"That young man is indeed Old Man Lu's grandson," Hu Jia confirmed.
"Old Man Lu, you must recognize that young man, right?" Hu Jia asked.
Old Man Lu's eyes were bloodshot. Luo Wenwu's words had clearly provoked him. "That scoundrel Zhong Cheng! My grandson was about to get married, and instead, he died without anyone knowing why. I didn't even get to see him one last time."
"So you killed him?" Hu Jia pressed.
Old Man Lu remained silent.
Hu Jia was not in a hurry. He had already guessed that Old Man Lu wouldn't easily confess. "Li Yang!"
At the sound of Hu Jia's voice, Li Yang entered, carrying a blue silk gown with frog fasteners. This gown was identical to the one worn by Zhong Cheng's body.
"Old Man Lu, do you recognize this?" Hu Jia gestured for Li Yang to open the gown. This was what he had instructed Li Yang to do in town.
"We've investigated. Before the incident, you specifically went to the fabric shop in Dabing Town and had two such gowns made. The shopkeeper confirmed it. You know, such long gowns are inconvenient for working in the fields, and farmers generally don't wear them. Yet, you had two made."
Hu Jia stroked the silk with his fingertips. "With such fine material, I'm sure you wouldn't just throw it away. And here it is, found in your wardrobe. But there's a question: where is the other one?"
No one answered.
Perhaps they didn't know how to answer.
After all, the other gown was right before them, worn by Zhong Cheng.
Hu Jia stated that there were three people at the scene that night: Zhong Cheng, and the two middle-aged men who survived.
Since the two middle-aged men who ran out after the incident were completely dry, it proved they hadn't jumped into the water. If it wasn't them, then there was only one possibility: Old Man Lu, who had also left his home that night but had never shown himself.
Furthermore, the reason no one had suspected the person who jumped into the water was a fake Zhong Cheng was because they had indeed seen a gown on the person at the scene.
Lü Qingqing looked at Zhong Cheng's body. This was indeed a clever move. To make them believe the deceased was Manager Zhong, certain distinctive features had to be left behind.
Since a face couldn't be shown, clothes were used to create a deception.
During Luo Wenwu's initial autopsy, hadn't he concluded the deceased was the diver they saw precisely because of the gown he was wearing?
Thinking of this, Lü Qingqing also recalled the scene that night. "That's right. We didn't hear Manager Zhong make any sound at the scene. Now that I think about it, it's quite strange. How could a person facing a zombie not cry out?"
Hu Jia cast an appreciative glance at Lü Qingqing. "Because we all know Old Man Lu's voice, he didn't dare to make a sound."
With the clothes and fishing line as evidence, and the fabric shop owner as confirmation, the truth was close at hand.
Lü Qingqing looked at the people before her with pain. This case was no longer something one person could accomplish. Xiao Tao, who pretended to be attacked, Mi Ju needing to use the toilet in the middle of the night, the floating head, the jumping zombie, the villagers acting indifferent, and that cheerful Old Man Lu…
Almost everyone was involved.
"Speak, who is the mastermind?" Hu Jia's voice turned cold.
"Hand over the mastermind, and perhaps the village can be spared. Otherwise, this murder case will be pinned on all of Xiajieshi Village." Hu Jia knew these people were not incorrigible; they had simply chosen to resist for survival.
Take those two middle-aged men, for instance. They were the two pond guards assigned by Zhong Cheng.
Being a pond guard, in essence, was just a chore. They worked for Zhong Cheng, rotating monthly, and were rewarded with one bucket of well water a day.
Heh, it was truly laughable.
A day's labor only earned them one bucket of well water.
Well water that used to be readily available.
Zhong Cheng deserved to die, but not like this.
Perhaps Hu Jia's words had moved Old Man Lu. He was a simple old man. If Zhong Cheng hadn't been so overbearing, and his grandson hadn't died accidentally, he would never have considered ending things with murder.
Now that the police were here, how could he let the entire village bear the burden of a murder charge?
"The villagers were only cooperating with me to act. I was the one who killed him," Old Man Lu finally confessed.
He said the entire incident was his plan. Firstly, it was indeed to solve the water problem, and secondly, it was to avenge his grandson.
Old Man Lu knew Zhong Cheng was greedy. He used the guise of delivering clothes to approach him, and when Zhong Cheng tried it on, he smashed him to death with a stone. Afterwards, he returned home and deliberately made noise. They had devised two plans for this: if everyone woke up, they would lure them all to the reservoir; if only one person woke up, they would pretend to be ghosts.
