Zheng Yun said, “That’s precisely what I find puzzling. Some of these medications can’t even be purchased at pharmacies in Shun Cheng—and yet the Xu family’s shop had them in generous supply. How the Xu family sourced these drugs should be our next investigative priority.”
He drew a large question mark on the paper and continued, “I canvassed the Xu family’s neighbors and the residents near the pharmacy. Their general impression was that the entire Xu family was extremely reclusive—the two elders almost never left the house, and the two daughters-in-law rarely showed their faces either. The people who interacted with them most regularly were the two sons, but even they weren’t given to conversation and maintained no more than a passing nod with the neighbors. After asking around, I found that in the ten years since the Xu family moved to Wenshan County, not a single person had ever set foot inside their door. The Xu family was like a solitary island in the middle of the ocean—visible from the outside, but unknown to anyone who might have drawn near.”
“Let me share my findings.” Bai Jin picked up from Zheng Yun. “The perpetrator was careful and left no useful traces at the scene. However, on the road in front of the victims’ home, I found tire tracks. The tracks ran from south to north, passing directly in front of the Xu family’s gate, and then turning south onto Caohuo Road fifty meters later. After turning, the vehicle headed south—but Caohuo Road branches in multiple directions to the south, connecting both to Shun Cheng and to several nearby villages and counties. It’s impossible to determine where the vehicle was headed, and because of subsequent tire marks overlapping the original tracks, we couldn’t continue tracing the vehicle’s route.”
An officer asked, “How do you confirm those tire tracks belong to the perpetrator?”
Bai Jin replied, “Traffic through Wenshan County is extremely sparse. I canvassed the surrounding neighbors—two separate households both reported hearing a car engine on the night of the 14th. My assessment is that the perpetrator parked outside the Xu family’s gate, carried out the crime, then started the car and left.”
The Military Police Division vehicles, parked at the roadside, had drawn crowds of gawking children and adults alike. Having grown up in this small county, cut off from the outside world, they had rarely seen anything beyond tricycles and bicycles—and suddenly encountering automobiles, these massive machines, they treated them all as extraordinary curiosities.
Automobiles rarely passed through Wenshan County. Even during strawberry season, when the harvest was in, farmers used flat-bed carts to haul their strawberries to the designated market, where small traders would then take them away.
A suspicious vehicle driving down that road in the middle of the night was naturally the most significant lead they had.
“Based on comparison and analysis of the tire tracks, I believe this was a military jeep.”
Bai Jin’s words sent a ripple through the room. Shi Ting looked up.
The perpetrator’s weapon was a military three-sided bayonet. The vehicle was a military jeep. Every clue seemed to be pointing in the same direction—the perpetrator had a deeply entangled connection with the military.
At that moment, a pressure like a great mountain descended on the room.
If the perpetrator truly was someone from the military, and the Military Police Division’s authority fell below that of the military—then the Military Police Division’s reach simply did not extend into the military’s domain.
And yet the Xu family was just an ordinary household running a pharmacy. The Chen family of Shun Cheng—though they had made their fortune as merchants and brokers—also appeared to have no connection to the military on the surface.
Seeing that everyone had fallen into silence, Shi Ting spoke. “First team: focus on investigating the source of the Xu family pharmacy’s rare drugs, and determine whether there is any connection between the Xu and Chen families. Second team: continue canvassing the local population to map out the Xu family’s personal relationships. No matter who the perpetrator is, we will bring them to justice—even if they are of imperial blood.”
Shi Ting’s words were precisely the rallying call everyone needed. Spirits lifted, the officers readied themselves for the next round of investigation.
After the meeting, Shi Ting and Yan Qing went together to canvass the nearby residents, concentrating their efforts around the Xu family pharmacy.
The entire Xu family had been remarkably withdrawn, rarely leaving the house and keeping their distance from the neighbors.
But running a pharmacy meant a higher volume of public interaction—even an introverted person was obliged to exchange a few words with customers.
After visiting several households, the consistent response was that the Xu family pharmacy’s medicines were on the expensive side, but stocked many drugs that couldn’t be found elsewhere. People had sometimes been forced to pay a few extra cents just to get what they needed for treatment.
The eldest son would at least manage a smile when selling medicine; the second son had always worn a flat, expressionless face.
Unless they needed medicine, people had no desire to deal with this family.
“This Xu family really was remarkably antisocial.” After leaving one farmhouse, Yan Qing couldn’t help but remark. “An entire county, and not a single person who knew them well.”
“There may be someone—we just haven’t found them yet.” Shi Ting looked ahead. At the roadside stood a pharmacy with a seal already posted across its door—the large blue sign reading “Xu’s Pharmacy” stood clearly legible in the moonlight.
Beside the sign, tucked against the wall, was a ramshackle lean-to. Inside, a pile of dry thatch served as bedding, and a few bamboo poles held up a sheet of felt that passed for a roof.
Stacked in the lean-to were some battered, worn bowls and dishes—the remnants of meals left long enough to have turned black with rot, drawing a cloud of flies that hovered over them as though they were precious things.
The investigators had noticed the lean-to during the day but had assumed it was a dog kennel, since a small mongrel dog was tied up nearby—mangy and bone-thin.
