"Are you sure? Did you see it with your own eyes?"
I didn't expect that Zhao Tiezhu could provide me with such important information at this time. I immediately went up to him and asked excitedly.
"Well, although it was dark at the time, I could still see clearly that the clothes he wore were exactly the Taoist robes that Master Liu wore during the day. And judging from his figure, it was undoubtedly Master Liu. And I have a feeling that when I took the package back to the village that day, the person who followed me was Master Liu. Although there is no evidence, I guess this should be the case."
Zhao Tiezhu seemed to be lost in his memories, frowning and speaking slowly. At this time, Officer Yang and I both looked at Lin Yingxue, because if Master Liu really came out last night, then who was Lin Yingxue monitoring all night
Lin Yingxue didn't believe it at all. She immediately stood up and said to us, "This is impossible! I carefully checked Master Liu's house yesterday. He doesn't have a yard. He only has a relatively large bungalow. The bungalow also has only one door. All the windows are on the side of the door. It is absolutely impossible for him to sneak out without my surveillance!"
Seeing Lin Yingxue so excited, Zhao Tiezhu hurriedly smiled and said, "Is that so? I must have seen it wrong."
Officer Yang and I both knew in our hearts that Zhao Tiezhu was not mistaken. I'm afraid that Master Liu really did slip out from under Lin Yingxue's nose last night. As for what he was going to do, I don't know, but if he really came out last night, then he is definitely the number one suspect!
We didn't continue to dwell on this issue. At this time, Zhao Tiezhu's girlfriend came over with a bowl of porridge and some steaming buns. I was hungry for a whole day, so I immediately started to eat this simple breakfast. I didn't bother to be polite and started to eat with Officer Yang, Lin Yingxue and the others.
While eating, I quietly called Zhao Tiezhu aside and carefully asked him about the exact time when he saw Master Liu last night. He said he didn't remember it very clearly, but it was probably between ten and eleven o'clock.
I carefully recalled the time when I found Li Jianmin's body and the time when I was unconscious yesterday. It seemed to be around eleven o'clock. In other words, Master Liu had plenty of time to commit the crime.
After breakfast, I thanked Zhao Tiezhu and followed Officer Yang and Lin Yingxue out of Zhao Tiezhu's house and headed towards the village chief's house. Although we had to get to the bottom of what happened to Master Liu, the three of us had been under surveillance all night, and after walking back and forth to the ancestral graves in Heishan Village several times, our clothes were already very dirty, so we decided to go to the village chief's house first to take out our luggage and change clothes before going to look for Master Liu.
Heishan Village seemed particularly quiet at this time. Although it was only a little after nine o'clock and many people in the city were still sleeping in, the villagers in the countryside usually woke up very early. This should be the busiest time. I guess most people should have gone to find Master Liu to argue.
When we arrived at the village chief's house, as expected, the village chief was not at home. Only the village chief's wife was busy in the house. I quickly changed my shoes and clothes, went out to the village chief's house, and saw that the village chief's wife was packing a suitcase. Most of the clothes in it were men's clothes. It seemed that she was packing luggage for the village chief.
I walked up to him puzzledly and asked, "Auntie, what are you doing? Is the village chief going on a long journey?"
The village head's wife was sweating profusely while cleaning up. She turned to me and smiled, "Ji Wen, you're here. Yes, my old man said that he will go to the city tomorrow after the water on the road dries up. It seems that he is going to attend a meeting. It will take about a month. He asked me to prepare a month's worth of clothes and money in advance. The neighboring village just called and said that the road has been almost cleared and will definitely be open to traffic tomorrow. You young people must be very uncomfortable staying in our countryside."
The village chief's wife was so simple in both her words and actions, which relieved my originally anxious heart a little. After chatting with the village chief's wife for a few more words, I went out and found that Officer Yang and Lin Yingxue had been waiting at the door. We didn't say anything, but got up and walked towards Master Liu's home. But I vaguely felt that the village chief's departure this time was not for a meeting, but must be due to some other reasons that I didn't know.
Master Liu's home is relatively far away, and it took us a while to get there. However, at this time, Master Liu's lonely bungalow had been completely surrounded by the villagers of Heishan Village. Hundreds of villagers formed a human wall. It seemed that this group of people would never let it go unless Master Liu returned the money he had cheated before.
From a distance, I could hear that inside the house, Master Liu seemed to be arguing with the village chief, and a large number of villagers followed the village chief to attack Master Liu, but the argument did not seem very intense and was far from as serious as I had imagined.
The three of us struggled to squeeze through the crowd and arrived at Master Liu's home. We saw Master Liu sitting cross-legged on a cushion like an old monk in meditation, while the village chief and some villagers gathered around him, seemingly anxiously waiting for something.
