Chapter 345: Supernatural Events at Longsheng Old Store (The Truth)
"Wow, wow, wow... I originally lived in Cangzhou Prefecture. Five years ago, on Duanyang Festival, I took my grandson to the street to watch the lion dance. Who would have thought that he would be stopped by those damned evildoers. While I was arguing with him, they kidnapped my darling grandson!"
"I lost my grandson and didn't dare go home to see my wife and children, so I wandered around and searched for more than a year, but there was no news at all."
"Later, I fell seriously ill in Tongzhou and nearly lost my life. It was only thanks to the medical treatment and medicine provided by fellow Taoists in Qingyun Temple that I managed to survive. Since then, I have become a monk in Qingyun Temple."
"You say you've become a monk, but I... I've never forgotten my family in my heart for even a single day! Woo woo woo..."
However, Sun Shaozong and others waited for Zhang Kai's sister-in-law in the old Longsheng store. After asking, they found out that Zhang Kai and his wife's only daughter was also abducted four years ago.
In this way, three of the five people had a common hatred, which was enough to prove the possibility of mutual protection in their confessions.
Sun Shaozong then made a prompt decision and re-examined Zhou Bajin, Zhang Kai and others. He first pointed out the suspicious point that their "memories were too vivid", and then revealed the hidden truth of their relatives being abducted and sold.
Who would have thought that when the topic of 'kidnapped relatives' was brought up, the scene immediately turned into a 'complaint meeting'!
Taoist Li couldn't control his emotions and told his past stories with tears streaming down his face. Wang Ergou, a waiter at the restaurant, was not to be outdone. He banged his head on the ground and cried, "My Lord, my Lord! Although my family has suffered a disaster, I still have some wealth with me. I originally wanted to wait for the flood to recede and then return to my hometown to live a peaceful life."
"Who would have thought that those damned thieves would kidnap my wife and daughter while I was out buying food!"
"I followed the trail all the way to Zhuozhou, where I heard that a woman had jumped into the river. She looked and resembled my wife, so I hurried over to identify her."
"Wow, wow, wow...it turns out to be my wife!"
"My wife was famous for her talent and beauty in the surrounding area, but...she was tortured by them until there was not a single piece of good flesh left on her body. She was also...soaked in that water for three days and two nights. When they took her out, she...was no longer recognizable as a human being !"
Listening to what they said, each one was more miserable than the other. Not only did Zhang Kai and his wife, Zhou Bajin and the other two feel the same way, but even the shopkeeper Zhao standing by was in tears.
Wei Ruolan even stamped her feet and cursed several times, saying that those six people deserved to die a thousand times, and even cutting out their hearts and lungs would be too little.
Although Sun Shaozong and Master Qi were also surprised, they were both veteran criminals after all and had witnessed countless tragedies in the world, so they managed to control themselves.
After the crowd had suffered for a while and their emotions had calmed down a little, Sun Shaozong spoke up, "According to what you just said, these evil thieves have not only kidnapped and sold children many times, but have even committed murders. If you find their whereabouts, report it to the authorities immediately. These evil thieves will definitely die!"
As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly and asked in a deep voice, "You could have just executed him openly, why did you go to such great lengths to kill him privately?!"
The five people who knelt on the ground looked at each other, and finally Zhou Bajin said angrily: "Those evil thieves have people backing them up. We are just a few ordinary people, and we don't have any ironclad evidence. How can we bring them down?!"
“That’s right!”
Zhang Kai added: "I heard that many wealthy families love to buy good-looking boys and girls from them to provide... to provide... oooo, oooo, my poor daughter!"
Sun Shaozong frowned and asked again: "Do you have any evidence to support your accusation?"
"right!"
Wei Ruolan continued to jump up and down, "Tell me quickly! Who is their backer? I'll go get him now!"
Zhou Bajin and Zhang Kai were both at a loss for words, as they obviously had no evidence. However, Zhang Kai still stiffened his neck and said, "If they don't have anyone to back them up, how come they have been running rampant in Hebei and Beijing for several years without the government arresting them?!"
“Bold!”
Master Qi glared at him and scolded him, "How do you know the government hasn't arrested anyone? When Lord Sun was the magistrate of criminal law last year, he solved several kidnapping cases and saved nearly a hundred children!"
Zhang Kai was now determined to do it. He ignored Zhang Zhou's attempts to stop him and said with his neck stiff, "I don't care about others. I only know that these evil thieves are living happily!"
