Chapter 29: The Village of Brutal Death

  I don't know why my tears are flowing out so quickly, I don't understand why I'm so sad, because I thought I didn't have any deep feelings for this Du Huang cow. At least even if he died, I still wouldn't trust him. But even so, I still feel very sad, my chest is extremely oppressed, like being pressed by a huge stone. And I really don't know what to do, I just hold his shoulder bones tightly with both hands and shake him, hoping he can wake up.

  Just then, I suddenly saw Chen Qiuyang, Ruan Degfeng, Huang Yongfei and Ke Ruolan walking into the yard safely.

  I was shocked, how did Du Huang Niu know everything in advance and have everything under his control?

  Kui Ruo Lan looked at me crying and then at the dead Du Huang Niu, saying: "Thirteen, what happened here?"

  I cried and laughed, saying: "I don't know what happened either. I was trapped in the cave, then rescued by a black monkey, then came back, and then met Du Huang Niu..." I told them all my experiences. After hearing my words, Chen Qiuyang said sadly: "So that's how it is. In that case, the mystery we encountered here has also been solved."

  "What on earth happened? Didn't they catch you guys? How did you manage to escape? What about the village head, Du Jie and his father?"

  "They're all dead, poisoned to death." Ruan Defeng said, "I've examined their bodies and they indeed died from poisoning. The specific toxin will need to be tested to determine."

  "We were lucky to have escaped, he said. The people in this village who had strange eating habits all died of poisoning. I believe the one who poisoned them was Du Huang Niu. It's a good thing he saved us, or else I'm sure we would have become their next meal."

  Originally, after Du Yizhi led me into the stone cave, he and Du Jie's father returned to Du Huangniu's home and deceived away Rong Ruolan and Chen Qiuyang. Later, after receiving my phone call, Ruan Defeng and Huang Yongfei were about to go out to find me when they were ambushed by Du Yizhi and other villagers and knocked unconscious.

  They were all taken to a hidden house. It was a very scary and frightening house, where Kui Ruo Lan saw many white bones on the ground, and then saw Du Jie's father slowly walking in.

  When Du Jie's father smiled, the lips were propped up by the teeth in his mouth. When he saw him smile, Kui Ruo Lan saw that there were two rows of deep red sharp fangs in his mouth - dentures, but they looked so gloomy and terrifyingly real, as if these two rows of sharp red fangs were grown by Du Jie's father himself.

  They were discussing in front of Kui Ruo Lan, Chen Qiu Yang, Ruan De Feng and Huang Yong Fei who to eat first. As they were discussing, they suddenly foamed at the mouth and all died on the ground. Later I found out that the poison was indeed put by Du Huang Niu, he had put the poison in the meat soup of Huang Duo Duo and others...

  A strong gust of wind blew over, and I felt that this gust was even colder and more piercing to the bone. I said: "It's okay, I believe him, but in my heart, there are still many mysteries. What happened in this village? Why did these people become so cruel?"

  Ailian patted my shoulder, for the first time without using that disdainful tone: "Thirteen, on our way back, we met police officers and have already told them about what happened here. Let's leave the rest to the authorities to handle. As for Du Jie asking us to investigate his father's secret, I think we won't be able to find out anyway. Everyone is tired, let's get some good rest. The police said they'll come back later to take our statements."

  A strong gust of wind blew over, sweeping through the hall and making a low humming noise, like an old man's quiet sobbing, or Du Huangniu's low muttering to himself. I felt extremely oppressed in my chest, as if I couldn't breathe. Too many mysteries had turned into heavy stones that weighed me down, while Du Huangniu's death had become thorns that pierced my flesh and nerves through the gaps between the stones.

  He said he wasn't a cannibal, he didn't mingle with the other villagers, so he lived alone, he was antisocial, every day he lived by himself, guarding this empty big house, no relatives or friends accompanied him, he ate alone, smoked alone, slept alone, listened to the wind outside at night alone, curled up in a chair watching the courtyard outside the door from dawn till dusk... Those lonely solitude, others can't experience. But we came into this village, lived in his home, cooked delicious meals for him. His loneliness temporarily disappeared, so when we were in trouble, he chose to betray his own village, chose to save us. He said thank you to me, and was with him until his dying moment.

