Chapter 129: Not a Single Match

“This… this is my wife’s watch! I gave it to her as a birthday gift two years ago. Look, it even has an engraving!”

The moment Wan Xiaogang saw the watch, he cried out in excitement. Over the past few days, he had been consumed with worry for his wife. Now that they had finally found a clue, how could he not be overwhelmed?

Song Changfeng turned the watch over and sure enough, on the back of the dial were the date and Liu Cuiping’s initials. This confirmed that Aofeng had been searching along the correct path. Liu Cuiping had indeed jumped off midway for some unknown reason, breaking off the watch and tossing it into the weeds. This act was likely her attempt to leave behind a clue, hoping someone would be able to trace her steps.

Song Changfeng’s expression turned grave, and the other officers mirrored his seriousness. With their sensitivity to criminal cases, they all recognized that a broken-off watch like this almost certainly indicated that Liu Cuiping had met with misfortune.

In truth, each of them had already come to that conclusion. After all, it had been four days since Liu Cuiping disappeared. A grown woman, with no reason to run away from home, couldn’t possibly vanish without a trace for this long. Besides, they had practically turned the entire mountain upside down. Every possible place had been searched. If it were just a simple accident, they would have found her by now.

Even though that’s what they were thinking, no one said it out loud. Until they found Liu Cuiping herself or her body, all speculation and assumptions were meaningless.

“Keep searching,” said one of the officers from the Municipal Bureau.

Aofeng looked to Song Changfeng, and after getting his nod of approval, resumed tracking the scent in the air, trying to reconstruct the path Liu Cuiping had taken when she left.

The group followed Aofeng, sometimes moving forward, sometimes turning, crossing bridges and climbing slopes. After about ten minutes, the scenery ahead suddenly looked familiar.

“Isn’t that the drying yard just ahead of our village?” said a young man who had joined the search. He was Wan Xiaogang’s nephew and had been helping look for his aunt these past few days.

“The drying yard in your village?”

“Yeah, just over that hill and down a few dozen meters. It’s always bustling during the rice harvest, though that’s already over now,” the young man explained. Their village usually harvested early rice¹, and just last month he had helped out during the harvest. He couldn’t understand why the big dog had led them here. The drying yard was a bit of a distance from the village and usually deserted. Could his aunt really be here?

The group climbed over the small hill and arrived at the wide, flat area. At a glance, the drying yard was empty except for a dozen or so tightly bundled straw stacks. Each was about the size of three people linking arms, firmly rooted in the ground. These were vital supplies for the village’s cattle farmers. The straw helped keep the cows warm in winter and served as feed. Any leftovers could be composted to fertilize the fields.

The moment Aofeng stepped into the drying yard, he froze. His sensitive canine nose had already picked up a foul stench drifting in on the wind. He let out a sharp bark, then bolted toward one of the straw stacks, barking furiously at it.

As soon as Aofeng took off, Song Changfeng followed close behind. The others quickly jogged after them. The closer they got, the stronger the stench became. Those unfamiliar with the smell wrinkled their noses and covered their mouths, but the seasoned officers immediately recognized it. That distinct odor was the unmistakable stench of human decomposition.

They pulled apart the straw stack, revealing a rotting corpse at its center. Judging by the clothing and appearance, the body was identical to Liu Cuiping, who had gone missing four days earlier. To confirm the identity, the officers called over Wan Xiaogang, who had been waiting outside.

The moment he laid eyes on the body, Wan Xiaogang began to tremble all over. His lips quivered, and his eyes widened in shock. No words were needed. His reaction confirmed what they already suspected: the corpse before them was indeed Liu Cuiping.

“Call everyone in. The missing persons case is closed. We’re now dealing with a homicide,” came the order. The others quickly gathered at the scene, joined by the forensics team and officers from Criminal Investigation. What had seemed like a simple missing persons case had now officially become a murder investigation.

As the team processed the scene and examined the surroundings, Aofeng continued to lead the charge, sniffing around and helping the officers search for evidence. Unfortunately, there were no useful clues left behind. After all, four days had already passed. The killer had likely returned during that time to clean up the scene.

After the forensic examiner conducted a preliminary assessment, the conclusion was that Liu Cuiping had died of asphyxiation. There were clear strangulation marks on her neck, and the condition of her face was entirely consistent with the signs of death by suffocation. Additionally, the examiner found evidence suggesting that Liu Cuiping had likely been assaulted before her death. Further details would require a more thorough autopsy.

Wan Xiaogang numbly signed the consent form, his expression vacant. It was obvious he was in a daze, overwhelmed by the shock. Although he had harbored vague feelings of unease over the past few days, when the brutal truth was laid bare before him, he still couldn’t accept it.

Aofeng glanced at him with sympathy and let out a silent sigh. A once-happy family had been shattered. The most important thing now was to find the killer hiding in the village, bring justice to the victim, and give her family some closure.