Now, however, someone was sitting inside the lean-to. The figure was eating—a frugal meal of cornmeal flatbread and leftover broth.
When he had eaten his fill, he tossed the rest to the dog, which wagged its tail and devoured the scraps with enthusiasm.
Shi Ting and Yan Qing exchanged a glance. Shi Ting guided her wheelchair to a safe place at the side of the road, then strode forward on his own.
The mongrel barked a couple of times at the approaching figure. The man in the ragged clothes raised a dirty face, his expression wary.
“Hello. I’m from the Military Police Division—I mean no harm. I only want to ask you a few questions.” Shi Ting could tell from the beggar’s eyes that the man was coherent—not mentally ill.
The beggar said, “Is this about the Xu family murders?”
Shi Ting nodded.
The beggar let out a contented belch and used a thin sliver of wood he had split from a twig to pick his teeth. “I don’t really know that family—never exchanged a word with them. The two brothers may not have had much of a smile for anyone, but they were decent at heart. Every day they’d give me the leftover food from the pharmacy. Over the years, I’ve kept myself alive on their scraps.”
“Do you know who the two Xu brothers were closest to?”
The beggar thought carefully. “No one in particular—they kept to themselves with everyone. The people coming in and out of the pharmacy were all just customers who bought medicine and left. They never chatted with anyone.”
Just as Shi Ting was feeling a touch of disappointment, the beggar suddenly remembered something, and his voice rose a few notes. “Wait—I just recalled. There was a hunter who was on good terms with the Xu brothers. Xu Yongfu even went hunting with him and sold some animal hides and furs. The hunter would sometimes bring the brothers wild game as a gift—most often pheasant. I even ate some once.”
Shi Ting’s eyes lit up. “What was this hunter’s name, and where does he live?”
“I don’t know his name, but he’d come to the pharmacy every time to buy medicinal plasters—because he was from Wuyin Village, and the people there almost all have bad backs and legs.”
“Do you remember what he looked like?”
“Very tall, very dark-skinned. He liked to wear a hat—something like the one you’re wearing, but much more worn—must have had it for seven or eight years at least. He also wore the same kind of boots you have on, but the leather had worn down in several layers, and the heel was coming through. I heard the Xu brothers mention once that he used to be a soldier—fought in the wars, quite skilled in combat.”
“Are you certain he lived in Wuyin Village?”
“More or less.” The beggar seemed to be losing patience. “Can you give me something to eat? You look well-dressed—you must be some kind of official. Surely you have money.”
Shi Ting gave the beggar a yuan and turned to leave. Yan Qing had already wheeled herself over.
“It looks like we need to find that hunter right away.” Shi Ting said. “There was a pheasant hanging outside the Xu family’s kitchen—the blood on it hadn’t dried yet, which means it was delivered not long before the murders. And there was leftover pheasant in the cabinet, probably served as a meal for a guest.”
“You mean the hunter came to deliver the pheasant on the 14th, shared a meal at the Xu family’s home, and then killed them all?”
“It’s only a theory at this point—but this hunter fits many of our assumptions. He wore a military cap and military boots, he had served in the army before, and he had both the opportunity and the means to commit the crime.”
Yan Qing also found the hunter highly suspicious. “So are we going to Wuyin Village now?”
“I’ll have Shi Hao stay behind with a few officers to continue the investigation here. The rest of us set out for Wuyin Village immediately. Even if this hunter isn’t the perpetrator, he has a deep and tangled connection with the Xu family.” Then he turned to look at Yan Qing, a flicker of concern crossing his eyes. “Once we reach Wuyin Village, stay close to me at all times. Do not wander off on your own. If that hunter is the perpetrator, he’s armed—a dangerous man.”
His concern warmed her heart. Yan Qing nodded, very obediently.
Back at the lodgings, Shi Ting held another emergency meeting to plan the next steps of the investigation.
When Bai Jin heard the words “Wuyin Village,” he slapped his knee. “The last direction that vehicle was heading—one of those roads leads straight to Wuyin Village. And a hunter absolutely has motive: money!”
“But how would a hunter have a military jeep?” someone objected. “And if he was after money, why were so many valuables left untouched at the scene? And how do we explain the flayed piece of skin?”
Bai Jin wasn’t fully certain, but he offered a theory. “Maybe the hunter drove vehicles for the military and took one with him when he deserted. As for not recognizing the valuables—he may simply have been too unsophisticated to know what they were worth. As for how he got the vehicle and why he killed and flayed a victim—we’ll only know when we meet him face to face.”
It was a theory that could not be entirely dismissed, and the group tacitly accepted it.
Now, all the clues pointed to Wuyin Village—and to the hunter who had once been a soldier. He was their prime suspect.
“I looked into it—there’s a bridge out on the way to Wuyin Village. It’s under repair right now, and should be finished tomorrow afternoon.”
Shi Ting glanced at the time. “Then we depart tomorrow afternoon.”
The following day.
Shi Hao remained in the Wenshan County seat with several officers, continuing the investigation alongside the local branch.
Shi Ting took Bai Jin, Zheng Yun, and Yan Qing with her maidservant and drove toward Wuyin Village. With two teams working in parallel under urgent circumstances, they would make every effort to solve the case in the shortest possible time.