The body of the village chief was unexpectedly "intact".
The so-called "integrity" means that unlike Guo Jianping and Yang Cheng's death method, the village head did not have a house full of broken snake corpses when he died.
He seemed to lose his breath suddenly. This way of death made people think that he might have died suddenly. The wife of the village chief who first found out that the village chief had lost his breath also had the same idea. However, before she could react and cry bitterly, the village head's body began to rot and fester at a speed visible to the naked eye, emitting a putrid stench. Wriggling maggots crawled through the gaps between his rotting flesh and blood. When the village head's wife screamed , A slender red snake slowly crawled out of the village chief's mouth.
After Song Gui made the remark that "the body is still relatively complete", He Mingde, who was about to spit it out, covered his mouth and said, "You call this complete?"
Lu Chu and Li Jiapeng were equally uncomfortable.
Song Gui said: "At least it didn't turn into blood."
Everyone was silent, thinking of the tragic death of Yang Cheng, the mood suddenly became heavier.
The village head's wife saw Song Gui and the others, and was about to drive them out, but was blocked by Song Gui, "If you don't want more people to die, just cooperate." Wang Po's words at that time are still vivid in his memory, saying that death is inevitable, and it is impossible for a village to escape such a miserable end.
What if she is the next one...
So even though she was unwilling, she still chose to listen to Wang Po's words and let these people check. Just thinking of the dead husband, the tears still kept falling. Although the husband and wife often quarreled and even fought directly because of various things, they were together for most of their lives. When they were completely old, the children would not care about them. Well, it's not that the two old things are dependent on each other, taking care of each other, and then the one who goes first enjoys happiness early, and the one who stays continues to waste time in nostalgia.
Although the village chief's body was unexpectedly "intact", several people still didn't know how to check the body, or there were no clues on this severely festered body.
For now, clues can only be found in photos.
The village chief's body did not move any further, and the rest was handed over to his family. After a while, someone brought a wooden coffin and put the village chief's body in it. According to the local customs, after a person dies, he will not be buried first, but will be placed in the mourning hall in the main hall, and the empty coffin will be visited in the village. The dead is the big one, and most people hope that he can be buried in peace.
Facing the resentful eyes of the village head's wife, Song Gui calmly took out a photo and asked, "My condolences, we will find the murderer as soon as possible, regardless of whether it is a human or a ghost. Also, may I ask, have you seen this picture in the photo?" Is it a girl?"
The village head's daughter-in-law was reluctant, so she cooperatively took the photo and looked at it for a while, then paused and said, "This... Isn't this Mr. Guo's first daughter-in-law, Lin Lin?"
This was in line with the guesses of Lu Chu and Song Gui, and it also let them know the name of Guo Jianping's ex-wife—Lin Lin.
So Song Gui took out another photo and asked, "What about this person?"
This time, the village head's wife thought for a long time before she looked suspiciously at the crowd and said, "This is also from our village. At that time, Mrs. Guo was not long after she got married and continued to give lectures in the village. She was one of those people who attended the lectures... Why, she also has a photo with Teacher Guo?"
Lu Chu was deep in thought when he heard the words.
Song Gui raised his eyebrows: "Where is this girl now?"
The village head's wife recalled for a while, and said: "She moved out of our village twenty years ago, and she is still a distant relative of my family..."
When mentioning the village chief, her voice choked up again: "What kind of evil is this..."
Lu Chu and Song Gui looked at each other, and Lu Chu said: "Auntie, don't be sad, we will give you an explanation. Can you tell us the girl's name, and when did she move out?"
The village head's wife said: "The name... I don't remember the first name. In the village, there are more junior names or nicknames. She and I are not serious relatives, but I remember it was probably Cuimeier... the day we moved out. It was when Lin Lin ran away not long ago, before Guo Jianping married Wei Rong."
"Thank you," Song Gui continued, "Then let's go to other places to check first, sorry for the inconvenience."
The village head's daughter-in-law was silent, wiped the corners of her eyes and went to the main hall, kneeling beside the coffin.
———
It was almost late at night, and several people returned to Lu's house. To avoid accidents, they gave up their plans to go out again, and waited until dawn.
Everyone gathered in the side room and sat down around the wooden table on the bed.
Song Gui asked, "Everyone, what do you think?"
Lu Chudao: "Guo Jianping has a problem."
Qi Li took a deep look at Lu Chu and said, "Second."
Li Jiapeng rubbed his hair and messed it up, and said, "I feel like I'm out of order now, let alone what I think, I just feel like I'm dreaming, or a fucking dream I can't wake up from." !"
"Oh—" He Mingde sighed, "I'm also a little confused, Brother Lu, let me tell you what you have guessed first."
