Ji Xun observed Cheng Zheng.
The effect of the opening bombshell wasn’t great. Cheng Zheng, sitting opposite him, did show a moment of astonishment on his face, but it was just astonishment, not panic. Then he smiled apologetically, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. This accusation is too absurd. Why would I kill Tang Jinglong?”
“Because Tang Jinglong killed Xi Lei.”
“Is that the police’s conclusion?” Cheng Zheng said. “Has the killer who murdered Lei Lei been found?”
“No,” Ji Xun said truthfully. “I’m guessing. I just feel that in two interconnected cases, both you and Tang Jinglong were overly confident in your alibis.”
Cheng Zheng remained silent, not stopping Ji Xun. He wasn’t the type of person to interrupt.
“Tang Jinglong didn’t hide the DNA he left at Xi Lei’s house. You didn’t hide that restaurant that was excessively close. You are both suspects with strong motives, and you both produced credible alibis clearly and without error at the first opportunity. A single strike to kill, a single click to clear your name,” Ji Xun asked with mock humility, “Wouldn’t you say it’s quite a coincidence?”
“I have an alibi because I didn’t kill anyone.” Cheng Zheng wasn’t angry, just helpless. “Let’s stick to the evidence. The police can’t solve cases by guessing, can they?”
“Don’t misunderstand, I’m not a police officer,” Ji Xun said. “I’m just a nosy little author who likes to let his imagination run wild. In novels, the stranger the story, the more eye-catching it is. I’m just saying this to find some creative inspiration. Why don’t you casually chat with me about your thoughts on the case? Don’t worry, I won’t record it. A little piece of trivia for you: secret recordings have no legal standing.”
“I know. I’m a teacher, after all. I know a little about the law,” Cheng Zheng smiled. “If we’re just chatting casually, then… well, I do really want to kill the murderer.”
“Oh,” Ji Xun said, his face unreadable.
“I’m an outsider here. I’ve been here for almost thirty years. Lei Lei had just been born then. I helped deliver her, and I also gave her her name. She was my first student—smart, eager to learn, and she lived up to expectations by testing out of here. She had far more courage than I do, far more courage than most people here… but there’s nothing to be done. This is fate.”
Cheng Zheng’s eyes were downcast. From Ji Xun’s perspective, Cheng Zheng wasn’t that old, perhaps in his early fifties, still in his prime. But an air of heavy twilight constantly emanated from him, as if dusk had fallen and the sun was about to set. He was welcoming the darkness with an attitude of resignation.
“She is dead. She was killed for a secret she never had the chance to speak,” Ji Xun said. “You are her teacher. Don’t you want to hear her unfinished words?”
There was a long silence.
Ji Xun could sense that Cheng Zheng seemed to be moved, his heart wavering.
“I want to know some things.” Ji Xun slowed his voice. He didn’t care about the truth of Tang Jinglong’s case; he wanted the full story of Xi Lei’s case. He stated his ultimate goal, “Xi Lei had nineteen dolls. She treasured them. I believe the secret she discovered might be related to these dolls, related to her birth. There are very few girls in this village. They…”
Cheng Zheng spoke, his voice soft and calm:
“They all got married and moved away.”
The communication with Cheng Zheng didn’t achieve the effect Ji Xun had hoped for. However, the lawyer sent him good news in a timely manner: “Xi Zhengping has definitely agreed to move the grave!”
He relayed the message to the police station. It had been arranged yesterday; once confirmed here, the police station would dispatch a vehicle, and two on-duty officers would escort Zeng Peng over to fulfill his final wish.
The village was remote and the journey long. With time to kill, Ji Xun wandered around the village. He didn’t go anywhere special, just walked along the paths between the fields and looked at the entrance to the mountain behind the village where the podocarpus pines were grown.
The mountain village was very quiet. In winter, the trees at the foot of the mountain were bare, but some unknown species on the mountain were still green. From a distance, it looked like a green cloud, shrouded in a hazy mist. But the mist was black, like a gloomy eye looking down from above.
