Chapter 167 Jinjiang Debut
"What does this mean?" asked the bearded man.
Xia Mang raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Many of you must have heard a story. A group of people went out to sea to fish. They encountered a storm on the sea. The boat drifted for many days. In the end, only one person came back alive. The surviving person said that they encountered wild beasts on the island and the others were all eaten by the beasts. In fact, the truth was that there was a lack of food on the boat. People attacked each other and ate the corpses of their companions. In the end, only this person survived, and the rest of the crew were eaten by him."
"You mean I eat people?" The bearded man obviously had limited comprehension.
Xia Mang shook his head and said, "No, I've said that only those who survived are qualified to tell stories. Your story is too bizarre and hard to believe, so I boldly guess that things are not as you said. You made up a story and beautified yourself in it."
The bearded man said disdainfully: "Why would I make up a story to deceive you? Am I bored? What good would this do me?"
Xia Mang: "You did this to distance yourself from the deaths of these two people. Let's put aside this legend and just look at the objective facts. The fact is that two men who were closely related to you died, and you were the last person to see them. No matter who you are, you will be suspected."
"You and your brothers had some kind of conflict, maybe an emotional entanglement, maybe a financial dispute. In short, you wanted to kill them, so you took the two of them to the mountain, and then found a way to kill them both on the mountain. You also made up a non-existent wild man and put all the blame on this wild man. It is precisely because of this that you have never dared to call the police. Am I right?"
Xia Mang looked at the bearded man with pride, and the bearded man's facial features became ferocious: "You are talking nonsense! You are slandering me out of thin air! I said it as soon as I walked in, I swear to heaven, everything I said is true. If I lied, then let me be struck by lightning and I will never have a good death in my life!"
Xia Mang disagreed: "What's the point of swearing? The oath may not be fulfilled. If you don't believe me, go and look at the prisoners in the prison. They all dare to swear!"
The bearded man grinned in grievance, looking like he was about to cry: "Then what should I say so that you will believe it? Oh, I have a witness! The owner of the barbecue stall at the foot of the mountain can testify for me. He is there every day. Do you want me to call him over?"
Xia Mang refused to listen to the bearded man's explanation. She insisted on her own guess: "Witnesses can be bought off. As long as you give him money, he can cooperate with you in telling lies. The most important thing now is the marks on the body. You might as well call the police and let them do an autopsy. If you don't call the police, you will never be able to clear yourself of suspicion."
The bearded man slapped his thigh in anxiety and said, "Look, I didn't dare to call the police because I was afraid that the police would think the same as you! I said I saw a wild man, but you didn't believe me. Two people died in the mountains, and you all thought it was me. How can I dare to call the police? I'm afraid the police will regard me as a suspect!"
Bai Mian went straight to the point: "After all, have you ever seen the wild man with your own eyes? Or, do you have any evidence to prove the existence of the wild man?"
The bearded man was stunned for a moment: "I have seen it, of course I have! I was about to say it, but someone interrupted me. At that time, after the wasabi fell, I was so scared that I ran like crazy in the mountains as if I was risking my life. But in a panic, I ran in the wrong direction and ran deep into the mountains. It was in the depths of the mountains that I saw the wild man."
"I ran forward, and the scenery in front of me became more and more lush. I realized that I was running in the wrong direction, so I stopped and leaned against a big tree to rest. While resting, I looked around and tried to find the right direction."
"Just as I was catching my breath, I heard a rustling sound behind me, as if something was moving. I turned around cautiously and saw a furry thing on a tree about two or three meters away from me - that was the wild man I had been looking for for many days!"
"I was so scared that I didn't expect to encounter savages in such a situation. I didn't have any weapons with me at the time, and I was scared out of my wits. After witnessing Wasabi's death, I completely lost the courage to fight against the savages."
"I quietly observed him through the branches. The guy looked very strange. He was slender, about two meters long, and covered with monkey hair. But he was not a monkey. He had a human face."
"When I first spotted the savage, he had his back to me. He seemed to sense my gaze and slowly turned his head. Then, then - he turned his head 180 degrees."
"The scene was so weird that I was scared to death. I wanted to scream, but I remembered what the barbecue stall owner said, that shouting would attract wild people, so I closed my mouth tightly and swallowed hard."
