Chapter 42 Fairy Tale
Xia Mufan brought his team to Xinzhang Town.
Around the storage room that was destroyed beyond recognition, the five members of Serious Crime Unit 7 began to act separately.
Gong Weiguo and Feng Xiaoyu worked together to ask the staff of the housekeeping and catering departments of Xishan Villa to learn in detail about Xiao Zhenwei's clothing and whether anyone noticed anything unusual between the evening of April 12 and April 14.
Yu Jing and Sun Xianbing worked together to find the decoration worker who was responsible for the utility room on April 14 and asked for details.
Xia Mufan brought the coal ash to the woods outside the utility room to look for more evidence.
The last time Coal Ash came, he was only here for a short time and only caught a wild cat and asked it a few questions. Now that he had plenty of time, the cat immediately started running around, sometimes jumping up the trees, sometimes running on the ground, and then disappeared in a flash.
Xia Mufan continued to use golden millet to coax the gray magpies down, trying to get more information.
Although there are many insects in spring, it is rare for the magpies to meet a human being with whom they can talk, so they gathered together in a group in a short while, chirping and chatting while pecking at millet.
"When the burning smell came out of this room, did you see anything?"
[It was already dark by then, and we all went to bed. 】
[I saw a strange man, his eyes were red from the smoke, lying under a tree and gasping for breath. 】
A scene suddenly flashed before Xia Mufan's eyes.
——As Gu Shaoqi said, Xiao Zhenwei would not dare to open the doors and windows when he burned the corpse. He hid in the house, hung the corpse in a gasoline barrel, lit the firewood, and waited for the corpse to slowly bake. He must have been terrified at that time. The smoke was so hot that my eyes couldn't bear it. When I rushed out of the house, I was probably blind and could only lie down beside a tree and gasp for breath.
If that's the case, then Xiao Zhenwei might have left something in the woods.
Xia Mufan squatted down and asked the birds in the woods softly: "That strange man is the smoker you mentioned last time, right?"
【yes. 】
"Did he lose anything in the woods?"
【Ha ha ha ha……】
When the topic came up, the birds all laughed and talked about what happened that night.
[His eyes were red, his face and hands were black, like a ghost. 】
[The collar of his clothes got caught on a branch.] 】
[As a result, he screamed as if he had seen a ghost and ran out. 】
[Running and shouting, there is a ghost!] There's a ghost! 】
Xia Mufan listened to this, his heartbeat gradually quickened, and his voice became more urgent: "Then what? What about that dress?"
Birds don’t actually have a good memory, but what happened that night was so funny that everyone still remembers it.
[The clothes were torn with a rustling sound.] 】
[He waved his hands in the air, thinking he was caught by a ghost. 】
[He threw his clothes off and ran away without looking back.] 】
Xia Mufan asked: "Where are the clothes?"
A bird flew into the nest and handed a piece of light brown cloth to Xia Mufan's hand.
[The clothes were torn.] 】
[I picked up some roots to use as a bird nest.] 】
Xia Mufan put on gloves, solemnly collected the cloth strip, and put it into the evidence bag: "Where did you pick up the cloth strip?"
The bird flew under the locust tree, squatted on a branch and chirped twice.
【here. 】
[The strips of cloth were hung on the branches.] 】
Xia Mufan asked again: "Is there only one strip of cloth? Where are the others?"
[I picked up this one.] 】
[The clothes fell to the ground and were snatched away by a wild cat. 】
wildcat?
Xia Mufan immediately called Coal Ash and asked it to search for the clothes with all its might.
When Xiao Zhenwei moved Shen Yitong's body, he would definitely have close contact with her. Shen Yitong has long hair, so it is very likely that some hair and dandruff will fall on the coat.
If Shen Yitong's DNA can be found on the clothes, it will be irrefutable evidence!
On the other hand, colleagues also made discoveries.
When investigating the ophthalmologist at the town hospital, he said that he received a call from Director Cai early in the morning on April 13, asking him to come to the hospital. He met Xiao Zhenwei in the dean's office. His eyes were red and burning with pain. He could hardly see anything, and his hair and eyebrows were almost burnt.
Xiao Zhenwei was a very authoritative person in the town, so the ophthalmologist did not dare to ask any more questions. He just prescribed some eye drops and medicine for treating burns and scalds and left.
