Chapter 23: Ghost Marriage

My second uncle and I were listening very seriously to Captain Zhao speaking. Pushing the police to treat a dead horse as if it were alive, this incident is likely not a normal case either.

The Snakehead started the car when Captain Zhao greeted him, and was likely driving towards the scene of the incident. He didn’t say anything, and seemed uninterested in this matter.

Seeing that my second uncle and I didn’t reply, Captain Zhao continued:

【 About half a month ago, the police station in Xishan Village received a call reporting a homicide. A family in the village had been massacred. Upon receiving the call, the police immediately dispatched officers to the scene. There were five people in this family. It might be easier for you to understand if I put it this way: the head of the family was Liu Youde. He had a wife, his parents were also alive, and he had an eleven-year-old son. This entire family was wiped out; neither the old nor the child survived. However, their manner of death was brutal: their hearts and eyes were gouged out. Strangely, their blood flowed from their eyes, while the area where their hearts were dug out did not bleed much.

Of course, if it were only this, I would have only considered it a major massacre. Seven days after Liu Youde’s family was massacred, another family was also wiped out in the same manner. This family had three members: a couple and an old man. The husband’s name was Zhang Quan. I’ll focus on the important details and leave the other two people in Zhang Quan’s family aside for now.

After another family was massacred in the same way, this incident reached the Provincial Bureau. The Provincial Bureau ordered me to handle this matter. After understanding the circumstances of the incident, I rushed over immediately. Upon my arrival, I naturally began by inquiring among the nearby villagers if these two families had offended anyone. The villagers unanimously stated that these two families were usually diligent and honest, helped out when there were matters in the village, and had not offended anyone. However, I noticed a peculiar look in the eyes of some villagers. At that time, I only thought that these villagers were frightened because of the murder case, which is normal for anyone encountering such a thing. Therefore, I did not investigate thoroughly in that direction.】

Captain Zhao paused and took out a pack of cigarettes, offering it and asking:

【 Do the two Masters smoke?】

My second uncle took one, while I shook my head and refused.

After lighting a cigarette, Captain Zhao continued:

【 I investigated for a period of time afterward and found nothing, and the case fell into a deadlock. As the case made no progress for a long time, the incident’s influence gradually expanded, and the province issued a strict order for me to solve the case no matter what.

Just as I was struggling with a headache, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck me. I thought of a method: a reward. Whoever could provide information related to this case would be rewarded with five thousand yuan. I didn’t have much hope when the task was posted. However, two days ago, a young man secretly found me in the evening and said he had some clues about the case.】

After Captain Zhao said this, he stopped talking and kept looking ahead, as if recalling something or thinking about what to say next.

Second Uncle and I were listening intently when Captain Zhao suddenly stopped. Of course, we urged Captain Zhao to continue. Second Uncle spoke up first to urge him:

【 And then?

【 That young man secretly came to find me, saying that he couldn’t let anyone know he told me. I naturally agreed. At first, I didn’t really believe what the young man said, but now I kind of do. The young man told me this wasn’t done by humans, but by a ghost seeking vengeance.

Captain Zhao smiled, turned around, and said to Second Uncle:

【 Sounds far-fetched, right? For a detective captain to believe such things. I didn’t believe it at first either and thought the young man was just trying to trick me for five thousand yuan. Until he took me to a graveyard. The grave there belonged to Liu Youde’s son. Liu Youde had another son many years ago; he actually had two sons. This eldest son drowned in a pond while playing. He would have been eighteen this year.

The young man told me that Liu Youde seemed to be guilt-ridden about not watching over his eldest son carefully enough, which led to his eldest son drowning. He hadn’t moved on from this guilt and always believed he was responsible for his eldest son’s death. Coincidentally, his son would have turned eighteen this year, so Liu Youde had the idea of arranging a ghost marriage for his deceased son.

However, Liu Youde couldn’t find a suitable female partner for the ghost marriage. The condition for finding a suitable girl was that she must have died at that age. Such cases are very rare. Somehow, Zhang Quan heard that Liu Youde intended to arrange a ghost marriage and sold his living daughter to Liu Youde. I’m not sure about the exact price; the young man also said he didn’t know.

Second Uncle touched his chin and continued Captain Zhao’s story: 【 A living person for a ghost marriage?

【 Yes. When the young man took me to Liu Youde’s son’s grave, the grave had been dug open. At first, I thought someone else had dug it, but after I examined it closely, the weird thing was that the grave had been dug open from the inside. Liu Youde’s son’s corpse was still there, but Zhang Quan’s daughter’s body was missing.

Hearing this, Second Uncle narrowed his eyes and leaned back, seemingly deep in thought. Although Second Uncle didn’t speak, I could feel that he seemed to be thinking:

【 It seems something really happened!

Captain Zhao continued, saying: 【 Later, after I went back, I asked the nearby villagers for more information. When the villagers saw that I knew about this matter, they stopped hiding it and told me about the situation at Zhang Quan’s home. Zhang Quan’s daughter has some issues with her brain; it seems she was injured when she was young and is a fool. Logically, a fool, especially a girl, shouldn’t be able to escape from a sealed coffin. 】

【 Aren’t these two families too wicked? To bury a living girl like that? 】

I found this hard to accept, so I said subconsciously.

【 People can sometimes be considered things, sometimes livestock, and sometimes saints. It’s normal for them to do anything. 】

Second Uncle, having experienced more, said to me in a flat tone.

【 This matter isn’t over yet. 】

Captain Zhao continued to say.

【 Not over? What happened afterwards? 】

Second Uncle asked, frowning.

【 The young man who sought me out died just two days ago, and his manner of death was the same as that of Zhang Quan and Liu Youde’s families. 】

After Captain Zhao finished speaking, he lit another cigarette. One could clearly feel the powerlessness in his tone.

【 From the young man’s family, I learned that after he returned from Liu Youde’s son’s graveyard, he hadn’t left his room, rarely even leaving the room itself. His death occurred in his own room, which was locked from the inside. I inspected it and found no signs of forced entry, nor had any outsiders entered his room. His family didn’t know he had gone to Liu Youde’s son’s grave. Considering the influence this might have, I didn’t tell his family. Every incident has been so weird, and I’m truly out of options. I can only report the situation truthfully to the Provincial Bureau. Their instruction was to find people from your circle to come here and take a look. So, I asked someone to find the Snakehead here, the Two Masters. The process of this entire case is roughly as I’ve described. Do you have any leads? Could you share them? 】