Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 45

"What? My grandpa broke his leg!"

Runsheng was completely stunned. He was picked up by Shan Da Ye by the river. Although the two of them often lived a life of hunger and fullness, they also skipped meals together, so their feelings were sincere and deep.

Tan Wenbin's eyebrows jumped with excitement, and he wanted to stand on one foot and do a few ballet circles on the spot. He finally had the chance to see the dead fall!

Li Zhuiyuan felt a little guilty. He calculated the time and it was almost the time when he went to Xiting Town to play cards and won money. Uncle Shan took half of his money.

Alas, it turns out that this dirty money is really hard to spend.

"What are you still standing there for!" Li Sanjiang shouted to Runsheng, "Hurry up and get your stuff ready and set off!"

"Oh, okay." Runsheng immediately went into the house to get something. This time he not only went back to see his grandfather, but also had to get some work done.

"Uncle Li, I want to go too, take me with you."

Tan Wenbin wished he could hang on Li Sanjiang completely, for fear that he would leave him behind again this time.

"Cheng Cheng Cheng, I'll take you there."

Li Sanjiang agreed immediately, because the person on the phone said that the dead body was floating in a river basin and several villagers saw it, but when they gathered people to look for it, they couldn't find it.

This kind of death is not dangerous, but it does take effort to find it, so it is reasonable to bring one more person with you.

"Master."

"What's wrong, Xiao Yuanhou?"

"I want to visit Uncle Shan."

"Of course, let's go together."

Runsheng, who was in a hurry to go back to see his grandfather, pedaled the tricycle very fast.

The three people sitting in the back were holding onto the side of the car awkwardly.

Because the middle area of ​​the car was too large due to the three bundles of things.

Runsheng installed all of Li Sanjiang's stuff, Li Zhuiyuan's stuff, and Runsheng's own stuff.

"I say, Marquis Runsheng, why did you bring so many things? We are here to fish out dead bodies, not to build a house for your family."

Runsheng didn't reply. He was riding too fast and the wind was whistling, so he couldn't hear the complaints behind him.

Li Sanjiang was too lazy to waste any more words. He took out his compass from his pocket and began to proofread seriously.

Li Zhuiyuan took out the purple compass from his bag and began to check it. Since he was going to seek death, he would definitely have to use this.

As for the one in my grandfather's hand, it is impossible to find it dead. Its only use is to take everyone to Antarctica to find penguins.

As soon as I arrived outside Uncle Shan's house, I could see Uncle Shan sitting alone in the yard through the half-collapsed wall. His plastered foot was resting on a bench at the side. He was holding a sweet potato in his hand, peeling and eating it, and his dentures were placed beside him.

Li Sanjiang got off the car, and the sound was heard before he arrived.

"I say, Shan Pao, even if your teeth are bad, you can't drink watery drinks!"

The sweet potatoes in Uncle Shan's hand fell to the ground. He knew that the old man knew that he had fallen into the pit. His face turned red immediately and he quickly grabbed the walking stick beside him and wanted to get up and jump back into the house to close the door.

But because he was too hasty, he lost his balance and fell directly to the ground.

The footsteps behind him were approaching.

Uncle Shan was so angry that he pounded the ground with his fist and bit his lips tightly!
Li Sanjiang reached out and helped him up, let him sit down, and then helped him brush the dirt off his body.

Uncle Shan said angrily: "Who asked you to come?"

Li Sanjiang ignored his anger and said with a smile: "Shan Pao, if something happens, you still have to send someone to inform me. After all, we have been friends for so many years. Seriously, don't just leave without saying a word. I'm lonely."

These words were spoken sincerely, and the expression on Uncle Shan's face also eased:
"Marquis Sanjiang..."

"Even if you want to die, you can't die in a cesspool. It's okay if someone finds you early. If you really stay there all night, I'll have to endure the smell and change your shroud when I come to hold your funeral. How filthy!"

Uncle Shan: “…”

Li Sanjiang pulled out two cigarettes, put one in his mouth, and put another in Uncle Shan's mouth. Then he glanced and shouted:
"Strong."

"Here we go!"

Tan Wenbin took out a matchbox, struck a fire, and lit the matches for Li Sanjiang and Uncle Shan in turn.