Lu Chu took out the two photos, sorted out the clues, and said slowly: "I found this photo from the book that Guo Jianping gave lectures on the podium. I have heard my grandma tell the story of that time before you , I heard that his first wife was good-looking, and although a man and a woman in the photo did not make any intimate movements, there was an ambiguous meaning that could not be explained clearly; plus a man carried a photo of a woman with him Carrying, sandwiched in the most commonly used books, there is a problem. Therefore, I guessed at the time whether this would be Guo Jianping’s first wife. Now it seems that my guess is wrong, but I trust my intuition , The ambiguous atmosphere between these two people is not fake, does this mean that Guo Jianping did not have a deep love for his first wife as in the legend."
Song Gui nodded: "I think so too."
"And," Lu Chu continued, "it's reasonable for Wei Rong not to react when she saw the photo of 'Cui Meier', after all, they may not have met each other, but her reaction when she saw 'Lin Lin' was not quite right .”
"No?" Li Jiapeng said, "Is there something wrong... I remember she kept yelling."
"Totally wrong." Lu Chudao, "According to the version we heard, 'Lin Lin' left the village 20 years ago. It is said that she ran away with a rich man, so Wei Rong was able to take over. If this is true, Even if Wei Rong is crazy, she should be jealous, disdainful or even jealous when she sees the photos."
Song Gui rubbed his chin, and followed Lu Chu's words: "But she didn't. Although she yelled, not only was she not jealous, but she was extremely afraid and fearful."
"Maybe there is still some unexplainable pity." Lu Chu said lightly.
"Pity?" He Mingde asked, "Why?"
"I don't know for the time being." Lu Chu shook his head, "The problem now is that what happened 20 years ago was not like what other people told us, but what is the truth and where are the people who know the truth are the most troublesome things for us things."
Hearing this, Li Jiapeng collapsed on the bed, covered his eyes with his arms, and said in a muffled voice, "I want to go home now."
He Mingde remained silent.
Song Guidao: "I'll go to Wei Rong's place tomorrow. If I can't do it, just ask people when they are caught in the village. You can always find something."
Lu Chu glanced at him, shook his head and said, "Ask people when they are arrested. It's just a matter of helplessness. After all, we don't have so much time to persuade everyone to cooperate with us. Now people in the village may be hiding like the plague. We now know that Lin Lin's family moved out of the village in fear after she ran away with the rich man, and it may be difficult to find. Wei Rong's parents passed away, and other relatives only brought her meals every day, maybe they can Ask for some news. Actually, what I want to know most now is, does anyone know where that 'Cui Meier' is now?"
He Mingde frowned and said, "Her? I think Xuan..."
"Why do you want to know so much?" Li Jiapeng asked, "Why do I think the news from Wei Rong is more important."
"Because I have a guess," Lu Chudao said, "Do you remember the story that other people told us, after Guo Jianping and Wei Rong got married, it was fine at first, but then he started running to the city, and then everyone rumored that he was going to See "Lin Lin who ran away with a rich man and came back"? Based on the timeline of "Cui Meier" moving out of the village and the photo of the two of them, I suspect that if he goes to meet someone, he may not see Lin Lin, but " Cui Meier'."
Song Gui nodded: "You are right, but we have no proof yet."
"That's why I said it's just a guess. Everything will have to wait until tomorrow."
Song Gui sighed: "Let's break up first, let's talk about it tomorrow."
"I... I have something to say..." Li Jiapeng stammered as soon as he heard that he was about to leave.
He Mingde said: "Speak directly if you have something to say."
"I dare not sleep alone." Li Jiapeng was really frightened. He tugged at He Mingde's clothes, his voice trembling. The person who sleeps together is a 'ghost'..."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"How about the four of us plus Lu Chu, let's sleep in one room..." After finishing speaking, he quickly stated, "I can also sleep on the floor!"
Song Gui pondered for a moment and said: "I think it's okay. At present, we are indeed safer together. According to my experience of watching horror movies for many years, acting alone is equivalent to getting a lunch."
Li Jiapeng smiled bitterly: "Can you stop talking about horror movies at this time, it's not funny at all."
So several people lived in a house.
Lu Chu went to ask Grandma Lu. There is a foldable single bed in the utility room at home, which is the same height as the old sofa. The sofa and the foldable bed are put together, and two adult men can barely lie down. The beds in the village are all big, and three adults can lie on the bed. In this way, none of the five people need to sleep on the floor.
After some discussion, it was finally decided that Song Gui, He Mingde, and Li Jiapeng would squeeze together on the big bed, while Lu Chu and Qi Li would squeeze together on the couch and single bed.