Chapter 342: Supernatural Events at Longsheng Old Store (Part 1)
On the sixth day of April, around dusk, six outsiders, two men and four women, booked a small independent courtyard behind the "Longsheng Old Store".
After nightfall the next day, the waiter Zhou Bajin went to the backyard to ask "Do you need hot water?" as per the shop's usual practice. He found that the door to the yard was wide open and it was pitch dark inside with no light at all.
Zhou Bajin was worried that there might be a thief, so he called the shopkeeper Zhao and went into the house with lanterns to check.
What happened is that they found the six guests lying naked on the ground, with a big hole cut out in their chest!
Shopkeeper Zhao fainted from fright on the spot. It was only after Zhou Bajin called on the guests in the next yard for help that they carried him back to the front.
But because of this delay, the matter could no longer be covered up.
By the time Zhao Wuwei received the report and rushed to the scene overnight, he had no idea how many people had been in and out of the scene, and there was a lot of vomit left behind.
After the on-site inspection, it was confirmed that the six people had signs of having their hands and feet bound, and there were multiple scars on their bodies, which meant that they had probably been severely beaten before they died.
The fatal injury was that his chest was cut open and his heart was removed.
In view of this detail, after taking over the case, Wei Ruolan pointed the finger at vendetta and instructed Master Qi to conduct a more detailed investigation.
However, this careful investigation did not matter, the case became confusing and complicated!
Master Qi smiled bitterly and said, "At first, I questioned the people in the inn to determine who had entered and left the inn before and after the incident. But when I asked, everyone said the same thing, saying that the six people were still alive and well before the evening!"
Since entering the room, it was Master Qi who had been talking. Wei Ruolan only responded occasionally, obviously feeling that asking Sun Shaozong for help was a great loss of face for her.
"Alive and well before evening?"
Sun Shaozong frowned, picked up the case file and took a look, then questioned: "But the autopsy report clearly states that they died between Maoshi [7am] and Wushi [11pm]. How could they still be alive in the evening?"
After a pause, he asked suspiciously, "Could it be that the body had been tampered with, resulting in a miscalculation of the time of death?"
“Students have had similar doubts.”
Master Qi spread his hands and continued with a wry smile, "But after several days of investigation, we didn't find any traces at all. Besides, the person in charge of the autopsy was Old Xu from our mansion. If there was anything fishy, he should have been able to detect it."
Putting aside Old Xu's professional qualities, Master Qi is also an old hand at criminal law. Since he has already become suspicious, it stands to reason that it is unlikely that he can get away with it.
"in addition."
Master Qi added: "Not only were all the clothes of the six people stripped off, but all their luggage was also missing. They were not locals, so it is difficult to confirm their identities until now, and the murderer's motive is even more difficult to determine."
Even if there wasn't much luggage, with the clothes, shoes and socks of six people, it would still be quite a large pile. It would be difficult to transport it quietly...
It would take quite a while to tie him up, beat him, dig out his heart, and even interrogate him.
Could it be a collusion between inside and outside?
Sun Shaozong went over all the suspicions in his mind and asked, " Where are the testimonies of those witnesses?"
Master Qi hurried forward and selected a few pages from the nearly 100 pages of investigation records, pointing them to Sun Shaozong and saying, "Please have a look, sir. I have sorted all the confessions related to time in one place."
Looking at the thick stack of records and the way he knew them all, you could tell that he had put a lot of effort into this case.
Sun Shaozong read these pages of confessions carefully and found that nearly half of them were the confession of the waiter Zhou Bajin, and the remaining half belonged to the couple living in the next courtyard, the owner of the Longsheng old store, the waiter of a nearby restaurant, and a wandering Taoist priest.
The contents of the confession are as follows:
Waiter Zhou Bajin: I was called over in the morning and asked what food we had in our restaurant. I recommended some of our specialties, but the guests were not satisfied with the food, so they ordered a table of food and wine from a nearby restaurant in the afternoon.
Wang Ergou, a waiter at a nearby restaurant: Yes, yes, yes, when I brought the wine and food, those guests were still alive and well - at about 2 p.m., when I came to collect the plates, they were still alive and well.
The waiter Zhou Bajin: Those guests must have drunk a few too many cups, and then they started doing that... Hehe, your Excellency, as you know, when these men and women eat out together, it's not always innocent.