"Shan Pao, come live with me. Come back after you recover from your injury."

"If you don't go, you'll just have a broken leg. If you can eat and drink by yourself, it won't be a problem."

"Then let Runsheng come back to look after you?"

Uncle Shan hesitated for a while, but still shook his head and said, "No need. Runsheng is doing well living with you. He eats well, sleeps well, and is stronger. He has a good life. Why should I hold him back?"

This sounded very touching, but Li Sanjiang waved his hand and said, "Marquis Runsheng, go to the house and check the rice jars and oil cans."

Runsheng ran into the house, and soon ran out again, and asked in surprise: "Master, did you really sell all the rice, flour and oil I bought for you last time?"

That stuff has to be scraped out of the tank and sold piecemeal. How desperate must one be to do that?

Uncle Shan blew out a smoke ring, hoping to use it to cover up his embarrassed face:

"I don't know what happened during those two days. I always played big cards but always lost. I kept losing but always had hope. It was absolutely weird."

"Hehe, so you don't let Runsheng come back because you're afraid that if Runsheng comes back, you won't have enough sweet potatoes to eat, right?"

Uncle Shan turned his head away and said nothing.

"I say, you old country bumpkin, you are a grandfather after all. You should leave something for your grandson. But don't be such a spendthrift. When Marquis Runsheng wants to date in a few years, who will be willing to marry him after seeing your shabby house?

Look at me again, how I saved my property for my little Marquis Yuan. It's hard to say what will happen in the city in the future, but in this rural area, can't my little Marquis Yuan choose any girl he wants? "

Uncle Shan immediately grasped the point and asked, "What's the matter? Xiao Yuanhou can't return to Beijing."

Li Sanjiang's expression changed and he took a deep puff of his cigarette.

"What did you do? You even lost my Beijing hukou?"

"you shut up!"

"If you don't talk about me anymore, I'll shut up, or I'll talk to you about the benefits of a household registration."

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Uncle Shan and asked, "Uncle Shan, is your leg serious?"

"It's not serious, it's not serious, just take some time to recover." Uncle Shan waved his hands embarrassedly.

He didn't know when he took the money last time. He only heard it clearly when he returned to the card table later. It turned out that the main player of the card game was the younger child, not the older child. His own Runsheng just ran errands, and the principal was still Xiao Yuanhou, but he actually took half of the money.

But the money has already been lost and I can’t pay it back. Thinking about what I have done, I feel so ashamed.

"Marquis Runsheng." Uncle Shan looked at Runsheng, "From now on, you must listen to Marquis Xiaoyuan's words."

If you don't have the money to pay back, then you can only compensate someone.

Runsheng nodded and said, "Master, I understand."

"Are you there yet? I said, are you there yet?" A voice came from outside: the local village chief. It was he who had made the earlier call.

Uncle Shan didn't know what was going on, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Sanjiang said angrily: "If there hadn't been a fatal accident here, we wouldn't have known that you had a broken leg."

"Then go get busy and get the job done."

"Ah."

Just as Li Sanjiang was about to stand up, he heard his great-grandson say, "Grandpa, you just stay here and talk to Grandpa Shan. Brother Runsheng can go."

Uncle Shan was worried and asked, "Runsheng is still not stable, right?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Uncle Shan, Brother Runsheng was not stable before, but he has become different since he followed my great grandfather. You will know when you wait and see."

Uncle Shan curled his lips: "You little faraway marquis."

Li Sanjiang was very happy to hear this and patted his knees:
"Okay, let Runshenghou go find that bastard first. If there is any problem, come back and call me immediately."

After successfully coaxing his grandfather to stay at home, Li Zhuiyuan immediately waved to Runsheng.

Runsheng understood, picked up a set of corpse-recovering equipment, and threw Xiaoyuan's set to Tan Wenbin.

Then the three of them followed the village chief to a section of river. The river was not very wide, but there were forests on both sides and reeds grew thickly on the shore, which greatly obstructed the view.

"That's the part. In the past few days, many people came to tell me that they saw a dead body floating on the surface. I brought people here several times, but we couldn't find it. It's really strange.

