Inspector Lee did not seem like he was willing to talk about it. There were footsteps coming from the other end of the phone. He walked to a more secluded place before explaining, “The child has a twisted misunderstanding about death.”
After meeting Men Nan’s main persona, the weirdest child looked normal in Chen Ge’s eyes. “At the time, a child’s worldview hasn’t been shaped yet. Perhaps death is just a journey to somewhere faraway—that, I can understand.”
“If only that’s all. After the girl was rescued, she didn’t say a word for the next three days. She didn’t make a fuss or even cry. She was so obedient that it was quite creepy.” Inspector Lee thought back to those days. “It was until the fourth day that things changed. A female officer found the girl curled up in the corner of her bed, spacing out while looking at a spider. She thought the girl was scared solid by the spider, so she reached out to kill it. However, the girl started crying, saying the officer had killed her big sister.
“That was the first time the girl spoke, and it was from then that we realized there was something off about her. A child her age didn’t feel sorry about the passing of her parents but cried like it was the end of the world for a dead spider. What kind of world she was living in?
“We tried to explain the meaning of death to her, and we realized that, in her heart, death was not the final destination. The girl told us, completely serious, that people would turn into something else after they died. It was not that different from the talk of reincarnation. It was because she was not fearful of death that we kept hearing some cruel words from the girl’s lips.
“A cute girl that looked as innocent as an angel using her childish tone to talk about death. Is she an angel or a demon?
“After further investigation, we unearthed more details. The first who reported the case was a passing villager. According to the autopsy report, the girl had been living with her dead parents for at least two days before she was rescued.” Inspector Lee lowered his voice. “A child of five was already mature enough to think for herself, but she didn’t call the police for two whole days and didn’t even go searching for help from other adults. Don’t you think that’s weird?”
“Could it be that her parents hadn’t taught her about these things?” Jiang Ling’s pitiable appearance surfaced in Chen Ge’s mind, and he also felt that something was off about this girl.
“There were only the girl and her parents’ fingerprints inside the house. The method of killing was direct, but it was surprisingly successful. There were many other anomalies. In any case, this case is not as simple as you think.”
There was someone who called Inspector Lee’s name. Someone was looking for him, and he answered back. “Chen Ge, I need to leave. I know I wouldn’t be able to stop you, but I still want to remind you. Be careful of that child, and do not go to that village at night.”
“Why not?”
“Look at the map, don’t you think it’s weird that there’s nothing else around the village for several miles? When we interviewed the nearest village—which was basically in another district—for the case, there was an elder there who told us there was an epidemic at Lin Guan Village some time ago, and it killed many people.” Someone was rushing Inspector Lee. After a few more reminders, Inspector Lee ended the call, leaving Chen Ge stranded in the dark, abandoned village.
He exited the village and stopped beside the asphalt road. Even in broad daylight, Chen Ge would not have found a taxi, much less at midnight. His way back to the city was gone.
Chen Ge turned on his flashlight and followed the road to the western side of the village. The road became smaller as he neared his destination. Chen Ge hiked over a small hill, and just as he was about to give up, he suddenly saw a light ahead of him.
Left alone in the mountains, he was reminded of the ghost stories that he had been told when he was a babe. They were about how ghosts led innocent people deep into the forest with stray light.
Due to the lack of care, the plantation was overgrown with grass, and the peach trees tipped to their sides. From afar, they looked like living humans with abnormal growths. The light reappeared amid the trees.
He slowly moved into the plantation, and then came the sound of shoveling.
Even though the man had a halo of white hair, his body was strong. His hands were filled with calluses, a sign of a lifetime of farming. He was wearing a shirt that had almost been washed white, and his face was tense like he did not know how to smile.
No matter how Chen Ge saw it, this was an elderly farmer. However, why would he come to a crime scene to work the plot in the middle of the night?
He was afraid that his sudden appearance might shock the old man, so he purposely returned several meters back and turned on his flashlight before yelling in the peach plantation’s direction, “Is someone here? Is there a way to leave this mountain?”
The old man was still frightened by Chen Ge’s voice, which seemed to appear out of nowhere. His forehead was covered with cold sweat instantly.
