Chapter 143 Jinjiang First Launch

Lame Brother laughed and said, "To say the least, there are too many people who have been bullied by them. To put it bluntly, it wouldn't be surprising if the whole village came together to poison them. After all, it's not the first time that Du Dasheng has been hated!"

Bai Mian nodded and said, "Everyone in this village has a motive for committing the crime, but we also have to consider the reality. The Du family died from an oral poison. Who has the conditions to make the Du family swallow the poison?"

Lame Brother guessed: "Could it be someone from the Du family? Although the Du family is rich, it is inevitable that the wealth is not distributed evenly. Who knows, someone might have harbored resentment and poisoned other family members in order to monopolize the family's wealth."

Guo Yiyang thought about it and expressed a different opinion: "According to the ruthless style of the Du family, they are capable of doing such a thing, but I don't think it was necessarily done by the Du family. After all, the water that the villagers drank used to be drawn from the well. When I went to rob the tomb, I saw Du Dasheng's old house. There was a dry well in the house. They must have used water from this well. If someone poisoned the well, it would be easy to kill their family."

"No, it's not the well water," Bai Mian hadn't said anything yet, but Brother Cripple spoke first. He remembered what he had said before, "My classmate mentioned this to me, all the young men in the Du family died, leaving only the elderly and children. So the murderer didn't kill indiscriminately, he poisoned precisely. To do this, he had to be someone inside the Du family, and this person had to be able to handle the kitchen, so that it would be easier to poison. To poison so many people at once, the only way was to poison them through food."

Seeing how hard everyone was guessing, Bai Mian was about to announce the answer, but Lame Brother held out his hand at this moment: "Wait, wait, wait, don't tell me yet, I already have some idea, I can deduce it myself!"

So Bai Mian said nothing and just watched Brother Lame play this reasoning game with a smile on his face.

Lame Brother lowered his head and thought to himself: "This person is a member of the Du family, and she often walks around in the kitchen, so she must be a woman. In the past, there were almost no men in the kitchen. A woman in charge of cooking - maybe Du Dasheng's sister or daughter - poisoned and killed them. It must be like this!"

Guo Yiyang retorted, "It's impossible. My parents grew up in the countryside, and I am half a countryman. Country people generally believe that there is strength in numbers. One of the reasons why the Du family can become a local tyrant is because they have many children. If it is true as you said, a woman from the Du family poisoned and killed all the young men in the family, what good would it do her? Without the young men, the prestige of the Du family would naturally be gone. This is illogical, so this must have been done by an outsider!"

Lame Brother: "It's someone from the Du family!"

Guo Yiyang: "Outsiders are outsiders!"

The two of them started arguing like little kids, and Bai Mian had to interrupt them: "Okay, okay, let me do the talking."

As soon as Bai Mian started talking, both of them quieted down, and the listeners around them pricked up their ears, wanting to hear the truth of the matter.

"You didn't guess correctly, but you didn't guess completely wrong either. You can say that you each got half of the answer right," Bai Mian said. The two of them showed disappointed expressions. Everyone was confused. Bai Mian continued, "The person who poisoned is a woman living in the Du family. She is responsible for the family's food, but at the same time she is an outsider with no blood relationship with the Du family."

"Cook?" Lame asked uncertainly. After seeing Bai Mian's expression, he immediately took back his words, "No, not the cook, it's -"

"Du Dasheng's daughter-in-law!" Guo Yiyang answered quickly.

Bai Mian nodded, "Yes, the murderer is Du Dasheng's daughter-in-law, Xiaoyue, who was forcibly taken away by him. Xiaoyue's parents had originally arranged a marriage for her, but Du Dasheng ignored etiquette and took advantage of his numbers to take Xiaoyue away and marry her to his son. After the marriage, Xiaoyue was treated as a nanny by this family and had to endure their bullying. Finally, Xiaoyue couldn't stand it anymore and decided to fight back."

"Xiaoyue's father was a barefoot doctor who always carried various pills in his backpack. Xiaoyue was exposed to this and naturally knew what drugs could kill people. She went back home several times under the pretext of visiting her mother's home, stole a lot of pills from her father, and then ground them into powder, preparing to kill people."

"This was Xiaoyue's first time to kill someone. She was very nervous. To be on the safe side, she decided to experiment on Du Dasheng first. The Du family members did not eat at the same table. They seemed to be harmonious on the surface, but in fact, they had many conflicts in private. They would fight every time they met, so Xiaoyue had to cook for them and bring them to their respective rooms."

"Du Dasheng's wife used to cook for this family, but she stopped after Xiaoyue got married. Xiaoyue had to cook for the whole family every day, and she was the only one in the kitchen. This gave her the opportunity to do something. After cooking every day, she would sprinkle some medicine powder on Du Dasheng's dish, and then stir it evenly to ensure that the medicine powder was completely absorbed into the dish."

