Transmigrating Back to 2007 (3)

Lian Chi once again picked up the files and flipped through them.

Three minutes later, he put the files down.

He dared to assert that they hadn't missed any clues.

So why hadn't the perpetrator been caught yet?

Director Yu: "Could it be that the perpetrator isn't local?"

Captain Song: "Impossible."

"Bian Province is both xenophobic and united; the local dialects of each county are vastly different. The victims are all natives of Wan Min County, and many are rural women. If the perpetrator wasn't local, how could he gain their trust?"

Lian Chi could only say, "Tomorrow, we'll re-screen the suspicious individuals within five miles of the crime scene, and we'll go too."

Hearing this, the expressions of Captain Song's team at the Wan Min County Police Bureau were a bit grim.

Because Lian Chi was clearly suspecting them of doing sloppy work.

But they also found it inconvenient to say anything.

Because they themselves suspected that they might have missed some important clues.

Early the next morning, Lian Chi and Captain Song went straight to Dong Xin Village, one mile from the crime scene.

Captain Song: "Dong Xin Village has one pig farm, two chicken farms, three fruit orchards, and nine abandoned houses. There are three cases where a spouse went to work far away and disappeared, leading to family breakdown..."

Because they had screened Dong Xin Village three times before. So Captain Song knew the situation in the village like the back of his hand.

Lian Chi: "Then let's start by investigating that pig farm."

Seeing Captain Song and his team arrive, all the villagers of Dong Xin Village showed puzzled expressions.

"What are the police here for again?"

"Did the police find the perpetrator? Are they here to make an arrest today?"

"Is that beastly person from our village again?"

"Drop the hoes, let's go see."

"I'm going too."

But when they followed, they discovered that Lian Chi and his team were only investigating.

"So after all these days, they still haven't made any progress?"

"Who did I provoke? My wife ran off with someone else, wasn't it enough that I became the laughingstock of the whole area? Now the police suspect me, coming every other day to ask questions, rubbing salt into my wounds. If they weren't police, I would have punched them."

"Didn't the Public Security Bureau say that fellow Lian was a very capable criminal expert? Why hasn't he caught the perpetrator after all these days?"

"It proves that fellow Lian is just an incompetent person."

"Did we actually believe that useless guy could solve this case before?"

"I said that people from our village couldn't do such a conscienceless thing."

"Let's disperse, there's nothing to see."

"I'm going back to hoe the field too."

So, all morning and more than half the afternoon, Lian Chi and his team still found nothing.

Lian Chi carefully recalled, confirming that the over thirty households they had checked today had no problems.

Because of this, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

Captain Song felt the same.

Just then, he smelled a foul stench and looked down to find he had stepped in dog poop.

If it were dry dog poop, it wouldn't matter.

But this dog seemed unwell recently.

Captain Song couldn't help but curse, "Damn it."

The others immediately looked over.

"It's alright, just wash it with water."

"That's dog poop; if you think positively, stepping in dog poop during the day means good luck is coming."

Captain Song glanced sideways: "Would you take this good luck if I gave it to you?"

As he spoke, he looked around and saw a house nearby.

So they walked towards that house.

Captain Song raised his hand and knocked on the door: "Hello, is anyone home?"

After a few calls, an elderly man's voice finally came from inside: "Who is it?"

Immediately after, there were footsteps in the courtyard.

Soon, the door creaked open, and an old man of about fifty or sixty peeked out.

Seeing their police uniforms, he tightened his grip on the door.

Although he paused for a moment, he immediately forced a surprised smile: "Comrade police, why have you come to my house?"

Apart from Lian Chi, everyone here was a seasoned criminal investigator with over ten or twenty years of experience. Lian Chi himself was also perceptive; with just a glance, they noticed the old man's abnormality.

Lian Chi turned to look at Captain Song.

Who is this?

Captain Song subtly shook his head.

Meaning, this old man and his family were not on their previous investigation list, nor had they ever interrogated him.

Captain Song immediately said, "Sir, we're not looking for you. While passing by, I carelessly stepped in dog poop, and it got on my shoes, so I wanted to ask for some water to wash my shoes."

The crow's feet at the corners of the old man's eyes relaxed: "Then, please come in."

But the very next second, Lian Chi and his team were all stunned.

Because after the old man opened the door, they realized he was in a wheelchair.

His two legs looked like dry firewood sticks; let alone standing up, Captain Song felt that with just a little force, he could break them.

No wonder this old man wasn't on their investigation list before.

Perhaps he was only nervous because he wasn't used to interacting with strangers, even if they were people's police.

