Chapter 128: The Missing Dog

According to the old Village Chief, this guy Erxiao is in his thirties, not disabled, just a regular person. Erxiao came to Tougouzi Village in his early twenties, which struck the old chief as odd, since almost everyone who moves here is disabled. What was a healthy young man doing out here?

Later the old Village Chief found out Erxiao hadn’t come here to settle down but to do business. It all started when Erxiao was driving home along the highway. One of his passengers complained, saying there was nothing in this place—not even a shop to buy cigarettes. It was just too remote.

They happened to be passing down this little road when the remark hit Erxiao. After he got home, he suggested at the village entrance: why not open a supermarket here? He figured he could buy a house in Dongxing City in under ten years. Sure, it’s remote, but it’s right by the highway and there’s steady traffic. Not a bad idea at all.

But nobody agreed with Erxiao’s wild plan. After all, he graduated from Dongxing City Science and Technology University and made six thousand yuan a month—why would he give that up for this?

But Erxiao didn’t waver. He quit his job, brought his savings here, and built a small supermarket. All it took was mentioning it to the village, so he went to see the Village Chief—Wei Shengfeng.

And just like that, Erxiao’s supermarket opened right here. Every month he’d drive his truck to the wholesale market, stock up, then sell his wares in the village. It probably only cost him a few tens of thousands at the start, but now, no one knows how much he’s made. The old Village Chief was certain, though—Erxiao already bought a place in Dongxing City.

Actually, a year or two ago, Erxiao had talked about selling the supermarket. But after ten years in this place, he seemed reluctant to leave, even though he didn’t interact much with the villagers.

The old Village Chief sighed. “Honestly, Erxiao makes money selling fake goods. If he just sold daily necessities, the supermarket wouldn’t have lasted. We’re the most remote village on the highway, and for dozens of miles there’s no rest stop. Truck drivers passing through? They’re all heavy smokers and drinkers.”

“He brings in stock at cheap prices and sells by the carton. Those guys barely remember what they bought last time anyway. But listen, he only sells the real stuff to us locals—otherwise I would’ve kicked him out long ago.” The old chief kept talking as he rolled his wheelchair right to the small supermarket, pushed open the door, and rolled inside.

We hadn’t even entered when a man’s voice floated out. “Well, well, if it isn’t Village Chief Wei! Haven’t seen you around lately. Out and about on a day like this, rolling yourself over here alone? I say you’re tougher than Commander Wang Jian!”

At that, I thought—so Erxiao’s the bantering type.

The rest of us followed him inside.

The room had no heat, just a big old stove. Inside, red-hot coals glowed. Not as cozy as the Village Committee’s radiators, but much warmer than outside.

When he spotted us, Erxiao shook his head with a half-smile. “Village Chief Wei, you brought the whole crew? What, here to surround my little supermarket? And hey, we’ve even got a pretty girl today.”

I took a good look at Erxiao. He was a man of about thirty, with greasy, unkempt long hair. His beard was wild and hadn’t been trimmed in ages. He wore a black wool sweater that was already fraying.

No question—he looked rough around the edges.

The old Village Chief gave a cold snort. “You weren’t this mouthy when you first showed up. If I’d known you’d turn out like this, I wouldn’t have let you stay.”

Erxiao only grinned and started pouring us water. “Hey, spend ten years here all by yourself and you’d try talking to pigs about life, too. Especially lately—with this heavy snow it’s dead outside, not a car in sight. I’m bored out of my mind.”

The old Village Chief handed us each a few pairs of warm gloves. “Put these on—put them on my tab.”

Erxiao shook his head. “Gloves only cost ten bucks a pair, forget the tab. But what brings you here today? Not just to buy gloves, right? This feels a bit like overkill. Here to arrest me?”

The old Village Chief spat on the floor. “Why would anyone bother with you? Where’s your dog, Beibei? Didn’t see him when we came in. Sent him out to stud?”

Erxiao answered, “Now, don’t tease me with that. I’d send him to breed if I could, but there aren’t any females around here. Your village doesn’t even have a single dog! So after years of holding back, he finally ran away, and now I can’t find him anywhere.”