Eyes came not only from the mountain but also from all around Ji Xun.
Ever since he had left Cheng Zheng’s house, the feeling of being secretly watched at all times had enveloped him. Ji Xun remained composed and observed his surroundings.
No one was following him for long, but wherever he went, the people who were already working there would look at him. There was no curiosity in their eyes, just a gloominess, as gloomy as the mist—dull and frosted with cold.
—And they were all women.
The ones looking at him were all women. There were no men. The men were still gathered outside Xi Zhengping’s courtyard watching the commotion. Only the women, scattered in their respective homes and fields, were working, just like An Xinhe.
The atmosphere of the mountain village seemed to have changed imperceptibly. The withered branches became more rigid, the frozen earth harder. Even the wind began to howl, hiding sharp knives within it. Thank heavens, the sound of a car engine echoed from the road at the village entrance, and a battered white Jinbei brand van appeared.
It stopped at the village entrance, the door opened, and two identical-looking young plainclothes police officers got out with Zeng Peng. Zeng Peng was not handcuffed, and of course, he showed no intention of making a move. He got out obediently and stood steadily. Only when he saw Ji Xun did his eyes, as if seeing hope, flash with a bit of light.
“Hello, I’m Ji Xun.” Ji Xun stepped forward. Most people would do a double-take upon seeing twins, and he was no exception. He took a second look before explaining the situation. “The lawyer is at Xi Zhengping’s house. Let’s go there first. He’s drafted the house transfer agreement. Once Zeng Peng signs it, we can start moving the grave.”
“Understood,” the two replied, then they smiled brightly. “Brother Ji, my name is Gao Fang, and he’s Gao Yuan. We know you. Your outstanding deeds are still posted on the wall of honor. We pass by it every day on our way to the cafeteria.”
“You’ve reminded me,” Ji Xun said. “Next time I go to the station, I’ll tear those down.”
The two were stunned.
However, Ji Xun had already turned and started walking into the village. Without another word, the remaining three followed. When they arrived at Xi Zhengping’s house, the crowd of men who had been watching had already left. Xi Zhengping and the lawyer were drinking tea in the courtyard. An Xinhe was not in sight, but some noise could be heard from inside the house; she was probably working in there.
“Everyone’s here,” the lawyer greeted them. “It’s all been discussed. Both parties just need to sign.”
Just then, the half-closed door moved, and a woman walked out. She was holding a tray with oranges stacked like a pagoda. She brought the oranges to Ji Xun’s group of four and said, “We don’t have much to offer in the countryside. Please have some fruit.”
Ji Xun casually took one.
But Gao Fang and Gao Yuan both waved their hands in refusal. How could the police take things from the public? Zeng Peng was in no mood for fruit either, his eyes were fixed on the thin piece of paper the lawyer had taken out.
“Have some, have some, at least eat one.” The woman, with a stiff smile on her powdered face, kept pushing the fruit into Zeng Peng’s and the officers’ arms, her strength considerable. “It’s rare for guests to visit the village. How can you not eat something?”
“No need, we’re not being polite, really, no need.”
In the pushing and shoving, the tray tilted, and the oranges on it rolled all over the ground.
The woman let out a cry of “Aiya,” and Gao Fang and Gao Yuan quickly bent down to help pick them up.
As they bent over, the outline of their weapons, previously hidden by their loose clothing, immediately became visible.
The woman stared. The stiffness on her face spread to her eyes. She stared woodenly at the spot, at the outline of the guns.
“Thank you, Auntie. You’re too kind. We really don’t need any fruit…”
When Gao Fang and Gao Yuan finished picking up the oranges and stood up, they continued to be polite as before, but the woman suddenly stopped talking. She held the tray coldly, let them place the fruit on it, then turned and left.
