After an unknown amount of time, Huang Dan woke up and found that the man was not by the bed.

He yawned, found his shoes and put them on.

There was no kerosene lamp in the main hall, and the moonlight slanted in from outside the door.

You could see the man sitting on the ground beside the board, looking at the corpse in front of him. This scene sent chills down the spine.

Huang Dan stepped closer and smelled the stench. He glanced at Wang Yue Mei, who was wearing a few honeysuckle flowers on her head, and the flowers were stained with chicken feces, don’t know if they were put on artificially, or accidentally rubbed when she was stuffed into the chicken coop.

After a while, Li Gen said, “Who would it be?”

Huang Dan said, “I don’t know.”

Li Gen said, “The village is only this big and there are not many people. If outsider come into the village, no one would not know.”

He said to himself, “That was done by the villagers.”

“Who would it be…”

Huang Dan’s eyebrows twitched, the man’s expression was terrifying at this time, once he knew who killed his mother, he would definitely stab him to death, he pursed his lips, “Brother, report the case.”

Li Gen snorted and said, “Da Gui had an accident two years ago. I took leave from the company and rushed back, only to find out that he didn’t stumble and have an accident, but was hit hard on the back of the head and fell into the pond and drowned.”

He laughed mockingly, “I went to report the case that day, and they sent two people over to inquire about the situation and check Da Gui’s wounds. So just come blood feud, after that nothing happened.”

Huang Dan listened, “Brother, didn’t you ask again?”

“Asked, why wouldn’t I ask? After I went to work, I called every now and then and asked someone to look at it, but there was still no progress.”

Li Gen sneered, “There was a result last year. It is said that Da Gui slipped and fell, and hit the back of his head on the bluestone slab by the pond. He didn’t pay attention when he stood up, and accidentally fell into the pond. The case was closed”

Huang Dan，“……”

“I know it’s not just that they are afraid of trouble, but also that they don’t have the ability.”

Li Gen said, “In the countryside, personal death is not a serious matter. Dies from drinking pesticides, eating rat poison, hanging, jumping into rivers, being killed, committing suicide, there are many people every year. ”

He averted his eyes then stared back at Huang Dan,”People are separated from each other. Even couples who have been sleeping together for many years don’t know what the other is thinking. It is very likely that they will give a fatal knife with a smile and let the other party die in a dream.”

Huang Dan met the man’s sharp gaze, “Ge, what you’re talking about is only the dark side, everything has multiple sides.”

Li Gen twitched the corner of his mouth, “You’re right.”

Huang Dan returned to the topic just now, “But, we can only report the crime, there is no other choice.”

He wanted to borrow the police’s help to help him find the correct end of the thread and untie the ball of wool.

Li Gen didn’t answer, just said, “Go back to sleep, Ge will sit down for a while.”

Huang Dan said, “I’ll accompany you.”

Li Gen held the mud under his fingernails. When the incident happened, he was plowing the fields, and when he found the loach, he caught it and put it in the basket. He also thought of calling the young man over at night to eat fried loach together.

It turns out heaven trample all over him.

Life is not permanent.

This is the fifth time Li Gen has experienced the cruelty of these four words.

The first time was when his father died suddenly in the house when he was very young; the second time was when his younger brother had an accident; The third time the long-haired woman who died in the sedan chair; The fourth time was a thin woman who drank pesticides after a few days of marriage. This is the fifth time.

Relatives left one by one. Li Gen’s breathing became tight, and it was said that his fate is hard and he will subdue his wife. What he restrained was not only his wife, but also the people around him.

Huang Dan sensed the abnormality of the man, and just as he was about to speak, his hand was grabbed with great force.

There were two living people and one dead person in the main room, but they fell into dead silence in an instant.

It wasn’t until Huang Dan made a painful sound that Li Gen weakened his strength but still held onto it.

Huang Dan’s face paled from the pain, and he couldn’t break free, “Ge, let go.”

Li Gen’s breath is chaotic, why is it like this? How could a life be lost so easily?

“I heard that when a person died the soul remain in the place where he lived before taken away.”

Huang Dan said, “Ge, Aunt is watching us.”

After he finished speaking, he felt a dark wind blowing in.

Li Gen said nothing.

Huang Dan endured the pain, “Da Gui Ge is gone, and now Aunt is gone too, and Cui Ling Jie has been crying, maybe because she is thinking about the child.”

