Jade Year
Outside the ancestral hall, Huangcun is immersed in an unusual atmosphere of "festive" preparations.
In a relatively spacious threshing ground in the center of the village, a makeshift shed adorned with red decorations had been erected. In the center of the shed sat two simple coffins, one large and one small, painted red. Before the larger coffin stood a memorial tablet inscribed with "The Spirit Tablet of the Late Father, Huang Youfu," while before the smaller coffin was an empty tablet, awaiting the filling of the "bride's" name. Several pale gas lamps hung around the shed, casting a somber and eerie light upon the area.
The villagers busied themselves expressionlessly, cutting red paper, folding paper ingots, and arranging paper figures of boys and girls, houses, carriages, and horses on both sides. Several older women were using their rough hands to attach the final gold trim to a brand-new, miniature paper wedding dress.
Offerings were being cooked in a large pot set up on the sidelines, the steam rising but unable to dispel the eerie chill that permeated the air.
Village chief Huang Laoshuan squatted in the corner of the shed, smoking his pipe, his brow furrowed. A man in his fifties, with a thin face and cloudy eyes, approached. He was Huang Kun, the middle-aged villager who had captured Ling Xiao and the others.
"Uncle Shuan, those two young men in the ancestral hall..." Huang Kun lowered his voice.
Old Huang exhaled a puff of smoke and waved his hand: "Leave it for now. We'll deal with it after tonight's 'grand occasion' is over. As for the 'things' we just dug out of the reeds... clean them up first, don't leave any trace." His gaze swept over the small coffin, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "This time, the 'bride' is the recently deceased daughter of Old Zhao's family in the neighboring town. They paid a high price, so we can't afford any mishaps. After the ceremony, when it's dawn, we'll figure out how to deal with those two boys and... He Yuzhi."
Located in a remote area, they have relied on this "special business" for many years, developing a closed-off logic for self-preservation. Occasionally, outsiders stumble in or notice something amiss, but they are mostly coerced, bribed, or simply "dealt with." In their view, two teenagers can't be locked up for a night; they can deal with the rest later after finishing this lucrative "ghost marriage."
Huang Kun nodded, a strange smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, but his gaze involuntarily drifted towards the reeds outside the village, a barely perceptible hint of panic flashing deep in his eyes. He rubbed the back of his slightly itchy right hand, where there was an inconspicuous pale red mark.
As night deepened, preparations at the threshing ground neared completion. The suona player tuned his instrument, emitting a few mournful test notes. The presiding "yin-yang master," draped in an ill-fitting, tattered Taoist robe, tremblingly filled in the blank memorial tablet with a vermilion pen. A repressive yet frenzied atmosphere permeated the entire village, as if a dark ritual of collective hypnosis was underway.
Unbeknownst to them, several kilometers away, on the rugged mountain road leading to Huangcun, several police cars were speeding by with their lights off.
Upon receiving his son's distress signal, Ling Li immediately mobilized all his connections and contacted high-ranking officials at the municipal police bureau. The satellite location coordinates, Ling Xiao's identity, the connection to the tea garden incident, and the possible illegal and criminal clues involving Huang Village drew the attention of the police. A joint task force composed of criminal police and special police quickly assembled and headed straight for this remote village that was barely noticeable on the map.
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Inside the ancestral hall, Ling Xiao felt Liang An's body move slightly in his arms. He looked down and saw that Liang An was still unconscious, but his brows seemed to be furrowed more tightly, and his lips moved silently, as if struggling in his sleep. Ling Xiao's heart tightened. He gently patted Liang An's back and whispered in his ear, "Hang in there a little longer, Liang An. Dad will come, and we'll be able to leave here soon."
Just then, the faint roar of engines could be heard in the distance, growing louder as they approached—and there was more than one vehicle! This was followed by several clear barks from dogs, and the villagers' surprised shouts!
On the threshing ground, the "yin-yang master," who was about to light incense and candles, suddenly dropped the tinderbox. Old Huang suddenly stood up, and Huang Kun's face turned deathly pale.
"What's going on?" Old Huang asked sternly.
A young villager scrambled in, his voice trembling: "Village...Village Chief! So many cars! Police! The police are here!"
Before the words were even finished, the sharp wailing of sirens pierced the night sky, shattering the eerie tranquility of the village. Red and blue lights flashed across the threshing ground as beams of powerful flashlights swept across, illuminating the elaborately decorated ghost wedding scene, leaving no room for concealment!
"Don't move! Police!"
"Everyone, stand still and cover your heads!"
The well-trained police quickly brought the scene under control, separating the stunned villagers. The lead detective, whose face turned ashen, immediately spotted the two red coffins and the numerous paper offerings scattered around. "Seal off the scene! Conduct a thorough search!"
