Myriad Calamities - Chapter 12
The office was noisier than usual, with colleagues whispering about Xu San's death, their words somewhat mystical. After all, it was unusual for such a murder to occur in the bureau's interrogation room, and the case was so strange; it wasn't surprising that they had some ideas.
"Come on, let's have a meeting." Xu Haicheng clapped his hands and walked into the meeting room first. The others had been waiting for this moment and swarmed into the meeting room.
Pan Xiaolu laid out all the evidence and briefly explained the background of the case. Then came the free discussion time. Usually, this time was very lively, with everyone expressing their opinions, and inspiration often sparked in these boundless discussions. But today, the evidence was scarce, and everyone was remarkably quiet.
Among them, the detective surnamed Tong believed that homicide could be ruled out, and that Xu San died from a hidden illness. He explained his reasons, such as the duty officer saying that after the detective who interrogated Xu San left last night, no one had approached the interrogation room. He also mentioned that Xu San's symptoms of death were very similar to those of a myocardial infarction.
However, when Xu Haicheng asked him to explain the teeth marks on Xu San's neck, he was speechless.
Everyone was at a loss, just staring blankly as they smoked.
The conference room quickly filled with smoke, obscuring faces. Pan Xiaolu, unable to bear the smell any longer, cracked open the window. A gust of cold air swirled in, and Detective Wu, sitting by the window, shivered unexpectedly, muttering, "No footprints, no fingerprints, nothing at all. It's too perfect. Is this even humanly done?"
The sound was soft, but the conference room was so quiet that everyone heard it, their expressions a complex mix of emotions. Although everyone was a materialist, over the years they had encountered some strange and unusual cases that made them wonder if some things truly existed.
Veteran detectives couldn't help but recall an old case, one they'd often discuss in their spare time, privately known as the "Mysterious Tanker Truck 04." The case occurred in the early 1990s, when freight transport regulations were lax. Workers, during routine maintenance of freight trains, would often steal goods such as rice, appliances, and clothing. They would take them for personal use or sell them to improve their lives. One day, after routine maintenance, a train of tanker trucks arrived at its destination, a chemical plant. The plant workers unloaded oil from the valves at the bottom of the tankers, discovering that one tanker's valve was open but no oil was draining. Using a bamboo pole, they found the tanker was still full, as if the valve was blocked. The workers had to open the top cover and pump out the oil. After draining, they peered inside and found something blocking the drain. They climbed in to clear it, only to find a dead body lying inside.
The incident was naturally reported to the police. After investigation and analysis, it was estimated that the man was planning to steal oil, but the train suddenly started moving, and he lost his balance and fell into the oil tanker. Oil sinks compared to water, and the sides of the tanker were smooth, so the oil thief drowned. Of course, the strange thing about the case was not his death.
When the supervising detective went to the oil thief's house to explain the situation, a five-year-old child kept saying, "Daddy's thirsty, Daddy's thirsty." Seeing her young age, the detective couldn't bear to tell her the truth, only saying that her father was very tired and would be sleeping for a long time. But the child didn't believe him, her eyes widening as she said, "Daddy came back last night, was thirsty and went looking for water, but couldn't find any and left again. I wanted to get him some water."
When asked when she saw her father, she said it was probably around the time the oil thief drowned in the oil tank.
Children's words are never false. This ordinary case was firmly remembered by everyone because of a few words from a five-year-old child, and people think about it from time to time, especially when they encounter cases that are difficult to explain or clarify.
Of course, there are far more bizarre cases than just this one; there are cases like the ashes murder case and Dream Interpretation ○5, and there are simply too many to count. Therefore, Detective Wu's muttered remark immediately resonated with many.
Seeing that the meeting was about to turn into a memorial service for a bizarre case, Xu Haicheng quickly announced the end of the meeting, telling everyone to go back and think carefully, and look for a breakthrough from the existing evidence.
Section 25: Chapter Five, Part Two of the Calamity (2)
Before everyone had left, Xu Haicheng was the first to walk out of the conference room and return to his office, lost in thought. Detective Wu's muttering had touched him; it reminded him of a rumor he'd heard six months ago in Songlang Village—an old story about his master.
About thirty years ago, a dog-stealing gang came to Songlang Village and a hunting dog belonging to a villager was stolen.
Mountain people generally cherish their dogs dearly, relying on them for hunting and protecting their homes. Enraged, one villager gathered a group of young men with hunting rifles to chase after the dog thieves. They failed to catch them, but found the dog's pelt and remains by a mountain stream. The villager, furious, fired several shots into the air and took the pelt to a shaman. A masked shaman set up an altar and performed a ritual. Three days later, in a village dozens of miles away, five young men were mauled to death by wolfhounds at night. Their families heard the barking and saw the dog's shadow cast by a pine torch on the windowpane. However, when they opened the room, they found only a closed window; the young men were already dead, their throats ripped open and bleeding profusely. Most strangely, the village's dogs had long been hunted down by the dog thieves.
Xu Haicheng didn't believe this rumor. When he heard it, he just treated it as idle gossip in the mountains, like listening to stories from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio when he was a child. He knew in his heart that it was fake. Because the people in the mountains were powerless to change their situation, they loved ghost stories and supernatural tales. They would intentionally or unintentionally taint ordinary things with a mysterious color. Then, through the process of word of mouth, exaggeration, and other embellishments, the things would eventually be far removed from their original appearance.
It's unclear what methods the master used to deal with the dog-stealing gang; perhaps it had nothing to do with him at all. The gang simply angered others and were killed, and because the master had performed a ritual, the blame fell on him. Ordinary people are happy to see such rumors, as they can deter evildoers.
