During the day, Qingfeng Town looks like a very normal small town, bustling with people coming and going.
Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci remained at the town's entrance and noticed several hunters carrying tools heading towards the nearby mountains. Last night, the two rode the Vermilion Bird through these mountains, but fearing wild animals, they hadn't landed. Now, they were taking this opportunity to scout out the forest, at least to have a general understanding of their surroundings.
Lu and Tang followed the group of hunters into the forest without making a sound.
The forest is dense with trees, and towering trees block out the sunlight, with only a few rays filtering through the gaps in the leaves. Once inside the woods, you can hear the clear chirping of birds, and there are also many wild rabbits and pheasants. These wild animals are the targets of hunters.
Several hunters split up to hunt, and the two men followed behind them for a long time without noticing anything unusual.
However, there was only one winding path in the woods.
Tang Ci said softly, "At the end of this forest should be the mountain we flew down from last night. There's only one path in the forest. How did Mass Grave manage to carry so many bodies up there?"
Lu Jiuchuan frowned and pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't understand either. According to Xiao Lou's deduction, the missing people in the town were all murdered by the killer and their bodies dumped in Mass Grave. Why would he go to all the trouble of moving the bodies to the top of the mountain? Wouldn't it have been easier to just find a place to burn them?"
Tang Ci speculated, "The ancients cared a lot about having a complete body after death and being reincarnated. Wealthy and powerful families would build elaborate tombs and hold grand funerals. If the body was dumped in the Mass Grave, it would be eaten by hawks and hounds. Was this a form of revenge? To prevent people from having peace even in death?"
Lu Jiuchuan stroked his chin and said, "That makes sense. It seems the murderer has a deep-seated grudge against these two families?"
Tang Ci said, "Let's look for a way first and see if there's a shortcut to the mountain."
Just then, Yu Hanjiang's voice rang in Lu Jiuchuan's mind: "Brother, you went to the woods?" The Telepathic Connection allowed Yu Hanjiang to sense his brother's thoughts at any time, and he already knew that Ninth Brother and Tang Ci were in the woods.
Lu Jiuchuan explained, " Xiao Tang and I were standing guard at the gate, and it got so boring that we decided to go into the forest with a group of hunters. So far, we haven't found anything unusual, but what I find strange is that there's only one path in the forest, and at the end of the forest is the mountain where we saw the zombies last night. How did they move so many corpses up the mountain?"
Yu Hanjiang said, " Xiao Lou also thought of this problem just now. He suggested that we go to Mass Grave again."
Lu Jiuchuan wasn't surprised. Last night, they had just arrived at the secret chamber when, after a flash of lightning and thunder, a large number of zombies suddenly appeared in Mass Grave, forcing them to flee for their lives. At the time, it was pitch black, and they hadn't had time to investigate the situation in Mass Grave. Since the bodies of the dead were buried there, they definitely needed to investigate further.
Lu Jiuchuan readily agreed: "Okay, Tang Ci and I will be going up the mountain later. Are you guys coming too?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Use Li Qingzhao's mark to pull us over. Xiao Lou said he wants to perform an autopsy."
Lu Jiuchuan: "..."
He actually went to Mass Grave to perform an autopsy! How could he even think of that?!
However, for a Forensic Doctor, the dead are actually more likely to "tell" the truth than the living.
Lu Jiuchuan relayed Yu Hanjiang's message to Tang Ci, and the two continued along the path in the woods. After walking a short distance, they suddenly lost their footing and began to fall!
Fortunately, Lu Jiuchuan reacted quickly enough, grabbing Tang Ci's waist with one hand and leaping to the side without any danger.
The two, still shaken, turned around and saw—
What they had just stepped into was actually a huge trap more than two meters deep, its bottom lined with sharp barbs that gleamed coldly. Had they not reacted quickly enough, they might be riddled with pincushions by now.
Lu Jiuchuan cursed and said, "Isn't this a trap hunters use to catch wild animals?"
Tang Ci nodded: "The traps were very well hidden, concealed by the leaves. We didn't notice them at all... This road is likely full of traps, so we need to be careful."
After he finished speaking, he released his mechanical ant, sending two ants ahead to explore the way.
Sure enough, after walking only a few meters, they stepped into another trap. Tang Ci quickly retrieved the ants and released them again... This was repeated, and the two checked more than a dozen hunting traps along the way. Then, they saw a treehouse ahead.
