Ancient Corpse in the Mountain Village (Seventeen)
My great uncle passed away in the early morning, and this morning my aunt ran to Yu Shu's house tremblingly to ask the two young people for help.
A strange atmosphere filled the room, and relatives and villagers looked at my aunt with a mixture of pity and envy.
What surprised Yu Shu was not that his uncle and aunt's two sons didn't care about them at all, but even when their biological father passed away, they said they were busy with work and couldn't take leave, so they chose to stay in the town and didn't come back to see him.
It was his great uncle’s burial clothes, the same style as Yu Ding’an’s but in a different color, and even had a fleece lining.
He couldn't help but wonder if his great uncle and Yu Ding'an had known that there would be retribution, so they discussed the funeral arrangements in advance and had their funeral clothes custom-made at the same store.
In fact, Yu Shu was in good mental state, but Yu Huan was a little overly concerned and didn't let him do many things that required physical strength. He only asked him to arrange wreaths and negotiate with funeral staff.
The two brothers had done most of the work, leaving only the rituals and the wake. Yu Dingan was about to finish his seventh day of mourning, and now he had to help his uncle with the wake. Thinking of this, Yu Shu sighed silently.
"Aunt, I'm sorry for your condolences. If you have any problem, please come to me. My brother will have to go back to work in a few days." Yu Huan didn't know that Yu Shu was laid off.
Yu Shu knew his brother's character too well so he didn't dare to say it.
If he said anything, his brother would have to keep him at home to rest for a period of time and take care of him personally, and even give most of the inheritance to help him.
Yu Shu walked to Jiang Yu's side and whispered, "How about you take responsibility for your uncle's as well?"
"No." Jiang Yu blinked.
Jiang Yu did not intend to take over the ritual. He had just finished the ritual in Ding'an and now he had to get back on track and clear up the resentment in the village.
He was powerless to change what happened in the village decades ago. What he had to do now was to thoroughly deal with the remaining issues, and then use his methods to hand over the people involved in the case to the public security organs, seek justice for the wrongfully deceased, and give an explanation to their families.
"Just follow your own pace. I'm just making a suggestion." Even if Jiang Yu makes money, it won't go into his pocket. Just mention it once. If you say too much, you might get disliked.
Jiang Yu didn't respond, just curled his lips and became cold again.
The aunt walked up to Yu Shu with a cane and said, "We don't have enough paper figurines. I'll have to trouble you to go there."
Yu Shu had seen many families who had experienced the death of their loved ones in the hospital. Their grief was deep and natural, but the sadness that the aunt's grandmother tried hard to put on her face was too formal, as empty as a child who fell down and didn't feel much pain but wanted an adult to comfort him and cried loudly.
However, thinking that her aunt had finally taken care of an old man who had been bedridden for many years, it was normal for her to pretend and not leave any room for gossip, so he did not expose her.
"No, I was just planning to go to town to buy some things, and this happened to be on my way." The sunlight melted into Yu Shu's smile. Her fair skin and delicate features were filtered with a soft light, so gentle that it could make people lose their way.
The uncle who had questioned me last time was also there. When he heard my aunt said she was going out, he hurried over and said, "I'm going out too. I'll take you there. I won't bother you, young man."
Yu Shu was naturally happy that he didn't have to run around to lie down because someone was helping him, but then he thought that his uncle and aunt were not familiar with each other, so it was strange that they were suddenly so enthusiastic to help.
Yu Shu was still confused, and his uncle said again: "I'm ready to leave now. I'll give you a ride there and back quickly." He smiled kindly on the surface, and his words were flawless, but his tone was a little anxious.
Yu Shu stood beside his aunt, using the gesture of supporting her to block the two of them, and said humbly and politely: "How can I trouble you, aunt, let me take it."
My uncle still refused to give in because he was afraid that my aunt would leave the village.
Jiang Yu called out Yu Huan, who was busy in the house. Yu Huan had heard something fishy going on in the conversation between his brother and the village uncle, so he immediately asked the uncle for help and dragged him into the house without saying anything.
Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes, and a half-smiley look moved between the brothers.
"Do you want to train your facial muscles into plasticine?" Yu Shu whispered in Jiang Yu's ear, asking him to help get rid of the others.
Yes, it was not only the uncle who didn't want my aunt to leave the village, but many other people also came to persuade her not to go out. They gave all kinds of reasons, some said it was too hot, and some said my aunt was in poor health and shouldn't travel too much.
Those who tried to persuade were all older men.
The scene was very strange.
Jiang Yu raised his eyebrows, and when he went over to help his aunt, his hand naturally moved across the collar, and the talisman fell on the inside without anyone noticing.
"We'll take her to the hospital, which takes quite some time."
