The Bank Burglary Case (11)

Chapter 11

The family was even a bit tempted to go up the hill and see exactly who it was. Without clearing the matter up, their curiosity felt like a cat clawing at their hearts.

Tonglin Town was poor, and usually, an entire extended family lived close together to look after one another. Consequently, all the adults and elders of the Li Family showed up.

Most likely, no one could resist a sentence like this upon waking up:

“A corpse was found over by our pigpen manure pit!”

Who could resist going to see what was happening?

Yun Song finished processing the body and looked up. Not far away stood the Li Family crowd watching the excitement. Behind the group, a woman held a stick, herding the children back like she was driving ducks to keep them from getting too close.

Yun Song: “…”

Meanwhile, the young Liao couple stood pitifully to the side.

“You two head back first to wash up and sleep. Looking at your state, you probably haven’t slept well in days, and now you’ve been caught in the rain. Go back and get some proper rest.”

Only then did the Liao couple feel the exhaustion weighing on their bodies.

“If you run into my two colleagues on your way back, tell them to come over.”

“Will do! Will do!” The two nodded repeatedly.

As the couple left, Yun Song cautioned them once more: “This time, just wash up and sleep. Don’t go having any more sudden inspirations.”

The couple waved their hands frantically, indicating they wouldn’t dare try anything ever again.

They certainly wouldn’t. Over a month ago, they were living a life that was manageable despite their debts. Because of a sudden inspiration to get some quick cash, they ended up with hardly any money, did forty days of hard labor, and were still facing prison time.

Then last night, another sudden inspiration to fish for money resulted in fishing up a corpse, getting drenched in a downpour, and being mistaken for manure thieves.

The couple was truly terrified that if they tried to do anything else, it might actually kill them.

They ran all the way back… as they ran, they caught the scent of the stench on their bodies again.

“It stinks so much. We don’t have that much water at home…” the man said.

The woman suggested, “Maybe we should go wash in the river.”

The moment the words left her mouth, her heart skipped a beat.

Did this count as another sudden inspiration?

The couple suddenly felt that if they actually went, would they just end up drowning?

They both shuddered and hurried their pace back toward home.

Tang Chao and Tong Jin had gone back to get some clothes. It had started raining lightly just as they reached the school, so they grabbed an umbrella as well.

When they returned, the area downstairs was empty.

Where was Yun Song? Where did she go?

The two searched around but couldn’t find her.

Yun Song was gone, and the Liao couple had vanished too.

Their hearts grew anxious, fearing something had gone wrong.

Fortunately, as they walked toward the end of the street, they ran right into the two “drowned rats.”

Only then did they learn about the situation on Yun Song’s end. With the two of them joining in, they finally managed to herd the Li Family back to their homes.

Finally, the three of them sat under the eaves of the pigpen to take shelter from the rain, watching the corpse outside.

“According to the Liao couple’s statement, it should have been two people who robbed the bank together and took fifty thousand yuan,” Tang Chao said.

“Then his partner is a major suspect,” Tong Jin added.

The three police officers analyzed the case under the eaves of the pigpen. Inside, the pigs that had been woken up grunted and squealed in protest; around their ears buzzed countless mosquitoes; and in front of them lay the corpse wrapped in plastic film.

The conditions were a bit lacking. It couldn’t quite compare to the meeting rooms in the city.

Yun Song said, “The other worker is from Sanli Village, named Wang Jiawang, fifty-five years old. The people in his village aren’t very familiar with him, so when he disappeared from the factory and didn’t return to his hometown, no one seemed to care.”

Yun Song had gone to Sanli Village to ask about this man, but she only learned that both his parents had died when he was young. No one had anything else to say.

She would have to visit Sanli Village again to look into the specifics.

Early the next morning, everyone in Tonglin Town knew about it.

A community like Tonglin Town was most sensitive to death. As long as they heard someone had died, they absolutely had to find out exactly how it happened.

One of the Li Family’s sons was in the second year of middle school. He had been home last night and overheard quite a bit.

Thus, the next day, he arrived at school with first-hand news.

Xiao Mei had been happily thinking about the fact that school was letting out today and she could go home. However, after the first class ended, everyone crowded together to talk about the police finding a body outside the Li Family’s pigpen.

How could Xiao Mei miss out on something like this!

“How did the police know there was a body there?”

“Weren’t they scared, fishing out a body at night?”

“They’re police, of course they aren’t scared.”

“I heard my mom say they wrapped the body up first. Do you know why?” The Li Family boy asked mysteriously.

Xiao Mei and the other first-year students were all incredibly curious and leaned in to listen.

“Because if they didn’t wrap it up, the corpse would run out and call people’s names from behind them. As soon as the person turns around, it drags them into the manure pit!”

Xiao Mei was listening with rapt attention when a low, ethereal voice suddenly drifted into her ear—

“Mei… Yue…”

Xiao Mei jerked with a start, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest, her soul practically scared out of her body.

“Hehe, got you!” It turned out to be a classmate playing a prank.

“Don’t scare me like that!!!” Xiao Mei turned around and chased the person to hit them.

News of the corpse spread until everyone in town knew. Every social circle had its own reinterpretation and creative additions to the story.

Xiao Mei was distracted in class all day, constantly wanting to look outside to see if the police had returned, wanting to ask them what was going on.

But the police didn’t appear at all today.

After school in the afternoon, Xiao Mei had to pass by the Li Family home. She glanced toward the spot—the legendary large manure pit where the police had fished out the body.

Every time she passed by before, she had to cover her nose because it was truly too stinky.

Now, that large manure pit was gone, replaced by firmly packed earth. The Li Family felt that since someone had died in there, it was unlucky¹; they didn’t care about the manure anymore and had filled the pit in.