This is a simple house built on a large tree, with the roof covered by a lot of branches and leaves, and steps made of vines next to the tree.
A disheveled man emerged from the wooden hut. His hair was like a tangled mess, his clothes were tattered, his beard looked like it hadn't been shaved in ages, and his face was covered in mud, making him look like a "wild man."
Upon seeing Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci, he glared at them and roared, "You two ruined my trap?"
After saying that, he shouted loudly, raised a long knife, and swung it at Tang Ci!
Tang Ci hurriedly retreated, and Lu Jiuchuan shielded him. His movements were lightning fast; the moment Tang Ci slashed at him, Lu Jiuchuan's hand, like an eagle's claw, swiftly seized Tang Ci's wrist and twisted it sharply backward—
The "savage" screamed in pain, but Lu Jiuchuan swiftly and decisively took him down in a few moves. He then grabbed a hunting rope from the side and skillfully strangled the man.
tie.
Then, Lu Jiuchuan clapped his hands, looked at the tied-up guy, and laughed, "Don't get angry. We were almost pricked to death by your trap, so we put some things down to scout ahead. I didn't destroy your trap. You can cover it with some leaves again and continue hunting."
The savage glared angrily at Lu Jiuchuan, almost staring a hole through his face.
Lu Jiuchuan led the savage into the wooden house and tied him to a stool next to it.
Tang Ci walked up to the other person and asked in a low voice, "Have you always lived in this forest?"
He discovered that the wooden cabin, though small, was fully equipped, with a bed and clothes made of animal hides, as well as a bunch of daily necessities such as pots and pans, which did not seem like a temporary place to stay.
Upon hearing Tang Ci's question, the savage struggled to reply, "I am an orphan who lives in the forest and hunts for a living. You destroyed my traps and tied me up. What do you want? I don't have much of value here!"
This is mistaking Lu Jiuchuan for a bandit who robs and plunders.
Lu Jiuchuan also felt that his behavior was quite like that of a villain, so he decided to go all out. He picked up a knife from the stove, walked up to the hunter, gently pressed the back of the knife against the man's face, and whispered, "Answer a few questions to us honestly, and we'll let you go."
As he approached, he examined the cannibal's nape and back, finding no Hunter Organization tattoos, which relieved Lu Jiuchuan. He gave Tang Ci a look, who immediately asked, "How many years have you been living in the woods?"
The savage turned and glared at Lu Jiuchuan, who then pushed the knife forward: "Speak."
"..." The cold blade pressed against his face, and the savage froze in fright, hurriedly saying, "Ten...ten years!"
Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci exchanged a glance—this man who lived in the woods and made his living by hunting might be a very important eyewitness. Thinking of this, Lu Jiuchuan immediately informed Yu Hanjiang, who instructed him to inquire in detail about the events of three years ago.
"Three years ago, on the night of July 14th, didn't you see anything?" Lu Jiuchuan asked.
"N-I don't remember." The savage tried to evade the question, but Lu Jiuchuan unceremoniously thrust the knife forward, instantly shaving off more than half of his hair.
Lu Jiuchuan said coldly, "Think carefully. If you still can't remember, next time it'll be your head that's going to fall off."
"I...I'll talk!" the savage said tremblingly. "I remember, there was a downpour that night, and I was woken up by the thunder. I got up and went outside to take a look, intending to bring back the animal skins I had hung out to dry, but what I saw...I saw..." He seemed to remember something bad, and his lips trembled uncontrollably.
"What did you see?" Tang Ci asked. "Think it over carefully before you speak."
"..." The savage took a deep breath before saying, "I saw a wedding procession heading into the depths of the forest. They were all dressed in bright red clothes. No one was playing suonas or speaking. Dozens of people were quietly carrying the bridal sedan chair, and they were all walking in perfect unison. I was terrified and thought I was seeing ghosts!"
"The pace was all the same?" Tang Ci frowned slightly, then asked, "Where did that wedding procession end up?"
"I don't know! They kept walking deeper into the woods. I was terrified, so I quickly closed the door and huddled under the covers."
"And then? Did you see anyone else?" Lu Jiuchuan asked.
"I couldn't sleep that night. I don't know how much time passed, but then I heard footsteps outside again. Several groups of people walked intermittently into the depths of the woods. I didn't dare to look out. Ghost Festival was approaching, and I was afraid of encountering ghosts again..."
