We have been in Elm City for more than two months, and this is the first time we have heard of someone seeing a dead body. In the past, some calls said that someone was dead, but when we arrived at the scene, we found that the so-called "dead man" was still alive and well. The person who called the police just wanted us to arrive as soon as possible.
But from the tone and state of affairs this time, it is estimated that a murder really happened.
The informant said that a dead body, a woman's, was found in Tougouzi Village.
The woman's body was covered under heavy snow. A passing villager saw a foot sticking out and hurried forward to check. The villagers saw that there was red nail polish on the toenails of this foot, and when they put their hands on it, they had already frozen into ice cubes.
It was already dark, and he didn't dare to get the body out of the snowdrift by himself, so he called the police first, and then hurried home.
And now, we are on the car heading to Tougouzi Village. We didn't know the way, so Captain Zhou drove us there. A car followed behind. This time, almost all the members were mobilized. In Captain Zhou's words, this was a good opportunity for them to learn skills.
It's just that after saying this, Captain Zhou's brows knit tightly together.
I saw that there was something wrong with Captain Zhou's expression, and asked, "Captain Zhou, what's the matter? You seem to have some concerns. What do you think about this case?"
The road is slippery in snowy days, and on this kind of urban-rural combination road, there are almost no vehicles passing by, so the snow is difficult to melt. Captain Zhou drove the car very slowly, not daring to go too fast to avoid accidents. Where the headlights shine, no cars or people can be seen.
There was a cold wind blowing outside the car, as if we were driving in another world.
It's too quiet, it's a bit scary, and it doesn't smell like a human being. No wonder the reporter only said the location, but he didn't dare to stay any longer, but returned home and waited for us.
Captain Zhou sighed, and then told us: "Actually, most people dare not go to Tougouzi Village."
Captain Zhou's voice was very deep, against the background of the dark and bleak environment outside, it made me feel like I was listening to Zhang Zhen telling a ghost story. But when Captain Zhou said this, our curiosity was hooked.
I asked with great interest: "What do you mean?"
"This is Gouzi Village." Captain Zhou said calmly, "You people from outside must not know about it, but in fact, people in Yumu City call this village for the disabled."
"Disabled village?" Guan Zengbin asked with his head tilted.
Captain Zhou nodded and lowered his voice: "That's right, the Disabled Village. In fact, everyone in this village has disabilities, either missing arms or legs, or one-eyed, or deaf-mute, anyway. Let's just say there isn't a single person in this village who is normal like us."
Hearing Captain Zhou's words, I felt an indescribable feeling in my heart, and asked, "Are all the people in a village?"
"That's right." Captain Zhou said, "There are 180 households in Tougouzi Village, and there are probably more than 200 people. It's all like this."
I don't discriminate against disabled people, but after listening to it, I also feel that something is not quite right.
Seeing that we were silent, Captain Zhou continued: "I am a native of Yumu City, and I have heard of this village since I was a child. Do you know how parents in Yumu City scare children? I guess many people are People who educate children like this say that you have to be obedient, and if you don’t, they will throw you to the disabled village. Once you are so scared, the children will not dare to be mischievous.”
"Why did they gather together?" Gu Chen asked.
"I don't know about that either." Captain Zhou said, "I'm in my thirties this year, but I've heard of this place since I was a few years old. I heard from the old man in my family that this place was originally an ordinary village. Later, I don’t know why, but there are more and more disabled people here, probably because of the cluster effect.”
Gu Chen raised his neck: "It's also possible that things of a kind gather together and people are divided into groups. Maybe because they are all disabled, they can take care of each other. But the whole village is all disabled, so it's a bit awkward to think about it."
Captain Zhou also nodded, and said: "Yes, so most people always feel that this village is a little scary. But, it has become a highlight of Tougouzi Village, and there are many tourists who come here for the name. .But now this season, it is estimated that there are not many people coming."
The car has been driving for about an hour and has not yet reached the destination. From the outside of the car window, the two rows are covered with snow-covered fields, and there seems to be a dividing line between the sky and the earth. Below this dividing line is a vast expanse of whiteness, and above this dividing line, But it was pitch black.
Tougouzi Village is a village that is composed entirely of disabled people. Sure enough, the world is full of wonders, and this is the first time I have heard that such a village exists. There is a faint feeling in my heart, but it is hard to describe. I don't know if the body that is still covered with snow is also a disabled person.
The sound of the creaking wheels crushing the white snow, the low roar of the car motor, and the howling sound of the north wind outside the car window are mixed together, which is a bit hazy. The heating in the car is fully turned on, which really makes people feel drowsy a feeling of.