Jiang Yu brought his aunt to the group and asked them to touch her forehead. The scorching temperature made those who tried to dissuade him breathe a sigh of relief.
Jiang Yu and Yu Shu acted as guardians on both sides, escorting my aunt out of the house and into the car.
After getting away from the crowd, Yu Shu's face darkened: "Can you please not use such scary methods?"
Yu Shu was also frightened just now. He could feel his aunt's sudden rise in body temperature through the thin chiffon shirt. If there were not so many people around and he could not reveal the truth, he would definitely say that Jiang Yu did not hold back.
After getting in the car and closing the door, Jiang Yu took down the talisman and said, "This is the only way I can help you. Why are you asking me for help?"
The light coming into the car cast a light golden hue on Yu Shu's eyelashes. She rolled her eyes and looked at Jiang Yu with an inexplicable tenderness, as if blaming and helpless.
Jiang Yu looked away and didn't meet Yu Shu's eyes.
Yu Shu turned sideways to fasten the seat belt for his aunt-in-law, touched her forehead, and breathed a sigh of relief when her body temperature returned to normal.
"Do you want to open the window?" Yu Shu asked considerately. He was not sure whether his aunt could get used to the smell of fruit and wood in the car.
"No need, let's drive quickly." My aunt-in-law looked back at the village and pointed ahead, urging.
The houses and trees in the rearview mirror kept receding, and the village slowly moved away, shrinking radially, and then disappeared around the bend.
Yu Shu concentrated on driving, occasionally checking on his aunt's condition, while Jiang Yu lay with his legs bent and took a nap in the back seat of the car.
Jiang Yu had some conscience and didn't step on his new leather seat with his shoes, but he still felt a little sad because he had never stepped on his own car with his feet.
After driving for more than an hour, we finally left the mountains.
The aunt's eyes, which had been hazy, sparkled when she saw the scenery outside the mountains, just like a little girl of ten seeing new and beautiful scenery. The wrinkles on her face relaxed, and she was filled with the clarity of a young girl.
"Thank you. Please send me to my youngest son." My aunt broke the silence, her tone revealing her unconcealable joy.
My aunt's two sons didn't come back because they knew their mother was abducted. They always wanted to send their mother back to their parents, but their father was still alive, so they had no chance. Now the opportunity has finally come.
Yu Shu kept his eyes fixed on the traffic conditions and traffic lights.
"Aren't you going to buy paper figurines?"
My aunt's withered hand touched the windowpane, her cloudy eyes filled with longing. "I'm so sorry. Please take it back for me. I'll have to trouble you and Yu Huan with the rest. I'll also have to trouble you to lie for me and tell them that my condition is too serious and I have to be hospitalized and can't go back."
Yu Shu's hands on the steering wheel stiffened for a moment, and he almost lost control of the car and hit the green plants on the roadside when turning.
"I know you're investigating the real cause of Yu Ding'an's death, and I also know you're investigating He Yuhua, but I can't tell anyone in the village. I finally have a chance to leave that village, and I don't have to be monitored by them anymore."
The aunt's wrinkled eyelids slowly lifted, and she met Yu Shu's surprised gaze through the rearview mirror. She smiled bitterly and said, "Six months ago, your great-uncle and Yu Ding'an both dreamed that Zhang was coming to take their lives. It's strange that he's taking revenge now after so many years. Zhang is inhumane, kidnapping and selling women and children for money. Yu Ding'an knows a thing or two, and the two of them led the villagers to do such inhumane and dirty work to make a fortune."
Yu Shu blinked twice quickly, sighed imperceptibly and nodded.
"The uncle who just stopped me was a former public security officer. When he was asked to investigate the village, he abused his power to protect Yu Ding'an and the man surnamed Zhang. He also colluded with everyone in the village to pre-arrange their confessions, making the villagers say they had no memory of He Yuhua and the man surnamed Zhang being killed."
Some of what his aunt said he knew and some he had guessed, but Yu Shu felt powerless after hearing it. He didn't dare to say anything until he was threatened to some extent.
"He Yuhua and I are similar but also different. She and Zhang went into the village and tried to communicate with the girls who had been abducted and sold there. They tried to persuade us to leave, but we were starving and ill-fated, and our health was far worse than before. How could we possibly escape from that mountain village?"
"She ran away many times, but was caught and taken back, beaten and abused. Many girls were afraid, but He Yuhua persisted." The aunt said, secretly wiping away a tear. "I thought, since I can't escape anyway, I might as well stay out of trouble and spend the rest of my life in this dark village." I never thought your grandfather, Yu Ding'an, and your great uncle... were a couple.
Yu Shu was so engrossed in listening that he almost ran a red light and braked suddenly, but due to inertia he almost hit the windshield.
