Chapter 8 The Eccentric Old Man

  I knew you still didn't believe me, I didn't say anything else. Soon the captain came back and continued driving forward, going further and further away. In the distance, we saw a range of three or four small hills connected together, one side facing the Drinking Horse River and the other side facing the highway. I was guessing, but the captain suddenly said: "This is Hero Ridge, lead us to that pit, don't tell me you can't find it."

  I was stunned at the time, bitterly smiled and scratched my head, swallowed a mouthful of saliva before dryly saying: "My first time here, I really couldn't find that pit, that me..."

  The captain grunted and didn't say anything else. After a while, the car stopped at the foot of Hero Ridge. A few people got out of the car and naturally didn't need me to lead the way. The captain led us running towards the back of the mountain, starting to look for that pit. Fortunately, this Hero Ridge is actually just a few small hills that aren't very high. If it were any higher, we would have been exhausted to death. A few people split up and walked over, and after turning around a few times, they had already arrived at the foot of the main peak. Just as they were searching forward with difficulty, they heard Little Hu shout: "Captain, there's a pit here!"

  We all rushed over and indeed saw a pit, the pit was hidden in the grass thicket. At this time, the wild grass was at its most dense, if not for Little Hu almost falling into it, it would have been hard to discover. The opening of the pit on top wasn't big, but like a jar, narrower at the top and wider at the bottom, inside was pitch black and nothing could be seen. The team leader took out his flashlight, and only then could we barely make out the situation inside. This pit was three or four meters deep, with some stagnant water inside, and when we approached, a foul smell wafted out. Faintly visible were things floating in the water. Little Wang's eyes were sharp, and he couldn't help but exclaim: "Team leader, there really is a corpse inside!"

  The captain's face was gloomy, and he grunted without saying much. He carefully examined the situation in the pit, and only after a moment did he let out a breath: "There are not only corpses inside, but two corpses. They look like they've decayed to about the same degree. Little Wang, notify the criminal police immediately. This case seems to be going to the criminal police."

  There was a hint of annoyance in his tone, and an inexplicable gloominess, but his gaze didn't leave the pit, as if searching for something. Little Wang nodded, then took out his phone to make a call. Once it involved a homicide case, it wasn't something that 110 could handle alone. After all, only the team leader was a real police officer, while the others were just temporary. But I always felt that these few people were somewhat strange. Little Wang had an indignant look when notifying the criminal police unit, and Little Hu seemed to have some concerns as well. As for the team leader, he looked even more somber, and upon closer inspection, even a bit ferocious.

  As soon as someone mentioned a murder case, the efficiency of the criminal police team was obviously very high. Within half an hour, two police cars came rushing in with sirens blaring, including one Iveco. Looking at the seven or eight policemen running towards us, the captain also stood up, while Xiao Wang and Xiao Hu went to meet them. Just then, the captain suddenly lowered his voice and said something that left me puzzled: "I'll go see you, this is my phone number, if there's a way, give me a call."

  I didn't understand what it meant, I looked at the captain, but felt him secretly slipping a note into my hand. It was so mysterious that he didn't even want to let Xiao Wang and Xiao Hu know. I could sense it, so I didn't say much either. I just quietly hid the note in the fake pocket of my back pants. Although I don't know why, but my intuition told me something would happen, and the captain's behavior made me trust him more.

  A captain of the criminal police team walked over and, seeing him still being polite, said: "Captain Zhang, you've had a hard time. Let's take it from here. You can hand it over to us."

  The team leader's face was stern, and he just nodded, waving his hand at Xiaowang and Xiaohu: "Let's go back, Xiaohu, go back and transfer the record, there's nothing for us to do here."

  Captain Zhang obviously didn't care about the criminal police team, and dryly said two sentences before leaving. However, when he was about to leave, he glanced at me with a complex expression, as if he had anticipated something. Unfortunately, I didn't think much of it at that time and just watched Captain Zhang and his team leave with wide eyes.

  At this time, the criminal police team began to organize the salvage of the bodies, and I was waiting not far away, with a civilian policeman accompanying me. He didn't ask me anything, but I paid attention to that side and saw that after a while, two corpses that had already rotted were salvaged. However, because they had been soaked in water, they hadn't completely rotted yet. From a distance, you could smell a strong stench that almost made me vomit. As for what happened afterwards, it was handed over to the forensic doctor, and I was taken back to the Public Security Bureau by the criminal police team.

  But what surprised me was that I was taken directly to the interrogation room, which is where suspects are questioned. Wasn't this a mistake? It added a thread of unease in my heart, but at the time, I didn't say much. The key point was that no matter how much I explained, the criminal police obviously took me for a suspect.