Hearing the commotion and the clear sound of sirens outside, Ling Xiao felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. He pounded on the wooden door: "Here! We're here! There are people in the ancestral hall!"
Soon, footsteps approached, the lock was smashed open, and a blinding flash of light rushed in. Ling Xiao instinctively shielded his eyes. Two police officers rushed in and saw two teenagers, one of whom was still unconscious. They immediately called for medical personnel.
“Ling Xiao?” a police officer confirmed.
"It's me! This is my classmate Liang An. He's unconscious and needs to be taken to the hospital immediately!" Ling Xiao said urgently, then remembered the most important thing, "Officer, we also found human remains in the reeds outside the village, the same as the ones found in the tea garden. They may belong to the same victim!"
The criminal investigation captain's expression was grave. He immediately dispatched men to search in the direction Ling Xiao had indicated. Shortly afterward, confirmation came through the walkie-talkie: deep within the reeds, the remaining human remains, hastily buried, were found.
Liang An was quickly lifted into the arriving ambulance, with Ling Xiao insisting on accompanying him. On the way to the hospital, he watched the dark forest rushing past the window, tightly holding Liang An's still-cold hand. The deepest darkness before dawn was passing, and a faint sliver of gray-white light was beginning to appear on the horizon.
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At the Municipal People's Hospital, Liang An was once again admitted to the observation room. After examination, the doctor concluded that he was still in a deep coma, with stable vital signs but a low body temperature for unknown reasons, requiring close observation.
Ling Xiao stayed by the bedside without leaving for a moment, briefly explaining what had happened to his father, Ling Li, and the police who had rushed to the scene. He concealed the plot bracelet and He Yuzhi's soul guidance, only saying that they had originally planned to go to a high-end resort to relax, but they got on the wrong bus and had to get off at Huangcun. After losing their way, they wandered into the reeds and found the remains again. Liang An, due to the second shock, fell into a coma again.
In Huangcun, as the police took control of all the villagers and conducted surprise interrogations, especially focusing on the village chief Huang Laoshuan and Huang Kun, and combined with the newly discovered remains in the reed marshes, the iceberg of He Yuzhi's disappearance began to melt. The horrifying truth hidden for ten years, along with the tragedy of a family and the collective crimes of a village, slowly surfaced.
The breakthrough came first from Huang Kun. Police found signs of long-term confinement and a small number of personal belongings belonging to He Yuzhi in the basement of her home. Under the weight of the evidence and psychological pressure, the man, who was suffering from cancer and whose mental state was on the verge of collapse due to fear and pain, finally confessed intermittently.
Following Huang Kun's confession, the police summoned He Yuzhi's still-living brother, He Yusheng, for questioning again. Under immense pressure and the threat of the law, He Yusheng broke down, tearfully revealing a secret buried deep in his heart for many years, uncovering the source of He Yuzhi's madness and obsession—her sister, He Yunian.
Let's rewind to more than ten years ago.
He Yuzhi is twelve years older than her younger sister He Yunian. Their parents died early, and the older sister treated her like a mother. He Yunian is intelligent and quick-witted, a promising student who only appears once every few decades in the village.
He Yuzhi poured all her heart and soul and meager income into her younger sister. She married early and endured the disdain of her in-laws and the incomprehension of her husband, all to support her sister's education, help her leave the mountain village, and become a "respectable city dweller."
He Yunian lived up to expectations, achieving excellent grades throughout and eventually gaining admission to a prestigious university in the provincial capital. That was the only, most dazzling light in He Yuzhi's bleak life.
However, in the spring of that year when He Yunian was about to graduate and had a bright future ahead of her, a sudden car accident took away her life at the young age of twenty-two.
He Yuzhi's world collapsed. Ignoring her husband's advice and the villagers' gossip, she insisted on bringing her sister's ashes back to her hometown and burying her next to her parents' graves. Her sister, Yu Nian, should have lived a life of luxury and privilege, but fate had played a cruel trick on her. However, she refused to allow Yu Nian's soul to be lonely and destitute, and burying her next to her parents was the only option at that moment.
Every year after that, on Qingming Festival, Winter Solstice, and the anniversary of He Yunian's death, she would sit in front of his grave for a whole day, crying and murmuring, as if her sister could still hear her.
Her husband couldn't understand her almost obsessive grief and thought she was "crazy," leading to a deterioration in their relationship. Three years after He Yunian's death, during a Qingming Festival, an older woman in the village who had a decent relationship with He Yuzhi couldn't bear to see her weeping over an empty grave year after year. During a tomb-sweeping trip, she quietly pulled her aside when no one was around.