“Ge, why did the child gone?”

Just when Huang Dan was giving up hope, he heard the man say, “I didn’t know anything happened to the child until I came back for winter vacation and he has been buried.”

“I heard from Da Gui and my mother that the child choked on food and didn’t survive.”

Huang Dan, “Oh.”

He had doubts about this statement, but he didn’t ask further, because Li Gen’s mood was very low, and it was not suitable for further chatting.

The temperature was high, the door of the main hall was not closed, and a strong wind blew up in the middle of the night, making the door rattle.

Something fell off Huang Dan’s head, and he opened his eyes to look, only to realize that it was a white cloth, the one covering Wang Yue Mei’s body.

“……”

What is this for? Wang Yue Mei hated him for cutting off the line of the Li family?

Or does she think he is stain on Li Gen?

You can’t cheat the corpse, can you?

Huang Dan pulled off the white cloth, he looked at it, and realized that he couldn’t cheat, so he stuffed the white cloth into the man’s arms, “Ge, cover it up for Aunt, it’s cold at night.”

Li Gen saw the young man shaking, “Are you cold?”

Huang Dan said, “A little bit.”

Li Gen asked Huang Dan to go to sleep in the house.

Huang Dan refused to leave. He had that intention at first, but now it is gone. He was afraid that when he turned around on the bed, he would see Wang Yue Mei standing by the bed.

Huang Dan sat with Li Gen until dawn.

The rooster cry as usual, and the sun rises in the east as usual, and it will not change because of the disappearance of a life.

Wu Cui Ling came out of the house. She cried for a long time last night, her eyes were swollen badly, her face was haggard, she was still wearing the same clothes, and she didn’t seem to lie down on the bed.

“Ge, were you staying in the main hall all night in winter?”

Huang Dan hummed, his back ached.

Li Gen sat on the chair, “Cui Ling, where did you go after I left yesterday? Why weren’t you at home?”

It happened so suddenly, he didn’t bother to ask, he thought about the whole thing over and over last night, he had someone to suspect in his heart, he just couldn’t believe it.

Hearing Li Gen’s words, Wu Cui Ling stopped moving her hair, “Not long after you left, Ge, Mom wants to sleep for a while.”

“You also know that we can’t make noise when she sleeps, so I didn’t stay at home and went to serve and water the vegetables.”

Li Gen remained silent.

“After a while, Ying Xiong came to find me in the vegetable field.”

Wu Cui Ling said, “After watering the vegetables, I went to his house.”

Li Gen asked, “Why did you go to his house? Who saw it?”

Wu Cui Ling raised her head in disbelief, “Ge, are you doubting me?”

Li Gen said blankly, “Answer me.”

Wu Cui Ling’s lips trembled, “Ying Xiong said he wants to repeat the exam next year, and asked me to teach him math problems.”

Her voice was dry,”No one saw it, because a family in Shanghechang got married today, Everyone went there in the afternoon to ask for wedding candies and watch the excitement. ”

Li Gen didn’t speak.

Huang Dan watched Wu Cui Ling closely from the corner of his eye, hoping to find clues about her lying.

The atmosphere in the main room is weird.

Wu Cui Ling’s face was pale and looked fragile.

Li Gen suddenly stood up from his chair, strode out, and went straight to Zhang Ying Xiong’s house.

When Huang Dan passed by Wu Cui Ling, he said, “Cui Ling Jie, Ge is not against you, he is the same to everyone, he asked me too last night.”

Wu Cui Ling’s smile was uglier than crying, “You don’t need to comfort me, Da Ge will doubt anyone buy won’t doubt you.”

Huang Dan’s eyelids twitched.

Wu Cui Ling’s gaze swept over his wrist.

Huang Dan swallowed, he took down the snake bone chain and put it away, Wu Cui Ling had no way of knowing.

“I am going to see.”

Wu Cui Ling was the only one left in the main room. She went to the board and squatted down, “Mom, you often say that my head is dirty, but now you are getting much dirtier, so it must be uncomfortable.”

Then came a sigh.

Zhang Ying Xiong was eating breakfast, looking absent-minded, and almost poked his nostrils with his chopsticks a few times.

As soon as he turned his head and saw Li Gen coming in, the chopsticks slammed down on the table, he grabbed them quickly, and continued to eat the salted duck eggs.

Li Gen cut to the chase.