"The powder tasted slightly bitter, but the Du family liked to eat dishes with a lot of oil and salt, so the bitter taste was masked. Du Dasheng ate it for a year and didn't notice anything unusual. At the end of that year, his health collapsed."

"Later, Du Dasheng sought medical help everywhere. Although the doctor found out that he was poisoned, the children of the Du family suspected each other and did not find the real culprit. After all, who would suspect a weak and timid woman like Xiaoyue?"

"After Mr. Du died, Xiaoyue began to formally implement her plan. She continued to cook for the family, and then put drugs in all the dishes of the young and vigorous. This time, the amount of drugs she put was even larger. Perhaps God was also helping her, and her behavior was never discovered. In this way, the children of the Du family died one after another, and even Xiaoyue's husband was poisoned to death by her."

"Because of the example of Du Dasheng, the villagers were not surprised by the death of these children. Everyone thought that the Du family had a genetic disease that would lead to their early death. No one suspected it. Moreover, the villagers had long hated the Du family for what they had done. When the Du family died, the villagers were too happy to investigate the cause of their death."

"People at the time were not aware enough to call the police, so the matter was swept under the rug. Over the years, Xiaoyue's murder was never discovered."

Hearing this, Cripple Brother raised a question: "Since Xiaoyue had already poisoned the family, why didn't she just poison everyone in the Du family to death? Isn't she afraid of revenge in the future if she leaves those people alive?"

Bai Mian explained: "She only saved the lives of the elderly and children. The elderly were old and posed no threat. As for the children, she only saved one child, her own."

Guo Yiyang and Que Ge were both surprised: "Xiao Yue also had a child with the son of the Du family?"

Bai Mian nodded and said, "That's right. She didn't want to mention this past, and neither did the Feng Shui master. So when he spread the story, he deliberately erased it. In all the versions you heard, there was no mention of this child."

"What does it have to do with the Feng Shui master if he doesn't want to mention it?" said Lame Brother.

Bai Mian's eyes turned: "Of course it's because Xiaoyue later became Mr. Feng Shui's wife, and he had to take her feelings into consideration."

"What? They are together?" Everyone was dumbfounded.

Bai Mian: "Back then, in order to plan for a resurrection, Du Dasheng often asked a Feng Shui master to come to his house for a long discussion. Xiaoyue, as his daughter-in-law, often served by his bedside. After a while, the two got to know each other. They were both young people and got along well. It didn't take long for them to fall in love with each other."

Guo Yiyang was shocked: "So, Xiaoyue eloped with the Feng Shui master?"

Lame Brother smiled happily: "So that's how it is. I was wondering, in that legend, there was no explanation of where Xiaoyue went. I thought she went back to her parents' home, but it turns out she went far away. It's good this way, it's better than living in the village and being pointed at by others all my life. Tsk, fate is really amazing!"

Bai Mian continued, "After most of the people in the Du family died, Xiaoyue followed the Feng Shui master and left. At that time, there were only a few elderly people left in the Du family, and no one could stop Xiaoyue. Xiaoyue left the village and followed the Feng Shui master to work in the city. The child was left in the Du family. Every time Xiaoyue saw the child, she would think of the shadow of the past, so she was reluctant to take the child away."

"At this time, the Du family only had a few elderly people and a baby left. All their property was taken underground. The family power plummeted instantly and was no longer as powerful as before. The villagers who had been bullied by the Du family in the past were now ready to ask the Du family for an explanation. To prevent the villagers from retaliating, the elderly people moved away with their children overnight. From then on, no one lived in the Du family anymore, and Du Dasheng's treasure became a legend."

After hearing this story, Guo Yiyang sighed deeply: "What a tortuous and bizarre story. Alas, it's a pity that I have no chance to get the treasure. The Du family has done so many evil things, and they really deserve this fate. But Xiaoyue killed so many people, but she didn't get any punishment at all. Will she continue to kill people after she comes down the mountain?"

Bai Mian smiled slightly and suddenly said, "Perhaps, there is one thing you should know. The Feng Shui master back then had the surname Guo, which means the past."

"ah?"

Everyone was shocked, and for a moment everyone in the audience looked at Guo Yi Yang.

Guo Yiyang was also shocked: "Ah? My last name is not common. Could it be... Master, could it be that the Feng Shui master is my father?"

Bai Mian did not say anything, tacitly accepting this statement. Guo Yiyang was petrified on the spot. He sat in a chair, thinking about his parents:

"My dad is a Feng Shui master, so, then Xiaoyue in the story is my mom? It's too outrageous, how is this possible? My dad and mom are both honest people, they have worked diligently all their lives, how could they do such a thing? My dad is a farmer who can't read a single word, he can only send voice messages on WeChat, and he doesn't even know how to use handwriting input method, how can he be a Feng Shui master? My mom has always spoken softly to people all her life, and she has never even sworn a word, but she actually killed people, and so many people?"

