Old Hu had not expected that after going to great lengths to force Shi Ting and the others back to Shun Cheng, this man had descended from the sky again at nightfall — and with him came a pair of cold handcuffs.

After Old Hu was brought to the village committee, she chose to say nothing in the face of the Military Police Directorate’s questioning.

She wore her gray long robe, with her hair pinned up in a bun at the back of her head. Disheveled strands of hair clung to her gaunt face. She sat with eyes tightly shut, murmuring to herself.

“Seventh Brother, she won’t say a thing.” Bai Jin had questioned her for a long while and not gotten a single word out of her. He was growing impatient.

Shi Ting looked at Old Hu, who sat as unmovable as a mountain, and gave a soft snort. “You can choose not to speak. But your daughter Xingzi doesn’t have this kind of composure.”

Upon hearing this, Old Hu finally opened her eyes. Her murky gaze stared straight ahead.

Though she still appeared unmoved, the flash of fear in the depths of her eyes did not escape Shi Ting’s notice.

“Your daughter — we’ve already found her. She’s working at the oil press factory in the neighboring village.”

“This has nothing to do with her.” Old Hu’s lips barely moved. “Hu Sizhu — I killed him.”

Bai Jin’s face lit up upon hearing this. Nothing was more gratifying than a suspect confessing outright.

“Why did you kill Hu Sizhu?”

“Because he harassed my daughter.” Old Hu’s expression was calm. “You’ve been investigating this long enough and should know what kind of person Hu Sizhu was. The number of girls he violated in this village is more than you can count on your fingers. My daughter was one of them.”

Bai Jin and Shi Ting exchanged a glance.

Widow Liu’s original account of those girls had not included Xingzi — had Widow Liu missed her?

“Tell me how you killed Hu Sizhu.” Shi Ting asked.

“I lured him up the mountain and stabbed him once, then buried him.”

“Why didn’t Hu Sizhu resist? Though he wasn’t particularly tall or large, dealing with you — a woman — would be more than sufficient.”

“I ambushed him when he was off guard.” Old Hu said calmly. “No matter how capable he was, two fists can’t beat a knife.”

“Was the red rice at the scene scattered by you?”

“Yes. Whoever has red rice scattered on them can never be reincarnated — when the Ghost Gate opens, they cannot come to the human world to seek revenge.”

Old Hu raised her head. “I killed the person. Take me in to face justice.”

“Taking you in is certain, but the charge won’t be murder — it’ll be harboring a criminal.”

Old Hu’s emotions finally shifted. “I said the person was killed by me — killed by me. You want to find the killer, don’t you? I’ve already confessed. Why won’t you arrest me?”

“You normally revere the deities and Buddha and won’t even step on an ant. Would you kill someone?”

“When a person is pushed to a certain point, they’re capable of anything.”

“When pushed to a certain point, even crimes that aren’t one’s own can be admitted to — isn’t that right?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Shi Ting rose. “Think carefully again about exactly how you killed Hu Sizhu.”

Shi Ting opened the door and walked out.

In another room sat a young girl, looking no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

The girl had delicate features, wearing a dark red padded cotton jacket. At this moment her expression was filled with nervous unease.

Bamboo Pole had been very efficient — after the others had left, he had immediately gone around asking about Xingzi’s whereabouts and ultimately learned she was working at an oil press factory in the neighboring village.

This area produced an abundance of corn, and corn could be used to press oil. After pressing, the oil was sold to various parts of the country.

Xingzi was a warehouse supervisor at the oil press factory, responsible for managing the inflow and outflow of goods.

When Shi Ting walked in, Xingzi looked up. Her bright, liquid eyes held a trace of fear.

“Your hair clip is very distinctive. May I take a look?” Shi Ting’s gaze fell on Xingzi’s hair. There, holding her hair in place, was a glittering hair clip.

Xingzi, not knowing what this meant, slowly reached up and removed the clip and handed it over.

Shi Ting examined it and passed it to Bai Jin. “Compare it.”

“Do you know why we brought you here?” Shi Ting asked in an even tone.

Xingzi shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’

“Where were you at nine o’clock on the night Hu Sizhu had his accident?”

“I was at home sleeping.”

“If you were home sleeping, how do you explain this?” Bai Jin placed the artificial diamond in front of Xingzi. “We found this at the scene — it’s identical to the artificial diamonds on your hair clip, and the missing diamond from this clip is exactly the one we found.”

Upon seeing it, Xingzi immediately panicked. “I — I don’t know. That diamond had already fallen off a long time ago. Someone must have picked it up. That night I really was at home sleeping — you can ask my mother. She can vouch for me.”

“Your mother has already told us everything.” Shi Ting pointed toward the adjoining room. “Including the matter of you taking the red rice.”