The renovation workers said that they were shocked when they entered the utility room. The walls and floor were black, and the whole room was filled with a burnt smell. They had to open the doors and windows for a long time before the smell was dispelled.
When cleaning the room, they found some white powder on the ground, but they didn't pay much attention to it. The garbage was loaded into a cart and sent to the Xishan landfill.
However, the Xishan landfill is very large, and there are garbage trucks coming and going every day, and more than half a month has passed. Neither the ashes that Xiao Zhenwei packed after cremating the body, nor the debris cleaned up by the renovation workers, could be found.
The waiter at Xishan Villa clearly described what Xiao Zhenwei was wearing when he appeared that night.
Brown tweed jacket, dark blue shirt, black pants, leather shoes.
However, the brown jacket could not be found in Xiao Zhenwei's home.
When Xia Mufan showed the brown cloth that she "took off the branch", everyone got excited: "Are you sure it's Xiao Zhenwei's jacket? Was it really his clothes that got caught on the branch?"
Xia Mufan pursed his lips and said, "As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we must track it down to the end. The sky is high and the moon is dark. Xiao Zhenwei must be frightened after burning the body. His clothes may have been torn by branches and fell here. I'll ask Meihui to look around to see if he can find the clothes."
Gong Weiguo sighed: "Alas, it's been so long, I'm afraid the clothes are long gone."
Just as he finished speaking, Coal Ash ran over with a meow.
[Xia Xia, good news!] 】
[The clothes were found.] 】
Xia Mufan stood up suddenly, his eyes brightened: "Where is it?"
Gong Weiguo was still confused: "Where is what?"
Sun Xianbing and Yu Jing immediately became excited: "The coal ash must have been found, hurry up! Follow it."
The five people followed Coal Ash through the woods and came to an abandoned rammed earth farmhouse.
The adobe bricks had long been dilapidated, and the doors and windows were broken.
Opening a paint-chipped cabinet in the corner of the old main room, a female cat who had recently given birth stared at the human in front of her warily. It took a few suckling kittens into its arms and growled with its teeth bared.
Under the female cat's body, there was a piece of clothing that was so dirty that the color could not be seen.
Five pairs of eyes were looking at the dress.
Feng Xiaoyu asked cautiously, "Is it this one?"
Sun Xianbing was so excited that he began to stutter: "That's it, right?"
Yu Jing was a little confused: "Brown?"
Gong Weiguo tried to reach out his hand, but the female cat grabbed him with her claws and almost scratched him. He could only say angrily, "This cat is really powerful."
Xia Mufan was absolutely sure that this was the dress!
It was stained with blood, dust, dirt, and cat hair, but it was the right dress.
She took out a whole bag of dried fish and placed it next to the mother cat. Then she turned to Soot and said, "Can I borrow your little mat? I'll buy you a new one later."
Coal Ash squatted aside and called out reluctantly.
[Okay, buy it for me when you get home!] To be beautiful. 】
Xia Mushige quickly ran back to the car, took the cotton pad used for Soot, and handed it to the female cat: "Can I exchange it with you?"
The female cat sniffed and happily agreed to the exchange.
The old clothes underneath it were already very dirty, but this cotton pad was beautiful and clean, and it exuded a sunny scent, which was much better than dirty clothes.
In this way, Xia Mufan exchanged the coal ash cotton pad for a tattered old jacket.
The jacket was covered in bite marks, blood stains, and cat hair.
The five of us looked at each other and held our breath.
I hope God can find Shen Yitong’s hair or dandruff on this dress!
After the clothes and cloth strips were sent to the technical department, preliminary results were soon available.
——The fibers of the cloth strip are consistent with the lining of the clothes.
——Five strands of human hair were found on the clothes, attached to the collar and shoulders.
The DNA test would still take time, and Xia Mufan was waiting anxiously.
Everyone was waiting anxiously.
The weather is getting hotter in May.
The pomegranate flowers in the yard of the Criminal Investigation Brigade are blooming brilliantly, as red as fire.
Xia Mufan received a call from Shen Hongyun.
On the phone, Shen Hongyun's voice sounded old and tired: "Officer Xia, please come to my house. I found something."
Is there new evidence?
Xia Mu said hurriedly: "Okay, we'll be there right away."