Zhang Ying Xiong was eating the egg yolk, his voice was muffled, “When the radio rang, Cui Ling Jie was giving me a lecture.”

Li Gen asked, “Were your parents at home?”

Zhang Ying Xiong said, “My parents went to my second Aunt’s house, and it was just me and Cui Ling Jie.”

His complexion changed, “Ge, how can you doubt Cui Ling Jie? She usually dare not kill a chicken!”

Li Gen said, “You know her quite well.”

Zhang Ying Xiong rolled his eyes, “Isn’t this something everyone knows?”

He looked behind Li Gen, “Right, Dong Tian.”

Huang Dan said, “Yes.”

Zhang Ying Xiong took a sip of porridge, his legs shook, and he obviously relaxed, “Ge, I know that something happened to Aunt and you are very sad, but you can’t mess around.”

Li Gen said lightly, “Then let the people in the police station investigate.” Zhang Ying Xiong said, “The small police station in the town is useless. There are not many people there, and a table of mahjong can’t be assembled. I heard that those cases from ten or twenty years ago have not been solved yet.”

Li Gen frowned.

Zhang Ying Xiong said, “I think the most important thing right now is to let the Aunt be buried in peace.”

Li Gen asked Huang Dan, “What do you think?”

Huang Dan glanced at him, and then at Zhang Ying Xiong, “Auntie’s death is unknown, we always have to find out.”

Zhang Ying Xiong sighed, “That’s right, we can’t forget that.”

Li Gen stared at him inexplicably.

Zhang Ying Xiong didn’t seem to notice, and went to the kitchen to serve porridge as if nothing happened.

Coming out of Zhang Ying Xiong’s house, Li Gen suddenly asked, “Your mother usually comes to chat with my mother, why didn’t she come yesterday afternoon?”

Huang Dan said, “She was cutting peppers in the yard.”

Li Gen asked again, “What about you?”

Huang Dan turn his head Li Gen said, “Ge is not suspecting you.”

Huang Dan said, “I know.”

He said truthfully, “After lunch yesterday, I went to find you and went to the field with you to catch loaches. Afterwards, you said that the sun was extremely hot and told me to go back first.”

“When I went back, my mother had just brought the chili peppers to the yard. She didn’t ask me to help, so I went back to the house and slept, and when I woke up, I went to the kitchen to boil water.”

Li Gen’s footsteps stopped, “How long had you been sleeping?”

Huang Dan said that the exact time was not clear, but it should be only for a short while.

Li Gen asked, “Was your mother still cutting peppers?”

Huang Dan said yes, “Ge, my mother is not in good health, her legs and feet are not good, and it is difficult to walk.”

He reacted as a son should when his mother is suspected, “I understand your feelings, but I hope you can respect my mother.”

Li Gen said in a deep voice, “Sorry.”

Huang Dan said, “I’m going back.”

Li Gen kicked on the earthen wall, he panted heavily, with resentment and grief welling up in his eyes.

Huang Dan didn’t go far, Li Gen caught up. “Let me see your hand, is the swelling gone?”

“It’s almost gone.”

Li Gen pulled over to look, “Dong Tian, don’t take it to heart, my heart is very messy.”

Huang Dan said, “It will be found out.”

He withdrew his hand, “Don’t let people see it.”

Li Gen said, “Go back, don’t come to my house today, there are many things to do.”

Huang Dan said he knew.

Any big thing in the countryside will be blown into every household, from one village to another.

In the morning, relatives heard the news and came over with two pieces of meat.

Wu Cui Ling is the daughter-in-law, and when a relative came in, she tore her throat and burst into tears.

This is mourning.

The relatives also cried twice, it was just a courtesy.

At the end, Wu Cui Ling was out of breath from crying, and the tears didn’t stop, and no one know how much pain and sadness she had in her heart.

Sending off the relatives, Wu Cui Ling’s voice was unbearably hoarse, she put the meat into the kitchen, and took the gift money collected in the morning to the main hall.

“Ge, there are total of two hundred and seventy-six yuan here.”

Li Gen didn’t look at it.

Wu Cui Ling said, “It’s too hot, let’s send mom away tomorrow. I’ll tell the village chief to find some people to carry the coffin.”

Li Gen said, “Keep money with you.”

Wu Cui Ling was taken aback, “Let me keep? Ge, aren’t you short of money?”

