Chapter 23 Succubus Chapter 4
What new discoveries have been made?
Seeing that she seemed to have made a new discovery, Lin Zhu leaned over to ask her.
“It’s not exactly a new discovery.” Wen Wan handed over the cases she had reviewed and explained, “They were all due to emotional entanglements, and the original spouses were the first to be affected, followed by the third party. They either went crazy or committed suicide.”
"Unlike the original wife, the way the third party dies is different, but compared to the man who was killed by the succubus, the way he died is relatively more dignified."
"Xie Wenxiang?" A name on the file caught Lin Zhu's attention.
He had seen the name among the residents who had recently moved into Weiwei County, but it was not within the ten-year period, so he did not pay much attention to it.
"Is there something wrong with this person?" Wen Wan asked, puzzled, when he mentioned the name.
"Wait a moment."
Based on her memory, Lin Zhu quickly found the relocation file with Xie Wenxiang's name on it.
Xie Wenxiang came to Weiwei County to seek refuge with relatives and friends during the 364th year of Qingyun, and committed suicide after being involved in a case during the 361st year of Qingyun.
This is the most recent case, committed ten years ago.
Xie Wenxiang lived in Weiwei County for only three short years until her death, and her identity was that of an interloper, interfering in the relationship with her distant cousin's family.
Soon, the group found information about Xie Wenxiang's cousin, Xiong Pengfei, and his family.
Xiong Pengfei was the eldest son in his family. After inheriting the family's cloth shop business, he met his wife, An Rou, through a matchmaker and fell in love with her at first sight. An Rou came from a poor family. Her cousin managed to find her a job in Yunshang City, but she refused the marriage proposal. However, she was pressured by her family and eventually gave in to Xiong Pengfei's sweet talk, giving up the opportunity to go to Yunshang City.
When the two first married, they were a harmonious couple. Xiong Pengfei responded to him in everything and was incredibly considerate. The two were once a beloved couple in Weiwei County.
The good times didn't last long. Someone saw Xiong Pengfei frequenting brothels, and his wife at home was completely unaware. In addition, after An Rou had been childless for three years, Xiong Pengfei became even more unscrupulous, but he managed to keep it a secret from everyone around him.
An Rou felt guilty for not having conceived in three years and advised him to take a concubine, but he refused with deep affection, saying that he wished to win the heart of one person and stay together until old age, which moved An Rou to tears. Little did she know that her husband was a regular at brothels.
Xie Wenxiang appeared at this time, bringing the token to his door.
Due to natural disasters and man-made calamities in the past, our ancestors had experienced a life of hardship and displacement. It was normal for relatives and friends to be separated from each other and to come back to recognize each other many years later.
The great-grandmother of the Xiong family was already in her eighties and her memory was failing. She vaguely recalled that this matter seemed to have happened. In addition, Xie Wenxiang was sincere and kind. It was just a matter of a pair of chopsticks. So the Xiong family accepted this kinship.
Although living under someone else's roof, Xie Wenxiang acted openly and generously, which contrasted sharply with his wife's meticulous and petty style.
Men always crave novelty, and Xie Wenxiang was beautiful; every glance and smile touched his heart. The two quickly developed feelings for each other and got together.
Xie Wenxiang was unwilling to go public with their relationship because An Rou treated her very well and she was afraid of hurting her feelings. Xiong Pengfei was happy with this, and the two began to see each other secretly. After meeting Xie Wenxiang, he temporarily gave up his ways of frequenting brothels.
But a leopard can't change its spots, and the truth will eventually come out.
Having not seen each other for a long time, when their lover from the brothel sent someone to deliver a message, they were caught red-handed in bed together.
Anrou couldn't bear the deception from the two men, and she never expected that her good husband would have an affair with a woman from that kind of place. She decisively asked for a divorce and packed her things to leave that very day.
The next day, Xiong Pengfei died in the wild in an extremely cruel manner, while Xie Wenxiang also ended her life by taking arsenic. An Rou was initially suspected but was quickly proven innocent and left Weiwei County in grief.
__________
"In other words, there are four key figures in this case: the original wife Xiong Pengfei, An Rou, the third party Xie Wenxiang, and a murderer 'Succubus' who has never shown her face."
After understanding the case, Kong Jiang pointed out the key points.
"The deceased was a man who had an affair, and a woman who was also a mistress. The original wife survived and left. Why does this succubus seem to be doing a good deed? It's just that her methods are a bit cruel?" Chen Hansi said.
With Chen Hansi's unintentional hint, Kong Jiang recalled the 132 files and 101 men she had copied. According to the records, most of them were not good men. They were either addicted to gambling, lazy and abusive, or petty thieves who would also have affairs.
Most of the women who died were mistresses, and the original wives who got into trouble weren't good people either. So, does this mean the succubus was actually doing good? A pure love goddess?
Kong Jiang expressed her thoughts.
"So, which unfaithful person is the succubus primarily targeting?" Wen Wan pondered for a moment, "Is it possible that the succubus has been hurt in the past?"