"Yuzhi... please stop crying... your sister... she's been gone for a long time..."
He Yuzhi was struck dumb.
The auntie told her tremblingly: After He Yunian died unexpectedly, their brother, He Yusheng, believed it was unlucky for a young woman who had died a violent death to be buried in the ancestral grave. He also heard that someone in Huangcun, a neighboring county, was offering a high price for the "skeleton of a young, educated woman" to be used for a ghost marriage. So he secretly sold He Yunian's urn to a middleman in Huangcun. What's buried in He Yunian's grave now is just a handful of incense ash that was randomly found.
He Yuzhi collapsed to the ground on the spot, then burst into heart-wrenching wails. Her precious younger sister, on whom all her hopes were placed, the younger sister she had imagined should be continuing her studies and living a respectable life in another world, had actually been sold by her own brother into a ghost marriage and buried next to some ignorant and barbaric villager!
She went to confront He Yusheng in a frenzy. He Yusheng initially denied it, but when pressed, he impatiently admitted it and complained, "A dead girl can be exchanged for 20,000 yuan. What's wrong with saving some money for your nephew to get married? You're just making a fuss!" He sent the crazed He Yuzhi back to her husband's home.
After learning the whole story, He Yuzhi's husband not only failed to comfort her, but also felt ashamed of his wife's family's numerous scandals and insisted on a divorce. This time, He Yuzhi didn't cry or make a scene. She calmly signed the papers, packed her few belongings, and returned to her dilapidated parents' home.
After that, she became attached to He Yusheng, with only one request: take her to Huangcun to find the family that bought Yu Nian, so that she could bring back her sister's ashes.
Unable to bear the harassment and fearing that things would escalate, He Yusheng feigned agreement. He took He Yuzhi to Huang Village and found Huang Kun, one of the villagers who had handled the matter, and told Huang Kun to "handle it as he sees fit." He then slipped away and went home, thinking that his sister would make a fuss for a few days and then it would be over if he couldn't find her.
But he never imagined that this parting would be their last.
Huang Kun looked at He Yuzhi, the woman from the city who, though haggard, still showed signs of her former beauty, and a wicked thought arose in him. He tricked He Yuzhi, saying that he knew which "good family" He Yunian had been assigned to, but he needed time to find out, and asked He Yuzhi to stay there temporarily.
Desperate to save her sister, He Yuzhi agreed, though still somewhat doubtful. That evening, Liu Kun drugged He Yuzhi's food. After she fell unconscious, he dragged her into a hidden basement in his backyard and locked her up.
This lock has been in place for ten years.
The basement contained only a moldy, tattered quilt, a chamber pot, and a small window letting in a faint light. When Liu Kun was in a good mood, he would throw in some leftovers; when he was in a bad mood or forgot about it, He Yuzhi would have to go hungry.
At first, she resisted, screamed, and tried to escape, only to be beaten and imprisoned even more severely. Year after year, her hope gradually faded, and she became silent and numb, only occasionally murmuring "Yu Nian" in her dreams or in a daze of lucidity.
Until the beginning of this year, Huang Kun was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. The fear of death overwhelmed everything.
He suddenly felt an overwhelming fear of He Yuzhi in the basement. He was afraid she would discover him, afraid that after he died, he would become a ghost and be avenged by He Yuzhi's spirit. He even believed in a more absurd claim: if a person's body is incomplete after death, their soul will also be incomplete, greatly weakened, and may even be unable to "depart" smoothly.
A wicked plan took shape in his mind.
About a week ago, he went down to the basement with food and water. After ten years of inhumane living, He Yuzhi was emaciated and had a hollow look in her eyes.
Huang Kun pretended to take her to find her sister's ashes, then, taking advantage of her momentary lapse in attention, strangled her with a rope he had prepared beforehand. Afterward, he spent an entire day and night in his backyard, using a woodcutter's knife and saw to dismember He Yuzhi's body. He planned to discard the body parts in different, desolate places, ensuring she would never be reincarnated.
The arm in the tea garden was the first piece he threw out. He chose that location because he knew there would be student activities nearby, with many people and distractions, which might help to confuse the audience. He didn't expect that the tea garden would suddenly add tea tree planting activities, and that the buried limb would be dug up by Wen Zhi so easily. He also couldn't have imagined that a sensitive boy, under the intervention of the plot bracelet, would have a strange resonance with He Yuzhi's intense resentment.
Perhaps it was belated retribution, but before the remaining body parts could be completely removed and disposed of, and were still buried in the reeds on the edge of the village, a large number of police officers were attracted by the two teenagers, and the case was eventually solved.
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