Guo Yi Yang held his head, his entire worldview collapsed. His parents had passed away, and these things could not be verified, but Bai Mian's reputation was known to everyone, so it was probably true. If his parents were still alive, he really didn't know how to face them.

Bai Mian said softly, "Your mother didn't want to kill anyone. She was originally a gentle and kind person, but she was forced into a corner. After she eloped with your father, life returned to normal, and she also returned to her original character. As for your father, he made up a completely new persona to cover up his past. He was not illiterate. On the contrary, he knew a lot about astronomy and geography, but he never showed it in front of you."

"I remember now, my mother did change her name," Guo Yiyang raised his head suddenly, "her previous name had a 'moon' in it! I saw her former name, and I asked her why she changed her name, but she just smiled and didn't say anything."

"As for my dad, why did he disguise himself? He was just a Feng Shui master and he had never killed anyone. Although he fooled Du Dasheng with the story of resurrection, it was not a crime. It was just to give him psychological comfort!"

Bai Mian: "No, he participated in the murder. When your father and mother fell in love, your mother revealed that she had poisoned someone. After your father understood your mother's difficulties, he decided to help her commit murder. The book said that in order to revive the dead, one needs to take a pill while alive to keep the body from decaying. In fact, the so-called pill is double the poison. Your father made up this story just to get rid of Du Dasheng as soon as possible. He also participated in the subsequent series of poisoning incidents. He is an accomplice."

"Although these things were not discovered at the time, they might be uncovered one day. Once an investigation is launched, your father and mother might be wanted. In order to hide their past, they changed their appearances and names and started living with a completely new identity."

Guo Yiyang was still in shock, and many past events flooded his mind: "My parents turned out to be murderers... My dad could actually read. If he could read, wouldn't he have seen through all the little tricks I played in the past?"

He recalled that when he was a child, he lied that he was doing homework, but he was actually writing a love letter to a girl in the next class. At that time, his father was in his room with the fan on. He thought his father couldn't understand anything, so he wrote boldly. He didn't expect that his father had seen everything, but just didn't expose him.

"Dad..." Guo Yiyang covered his face. After so many years, he got to know his parents again. From a legal point of view, his parents were indeed murderers, but to him, his parents were very good people who gave him a lot of love.

Bai Mian patted his shoulder and said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. No matter what the truth is, it's all about the grudges of their previous generation. It has nothing to do with you. I told you everything today because I hope you can let it go after knowing the truth and concentrate on living your own life. Otherwise, if you still have doubts in your heart, you will always stay in the past."

Hearing this, Guo Yiyang was stunned for a moment. Maybe other people didn't understand, but he knew what Bai Mian was talking about. He had always been obsessed with the Du family's treasure. He remembered that his father said before he died that the Du family's treasure was not a legend, but really existed. If you can find the treasure, you can turn your life around. It was his father who instilled this awareness in him, which made him always obsessed with the treasure.

As if he could hear his inner voice, Bai Mian said, "Back then, your father had thought about robbing a grave, but he failed. He was very unwilling to accept this, so he left this unwillingness to you, hoping that you could help him dig out the Du family's treasure. Now that the truth is out, you should let it go. Getting rich overnight is fake. Working hard is the real thing."

Guo Yiyang said unconvincedly: "But can working mean a future? Look at my parents, they have worked for half their lives and never saved much money. Look at me, I am still poor and have only a few thousand yuan in my mobile phone balance. I am really fed up with this kind of life!"

Bai Mian said seriously, "Your parents committed too many murderous deeds in the past, which affected their own fortune and that of their descendants. It is destined that you will not be successful now, but isn't it a kind of happiness to live an ordinary life? You are now healthy, free from illness and disaster, and have a large group of friends. This kind of life is something that many people envy. You should be thankful that you didn't steal anything, otherwise you would be in prison working on a sewing machine."

Hearing Bai Mian say this, Guo Yiyang was frustrated again. The staff behind him said unhappily, "You've said a lot, but you still haven't told us what the sound in the coffin was about! We heard someone talking in the coffin. Is it that Du Dasheng has come back to life?"

Other guys also spoke up:

"Yes, we heard it for sure, it was a man's voice!"

"It's definitely not Du Dasheng. You are a bunch of idiots. How could you really believe that Du Dasheng can be resurrected? If every dead person can be resurrected, wouldn't the world be in chaos?"

"Stop making noise, be quiet and listen to what the master says!"

But Yi Yang was still so depressed, and the truth about the resurrection did not interest him. Bai Mian looked at him and suddenly asked, "Do you know where your brother is now?"

Guo Yiyang raised his head listlessly, looking confused: "How can I have a brother? I am an only child, my parents only gave birth to me... Oh, I understand, you are talking about the child my mother gave birth to in the Du family, yes, he is my half brother, but I have never seen him since he was born, never had any contact with him, how can I know his current situation?"

Bai Mian put away the fan in his hand and tapped the table:

"He is lying in that coffin."