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墨書 Inktalez
Soon, several helicopters transported the injured to the hospital, while Wang Chao remained in a coma. A few people watched as Wang Chao's helicopter flew away.
Xu Yiman couldn't help but recall the scene of Wang Chao rushing towards the villagers with open arms.
In Xu Yiman's eyes, Wang Chao was the least noticeable person in the project team. He lacked the worldly wisdom of Old Shao, the keen observational skills and cold reasoning of Jiang He, the exceptional hacking abilities of Guan Deng, and the combat prowess of Yuan Jun, who could take on ten opponents at once.
Within the project team, Wang Chao's role was to coordinate and liaise with various police departments, drive, and handle other tedious tasks.
Yet, this most inconspicuous individual chose to sacrifice himself at the most critical moment to give others a glimmer of hope.
Wang Chao and the other injured villagers were sent to a city hospital, while the remaining officers continued their search in Desolate Village. They found one woman after another locked in a cellar. Regardless of their ages, all of them burst into tears the moment they emerged from the cellar.
Old Shao watched as each girl boarded the helicopter. This should have been a joyous moment, yet he couldn't muster a smile. These individuals were saved, but Old Shao would never forget that one girl had hanged herself. He also couldn't shake off the thought that in the vast Motherland, there were countless villages like this one and many more victims of abduction.
Ignorance and human greed ensured that such evil would never vanish from this world; it was the saddest truth.
There were no curses in this world, yet curses resided deep in everyone's hearts.
City Bureau.
Records lay before the project team members: Desolate Village had a total population of two hundred ninety-eight, with seventy-two dead, twenty-seven severely injured, and the remaining villagers suffering varying degrees of injuries. Tests revealed a chronic poison present in all these villagers; according to Xu Yiman's analysis, this toxin accumulated over time, causing irritability and aggression.
In a deep pit in Desolate Village, police discovered twelve complete corpses along with some dismembered bones. Preliminary estimates suggested around thirty fatalities. The police were comparing these findings with missing persons reports from recent years to identify the deceased.
Through interviews with lightly injured villagers, it was revealed that thirty-eight women had been purchased up to that point. They described their trafficker as a man known as Brother San who spoke with a heavy dialect; however, no one knew where he lived.
Meanwhile, police were also investigating these abducted women and returning them to their homes. Surprisingly, Song Xiangmei was also from Dragon City and lived in the same city as Jiang He.
The investigation continued as police found twelve altars at Li Sanhan's home, where boys' genitals had been soaked in liquor. In Li Sanhan's backyard, they discovered signs of frequent disturbance on the ground. When they dug up his backyard, they uncovered twelve children's bodies. Some were already skeletal due to decomposition while others showed less decay.
During this time, Xu Yiman had been busy with autopsies and delivered bad news to everyone: the most recent child had died just when the project team entered the village. The child whom team members had heard Wang Daifeng scolding was likely this very child.
The backpack was discovered in several villagers' homes, its contents of money and food missing, while the remaining items were smashed to pieces.
According to the villagers' testimonies, Desolate Village was self-sufficient, relying on farming for survival. However, farming did not yield much savings. Thus, the villagers agreed to select seven or eight strong men as hunters. These hunters claimed to hunt rabbits and foxes, but in reality, they preyed on travelers who ventured into the mountains.
According to the rules established by the villagers, the wealth obtained from killing was to be managed collectively by the village. However, the hunters would secretly keep a portion for themselves, a tacit understanding among the villagers since it was the hunters who did the killing. The remaining wealth was distributed among all villagers to help them acquire wives.
The travelers were quite wealthy, but when divided among so many, their money became insignificant. Consequently, over several decades, only one-tenth of the three hundred villagers managed to marry. With so many wolves and so little meat, it was common for someone to forcibly take another's wife when their owner was away. As a result, those who had wives kept them locked away, fearful of outsiders seeing them.
Some chose to sell their wives for money after having sons. When a married man died, it was almost a celebration for the villagers—a fact that the members of the task force deeply understood.
Because of these perverse customs in the village, trust among villagers was scarce. Hunters were wary of villagers, and those with wives were cautious of those without; everyone was on guard against one another.
Ironically, nearly all villagers believed that the three deceased individuals in the village had been cursed and killed by a female ghost. Little did they know that Nobleman had been killed by Luo Yu, Wang Mazi by Gangzi, and Zhang Meng by Zhou Qiang.
