Chapter 350: The Second Child

2022-05-20

Gu Chen stayed silent the whole way. While we were on the road, Uncle Chen got a call. After the autopsy, Gao Dafu’s body had been held for a full day now, but no one could reach his family. The village chief from Zhi Li Village had just arrived and planned to take the body back and bury it according to village customs.

As despicable as Gao Dafu was, the dead deserve respect. Besides, his parents had helped people in the village a lot in the past. So no matter what Gu Zhi or Hu Ningning’s grandparents think, getting the burial done is urgent.

A few people from the village had come, including Gu Chen’s father. With the roads less muddy now that the rain had stopped, everyone wanted to get the body moved while they could. If they waited any longer, who knew how long they’d be stuck. Since the route passed by the school, we decided to go together.

Sure enough, there was already quite a crowd. I spotted Gu Chen’s father too. Gu Chen went inside to discuss things with the villagers, while I waited outside. Soon, Gu Chen’s father stepped out and saw me. He said, “Gu Chen had to handle some things inside, so I came out.”

I nodded and handed him a cigarette. He sat down beside me.

I spoke quietly. “Gu Chen once told me you were saved by someone back in the day, is that true?”

He looked at me and replied, “No, that’s not true at all.”

Right then, everything clicked into place. Gu Chen had told me that story just after we’d failed the Liu Yinyan case—the lowest point I’d ever hit. He was sharing his own story to help me get past the dark thoughts.

Now it was clear: Gu Chen had made it up to comfort me. Looking back, he’d really gone out of his way to help me move on.

A moment later, Gu Chen and Uncle Chen came out. Gu Chen told me, “Alright, everything’s settled.”

I glanced at him—he looked just the same as ever. “Let’s go,” I said. “We need to get to the school.”

It didn’t take long for us to arrive. We called ahead, and soon the principal arrived with Sun Qingqing. To my surprise, the principal now looked a mess—hair flopped down on either side of his head, almost like an evil villain from those old kung fu movies.

The principal—no, he really did look like a cartoon villain—started to panic. “You have to catch this killer! This is too terrifying. How did they get my number? What if they come for my family next? What on earth is going on?”

He was sweating bullets.

That got me thinking. Why did the killer have his number? Did they know him in advance? Clearly, the killer has specific demands.

Now that Li Jun is dead, if we don’t act fast, would Hu Ningning be in danger too? And was Teacher Gao’s death tied to all of this? Is Hu Ningning lying, or is it Teacher Gao? We still don’t know.

Over an hour later, the principal’s phone finally rang.

The room was dead silent. He looked at us, I gave him a nod to turn on speakerphone.

He put it on speaker. Immediately, the killer’s voice came through: “Did you figure out the reason?”

“What do you want?” I asked.

He hesitated, sounding caught off guard. “Who are you?”

“Where is Hu Ningning? What are you trying to do?” I pressed.

“Relax, Hu Ningning’s safe.” It was a low, steady voice. “Since you’re all here, that makes this easier. Have you figured out the reason yet?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I insisted, “Is Hu Ningning really safe? I want to hear her voice.”

There was a brief pause. Then, a little girl’s voice came over the line: “I’m scared.”

The fear in her voice was unmistakable, trembling and on the verge of tears. I couldn’t help but feel protective.

“Hu Ningning, is that you?” I asked.

“Uncle, save me,” she cried.

I called her name several more times, but after that, she fell silent. But one thing was clear—this wasn’t a recording. We could tell Hu Ningning was, at least for now, unharmed.

“Now it’s my turn to ask,” the killer said. “I know you can track my location in just a few minutes. That means you only have a little time. Tell me the reason or I can’t guarantee Hu Ningning’s safety.”

“Because on the bus,” I said, “Li Jun kicked a pregnant woman off, which led to her losing the baby.”

“Bravo. Well done.”

The sound of clapping came through the phone. Then the killer spoke again: “Very good. You’re keeping up with me. Now, go to the spot where you found the backpack last time. I’ve got a big surprise waiting. Hope you’ll like it.”

With that, the call ended.

When we dialed back, the phone was already shut off. All we heard was a mechanical voice say the number was out of service.

Curiously, the killer never told us not to call the police. In fact it sounded like he wanted police involved. From that, it seemed like he either wanted to provoke us or to bring more attention to his actions.

Whichever it was, the killer was making a huge effort to get our attention—this definitely isn’t a normal murderer.

There’s more going on here than meets the eye.

And now the killer has given us another location—the place where they found the backpack. What happened there?

I looked at Gu Chen, then at the others. “You all heard him. For now, Hu Ningning is safe. But if we don’t do as the killer says, she’s his ace—his hostage. Plus, he’s sent us somewhere new.”

Uncle Chen nodded. “Yeah, it’s where you found the backpack last time.”

“Let’s go,” I said. “The killer likes leaving notes on bodies, and now he wants to play a game with us. This is the second round.”

“Right,” Gu Chen agreed. “We’d better hurry.”

I turned to the principal and Sun Qingqing. “Keep a close eye on the kids. Make sure no one goes missing. I bet the killer won’t settle for just grabbing Li Jun. Otherwise the game can’t go on.”

They both nodded.

Gu Chen drove us toward the place where we’d found the backpack before. On the way, he asked, “What do you think the killer really wants?”

I frowned, pressing my fingers to my temple. “It’s too soon to say. But judging by the killer’s calm and articulate manner, they’re definitely well-educated—no way could someone like Wei Shufen and her husband pull this off.”

Someone highly educated, with money, and who knew the principal’s phone number… Not exactly common in this town. But for someone from a middle-class, educated family to commit something this twisted, there must be a reason.

But as for what that reason is, I have no idea yet.

For the rest of the drive, the three of us kept our thoughts to ourselves.

Finally, Uncle Chen broke the silence. “We’re almost there. I wonder what the killer wants us to see.”

I nodded. “What do you think his second task is?”

Uncle Chen’s mouth fell open, and after a moment he said, “Could it be…there’s a second victim?”

“That’s possible,” I replied, locking eyes with him.

Right then, Gu Chen slammed on the brakes. We lurched forward so hard we almost hit the dash. Uncle Chen caught his breath, scolding Gu Chen: “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

Gu Chen glanced back at Uncle Chen. “Uncle Chen, I mean no disrespect, but your mouth really brings bad luck.”

He pointed ahead with his finger.

We looked where he pointed. Hanging from a tree branch ahead was a child. In the sunlight, we could just make out that dozens of nearly invisible fishing lines were suspending the kid. If the light wasn’t angled just right, the lines would be impossible to see.

The child dangled in a bizarre pose. It looked like they were lying facedown in midair, supported by all those lines around their arms, back, legs. Like a kid sleeping in the sky, or a goalkeeper about to leap for a save.

There was something deeply unsettling about this scene. With his head hanging down and no movement, we couldn’t see the child’s face, but the stillness told us it couldn’t be good.

We got out and moved slowly through the deserted grove, drawing closer to that strange sight. My heart pounded in my chest—not because of fear of dead bodies, but because seeing someone strung up like that triggered a primal kind of dread.

Then I heard it—the child ahead was making a faint creaking sound.

It was soft but, in the otherwise silent woods, it was impossible to miss.

“Creak…creak…”

The sound came gently, slowly, as if the child was trying to break free of the fishing lines.