The wilderness of Qu'an County is less than 10 kilometers away from the county seat.
By the time the car got here, the road had already narrowed. Walking another two miles along the path would take longer than driving 100 kilometers on the expressway.
"The body was found 20 meters behind here." The policeman who found it that day pointed to a bush. After clarifying the location, he pointed to the front and said: "This leads to a temple on the mountain. Occasionally there are some people in the temple.
Those who come to do free volunteer work are called lay people. Initially, we followed this idea to find people, but we never identified them."
"When it was discovered, the body was highly decomposed. Can you smell it?"
"When we came here, it was vague. If you have never smelled the smell of corpses, you might not know what it is. It is similar to the smell of dead rats on the roadside." The policeman knew what Jiang Yuan meant by asking, so he continued:
"Go in from the roadside. You can't go directly from here. You have to go from the front. Walk inward a few dozen meters or a hundred meters..."
He pointed to the road, and Liu Jinghui said simply: "Go and take a look."
Originally, they came to see the scene, so the policeman didn't hesitate and led a few people to walk a few dozen meters further, passed between two trees, and then walked inward on a thatched path.
As the police walked, he introduced: "This road is a small road leading to an orchard inside. Now the orchards are deserted. Children don't steal fruits anymore, and almost no one walks on the road."
Liu Jinghui immediately asked: "So all the people who know this road are locals?"
"Everyone who works as a volunteer in the temple also knows this. In previous years, they were willing to pick a few fruits to eat. This year, the fruits are not ripe yet, so no one has left yet."
"So, the first thing you suspect is the people in this temple."
The policeman did not try to hide it, and said with a "yes": "No one is missing locally, most of them are volunteers who come to the temple, but it is not clear how long the body here has been rotting, and the volunteers from the temple come and go.
Even if I go there, the records are not complete.”
"People who come to volunteer should come in groups, to call on friends and so on."
"Maybe, but there are also people who come here alone. The temple here is not big. It used to be okay to walk at night. Hey..."
Liu Jinghui nodded. He originally wanted to rest these days, but if he didn't go home, staying in Qu'an County would be a bit boring.
In addition, Jiang Yuan's cranial repair surgery would take a week or two, so he thought, wouldn't it be nice if he could use his own reasoning to break the eucalyptus?
Liu Jinghui wanted to come to see the scene, but Jiang Yuan also followed him. He was just carrying a laptop. He was going to see the corpse dumping scene and then continued to perform skull repair surgery. It gave Liu Jinghui the feeling that Jiang Yuan was somewhat of a soup-turned-raw food.
.
The policeman led a few people to a puddle, and then said: "It's almost here. The body was half buried in the water. When we arrived, the upper body was no longer visible, and the lower body was still a little bit..."
Things and clothes are all rotten."
After a brief description, the policeman continued: "The water in the puddle was drained out at that time, and there was nothing in it. The current water should have accumulated recently."
"This is not a place known to strangers." Liu Jinghui looked around. It was a good place to kill people, quiet in the middle of the noise, not far from the road, with good conditions, and it felt like a carefully chosen place.
With all these factors in mind, in his opinion, the probability of this stranger committing the crime was already very low.
"Do you want to survey the site?" Liu Jinghui turned to ask Jiang Yuan.
"Let's take a look." Jiang Yuan handed his backpack to Mu Zhiyang, put on his headgear and footwear, and started walking around the puddle.
It had rained a few days ago, which made field investigation particularly difficult.
In addition to the grass and vegetation on the ground, Jiang Yuan did not get a suitable footprint. It may be possible at first, but it is estimated to be difficult.
"Let's go to the temple." Jiang Yuan delayed for half an hour, took another photo, and left.
A few people climbed up the hill unsteadily.
When we reached the flat spot on the top of the mountain, the ground began to be paved with red bricks and cement.
There is actually a small shop and a tourist specialty shop in the temple. When I got closer, I saw that they were owned by the same owner.
The boss is a woman in her forties. She was scrolling through her mobile phone boredly. When she saw someone coming, she immediately stood up in high spirits. When she saw it was a police officer, she felt helpless and said proactively: "Are you here to investigate?"
"Sister Li." The policeman looked very polite and asked again: "Are there many people coming to play recently?"