The two cars drove one after the other into the depths of the village.
After another hour, we finally arrived at our destination.
It is now around nine o'clock in the evening, and every household has closed their doors. Only the street lamps standing on both sides of the narrow road exude a dim light. They are all old-fashioned street lamps, and they look old.
"It's so early to sleep." I couldn't help sighing.
Captain Zhou laughed: "This place is no different than your Dongxing City. People go to bed very early. But I have contacted the village and said that someone will take us to the scene where the body was found, and it is not far from the entrance of the village. at... ”
As he said that, Captain Zhou stopped the car and said, "I'll go down to look for it. It's cold in the car, so don't get down."
At the same time Captain Zhou got out of the car, I got out of the car too.
Captain Zhou said, "Look at you, what should you do if you get cold down?"
I shook my head and said with a smile: "Brother Zhou, although I came down from Dongxing City, I'm still on the front line. It's not a problem. Besides, we can't stay in the car if we need to find the corpse later."
While talking, several people walked down. Although it is only early winter, this winter feels extraordinarily cold. We standing outside, although wearing thick down jackets, couldn't help stamping our feet and rubbing our hands, trying to keep our bodies warm. Captain Zhou said that someone would take us to the scene of the crime, but we haven't even seen a shadow yet.
Just as we were looking into the village, suddenly a person grabbed my shoulder from behind. I was taken aback and looked back subconsciously. It's okay not to look at it, but it's even more frightening to see it.
I saw a face, a face with only one eye.
This face is distorted, with large scars, and the flesh is turned outward. On this face, there is a dark hole at the right eye. His left eye was very cloudy, and he kept looking at me. I can be regarded as a person who has experienced many battles, but this sudden attack still made me almost shout out.
But after a while, I calmed down, and finally saw this person's appearance clearly. The scars on this man's face were caused by burns. There was no moisture between the skin and flesh, and the skin gathered on his face like mountains. The man has no lips, and the lips may have been burned away.
Without the obstruction of his lips, his upper and lower gums were exposed in front of me.
This mouth began to speak: "Go."
While talking, by the street lamp, I saw the skin at the corners of his mouth pulled severely. It can be seen that every word this person utters brings great pain to himself. But it was precisely because of this that after this person only said the word "go", there was no more words.
Captain Zhou came up, looked at this person and asked, "Are you Lao Xia who was sent by the village chief to show us the way? Do you know the way? Did the reporter tell you?"
It turned out that this person was called Lao Xia, and Lao Xia nodded.
Captain Zhou looked at Lao Xia's appearance, and didn't say much, but said: "So, you sit in the co-pilot and show us the way, and you talk when you get to the place, you understand?"
Lao Xia still nodded.
I, Gu Chen and Guan Zengbin, sat in the back row. After Lao Xia got into the car, he pointed forward casually, and then closed his only eye, as if he was closing his eyes to rest his mind. And we are looking at this strange person through the rearview mirror, and we don't know what this old Xia has gone through to make him look like this.
He was wearing a very old military overcoat with patches all over it, which seemed to be about the same age as him.
Captain Zhou drove the car all the way.
The direction that Lao Xia pointed was the other side of the village, which was exactly opposite to the direction we came from, and we didn't go wrong. Originally, I planned to ask Lao Xia about the information of the first person who discovered the deceased, but seeing Lao Xia like this, I couldn't say anything more.
It seems that this disabled village really lives up to its reputation.
After walking for a while, Lao Xia still did not open his eyes. Captain Zhou was afraid that he had walked a distance, so he asked Lao Xia several times to see if it was this place, but after hearing what Captain Zhou said, Lao Xia just stretched out his hand and pointed forward, signaling Captain Zhou to continue walking. This happened three or four times in a row, and Captain Zhou became a little impatient.
Captain Zhou clicked his tongue and said: "I said, Comrade Xia, you must cooperate with our actions. This is a problem in your village. Maybe the deceased is someone you know. How can you keep your eyes closed like this?" Can you find the body? You are not asleep, Lao Xia?"
But Lao Xia still closed his eyes and did not speak.
Captain Zhou said while driving: "I didn't say, Lao Xia, did you say something, why didn't you talk for a long time? It's been driving for half an hour, have you arrived yet?"
When Captain Zhou wanted to attack again, Lao Xia finally said: "Stop!"
The voice was hoarse but quite loud, which frightened Captain Zhou for a moment.
One foot brakes.
Lao Xia had already opened the door and walked out.
Captain Zhou said with a stern face: "This old Xia, either doesn't speak, or when he speaks, he looks like firing a cannon. I almost scared me and drove the car into the ditch..."