After asking the police a few more questions, we sent them away and went to find Zhang Yihan. When we found her, she was interrogating Li Xia.
We watched from outside the window for a while and noticed that Zhang Yihan was doing all the talking while Li Xia remained expressionless and silent. After about ten minutes, Zhang Yihan noticed us outside and came out to meet us.
Seeing both Zhang Yihan and Li Xia looking exhausted, I knew she hadn't let Li Xia rest, and she probably hadn't rested either.
"Xiao Zhang, did Ge Lao and Zhao Xiaotian mention Lianhua Village before they disappeared?" Zhao Mingzhu asked as soon as he saw Zhang Yihan. Since Jin Zhijian and his men had encountered trouble after visiting Lianhua Village, he naturally suspected that Ge Lao and Zhao Xiaotian might have gone there as well. As a father, he was understandably anxious about his son's disappearance.
"Lianhua Village?" Zhang Yihan frowned. "Yes, they did. Jin Zhijian mentioned that the body retrieved from the well was from Lianhua Village. Zhao, do you think Ge Lao and Zhao Xiaotian might have gone there too?"
Before Zhang Yihan could finish, Li Xia, who had been silent, suddenly sneered, "Hmph… Anyone who dares to go to Lianhua Village is seeking death!"
"Why is Lianhua Village dangerous?" Zhang Yihan turned and asked.
Li Xia gave a sinister smile and said, "If you want to solve the case, you need to go to Lianhua Village. You'll find what you're looking for there. Ha ha…"
After saying this, Li Xia burst into a hysterical laugh. I couldn't understand why she had suddenly become so deranged when she seemed normal just a few days ago.
Despite our efforts, Li Xia refused to speak any further. Even Zhao Mingzhu, with his expert interrogation skills, couldn't get another word out of her. Sometimes, even experts fail.
With no other option, we had Li Xia temporarily detained and then discussed our next steps.
Given that Ge Lao and Zhao Xiaotian had mentioned Lianhua Village, it was likely they had gone there. Out of the five people who went, two were missing, two were comatose, and one had gone mad. What had they encountered in Lianhua Village? This was the question Zhao Mingzhu, Zhang Yihan, and I pondered the most.
Zhao Mingzhu called for an urgent team meeting, attended only by Zhang Yihan and me. He stated, "This case has far exceeded the expectations of our superiors. After a meeting with the Cold Case Investigation Unit's leadership, it has been decided that we have half a month to solve this case. If we fail, I will be dismissed, and you will be removed from the unit along with me."
I had never seen Zhao Mingzhu so serious. Since learning about Ge Lao and Zhao Xiaotian's disappearance, he had become uncharacteristically calm. Normally, he would shout when agitated, but now he was unusually composed. We knew he was more anxious than anyone, not for his job, but for his son.
After some discussion, we decided to immediately interrogate the primary suspect, Li Dapeng.
To our disappointment, Li Dapeng was as silent as Li Xia. Severely injured, we couldn't resort to harsh methods and got nowhere with him.
However, when asked about Lianhua Village, he finally spoke. Like Li Xia, he sneered and said, "Hmph, anyone who dares to go to Lianhua Village is seeking death!"
This was the only sentence Li Dapeng uttered during the entire interrogation.
After having Li Dapeng taken away, Zhao Mingzhu instructed me to investigate Lianhua Village through the relevant personnel at Baiqu County Public Security Bureau.
Upon inquiring with several people, I learned that Lianhua Village had been removed from Baiqu County's administrative map thirty years ago. To find records of the village, I needed to check the county chronicles.
I then went to the county chronicles office. The office director, an older man named Wang, turned pale when I mentioned Lianhua Village.
"Why are you looking up information on Lianhua Village?" Wang asked, suspicious.
"Uncle Wang, a serial murder case is connected to this village. We have two missing colleagues, one has gone mad, and two are comatose, all related to this village. I need to check its records," I explained.
"No need to look it up. Anyone who goes to Lianhua Village doesn't come back unscathed. I advise you not to go. It's not a place for people," Wang said, waving me off.
"Uncle Wang, this is important for our investigation. Please let me see the records on Lianhua Village," I insisted. Failing this task would surely get me scolded by Zhao Mingzhu.
"Humph…" Wang gave a sympathetic smile. "The county chronicles don't have records on Lianhua Village. If you want to know, it's all here," Wang said, pointing to his head.
What he said next sent chills down my spine.
Wang recounted that Lianhua Village had ceased to exist thirty-five years ago. The village had traditionally relied on lotus root farming. It was once prosperous, but thirty years ago, a prolonged drought led to years of crop failure. Then a plague broke out, killing half the villagers in one night. Within three days, the village was strewn with corpses. Over 500 people died within five days.
After hearing Wang's story, I was deeply unsettled. No wonder the county chronicles omitted it; the village had a tragic history.
Wang continued, "In the thirty-plus years since, anyone who entered the village either went mad or died. Your colleagues are proof of that. Do you still want to go?"
"Uncle Wang, why have I heard that people still live in Lianhua Village?" I asked.
"Those people don't live in the village proper, only at the foot of the surrounding hills. They're sometimes referred to as villagers of Lianhua Village because they live close by," Wang explained.
After chatting with Wang a bit more, I returned to report my findings.
Upon hearing about Lianhua Village, Zhao Mingzhu and Zhang Yihan immediately decided to go there to find Ge Lao and Zhao Xiaotian, dead or alive.
As evening approached, Zhao Mingzhu decided it was unsafe to enter the mountains at night. We prepared thoroughly overnight and set out early the next morning.
Upon reaching the foothills of Lianhua Village, we saw a few scattered households in a valley.
We arrived as one household was holding a funeral. It was clear the deceased was the woman Jin Zhijian had retrieved from the well in Guojia Village. The body had been returned to the family for the funeral after the autopsy.
After gathering some information, we learned that an elderly man and a young man had visited this house the morning before last, asking about Lianhua Village before heading into the mountains. Later, three more people arrived, and the next day, the leader was seen in a pigsty biting pigs.
Clearly, the elderly man and young man were likely Ge Lao and Zhao Xiaotian. Knowing they had gone to Lianhua Village meant we had to follow.
We bid farewell to the villagers and headed into the mountains. Many villagers advised us against going, warning of vengeful spirits.
We prepared well, bringing hazmat suits and gas masks in case of any neurotoxic miasma. As for ghosts, few in our line of work believed in them, except for the occasional anomaly like Xiao Li.
Each of us carried a backpack and began our ascent.
Cautious due to the examples set by Ge Lao and Jin Zhijian, we donned our gas masks when we encountered heavy fog.
Upon reaching the first hilltop, we realized Lianhua Village wasn't just named for its lotus farming. The seven hills surrounding it resembled a giant lotus from afar, hence the name.
According to Wang, the central area used to be a natural lake, which dried up and became a marsh.
Looking down from the hilltop, we saw the valley shrouded in dense fog. Visibility was low.
Monitoring air quality with a device, we found everything normal except for high humidity.
Believing that Ge Lao and Zhao Xiaotian would have checked the valley, we descended towards it.
As we neared the valley, the fog thickened, reducing visibility to two or three meters. If we didn't stay close, we'd lose sight of each other.
Leading the way, I cleared the path with a machete in one hand and monitored the air quality with the other. Suddenly, I noticed the silence behind me. Turning around, I realized Zhang Yihan and Zhao Mingzhu were nowhere to be seen.