"Village chief, what's wrong?" I didn't quite understand what was happening, so I went up to ask the village chief. However, the village chief ignored me and just waved his hand, signaling me not to speak.
I was just wondering when I saw Master Liu, who had his eyes closed, slowly open them, let out a long sigh and said, "I figured it out. It turns out there is more than one demon in this village!"
After hearing this, I immediately understood. It seems that the villagers of Heishan Village have not been deceived enough by Master Liu? They are actually ready to believe his lies again
I couldn't stand it any longer and was about to argue with Master Liu, but Lin Yingxue grabbed me and pretended to admire me and said, "Master Liu, how do you explain this?"
Master Liu looked up at Lin Yingxue, snorted coldly, then turned to the village chief and said, "As everyone knows, the demon that lurked in Black Mountain Village before was beaten to death by me on the spot. But man proposes, God disposes. Who would have thought that under the ancestral tomb of my Black Mountain Village, there is a demon that has been sleeping for many years!"
As Master Liu spoke, he stood up from the mat, swept his cold eyes over everyone present, and slowly said, "Probably no one knows why our Heishan Village chose that piece of wasteland as the ancestral grave site? That's because many years ago, a master passed by our Heishan Village and found that Heishan Village was being ravaged by a thousand-year-old female ghost, and the people were living in misery. The master finally cast a spell to seal the thousand-year-old female ghost, and arranged that Heishan Village must bury the deceased in the wasteland where the female ghost was sealed for generations to come to suppress the female ghost. That's why Heishan Village has been able to develop to where it is today."
What Master Liu said sounded like something out of a fantasy novel, his voice was full of emotion and he was as good as a storyteller. The villagers around him listened with wide eyes, and everyone had an expression of learning something new. Master Liu also liked this state very much, and continued, "But who would have thought that in our generation, someone's burial site destroyed the seal set by the master back then, causing the thousand-year-old female ghost to be released, so Zhang Guozhong died tragically last night! And the burial site that destroyed the seal was Li Jianmin's burial site!"
Although Zhaduan's words were full of loopholes, the villagers believed them without a doubt. The villagers suddenly realized what was going on and were completely mesmerized by Master Liu's words.
"What should we do then?"
"Yes, Master Liu, you are a living god, you must save us!"
Facing everyone's questions, Master Liu showed an unfathomable smile on his face and said, "Don't panic, there must be a way. The first way is that all the villagers of Heishan Village move away immediately. As long as everyone leaves Heishan Village, the thousand-year-old female ghost will no longer trouble you."
Most of the villagers in Heishan Village have lived here for most of their lives. If they were asked to move away at this time, no one would agree. Everyone immediately asked if there was any other way.
This is what Master Liu was waiting for. He smiled and said, "Of course, there is a second method. That is, I will negotiate with the thousand-year-old female ghost tonight and let her fall asleep again to practice, so that she can ascend to heaven sooner in the future."
"This is a good idea! Then let's trouble Master Liu!" The village chief was overjoyed after hearing this, and the villagers behind him also responded.
Looking at this group of ignorant villagers, I felt helpless and sad from the bottom of my heart. It is obvious that Master Liu is trying to continue making money under the banner, but why are these people so unwavering in their belief
As expected, Master Liu then pretended to be embarrassed and said: "But this time, this practice will consume my vitality, I am afraid..."
The village chief immediately understood and said, "How much money does Master Liu need? Still the same 20,000 as last time? Don't worry, we will get it together for you right away!"
"This time is different. Last time it was just a small demon, but this time it's a thousand-year-old female ghost. If I'm not careful, I might even lose my life."
When the village chief saw Master Liu wanted to add money, he was stunned for a moment, then asked, "What does Master Liu mean?"
"One hundred thousand! As long as you can gather one hundred thousand for me, I will do the ritual at home all night tonight."
I thought to myself that Master Liu was really bold. I never thought that Master Liu actually cheated the villagers out of 20,000 yuan last time! Isn't it too easy for you to make money? I only get 10,000 yuan for all my hard work, but you can get 100,000 yuan for just talking nonsense? This is really annoying!
When the village chief heard that Master Liu asked for 100,000 yuan, he immediately looked embarrassed. Master Liu did not seem to give the village chief any room for negotiation. He turned around and said, "If there is no money, then everyone should just run for their lives. I can't take care of this matter anymore."
Master Liu's threat was completely fatal to the villagers. The village chief turned around and went out to discuss with the villagers again, then returned to Master Liu with a dejected look and said, "Okay, our whole village will raise money and send this 100,000 yuan over. I hope Master Liu can do something immediately to save our Black Mountain Village from the disaster!"