Because the nature of the case had changed, the police immediately launched a full investigation, screening everyone who might have entered the forest that day. Moreover, since the case had attracted significant public attention and bizarre rumors were spreading, the police issued a statement as soon as the victim was found. The announcement gave a vague overview of the incident and urged the public not to believe or spread rumors, to avoid causing further harm to the victim’s family.

After a long and busy night, the forensic report arrived around 8 a.m. According to the report, based on the undigested food in Liu Cuiping’s stomach, her time of death was estimated to be around 4 p.m. on the 6th. In other words, by the time she was supposed to meet up with the others, she was already dead.

So, what exactly happened to Liu Cuiping between 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. that led to her being found in such a tragic state, hidden in a haystack in the village’s drying yard?

They continued reading. The report confirmed the initial assessment: Liu Cuiping had indeed died from asphyxiation and had been assaulted. However, the police were unable to extract any usable evidence from her body. The killer had been cautious in this regard. Additionally, the forensic examiner found signs of blunt force trauma to her head, though it wasn’t fatal. Judging by the location of the wound, it appeared to have been caused by a sneak attack from behind.

Still, they weren’t without leads. During a meticulous examination, the examiner discovered traces of blood under the fingernails of Liu Cuiping’s right hand. This was likely left during a struggle with the killer. Because the traces were faint, the killer hadn’t noticed them and therefore hadn’t cleaned them. The blood had already been sent for DNA testing, and results were expected soon.

This clue greatly boosted the morale of the police. Despite getting little rest overnight, they were full of energy the next day as they continued the investigation.

Their focus was naturally on the events of the 6th. Unless someone had surveillance footage or at least two witnesses confirming they hadn’t left their home that day, everyone had to provide a blood sample for DNA comparison. Some people were visibly upset at being suspected, but under the circumstances, no one could refuse unless they wanted to draw even more attention.

While the DNA testing was underway, Song Changfeng was studying Liu Cuiping’s phone. Wan Xiaogang knew the unlock code, and ever since she went missing, he had been holding onto her phone, hoping to receive a call from her, even if it was a ransom demand. But reality was cruel: by the time he returned, his wife was already dead.

Wan Xiaogang, who had already gone half-gray, now had a full head of white hair. His children and relatives had been staying at his house these past few days, comforting the family and helping with arrangements for Liu Cuiping’s funeral. All they could do now was wait for the investigation to conclude and for the killer to be caught, so Liu Cuiping could finally rest in peace.

There weren’t many contacts in Liu Cuiping’s phone. Most were family and friends, and the rest were mostly middlemen who came to buy peaches. On the day of the incident, Liu Cuiping made three outgoing calls and received one incoming call.

Of the three calls she made, two were to Wan Xiaogang. After being questioned, Wan Xiaogang recounted their conversations in full. They were mostly casual, affectionate reminders and nothing out of the ordinary. The third call was to the owner of a fruit shop, asking about peach prices for the season. The call lasted only two minutes, and since the shop owner was located in the city, he was essentially ruled out.

The incoming call was from an unknown number. When they tried calling it back, they discovered it had been a wrong number, which explained why the call had lasted only a little over ten seconds.

From the call logs, it appeared that Liu Cuiping herself had no awareness of any danger.

After reviewing the call records, they also checked Liu Cuiping’s other messaging apps and found that on the sixth, most of her chats were in the small group for foraging wild greens. Before they discussed going out to pick wild vegetables, they had chatted about various other things. It was mostly everyday gossip or talk about recent happenings in the village—scattered topics with no clear focus, typical of casual conversation.

Song Changfeng went through both her group chats and private messages several times. He had a vague sense that something was off, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Just as he was puzzling over it, a police officer entered the meeting room.

The officer’s brows were tightly furrowed, and his expression was grim. From his face alone, it was clear that something had gone wrong with the case. Sure enough, the first thing he said was that the DNA test results were in—none of them matched.

None of them matched? That result genuinely shocked everyone. Could it be that the killer wasn’t from the village?

If that were the case, their investigation just got a lot harder. There were so many people outside the village—if it was a random act by a passing stranger, then the case might hit a dead end.

“I don’t think it was a passing stranger. This person isn’t unfamiliar with the village. First of all, the location where the body was hidden suggests he knew that the village’s grain-drying yard is usually deserted. Also, based on the wounds on Liu Cuiping’s body and the blood found under her fingernails, either she was subdued before the struggle started, or she knew the person, so there wasn’t a violent fight,” Song Changfeng analyzed.

Everyone nodded in agreement, affirming Song Changfeng’s assessment. If that was the case, then their investigation should expand to include outsiders who frequently came and went from the village.

The village they lived in wasn’t very big, and the houses were fairly clustered together. There was only one main road in and out, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to investigate. They held a short meeting, assigned tasks, and then resumed their door-to-door inquiries.

The villagers were already used to it. Since the day Liu Cuiping went missing, they’d been questioned multiple times. This time the questions were different, but they still cooperated fully, sharing everything they had seen or heard, hoping to help the police solve the case quickly.

Besides the fact that Liu Cuiping’s family was known for being kind and friendly, the villagers were also worried the killer might strike again. No one wanted to live in constant fear.

Translator’s Notes