After reading through all the case files, I realized something.
Much of what the Seventh Master and I had previously deduced would have to be overturned.
For instance, when Lü Zhengxian and Li Xiumei first committed their crimes, they had been paid to do it. Someone had hired them, and that employer was the mastermind behind the first "Seven Deaths for a Life" case—the First Case Offender.
Lü Zhengxian and Li Xiumei had taken the money for the sake of Li Xiumei's younger brother, who was seriously ill and couldn't afford treatment.
That had been the first Seven Deaths for a Life. We still didn't know who had ultimately benefited from it. It might have been the First Case Offender himself, or someone close to him.
Later, Lü Zhengxian and Li Xiumei had fled to Lanjiang City. Another Seven Deaths for a Life case had occurred there that year, and from then on, Lü Zhengxian had become Du Ruhai. He had remained entrenched in Lanjiang City ever since, becoming a man with absolute power.
That suggested Lü Zhengxian had very likely carried out the second Seven Deaths for a Life as well, in order to take over the real Du Ruhai's body through soul possession.
But Seven Deaths for a Life was an extremely obscure dark art, and an incredibly difficult one to perform.
The First Case Offender might have known this dark art. Perhaps he couldn't conveniently commit the murders himself, so he had hired Lü Zhengxian.
But if Lü Zhengxian had been hired, he had merely been a tool for killing. How could he have known the exact procedures involved in Seven Deaths for a Life, then performed it a second time in Lanjiang City and successfully taken over Du Ruhai's body?
I thought the only explanation was that the First Case Offender had taught Lü Zhengxian the dark art in its entirety.
So the relationship between the First Case Offender and Lü Zhengxian might not have been that simple.
That also happened to shed light on another person's identity.
The man who had come to sabotage our spirit summoning that night.
At the time, I had thought Lü Zhengxian had sent him to stop Li Xiumei's ghost from revealing any secrets.
But the Seventh Master had said the man might not have been sent by Lü Zhengxian. Still, he had some connection to Lü Zhengxian and Li Xiumei, and might have been involved in the case.
We hadn't had this much information back then, though. It had all been speculation.
Now, however, that man could very well have been the First Case Offender.
Which raised another question.
If the man from that night was the First Case Offender behind the Seven Deaths for a Life case fifteen years ago, why had he helped me get away after I escaped from the villa last night?
Had he wanted to keep me from getting caught? Had some rift formed between him and Lü Zhengxian?
If he hadn't helped me last night, those security guards would definitely have caught me too.
"I think I might need to visit Li Xiumei and Lü Zhengxian's hometowns."
I told Song Xiaotian what I was thinking and asked for his opinion.
Song Xiaotian looked at me. "You want to go to their hometowns and ask around about the person who hired Lü Zhengxian and Li Xiumei back then?"
I nodded. "At least Li Xiumei's family might have met the employer. He gave her family ninety thousand yuan, which was how her younger brother could afford treatment."
Song Xiaotian tapped the table and smiled. "If even you could find out who the employer was that way, the investigators back then would have figured it out long ago. Did you see anything about that in the files?"
I froze for a moment. There certainly hadn't been anything about it in the files...
Damn, when did I get this stupid?
For such a major case, the investigators back then must have been experts in criminal investigation. They had been far more qualified than I was.
If they hadn't been able to find him, how could I?
Besides, the employer surely wouldn't have been foolish enough to meet Li Xiumei's family. Wouldn't that just have created trouble for himself?
Song Xiaotian really was a former cop. He had put me in my place with a single remark.
"But I still want to go."
"Lü Zhengxian might have become Du Ruhai," I said, "but I think even the worst people have a soft spot for their own family. He's probably visited his hometown over the years. Maybe we can still pick up some clues if we go."
Song Xiaotian nodded. "Maybe. But something could go wrong on this trip. If Lü Zhengxian really has gone back to his hometown, that means he still keeps an eye on his family. If he finds out you've been there, you could be in trouble."
I told him I had no choice. Meng Yifan was my best buddy, and the Seventh Master had helped me. He was innocent, too. No matter what, I had to make this trip.
"You really do value loyalty."
Song Xiaotian tossed his head. "Loyalty is what counts when you're out in the world. I respect that. I'll go with you. If anything happens to you, I won't know what to tell Xiaoman."
Naturally, I couldn't have asked for anything better than someone coming along.
But I felt bad about constantly troubling him.
I pressed a few thousand yuan on Song Xiaotian and insisted he take it. After all, he had been kicked off the police force and had no income.
Friendship was friendship, but that didn't mean I could keep taking advantage of him.
After agreeing on the plan, Song Xiaotian and I immediately bought plane tickets to Qin Island.
The family massacre fifteen years ago had happened on Qin Island, and Lü Zhengxian and Li Xiumei's hometowns were there as well.
I first rode back to my rented place to pack some luggage, then headed to the airport with Song Xiaotian.
The flight was quick. We arrived in two hours.
But once we reached the airport, we still had to take a bus. Li Xiumei and Lü Zhengxian both came from poor rural areas that could only be reached by bus.
After another few hours of jolting along the road, it was already dark by the time we arrived.
Li Xiumei and Lü Zhengxian's hometowns were in the same township, but not the same village.
The two villages were fairly close. One was Li Family Village, the other Lü Family Gully. According to the files, a round trip between them took less than forty minutes.
Song Xiaotian and I discussed it and decided to go to Li Family Village first, where Li Xiumei's family lived.
Honestly, the mountain roads were tough going. Although many rural areas now had proper roads, some places were still mired in poverty.
Li Family Village was still poor even now. I could only imagine how impoverished it must have been more than a decade ago.
It took us nearly another hour to reach the village. Looking ahead, we saw that it was fairly large, with quite a lot of houses.
But the houses were all shabby, and fewer than half had lights on.
Overall, the village felt deserted. Most of the young people had probably left to find work elsewhere.
I planned to find a household and ask which way Li Xiumei's home was, then look for somewhere to stay and see if anyone would put us up for the night.
Just then, we passed an abandoned little flat-roofed building.
It had two stories, but it had clearly been abandoned for years. Moss covered the walls, giving it an eerie look.
Song Xiaotian suddenly grabbed me, stopping me from going any farther.
I asked him what was wrong, and he said in a trembling voice, "Do you think anyone still lives in that house?"
I paused, then said it was so run-down that of course nobody lived there.
"Then why is there someone over there..." Song Xiaotian pointed.
He was pointing just outside the front door on the ground floor.
I took a closer look and jumped. There really did seem to be someone lying there, and he looked like an old man.
But a fallen door panel was pinning him down.
I was startled again, because if that old man was alive... why wasn't he calling for help?
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