"Everyone is dead, how can anyone come? All of them are old customers. Have you eaten?" The boss finally said a little more cordially.
"I haven't eaten yet. I have been thinking about your braised pork." The policeman smiled and introduced to both parties: "Sister Li's braised pork is a specialty of our Qu'an County. If she doesn't come to the temple, she will
If you do business in the city, you can earn a temple a year."
"Don't talk about money in the temple." Sister Li said as she stood up and opened a pot behind her. As expected, braised pork was cooking in it.
A strong aroma hit my nostrils.
"Want to have pancakes? 7 yuan each." Sister Li asked.
"Pack, two per person!" After the policeman finished speaking, he added: "Many people from Qu'an come to this temple, and they all want to eat Sister Li's braised pork pie."
"There aren't that many people. Especially recently, there are very few people coming." Sister Li said the price calmly, and then began to chop the meat and put cakes in the fire barrel.
She first chopped the fat and thin meat together, then took out the hot cake from the fire barrel, and cut it in the middle with a knife, making a natural crack.
There were more than one or two pieces of fat and lean meat, with juice, and they were stuffed into the meat smoothly, and then there was also a spoonful of meat juice, which made people's appetites whet their appetite.
The most delicious meat must be meat full of gravy, which comes from the body's desire. Food like Roujiamo is somewhat cheating. It does not require good meat quality, nor does it need to be controlled.
The heat, and even the factors of spices and boiling, can be stored for many days. As long as it is cooked until tender, and a piece of warm bread is easy to make, with a spoonful of broth in the middle, ordinary gravy and meat will not be able to compete with it.
.
Several people climbed up the mountain. They were already a little hungry, and now they devoured the meat buns made by Sister Li.
"With your skills, you should go to big cities to make money." Liu Jinghui praised and extended his big finger.
Sister Li smiled: "I just came back from a big city, and making money is not that interesting."
Liu Jinghui: “Wouldn’t it be nice to make money to buy a house and a car?”
"After buying it, that's all." Sister Li looked back at the main hall and said, "I would rather cultivate my mind and nature here and entertain the destined people."
"I have an idea." Liu Jinghui laughed, wiped his mouth, and then called the police to the front to take a look.
In the courtyard, two other lay people were sweeping the floor.
Further inside, the abbot of the temple was offering incense to the enshrined Buddha statues one by one. He also murmured something: "Every Bodhisattva is the first person responsible for his own faith. Everyone is optimistic about their own situation. Don't worry about it."
It was taken over by someone..."
There are many Bodhisattvas enshrined in the main hall, including Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Guan Yu, Maitreya Buddha, etc. There are small porcelain basins in front of each Bodhisattva, some filled with money, some without.
"Abbot." Liu Jinghui couldn't wait for him to turn around and shouted loudly.
The abbot looked at the person, hesitated again and again, and came over.
"Are you here to investigate that eucalyptus?" The abbot was in his thirties and looked very young.
"Yes, I'll spare you a few minutes and let me ask a few questions." Liu Jinghui asked with a smile.
"Okay, I have plenty of time. Do you want to burn some incense sticks?"
"Then...okay." Liu Jinghui obediently handed over the right to speak that he had just regained.
Jiang Yuan looked around, preparing to find a good place for himself, sit down, and breathe fresh air while starting to perform cranial reconstruction surgery. Now that he is proficient, he can operate it on his laptop without any problems.
Liu Jinghui smiled and asked, "What's your name, abbot?"
"Just call me Director Cheng. The bastard of a thousand words is Cheng." The abbot seemed to be very talkative, and he even took the initiative to make a joke.
Liu Jinghui couldn't joke anymore. The situation in this temple was far more complicated than he imagined, and the number of suspects increased several times in an instant.
Liu Jinghui couldn't help but look at Jiang Yuan.
The skull on Jiang Yuan's screen still had a bare face.
"If you want to check it out, you can stay for two days. More lay people will come tonight." The abbot warmly invited me.
"Are you going to hold an event today?"
"It doesn't really count. The main reason is that Sister Li cooked too much meat. If no one comes to buy it, it will go bad." The abbot's face exuded honesty.
Liu Jinghui said decisively: "Then please arrange some rooms for us to stay."
