The figure climbed down from the bed gently. The roommates around him were already fast asleep and snoring with their mouths wide open.
He quietly opened the door, peeked into the corridor and when he saw that there was indeed no one there, he tiptoed along the wall and walked out of the dormitory step by step.
He took a long wooden broom from the gate of the courtyard, then walked across the empty playground and came to the tree.
The young birds in the tree clung to each other for warmth, snuggling up to each other and slowly falling asleep, while the two adult birds stood on the branches and closed their eyes.
The man raised the broom high and hit the tree trunk again and again. The two big birds woke up from their sleep and flapped their wings and flew high into the sky.
The chicks in the nest were in bad luck. Driven by instinct, they flapped their featherless wings helplessly, trying to fly away from the unstable tree trunk.
This was a futile struggle, and it even made the bird's nest more unstable. Finally, the nest fell from the sky, and the poor baby birds naturally turned into pieces.
The man showed an evil smile after seeing this scene, chuckled a few times, then walked back to the yard and put the wooden broom back to its original place.
The poor pair of birds watched their children fall to the ground like dumplings and then lost their lives.
They gathered around the baby bird's body and chirped sadly.
The birds chirped throughout the night, their voices of sorrow echoing in the air.
The next morning, a sharp female voice stimulated everyone.
Under the tree, the bodies of two adult birds and their chicks lay on the ground.
The two adult birds coughed up blood from their throats and fell beside the baby birds.
This scene shocked everyone. Marlin hid in the crowd, covering his mouth and pinching his throat, and shouted, "It must be Titan who did it."
"What? Titan did it? That's not surprising. He's such a weird person."
"Yes, yes, he must have stayed. Yesterday I heard Marlin say that Titan was killing birds."
"I heard that too. The Titan who was so spooky all day must be him."
"But didn't Jobtran speak for the Titans yesterday? I saw them sitting under this tree."
"Yes, yes, they even sit together to eat."
As people whispered, the topic began to turn to Joe Butran and the other two being the culprits of the tragedy.
In order to let public opinion ferment, Mariner left the crowd and found a place to hide.
As people passed on and discussed the story, they exaggerated it more and more and added all kinds of descriptions, making Angus and Jobtran become devilish teenagers.
Jobtran didn't care how people around him discussed this matter. He yawned lazily and pushed through the crowd to come to the tree.
Tristana and Angus followed behind; Tristana's legs were numb from the fear of the crowd's gaze, while Angus straightened his chest and protected Tristana behind him.
With the arrival of the three people, the whispers turned into silence.
"Why are you all gathered here? Get out of the way."
Sister Karma arrived belatedly on the scene.
Seeing the scene before her, Mother Karma shouted in shock.
"Oh, Holy Light, what's going on?"
Marlin saw the opportunity and jumped out of the crowd. He said,
"Just now Baoli shouted, and everyone gathered around and discovered the situation. We didn't know anything."
Jobtran was half-crouching on the ground and observing the scene silently. When he heard Mariner's voice, he put the last piece of the logical puzzle together.
"People, just can't be too kind."
Jobtran said to himself.
"Mammy, can I explain this to you?"
"What else is there to explain? It must be you who did it." Marlin suddenly shouted loudly.
"I finally understand. You were the only one who climbed up the tree yesterday. So you are the only one who can decide whether there is a dead bird in the nest on the tree. You and Angus are in collusion. Jobtran! Why don't you just destroy the body today? That's right!"
Mariner's words instantly made the crowd boil over, and there was an uproar. People began to point fingers and curse at Joe Butran and the other two.
"Wow, this is simply a beast in human form."
These unpleasant words reached the ears of the three people, and Jobtran scratched his ears with his little finger in disdain.
Seeing Angus clenching his fists and looking like he was about to explode with anger, Jobtron put his hand on his shoulder and looked into Angus' eyes and said,
"Hold on, let me come."
Angus, who had a relatively simple mind, relaxed after a moment of shock and nodded to Jobtran.
“Is this a friend?”
These words appeared in Angus' mind; it turns out that a friend is someone who will stand up for you when you are in trouble.
"Alright, alright, be quiet!"
Aunt Karma raised her hands and pressed down in the air, and everyone immediately shut up, because it was really painful to be spanked on the butt by Aunt Karma with slippers.
"Jobtran, explain yourself. I'm listening," said Sister Karma.
"Okay, I'll restore the truth of the whole thing, but I need your help and trust. I don't mind letting everyone present be witnesses, is that okay?"
Joe Butran also spoke loudly. What he had been waiting for was the opportunity for everyone to be silent.
Sister Karma nodded and responded, "As long as you can prove your innocence, that's all."
Joe Butran pulled a blade of grass from the ground and put it in his mouth, and said confidently,
"Not only was I able to prove our innocence, I also knew who was behind the murder."
The sudden turn of events surprised everyone, but they just listened to Jobtran's defense in silence.
“First, I will prove my and Tristana’s innocence.
I believe you all know that Tristana and I are in the same dormitory, right
Last night before going to bed I lit a kerosene lamp and read a book, but Tristana fell asleep before me.
When I woke up this morning, the kerosene lamp was off, and the oil in the kerosene lamp had just been refilled by the living committee member Xisa last night.
If it has been burning all night, there should be no oil left in the kerosene lamp now, right
But when I woke up, the kerosene lamp was still half full, and I believe Sister Karma came in last night and put out the lamp for me, right, Sister?"
Mother Karma nodded in surprise.
"Go on."
"Second, we can ask his roommate whether Angus left his room last night. Please ask Angus' roommate to come forward now and tell us what time Angus went to bed."
Joe Butran said confidently.
A boy in the crowd called out, "Angus went to bed early and is snoring."
Everyone burst into laughter, and Angus blushed and lowered his head.
“Third, the murderer is here.”
Jobtran leaned forward and put his finger to his mouth in a shushing gesture.