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The small boat glided through the peach blossom forest, and before them lay no path forward. On the shore, Mu Zuo was bowing in greeting.
As everyone disembarked, Mu Zuo led the way, parting the weeds ahead, revealing a cave that suddenly came into view!
The entrance to this cave was hidden beneath a cliff, making it quite secretive. Inside, the passage was narrow, but not far in, it opened up into a spacious area.
Xu Yan then remarked, "The land is flat and expansive, with houses neatly arranged. There are fertile fields, beautiful ponds, mulberry trees, and bamboo groves. The paths are well-connected, and the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard. The people here go about their farming as if they were outsiders; the elderly and children are all at ease and enjoying themselves..."
At this moment, Liu Fengling was left dumbfounded. Turning back to look, Chen Maoliang wore an expression of shame, his head bowed in silence. Villagers gathered from all directions, kneeling in a throng, among them was the limping Wang Tiesheng.
Xu Yan approached Chen Maoliang and asked, "These must be the Changping villagers who went missing without a trace."
Chen Maoliang lifted his robe and knelt down. "Indeed... but I do not know how Mr. Xu uncovered this."
Xu Yan stroked his beard and replied, "When I first arrived at Changping Village, I was equally perplexed due to my concerns over Tang Sai'er. After hearing Zhao Lao Si's testimony, I found two wooden stakes with grooves at the Xiawa Village Entrance along with a piece of cloth. That cloth came from an official's uniform; I initially thought it was used by officials to mark village boundaries. However, upon further reflection, it did not seem likely."
"This dynasty typically uses stone stakes to demarcate boundaries; only some remote and ancient villages use wooden stakes. Moreover, those two stakes were newly driven in, so I deduced that they were not boundary markers. But what purpose could they serve? What were those grooves for... I pondered this repeatedly without finding an answer.
"Then you revealed your first flaw! It was the bloodstains on the Paper Figurine. I examined Zhao Lao Si's corpse and head; he must have been killed while kneeling on the ground. The Paper Figurine should have held a knife in its right hand and possessed extraordinary strength to behead a person with a single stroke of a machete—this killer was certainly no ordinary villager.
"From this perspective, when the Paper Figurine killed Zhao Lao Si, his blood should have splattered upward at an angle. However, the bloodstains on the Paper Figurine found in Li Shang's house were angled downward. This indicates that it was not the Paper Figurine in Li Shang's room that committed the murder; rather, its blood had been poured on later by someone else. Subsequently, that Paper Figurine killed Zhao Dehui. Mu Zuo chased into the forest where the killer threw down a pre-prepared Paper Figurine from a tree; that’s when we witnessed the scene of blood gushing from it. Your entire scheme was merely to create panic, eliminate witnesses, and make us believe that the Paper Figurine had come back to life seeking revenge.
"I once dissected a Paper Figurine and examined its blood. Normally speaking, human blood coagulates once it leaves the body; however, the blood inside that Paper Figurine flowed freely. This indicates that someone had added a special powder to it—such concoctions would not be known to ordinary folk but could easily be handled by an official coroner. From that moment on, I began to suspect you..."
"Later, when the Tian came to plead, you realized that Zhao Lao Si and Zhao Dehui's conspiracy had a third person aware of it, and that sparked your murderous intent. So you sought someone to set up a fake Fa Tai, hoping to confuse the situation. Little did you know that it was this very fake Fa Tai that ultimately confirmed for me that the one responsible for the mysterious disappearance of one hundred and five people was you!
"When we entered the mountains, I carefully observed the low branches and leaves along the path. On the night the Changping Villagers went missing, there was no moonlight. A group of over a hundred people entering the mountains would surely need to carry torches, yet there were no signs of scorching on the branches along the way. Thus, I deduced that the Changping Villagers had not entered the mountains. The Fa Tai in the dilapidated temple seemed clever but had numerous flaws. On April thirteenth, with a southeast wind, the slanted groove where the candle burned should have faced northwest, yet it was directed towards Zheng Dong; just days prior, there had been heavy rain, and in the mountains, dew would have been heavy. The cloth covering the Fa Tai would have been soaked by dew at night and dried by sunlight during the day. With such back-and-forth for several days, how could there be no trace of mildew on that tablecloth?
"The most ridiculous part was the names on the jar. Zhao Dehui and Zhao Lao Si had never received an education; how could they possibly remember all the names of every villager so accurately? The only person capable of such feats could only be you, the county magistrate! At that time, I did not expose you because I was concerned for the safety of Changping Village's people. Not knowing your intentions, I played along with master Liu to finish your act.
"When we descended from the mountain, a fire broke out in Changping Village. I knew this was an attempt to destroy evidence and further incite panic. In fact, you had long since dispatched someone to watch the main road; upon seeing Zhang Qianhu's army approach, you immediately set fire to the village. As expected, Zhang Qianhu burned all your Paper Figurines as you had planned.
"After we descended, master Liu questioned Zhang Qianhu. Zhang Qianhu presented Records of the River Official and Waterways, which clearly stated that at Xu time on April thirteenth, the wooden bridge over Hun River was washed away by floodwaters! Yet Zhao Lao Si's testimony claimed that Wang Tiesheng left Changping Village at Xu time to send word, while master Chen arrived at Chen time the next day. Wang Tiesheng would take over two hours to ride from Changde County across the wooden bridge to Changping Village; accounting for his round trip plus master Chen gathering his officers' time, it would perfectly align with Chen time on the following day. However, since the wooden bridge over Hun River had been washed away that very night, how could master Chen have arrived at Changping Village at Chen time? Could Wang Tiesheng fly? Thus I concluded that it was none other than you who took away one hundred and five people from Changping Village—Chen Maoliang!
" master Liu and I planned to lead troops to Baoxing County to capture thieves, intending for you to incite Paper Figurine to act again. I instructed Mu Zuo to return halfway to Xiawa Village to lay an ambush. The Paper Figurine indeed came to assassinate the Tian; Mu Zuo pretended to be injured and waited for an opportunity to follow them back here. Once they shed their disguises, can you guess who they were?"
Xu Yan paused at this point and glanced at Wang Tiesheng kneeling on the ground before continuing: "Now Xu still has one question: how did you quietly take away one hundred and five people from Changping Village?"
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