Chapter 443: Setup (2/2)
I looked up, only to see the old manor still brightly lit. There was no way Song Heting would miss the blazing flames in the village.
The villagers transported water in barrels and put out the fire. In the blink of an eye, all that was left of Granny Yan's home was a pile of wooden frames burned into charred ashes and a few earthen walls. There was a sudden commotion in the crowd before someone cried, ”The village chief is here!”
Upon noticing the three of us, the village chief exclaimed, ”Aren’t you Song Heting’s nephew? What are you doing here at night?”
Someone immediately came up to him and explained, ”They were the ones who set the house on fire. This boy has been strolling through the village for the past two days and he looks like he’s up to no good...”
Before the man could finish his sentence, Song Jie kicked him in the butt and chided, ”Song Lao’er, watch what you say. My cousin is here to investigate a case.”
The villager named Song Lao’er immediately stopped talking. At the time, I thought perhaps Song Jie was too unrestrained. Later on, I learned of the disorderly lineage of the Song family in the village. The middle-aged man's seniority was actually lower than that of Song Jie’s so she had every right to teach the younger generation a lesson.
”Investigation?” The village chief asked, ”What case are you investigating?”
By this point, there was no need to keep the case under wraps so I came clean to the villagers. ”Ladies and gentlemen, in fact, I was ordered by the elders to investigate an old case. I am a criminal consultant of the Public Security Bureau. There’s a body hidden in the sacred tree in the village.”
Discussion rang out among the villagers. ”Are you kidding? How can there be a dead body in the sacred tree?”
”Even if there is, how do you know?”
”Hmph, a young one like you? How dare you lie without blinking! Don’t you think we’d know if someone in the village died?”
”You’re all part of the Song family. Even if you’ve not seen much, you should know the unique skill of Organ Echolocation!”
The villagers stopped talking at once, though some of them whispered of their doubts in the crowd. Because they were descendants of the martial Songs, no one had ever studied Organ Echolocation.
The village head cupped his fist towards the mountain, much like the ancients when they mentioned the holy land. ”Since the elders have ordered it, we should support him. But can you explain the fire?”
”I don't know anything about it. The house was already burning when we arrived,” I said.
”I saw the three of them come out of Granny Yan's home!” shouted one of the villagers.
”If we were the ones who set the house on fire, would we be stupid enough to allow witnesses and risk our lives?” My lips broke into a bitter smile.
”Who knows what the hell you’re thinking? Anyway, you’re covered in soot and the last ones to leave this house are the three of you,” retorted the man.
”It takes fifteen minutes to get here from the old manor. My aunt, Song Heting, can prove that all three of us were at home at 7:45.”
The village chief offered to compromise, ”Let's not talk about this first. We’re all descendants of the Song family. If you have something to say, there’s no need for anger. Now the key isn’t the fire, but Granny Yan? Where is she? We can confront her and get to the bottom of the matter. Have the three of you seen her?”
I shook my head.
A thought suddenly struck me–perhaps Granny Yan set the fire and fled from the village because she didn't want us to know the truth.
Right then, a woman suddenly exclaimed, ”Sir, there’s blood in his pocket!”
I looked down, only to see my trouser pocket stained with blood. There seemed to be something inside. Wrapping my hand with my sleeve, I removed the contents and found a blood-stained iron walnut.
At that moment, the world seemed to spin around me. Wasn't this the inheritance token of the shaman that Song Jie mentioned? It should have been in Granny Yan's stomach!
The villagers broke out in a frenzy and someone screamed, ”Oh my God, he killed Granny Yan!”