Otherwise, you guys go look for them first, and when you find someone you need help with, go to the village and call me, I have some urgent matters to deal with."

Runsheng nodded: "Okay, Village Chief, go ahead and get busy."

The village chief took out a cigarette and handed it to Runsheng, but Runsheng refused it, saying Xiaoyuan was too young. Finally, Tan Wenbin took one and put it behind his ear.

After the village chief left, Li Zhuiyuan stood by the river with a compass.

The reason why the village chief left was probably that he didn't hold much hope of finding the floating corpse today. He should have organized people to search this section of the river before, but all were in vain. Finding corpse lifters was a last-ditch effort to at least give an explanation to the villagers.

Tan Wenbin was already fully in the mood, and asked seriously, "Brother Xiaoyuan, do you want Runsheng and I to go to the river separately?"

"Brother Binbin, you go, and Brother Runsheng will follow me."

"Is it because my insight is better than his?"

"It's because Brother Runsheng is not with me, and I'm afraid I'll be in danger if I'm alone."

"Then...then I will stay by your side and protect you."

Li Zhuiyuan knew that he was a little paranoid. Nothing strange happened in the village, and the villagers who saw the dead man were able to leave safely, proving that the dead man was most likely an ordinary floating corpse.

But since water burials from the Southern Liang Dynasty could be found in Siyuan Village, he really didn't dare to be too confident now, and it was better for him to act with caution.

Holding the compass, I walked slowly along the river for a long time, but I didn't find anything abnormal in the feng shui and meteorology, and of course, I didn't find any deaths.

Tan Wenbin asked: "Will it drift to other river basins?"

"It's possible." Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the water surface, "It's also possible that there was a leak somewhere under the river and it sucked the body down."

"Is there such a thing?"

"Like the stopper at the bottom of your bathtub at home."

"Doesn't that mean we have to dive to find it? I say, you have so many things with you, why don't you think of getting an oxygen tank?"

Runsheng: "These instruments are specially used for those dead bodies that can move."

"Oh, good stuff." Tan Wenbin patted the sack on his back.

Before I knew it, I had reached the bend of the river, and there was a newly built bridge in front of me.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped. They had already walked through the entire river basin described by the village chief, but still found nothing.

Tan Wenbin poked Runsheng's arm and asked, "Well, have you ever come to retrieve a dead body but couldn't find it?"

"Yes, I remember that my grandfather and great grandfather would set up an altar and perform a ritual to 'call the person' so that it would float out on its own."

Hearing this, Tan Wenbin came to Li Zhuiyuan's side and asked, "Brother Xiaoyuan, do you know how to do this?"

Li Zhuiyuan frowned slightly.

Tan Wenbin immediately said, "It's okay. It doesn't matter if you can't do it. You are still the best in my heart, brother."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head and said, he would.

In fact, many methods of "calling people" are recorded in the books of Wei Zhengdao and Qin Liu.

But the problem is, my grandfather and the mountain uncle may have just learned the form. If they succeed, it means they are very capable. If they fail, it means their death is extraordinary. It's just a matter of luck.

But I can really choose the location and set up sacrifices according to Feng Shui and weather conditions to induce it. I really can do it.

But the more I know how to do it, the less I dare to use it recklessly. Maybe the dead thing has already floated away and is not here anymore? Besides, there are many graves nearby, and I don't know what's going on in the river. If I really set up a sacrifice, what if I don't get the dead thing but attract some strange things instead?
"Come across the bridge and we'll go back the other way."

Li Zhuiyuan got on the bridge, which was a concrete slab bridge without railings and was three concrete slabs wide.

When he reached the middle of the bridge, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt that the weather around him had changed. He looked down and saw that the compass needle was also moving turbulently.

He turned around in one circle while silently reciting "Liu's Qi-Watching Secret" in his mind, then stopped, looked at the pointers in the large and small circles on the compass and began to calculate.

Runsheng stood silently by the side. Tan Wenbin stretched his neck to watch curiously. He thought that the way Xiaoyuan was spinning in circles with the compass just now was so cool. It was a pity that he was a little young. If he grew up, with such demeanor and temperament, which small factory owner would not invite him to take a look before opening?
Li Zhuiyuan stamped his feet. He didn't notice it when he was walking by the river before, but after he got on the bridge, he found that the bridge was located at a right place to strangle the dragon.