Li Gen raised his eyelids.

Wu Cui Ling hurriedly said, “I mean, the money is for mother. Since mother is gone, Da Ge should keep it.”

Li Gen got up and went out.

Wu Cui Ling put the money under the jar and pressed it down, she was a little dazed.

In the afternoon, Li Gen went to the police station.

The next day, a young man came from the police station. He was a outsider named Liu Dong Lai. He was assigned back just after graduation.

Liu Dong Lai took a cursory look at Wang Yue Mei’s house, but found no signs of struggle, nor any useful clues. It was an acquaintance who committed the crime.

He asked about some situations, and focused on the woman in the yard, “Who is that?”

Li Gen said, “My *Didi’s wife.” (*T/N: younger brother)

Liu Dong Lai asked, “Where’s your didi?” Li Gen said, “He died two years ago.”

Liu Dong Lai didn’t understand the situation, he just arrived last month, “How did he die?”

Huang Dan next to him lowered his eyes and listened to Li Gen talking about Li Da Gui’s case.

Liu Dong Lai’s expression changed, “Nonsense!”

He paced back and forth in the main hall, angry at his colleagues for hastily closing the case.

At present, he still had to find out Wang Yuemei’s death, “You call your sister-in-law.”

Li Gen called Wu Cui Ling. Liu Dong Lai looked up and down as she was getting closer. The things on this woman were even more different from those in the village, and she is looking afraid.

“Your husband died two years ago, why didn’t you remarry, but stayed in the Li family to serve your mother-in-law?”

Wu Cui Ling said, “Since I married into the Li family, I belong to the Li family.”

Liu Dong Lai raised his eyebrows, “Your mother-in-law had an accident the day before yesterday, where were you?”

Wu Cui Ling still gave the same answer. She was giving a lecture to Zhang Ying Xiong, so there was evidence of her alibi.

When Liu Dong Lai was asking questions, Li Gen and Huang Dan didn’t make a sound, they exchanged glances, each thinking about something.

“Take me to your house to have a look.”

Wu Cui Ling pushed the door open.

After Liu Dong Lai went in, he found that the room was not as big as Li Gen’s, but it was cleaned very clean.

He pointed to the red leather box under the bed, “What’s in there?”

Wu Cui Ling said it was some clothes.

Liu Dong Lai asked her to open it.

A look of panic appeared on Wu Cuiling’s face, “There’s nothing else in here.”

She looks obviously guilty.

Not to mention Liu Dong Lai, even Huang Dan and Li Gen have noticed it.

The clothes in the suitcase were forcibly emptied out, and a bankbook fell out, which belonged to Wang Yue Mei.

Wang Yue Mei is in charge of the family’s expenses. It is impossible for her to hand over the passbook to others, let alone Wu Cui Ling, who is an outsider to her.

The passbook is Wang Yue Mei’s life, unless it is robbed.

Li Gen looked at Wu Cui Ling suddenly. Huang Dan also looked over.

This is very strange. If Wu Cui Ling really took the passbook, why didn’t she hide it somewhere else after Wang Yue Mei’s death? If she didn’t take it, then why is she panicking? Or was there something else in the box?

Huang Dan thought about it, and Li Gen did the same. This may be the only breakthrough. So they didn’t comment.

Wu Cui Ling kept shaking her head, she was greatly frightened, “I don’t know how this thing is here.”

Li Gen’s face was ugly, “But this is your house, you say you don’t know?”

Wu Cui Ling’s body shook, “Ge, you have to trust me, I really didn’t steal the things.”

She was going to grab Li Gen’s hand, but was waved away.

Liu Dong Lai’s gaze swept over Wu Cui Ling and Li Gen, thoughtfully.

He followed the procedure and wanted to take Wu Cui Ling back to make a record. It stands to reason that if there is no ghost in heart, there is no need to panic, just some questions, at most a little gossip.

But Wu Cui Ling’s reaction was extremely violent, she struggled vigorously to retreat, as if once she went, she would not be able to come back.

Li Gen had no expression on his face, “Cui Ling, what are you afraid of?”

“I… I’m not afraid…” Wu Cuiling said incoherently with a pale face, “It’s not me, Ge, it’s really not me… No, I didn’t kill mother…”

Li Gen looked at her, “So what are you afraid of?”

Wu Cui Ling’s body trembled, she trembled, and couldn’t speak a word。