Aftermath [1]

The night passed in a flash.

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Accompanied by the crowing of roosters.

The sky shifted from ink-black to cyan, gradually brightening.

By the time the morning light shone steadily into the mountain hollow, it was already around eight o'clock.

The villagers were accustomed to rising early; by now, smoke was curling from the chimneys of every household, and the sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking rang out sporadically.

In the yard closest to the left of Xue Hai's house, a young man with dyed yellow hair stepped out with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, preparing to ride his old motorcycle to town for a spin.

The moment he looked up, he spotted the black sedan parked by the stone road not far away.

"Huh? Is Brother Xue Wu back?"

The yellow-haired youth's eyes lit up; he tossed his finished cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it with his foot.

Xue Wu was a legend in Wulin Village.

He had been sharp with his studies since childhood, and later, word had it he opened a company in the city and became a big boss—the "child of someone else" that every family constantly nagged their own kids about.

The yellow-haired youth rubbed his hands together; he had been a playmate of his back in the day.

It was the perfect time to butter him up. If he could land a job in the city, it would be better than rotting away in this mountain ditch.

He walked over to the iron gate of Xue Hai's house in a few strides and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Uncle Xue, are you up yet?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand to knock, only to realize the gate was left ajar and not latched at all.

"Why isn't the door even closed..."

The yellow-haired youth muttered, not thinking much of it, and pushed the gate open to walk inside.

The moment he stepped into the yard, a scent drilled into his nose.

It wasn't the usual smell of manure or firewood found in a farmhouse, but something viscous, carrying a metallic, fishy sweetness.

He knew this smell well; every year during the twelfth lunar month when they slaughtered the New Year pig, the boiling blood poured into a wooden basin smelled exactly like this.

"Slaughtering a pig at Uncle Xue's house this early in the morning? Is he that happy his son is back?"

The yellow-haired youth scratched his head, feeling that something was off.

The next second, he froze in his tracks.

His eyes were fixed firmly on the concrete floor in front of his feet.

There was a trail of dark, brownish-red blood, already half-dried, stretching like an ugly earthworm from the middle of the yard all the way to the threshold of the main room, where it pooled into a filthy mess.

The yellow-haired youth's throat tightened; he swallowed hard, only then realizing his palms were drenched in cold sweat.

He crept toward the door of the main room, extended a trembling hand, and gently pushed the half-open wooden door.

"Creak—"

The door opened a crack.

In the dim light of the main room, three blurred shapes lay horizontally on the floor.

Their clothes were soaked through to a dark color, sticking stickily to the ground, the original patterns no longer distinguishable.

Even more jarring were the large, expansive splashes of red, splattered across the concrete floor, the table legs, and even the walls, congealing into foul, dark patches.

In that instant, time seemed to have suddenly stalled.

The yellow-haired youth opened his mouth, but no sound came out; his legs went weak, and he stumbled backward.

"Thump," he fell hard onto the concrete floor of the yard.

His face was deathly pale, and he couldn't stop his body from shaking.

After a few seconds of dead silence.

Then, a shrill, distorted scream erupted from his throat.

"--Ah! Someone help!! There's a dead body!!!"

He scrambled and crawled toward the courtyard gate.

Half an hour later, Wulin Village.

The Xue family courtyard was surrounded by a dense ring of police cars.

Yellow police tape was strung up, keeping the villagers who wanted to get a closer look at the spectacle at bay.

Inside the yard, in the center of the main room.

Criminal Police Captain Xiao Guoli's face was so dark it could drip water.

On the wall, dark red, brownish blood-written characters twisted hideously, clearly detailing the numerous crimes committed by the couple, Xue Hai and Liu, in the past, including but not limited to abduction, imprisonment, and torture-murder.

"Boss,"

A young officer reported in a low voice, his throat tight.

"Three victims confirmed: the head of the household, Xue Hai; his wife, Liu Jinhua; and their only son, Xue Wu.

The cause of death for all was blunt force trauma to the skull from a heavy object, preliminarily identified as a discarded steel rebar used for repeated strikes, resulting in instantaneous death.

The murder weapon was found in the corner of the yard; the perpetrator likely wore gloves, as no fingerprints were left on it.

There were no signs of the property inside being ransacked, ruling out robbery as a motive."

Xiao Guoli grunted in acknowledgment, though his gaze never left that wall.

If it wasn't for money, then perhaps it was a vendetta—a blood feud that could not be reconciled.

"Captain! We've found something here!"

A hurried shout came from the direction of the kitchen.

Xiao Guoli strode over, and a stench of rot, mold, and an indescribable, pungent odor hit him in the face.

On the kitchen floor, a heavy iron plate had been pried open, revealing a pitch-black hole that looked like the gaping maw of a giant beast.

Descending the steps, the beam of his flashlight pierced the thick darkness of the cellar.

The moment the scene came into view, even the experienced criminal investigators couldn't help but step back half a pace, gasping in shock.

The reason was simple.

In the center of the cellar, twenty-six skeletons had been deliberately arranged into a bizarre, concentric circle.

The outer ring held thirteen skeletons with slender bones.

The inner ring held thirteen skeletons with petite frames.

All the remains were posed in twisted, struggling positions, as if they had been enduring unimaginable agony in their final moments of life.

The stark white bones were covered in dense, intricate cracks, indentations, and irregular fractures.

The accompanying forensic pathologists knelt down, their gloved fingers beginning the examination.

After a long while.

A female forensic pathologist looked up, her eyes bloodshot behind her glasses, her voice raspy.

"Thirteen adult female remains, thirteen child remains.

Every individual suffered long-term, multi-faceted, severe physical abuse before death; the bone damage is complex... the fatal wounds are mostly to the skull and spine.

Some bones show signs of repeated strikes and even gouging with blunt tools. The cause of death for all was a metal nail driven through the skull..."

She paused, taking a deep breath as if to suppress the surging emotions.

"This was slaughter—an extremely cruel, conscious act of slaughter."

"Animals! This whole family were damned animals!"

In the corner, the young officer who had made the initial report finally couldn't hold back, his voice hissing through gritted teeth as his fists clenched until they creaked.

Xiao Guoli remained silent, his gaze slowly shifting from the skeletons to the faint daylight filtering in from the cellar entrance.

Yes, the Xue Hai family's sins were monstrous; they deserved to die.

But meeting violence with violence and carrying out vigilante justice was equally wrong.

The person who executed the entire Xue Hai family and wrote those blood-red words on the wall—

Regardless of their reasons or their hatred, they had now crossed the legal line.

They, too, needed to be apprehended.

Thinking of this.

Xiao Guoli said in a deep voice.

"Take photos to secure the scene, carefully examine all traces, and properly collect the remains for testing.

Also, notify the bureau to send reinforcements. Thoroughly investigate Xue Hai's social connections, especially his financial dealings and the movement of people over the years. And..."

He paused, his eyes sharp as blades.

"Prioritize the screening of any outside tourists who have entered the village in the last few days!"

Just then, the phone in his pocket rang.

He pulled it out and saw it was a call from his superiors.

Xiao Guoli didn't hesitate and immediately pressed answer.

Whatever was said on the other end of the line.

His expression shifted several times.

Finally, he took a deep breath.

"Understood."

He put the phone away.

He scanned the people present.

"Instructions have just come down from above. From this moment on, this case is being taken over directly by the superior investigation team."