Although the river is a small river and the dragon is as small as it can be, the pattern is complete.

Looking at the surrounding environment, it is really rare to see bridges built at the bend of a river. They are usually built in straight river sections.

However, even if it is the position of strangling the dragon, there is nothing special about it, let alone being an evil position.

But if you want to take advantage of it and deliberately turn it into a bad place...

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, looked at the cement slab under his feet, and said, "Brother Runsheng, go to the river and look under the bridge, right where I'm standing now."

"I come!"

Tan Wenbin put down his things and quickly ran down the bridge. When he arrived at the river, he couldn't see clearly enough, so he walked into the river without saying a word.

Although this river is a small one, it is quite deep in the middle. If there is a leak and it is silted up, it can easily drown an adult.

Runsheng squatted by the bridge and reminded, "Be careful, or we'll have to rescue you later."

"The mud under the river is so deep. I just reached the riverside." Tan Wenbin stepped forward cautiously. His mentality now was that he had finally bought a ticket to enter the amusement park, so he had to take the initiative to experience it to get back to the price of the ticket.

Finally, he didn't dare to go forward. Although it was still quite far away, he could see clearly under the bridge. He looked up, glared, then stepped back a few steps and shouted to the people above:

"Brother Xiaoyuan, there is a big iron nail nailed on the back of the bridge, right under your feet."

"Seven?"

"Ah?" Tan Wenbin took two steps forward, looking up and counting while maintaining his balance, "Yes, seven."

“Is the area around the nail red?”

"Yes, it's red, like it was painted red."

really.

What was originally a normal position of strangling the dragon was changed like this and turned directly into bleeding the dragon.

Li Zhuiyuan turned around and looked towards the bend of the river. The vitality of this section of the river flowed out here, while the evil spirits were intercepted. It was like using the natural environment to create a feng shui layout here.

But why didn't I notice anything unusual when I was walking along this road?

Li Zhuiyuan immediately thought of a possibility: the evil spirit was sucked away by death!

There is interception and absorption, which forms a dynamic cycle here.

No wonder some villagers saw the dead body and then disappeared, because it floated up when it absorbed the evil spirits and sank after that.

Therefore, this matter is not simply about salvaging floating corpses, someone is planning to raise corpses here!

Li Zhuiyuan realized that if he put himself on the evil side and used the results to reverse the process, the success rate seemed to be quite high.

But he was not very happy. Instead, he felt a little distressed. Why was it so easy for him to put himself on the opposite side?

Besides, the feng shui layout is too petty.

To use the words my grandfather often said at the dinner table: No, you only have this little, how can you raise fish?
If you arrange it yourself, you can start work in more places, at least bring in the evil from outside to form a hedge. This is what you call real catalysis of corpse breeding. Your current method can only be used to preserve the corpse.

"It seems that the quality of the book you read is not very good."

Li Zhuiyuan stretched out his hand and patted his forehead: No, what on earth am I thinking about?

No, it’s not my fault, it’s Wei Zhengdao’s fault.

In the past, I simply read the concepts in the book and didn’t feel deeply touched. But when I really started to practice, I felt something was wrong. Wei Zhengdao’s book is full of "righteous content". He only teaches you how to represent righteousness to kill people.

But this guy's narrative style and content arrangement can be reversed in many places. Many righteous taboos and mistakes can be used in reverse to form the other extreme side.

This guy is clearly using the banner of justice to oppose the right path.

"Xiaoyuan, are you okay?" Runsheng asked worriedly.

"Brother Runsheng, I'm fine. This place was arranged by someone..."

"Wait for me, wait for me, I'll tell you when we get there!"

Tan Wenbin ran over frantically, shouting and holding up his hands, afraid of missing this scene.

It was just that his shoes and pants were wet, and he was a little unsteady when he ran so fast. When he rushed in front of Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng, he lost his balance.

If Runsheng hadn't been strong enough to grab him, everyone might have been knocked into the river by him.

"Hehehe, sorry, sorry." Tan Wenbin squatted down and said while squeezing his pants, "I can tell you now."