"you!"
Master Qi threw his sleeves in anger and said, "You are really making up stories! There are more than a million people in the capital. Even if Lord Sun has a sharp eye, there will inevitably be a few fish that slip through the net..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Kai argued again: "Why didn't it leak to others, but these damn beasts?!"
“You, you, you…”
"alright."
Sun Shaozong waved his hand, signaling Master Qi to calm down. It was obvious that Zhang Kai had gotten stuck in a dead end. Even if anyone told him the truth, he would still believe that those human traffickers were in collusion with the powerful people of the time.
but……
This accusation may not be groundless.
Among the maids and servants bought by various families nowadays, who can guarantee that none of them have been abducted by human traffickers?
Not to mention others, Xiangling is the best proof!
Therefore, Sun Shaozong did not intend to continue to dwell on this question, but asked directly: "Then let me ask again, how did you connect with each other to lure these kidnappers here, and how did you take their lives?"
Several people looked at each other in bewilderment again, and then Zhang Kai was the first to pat his chest and said, "It was me who killed them - bah! It was me who killed these worse-than-beast thieves!"
"No!"
Zhou Bajin immediately said: "I killed them, and Brother Zhang was only responsible for digging out their hearts and livers!"
However, Li Laodao and Wang Ergou did not have such courage and responsibility. They knelt on the ground and remained silent.
Seeing that the two were vying to confess, Sun Shaozong called out their names and said, "Zhou Bajin, you go ahead and tell me the story in detail from the beginning!"
Zhou Bajin walked out of the crowd on his knees, and said with emotion: "Half a month ago, I suddenly heard that these six evil thieves were going to come to our Longsheng old store to rest, so I gathered everyone in advance and prepared the knockout drug..."
It turned out that the six people had just settled in the inn when they were knocked out by Zhou Bajin using a knockout drug.
Zhang Kai climbed over the wall at night and tied them up with ropes. Together with his wife, Zhou Bajin, Li Laodao, Wang Ergou and others, they moved their clothes and luggage out overnight to prevent anyone from finding out their true identities later.
Afterwards, Zhang Kai and Zhou Bajin took turns interrogating them, trying to force them to tell where their abducted family members were sold to.
As a result, except for Wang Ergou's wife and daughter, the other six children still had some impression of him, but the rest of the children only remembered the general prefecture and county, and even forgot the buyer's surname, so they had no idea where to start looking.
Zhou Bajin was so furious that he followed his original plan and stabbed them in the heart one by one with a dagger. Then Zhang Kai, who used to be a butcher, took out the six black hearts.
Afterwards, Wang Ergou directed and acted out a scene of ordering food, delivered the wine and food to the yard, and carried the six hearts out in a food box to feed the wild dogs nearby.
Afterwards, Zhang Kai pretended to be disturbed by the noise next door, and performed a double act with his wife to further create the illusion that the six people were still alive.
Finally, Taoist Li played a minor role again, which completely confirmed that this case became a "supernatural incident"!
After hearing what Zhou Bajin said, Sun Shaozong sneered: "So, you are the mastermind of this case? Then let me ask you, how did you know that they were going to stay in Longsheng Old Store? As a big clerk in the store, how did you go out of Beijing to contact everyone without being discovered by the store owner?"
"grown ups!"
Shopkeeper Zhao quickly agreed, "Our Ba Jin is definitely not the mastermind. He has never left the capital recently. I can guarantee this with my life!"
"Shopkeeper! You...you..."
"He is definitely not the mastermind!"
Zhou Bajin was yelling in anxiety, but Zhang Kai beside him said proudly: "I am the real mastermind. Everything was planned by me. You can't imagine how happy I was when I dug out the hearts and livers of those beasts with my own hands! Ha...hahahaha..."
"Not my husband!"
Unexpectedly, as Zhang Kai was laughing wildly, Zhang Zhou started screaming again: "It was a masked man, a tall masked man. He found us and found a way to lure the six villains into the inn! He even said that the six people were related to the official - all of this was his idea, he is the real mastermind!"
"How dare you, bitch, repay kindness with enmity?!"
When Zhang Kai heard his wife actually tell the truth, he was furious. He yelled and cursed and was about to fight, but was pinned to the ground by several yamen runners.
A tall masked man?!
Sun Shaozong and Master Qi looked at each other, and at the same time they thought of the masked man who appeared briefly in the "Outing Case"!