"Tell me, is this a succubus indiscriminate killing, or more like a succubus's revenge?"
After speaking to herself, Wen Wan picked up the file and flipped to the top before anyone could answer.
This was the first case involving a succubus, and the cause and effect were almost identical to what the storyteller had recounted.
But Wenwan always felt that something was wrong.
The father and daughter supported their adopted daughter, Liu Xiao, who excelled academically and achieved great success. However, Liu Xiao fell into a rut due to her romantic relationships and eventually married a good husband. Later, the good husband fell for Liu Huan. The three of them could have lived a harmonious life, but Liu Xiao, driven by jealousy, was instigated by a fox spirit and caused Liu Huan's death along with his unborn child. Overwhelmed with guilt, she hanged herself. The fox spirit believed that the culprit was the fickle man and cruelly murdered Song Xin, thus giving rise to the legend of the succubus murder case.
It doesn't seem like anything is wrong.
"Have you compiled a list of residents who have moved into Weiwei County in the past ten years?" Wen Wan asked.
Lin Zhu nodded.
Thanks to the three free helpers, the organization process was much more efficient.
"OK."
Wen Wan then said to her younger brothers, "I'll treat you to a meal another day. Lin Zhu and I have something to do, so we'll leave now and won't disturb you as you continue working on the yamen's files."
The case was important, and this was all the help they could offer. The three of them nodded knowingly.
"Let's go find Fang Ruo and meet up first."
Lin Zhu also had the same idea.
At present, the clues from Fang Ruo's side are of utmost importance.
It concerns who the next victim will be, and by matching them with the list of newly relocated residents in their possession, the scope can be greatly narrowed down.
The premise is that their judgment is correct.
When they found Fang Ruo, she was chatting and gossiping with an old lady at the entrance of the village while eating sunflower seeds!
“Oh my, Xiao Fang, you have no idea. When I was young, I was a very popular village beauty. There were men chasing me from one end of the village to the other. In the end, I fell in love with you, Uncle Zhu, and gave up the whole forest.”
"Time waits for no one; this happened thirty years ago."
An elderly woman with dark skin sat on a small stool, chatting nimbly with the group.
“Hey, that’s nonsense. You weren’t nearly as pretty as me when you were young. Men from all around chased after me. Matchmakers wore out my doorstep. In the end, I married my childhood sweetheart.” Another woman, who was slightly more robust, hurriedly added, afraid that her former “village beauty” title would be taken by someone else.
Fang Ruo listened and nodded awkwardly, occasionally chiming in to show that she was listening attentively: "Aunt Zhang, with your demeanor, you must have been a great beauty when you were young."
"And Aunt Xu, your every move exudes elegance, you must have been just as impressive when you were young."
"I imagine that both of these ladies were exceptionally beautiful when they were young. If I had been born a few decades earlier, I could have witnessed their former splendor firsthand!"
"Fortunately, it's not too late now. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to exchange a few words with you all!"
Fang Ruo showered the older women with compliments, making them smile and genuinely like this gossip-loving young man.
Yes, Fang Ruo made it clear from the start that she liked to gossip, especially about men and women.
The older women were initially puzzled as to why such a young man would enjoy gossiping about such things. However, they realized they had come to the right person. In Weiwei County, there was no gossip that these women didn't know, especially the kind of gossip that the young man loved to hear. In just one afternoon, they were coaxed into telling him almost all the gossip they knew, and they even looked at him with new respect. When they finished talking about gossip, they started reminiscing about their own youth, how beautiful they were, and how many young men had fallen at their feet.
After hearing the gossip, Fang Ruo didn't want to just leave like that, so she was forced to listen to "My Years as the Village Beauty" for a long time, occasionally responding with a few words, a typical friend of women.
Finally, I saw two familiar faces approaching from afar. As if I had been saved, I quickly said goodbye to the elderly women and fled in a panic.
"I didn't expect Fang Ruo to be such a good friend to women," Wen Wan teased with a smile.
"As expected of you, if Wen Wan and I had been on this mission, the results would have been far less effective." Lin Zhu looked at him approvingly before asking the crucial question: "So, did you get anything out of it?"
Fang Ruo felt a little embarrassed by what the two said, and nodded obediently and seriously, looking exactly like a well-behaved elementary school student: "Let's talk somewhere else."
The three of them returned to the teahouse where they listened to storytelling, this time choosing a quiet private room to avoid being disturbed.
"Wait, don't say anything yet."
Fang Ruo was about to speak when Wen Wan interrupted her, looking puzzled.
Didn't you just want to listen? Why are you telling me to shut up now?
But he obediently waited for the other party's next arrangements.
Wen Wan gestured to Lin Zhu to hand Fang Ruo the list of people who had moved in over the past ten years: "We'll listen to the gossip later. Take a look at this list first, and combine it with the gossip you've heard. See if you recognize any of the names in the emotional disputes."
"We can't overlook homophones either, we need to mark them out first."
Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.
They will conduct further verification anyway; for now, they are just trying to narrow down the scope as much as possible.
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