"This bridge was set up by someone for feng shui. The dead body was probably not a passerby who drowned, but was placed there by him. He is using this stretch of river to keep the body here."

"Raising corpses?" Tan Wenbin opened his mouth. "Wow, that sounds really exciting."

Runsheng asked: "What about Xiaoyuan? What should we do?"

"There are two choices. One is that I break his plan, and then his death will come to light. The other is to go directly to his house."

Runsheng was about to ask how to find it, but he held back.

Binbin couldn't help but asked, "How do I find it?"

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the monument at the bridge pier and said, "Written there are the names of the people who donated money to build the bridge."

Tan Wenbin touched his head and said, "Yeah, damn, why do I feel so stupid?"

Runsheng said "hmm".

Building bridges and roads has been a virtue since ancient times, especially in villages. Financial allocations are insufficient, and often the villagers have to find ways to raise part of the funds for roads and bridges themselves. It would be fine if the whole village shares the cost, but if the majority of the money is contributed by a single donor, his name will usually be engraved on the monument.

Li Zhuiyuan came to the stele and saw a man's name written on it, proving that he alone paid for the construction of the bridge... Zhou Yong.

"Let's go ask the village chief. This person should live in the village. It's impossible for him to leave a body here and go away by himself."

"I know where he lives." Runsheng pointed in a direction, "He lives in the north corner of the village." Tan Wenbin: "Is his family rich?"

Runsheng shook his head: "There are not many people in the village who live a worse life than our family. His family is one of them."

Li Zhuiyuan thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go to his house and explain the matter clearly, so that he won't release it again if we get it here."

Tan Wenbin blinked and muttered softly: "This is a corpse, not a fish fry."

Runsheng said: "Xiaoyuan's point is that only dealing with corpses and not dealing with living people may cause subsequent troubles."

Led by Runsheng, the three of them walked towards the north corner of the village.

On the way, Tan Wenbin asked, "Well, do you want to call my dad over as well?"

Runsheng: "Do you want your dad to know that you are living in your uncle's house not to study but to make money?"

Tan Wenbin lowered his voice and said, "This isn't a murder case, it's under the jurisdiction of the police, right?"

"Brother Binbin, this is not necessarily a homicide. He is keeping the corpse. You can think of it as using the Feng Shui pattern to preserve the corpse. If he was murdering someone, there is no reason to go to such lengths."

"Oh, I see. I see."

“Brother Runsheng, you should be prepared later. If there are any special situations, just take action to ensure our safety.”

"Well, don't worry, Xiaoyuan, I know."

Liu Yumei, Uncle Qin and the others are considered "family members", so this is the first time that Li Zhuiyuan has met colleagues outside, and he is still a little nervous.

Zhou Yong's house is even more shabby than Shan Ye's. Shan Ye's house at least has a broken yard, but Zhou Yong's house doesn't even have a fence, and they live in a mud house.

At present, the villagers in the countryside are all working hard to build two-story houses. Those who don’t even have a brick and tile bungalow and still live in mud houses are really at the bottom of the living standards in the village.

Tan Wenbin was puzzled and asked, "How could such a person donate all the money to build a bridge?"

Runsheng said: "He used to be a worker at the Xingren Agricultural Machinery Factory. Later, his wife and children became sick, so he could not go to work and stayed at home to farm and take care of them."

Tan Wenbin: "Are his wife and children still alive?"

"It's still there. When I rode my bike past his house last time, I saw his wife and children sitting outside the door basking in the sun."

As he spoke, Runsheng turned his head and looked at Li Zhuiyuan: "It was the last time when you were waiting for me at home, Xiaoyuan, and I went to the town market to buy rice and flour for my grandfather, and I passed by his house and saw him."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

The three of them walked up to the small dam. There was a well on the dam covered with a large bamboo hat. It was cleaned quite cleanly. Of course, that was also because there was really nothing in it.

The door was closed. Tan Wenbin licked his lips and walked forward to push it. It didn't open, so he pushed it again and heard the sound of the door lock hitting the ground.

He turned around to look at Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng, shrugged, and said, "It seems that we came at the wrong time. The people should have gone out. The door is locked from the inside."

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at him and asked, "Don't you think it's strange that the door is locked from the inside?"