This small interlude was confined to a corner of the courtyard. The lawyer, sitting in the center of the yard, had finally organized the documents in his briefcase. He called Zeng Peng over. Zeng Peng was extremely straightforward, signing his name with a few quick strokes. It was Xi Zhengping’s turn. Xi Zhengping picked up the pen, also about to sign his name, but—
“Don’t sign!” A sharp, high-pitched cry came from inside the house. Ji Xun saw An Xinhe walk out. She was tall, and as she rushed out of the house, she looked almost like a man who was the head of the household.
“Don’t cause trouble.” Xi Zhengping paid her no mind, not even lifting his head, and continued to study where to sign.
An Xinhe, who had reached the table, snatched the document from Xi Zhengping’s hand and tore it in half.
Xi Zhengping was startled and stood up, roaring at An Xinhe, “What are you crazy for? Have you lost your mind?” He then repeatedly apologized to the lawyer, “I’m sorry, my wife has some mental problems, she’s emotionally unstable. Look, this is torn… do you have any other copies?”
The lawyer was also surprised, but he was good with words. “It’s alright, I have more here. I considered that you might not have office supplies here, so I brought a portable printer. It’s convenient for printing anything. Auntie, are you not signing because you have some concerns or dissatisfaction? Whatever it is, we can communicate and resolve it.”
“Right.” Zeng Peng was extremely nervous and nodded quickly.
“I said don’t sign! Don’t move the grave! No one is to touch my daughter’s grave! Not a single bit of that land on the mountain is to be touched!” An Xinhe, contrary to her usual wooden demeanor, looked terrifying. Her face was ashen, and her eyes were gloomier than any of the women Ji Xun had seen before. She was facing the lawyer, Zeng Peng, and her husband, but Ji Xun felt she was looking at him.
The cold light seeping from her eyes flowed over his body from top to bottom.
“What does a woman know? Get aside, you have no say here,” Xi Zhengping pushed An Xinhe impatiently. “If you objected to moving the grave, why didn’t you say so earlier? Now that we’ve all agreed, you come with your hindsight? Get lost, get lost, go back inside and cook!”
The short Xi Zhengping failed to push An Xinhe. Next to her was a wooden rack with a basin of water on it. She grabbed the basin and splashed it at the lawyer’s feet.
The lawyer was horrified, but thanks to his regular gym workouts, his hands and feet were agile enough. He hastily jumped back, managing to dodge half of the basin.
Xi Zhengping slapped An Xinhe across the face. “Are you crazy!”
Gao Fang and Gao Yuan were stunned by the dizzying turn of events. They now shouted, “If you have something to say, say it! Don’t get physical!”
The courtyard had descended into complete chaos. Several women ran out of the house, pulling at An Xinhe and blocking Xi Zhengping, shouting “Don’t hit her,” and “Let’s talk this out calmly.” The men who had left reappeared. The village was so small that a shout from the east end could be heard in the west. People came out to look, some walking over, others shouting advice from afar:
“You’re both old now. It’s one thing for a couple to argue, but how can you resort to violence?”
“Don’t be a laughingstock for outsiders.”
“Old Ping, take your wife back to the room. Don’t let her embarrass herself.”
Gossip came from all directions. In front of them, An Xinhe’s shrill voice was like fingernails scraping on a glass pane: “I’m not crazy, you are! Have you forgotten about that piece of land? Do you really dare to touch your daughter’s land, your daughter’s grave!”
In the midst of the chaos, Ji Xun asked the lawyer, “Didn’t you say it was already taken care of?”
The lawyer was also full of questions. “It was. You saw it just now. Xi Zhengping was definitely going to sign. I don’t understand why his wife suddenly rushed out. When I was talking with him earlier, his wife was working right beside us and didn’t show any opposition from beginning to end… It’s too chaotic now. You guys go wait over there for a bit. I’ll work on them some more and call you later.”
The three of them, along with Zeng Peng, stood by the roadside. The lawyer went ahead by himself. The chaos in the courtyard didn’t last long. Soon, An Xinhe was led away by the other women. Xi Zhengping stayed in the courtyard to talk to the lawyer, but only for a moment. Not long after, an older villager came and called Xi Zhengping away as well.
“Something’s not right,” Ji Xun said.
