leaving her to raise an orphaned child, only to send a white-haired person to join a black-haired one. She still believes her son died unjustly. I won't elaborate further, but she thinks the entire village forced her son to his death. Therefore, she swore in the ancestral hall that after her death, she would return as a vengeful spirit, causing unrest throughout the village. After her death, she still could not rest in peace. A shaman came and said that her death required a proper burial, otherwise the entire village would suffer. If you are from the village, can you oppose that? Would you dare to oppose it?"

We took the evidence to the Technical Appraisal Department, then went to have a meal. Upon returning, the identification results for the evidence had already been released. The antique shoe is a flag shoe from the late Qing Dynasty, specifically a Manchu embroidered shoe. As for the half jade bracelet, it is indeed an antique over 1,000 years old, dating back to the late Western Han Dynasty, and it had been buried in the soil for a long time, having been excavated no more than two days prior.

A colleague from the appraisal department said: "Only antique appraisers can answer this question; I cannot respond..."

Cheng Huaihuo said: "Yes, I think so too. A thorough analysis is quite reliable."

Xiao Ma Dao: "I still feel that something is not right. Since you have rules against burial so close to the village, why do the villagers not oppose it?"

Cheng Huaihuo said: "It is highly unlikely that there is an ancient tomb. I remember very clearly that there is a river beside the bamboo forest, which appears to be an ancient river. Did your family bury the tomb by the river?"

Another incident occurred in the village. A forty-year-old woman, Zhang Jie, was found dead in her home. The manner of her death was similar to that of the previous victim, with a look of terror on her face, her abdomen torn open, and her heart removed. Four witnesses all claimed to have seen the murderer, who was Jin Shiba's grandmother

Little Horse asked again: "But this piece of land is right here, is there any problem with it?"

What? Not dead? Then hasn't all this been in vain? Cheng Huaihuo disagreed

The atmosphere in the office was eerily silent, and all four individuals gasped in shock. Is it highly likely that all four witnesses misidentified the murderer? And if they did not misidentify, what does that imply? Has the old lady truly returned as a vengeful spirit?

Little Horse opposed, saying: "This is too complicated; why make it known to everyone? Wouldn't it be better to quietly deal with it? Unless this is a transformation of the Golden Eighteen..."

Xiao Ma said: "I would like to express my stance. This is Xiao Yu's first case as the acting team leader, and we must solve it within the deadline, then give Xiao Yu a thorough reprimand"

"First of all, we must not be superstitious; unless there is concrete evidence to prove it, we should treat it as an ordinary case for investigation and handling." This statement was made by a colleague named Bai Bai, the only female officer in the Criminal Investigation Department. She came from the Special Police and is a serious, unsmiling combat expert with strong logical thinking abilities. I agree with her; our work does not allow us to be overly superstitious, but we also cannot dismiss anti-scientific elements.

Bai Bai Dao: "I agree, we must act quickly. The longer we wait in this dreadful weather, the faster the evidence on the body will disappear."

I said: "So I am merely stating that there have been cases in Hunan, as an example to demonstrate the value or issues of this land. It is unlikely that there are ancient tombs, but we cannot overlook any possibilities; we still need to investigate. Bai Bai, you should make a trip to the Cultural Bureau tomorrow to check the county records and clarify the history of our village. Do not miss any useful information. Then, go to the evidence room and take a half piece of a jade bracelet to the Cultural Relics Office, asking them to help determine the true identity, origin, and so on of this half piece of jade bracelet. Also, regarding this embroidered shoe, it is evident that it is not made in our local style or craftsmanship; we need to ascertain its origins."

"The corpse walks by itself?" Little Horse's eyes turned a few times, "Can a corpse still walk?"

Cheng Huaihuo patted my shoulder and said, "Why are you not speaking? What are your thoughts?"

Cheng Huaihuo chuckled, "With three approaches combined, Xiao Yu, you are quite the capable acting team leader. Bai Bai, you will have plenty to do."

Will there be ancient tombs underground in your village? Those who were invited to dig the graves are actually tomb raiders? They must be organized; otherwise, they wouldn't have run away so quickly, and not a single one can be found.

Do not think that there is absolutely no problem. Let me make a hypothesis: if I know this segment of history about the village and I want to acquire the land of the White Widow, how would I proceed? Would I buy it or exchange it? Regardless of whether it is the former or the latter, neither option can be executed without a legitimate reason. Coincidentally, Jin Shiba's grandmother passed away, and I suddenly thought of colluding with Jin Shiba. Can the situation be explained clearly? Therefore, no matter which direction I consider, it all circles back to the issue with this piece of land; everything serves the purpose of this land.