"What's so strange about that? My door is also locked from the inside... Oh, yeah, how could this happen?"

The locks on the wooden doors in the village are different from the key locks in the residential buildings.

"Brother Binbin, shout again."

"Okay." Tan Wenbin knocked on the door and shouted, "Hey, is anyone home? Is anyone home?"

No one responded from inside.

Runsheng sniffed at this time, then spread his hands: "Binbin, be quiet."

Seeing this, Li Zhuiyuan immediately took a few steps back.

He knew what Runsheng's nose could smell best.

"Xiao Yuan, there is a faint stench of corpse."

Tan Wenbin asked anxiously, "Is he dead?"

Runsheng shook his head: "It's hard to say, the smell is too light, it could be something else."

Tan Wenbin speculated: "Could it be that after locking the door from the inside, the person inside committed suicide?"

Then, the two of them looked at Li Zhuiyuan together.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the window next to him and said, "Go in and take a look. If you find a body, call the police. If not, apologize and pay compensation."

Tan Wenbin walked to the wooden window and pulled it: "It's locked too."

Runsheng came over, pushed him aside, grabbed the edge of the window, and with a push, the entire window was removed.

Then, Runsheng squeezed his body in.

Seeing this, Tan Wenbin gritted his teeth and followed.

"Squeak!"

The lock inside the wooden door was opened, the door was pushed open, and Runsheng stood behind it.

"Xiaoyuan, the key is on the table, I just unlocked it."

"Runsheng, what are you doing? If there really is a body here, you are destroying the scene. How can we explain ourselves as witnesses?"

Li Zhuiyuan walked in from the main entrance and said, "It's okay, your father will help us make it up."

"But this is not my father's jurisdiction."

"You were playing cards in the village, and your father took leave as a plainclothes officer to come to the village to arrest you. Then he ran into this house, and he was the first eyewitness."

Tan Wenbin swallowed his saliva and said, "That makes sense."

The space in the house is not small, but the ground is full of small mud pits and there are no bricks to harden it.

Moreover, many of the wooden beams are very low, so adults have to be careful not to hit their heads when walking in.

It was a very standard housing layout. The kitchen with a stove was on the easternmost side, the living room was in the middle, a long cabinet was placed against the wall, and on the cabinet was an altar and statues. The bedroom was on the westernmost side.

There are a lot of things in the house, and many of them are obviously very broken but I can't bear to throw them away. Instead, they are kept in good order.

Tan Wenbin and Runsheng went to the east end and the west end respectively. Li Zhuiyuan stood in the hall, looking at the statues hanging above.

On the far left is Guanyin Bodhisattva, on the far right is the Jade Emperor, and in the middle is Jesus.

The villagers can understand what kind of idols they hang. It is common to mix Buddhism and Taoism, and even Confucianism can be hung. For example, my great-grandfather has a statue of Confucius hanging at home.

But hanging Jesus here seems a bit out of place, and the style and shape are clearly different from the two sides. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is something wrong.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the cabinet and found that the incense burners in front of Guanyin Bodhisattva and the Jade Emperor had not been used for a long time and were covered with thick dust instead of incense ash.

However, the incense burner in front of Jesus was full of ashes, which showed that it was used frequently.

But, is Jesus popular?
Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and wanted to open the long cabinet. The design of this cabinet was very similar to a coffin, and the inside could only be seen by removing the lid.

There is a groove design under each section of the lid, which is connected like a puzzle. It often needs to be opened one section at a time. It can be used to store sundries as well as food.

But he finally put his raised hand down. To be on the safe side, he decided to wait for Runsheng to come.

Runsheng and Tan Wenbin are back.

"No one is in the bedroom."

"There's no one in the kitchen either."

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Brother Runsheng, can you smell where the stench of corpses is coming from?"

Runsheng shook his head: "I can't tell it apart after I came in. This faint smell is everywhere."

Hearing this, Tan Wenbin taunted, "You mean there's a dead body living and walking around in this house, so the smell is everywhere. Is that really outrageous?"

"Brother Binbin, are you playing the role of Ye Gonghaolong?"

"Ah?" Then, Tan Wenbin immediately remembered why he came here. The scene of corpses walking and living here immediately emerged in his mind. He immediately felt cold and shivered.