Gao Fang and Gao Yuan, standing beside him, were feeling a bit awkward and quickly chimed in, “It is pretty strange. Brother Ji, is this lawyer reliable?”
“Why would the women of the village so suddenly oppose moving the grave?” Ji Xun muttered to himself. “Don’t touch the grave on the mountain, don’t touch the land on the mountain…”
If things are as I guessed, and the women are the victims, why would they reject me?
If things are not as I guessed, what was it that sparked the women’s resistance… The change began after I came out of Cheng Zheng’s house…
Gao Fang and Gao Yuan tried hard to make conversation. “The aunties in the village don’t seem to welcome us very much. Maybe they really don’t want to move the grave? We should still respect the opinions of the public, especially since this is their family matter.”
“This isn’t a family matter, it’s Lei Lei’s wish,” Zeng Peng retorted anxiously. “She was my girlfriend, I know what she wanted!”
“The dead no longer have the right to express an opinion,” Gao Fang and Gao Yuan had nothing but cold glares for Zeng Peng.
Just then, the main door of the house in Xi Zhengping’s courtyard opened.
The people who had gone in all came out, men and women. The lawyer greeted them with a smile, but soon realized something was wrong. Ji Xun realized it too. The men who came out had the same stiff expressions and ashen faces. A large group of them surged forward, surrounding the lawyer without a word and pushing him out of the courtyard towards Ji Xun’s group.
“Go, all of you, go! We’re not moving the grave anymore.”
“You can’t do this! We’ve already agreed on the terms—” Zeng Peng immediately became frantic.
Before the two police officers could react, the livid expressions on the men’s faces turned ferocious, and they started pushing and shoving. “Where our village’s daughter is buried is our decision! You all get out immediately, you’re not welcome in this village!”
A mere five people were no match for the entire village.
Ji Xun was driven directly to the van outside the village. The lawyer, looking embarrassed, tried hard to explain but didn’t get a chance to speak before Ji Xun raised his hand and tossed his car keys to him. “You’ve worked hard today. You can drive back first. I’ll discuss with the others what to do about this.”
With that, he reached out and pushed Gao Fang, Gao Yuan, and Zeng Peng into the van behind him.
The space was enclosed, and the light suddenly dimmed. The four of them sat face to face in the cramped space, toes to toes, knees overlapping. Ji Xun said directly, “This is very strange.”
Gao Fang and Gao Yuan: “What’s strange?”
Ji Xun: “First, the women of the village opposed it for no reason, then the men of the village also began to collectively oppose it. The change in attitude is very bizarre.”
Gao Fang and Gao Yuan looked at each other. “The women objected because the mother didn’t want to be separated from her daughter. The men followed suit because the women successfully persuaded them. The wife is the leader of the household? If the leader gives an order, how can you not listen?”
Ji Xun scoffed, “Do you deal with your leader by slapping them across the face without a second thought?”
Gao Fang and Gao Yuan stuck to their point. “Hitting someone is definitely wrong, but the scene was chaotic then. Everyone was agitated, so it’s possible to lose control. You can’t say a wife can’t persuade her husband because of that, especially in a family matter like this.”
Ji Xun couldn’t be bothered to argue with them.
Was it the wives who persuaded the husbands? Yes, anyone with eyes could see that the women had convinced the men—but it was definitely not because the wife was in charge of family matters. The women in this village had no status at all.
There was only one thing they could use to persuade the men: the matter of moving the grave had infringed upon the men’s interests.
He leaned against the window, lost in thought for a while, then suddenly said, “The mountain.”
“What?”
“There’s something on the mountain. We need to take a trip up there.”
Gao Fang and Gao Yuan stopped looking at each other. They quickly tried to stop him. “Wait, Brother Ji, we know you really want to make this grave move happen, but on this matter, we must respect the opinions of the public. We can’t force a sale.”
