Chapter 126: Dog Teeth

2022-05-20

“Hey there, little guy. What’s your name?” I looked at the child. “Did you just touch that arm? Why’d you do it?”

The boy gave a little nod, clutching his father’s shirt, then spoke up. “My name’s Sun Kangning. Today, Dad and I went to visit Uncle Li’s place. On the way back, I ran ahead by myself. Then, by the side of the road, I spotted a hand. I was so happy, so I went over to it.”

He glanced at us, then over at his dad, before continuing: “I’ve always dreamed of having two arms and two hands, just like other people. But Mom and Dad told me I was born with only one arm and one hand. They said I was a superhero in my last life, and a bad guy stole my hand away.”

Kangning’s words bubbled with excitement, as if he believed in every bit of it. “Mom and Dad said if I eat well and study hard, maybe one day I’ll get my superpowers back and find the hand the bad guy took. Is that right, Dad?”

Sun Kangning looked up at his father. The man, maybe in his thirties and showing no sign of disability, seemed a bit shy in front of everyone. He gently stroked his son’s forehead and said quietly, “That’s right. If you do your best, one day that hand will be returned to you.”

Satisfied with the answer, Kangning beamed. “So to help my arm come back sooner, I eat all my meals and work hard on my writing every day. When we went out today, I saw that hand, so I thought—it must be the bad guy giving my hand back. I just wanted to touch it and see.”

But as he spoke, Kangning’s face fell. “But then Dad saw me and started yelling, told me to let go. I don’t know if I did something wrong again, but I really want my hand back. Everyone else gets two arms and two hands, but I only have one of each.”

With innocent eyes, Sun Kangning told us a brutally honest story. To protect his young heart, to help him accept how he’s different, his parents had woven this tender dream for him. Maybe, one day, he’ll realize it was just a pretty story, but right now at least, he could live safely inside that fantasy.

“I just want to be like everyone else,” Kangning whispered.

I noticed his father wiping away tears that spilled from his eyes. Everyone stood in silence. Most were people with disabilities themselves. I wondered if anyone had spun gentle lies for them when they were children.

Kangning’s dad looked at me, worry flickering in his eyes, as if he feared I’d shatter the boy’s dream.

I smiled and said to Kangning, “You know, your last life really was as a superhero, and you’re doing great every day. But it’s still not enough yet. See this hand? It’s a lot bigger than yours. It’s for someone else, not you.”

Kangning nodded, a little disappointed. “So it’s not mine after all.”

“Only the very best things come last,” I told him. “Your arm and your hand are perfect, and they’ll come back to you—not yet, but someday. Now, did you see who put this hand here? That’s the bad guy who takes people’s hands. Did you spot anyone like that?”

Kangning’s eyes lit up at my words. “Really? But I didn’t see any bad guy. If one shows up, I’ll make sure to catch him.”

“So you didn’t see anyone at all?” I asked.

He nodded. “Nope, when I got here, all I saw was the hand—no bad guys.”

“When you saw the hand, do you remember what time it was?” I pressed.

“I don’t know.” Kangning shook his head, growing a little annoyed.

His father chimed in, “We got here a little after one o’clock. He ran ahead, but I wasn’t far behind. Just a couple minutes, really. I saw him touching the hand and yelled for him to stop…”

“Didn’t see anyone suspicious,” Kangning’s father added. “But I did notice some footprints next to the hand, leading toward the east side of the village—then they just mixed in with all the others and I couldn’t tell them apart anymore. After that, I went to the village committee to find the chief.”

He looked at the old village chief and went on, “Nobody was at the village committee, but Li Danan told me you were all over at Old Lady Wang’s house. I told Li Danan what happened, and he said to wait here for you. Then you all showed up.”

Even though Kangning’s dad was the first to spot the killer’s footprints, he couldn’t possibly pick them out again in the chaos left behind.

“Did you notice anything odd lying around?” I asked.

