Zhou Zhilu took out a handful of demon-transforming powder and sprinkled it on the hair.
Soon the demon-transforming powder was dyed green, but the green color seemed a little light.
"This monster doesn't have a strong evil aura. It seems its strength is not that strong." Zhou Zhilu said as he observed.
Ling Qingxue gently stroked the scratches on the table, imagining the despair and pain of the woman named Xiuhua at that time. She couldn't help but think of her family who had also suffered in the same way, and murderous intent emerged in her eyes.
"Have you found the location of that demon?" Ling Qingxue asked coldly, having already determined in her heart that the other party was a demon who was causing trouble.
Chen Wen said ashamedly, "We searched the nearby mountains and forests, but unfortunately, we found no trace of the monster."
At this time, Zhou Zhilu interrupted and said, "By the way, Chen Zhubu, you said earlier that Xiuhua had a husband named Wang Qian, right? Where is he?"
Chen Wen hesitated for a moment and explained, "This Wang Qian... is missing."
"Gone?" Zhou Zhilu looked at Chen Wen in surprise.
Chen Wen nodded and sighed, "I heard from the villagers of Xiliu Village that Wang Qian and his wife had a fight a month ago, and he went to the county town and hasn't returned since. But we also asked the owner of the place where Wang Qian worked as a laborer, and he said that Wang Qian hasn't been there for a month either."
"Hmph! Did you abandon your wife?" Ling Qingxue said with narrowed eyes.
Chen Wen said uncertainly: "We cannot rule out this possibility at the moment."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhilu touched his chin, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
I walked out of the house alone, and when I looked up, I saw an old wooden house opposite the house. Outside the house was an old lady in her seventies sitting with a cane.
Zhou Zhilu walked forward, leaned forward slightly, and asked softly, "Excuse me, is this Old Lady Liu?"
Old Mrs. Liu had a head full of silver hair and her old eyes narrowed into a line. She looked at Zhou Zhilu and nodded: "You... do you have something to talk to me about?"
Zhou Zhilu smiled and said, "I want to ask you something about Xiuhua, is that okay?"
"Oh...Xiuhua...that's a good kid. What do you want to ask?"
Zhou Zhilu thought for a moment and asked, "How is Xiuhua and Wang Qian's relationship? Do they usually quarrel or fight?"
"Of course not... How could Wang Qian be willing to hit Xiuhua? He can't even read a single word, so marrying Xiuhua must be a blessing from his past life!"
"But I heard that they had a fight a month ago?" Zhou Zhilu asked.
Old Lady Liu couldn't help but sigh when she heard this. "Eh... I don't know much about this either. I just know it was raining heavily that day, but I still heard the noise of quarreling. Oh my god, I don't know what Wang Qian is crazy about. He's yelling and smashing things up, making the house shake. What's the point of this kid doing this? Xiuhua is so virtuous and can even read. What's the matter with making such a fuss..."
Zhou Zhilu raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "This Xiuhua can read?"
You have to know that in a village with only dozens of people, there are no private schools like in the county town. The people here have basically been farming for generations and cannot read a single word, just like Wang Qian.
Old Lady Liu was lost in memories, and she murmured, "Xiuhua was a miserable child. I heard she was the daughter of a scholar in another county, but later her family was robbed by bandits when they went out. Her parents died, and she was sold to this county.
"But the girl was smart. She escaped on her own and later met Wang Qian in the mountains. Wang Qian led his men to drive away the bandits and rescued her back home. After a few interactions, the two of them became lovers.
"After getting married, Wang Qian went to work in the county town, while Xiuhua stayed at home to take care of her parents and sometimes taught other people in the village to write. Every household loved this child and said that Wang Qian was lucky to marry such a good child."
After hearing this, Zhou Zhilu roughly understood what kind of person Xiuhua was. So, Wang Qian was indeed very lucky, and he must have taken good care of her on a daily basis. Then why did they quarrel with her a month ago and why did he leave home and never come back?
Zhou Zhilu did not ask Old Lady Liu about what happened on the night the monster killed Xiuhua. After all, Chen Wen, the chief clerk of the county government, must have known these questions long ago, and the information he knew was probably only what he had said. There was not much point in asking again.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Zhilu asked, "Do you know Wang Qian? I heard he hasn't been home for a month. Do you know where he went?"
Old Lady Liu shook her head blankly and asked doubtfully, "Wang Qian... hasn't been back for a month? What happened to him? Didn't he go to the county town to work, or go to the mountains to cut wood?"
Zhou Zhilu explained: "We don't know how he is doing, we just want to get some information from you..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhou Zhilu was stunned and asked, "Are you saying that besides working in the county town, Wang Qian also goes to the mountains to cut wood?"
Old Lady Liu nodded and said, "Yes, they have a wooden house on the mountain. That's where Wang Qian met Xiuhua."
Zhou Zhilu nodded, thanked Old Lady Liu, and walked back to the other side.
At this time, Ling Qingxue was still talking to Chen Wen. Seeing Zhou Zhilu coming back, Ling Qingxue frowned and said, "Where have you been? We are going back to the county town to see the body."
Zhou Zhilu said: "Before that, I need to go to a place to take a look."
"Where?" Ling Qingxue asked puzzledly.
"Wang Qian's cabin on the mountain."
…
Following the route given by Old Lady Liu, Zhou Zhilu and the other two arrived deep in the forest.
Sure enough, on the back of a mountain, I found a... wooden house?
Just looking at the house in front of him that was nailed with iron sheets was so different from the warm cabin that Zhou Zhilu had imagined.
However, the difference lies further down.
When Zhou Zhilu and the other two opened the door, the scene inside was truly horrifying.
The small space was covered with scratches and bloodstains.
Unlike the scratches on the table in Xiuhua's house, these scratches were so large that Zhou Zhilu had to stretch out both hands to barely cover them. They did not look like they were made by humans.
There were also many sunken potholes on the ground. Zhou Zhilu stood at the edge and gestured with his hands to hit one of them, which was quite appropriate.
On the inner wall of the house, there was a large irregular hole, and the scratches were particularly concentrated on the edge of the hole. There were even some blood and flesh left in these scratches, which made Zhou Zhilu's scalp numb.
After testing with demon powder, it was confirmed that they were all the flesh and blood of demons.
"Come and look here!" Chen Wen suddenly shouted outside the house.
Zhou Zhilu and Ling Qingxue went to check, and saw a flat wooden board lying against the wall on one side of the house.
And on the wooden board were densely engraved words.
"November 10th, good mood, no fighting."
"November 11th, angry, grabbing, quarreling, can't go out, hold it in."
"November 12, Ding Tiepian, crying, begging, better, can't go out."
"November 13th..."
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