Xingzi’s eyes went wide, as if she couldn’t believe it. “Red — red rice?”

“She not only told us you took red rice, but also said that when you left the house you took two red cloth strips. Oh, and it seems a knife from the kitchen is also missing.”

“How could she tell you all that.” Xingzi suddenly slapped both hands on the table and sprang to her feet, her eyes full of fury. “She wants to see me dead.”

Shi Ting pointed to the chair. “Sit down.”

Xingzi pressed her lips together and obediently sat back down.

“What grudge did Hu Sizhu have against you that you had to kill him?”

“Because he was disgusting.” Xingzi’s voice rose several pitches. “He pursued me and I didn’t agree. He kept pestering me.”

“Just because of that?”

“Yes.” Xingzi was resolute. “He pursued me over and over. I clearly refused each time, but he was like a clingy fly that couldn’t be shooed away no matter what. Just last month, I got to know a fellow called Lu Jie at the factory. He was very good to me and I liked him too. But once Hu Sizhu found out, he went to the factory and beat up Lu Jie. Not only that, he went around spreading word that I was his woman, and that whoever dared to be with me in the future, he would kill.”

“Did you know Hu Sizhu well?”

“His reputation in the village was already rotten through and through — who didn’t know him? Someone like that had the nerve to pursue me. Did he deserve it?”

“And then?”

“Then I went to find Lu Jie. Lu Jie had been beaten and was too scared to be with me anymore. On top of that, people at the factory were all spreading word that I was involved with a hooligan, and saying I was blind and shameless.” Xingzi looked very angry. “What’s more infuriating is that Hu Sizhu blocked my path at the village entrance every day, putting his hands all over me. I was so frightened I didn’t dare go home for days.”

“Did you not tell your mother about this?”

“Her? She spends every day praying and burning incense. Would she care about me? Even if I were bullied to death, she wouldn’t give me a second glance. In her eyes, those deities and spirits are more important than her own daughter.” Xingzi bit her teeth. “One day, Hu Sizhu was blocking me again. He said as long as he was around, I could forget about finding anyone to be with — he would beat up anyone I found, and he was going to make me a woman no one in the entire area would dare touch. After I got home, I saw someone had come to ask my mother to perform a red rice rite. I took advantage of their inattention and stole a handful of red rice.”

“At that point you had already decided to kill Hu Sizhu?”

“Yes.” Xingzi didn’t deny it. “A few more days passed. Hu Sizhu’s grandmother died. Before her body was even cold, he came to block my path again. This time I told him I was willing to consider a relationship with him. He was very pleased. I arranged to meet him at the crossroads in the village at eight-thirty that evening. He agreed. I went home, took the red rice I’d stored away and a flashlight, then went to the kitchen and found a sharp knife. As I was leaving, I spotted the red cloth strips my mother had hanging there and pulled out two.”

“Did your mother notice you at the time?”

“She asked where I was going. I said I was going to see a friend.” Xingzi recalled the moment, with no sign of regret. “I came to the crossroads, and Hu Sizhu was already waiting there. As soon as he saw me he tried to embrace me. I said people would see us here and told him to go up the mountain. He agreed right away. When we reached the grave site on the hillside, I recalled that his grandmother had been buried there that very day, so I suggested going to the edge of the graveyard. He was somewhat afraid at first, but in the end he agreed. Reaching the small tree by the graveyard, I said that if he truly liked me, he had to do everything I said.”

She played with her fingers. “He said no matter what I asked him to do, he was willing. So I took out the red cloth strips. I said I wanted to tie him up. He thought I was playing a game with him and agreed right away.”

“Why did you need to tie him up?”

“In a straight fight I definitely couldn’t beat him — what if he resisted?” Xingzi said as though this were perfectly obvious. “I used the red cloth strips to tie him to the tree, then took out the knife and stabbed him once.”

“Did you know where you were stabbing?”

“The stomach, I suppose.”

“Why didn’t you stab the heart?”

Xingzi looked blankly. “Stabbing the stomach can also kill — the heart was too high up and awkward to stab.”

“And then?”

“After I stabbed him once I was a little scared. He screamed very loudly at the time, but gradually he couldn’t make any sound. I thought that if someone walked past here the next day and found him, so I went to the side of the graves and dug a hole, intending to bury him. But my knife was not useful at all, and after digging for a long while I’d only made a small pit. By the time I went back to the tree, Hu Sizhu was already dead. I cut the red cloth strips loose and dragged him to the edge of the pit. I had originally intended to dig the pit bigger, but I truly had no more strength.”

Xingzi said this as if exhausted by the memory. “I figured no one would know I was the one who killed him. Even if they found out, nothing much would happen. So I scattered a handful of red rice on him, picked up my flashlight, and went home.”

“When you got home, did your mother know?”