This rumor had long been buried in the dustbin of Xu Haicheng's memory, only to be triggered by Detective Wu's words. Now, it was vividly etched in his mind, even bringing to mind the awe on the face of the Songlang Village chief who had told him the rumor. If the rumor was true—that such a sorcerer could summon spirits to kill—then Xu San's death could be reasonably explained.
Is that really the case?
Xu Haicheng smoked, his brow furrowed, recalling the scene of Xu San's death, hoping to find some clue to prove that his death was murder. Unconsciously, a long ash fell onto the table.
"Captain Xu." Pan Xiaolu pushed open the door and came in. "Forensic Doctor Hong is already performing an autopsy on Xu San. He says he's made some discoveries."
Xu Haicheng perked up, tossed his cigarette butt into the ashtray, and hurried with Pan Xiaolu toward the forensic lab. They put on their coats, masks, and gloves, and entered the autopsy room. Xu San lay naked on the autopsy table, his chest and abdomen already opened, a foul, fishy smell emanating from his breath.
"This is very interesting; it's the first time I've seen something like this." Forensic doctor Hong beckoned the two closer, pointing to the heart and kidneys, saying, "There's internal bleeding. The skull hasn't been opened yet, but judging from the retinal hemorrhage, there should also be internal bleeding in the brain."
Xu Haicheng's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "What caused this?"
"When a person is suddenly frightened, the body produces a large amount of adrenaline, which can cause blood pressure to rise too high, leading to bleeding in vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidneys."
"Is it an old ailment triggered by the fright?" Pan Xiaolu asked. Many people die from fright in life, but most of them die because the fright triggers other illnesses, such as heart disease or high blood pressure.
Forensic doctor Hong shook his head and said, "He didn't have any serious health problems. In fact, he was scared to death."
"What?" Pan Xiaolu exclaimed in disbelief. What could possibly scare a healthy person to death? She turned to look at Xu Haicheng, whose eyes also held undisguised shock, along with a thoughtful expression.
As Xu Haicheng left the forensic lab, he had a plan in mind. He took Pan Xiaolu to the technical department and had them draw the shape of the wooden box belonging to the country bumpkin based on his memory. Although he hadn't clearly seen the faces of the country bumpkin and his daughter, the wooden box was deeply etched in his mind. When the image was completed on the computer, its size, color, and pattern were almost identical to what he remembered. Then he instructed Pan Xiaolu to tell the local police officers and plainclothes officers to search for this box and the two country bumpkins.
Although it is unclear whether the two were related to Xu San's death, the fact that they hypnotized Pan Xiaolu in order to avoid opening the wooden box suggests that the contents of the box were definitely unusual. Since Xu San had seen it, it is hard to say whether this led to his murder.
When Pan Xiaolu saw that it was looking for that old bumpkin who had left a cold smile in her head, she was naturally very happy and quickly sent the pictures to various police stations and branches.
Xu Haicheng took the opportunity to go to Director Chen's office. If yesterday he intended to give up on himself, he had now figured it out: even if he were to give up, it would have to be after things were clear.
Section 26: Chapter Five, Part Two of the Calamity (3)
As soon as Director Chen Chen saw him push the door open and enter, he already knew his plan, and there was a hint of approval in his eyes.
Xu Haicheng briefly reported on the strange circumstances surrounding Xu San's death.
Chen Chen urged him to solve the case as soon as possible, as it was no small matter for a detained suspect to die in custody without any illness or injury. Especially now that torture to extract confessions has been explicitly prohibited, it was hard to guarantee that the public would not misunderstand, given that the public already had a poor impression of the police.
Xu Haicheng nodded solemnly before bringing up his personal matters. "I will investigate what happened in Julong Cave. If what Professor Ma Junnan said is true..." He was momentarily lost in thought, staring blankly at the police badge on Director Chen Chen's hat. What should he do if what Ma Junnan said was true?
Chen Chen also found the matter quite troublesome. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let's find out the truth first."
Xu Haicheng responded loudly, left the bureau chief's office, and walked down the familiar corridor. The previous hesitation and unease were gone, and the gray sky outside the window was a bit brighter than it had been two days ago. Something called power was gushing out from somewhere within him, and nothing could make him stop in his pursuit of the truth.
Back in his office, Xu Haicheng had barely settled in when Pan Xiaolu pushed open the door, carrying bandages and medicine. Xu Haicheng was taken aback and asked, "You're injured?"
Pan Xiaolu looked at the back of his hand on the table and said, "You're the one who's injured."
"This little injury is nothing," Xu Haicheng said, withdrawing his hand somewhat embarrassed. Actually, the back of his hand was quite badly injured last night, and it was now very red and swollen. Pan Xiaolu walked up to him, holding a bandage in one hand and medicine in the other, just staring at him without saying a word.
Feeling embarrassed by her gaze, Xu Haicheng had no choice but to place the back of his hand back on the table and let her bandage it.
"Captain Xu," Pan Xiaolu said hesitantly as she carefully bandaged his wound, "Captain Xu, I do have a lead."
"Oh, what clue?" Xu Haicheng was a little surprised. She had found a clue in less than five hours since the incident. But judging from her tone, she seemed hesitant.
Pan Xiaolu smiled mysteriously and finished wrapping the bandage. Then she walked past him, typed a website address into the Internet Explorer address bar on her computer, and soon a skull appeared. After a while, the skull fell apart and turned into floating words: Ten Thousand Head Cave.