They went to great lengths to play the ghosts. For example, on the day Xiao Tao returned with Hu Jia and the others in their car, to enhance the credibility of ghosts and spirits, they had arranged for villagers to impersonate ghosts at the intersection. However, this plan was abandoned due to Ouyang's appearance.
Hearing this, Lü Qingqing suddenly remembered. No wonder Ouyang was standing in the dark that day, and Xiao Tao shouted that he had come. It turned out she had mistaken Ouyang for one of the villagers impersonating a ghost.
In any case, the ultimate goal of their coordinated actions was to lead the police step by step into the pre-arranged game.
Xiao Tao was the one playing the ghost, and the two pond guards were responsible for playing the zombie and shouting loudly in the courtyard to attract Hu Jia and the others' attention.
Hu Jia's deduction was correct. Their purpose in luring the police was to have people with authority witness what happened that night. As for the silt in the deceased's throat, it was forced in by Old Man Lu prying open the deceased's mouth, with the intention of confusing the cause of death.
However, they never expected that the people they would lure were a group of master detectives.
...
"Why didn't you report being bullied?" Lü Qingqing asked.
"It was useless. The security captain was Zhong Cheng's brother-in-law. He had a stranglehold on everything, and our complaints couldn't even be filed," Old Man Lu said. To seek justice and report the reservoir fees, the villagers had approached the town government, but they couldn't even get through the door. They had even blocked the town mayor's house, but the case was sent back to the security captain.
"The water is getting more expensive each year. The crops truly can't survive, and neither can we," Old Man Lu's words indirectly confirmed the truth of the matter.
It was all because of the collusion of officials, the lack of avenues for complaints, the dereliction of duty, and the lack of anyone to uphold justice!
...
This bizarre zombie case was finally concluded. With Hu Jia's closing report, the Dabing Town government underwent a complete overhaul.
The negligent town mayor and the corrupt security captain, all received their just punishment. Of course, Old Man Lu also could not escape the arm of the law.
As for the people of Xiajieshi Village, Hu Jia also wrote a plea for leniency in punishment. As for the outcome, Hu Jia did not inquire further, as they were a group of people he was about to forget.
Lü Qingqing, however, visited a few times later. Some familiar faces were no longer there. But the villagers still treated her warmly. Perhaps this was a silent form of reply.
...
It was Sunday when they returned to the city. In the evening, Hu Jia invited everyone to have a meal at Huixian Bridge.
Huixian Bridge was a stone bridge less than 10 meters long, located near the present-day Liberation Monument. During the Republic of China era, it was a bustling commercial area, with vibrant prosperity and many food stalls.
After being away for nearly a week, everyone missed the city's delicacies dearly.
The group was lively. Hu Jia walked at the front, with Luo Wenwu preceding and following him.
Yu Yue and Lü Qingqing walked at the very back, engaged in intimate conversation.
"I was so bored alone when you weren't here, with no one to talk to," Yu Yue said affectionately, holding Lü Qingqing's arm.
"Who said that? Isn't Li Yang always around you? I think he likes you a lot," Lü Qingqing teased.
"Get lost!" Yu Yue waved her fan. "He's a good-for-nothing, always messing around."
"Hahaha…" Lü Qingqing burst into laughter. A good-for-nothing?
How accurate!
Hearing Lü Qingqing's laughter, Li Yang tried to approach, but Yu Yue's glare made him obediently retreat.
However, shortly after retreating, Li Yang came back again.
"This flower is for you." Li Yang proudly pulled out a small flower from behind him, with white petals and yellow stamens.
"So beautiful," Yu Yue said, reaching out to take it.
"What about mine?" Lü Qingqing playfully looked at Li Yang.
"Pick it yourself!" Li Yang casually pointed to the cracks in the roadside stones. "There are plenty."
Lü Qingqing didn't mind Li Yang's attitude. She knew that at this moment, Li Yang's eyes were solely on Yu Yue, and she was irrelevant, or rather, she was an existence that shouldn't be there.
Just as Lü Qingqing was looking at Li Yang with disdain, a small white flower was handed to her.
It was Hu Jia!
Lü Qingqing was surprised. "Thank you!"
She took the flower and brought it to her nose to smell. It didn't seem to have any fragrance.
But it still made her happy!
When she came back to her senses, Hu Jia had already walked several meters away.
The evening breeze was gentle. Watching Yu Yue's disdain, Li Yang's shameless persistence, and that deliberately haughty retreating figure, Lü Qingqing slightly curved her lips.
After all, life could also be beautiful, couldn't it?