"Brother Runsheng, open the lid and look inside."

"okay."

Runsheng knows how to open this kind of lid. First grab one side, then push it inwards, and then peel it open.

Li Zhuiyuan stood on tiptoe to look inside and found that it was filled with rice bags with a slightly pungent smell. It should be because the rice had been fumigated to prevent it from getting moldy.

It seems that there is nothing in the hall, because the only place to hide things is this long cabinet.

Li Zhuiyuan walked towards the kitchen, and Runsheng and Tan Wenbin followed.

The kitchen is a very standard rural earthen stove kitchen layout, with a lot of hay and firewood piled behind the stove.

Tan Wenbin pointed over there and said, "I just checked there, there's nothing in the firewood."

Li Zhuiyuan opened the lids of the water jar and the rice jar one by one. The water jar was full of water, and the rice jar was full of rice.

Tan Wenbin added: "I have also opened this and looked at it just now, and I didn't find any problems. However, no matter how poorly this family lives, their rice jar is still fuller than Runsheng's."

Li Zhuiyuan took a few steps back again and came behind Runsheng and Tan Wenbin.

He pointed at the rice jar and said, "A family of three lives on such a big rice jar, and it's still full of rice."

When urban families run out of rice, they go out to buy some. Rural families do have stored grain, but most of it is stored. A small portion is placed in the rice jar in the kitchen for daily consumption. When the rice jar is almost empty, they take out some stored grain and put it in.

Runsheng looked at Tan Wenbin, then at the rice jar, meaning, do you want to go or should I?
Tan Wenbin was shaking, but he nodded anyway, walked to the rice jar, and reached out to pull the rice out from the middle.

As he was rummaging, Tan Wenbin suddenly screamed:
"what!!!"

Then he collapsed to the ground and crawled backwards using his hands and feet.

Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng walked forward and looked, and saw a clump of black hair appeared in the concave area in the center of the rice jar.

There is a person in the rice jar!

No wonder Tan Wenbin was so scared. Who wouldn’t be scared by this scene?
In particular, you can even imagine the person curled up under the rice.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, then quickly opened them again, calmed himself down, and said, "Brother Runsheng, please confirm again."

"it is good."

Without saying a word, Runsheng reached out and continued to dig. Finally, the forehead under the hair appeared. It was indeed a person, a girl.

Keep pulling and you can see the girl's eyes.

Her eyes were open.

The girl's eyes were completely filled with grains of rice.

Tan Wenbin just stood up and came closer again. After taking a look, he was so scared that he retreated again.

Li Zhuiyuan looked away. This time he didn't blame Binbin for being timid. He just couldn't stand these eyes.

"Xiaoyuan, there's no way to continue digging, unless you scoop out the rice or try to lift her out."

"No, that's it for now."

"okay."

Li Zhuiyuan sniffed and smelled a greasy odor.

"Brother Runsheng, do you smell it?"

"Uh, no, it's still that faint smell of corpse. Xiaoyuan, do you smell anything?"

"Why do I smell a little fragrance?"

"fragrance?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head and looked at the water tank. The water in the tank had not been changed for a long time. In addition, the room was dark, so the water was not clear, but rather black.

"Brother Binbin."

Tan Wenbin immediately shook his head frantically and shouted to Runsheng, "Brother Runsheng."

Runsheng didn't hesitate. He was wearing a vest and didn't even need to roll up his sleeves. He just stuck his entire arm into the water tank and started moving it around.

Finally, he pulled out his wet arm and shook it: "There's nothing in it."

Tan Wenbin suggested: "Then, shall we go out first?"

Runsheng glanced at him and said, "You were the one who clamored to come here, and you were also the one who was scared to death when you saw it."

Tan Wenbin: "Isn't this how a normal person behaves?"

Li Zhuiyuan walked towards the bedroom, and Runsheng followed. Tan Wenbin took another look at the eyes in the rice jar...

Then he immediately turned around and chased after him with his legs raised high.

There are two beds in the bedroom, one big and one small, both covered with blue mosquito nets and covered with mats.

There was a neatly folded quilt on the big bed and a blanket on the small bed.