  I suddenly understood why he didn't let me go find Aoi Wakana, it turned out that he had known all along that Aoi and the others were safe. However, in order to have me accompany him before his death, listen to his murmurs, and chatter incessantly, he deceived me. He hoped I could hear his confessions, his emotions, his loneliness...

  My tears suddenly surged out again, I could feel his loneliness, he wanted to find someone to confide in. Kui Ruo Lan saw me crying again, but she didn't tease me, she just said softly: "Thirteen Shao, hope you can be stronger."

  I nodded, but tears still didn't stop, I think I'm also too unmanly, am I not a very strong person?

  I went back to my room, lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep.

  When I came to again, I found that many police had arrived and were taking statements. Du Huangniu's body had been taken away. I also told them what had happened to me.

  "It's really hard to believe that such a terrible thing happened in Liu Long Village." A police officer kept saying, "We've already informed Du Jie, but he seemed very calm and said let us handle it. It turned out that Du Jie had cut off his relationship with his father several years ago."

  I was a bit surprised to hear this, but I also felt it was expected and reasonable. For so many years, Du Jie had never returned to this village, he always hated his own father. In his mind, his father should be a temperamental and violent person.

  We tidied up everything and left the village of Liu Long the next day. When we got to the entrance of the village, the rain gradually stopped. I turned around and took a look at this dilapidated village, knowing that just as Old Du Huang Niu had said, this village, this village forgotten by young people, really died, taking away the old folks of that generation, those cannibals, burying them together in the soil. I believe it won't be long before this village collapses, is covered by plants, and is thoroughly forgotten by the world.

  My mood is still heavy. Even if I have to leave this terrifying yet pitiful village, I don't feel any excitement at all.

  Goodbye, Grandpa Du Huang Niu...

  After returning to Long City, I didn't make a sound and went back to my room to sleep. I slept for 2 days in a daze, with a high fever, feeling like my whole body was on fire. When I woke up again, I found myself lying on the hospital bed of the Chinese Medicine Hospital.

  The person I saw was Dr. Ruan Defeng.

  I said: "Aren't you a gastroenterologist? Are you also in charge of treating fever and colds?"

  "I can also cure fever and cold, but I'm here at the request of your housekeeper Zhou. When I have some free time, I come to visit you. Your housekeeper is really concerned about you. You're not seriously ill, just caught a chill from getting rained on in Liulon village, had a high fever, but it's already subsided a lot. After resting for another day, you should be able to leave the hospital. Actually, you don't need to stay in the hospital at all, but your housekeeper Zhou is really concerned about your health and insisted that you come in for a thorough check-up."

  "Uh, it's just that I really dislike hospitals."

  Ruan Feng just smiled and said, "Sorry, if I hadn't introduced Du Jie to you, you wouldn't have encountered such a disaster, so I apologize to you as the president."

  "Never mind, this has nothing to do with you, no need to apologize. However, there are still many puzzles in the whole case that I cannot explain."

  Ruan Feng blinked and said, "Still a secret of Du Jie's father, right? You've been ill for the past few days and haven't seen the documents faxed over by some police officers. According to the in-depth investigation conducted by the police over the past few days, every household in Liu Long Village has a hidden photo."

  "It's a photo of an old lady, I've seen it at Du Jie's and Du Huang Niu's homes."

  "Uh-huh, this old lady is actually Du Huangniu's grandmother. Died in 1982."

  In 1982, it was also in 1982 that Du Huangniu kept talking about before his death. 1982 was a turning point that changed the fate of Liu Long Village and made it cursed, causing Liu Long Village to gradually decline from a lively and loving village.

  In 1982, Grandma passed away; in 1982, Du Jie was six years old. Are there some secrets hidden inside?

  My brain started throbbing with a splitting pain again.

  Ruan Feng saw my painful expression and said, "My great detective agency head, you're already so ill, don't think about this case anymore. When you recover, I'll tell you the truth."

  I said: "Do you know the truth?"

  "We've seen the police investigation files. Because not everyone in Liu Long Village was affected, some people who had drunk the soup made from Huang's meat were fine... The police investigated them... In 1982, it was Liu Long Village that opened the curtain on this bloody and cursed affair..."

  Ruan De Feng's eyes were so deep that I felt a little scared, my whole body trembled, because I already knew what he was going to say next, the terrifying and cruel truth.