The following morning, the tranquility of the village was shattered by a high-decibel scream.
Even if Xu Shuo went to bed late, he was always the earliest riser, unless he had been forced to pull an all-nighter.
The steamed buns in the steamer were ready, and just as Xu Shuo was lifting the lid to check on them, a panicked villager burst in.
"Village... Acting Village Chief, outside..."
Xu Shuo turned his head, glanced at the pale-faced villager, then gestured with his eyes towards the staircase.
The villager hesitated, then looked up to see two young women coming down the stairs—one was the outsider from yesterday, and the other was the female artist who had stayed in the village for more than two months.
Instantly, his expression became more restrained, and he said sheepishly, "Acting Village Chief, you'd better go and see for yourself. There's a problem at Elder Huang's melon field."
Xu Shuo looked puzzled, "What kind of problem?"
This also conveniently asked the question on behalf of the two women upstairs, who gave the villager a friendly and concerned smile.
The villager squeezed out an awkward smile, then quickly averted his gaze, somewhat sheepishly telling Xu Shuo, "Acting Village Chief, it's his field... the melon vines have been destroyed by someone, and Elder Huang was so upset he fainted. He's just been taken to the town hospital. And... and there's something else..."
He, however, didn't know how to continue with the rest of the story.
The detective had only arrived in their village yesterday, and no one expected to find him dead in the fields this morning, and in such a strange manner, creating anxiety among the villagers.
Xu Shuo nodded in understanding, then apologized to the two women who had come downstairs, "I'm sorry, I need to deal with some village matters first. Please help yourselves to breakfast. It's all ready—handmade buns, absolutely pure green food with no pollution!"
His assertion was so firm and his face so honest, it left the two women with odd expressions.
The female journalist, after briefly pondering, chose not to follow them and said with a smile, "Then, Acting Village Chief, you go ahead with your business; we'll manage on our own here."
The young woman shyly nodded at them.
...
...
Xu Shuo left with the villager, his face calm. Once they had walked a little way, the villager could no longer hide his nervousness.
He asked anxiously, "Acting Village Chief, how come that female journalist is at your house?"
Because if not handled properly, it would be a matter of the whole village's reputation, and in this era, reputation was the most important thing!
When Xu Shuo arrived, he immediately attracted a group of eager gazes.
A straw mat was laid on the ground, and he pretended to crouch down, lifted the mat for a glance, then frowned and asked, "Did you hear anything strange last night?"
The villagers all shook their heads, one after another denying any knowledge.
Someone hesitantly said, "I was up in the night, and I didn't see anything strange. The melon field is so far from where we live; even if there had been any noise, we couldn't have heard it!"
The houses in the village were built along the hillside, while the fields were below the river, indeed some distance away.
Xu Shuo looked at the detective's ashen face, touched the side of his neck, and then said, "It looks like he was choked to death by his own vomit, call the police and just tell them he suddenly came out in the middle of the night and then died suddenly here."
Hearing the word "police," the villagers' expressions turned unhappy and they became noticeably agitated.
"But in the village, Elder Huang's family also..."
"Just say that he went out to look for his wife who went back to her maiden home," Xu Shuo glanced at the person who spoke and said indifferently, "The detective is an outsider after all, and he came here with a commission. This kind of thing can't be hidden for long."
"He said he was acting on the Village Chief's commission..."
Someone murmured quietly, obviously unable to resist blaming Xu Shuo for the situation.
Xu Shuo frowned, "That's my old man's business, I didn't know he would pull a stunt like this. Anyway, let's get past this incident, we will talk about the rest later. For now, let's go check out Elder Huang's house."
He emphasized his tone, and the people next to him dared not say anything more, clustering around him as they walked towards the village.
Several men still stood guard in the fields while someone glanced at the situation here and hurriedly ran off.
The situation at Elder Huang's house was even more complicated, with blood all over the bedroom floor, and no body to be found.
Considering the scattered chunks of questionable meat around the detective in the fields, some villagers turned pale, muttering prayers and entreaties to the gods and Buddha.
Xu Shuo stood at the door and looked inside, this amount of blood loss, and no sign of a struggle, meant the killer probably struck a fatal blow immediately.
So, why did it drag the body to the gourd field to eat?
More importantly, why did it target Elder Huang?