Under the mats of the two beds, there are several layers of thick quilts as mattresses, making them softer and more comfortable to sleep on.

Runsheng pointed to the wardrobes and cupboards under the bed and around it: "Xiaoyuan, I have checked these places and there is nothing unusual."

Tan Wenbin pointed at the quilt and shouted, "Quilt, quilt, why would you cover yourself with such a thick quilt in the middle of summer?"

Runsheng walked forward, lifted the mosquito net, pulled the quilt over and unfolded it. It was indeed just a thick quilt.

Tan Wenbin: “Uh…”

"Brother Runsheng, take off the mats on both beds."

"it is good."

Runsheng first uncovered the mat of the small bed, revealing several layers of cotton wool underneath.

When Runsheng was about to lift the mat on the bed, Tan Wenbin rushed over and lifted it. Then he continued to pinch a corner of the mat with one hand, stood on tiptoe and began to spin around and tremble.

This is... a spasm of fear.

There is also thick cotton wool under the mat on the big bed.

But in the middle of the cotton wool, there was a person, an adult woman, and she was very thin.

Most of the woman's body was covered with cotton wool, with only her face, stomach and feet exposed.

The woman also had her eyes open, and her eyes were completely filled with cotton wool, making them look a little swollen.

Moreover, the cotton wool around his eyes bulged upwards, as if new cotton wool had grown there.

"Put it down, Brother Binbin."

"it is good."

Binbin loosened his hands, and the mat fell down, covering the cotton wool and the woman inside again.

Then, Tan Wenbin walked towards Li Zhuiyuan, but Li Zhuiyuan avoided him. Tan Wenbin could only walk towards Runsheng and hugged him. He needed a hug now.

He was about to cry. In fact, tears were already welling up in the corners of his eyes.

He asked in a trembling voice, "Xiaoyuan, what should we do next?"

"Brother Binbin, don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid..." Tan Wenbin took a deep breath stubbornly, but he was pushed away by Runsheng the next moment.

Without being able to stand firmly, he retreated backwards and lay down on the mat of the big bed.

"what!"

When he thought about what was below, Tan Wenbin jumped up like a spring.

"I'm afraid, I'm afraid!"

Li Zhuiyuan patted Tan Wenbin's arm and said, "Don't be afraid, Brother Binbin, let's go call your dad."

"dad……"

To be honest, when the image of Tan Yunlong appeared in his mind, the fear in Tan Wenbin's heart was really relieved a lot. Even if his father unbuckled his belt in front of him, he still felt a hot, warm and friendly feeling.

Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the mud house first. Runsheng picked up the window that he had removed earlier and was about to put it back, but he heard Tan Wenbin inside shouting, "Wait a minute."

Then there was a "click" sound and he locked the wooden door again from the inside.

Then he climbed out of the window and asked Runsheng to put the window back.

"Hey, Brother Xiaoyuan, I locked the door and wiped the key and the lock. This way, there won't be fingerprints left on them from when Runsheng opened the door, and it will save us some trouble."

Tan Wenbin felt that he was very professional.

"When your father comes, he can also ask Brother Runsheng to open the lock. Also, you didn't just wipe off Brother Runsheng's fingerprints, you wiped off all the fingerprints on it."

"This..." Tan Wenbin realized that he had done something useless and stupid.

"Come on, let's go call your dad."

Logically, one person should be left here to watch over the place, but it would be inappropriate for anyone to stay, so in the end the three of them walked out together.

After walking for a long distance, I heard someone behind me shouting, "Hey, Runsheng Hou! Runsheng Hou!"

The three turned around and saw the village chief riding his bicycle on the road they had come from. He waved at them from a distance: "Run Sheng Hou, did you catch anything? Did you catch anything?"

Runsheng raised his hand and shouted back, "Not yet!"

At this moment, in the sight of the three people, the village chief who was riding a bicycle suddenly turned to the left and raised his hand to greet them, saying something and smiling.

This is usually used as a response to greet people in houses on the roadside.

And that location, that direction, is exactly Zhou Yong’s home.

The three of them turned their heads together and looked towards Zhou Yong's house.

Although it's a little far away,
But you can vaguely see a mother and daughter sitting on the small dam.

(End of this chapter)