Perhaps because the noise was too loud, it disturbed the couple next door. The male guest next door came over to argue and had a fierce argument with a female guest inside. When the shopkeeper and I rushed over to try to stop the fight, the man had already been kicked out.
After much persuasion from both of us, we finally managed to persuade the guest named Zhang to calm down.
Manager Zhao of Rongsheng Old Store: I was the first one to hear the quarrel inside, so I called Ba Jin to go over and help them stop fighting.
Zhang Kai who lives next door: Reporting to the Lord, my wife and I did hear them having fun next door - it should have been around 'Shenshi' [3pm] at that time.
I went to their house and wanted them to keep their voices down, but a fierce woman came out and scolded me instead!
Yes, yes, yes, it’s one of the dead ones. This woman has a horse face. I can recognize her even if she is burned to ashes!
Zhang Kai’s wife: I wanted to stop my husband, but he insisted on arguing. Fortunately, we only had a few words, otherwise, with so many people…
The waiter Zhou Bajin said: Towards evening, a wandering Taoist priest somehow sneaked into the backyard, saying that he wanted to help a few customers with bone reading and fortune telling. But he was chased out in a stern manner.
Manager Zhao of Rongsheng Old Store: I actually saw the old Taoist priest when he went in, but since the other guests were all inside, I didn’t pay much attention to it.
Taoist Li who travels around the world: In order to rebuild the temple, I wanted to make some money from incense offerings in the capital. In the past half month, I have visited dozens of inns in West City. If you don’t believe me, you can go and ask around.
As the guests may not be in the house during the day, Xiao Dao would tell fortunes at the door in the morning, noon and evening.
That evening, after I went in and hadn't explained what happened clearly, a fat man pushed me out. If the waiter hadn't helped me, I would have been hurt by him.
Waiter Zhou Bajin: I helped the old Taoist out, and about a quarter of an hour later, the shopkeeper told me to go around the rooms to see if the guests wanted hot water in the evening. Who knew I would find...
What? You said they died this morning? How... is this possible?! This is impossible!
Zhang Kai next door: This is impossible! Unless the woman I was arguing with was actually a demon in disguise!
Zhang Kai’s wife: A dead…dead person, can…can he do…that kind of thing?!
Shopkeeper Zhao: Sir... Sir, please don’t joke with me. I clearly... clearly heard that woman arguing with the guest next door!
Wandering Taoist Li: No wonder that fat guy insisted on kicking me out, it turns out he was actually a ghost! I forgot to open my third eye at that time, otherwise...
Zhang Ergou, a waiter from a nearby restaurant: Sir, you... I don't understand what you are saying. Only living people need to eat. Dead people... dead people... dead people should not eat, right?
The confession ended here.
But this content is really... really bizarre!
Six people who had died in the morning actually interacted with so many people in the afternoon!
Moreover, the last time Li Daoshi and Zhou Bajin saw the deceased was only a quarter of an hour before the body was discovered. In such a short time, it would be difficult to kill the person and dig out his heart, or even just strip him of his clothes and take away his luggage, right? !
That's not all. When Master Qi saw that Sun Shaozong had finished reading, he hurriedly added, "According to our investigations these days, Zhou Bajin grew up in Xicheng and worked as a clerk in Longsheng Old Store four years ago. He has never left the capital."
"Manager Zhao's three generations have run the Longsheng old store and have never left the capital."
"The Zhang Kai couple next door are from Jinmen Prefecture. This is their first time in the capital. Their purpose is to visit their wife's sister who married here two years ago. Because they had a rift with their brother-in-law, they temporarily stayed at the inn."
"Taoist Li is from Cangzhou Prefecture, Hebei Province. He became a monk at Qinglong Temple in Tongzhou six years ago. Half a month ago, he traveled to Beijing and made a living by touching bones and reading fortunes for people."
"Wang Ergou, the waiter at the restaurant, is originally from Bao'an Prefecture, Hebei Province. He has been stranded in Beijing since the disaster last year. He just started working as a waiter at the restaurant a few days ago."
Sun Shaozong was silent for a while after listening to this, and then he said: "You mean, these witnesses have no connection with each other? It is even more impossible for them to cover up for each other?"
"Exactly!"