“Nope,” said Kangning’s dad, shaking his head.

Both Kangning and his father seemed honest enough, and this was easy to check—just see if they had really been out visiting that day. I didn’t really suspect them. Still, this proved the killer hadn’t gone far. But even with just two or three hundred people in Tougouzi Village, it wouldn’t be easy to catch the culprit.

As I mulled things over, no one spoke.

Suddenly, Kangning blurted, “Hey, those big brothers and sisters are different from us. They’re not like me—they have two arms and two hands. They’re not like Grandma Wang, who can’t hear anything, they can talk. They’re not like Uncle Li, who can’t see anything—they can see as well. They’re not like…”

Kangning wanted to go on, but his dad stopped him.

Sun Kangning looked lost, not understanding why he couldn’t keep talking, while his dad just gave us an apologetic look.

“Alright, I’m done here,” I told everyone. “You can all head home. If you find any leads, tell me. Something this bad’s happened in our village, and the killer just might dump another body. Please, stay alert. We’re dealing with someone truly vicious.”

With that, the crowd began to disperse.

Kangning’s father came over, bowed deeply, and said earnestly, “Thank you. You really are a good person. If I find anything, I’ll come to you.”

Soon enough, everyone was gone—the only ones left were us few.

I stared at the mess of footprints scattered on the ground, completely lost in thought.

Guan Zengbin was holding an arm as if she were shaking hands with it.

She said, “Wu Meng, you could stick your face to the dirt and you still wouldn’t find anything useful. The killer’s footprints are long buried under all these others, coming and going so much even the best tech can’t sort them out. You’re wasting your time.”

I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. “Yeah, I’m not counting on finding clues this way. But there’s still hope elsewhere. Take the cut on this arm—it’s obviously been bitten off by some animal. What do you think did it?”

Guan Zengbin nodded. “You’re right. Judging from the wound, it was definitely chewed off by an animal. See the marks on the humerus? Those are canine teeth. From the size and depth, I’d say it was a pretty big hunting dog.”

I snapped my fingers. “So, dog bite. We’ve walked all across this village from west to east and back again today. Did any of you notice anything out of the ordinary?”

“Out of the ordinary?” Captain Zhou scratched his head. “Well, since the chief and I are good friends, I’ve been here plenty of times. But except for most villagers being disabled, I haven’t noticed anything strange—no real differences, nothing unusual.”

I shook my head. “Actually, there is something strange. No one here seems to keep any dogs. We spent all day outside—did any of you hear so much as a single bark?”

As soon as I said that, everyone finally picked up on it. In an apartment building, sure, you might not see dogs. But in a village? Not having a single dog around is downright strange.

“Now that you mention it,” Gu Chen nodded, “it’s true—there are no dogs here.”

The old village chief smiled. “Wasn’t always that way. There used to be folks with dogs, but gradually people stopped keeping them. Our village isn’t like others. Many of us have lost limbs—no hands, no feet—and we can only get by with help. There was a wild dog attack once that ended in someone dying. With no way to fight back, we decided any dogs spotted would be sent away.”

Captain Zhou chimed in, “I was the one who took that case.”

“So it’s not that nobody ever had dogs,” the old chief went on, waving a hand. “We just needed to be safe. Most people here can’t protect themselves, and it really is risky. Eventually, no one kept dogs anymore and we all got used to it. It hasn’t made much difference.”

Only after the chief’s explanation did we finally understand the hidden reason behind all this.

I said, “If Tougouzi Village has no dogs, then where did these bite marks come from? That’s our breakthrough. If we can find that dog, we’ll find its owner, too.”

Gu Chen snorted a laugh. “So, we’re looking for a dog now?”

I nodded. “And not a small one either. It’s got to be at least medium-sized. Since no one keeps dogs here, that makes our job much easier.”

Suddenly, the old village chief spoke up. “Right, the supermarket at the east end of the village.”