Chapter 4: The Style of the Cellar

"The cellar?" Wang Zheng asked in confusion

I may have missed something. "Wang Zheng suddenly said, 'I am in the last bungalow here.'"

Even the purest land is bound to give rise to the most troublesome criminals Wang Zheng sighed as he looked at the vegetable fields along the way

Gently lifting with my hand, I discovered a dark entrance beneath the wooden board, which should lead to the cellar. At the same time the board was opened, a strong foul odor wafted up.

"Choose one out of six?" Wang Zheng said with a bitter smile

My dad said it was the smell of someone who hasn't bathed. The boy recalled for a moment and suddenly said: "But it smells a bit like the odor when my little cat at home died a few days ago"

Bang

Imprisonment must meet three conditions: first, it must be far from crowds to ensure that cries for help cannot be heard; second, safety measures must be well implemented, preferably with dogs or other pets in the yard to prevent outsiders from entering; third, in addition to the visible house, there must be a more concealed location inside.

Wang Zheng looked at the child's silhouette, shaking his head helplessly. After observing the surroundings and confirming that no one was around, he mimicked the child's actions, gripping the low wall tightly. With a swift motion, he climbed onto the wall and gazed into the courtyard.

Once there was a fierce wolfdog, just look at what it did to me when it bit me. The boy said as he rolled up his pants to reveal his calf, then sighed, However, I don't know what that madman was thinking later, he personally killed the dog and buried it in the back mountain.

The kitchen is quite simple; apart from the stove that was built by oneself, there is only a bowl rack cabinet that appears to be somewhat aged. To the left of the bowl rack cabinet, there is a slightly longer table, on which a kitchen knife is casually placed, but there is no cutting board.

Looking beyond appearances to grasp the essence? The ancient hero was somewhat surprised, "What exactly have you experienced?"

"It is just ahead," the ancient hero pointed into the distance and said, "It should be mealtime now; look at that smoke, it is caused by burning coal in the stove."

I have always firmly believed in a saying. Wang Zheng nodded slightly and said: "The real clues may not necessarily be on the perpetrator, but they are certainly in the words of others"

Wang Zheng shook his head, turned around to prepare to leave, and then dialed Gu Xia's phone number

The boy took the banknotes, rubbed them to confirm they were real money, and then spoke: "An old man used to live in this yard, but shortly after he died, his son came back to live here. However, my mother said that this person is not quite right in the head; every night he blasts music through a loudspeaker, and the songs are just foreigners shouting without a break. Moreover, he has a strange smell about him."

"Breaking the law? You are not a police officer." The boy shot a glance at Wang Zheng, muttered carelessly, and then left with his peers.

The sound of glass shattering echoed from a distance, soon followed by the laughter of children. Wang Zheng hurried over to see several boys, no older than their teens, sitting on the wall, throwing stones at what appeared to be a dilapidated courtyard.

"Fifty?" Wang Zheng was taken aback for a moment and then burst into laughter. He pulled out a one-hundred note from his pocket and handed it to the other person, saying, "I will give you double, but you must honestly tell me about the situation in the courtyard, as well as that madman."

That madman is not at home! Come back another day!

At this moment, Wang Zheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately crouched down to carefully clear the surrounding soil, revealing the outline of a wooden board.

Therefore, in order to ensure that no one goes hungry, almost every household has a cellar, and in the cellar, there are usually some pickled vegetables stored for emergencies

"It's nothing." Wang Zheng said coldly, no longer speaking, and turned to walk towards the bungalow

Wang Zheng took a closer look and indeed found a dent on the opponent's calf, the size of which matched that of a dog's bite mark

Soon, Wang Zheng and Gu Xia arrived outside the bungalow, just as they passed by several police cars. Looking at the simple-dressed man in the back seat of the police car, it was evident that Gao Feng was already preparing to begin the interrogation

Creak!