Lian Chi and his team couldn't help but feel disappointed, and their vigilance also reduced by seventy to eighty percent.

The old man pointed to a large jar at the foot of the wall: "The water jar is there."

"Yes, thank you, sir."

Captain Song walked towards the water jar.

The others began to observe the layout of the courtyard.

"Sir, is this your ancestral home?"

The old man: "Yes."

Captain Song, wiping his shoes, said, "Such a large courtyard, your ancestors must have been fifth-rank officials, right?"

The old man only said, "Roughly so."

Another police officer suddenly pointed to the ground not far away: "Is that a vegetable cellar?"

The old man: "Yes."

The officer said, "The climate in Bian Province is relatively hot, so people in Liu City don't have the habit of digging cellars to store winter vegetables. Did your ancestors move here from the North?"

The old man: "That's right, our ancestral home is in Hei Province."

As they spoke, the sound of a rooster crowing came from behind the house, then seven or eight roosters crowed together, their calls echoing.

The police officer said, "Oh, your family also raises chickens."

A secret underground cellar, used to conceal the victims' cries for help, and a flock of chickens consuming a large amount of food. An elderly man, whose physiological functions might have declined... No matter how you looked at it, there were suspicious points.

If this old man weren't disabled, they might have already taken him away.

But now, Lian Chi and his team could only withdraw their gaze.

At this moment, the police officer casually asked, "Sir, your legs are inconvenient, and you raise so many chickens, it must be hard, right?"

The old man: "It's alright, my wife is very diligent."

Hearing this, Lian Chi's pupils constricted.

This old man had inconvenient legs, but he had someone to help him?

In a flash, Captain Song finished wiping his shoes.

"Alright, let's go."

"Thank you, sir."

The crow's feet at the corners of the old man's eyes completely relaxed, and his tone became lighter: "Alright, I won't see you off."

Lian Chi suddenly stood up and said, "Wait."

"I've never seen a vegetable cellar before, could you let me see your vegetable cellar?"

Hearing this, the old man's eyelids twitched: "That... what's there to see in a vegetable cellar? Besides, it's been abandoned for many years, full of miscellaneous things."

Lian Chi was certain in his heart: "It's alright, I'll just take a look."

After speaking, he walked towards the vegetable cellar.

The old man hurriedly pushed his wheelchair, wanting to stop him: "There's really nothing interesting..."

Seeing this, Captain Song and his team also understood.

They quickly stepped forward to stop the old man: "Sir, just let us broaden our horizons."

"Or is there something secret in the vegetable cellar that you don't want us to see?"

The old man fell silent.

With the combined efforts of Lian Chi and his team, they quickly removed the two large stone mortars pressing on the vegetable cellar, then lifted each wooden plank. A strong smell of decay wafted into their noses.

"Cough cough."

Lian Chi and his team raised their hands to wave away the dust in front of them, looking closely, they saw it was all junk underneath.

Lian Chi said, "Clear it out."

Half an hour later, they had only cleared out a pile of rubbish.

At the same time, hearing the commotion in the courtyard, many curious villagers gathered around.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

The old man quickly said, "I told you there was nothing interesting to see."

But no one paid attention to him.

Lian Chi and Captain Song felt along the walls of the cellar, but found no mechanism.

At this moment, Director Yu suddenly squatted down, scooped up a handful of soil from the cellar floor, and compared it with the wall: "The soil on the floor is darker than the wall."

Lian Chi understood: "Dig!"

Farmers might lack many things, but not hoes and shovels.

So they immediately took out several hoes from the old man's house and started digging.

Five minutes later, when Lian Chi used a hoe to clear away the soil, a white streak appeared in his sight.

Lian Chi's hand trembled slightly. He carefully dug away the soil around the white streak, and a thigh bone appeared before everyone's eyes.

Seeing this, the old man turned and tried to run.

But he forgot he was disabled.

The next second, he fell to the ground.

Police officers rushed from all directions: "Still trying to run? I'll break your legs."

Captain Song took a deep breath.

Indeed, they had guessed correctly; this old man had a problem.

Then, as if thinking of something, he looked down at his shoes.

It seems after stepping in dog poop, he really did get lucky.

Half an hour later, they had dug up all the bones.

Lian Chi and his team frowned again.

Because after Director Yu's examination, it was the remains of a girl about seven years old, who had died about three years ago.

Clearly, this was not the target of this serial murder case.

Lian Chi and his team calmed down.

The most important thing was that a serial killer couldn't have such a weak psyche.

Lian Chi and his team turned to look at the old man, whose face was pale and who was trembling incessantly.

It seemed they had arrested the wrong person.

But perhaps they had arrested the right person...