Hearing that, a jolt ran through me. No way it’s that coincidental—we find the only dog in the village, and now it’s gone missing? Was this the same dog that bit off the victim’s arm?

The old Village Chief’s brow furrowed. “You mean your Beibei’s missing?”

Erxiao slapped the table, clearly frustrated. “You got it—he’s been gone two days. Makes me wonder if someone’s hiding a female dog in the village. He roamed sometimes, but never for this long. What happened to loyalty between single dogs, huh?”

At that, everyone in the room grew silent.

Erxiao’s dog disappeared two days ago. That matched Guan Zengbin’s estimate of the victim’s time of death. Was it really just coincidence? Or did someone deliberately take the dog?

I asked, “Your dog went missing two days ago—did he leave on his own or do you think someone took him? Can you be sure?”

Erxiao’s face turned serious. “So you’re here to help me find my dog? He’s a big black-and-yellow German Shepherd, stands close to a meter eighty on his hind legs. Usually I let him stay outside—there’s no one around and he wouldn’t wander far.”

“But two days ago, I took a nap and when I woke up, the dog was just gone.” Erxiao bared his teeth. “Still hasn’t come back. I told the villagers to keep an eye out—he can be kind of fierce, and if he bites someone, I’ll be in big trouble.”

Guan Zengbin shot him a glare. “If you know your dog’s aggressive, why not keep him tied up?”

Erxiao protested, “Humans are animals too. Who wouldn’t be upset being tied up? Besides, I hardly see anyone here—never had a problem before.”

“Got any photos?” I asked.

“Of me or the dog?” Erxiao asked suspiciously.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Obviously the dog. Why would I need your picture?”

“Yeah, I’ve got one!” Erxiao rummaged through a drawer until he finally found a photo.

I took a look. The dog was clearly a medium-to-large breed, unmistakably a German Shepherd. Calm and confident—these dogs can handle almost any working task.

A trained Shepherd is famously obedient; it’s hard to imagine one simply running off unless someone stole it.

Judging by appearances, it could very well have been this dog. If someone had stolen it, a German Shepherd really could bite off a human arm. But it’s tough for a stranger to control one—if it was this dog, how did the killer get it to attack and sever the victim’s right arm?

Guan Zengbin looked over the photo and told us, “German Shepherds have forty-two teeth—twenty on the top, twenty-two on the bottom. Their bite is fierce, and their jaws close tight. Judging from this picture, I’d bet the tooth marks on that bone are from this dog.”

He paused, then continued. “Check for some dog hair or anything else—has the forensics guy arrived yet? Send it all for testing; we’ll match the bite marks and know for sure if it’s your dog.”

Erxiao looked baffled. “What bite marks? What kind of test?”

Guan Zengbin didn’t bother explaining further. He just said coldly, “Just find me some dog hair. Or if that’s impossible, the dog’s blanket or water bowl.”

Erxiao had no reply to Guan Zengbin. He hurried to the dog bed and found a few hairs. “Here you go.”

Guan Zengbin sealed them in an evidence bag.

I asked, “Did any strangers come around here two afternoons ago?”

“Strangers?” Erxiao shook his head firmly. “This is the only way in or out of the village, and for kilometers there’s not even a single tree. I’d see anyone suspicious. Heavy snow has closed the road, even highway traffic is almost gone. You’ve been here a while—seen any cars?”

“Didn’t think so,” Erxiao went on. “Forget strangers—even the villagers barely come out these days. The weather’s just too nasty. Two years ago I was planning to sell the store, just waiting to clear out the last stock. I already bought a place in Dongxing City, so I’m not sure why I’m still here…”

Looking out from here, you could see countless meters into the distance. If the killer left on the highway after dumping the body two days ago, Erxiao would’ve seen him. Which means the killer never left the village.

The snow hasn’t just trapped us—it’s trapped the killer, too.

But we can’t exactly go door-to-door searching for hidden corpses.

So who could the killer be?