“Who’s forcing a sale?” Ji Xun didn’t even lift his eyelids. “If they don’t want to move it, they don’t have to. It’s their right. But I now suspect there’s a secret hidden on the mountain. I’m going up to treasure hunt. Who knows, I might find something unexpected? By then, maybe they’ll give us the grave for free, with both hands, crying and begging us to take it away.”
“You’re just going in circles, it’s still about that grave…” Gao Fang and Gao Yuan were speechless. They simply pointed at Zeng Peng and said, “Is he worth all this?”
Zeng Peng lowered his head.
“You two are coming up the mountain with me,” Ji Xun continued.
“That’s impossible. Our mission is to guard Zeng Peng, escort him here safely and escort him back safely,” Gao Fang and Gao Yuan were startled. “What if he suddenly runs away on the mountain?”
“I definitely won’t run!” Zeng Peng quickly promised. “You can handcuff me.”
“Do you have a say in this?” the two police officers snapped at him.
“You’re not coming up with me?” Ji Xun asked.
“There’s no reason to.” Gao Fang and Gao Yuan continued to try to persuade Ji Xun earnestly. “Brother Ji, it’s the middle of winter, the mountain is bare. there’s really nothing there. Just accept that the people in this village have high moral principles and are unwilling to move the grave even for money…”
“Then I’ll go up myself. You guys wait for me here,” Ji Xun said.
“…We’re not waiting for you. We’re leaving,” Gao Fang and Gao Yuan said resolutely.
“Why don’t we discuss it again?” Ji Xun maintained his politeness.
“No, no discussion. This is it,” Gao Fang and Gao Yuan were as firm as a rock.
Since that was the case, Ji Xun decided to resort to threats after politeness failed. He spread his hands and said:
“What if I get lost on the mountain? What if I run into danger? If I call 110 for help, 110 will have to dispatch police, right? This mountain village is remote. You are the closest police officers right now, aren’t you? When the command center dispatches manpower, who do you think they’ll send to find me?”
“…”
“Driving out and then back, then back and then out again, on these bumpy mountain roads, with fatigue, and with a dangerous drug dealer who could escape at any moment…”
“I really won’t run,” Zeng Peng said weakly, tired of repeating himself. “And I’m not dangerous.”
“Is it really necessary?” The two police officers looked like they were suffocating. “It’s just a mountain. Do you think it’s enchanted and can trap you?”
“Even if it can’t trap me, I can’t get back,” Ji Xun said leisurely. “I gave my car to the lawyer, and you can’t get a taxi here. In the end, I’ll still have to trouble the police to pick me up. All these 110 calls I’ll have to make, how embarrassing would that be? Why don’t you just wait?”
Gao Fang and Gao Yuan were truly speechless. Ji Xun unilaterally declared victory. He pulled out his phone and waved it at the two officers. “Alright, I’m going up the mountain. We’ll keep in touch by phone—you two keep an eye on the movements in the village. If a large number of people suddenly disappear, remember to call me.”
The two police officers’ faces were wooden. Zeng Peng, however, nodded seriously. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”
“Stay vigilant, be ready at all times, and at the critical moment, remember to protect me.”
Ji Xun left his final summary, pushed open the van door, and as luck would have it, a strong wind began to blow, whipping up sand and stones.
Ji Xun looked up at the sky. At some point, the sky had turned completely gloomy. The wind howled in the open, making the withered branches and leaves sway wildly, producing strange “swish—swish—” sounds, like a strangled laugh.
This was not a good omen.
Ji Xun genuinely felt a bit of danger. He reached into his pocket, wanting to send a message to Huo Ranyin to set the stage, but just as his fingers touched his phone, he suddenly remembered he didn’t have Huo Ranyin’s phone number or WeChat—he had, but they had deleted each other again in a fit of pique.
To contact Huo Ranyin, he would have to go through Tan Mingjiu or Yuan Yue.
…Forget it, too much trouble.
He pulled his hand out of his pocket and continued forward. As he walked, he couldn’t help but ponder.
He seemed to have suffered this loss once before during the chase in the alley. Was he going to suffer it a second time today? To fall into the same pit twice—that couldn’t be, right?