  "Name——" "Age——" Two police officers with stern faces asked seriously, making me feel annoyed but unable to not answer honestly. However, the subsequent questioning made my anger erupt: "Speak up, what's the story behind these two corpses?"

  "Dazhu's brother entrusted me with a dream, telling me in detail about his death, and then asked me to report the crime and catch that bastard. That's it, as for another person I don't know -" I was somewhat annoyed, this is simply treating me like a criminal, so I didn't have a good expression either, don't think you can intimidate me with this."

  The two policemen exchanged a glance, their faces sinking. One of them slammed his hand on the table and glared at me, shouting: "Nonsense! Don't think you can fool us by talking nonsense. I'm asking you, you said you've never been to Jiang City before? And the deceased has been dead for almost half a year, why did you just report the case now? The forensic doctor has already autopsied the body, and the two bodies were dumped at the same time. Since you knew about Li Dazhu's death, why are you completely unaware of the other one? This is clearly a lie! Tell me, what do you want to hide?"

  "Why don't you go investigate the vehicle that caused the accident? What right do you have to interrogate me, the one who reported the case?" I was also angry, letting the culprit go while exerting pressure on me, I naturally wouldn't swallow this.

  "Well said, we've already verified it, the car owner said there was no such thing. What evidence do you have to prove that what you're saying is true, apart from just talking nonsense?" The police officer sneered, from receiving this case to now, it's not even been an hour, the forensic doctor has already finished the autopsy and they've already questioned the perpetrator. When did their efficiency become so fast? And yet they're being so meticulous with the person who reported the case.

  I was stunned at the time, and a surge of anger rose to my face. I let out a heavy hum: "I'm telling the truth, but from the beginning to now it's been less than an hour. You go ask the perpetrator, can't he just say no? Why are you interrogating me like this? I came to report a case, not as a suspect."

  Then it was like this, my anger grew more and more, but the police obviously only had me in mind, and it dragged on until evening, not even letting me eat dinner, and it was clear that I was being treated as a criminal. Even at night, the police came to interrogate me after their shift, without intending to let me rest.

  Next, I was grilled for a whole night. I finally understood that they took me as the suspect of these two corpses and treated me as a murderer. No matter how I explained, my explanation seemed somewhat absurd and pale. But based on these suspicions, wasn't it also too excessive to take me as the culprit? I struggled all night, constantly defending myself, wanting to explain my innocence. However, those detectives had already taken me as the offender and what they wanted was not my explanation but my confession.

  It wasn't until the middle of the night that the police couldn't hold on any longer, and they finally put me in a detention center. However, since I wasn't a suspect, I didn't get to enjoy a single room, but was locked up with an old man instead. All my personal belongings were thoroughly searched, and I wasn't even allowed to contact my parents - I was completely trapped here.

  I'm getting a bit dizzy, but I still can't sleep. Leaning against the cold wall, my mind keeps asking why this is happening to me? Why am I being locked up? What right do they have to treat me like this? I've said it before, I've never been to Jiang City, and when the incident occurred, I was still in college. It's easy to verify, just go ask at school, or even make a phone call. But instead, they're focusing all their energy on me, and I can sense that they want me to admit to being the one who harmed someone. Is this possible?

  I've shaken off the initial anger, calmed down and started to think things through, but I feel something is off. It's as if I've fallen into a trap, or whether I admit it or not, maybe the detectives don't plan on letting me leave. That's what I feel, they're completely ignoring everything I say, no matter how I explain myself. But why is all this happening? Is it just for the sake of solving the case?

  I couldn't understand, I just closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, thinking wildly in my heart. Just when I was confused, the old man seemed to take an interest in me, with a smile all over his face, he came up to me and chuckled: "Young man, what brings you here? I see that you're having bad luck, do you want me to read your fortune?"

  I opened my eyes, and in the dim light, I could see the old man's appearance clearly. He was wearing a floral shirt, a pair of bright red pants, slippers on his feet, and his hair was very disheveled, with a tuft of goat-like whiskers remaining. It was late at night, but he still wore sunglasses, and when he looked at me, it seemed particularly lecherous. I took one glance and immediately closed my eyes again. Was this old man a fortune teller? However, there's nothing good to calculate about; anyone can see that I'm unlucky just by looking at me. But the old man's next sentence sparked my interest: "Youngster, if you hadn't come with the yin person, you wouldn't have suffered this fate. There would have been a noble person helping you early on. However, don't lose heart; although you're covered in dark clouds, there's still a purple aura rising to the heavenly court. I guarantee that you can turn calamity into good fortune."