"His head is completely upside down. His eyes are where his chin is, but his mouth is on his forehead. His eyes are so close to his neck. I almost - I almost suspect that it is a non-human creature!"
"He looked at me, and I looked at him stealthily. As I looked, I found that his eyes seemed to be completely black. Not the black of the eyeballs, but pitch black without even a trace of white in them, like an abyss."
"He obviously saw me, but he didn't rush towards me. He just climbed down the tree, got on all fours, and went into the bushes."
Xia Mang didn't believe it. She had already determined that the bearded man was making up a story, so she joked, "It sounds like this wild man isn't as scary as the legend says! He killed everyone but spared you. Could it be that he fell in love with you?"
The bearded man said with disgust: "Go away, stop talking nonsense. Who would fall in love with that kind of thing? It disgusts me. I get goose bumps when I think of him! You didn't see what he looks like. I now suspect that thing is not a wild man, but a ghost!"
As his words became more and more mysterious, few people around him believed him anymore and everyone began to whisper.
"One moment he says he's a savage, the next moment he says he's a ghost. It would be strange if you believed him!"
"It's probably made up. I don't think the death of two people is true. Maybe it's a made-up story to attract traffic. Master Bai is popular now, so there are more people trying to get traffic."
"Sister Liu, your dress is very nice. I see that you are getting more and more energetic now. Since your husband died, you are getting younger and younger!"
"Of course. How can I not be happy that the old man is gone? Hahaha, let's do square dance together when we have time!"
"Don't be free, just come to my house for dinner today. I've learned a new song and I'll teach it to you later!"
Seeing that everyone had started chatting about family matters, the bearded man felt a little desperate. He placed his last hope on Bai Mian. He looked at Bai Mian with wide eyes and said:
"Master, you believe me, right?"
Bai Mian shook his fan and said, "According to your description, the creature you met was definitely not a wild man or an ape-like animal. It is impossible for it to turn its head 180 degrees, but it didn't look like a ghost either. If it was an evil ghost that killed people on sight, there would be no reason for it to let you go alone. I have a guess in my mind, but you'd better wait until I check your pulse before you speak."
The bearded man stretched out his hand obediently, and Bai Mian felt his pulse. His pulse was strong and powerful. Through his pulse, Bai Mian saw the nights he had experienced. Then Bai Mian opened WeChat and sent a message. "Haha, I think he just made it up, Master, did I guess right?" Xia Mang had already revealed a victorious smile in advance.
Bai Mian shook his head slowly: "No, everything he said is true."
Everyone was stunned, and Xia Mang was even more amazed: "Ah? Is there really a wild man on this mountain? Oh my god, this is a discovery that will shock the world. Qingshui Town is going to be famous!"
Bai Mian: "He thought he saw a savage, but what he met was not a savage."
The bearded man hurriedly asked, "What on earth is that?"
Bai Mian paused and put the fan on the table: "Let's start this story from the beginning. First of all, why do you live at the foot of the mountain?"
The bearded man was confused: "Because the owner of the barbecue stall told us about the wild man legend, we want to make a video to make a fortune, didn't I just say that?"
"But that wasn't what he meant," Bai Mian tapped the table with his fan. "After he told this story, he immediately advised you to leave. That was his real intention. But he didn't expect that his words would have the opposite effect."
"He wants to chase us away?" The bearded man was confused. "What's his purpose? A barbecue vendor doesn't want to attract customers, but chases them away. Is he crazy?"
"What if he is not a barbecue seller at all?" Bai Mian asked back.
The bearded man was stunned by the question. He bit his finger and didn't answer. Bai Mian continued, "You said it yourself, there are almost no people passing by that area, but he goes there to set up a stall every day. This is obviously unreasonable."
The bearded man suddenly realized: "I understand, he is not selling barbecue at all, he is a plainclothes! I thought he always burns the skewers, it's obvious he is not a professional! He sets up a stall at the foot of the mountain every day, it must be to monitor the movements of the wild man and disperse passers-by. No wonder the news of the wild man has not been spread, it turns out that the police have intervened in this matter!"
After saying this, he thought about it again: "No, if the police really got involved in this matter, how could they watch my two brothers die one after another?"