"Did you notice anything off about the expressions on the faces of the wedding procession you saw?" Tang Ci asked.
"Those people's faces are all very pale, as pale as ghosts. Maybe it's the ghost realm marrying a ghost bride!" He paused, then said mysteriously, "Behind this forest is a mountain, and on the top of the mountain is Mass Grave. It is said that twenty years ago, there was a famine in the town, and many people starved to death. Their bodies were dumped in Mass Grave. The wedding procession is heading towards Mass Grave. Isn't that the ghost king marrying a ghost bride over there?"
"…" Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci exchanged a glance.
This wild man was indeed one of the eyewitnesses.
However, he only saw the wedding procession heading towards Mass Grave. Since he was awakened by thunder in the middle of the night and suddenly saw a group of people dressed in red with expressionless faces walking quietly and in unison, the visual impact would dull his brain due to excessive horror. He prejudicially defined the group of people as "ghosts" and thought that they were marrying a ghost bride in the middle of the night.
Yu Hanjiang relayed the information Ninth Brother had gathered to Xiao Lou, saying, "Only half of what this hunter said is credible, because people in a state of extreme terror are prone to hallucinations, and his description included some of his own imagination. Fortunately, his words at least provided us with two key pieces of information—"
"First, he saw the wedding procession with his own eyes. The subsequent footsteps should have been those of the missing Chen and Zhao family members. Ghosts don't make footsteps, meaning those he saw weren't ghosts, but living people. It's just that those people seemed to be controlled by something, their consciousness was not quite clear." Yu Hanjiang paused, then added, "The hunter's words confirm that all the missing people walked to Mass Grave on their own, it wasn't the murderer who carried their bodies there."
"This explains how the killer moved so many bodies," Xiao Lou said thoughtfully. "It seems that these people were likely hallucinating and being controlled by the killer. The killer committed the murders in Mass Grave, which is why no signs of fighting or bloodstains were found in the Zhao and Chen families in the town."
Yes, the crime scene was not in the town.
" It's not up here, but in Mass Grave," Yu Hanjiang said.
"And there's another crucial piece of information?" Ye Qi couldn't help but interject, "The famine twenty years ago?"
"That's right. The hunter said that there was a famine in the town twenty years ago, and many people starved to death. Their bodies were dumped haphazardly in Mass Grave. The reason there are so many bodies in Mass Grave is that, in addition to those killed by the murderer, there are also many people who starved to death twenty years ago and are unrelated to the case." Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou, "We'll know the specifics once we examine the bodies."
"We need to go to Mass Grave again. I can determine the time of death from the bodies. Those who died in the last three years are the focus of our investigation. The killer likely started committing crimes three years ago." Xiao Lou paused, then continued, "Also, I think the killer's motive might be related to the famine twenty years ago?"
"You mean he chose to commit the crime in Mass Grave because during the famine twenty years ago, a relative of his died there and was abandoned? " Yu Hanjiang asked.
"Hmm, if that's the case, he lured people to Mass Grave and killed his enemy in front of his loved ones' corpses...it's like a blood sacrifice for his own family?" Xiao Lou guessed. "Do you think so?"
"That makes sense." Yu Hanjiang frowned and said, "From the perspective of criminal psychology, this possibility is quite high. Revenge killers like to recreate scenes or plots to achieve psychological satisfaction."
The idea that a loved one's body was dumped in Mass Grave, and that a "demon" returning twenty years later to seek revenge, luring the enemy to Mass Grave and killing them one by one, does sound like a plausible explanation.
Of course, this is just Xiao Lou's speculation based on the current clues. Maybe the killer just has a quirk and likes to kill people in the mass graves of Mass Grave? Or maybe Mass Grave is a quiet place where it's hard to be discovered late at night, and it's easy to dispose of the bodies after the murder, so he chose that place?
None of the possibilities can be ruled out.
Xiao Lou looked at his teammates and said, "You guys stay here, Captain Yu and I will go to the top of the mountain."
Ye Qi, recalling the dense hordes of zombies on the mountaintop, couldn't help but say, " Professor Xiao, be careful! There are countless zombies. We don't even know if what we saw last night was an illusion. What if the zombie horde continues to attack you?"
Xiao Lou took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry, with Peach Blossom Spring as a backup plan, we'll hurry up.