Chapter 36: Huan Zhen Investigates the Case Again

An incident occurred at the road construction site in Jiashe Village.

Each morning, the female laborers would light the stoves and prepare food at the hour of the Tiger. At the beginning of the hour of the Rabbit, the male laborers were required to officially begin their work. The half-hour window between these two times was when the laborers most frequently used the latrine. As dawn broke, a corpse was discovered in the cesspit beneath the men’s latrine.

When the body was hauled up, the head hung at an unnatural angle—the neck was nearly severed, held together by a mere sliver of skin at the nape. The entire head and neck had already stiffened in death, suggesting he had died in the middle of the night.

Determining the time of death by the degree of rigor mortis was Huan Zhen’s conclusion, which matched Ren Suozhi’s own assessment—causing him to revise his impression of the rebellious youth, if only slightly.

A murder case had to be reported to the township office and subsequently to the county yamen. By the time Ren Suozhi was inspecting the body, the messenger had already ridden off, and thus, just after the hour of the Dragon, the peddler encountered the courier, who had arrived at the township.

The crime scene and its surroundings were cordoned off with hemp rope.

It was established that the deceased had still been present in the straw hut around the second quarter of the hour of the Rat the night before, a fact corroborated by the laborers who shared his lodging. These same men also mentioned a crucial detail: the deceased had a habit of relieving himself at midnight almost every night.

At the beginning of the hour of the Rat, two laborers testified that they had entered the latrine one after the other and had exchanged glances. When they went in, they were certain no one else was present, ruling out the possibility of anyone hiding inside in advance.

The murderer could not have concealed himself in the pit or cesspool beforehand—the pit was too narrow and short to hide a person; if the killer had hidden in the cesspool behind the pit, he would have reeked so terribly, given the lack of bathing facilities at the site, that he would have been immediately exposed.

Therefore, suspects began with the two laborers who used the latrine at the start of the hour of the Rat and ended with those who entered by the beginning of the hour of the Tiger. Every laborer who used that latrine in that interval was required to step forward, undergo scrutiny, and provide mutual testimony. Anyone caught lying or withholding information would, if exposed, be treated as an accomplice.

The barracks for the village militia and the female laborers were entirely separate from those of the male laborers. The militia patrolled in squads of ten at fixed intervals and could all vouch for one another, thus both the militia and the female laborers were ruled out as suspects.

A murder at a road construction site meant that Ren Suozhi could forget about any promotion for the next two years; he was so angry he cursed his luck. “Cunning bastard—picked the exact moment I was away to strike! Tsk. Don’t move—go on, tell me your thoughts.” His tirade didn’t stop him from combing Huan Zhen’s hair, tugging so hard at the boy’s eyes that they seemed misshapen.

From the discovery of the body until now, the poor light and the focus on narrowing down the suspect pool had left precious few useful leads. Huan Zhen admitted honestly, “Even the headman can’t see anything—I can’t either. But with an incident like this, the village chief and county registrar will surely come to Jiashe Village. Before they arrive, we... ah... the headman must accomplish two things: first, find the murder weapon; second, narrow the pool of suspects as much as possible. If you can identify the killer before the registrar arrives, perhaps you won’t be held responsible.”

Ren Suozhi grunted in frustration, knelt by the corpse, ignored the stench, and inspected the head and neck closely. “There are bite marks on the tongue and teeth, severe blood in the eyes, and some abrasions here and there—not sure if those were from work or a struggle before death.”

Huan Zhen approached as well, covering his nose and mouth.

Ren Suozhi shot him a disgruntled look, then continued his examination. “The fingernails are intact, nothing but dirt between them. The wound is at the center of the neck, slanting upward toward the jaw. For now, that’s all I’ve got. You like investigations, don’t you? Based on the evidence from the body, what’s your take?”