Bai Mian nodded: "He is not a police officer, but he is indeed here to monitor passers-by. You can say that he is the security guard of this mountain."
The bearded man was puzzled: "Hey, is it worth hiring a security guard for a broken mountain? What is there to guard on this mountain? Is there something valuable on the mountain that they are afraid I will steal?"
Xia Mang's imagination was sparked: "Wow, could there be gold or silver mines discovered on the mountain? Or maybe there is a famous tomb!"
The bearded man's eyes lit up: "Jinshan, wouldn't that mean I'm rich? This is really a fortune from heaven, if it fell on me..."
Bai Mian snapped his fingers at him: "Wake up, the most important thing for you now is to solve the case in front of you, otherwise the suspicion of murder will fall on you."
The bearded man lowered his head in embarrassment and began to think along the clues provided by Bai Mian: "The barbecue stall is fake. The purpose is to drive away passers-by and make everyone afraid to approach the mountain. There are valuable things hidden on the mountain. Then, the so-called wild man is also fake?"
Bai Mian: "Yes, the savages are just trying to drive you away."
The bearded man immediately retorted: "But I clearly saw the savage, I really saw him, and he killed two people!"
Bai Mian: "What you saw was just a deformed man in a leather suit. Because of his deformity, his body and limbs are long and thin. He is more than two meters tall. The leather suit is tailor-made according to his body shape. It is covered with monkey hair. When he puts on the leather suit, he looks like an extremely tall monkey. This is the wild man you saw."
"As for the two dead, they were killed by the illegal gang behind the savages. This gang has many people, so it is easy to kill one person."
"A gang..." The bearded man suddenly woke up, "Yes, they are a gang, I understand, I understand everything!"
Bai Mian smiled with relief, and then explained to the people who still didn't understand: "The owner of the barbecue stall at the foot of the mountain is also a member of the gang. He is responsible for keeping watch for the entire gang and driving away passers-by. The role of the wild man is similar to that of an actor. If someone insists on going up the mountain without listening to the advice, the wild man will come forward to scare them away."
"The reason why the Savage can only appear at night is because he is a human in a fur suit. If he appears during the day, you are likely to see through his disguise, so he can only scare people when he appears at night."
"The huge cave you found in the mountains is not a cave of wild men. It is a place where the actor who plays the wild man takes a rest to cool off. That's why there are traces of human life in it."
"In fact, this actor has no ability to hurt anyone. His appearance is just to warn you and let you leave this mountain."
The bearded man said puzzledly: "He didn't hurt anyone, but my two brothers were both killed..."
"That's because you didn't listen to the warnings," Bai Mian raised his eyebrows. "This gang has warned you many times. The barbecue stall owner warned you. Later, you took photos of the savages. The appearance of the savages was also a warning to you. Later, Wasabi and Eggplant went up the mountain alone and were attacked by the savages. The savages threw them to the foot of the mountain. This was also a warning to you, but you didn't listen once."
"As long as you leave in time, this gang will not kill anyone. After all, they are afraid of getting into trouble after killing someone."
"Then why did they kill Eggplant?" asked the bearded man.
Bai Mian: "Because he saw something he shouldn't have seen. You left that night, and Eggplant and Wasabi were waiting for the savages in the cave. Wasabi fell asleep, but Eggplant didn't. He found out that there was something wrong with the wine you had been drinking—"
The bearded man interrupted, "Wine?"
Bai Mian nodded: "It was the beer you bought from the barbecue stall. During the days you lived in the self-built house, you ate barbecue and drank beer every day. After each drink, you would quickly feel sleepy. Didn't you notice?"
The bearded man slammed the table and said, "Fuck, that's how it is! No wonder we always fall asleep when we go up the mountain to catch wild men. It turns out that this bastard drugged our wine! Every time I go to buy wine, he helps me open the bottle cap before giving it to me. I guess he drugged us at that time. I should have discovered it earlier. I was so careless!"
Bai Mian: "Eggplant discovered this before you, so he deliberately didn't drink beer that night. Only Wasabi drank it. After entering the cave, Wasabi was affected by the drug and slowly fell asleep. Eggplant also imitated him and pretended to fall asleep."