He stared at his aunt with wide eyes. The last time he heard such explosive gossip was when the young nurses from the proctology and obstetrics and gynecology departments came over to share the table with him while he was eating and talked about it.
Yu Dingan and my uncle are both men.
In that era, if two men were together, they would go to jail!
"Yu Ding'an did this kind of thing for money, and secondly, to have a family that can be justified on the surface so as to avoid being criticized and continue with your great uncle." As she spoke, the aunt clenched her fists.
They only thought of the first reason, thinking that Yu Ding'an was just afraid of being poor, and was afraid of the consequences of seeking wealth, so he simply went all out and was completely inhumane.
Unexpectedly, Yu Dingan was not inhuman, but he gave his humanity to his uncle.
Yu Shu finally understood why Yu Ding'an was so afraid of the matter being exposed. It was not only because of the life he was carrying, but also because of the unspeakable taboo relationship between brothers.
It also explains why my great-uncle's family was so rich, and why he was thinking of Yu Ding'an before he died.
"Isn't it hard to accept?" asked my aunt.
It's really hard to accept. Even TV dramas don't dare to portray it so outrageously.
Yu Shu's nodding movement seemed to be stuck as if there was a network delay.
Jiang Yu, who was lying in the back seat, sat up straight, looked meaningfully at the rearview mirror and exchanged glances with Yu Shu.
Yu Shu sent the person to the youngest son's house as requested by his aunt. The youngest son's first reaction when he saw his mother was to rub his eyes, thinking he had seen it wrong.
After confirming that it was their mother, the youngest son and his family solemnly bowed 90 degrees to Yu Shu and Jiang Yu to express their gratitude.
Yu Shu looked at his aunt's moist eyes and suddenly realized that it was not the people in the village who couldn't leave, but the men who committed crimes who couldn't leave.
As her aunt said, He Yuhua always wanted these girls not to give up their determination to leave the village.
Yu Shu bought the paper figurines and palaces, but he didn't want to go back and tinker with them himself, so he simply asked the store to deliver them to his door. However, when the store owner heard that he was from that village, he was a little hesitant: "At most, they'll deliver them 500 meters to the village entrance. You can pick them up yourself when you arrive."
Yes, if three people died in one week, any normal person would be scared.
On the way back, Yu Shu checked his testimony with the two sons of his aunt's family, so that when the men in the village asked him questions, they would not doubt him for a while.
Yu Shu was driving, and Jiang Yu was leaning against the edge of the car window, lost in thought.
The rushing wind blew through Jiang Yu's hair, giving it shape. His short hair swayed in the wind like grass that was blown backwards.
"Be careful and don't get too close to the outside." Yu Shu glanced at him and warned.
Jiang Yu obediently straightened his body, his hair was blown into a slicked back style, making him look more stern.
Jiang Yu pulled out his phone and scrolled through the comments section of He Yuhua's short video. For two consecutive days, many people who had graduated from that school had posted their graduation photos, claiming that there was no such person as He Yuhua.
He exited the video interface and prepared to play the game only to find that he had received several messages in the background.
"Hello, how did you find Comrade He Yuhua's photo?"
"Do you have any news about Comrade Yuhua?!"
"Please reply if you see this. I'm a colleague of Ho Yu-wah, police number 012547."
All of them were sent a minute ago.
He Yuhua's colleague also has a police number, and it is said that He Yuhua followed him into the village on her own. Could it be that she is an undercover police officer?
So many people disappeared back then. Even if the local police closed the case and said no one was found, it would definitely attract the attention of higher-level departments. So He Yuhua went to Huxue in person.
So no one in that school recognized He Yuhua, because there was no such student at all. She was just wearing a set of clothes so that Zhang Bo could target her and lure her into the village.
But I didn't expect that the village was so cruel that you couldn't get out once you got in.
Jiang Yu jumped up and down and typed a reply.
"How do you prove you're telling the truth?"
The other party replied almost instantly, sending a black and white photo of He Yuhua with a neat hairstyle, wearing a police uniform and a police hat. Her stubborn eyes were so moving and bright, but such an undercover police officer ended up with a tragic end of being mutilated.
The other party also added a line of text: "The operation was confirmed on July 20, 1993. On July 22, He Yuhua was suspected of being targeted by the suspect. On July 24, she set off with the suspect. On July 25, she disappeared and no one was heard from again. The operation team searched the suspected area but found nothing unusual."
Jiang Yu's brow twitched. The Chinese language in front of him gave him a strong sense of unfamiliarity.
No wonder He Yuhua was dismembered, no wonder He Yuhua helped again and again, no wonder the villagers avoided talking about He Yuhua's affairs.
Such a female police officer who worked hard for the people and the public died in a strange mountain village and her body was not even intact.
Jiang Yu took a deep breath and made great mental preparations before handing the phone to Yu Shu.
"Look."
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