Chapter 117: Limbs Lost Beneath the Snow

2022-05-20

Old Xia slowly made his way down the roadside. Somehow his boots made no sound at all as he moved through the snow, like he wasn’t even part of this world. No wonder back in the village, when he grabbed my shoulder out of nowhere, I hadn’t heard him approach.

I’d always felt something off about this so-called ‘disabled village,’ but seeing Old Xia just now made everything feel even eerier. If everyone in Tougouzi Village is like this, then it’s truly a place that sends chills down your spine. Lost in thought, I followed along behind Old Xia as he led the way.

“Bring the shovels!” Captain Zhou called out.

The two cars parked with their hazard lights flashing. Behind us, each person held a flashlight, lighting our way. On these rural backroads, streetlights are few and far between, and most of them don’t even work—either smashed long ago or simply too old to light up anymore.

A bitter wind howled through the twisted branches, carrying the sound of ghosts wailing in the dark.

Aside from the weak circles of flashlight beams, it was pitch black in every direction. We stumbled through the snow, each step uncertain.

If I had to walk here alone, even knowing nothing was out there, I’d probably scare myself half to death. The person who found the body was smart to leave early. Spending a night beside a corpse in this kind of place? I wouldn’t have lasted either.

I tell myself I’m a staunch atheist, but deep down people always find ways to scare themselves with things that don’t exist.

Yet Old Xia at the front seemed immune to the creepy atmosphere. Despite barely any light, he strode ahead confidently, as if the path was second nature. It reminded me of when we were in the car earlier; he sat with his eyes closed but still knew exactly where we were driving.

When a person loses their sight, their other senses sharpen. That’s just how it works.

We kept moving forward. Even with gloves, the wind stabbed at my hands with icy pain.

We’d gone quite a distance, but there was only a single set of footprints. Most likely, these belonged to whoever had first discovered the body. That means when the victim was killed and dumped here, it must have been snowing hard. The heavy snow covered up the killer’s tracks, giving them the perfect cover.

“Here!” Old Xia barked out another word. His voice, as always, was both husky and piercing—like some broken speaker, muffled but loud.

Every word seemed to scrape out of him with effort, as if shouting was a struggle.

We stopped at once, shining several flashlights onto the ground. Sure enough, poking out beneath the snow, we spotted a bare foot—no shoe, no sock. Of course, that was how the informant could notice the nail polish on the toenails.

This spot was pretty close to the road. During daylight, anyone on the roadside could’ve easily noticed a foot poking out of the snow.

But just from looking, I couldn’t say for certain it was a woman’s foot. I’d seen all kinds of things before, so I wasn’t about to jump to conclusions. We didn’t rush to dig out the entire body. First, we needed to check the area.

I borrowed a flashlight and swept the surroundings.

Nothing out of the ordinary. The snow had wiped away any trace the killer left behind.

“Wu Meng, anything to report?” Captain Zhou’s eager eyes shone with hope, like he wanted to pick up some new forensic trick from me. For a split second, I almost felt important.

I quickly said, “The heavy snowfall stopped about three hours ago. When we got the call, there was still a bit of flurry, but nothing heavy enough to cover fresh footprints. So, the time of death must be within the last three hours. To be exact, we’ll need Guan Zengbin to look at it.”

“That’s right,” Captain Zhou nodded seriously.

I carried on, “It’s nine thirty now, so three hours ago means six thirty. It was still light out at six thirty. For someone to commit murder and hide a body by the road in broad daylight—they must know this stretch well. They counted on the storm to keep people away.”

As I spoke, I felt a familiar spark—like that first time I cracked a case. It’s been over two months in Yumu City, maybe I’ve finally found my groove again.

“No matter what, even if the killer isn’t from Tougouzi Village, he definitely knows this place inside out!” I said with confidence.

Captain Zhou nodded, “So, shall we dig her out now?”

I nodded too. “Go ahead, but it might not be a woman. Just because the toes are painted doesn’t mean the foot belongs to a woman—a man could paint his nails too.”

Captain Zhou smacked his forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that? Never assume anything just because of appearances. That’s a bad habit of mine. You all could learn a thing or two from Wu Meng—he’s only twenty, but already way ahead of you all…”

While he spoke, we stepped back and Captain Zhou started ordering everyone to clear out the snow around the spot.

Luckily, the snow was powdery, not packed, so it didn’t take long to shovel. In a few minutes, Captain Zhou called out, “We’ve got it!”

I was stuck at the back, peering into the dark, unable to see clearly whether the body was male or female or what it looked like.

“Well? Is it a man or woman?” I asked.

Captain Zhou coughed. “Wu Meng, honestly, I can’t tell.”

“You can’t?” I asked, confused. “How can you not tell if it’s a man or a woman?”

Captain Zhou hesitated. “No leg hair. Maybe it’s a woman…”

His answer got weirder the more he talked, and I was left totally clueless. Curious, I squeezed through the crowd—and then I finally understood what he meant. Sure, we’d uncovered the body, but all we found was a single leg.

Life has a way of slapping you when you least expect it. I’d been smart enough not to assume painted nails meant a woman, but I never guessed there’d only be one leg with no body beneath.

Frowning at the severed limb, I said quietly, “Search the area for other parts. Spread out and check everywhere!”

Everyone started digging to the left and right, shovels scraping the snow.

From the look of the leg alone, it was impossible to say whether it belonged to a man or a woman. After all, not every man has leg hair, and not all women are hairless. The cut was jagged, showing the murder weapon hadn’t been sharp.

Based on the shape and thickness, the victim must have been slim. The leg was about a meter long—so the person wasn’t short either.

I picked the leg up as gently as I could. It was stiff with cold. You always have to be careful—sometimes the harder something freezes the more fragile it gets. If I dropped it on anything hard, it could shatter into pieces.

Guan Zengbin brought over a flashlight, examining the cross-section in detail.

He studied it for a moment, then said seriously, “Wu Meng, this case might be every bit as complicated as the ones we handled in Dongxing City.”

Coming from such an experienced forensic doctor, that meant this was no ordinary case.

“What’s wrong?” I asked quietly.

Guan Zengbin replied, “Looking at the cross-section here, there are clear signs of life before the leg was severed. There’s a lot of blood loss, the vessels are collapsed, and the muscle looks tightly contracted. In plain terms, the victim was alive at the time…”

Hearing that made the leg feel heavier in my grasp—like swallowing a fly. I felt sick.

How cruel must someone be to do this? How much pain did the victim go through before they died?

Guan Zengbin was right—this case was every bit as savage as any of the big ones in Dongxing City, if not worse.

In the end, after so much agony, the victim bled out.

The killer carried this leg to the roadside, tossed it in the snow, then left the scene quickly.

Snowflakes drifted down, covering his tracks.

“No luck!” Captain Zhou’s voice rang out from a distance. “It’s too dark now—even if there are other body parts, we’re not going to find them tonight. Let’s seal off the area and come back to look tomorrow.”

“Alright,” I called back.

But honestly, I doubted we’d find anything else here. Maybe the killer only meant to leave us a single leg.

“Pack it up!” Captain Zhou ordered.

People started to regroup. I glanced over at Gu Chen and Guan Zengbin, speaking slowly, “If my guess is right, this isn’t the last time the killer will dismember and dump a body. He’ll do it again!”