Xinzhang Town Middle School, teachers’ family area.
In the past two years, the middle school has built a new teaching building and a new staff dormitory, but Shen Hongyun still lives in one of the earliest staff dormitory buildings built in the 1960s.
The base of the wall was already mottled, and ivy had climbed up the gable, completely covering the wall of a five-story brick-concrete building, leaving only the wooden windows with peeling paint exposed.
Shen Hongyun's home is on the first floor with a small courtyard. There is a sweet-scented osmanthus tree and several roses planted in the courtyard. The ground is paved with red bricks, and lush weeds are growing in the cracks.
Zhou Luanfeng has been discharged from the hospital, but the right side of her body is still not very flexible. She welcomed Xia Mufan and the others into the house and wanted to get up to serve tea and water, but Xia Mufan stopped her: "Don't worry, we are not thirsty."
Zhou Luanfeng just sat there blankly, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Shen Hongyun walked out of the study with a magazine in his hand.
After not seeing you for a while, Teacher Shen looks older.
His face was covered with wrinkles, the corners of his eyes were red, and his eyes were slightly cloudy.
He gently placed the magazine on the coffee table and said in a hoarse voice, "Officer Xia, our Tongtong is gone, right?"
Xia Mufan didn't know how to answer and could only remain silent.
Gong Weiguo, on the other hand, was quick to react and gently consoled her: "Teacher Shen, we are trying hard to find her, please don't worry."
Shen Hongyun waved his hands, his eyes showing deep sadness: "You don't have to comfort me, I know that Tongtong is gone."
Zhou Luanfeng's gaze remained on the magazine with a gentle look.
Xia Mufan followed her gaze and saw that it was a book called "Composition World".
Shen Hongyun said: "I am a Chinese teacher and I subscribe to this magazine every year. Even though I am retired and no longer have to teach, I still subscribe out of habit. This year's May issue just arrived and I saw a fairy tale written by Tongtong in it."
ah?
Shen Yitong submitted an article to "Composition World"?
What did she write?
Shen Hongyun held the magazine in his hands like a treasure, and slowly read out Shen Yitong's fairy tale in a trembling voice.
"The Girl and the Dragon. Shen Yitong"
As soon as he read these words, tears flowed down Shen Hongyun's cheeks.
Shen Yitong's writing depicts a beautiful town where there is an innocent girl who lives happily with her parents.
But one day, three evil dragons came to the town.
The evil dragon made the town eerie and terrifying, and the girl was imprisoned by the dragon and lost her freedom.
The girl kept praying to God, hoping to drive the dragon out of the town. Finally one day, she heard the voice from God.
"Are you willing to sacrifice yourself to kill the dragon?"
"I do."
"I will make an arrow from the laurel tree and pierce your chest. Your blood will flow into the earth. With your blood as a guide and your life as a sacrifice, you can kill the dragon."
The girl broke off a laurel branch without hesitation and sharpened it into three sharp arrows.
She thrust the arrow into her chest.
The blood dyed the sharp arrows red and ignited the anger of the warriors in the town.
The warrior drew his bow and shot an arrow at the dragon.
The dragon roared to death, and the town returned to its former tranquility and peace.
After reading this story, everyone was shocked and remained silent for a long time.
Shen Yitong...did she choose to die?
If she doesn't die, will the evil dragon be hard to get rid of?
Shen Hongyun gently stroked the three words "Shen Yitong" on the magazine and murmured, "Tongtong has never been happy. I thought she was lonely, so I always wanted her to get married. As long as she gets married, has a family and children, and has more people who love her, she will be happy. But I was wrong."
"She was imprisoned by a dragon, but I knew nothing about it. I am incompetent..."
Tears streamed down and dripped onto the lapels of her clothes.
"I heard that Xiao Zhenwei and Wu Tong were arrested by the police. They should be the second evil dragon that Tongtong mentioned, right?"
At this point, Shen Hongyun looked up at Xia Mufan and said, "It was them, right? They bullied Tongtong and forced her to do things she didn't want to do. Xinzhang Town became their territory for doing evil! Tongtong died in order to bring them down, right?"
The sadness in the old man's eyes was as deep as the sea, making Xia Muchan feel breathless.