"Professor Gu, I haven't found any useful clues here. How about you?" Wang Zheng inquired

The layout of the bungalow is even more complex than the two had anticipated

Wang Zheng took two steps back, carefully sniffing the air, and gradually a familiar feeling suddenly arose in his heart; this smell was exactly the same as that of dead pig meat that had been sun-dried for several days at the canning factory

After a while, seeing that there was no response from the courtyard, an older child complained and then jumped down from the wall, preparing to leave

After speaking, Wang Zheng hung up the phone and began to stomp his feet repeatedly in the room. Finally, near the bedroom, he heard a sound that was different from the other concrete floors, resembling that of wooden planks

The wall was not high, and Wang Zheng easily flipped over and entered the courtyard. He then gently pushed open the unlocked courtyard door and walked into the house, where the first thing he saw was the kitchen

Because each courtyard gate is tightly closed, it inadvertently increases the difficulty of searching. Wang Zheng carefully counted, and there are exactly eleven courtyards in this vicinity. Excluding those that do not meet the criteria, there are still six that are in accordance with the situation

"You are interrogating Gaofeng, it seems, not merely to delay him, right?" Gu Xia looked at the woman and child standing in front of the bungalow and suddenly understood something

Of course, one should not merely focus on the surface of a city. Every city's commercial district is imbued with a sense of commercialization, but if you have the opportunity to take a stroll in the suburbs, you will find similar places in every city, where they generally preserve the customs of yesteryears. The ancient hero smiled, his tone tinged with a sense of nostalgia. He too has come from this era and is no stranger to it all.

The yard was even more dilapidated than Wang Zheng had imagined. At the entrance of the empty yard, apart from a stake driven into the ground, there was only scattered garbage and shards of glass, with hardly any intact glass remaining in the house.

Indeed! The ancient hero was taken aback and quickly introduced Wang Zheng.

There is no meaning in imitation

Due to its geographical location, City B enters a snow season lasting five months during winter. At this time, in order to ensure safe travel, the expressways leading into the city will be closed for a period, making the procurement of food extremely difficult

He is not very particular about food. Wang Zheng sighed. This also signifies that the clue has been lost

"Strange flavor?" Wang Zheng asked in confusion, "What does it taste similar to?"

Is there still anyone burning coal now? Wang Zheng expressed some confusion

I did not find anything here either, please wait a moment. The busy tone replaced the voice of the ancient hero, and after a while, his voice reappeared on the phone, I just found a few places that matched the crime scene and discovered that the villagers have a habit of digging cellars to store vegetables, the signal was poor in the cellar.

Based on the clues he had previously gathered, the murderer should be someone who is very particular about food. He understands more than one cooking and handling method, and it is absolutely impossible for him to dine in such a dusty place without a cutting board

This flavor is ... ...

All three clues are in hand. Wang Zheng nodded quietly in his heart, "Child, take the money and leave quickly, do not come near this place again, and do not break other people's windows, as that is against the law"

In order to save time, the two individuals decided to act separately. Gu Xia would be responsible for inquiring with the residents of the single-story houses, while Wang Zheng would take a stroll nearby to see if there were any locations that matched the criteria for the crime of confinement.

Wang Zhengping traversed the alley of the bungalow, continuously searching for places that met the criteria

As Gao Feng mentioned, Wang Zheng and Gu Xia followed the small path pointed out by each other before they left. In less than ten minutes, they indeed saw wisps of white smoke rising in the distance, accompanied by the continuous aroma of food drifting towards them

"You are not a local, are you?" The boy glanced at Wang Zheng with a sidelong look and extended his hand, saying: "Fifty."

"A foul smell?" Wang Zheng's heart jolted, and he asked again, "Do they have a dog at home?"

It is not a row of houses extending in parallel, but rather each bungalow has its own surrounding wall, with a heavy iron gate blocking the outside world. Each household has its own small courtyard, where elderly people sit to enjoy the coolness, and children play.

Wait a moment! Wang Zheng hurriedly ran up to stop the child and asked, "Who is the madman you are talking about?"