"Not long after they fell asleep, a group of people entered the cave. It turned out that this group of people had been silently observing Eggplant and Wasabi's actions. Seeing that they fell asleep, this group of people lifted them up and threw them back to the foot of the mountain, just like last time, as a warning to them."
"After throwing them at the foot of the mountain, the group of people walked away. Eggplant stopped pretending at this time. He opened his eyes and sat up, then tiptoed to catch up with the group of people. He had seen through the savages' deception and just wanted to see what the group of people were doing. If he was lucky, maybe he could blackmail them."
"Eggplant followed the group all the way to the top of the mountain, where he saw the secret that the group was guarding. He finally began to feel scared, and he turned around and left, eager to get down the mountain, but it was too late. Someone in the gang had already discovered him."
"They pinned him to the ground, beheaded him, and put his head back in the cave as a warning to you. The body was buried in the soil. There is more than one skeleton buried on this mountaintop."
The bearded man asked, "Then why did Eggplant's head disappear when Wasabi returned to the cave?"
Bai Mian: "They have achieved their goal of intimidating you, so they will naturally take the head away. Otherwise, if you take the head to report the case, it will be disadvantageous to them."
"It's so cruel. They killed Eggplant and separated its head and body. There's not even a complete body left," the bearded man said. "What about Wasabi? Why did Wasabi die?"
Bai Mian looked straight at the bearded man. "Shanqi died because of you. He had decided not to go up the mountain, but you insisted on dragging him up the mountain and forced him into the cave. The gang in the mountain saw him coming to them again and again, and thought he was looking for trouble on purpose, so they decided to give him a hard time."
"At that time, you hid at the foot of the mountain and left Wasabi alone in the cave. He was very scared and came out to wander around. The gang happened to send out wild men to scare him, so he started fighting with the wild men. The wild men looked tall and strong, but they were not very strong, so Wasabi quickly gained the upper hand."
"Just when Wasabi was about to win, he suddenly pulled off the Savage's mask during the fight and saw the Savage's face. This caused a big problem. The actor who played the Savage had a strange appearance and was easy to remember. Wasabi saw the Savage's face and was likely to identify the Savage to the police. This gang would be doomed as well."
"At this point, they had no choice but to get rid of Wasabi, so the gang members hiding in the surroundings came out one after another. They surrounded Wasabi, then grabbed his hands and feet and lifted him up. Then they walked to the edge of the cliff and threw Wasabi down."
"They edited a suicide note in Wasabi's phone, trying to make it look like Wasabi committed suicide by jumping off a cliff, but this method was too lame. Wasabi had many signs of struggle on her body before she died, and the police could easily find them out."
"Because you didn't go into the cave, they didn't find you. They thought that only Wasabi came, and you escaped by luck."
"So, Wasabi falling in front of me was just a coincidence?" The bearded man was still frightened. "Huh, luckily I wasn't in the cave, otherwise I would have died. Brother Wasabi, you helped me avoid this disaster. I will definitely set up a table to commemorate you when I get back!"
Xia Mang sneered: "Come on, your good brother was killed by you, he definitely doesn't want to accept your thank-you gift. If his subordinates knew about this, they might even give you the middle finger after hearing what you said!"
The bearded man was also ashamed. "Yes, yes, I feel guilty towards my brothers. I was greedy and hurt everyone. It was really dangerous this time. If I took a wrong step, I might have died. But speaking of it, I am also very curious, why am I okay? When I left the mountain, the wild man had clearly discovered me, so why didn't he catch me?"
Xia Mang laughed and said, "I've already told you that the savage is attracted to you. He has lived in the mountains for many years and wants to find someone to keep him company. You are delicate and tender, which is just what he wants. I suggest that you write a book when you go back and call it "The Domineering Savage Fell in Love with Me". Maybe it will sell well!"
The bearded man had no intention of arguing with Xia Mang. He looked at Bai Mian anxiously. Bai Mian said:
"Because the savages are afraid of you. Yes, it sounds a bit outrageous, but the savages are indeed afraid of you. I have already said that the actor who plays the savage is a deformed person. Although he is tall, his fighting ability is not strong. The most cowardly Wasabi among you can pin him to the ground and beat him, let alone you."
