Qingmu went through the tragedy that had occurred in Majia Creek in his mind again, and when it was confirmed with what Ma Fuqing had said, the case suddenly became clear.
"What about your wife? Why did you hurt her?" This was the part of the case that Qingmu found most perplexing.
As the water level gradually receded, Ma Fuqing lowered his sling arm, stretched it slightly, and slumped against the iron railing, muttering, "I didn't want this either, I didn't want this either."
"She could have enjoyed a life of luxury with me, if only she hadn't had to worry about anything. During my most difficult times, she encouraged me and stayed by my side. I'll never forget the days we lived under a bridge, sold CDs outside the electronics market, and were chased by the city management officers. But she shouldn't have interfered so much. She shouldn't have bothered with my selling of cosmetics. She should have just enjoyed herself; I would have bought her the best cosmetics and let her live in the biggest house. She shouldn't have kept telling me to stop, and she definitely shouldn't have suggested calling the police..."
"I see." Qingmu finally understood the whole story. "Your wife found out about your drug trafficking and repeatedly tried to persuade you to stop, even threatening to call the police. So you decided to kill her, pretended to agree, and went back to your hometown with her, waiting for the right moment to strike."
"You were just looking for revenge on your mother and brother, so you devised a scheme. You used your brother to kill your wife and then took advantage of your mother's protectiveness of her son, making her an accomplice. You deliberately dumped the body in Lu County, then went to Old Screen Wall Alley in Lu County, picked up a used condom, threw it at the scene, and framed the unlucky guy Yang Baoguo who had just returned from a prostitute."
Qingmu recalled seeing Yang Baoguo in the Lu County Detention Center. At that time, he only met Yang Baoguo once, but he concluded that Yang Baoguo was not the murderer because even in despair, Yang Baoguo still had a real belief in his mind. "I did not kill anyone."
"Coincidentally, Yang Baoguo, whom you framed and almost sentenced to death, is a drug addict. If I'm not mistaken, he bought his drugs from you, right? On the surface, you're strangers, but secretly you're familiar clients," Qingmu continued his analysis. "There must have been some problem in your cooperation with him. Perhaps you felt that his addiction was too severe and he would get into trouble sooner or later, so you've been wanting to get rid of him for a while. That used condom wasn't something you picked up casually; you deliberately retrieved it after following Yang Baoguo."
"First, they drove your brother insane, using him to annoy your mother. Then they used your mother and brother to kill your wife, and framed Yang Baoguo for the murder. Even if it turns out Yang Baoguo is innocent, and your brother is the murderer, while you are at most an accomplice, and because your brother is mentally ill, the prosecution will likely not prosecute. In any case, you will be fine."
"What a perfect criminal plan!" Qingmu exclaimed.
Ma Fuqing said, "Unfortunately, I overlooked one thing; I didn't expect to run into the police at your place."
"No wonder!" Qingmu recalled the scene when Ma Fuqing met Hu Xing, and how he left a thousand yuan red envelope without doing anything, not at all like a farmer. "Looks like you even schemed against me. Your coming to see me is also part of your criminal plan?"
"Back then, I did have nightmares every day, dreaming that my wife came to me and the Tushu demanding her head," Ma Fuqing said. "I've heard of you; you're very strange! I think someone like you, if you went to my house, might be able to find clues about my brother's murder. Even if you can't find them, I'll help you find them. In that case, my mother, to protect my brother, will definitely find a way to kill you."
"I understand!" Qingmu nodded. "Burying your wife's head under the locust tree in your yard wasn't your mother's idea at all; it was yours. You lied to your mother, saying that burying the head under the locust tree would prevent vengeful ghosts from coming to haunt you. Actually, your goal was to wait for me to discover the clues. Then you waited for your mother to kill me, so she would spend the rest of her life in jail."
"No, I won't," Ma Fuqing shook his head and said, "I won't let her kill you. I'll help you secretly, and after you kill her, I'll avenge her. I'm a filial son!"
Qingmu suddenly felt a little nauseous.
Whether it was the Medicine Granny with her delicate fingers, pretending to be a Buddha, or Mu Ka loudly proclaiming his vow to fight for that land, Qingmu didn't feel the same way. He only felt that these people were both pitiful and hateful. But this Ma Fuqing made him feel disgusted.
When Ma Fuqing mentioned that he was a filial son, he smiled sheepishly, as if he were receiving praise from the whole village. He groped around in the dark for a while, then stood up and said, "When I met Officer Hu at your place, I had a feeling things were going to go wrong. But thankfully, the final result wasn't bad, even better than I expected. Except for Yang Baoguo being acquitted, everything else was fine."
Qingmu said, "So you killed Yang Baoguo in the detention center! I knew it! Why would he choose such a gruesome method of suicide as suffocating himself with a wet tissue?"
Ma Fuqing said, "This guy is too greedy. If he doesn't die, the entire Wuzhong line will be in trouble."
Qingmu said, "You should die too. If you don't die, I'm disgusted to death by you."
Ma Fuqing paused for a moment, then chuckled, as if his mind had suddenly cleared. "I know your methods. I noticed them the moment you came to my house. When my brother was wildly hacking away with an axe, I knew what you were capable of. And since you could kill the Medicine Granny, you must be even more powerful than Medicine Granny. So I've already fallen into your trap, haven't I?"
"I know a little about your methods; it's about controlling people's minds and creating illusions. As long as someone has a strong will, it's hard for you to succeed. I know that what I'm seeing now is a mix of truth and falsehood, but no matter what, I just need to stick to what I believe in."
"As long as I don't do anything and don't move, I won't be affected by hallucinations. If I don't move, I won't jump off a building, nor will I call my friends to delete the video. That way, you can't do anything to me. You can't kill me; if you kill me, you won't have a good day tomorrow!"
As Ma Fuqing spoke, he sat down cross-legged, placed his hands on his knees, closed his eyes, and remained motionless. Even when the water level rose and submerged his neck, he still did not move.
"Don't move. Can't move. It's all an illusion..." Ma Fuqing muttered to himself, constantly reinforcing his belief, "Don't move. Can't move. It's all an illusion. Don't move. Can't move. It's all an illusion..."
Qingmu had to admit that Ma Fuqing was an extremely intelligent person. Unlike the Medicine Granny, he had not received personal guidance from Duwa, but simply learned to maintain a sliver of clarity when hypnotized by seeing the Medicine Granny use hypnosis and dream manipulation techniques.
This glimmer of clarity is the signal of awakening.
Neither the Medicine Granny nor the Du Juan grasped the Vajra verse that Duwa often spoke of, but Ma Fuqing, an outsider, did:
All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows.
Like dew and lightning, they should be viewed in this way.
"What an incredibly intelligent person!" Qingmu exclaimed. "But you underestimate my abilities. If I can't even withstand your self-hypnosis, how could I possibly have killed Mu Ka and Wu Suotun?"