The work of clearing the silt continued until lunchtime.
Just as they set up their pots, the previously clear sky was suddenly overcast.
In less than three minutes, a rain heavier than yesterday began to fall as if being sprayed.
The squad leader saw that if this continued, the morning’s work would be in vain.
He immediately assigned several men to build a waterproof barrier at the wellhead, to prevent more rainwater and silt from flowing into the well.
He also erected a temporary shelter over the well using plastic sheeting.
Afterward, everyone returned to the courtyard at the village entrance, except for Old Man Jin and his children.
These three continued to huddle in the donkey shed, eating hard dry rations.
The rain lasted from noon until the next morning. It was not the rainy season, so such continuous rain was unusual.
The next morning, the squad leader again assigned men to go down to the bottom of the well to clear the silt.
This time, it was much better. Because of the waterproof barrier at the wellhead and the shelter built the day before,
there was not much silt in the well.
Four men were assigned to work in the well again.
However, something strange happened again. Not long after the four men went down, they all started yelling.
And their cries didn’t stop after a few seconds.
They howled for a full minute. At first, everyone thought they were just bored and trying to tease them, imitating what happened yesterday.
Old Man Jin told someone to quickly pull them up.
Strangely, while they were yelling continuously in the well, as soon as they were pulled to the wellhead and poked their heads out, they immediately stopped shouting.
When everyone gathered around to ask what happened, the four of them had no memory of what had happened after they went down the well.
Although these men were soldiers of the country, this matter was too strange, and these soldiers were all quite young.
Fear spread through the group. At this point, Old Man Jin said, "This matter is too bizarre. I suggest we fill in this well and start drilling elsewhere."
The squad leader was unwilling to hear this. His squad had already been delayed for three days in this village, and not a single well had been completed.
If their superiors found out, they would surely consider him incompetent, and his chances of promotion would be ruined.
Therefore, he adamantly refused and ordered four different men to go down the well to continue the work.
These four men went down, and nothing strange happened.
To speed up the work, the squad leader ordered that no cooking be done at noon. Everyone ate dry rations and continued digging the well.
Baskets of earth were brought up one after another. The well became deeper and deeper, and they were close to reaching the point where the drill had hit the water source.
Suddenly, someone working below cried out, "How did Li Ergou’s clothes end up here?"
From the mud under his feet, the person pulled out a set of military uniforms, the clothes they normally wore, with their names on the chest.
It read: Third Battalion, Fourth Squad – Li Maoshan.
The strange thing was that this uniform was dug out from the mud at the bottom of the well.
When the squad leader learned of this, he assumed that Li Maoshan had dropped his clothes, and the people below hadn't seen them, so they thought the clothes were dug out of the mud.
This was because it was very hot when they were working, and most of them had taken off their outer clothes and placed them aside.
Just as he was about to find Li Maocai, someone below cried out, "Pull us up, quickly pull us up!"
Those by the well didn't know what was happening and quickly pulled them up.
After coming up, the four men had pale faces and were trembling, clearly terrified.
Under the squad leader’s interrogation, they stammered, “Clothes, there were clothes everywhere below…”
The squad leader heard this, pushed them aside, and said, “Cowards, a few pieces of clothing scare you like this.”
“Squad… Squad leader, we dug those clothes out of the earth, they weren’t dropped…” said one of the older men haltingly.
The squad leader was stunned for a moment, then grabbed a rope, tied it around his waist, and said, “Let me down, I’ll take a look.”
Just as he was stepping one leg into the well and the other was still on the edge, a small soldier came running, tumbling, and scrambling out of the village.
“Squad leader, squad leader, something’s happened…”
The squad leader, about to descend, felt his blood run cold and quickly asked, “What now?”
The young soldier, still tumbling and scrambling, ran out from the village entrance, pointed at the courtyard in the village, and said, “Someone’s… someone’s dead.”
“Dead?” the squad leader asked no further questions and ran towards the courtyard.
A death was a serious matter, and it could even cost him his position as squad leader.
Instantly, everyone followed him back, no longer concerned with the well.
When they reached the courtyard and arrived at the doorway of the room facing the main entrance, they all stopped in their tracks.
Some even retreated a couple of steps. Everyone was frozen in fear.
Eight people were hanging from the main beam of the house.
All eight men were naked from the waist up.
Their lips were turned outward, their tongues protruded, their eyeballs bulged from their sockets, and their expressions were extremely狰狞 (ferocious).
Old Man Jin was also among the crowd, equally shocked. He muttered, “How did eight people die at once?”
“Quickly, get them down! Everyone, arm yourselves and surround the village. Don’t let anyone escape,” the squad leader said, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He thought: I must find the killer, or my position as squad leader will be over.
Seeing the squad leader’s orders, Old Man Jin took a few puffs from his pipe and followed the soldiers into the house.
He tilted his head back, examining the beam inside the house.
Suddenly, his gaze froze. He looked at the wall near the main mountain wall and discovered a shallow knife mark.
This knife mark was very faint, appearing to have been made many years before the seven knife marks found the night before last.
Moreover, although this knife mark had cut into the inner wood, it was not deep. It was likely made when the beam still had its bark on.
If one didn't look carefully, they wouldn't even realize it was a knife mark made by a person.
Before the Liberation, Old Man Jin was a master of knives and had killed many Japanese devils.
He could tell at a glance whether it was a knife mark or not.
At this moment, the eight soldiers hanging from the beam were all cut down.
All the villagers in the small village, from the elderly to infants in arms, were gathered at the village entrance.
“What are you doing?”
“On what grounds are you arresting us?”
“What’s the difference between what you’re doing and what bandits do? Is there no law anymore?”
The villagers shouted from within the crowd, but seeing the fully armed soldiers, no one dared to step forward to truly resist.
The squad leader looked at the crowd with a grim expression. He knew that if he didn't find the killer among them,
his tenure as squad leader would be over when he returned with his team. At best, he would be demoted to a common soldier.
He might even be expelled from the army, rendering his years of service meaningless.
As he was pressuring the villagers to hand over the killer, the village chief spoke, “I told you that day that this place is unclean, and you insisted on staying here.
Now that something has happened, you blame us. I think you are no different from bandits!”
His words further enraged the squad leader. He drew his pistol and pointed it at the village chief’s forehead.
Just as he was about to speak, Old Man Jin emerged from the courtyard, “They committed suicide…”