"The savage was alone at the time. His companions had all gone far away, and he was the only one left here patrolling the mountain. If he tried to catch you, you would definitely beat him up. Instead of that, it would be better for him to pretend not to see you from the beginning, and you two could live in peace. He is just an employee anyway, so just turn a blind eye."
"Also," Bai Mian pointed to his chin, "you saw the savage's face turned 180 degrees. That wasn't his real face, it was the mask he wore on his face. He untied the straps behind his head and turned the mask 180 degrees, and that's what you saw."
"He did that to scare you off, and when you didn't run away, he had to leave on his own in embarrassment."
The bearded man patted his chest after hearing this and said, "So that's how it is. Anyway, I have escaped from the tiger's den, thank God! My ancestors must have begged for mercy in the underworld."
Xia Mang touched his chin and said, "And those self-built houses! The residents around here suddenly abandoned the houses they had worked so hard to build and ran away. This is definitely not accidental. They were probably scared away by the savages. This group of people planned so much just to keep people away from this mountain!"
The bearded man was very curious: "What on earth is on this mountain that is worth their efforts? Could there really be a gold mine?"
Xia Mang immediately denied this conjecture: "It's impossible. Mining makes a lot of noise and requires large vehicles. You have lived at the foot of the mountain for several days. If it was really mining, you would have discovered it long ago."
"If you ask me, it really could be an ancient tomb. Once a large tomb is dug out, that group of people will never have to worry about food and clothing for several lifetimes. Any item in the tomb can be sold for six figures..."
Xia Mang was immersed in his imagination, and Bai Mian directly announced the answer: "They forbid outsiders to approach this mountain because they want to plant crops on the mountain."
Xia Mang burst out laughing: "Growing? What kind of planting is worth them going to so much trouble to protect, thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum?"
The bearded man was also confused: "Ah, there are so many fields here, we can't grow crops anywhere, why do we have to do it on the top of the mountain? Besides, how much money can you make from growing crops? It's nothing more than potatoes, cabbages, etc., you can only earn hard-earned money."
Bai Mian smiled slightly: "They grow a kind of flower, a very beautiful flower that can kill people."
"It's poppy." Lu Xue immediately understood what Bai Mian was talking about.
The bearded man had never heard of this word. He scratched his head with great effort: "What is this?"
"It's what we commonly call marijuana," Xia Mang explained.
The bearded man was shocked when he heard this: "Marijuana? Isn't this contraband? Oh my god, there are people growing this in our local area, my god, this is drug-related!"
Lu Xue nodded: "It has long been banned in China to grow marijuana, but some people are still growing it secretly. Qingshui Town is a small place, usually there are no tourists, there are many wild mountains and ridges, and the probability of being discovered is also small. For them, coming to Qingshui Town to grow marijuana is a good choice."
The bearded man's upper and lower teeth kept chattering. Although he used to get into fights, he was scared when faced with this kind of real crime:
"Marijuana, drug-related... Oh my god, these people are so daring. No wonder they dare to kill people. No wonder Eggplant was killed by them just for taking a look at the things on the top of the mountain. Eggplant's death is really not worth it!"
Xia Mang also felt cold all over: "Hey, I really didn't expect that marijuana was grown a few kilometers away from me. Our country's anti-drug efforts are so strong, these people are really risking their lives... By the way, where will the marijuana they grow be sold to? Will it be sold to Qingshui Town? I've seen news before. There was a spicy hot pot restaurant that always made people want to eat more. Later, the police intervened in the investigation and found that there were poppy shells in the bottom of the spicy hot pot..."
Xia Mang was so scared that she dared not say anything more. She was afraid that she had eaten poppy shells as well. Lu Xue hurriedly comforted her: "It's okay, sister. We have been eating in the store for the past two days. The vegetables in the store are all bought by the boss lady from the vegetable market. They are green and pollution-free. Don't worry!"
Thinking of this, Xia Mang instantly felt much better, but the bearded man felt terrible: "Oh my god, I got into trouble with the drug cartel. This time I'm in big trouble. I heard that drug dealers are very vengeful. If I dare to mess with them, they will kill my whole family. Now two of our three brothers are dead, and I'm the only one left. God, will they come to our door?"
"They don't stand a chance," Bai Mian shook his phone, "At this time, they should have been arrested and taken to the police station."