Knowing the headman was instructing him, Huan Zhen accepted the guidance with a bow, then pondered aloud, “The killer must have taken the victim by surprise, strangling him from behind. The two were likely back to back at that moment, allowing the killer to leverage his strength, resulting in a wound that slants toward the jaw. Perhaps the weapon was extremely sharp, or the killer was very strong, so the victim had no time or chance to fight back—hence the intact fingernails: he couldn’t even close his hands, much less grab his attacker! The broken teeth and bloodshot eyes only prove that the victim experienced extreme pain or terror. The lack of facial congestion suggests he died very quickly, with no signs of asphyxiation.”

Ren Suozhi made an acknowledging sound and leaned in closer to the wound, carefully parting the edges. “The wound is narrow and clean, no sign of rope fibers. Definitely not done with hemp rope.”

“What if it was a bowstring?” Huan Zhen asked.

“Laborers are routinely searched—if someone had a bowstring, it would have been found long ago. To strangle a man to the point of decapitation, that’s not ordinary hatred. That’s a clue as well.”

“May I make a suggestion?” Huan Zhen ventured.

“Go ahead.”

“Couldn’t the cesspit be built outside the latrine?”

“The idea was to keep the laborers’ living space as compact as possible. If the pit is moved outside, we’d need a lot more space—otherwise, what if someone fell in?”

A constable approached and interrupted their pungent discussion. “Headman, the victim’s identity has been confirmed. His name is Hu Fu, thirty-seven years old, originally from Xuancheng Commandery. His family was convicted and sentenced to labor in a distant region; he only arrived in Duoyi County last February. Those who know him harbor grievances—he often bullied those weaker than himself. Due to poor conduct during service, he was assigned to earth roasting duty, but he hasn’t had any recent conflicts or fights with the others.”

“Search all suspects thoroughly, including their packs,” Ren Suozhi commanded. “Isolate those laborers who also hail from Xuancheng.”

“Yes, sir.”

No sooner had the constable left than two others arrived together.

The one on the left reported, “The cesspit has been completely cleared—no murder weapon found. The ground around the latrine shows no sign of digging. The victim’s straw hut and all adjacent huts have been thoroughly searched, including the floors and roofs—no weapon found anywhere.”

The one on the right added, “The tools repository has been checked. All work tools were accounted for last night and again this morning—none are missing or bloodstained. We also checked unused tools, especially the hemp ropes. The counts are all correct and there’s no trace of blood.”

Ren Suozhi had already ruled out hemp rope as the murder weapon; now he was at a complete loss.

“I still believe,” said Huan Zhen, “that every crime leaves a trace. Headman, I request permission to assist the constables with the investigation.”

“Hurry, then! The less I see of you the better.”

“Get going already!” Wang Sanlang had finally secured an ox cart, but was being urged to depart by Grandmother Jia. The whole family was uneasy about entrusting him with an errand, thus the departure was delayed.

Yao lowered her head. “It’s all my fault...”

Grandmother Jia snapped, “Then keep your mouth shut and stop annoying people!”

“Grandmother,” Wang Ge came over with a bamboo hairpin she’d just carved—the second one she’d made. The end was shaped like a magpie perched on a branch, round-bellied and charming. “I carved this myself, it’s my first attempt. Please don’t mind if it’s rough—would you wear it for me?”

Grandmother Jia was delighted. “Oh, just look at my granddaughter’s skill! Quickly, put it in my hair.”

Little Jia clicked her tongue in envy. “Tsk, tsk, tsk—Ge’s hands are so dexterous. She can master any craft without even trying. The rest of us can’t compare.”

Wang Ge said, “I learned this when I went to the county to take the artisan’s exam—I shamelessly begged others for tips. Second Aunt didn’t even ask me about it, and with just one sentence, she discounted all my effort and the trouble I went through to learn.”

“Oh? What’s that supposed to mean? It was just an offhand remark—was that necessary?”

Old Wang interjected, “Regardless of whether it’s one word or two, you shouldn’t speak thoughtlessly! If you really can’t hold your tongue, at least confine your comments to your own branch—don’t meddle in the affairs of the eldest.”

Little Jia, ashamed and frustrated, lowered her head. “Yes, Uncle.”