"The incident began more than ten days ago,"
Village chief Zhao Baishu, small in stature and hunched over, appeared even more subordinate. His voice was hoarse, a sign that he had been speaking a lot these past couple of days.
"An elder in the village went to the mountain to collect herbs one day and didn't come back. He always went deep into the mountains for good herbs, so we guessed that he might have lost his footing or gone in the wrong direction. He had a habit of leaving markers along his way. After taking this into account, we sent two people to look for him. But after three whole days, both of them failed to return."