It turned out that after taking the pulse, Bai Mian immediately sent a WeChat message to Xiao Chen, telling him the incident and the location of the mountain. After Xiao Chen received the news, he led a team there as soon as possible, and now all the people involved in the case have been arrested.
The police found the mobile barbecue truck at the scene. The grill was very new and showed almost no signs of use. The police also found a specially made monkey fur cover in the mountains, as well as the deformed man who was more than two meters tall.
The deformed man confessed everything. He was ostracized because of his special body shape and could not find a job, so he wanted to try the job of a special actor. The gang contacted him online. At first he thought it was a job for an extra. After learning the details, he felt scared, but could not resist the temptation of money and he finally joined the gang.
After some investigation, the gang selected one of the mountains as the main planting site. The mountain was collective property, and they could not openly fence off the mountain and prohibit outsiders from entering, so they came up with this method to drive outsiders away.
Once the barbecue stall owner finds outsiders, he will tell them the legend of the wild men. If they still insist on going into the mountains, the owner will notify the wild men, who will then put on special monkey fur covers and get on all fours to scare passers-by.
This approach has always been effective. The residents at the foot of the mountain were driven away in this way. There used to be a few "nail households" here, but later they could not bear the harassment and moved away one after another.
When Wasabi and his friends first entered the mountain, this group of people originally just wanted to scare them, but they didn't expect that Eggplant would see the poppy flowers they planted, so they had to take action and eliminate these people one by one, but the bearded man was lucky enough to save his life.
The police found the bodies of Wasabi and Eggplant in the mountains. They burned Eggplant's body in an attempt to destroy the evidence, but the police arrived in time and the body had not been completely burned.
Wasabi's body was also found at the foot of the mountain. He had been broken into pieces. Although the criminal gang tried to disguise Wasabi as committing suicide by jumping off a cliff, Wasabi had scratches on his wrists and ankles, and there were other people's skin dandruff in his own fingernails, which was enough to prove that Wasabi did not jump off the mountain voluntarily.
After interrogation, the criminal gang confessed all the truth. The police blocked the mountain and eradicated the poppies planted on the mountain. Large tracts of flowers fell down, and an elegy of life seemed to echo between the cliffs.
The criminal gang revealed the whereabouts of the marijuana. The marijuana they grew would be sold all over the country, with countless consumers. In order to redeem themselves from their crimes, they handed over the list of consumers. Next, the Qingshui Town police will join forces with police from other parts of the country to investigate these consumers who purchased marijuana.
As one of the parties involved, the bearded man also had to go to the police station to record his statement. The police car drove to the entrance of Cixin Hall to pick up the bearded man. Looking at the police car going away, Xia Mang made a gun gesture:
"Based on the amount of drugs they sold, these guys won't live long. Alas, you guys have contaminated my favorite spicy hot pot. Go to jail and eat peanuts. Biubiubiu——"
After recording his statement, the bearded man walked out of the police station dejectedly. He felt that his work was in vain this time. Not only did he waste time, but he also cost two lives. It was all because of his wishful thinking and dreaming of getting rich all day long.
As soon as he went out, a woman rushed towards him. He looked closely and found that it was Wasabi's mother.
Wasabi's mother raised her hand and slapped the bearded man, and then slapped him again: "I heard about it all. Our Wasabi died in such a tragic way. He was already crushed when he was found. It was all your fault! It was you who insisted on suggesting that he go into the mountains. It was you who left him there alone. It was you who killed him! Our Wasabi was such a coward, how could he dare to do such a risky thing? If it weren't for you, Wasabi would still be standing here!"
Eggplant's parents also came. They watched this scene in grief, and both burst into tears: "Wow, Eggplant, why are you so foolish! Although you are usually not ambitious and idle, you are your parents' only child. If you die, what hope do we have?"
"It's all your fault, those bad friends of yours. If it weren't for them, you wouldn't have died. Your parents always told you not to hang out with those bad people, but you just wouldn't listen. Look, now you've been harmed by them, right?"
Wasabi's mother became angrier and slammed into the bearded man's chest. "Three people went, why are you the only one who came back alive? You are the one who should die, why don't you just die?"
The bearded man did not hide nor fight back. He stood there and silently endured the scolding from both parents.
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