A light bulb went off in his head and Xia Mufan suddenly realized something. She leaned forward and asked anxiously: "Why did Shen Yitong submit this fairy tale? Is she trying to tell us something? If she used blood as a guide and her life as a sacrifice, then she must have left something for us."
Feng Xiaoyu was moved by this fairy tale. She thought of Shen Yitong, who was beautiful and intelligent, but was forced by the old man Lu Chengji to become an underground lover; she thought of Shen Yitong's humble dream, that she did not seek wealth or power, but only wanted to gain freedom and start a new life in another city. Feng Xiaoyu could no longer hold back her tears.
Hearing Xia Mufan's words, Feng Xiaoyu suddenly realized something: "Oh, right! The file bag!"
Everyone thought of something.
According to Fang Yuanyuan, Shen Yitong got some leverage over Lu Chengji and wanted to use it to get rid of his coercion.
Wu Tong said that after Lu Chengji strangled Shen Yitong to death, he took a file bag from her, which should have contained the evidence of Lu Chengji's crime.
Is there a backup of the evidence?
Did Shen Yitong leave us any clues in the fairy tale?
Xia Mufan carefully recalled what was said in the fairy tale and repeated slowly: "The arrow made of laurel pierced the chest, and the blood flowed into the earth..."
Zhou Luanfeng suddenly cried out "Ah!"
Her voice was a little vague, but everyone could still hear it clearly: "When Tongtong was a child, she buried the iron box under the osmanthus tree and said it was her secret garden."
--
The laurel tree was sharpened into three arrows, dipped in the girl's blood, and they were able to kill the dragon.
After digging up the soil, they found a tin biscuit box.
There are two rolls of film in the box.
A diary.
A letter.
Xia Mufan unfolded the letter, and his handwriting was delicate and elegant with a proud character.
The handwriting reflects the character of the person.
This is Shen Yitong’s last letter.
"Dad, Mom, when you read this letter, I should have left you. But don't be sad, I died a worthy death."
After seeing this sentence, Xia Mufan could no longer hold back his tears and they burst out.
Through tearful eyes, Xia Mufan saw Shen Yitong's struggling life.
As soon as Shen Yitong was assigned to the town government, she was noticed by Secretary Lu Chengji. A powerful man has many ways to destroy a young girl's innocence. Shen Yitong thought about dying, but she couldn't leave her parents behind. Shen Yitong wanted to escape, but Lu Chengji had her indecent photos. Lu Chengji even threatened her that if she dared to run away, he would take action against her only good friend Fang Yuanyuan.
Kind people always have weaknesses, and Shen Yitong can only live in pain every day.
During a date, Shen Yitong took advantage of Lu Chengji's deep sleep and found an account book in his briefcase, which recorded in detail every financial transaction between him and Xiao Zhenwei, Wu Tong, and President Cai.
Shen Yitong hid the account book in exchange for her freedom.
Lu Chengji agreed readily, but he said arrogantly: "I tell you, even if you hand over the account book to the police station and the public security bureau, I will still be fine. As long as I am not dead, I have many ways to deal with it. At most, I will be in jail for a few months, and I will still be free and happy when I get out. But what about you? Do you still want your reputation? Your parents are teachers, right? Intellectuals care about face the most. Do you want them to lose face in front of others?"
At that moment, Shen Yitong was stunned.
It turns out that this is the difference between ordinary people and those in power.
The freedom she longed for was nothing more than to get away from Lu Chengji and start a new life in another city.
However, the freedom that Lu Chengji talked about was to trample the law under one's feet, and one could get away with it even if one committed a crime.
At that moment, facing the evil dragon Lu Chengji, Shen Yitong wanted to become a dragon slayer.
The film in the iron box contained the account books of Lu Chengji's embezzlement, bribery and accepting bribes.
The diary was a record of Lu Chengji's coercion and threats against her.
Shen Yitong wrote at the end of the letter.
"I don't have any power, and I don't know anyone. I can only offer my blood and life as a sacrifice. Since ancient times, killing someone means paying with one's life. Lu Chengji killed me, so the law can't let him off, right?"
Wiping away tears, Xia Mufan handed the letter to Shen Hongyun.
The eyes and brows washed by tears are even sharper.
Xia Mushige took a deep breath and looked at his teammates: "Let's start slaying the dragon."
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