Hearing Lao Ge's words, Zhang Yihan and I were stunned.
Then, Lao Ge briefly explained how he got injured. He said that after we went down the well last night, he was about to relieve himself in the bushes when he was suddenly knocked out. In the last moment of consciousness, he saw that it was Xiao Li standing behind him.
As for why Xiao Li didn't kill him to silence him, we couldn't figure it out for now and didn't have time to speculate.
I had suspected Xiao Li this morning, but seeing how badly he was injured, I quickly dismissed the idea. Little did I know it was a perverse ploy.
Immediately, Zhang Yihan and I set out to find Xiao Li. However, we found out at the hospital that he had already been discharged.
The doctor said Xiao Li was urgently needed at the station due to a shortage of personnel, so after stitching up his head wound, he went straight back.
We realized that Xiao Li might flee out of guilt, so we hurried to the police station.
When we arrived, we found only an old janitor there. He said everyone else had gone to help at the Guo family compound.
So, we rushed to the Guo family compound.
But with Jin Zhijian and his team there, they ordered us to stay outside the cordoned area, not allowing us to enter the compound.
From the moment our leader ordered us to return, Zhang Yihan, Lao Ge, and I had lost our authority here. Jin Zhijian's team was now in charge, and the local police would only listen to him.
We asked around about Xiao Li's whereabouts, but everyone said they hadn't seen him. Whether they truly hadn't seen him or were unwilling to tell us, we couldn't be sure.
Frustrated, Zhang Yihan suggested we go directly to Xiao Li's family. If we found someone at his home, she said she could trick them into calling Xiao Li back.
Xiao Li was a local from Guo family village, which was why we had him accompany us on the investigation. We quickly found his home once we arrived in the village.
However, when we got there, we found trouble.
Xiao Li's house had its front door wide open, and the living room was empty.
It was a three-story house, seemingly recently built. We called out a few times, "Anyone home?" but there was no response.
We cautiously walked into the house, searching the first and second floors. When I reached a room on the third floor, a strong smell of blood hit me, making my heart pound.
Human blood has a distinct, pungent smell. I couldn't be mistaken.
"Over here, Yihan..." I called out urgently.
She quickly ran over, her nose wrinkling as soon as she got close. Her expression changed, and she kicked the door open.
What we saw stunned us.
Xiao Li was dressed in a neat police uniform, leaning against the wall, holding a cleaver in his right hand. His left wrist had a deep cut, and his neck had an even more gruesome wound, nearly severing his head. I couldn't help but think he must have killed himself with a single slash.
On the floor were all the equipment and tools we had lost last night, scattered haphazardly.
Seeing Xiao Li's manner of death reminded me of Xiao Hong, who jumped into the well. The methods were eerily similar. I had reason to believe there was a connection between Xiao Li's death and Xiao Hong's. I even thought that if the Guo family compound wasn't so crowded now, Xiao Li would have died in that well, not in his home.
At this point, it was clear that whether Xiao Li was murdered or committed suicide, there was a mastermind behind all this.
But who was the mastermind?
A seemingly simple case of a child's eyes being gouged out was now snowballing into something much larger.
Why? What was being covered up?
We had just started investigating the ghost rumors in the village during the day, and that night Xiao Hong disguised as the ghost and committed suicide. Then, Zhang Yihan and I were almost burned alive in the well, and now, early in the morning, Xiao Li was dead in his home, with all the missing equipment piled up there.
Were they trying to pin everything on Xiao Li and Xiao Hong?
Did they really think we were fools?
After examining the scene for a while, Zhang Yihan said to me, "Xiao Lin, find a villager to borrow a phone and call Zhao Dazui. Tell him that Xiao Li from the local police station was involved in this case but has committed suicide out of guilt. Ask him to send Jin Zhijian to work with us to solve the case. Tell him we can crack it."
Zhao Dazui, or Big Mouth Zhao, was our team leader, Zhao Dazui, because of his loud voice.
Since all our belongings were lost after we went down the well last night, Zhang Yihan's phone was also gone. Even the clothes we wore were ill-fitting uniforms provided by the county police station. Thus, borrowing a phone was our only option.
"Are you sure it's a suicide?" I was surprised. To me, murder seemed more likely.
"Yes, the method is the same as Xiao Hong's last night. But someone must have forced him to do it." Zhang Yihan snorted. "Someone's trying to cut off our leads!"
"Okay…" I replied and went out to borrow a phone.
But my luck wasn't great. After knocking on the doors of eight houses, I found no one home—probably out working or watching the commotion at the Guo family compound.
However, persistence paid off. At the ninth house, an elderly woman with a wrinkled face and white hair lent me her phone.
These people were well-off. Not only did they have a three-story villa, but the elderly woman's phone was an iPhone 5. The house was like a small estate with a yard almost the size of half a football field. Being from the countryside myself, I had never seen such a big house in our village—it looked like a small manor.
The old lady was very kind. Not only did she lend me her iPhone 5, but she also offered me tea.
I didn't dare chat much, so I quickly called our team leader.
Zhao Mingzhu, our leader, was a man in his forties with a bad temper and an even louder voice. That's why Zhang Yihan called him Zhao Dazui behind his back.
The phone rang only a few times before he answered, "Hello..."
"Leader Zhao, it's Xiao Lin…" I was scared of him, being new and knowing my future depended on him.
"You dare call me? Why haven't you and that brat Zhang Yihan come back yet…"
Then he started ranting for a minute or two before coldly demanding, "Why did you call? Spit it out!"
I quickly relayed Zhang Yihan's message.
"What?" he exclaimed, "A cop committed suicide? Does the local station have issues? Damn, how did a small case turn into such a mess? I'm sending people over. We can't let Squad Four get all the credit for such a big case. You investigate the scene immediately. If Squad Four solves this before you, don't bother coming back—go farm instead. Haha, I'll scare the local chief now… beep beep…"
He hung up before I could respond. His words left me both excited and fearful.
Excited because this outcome was far better than Zhang Yihan's suggestion of working with Jin Zhijian. She would definitely praise me for this.
Fearful because if Jin Zhijian's team solved the case first, my career might be over.
I wasted no time, thanked the old lady, and hurried back to report to Zhang Yihan.
However, when I arrived at Xiao Li's house, it was already surrounded by police and cordoned off.
Xiao Li's previously empty house was now swarming with police and villagers.
Realizing the situation, I squeezed through the crowd. As I reached the cordon, I saw Zhang Yihan and Jin Zhijian arguing at the door.
Xiao Li's body was now covered with a white sheet on the ground floor, guarded by several officers. Jin Zhijian's men were examining the scene on the first and second floors.
This was bad. Zhao Mingzhu had ordered us to protect the scene, but Jin Zhijian had taken over.
A crime scene is crucial for solving cases. Most key evidence is found there. If Jin Zhijian had it, we would suffer a huge loss.
"Yihan…" I called as I approached. The local police guarding the cordon didn't stop me since Jin Zhijian didn't object.
"What took you so long? Is it that hard to borrow a phone?" Zhang Yihan snapped.
I knew she was venting her frustration with Jin Zhijian, so I quickly whispered everything Zhao Mingzhu said into her ear.
Hearing it, she grinned and motioned to the crime team leader, "Xiao Liu, come here."
Oh boy, I knew Zhang Yihan was about to show off. The crime team leader, a man in his forties, was called Xiao Liu by her as if he were a youngster.
4o