There is also a fourth possibility, purely accidental

I nodded and said: "Yes, perhaps this master is indeed a true master, and the rituals performed are genuine; it is just that some things that should not have been discovered have led to murder to silence them"

I gave a brief glance to Bai Bai, and I felt she could anticipate what I wanted to say. As I expected, this was the only female officer in our criminal investigation office, who always had some unique insights: "Are you saying that the person is not dead?"

Cheng Huaihuo and Bai Bai quickly echoed, I can only say, I hope it can be resolved within the deadline, but I certainly do not wish for it to end up being as terrifying as the headless female ghost case at State First High School six months ago, which turned out to be such a shocking result after all the investigations.

I tapped Cheng Huaihuo on the head and said, "What nonsensical thoughts are you having again? Come on, let's go to the meeting"

Bai Bai continued, "I feel that this embroidered shoe is a breakthrough point. This item was not excavated like the half-section jade bracelet; rather, it was brought here. Who brought it? There are three possibilities. First, it may have been used by a sorcerer for rituals, which is not difficult to verify; we can ask other sorcerers and find out. Second, it may have been left behind by the murderer, which itself contains two possibilities: one, it was left unintentionally; two, it was left intentionally. Third, it may have been left by someone else who witnessed the incident and wanted to help the murderer divert attention."

After leaving the town hospital and obtaining the records they had prepared, along with the evidence collected at the scene and the case summary report from the town police station, I drove with Cheng Huaihuo towards the county public security bureau. By the time we returned, it was already dark, and the rain continued to pour down furiously, seemingly with no intention of stopping. This greatly affected our mood, but the work still had to be done

Xiao Ma Dao: "I believe that the most reliable approach is to exert all efforts to locate the missing body. Why would anyone want to remove the body? Are they trying to cover something up? If we can find it, the case may become clearer."

As they were tidying up and preparing to leave, the office landline rang again. In the quiet of the night, the sound was particularly jarring and gave a sense of foreboding. None of them were willing to answer it, so I ultimately pressed the speakerphone button. On the other end of the line, Zhang Zichen's voice came through: "Hello, may I ask if Jin Yeyu is still at work?"

It is merely a matter of duty! The attitude towards work has always been very serious, which is in stark contrast to Cheng Huaihuo, who is always smiling and joking.

Five minutes later, in the criminal investigation office, I, along with Cheng Huaihuo and two other colleagues, were sifting through testimonies and various reports, each contemplating and trying to understand and unravel this bizarre case with our own interpretative abilities. Normally, this would be after work hours, but there is a more accurate saying that criminal police essentially do not have formal off-duty hours; as long as there is a case, they must fight day and night, especially when faced with major cases. This one was evidently serious, causing panic among the residents of a village with five hundred households. Therefore, the team leader had already issued an order limiting us to solve the case within five days.

I shook my head this time: "I am still thinking, but I have seen a report about a similar case in Hunan, where there was a piece of land with an ancient tomb underground."

Bai Bai continued my words, saying: "It should be the former; if that is the case, their purpose in causing such a commotion is to kill the Great Immortal"

Little Ma asked, "So this means it was someone familiar who committed the crime, right?"

I continued, "If the old lady is not dead, it could explain why Jin Shiba is missing; it is very likely that he ran away with her. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that Jin Shiba has already met with misfortune, but the body has not been found. However, between the two, which do you think is more likely, the former or the latter?"

If the drunken man's intention is not in the wine? Let me first provide some background. This is my family's village, and there are many matters, customs, and grievances that you may not be aware of, but I am. First, the custom in our village requires mourning for two days and one night, and with preparation time, it takes at least three days to bury someone after they have died. However, this old lady has only been dead for two days, and she is being buried at night. Moreover, the officiant and the grave diggers are all outsiders. What are they trying to conceal with such secrecy? Is it truly just superstition about feng shui? I acknowledge the existence of such beliefs, but we cannot approach our investigation with that mindset. If we must discuss feng shui, we need to address the second point. Second, this burial site is located in the bamboo forest at the west end of our village, approximately one hundred meters away in a straight line. Burying someone so close to the village raises significant issues; our ancestors' customs do not permit it. Additionally, according to the officiant, they are looking for a burial site that exposes yang energy, yet this land appears to be extremely yin. Would Jin Shiba be foolish enough to trade double the land for it? If there were other motives and he intended to leave early, would he not be willing to trade ten times the land? The entire process has been shrouded in secrecy, and the likelihood that the drunken man's intention is not in the wine is quite high. I feel the main issue lies with this piece of land.