Luo Yu and Li Sanhan were clever individuals; Li Sanhan frequently traveled to the city for supplies while Luo Yu often conversed with travelers. They had opportunities to encounter outside civilization and knew that there were no such things as ghosts or curses in this world. In contrast, most other villagers had been raised under feudal superstitions and firmly believed in curses.
This represented a tragedy for a generation—ignorant people lacking independent thought made it easier for these clever individuals to control them. Understanding this point reveals why rulers throughout history have implemented policies to keep people ignorant.
As He Caiqie once said to Jiang He, these people were both detestable and pitiable.
The members of the task force sighed as they observed the progress of the case. Was this collective crime born from ignorance or from humanity's inherent evil?
“Not good!” a police officer burst in shouting. “The captured Luo Yu has crashed into a wall; it looks like he won't survive.”
“Let’s go!” Old Shao quickly stood up and headed outside upon hearing this.
The officer led several people out while explaining what had happened. Due to needing testimonies from many villagers, they had pressured Luo Yu to allow others to identify him. Halfway through identification, Luo Yu suddenly broke free from the officer's grasp and slammed himself against a nearby wall.
Luo Yu exerted all his strength; he had no intention of surviving. With a loud crash, a blood-red flower blossomed on the wall.
When a few people gathered around Luo Yu, he was already breathing more out than in. A large gash opened on his head revealed the brain matter inside. Such a severe injury was undoubtedly beyond healing, yet one could still see Luo Yu's mouth moving, though no one could discern what he was saying.
“Curse... curse...”
Luo Yu kept repeating this phrase, but his voice was too faint for anyone to catch what he meant.
“A person like Luo Yu, even in death, would want to take matters into his own hands; it fits his character,” Old Shao shook his head. “He’s beyond saving.”
“Keep an eye on Li Sanhan,” Jiang He said.
Old Shao shook his head again. “A person with Li Sanhan's temperament wouldn’t dare to commit suicide. He’s the type who won’t give up until he reaches the Yellow River and won’t shed tears until he sees the coffin. Perhaps even now, he still thinks he can find a way out.”
Jiang He nodded.
The police officer continued, “Everyone except Li Sanhan has confessed.”
“What about He Caiqie?” Jiang He asked.
The officer replied, “He confessed as well, but after hearing about the villagers killing each other, he couldn’t stop smiling. He understands the law; although he poisoned them, no one has died yet. He hasn’t killed anyone himself, so at most it’s attempted murder. Once he gets out, if there are still any surviving villagers, he will definitely go after them.”
He Caiqie had already lost his mind.
“Has Song Xiangmei been sent back?” Old Shao asked.
The officer shook his head. “We couldn’t contact her family; ten years have passed, and they might not even be in Dragon City anymore. Her previous phone number is no longer in service. We bought her a ticket back to Dragon City, but she refuses to leave alone and insists on having us accompany her.”
“Jiang He, you’re from the same place as her,” Old Shao looked at Jiang He. “Once the case is over, you should take a trip and escort her back to Dragon City.”
Jiang He nodded.
"I wonder how Wang Chao is doing," Old Shao thought of Wang Chao as he mentioned Dragon City.
"He must be lucky," Xu Yiman said softly.
"At this point, it seems like things have come to a conclusion. Those who needed to confess have confessed, and those who needed to be sent back have been sent back. The remaining task is to verify the identities of the deceased and seek justice for them," Old Shao rubbed his eyes.
"Let's take a break when we get back," Shao the Elder suggested.
"There's still one person left," Jiang He said. "Li Sanhan hasn't confessed yet."
Old Shao nodded. "We'll go meet Li Sanhan ourselves and see why he's being so stubborn."
"By the way," Old Shao turned to the officer, "make sure to inform your chief to find out what's going on with Officer Hao. I'll review the results afterward."
"Understood."
During the police interrogation, the villagers confessed one by one, but only Li Sanhan remained silent, insisting he would only speak to a leader. Through the double-glazed window of the interrogation room, Li Sanhan could be seen sitting in a chair, constantly looking around, sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Is anyone there?" Li Sanhan shouted. "Is anyone there! I didn't kill anyone! I didn't kill anyone!"
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