At that moment, Xiao Mei felt an inexplicable chill run down her spine.

Inside the school, surrounded by the bustling crowd of her classmates, everyone had been talking about it. Although they were a bit scared, they were mostly just thrilled by the excitement.

But now, Xiao Mei was alone!

It just so happened that she was a naturally curious child. Even though she was terrified, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing toward the large manure pit. Her mind was filled with imagined images of what that corpse must look like.

This was the first time in her life she had come into contact with death, and it filled her with an overwhelming, terrifying sensation.

On the road to Sanli Village, there were more people around in the morning, but by this time in the afternoon, there was almost no one. Faced with the empty road and the dark, oppressive forest, Xiao Mei began to run.

As she ran, the trees standing beside her seemed to move. Gusts of wind began to blow over the forest canopy, one after another, as if the wind were searching for something deep within the woods.

Xiao Mei’s heart raced with panic. she ran even faster, soon bursting through the forest to reach the upper mountain slope. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Without the trees blocking her view, she had the sky and the sun above her head. She let out a breath, and at that moment, she spotted someone sitting on a large rock on the slope!

“Second Grandpa! Second Grandpa!”

Xiao Mei ran up to him quickly. There was nothing more joyful than encountering a familiar relative when one was frightened.

Even though she had harbored some resentment toward Second Grandpa a few days ago, it was completely gone now.

It had been her fault that day, anyway. Luckily, Second Grandpa had caught her. If she had gone to town that early that morning, she might have run into that murderer.

That wouldn’t do! Xiao Mei didn’t have a very clear understanding of death yet; it was just an instinctive fear.

Second Grandpa saw her, and his demeanor toward her was now kind and gentle.

As the two of them walked back together, Xiao Mei heard Second Grandpa ask, “Are the police staying at your school now?”

“I heard people saying they moved the body.”

Xiao Mei spoke of the matter with a mix of fear and excitement.

Second Grandpa said, “You’re just a child. Don’t go looking at those things.”

Xiao Mei gave an obedient “oh.”

Walking in front, she thought for a moment and then whispered, “Second Grandpa, about what happened last time… I was in the wrong.”

In just a few short days, Xiao Mei felt as though she had grown up and was no longer the person she used to be.

Second Grandpa followed behind, watching the young girl.

Actually… he had gone to town today specifically to ask about the case, because he had heard a body had been dug up from that spot.

Actually… he was very certain that no one had seen him that day.

Except for… Mei Yue.

Mei Yue’s parents also believed that she had taken the main road that day. After all, no one would think a thirteen year old girl would take the back path to sneak into town, especially since that path was almost entirely lined with graves.

Even adults rarely took that back path.

They were currently walking along the main road, with Mei Yue chattering away in front of him.

This child was about the same age as his own granddaughter. Mei Yue’s father had poor health and had been plagued by illness and misfortune since childhood. Even after he grew up, he remained sickly. He eventually married Mei Yue’s mother, and it took five years of marriage for them to have a child.

She was the only child in their family.

Second Grandpa walked behind. They soon finished the steep climb up the stone steps and reached a mountain cave.

It was a good place to rest and enjoy the cool air.

Mei Yue went to a nearby well to draw some water to drink.

Second Grandpa walked to the edge of the cave. Looking down from there, he had an unobstructed view; there wasn’t a soul in sight.

The path next to the cave ran right along the edge of a cliff.

One year, a half-grown child had fallen from here.

How tragic.

“Second Grandpa! Let’s go!”

Second Grandpa snapped out of his thoughts and said, “You go on ahead.”

Mei Yue gave a cheerful reply and ran out in front. She actually preferred being in front; with Second Grandpa behind her, she wasn’t as scared.

Second Grandpa watched from behind, watching her walk along the edge of the cliff.

Half an hour later.

Mei Yue’s mother saw Second Grandpa. Seeing him coming from the direction of the main road, and remembering it was Sunday, she figured Mei Yue should be coming home from middle school.

“Second Grandpa, did you see our Mei Yue on your way back?”

Second Grandpa said, “I saw her. She was walking too fast later on, and I couldn’t keep up.”

Mei Yue’s mother felt an inexplicable sense of unease, perhaps because of the news she had heard today about the murder in town.

Sigh.

The village might be a bit poor, but it was safe, and every household knew one another.

The town, though… sigh.

She especially regretted not being able to go to town today; she had originally wanted to pick Mei Yue up.

But it had rained heavily yesterday, and they still had some grain that hadn’t been harvested. If they didn’t bring it in today, it would surely rot.

She told herself she must give Mei Yue a stern talking-to tonight, telling her to stay in school and not go out.

Especially at night, she must never imitate those reckless children in town who snuck out of school in the dark.

She carried her basket back home.

There was no one in the house yet.

Her heart fluttered with a strange panic, but fortunately, she heard movement behind the house at that moment.

She walked around to the back. In the cucumber patch behind the house, Mei Yue was talking to a police officer.

Her Mei Yue had just picked a medium-sized cucumber.

“These cucumbers are delicious! My mom bought a new variety this year!”

The police officer was the young woman who had spoken up for her in the office before.

It turned out that while Mei Yue was walking along the cliff, she had spotted the person she had been thinking about day and night on the road above – the police officer Yun Song.

The terrifying shadows of corpses and soul-locking² in her mind had vanished instantly.

She had originally told Second Grandpa they should catch up to the officer together since she was just ahead, but Second Grandpa refused, so she chased after her alone.

And so, she had returned home with the officer.

As soon as they arrived, she had dragged her to the vegetable garden to pick produce.

Mei Yue still had the heart of a child, wishing she could give all her best things to the person she liked!

After climbing the mountain for over two hours, their throats were parched. What could be more delicious than a freshly picked cucumber?

Translator’s Notes