Chapter Twenty-Two: The Reincarnated Xunzi (Part One)

Everyone hurriedly erected a makeshift shelter over Li Qiumao’s body. Qiu Xi cleared everyone out and set up a cordon—at least he had enough sense to do that. No matter what, he couldn’t let his colleagues from the homicide team think he was an amateur.

The rain showed no sign of stopping. As a professional, it was Qiu Xi’s unshirkable duty to protect the crime scene until the officers from the external unit arrived; in other words, he would have to stand guard here until the second day of the New Year. The mountains were nothing like the city—worse still, it was pouring rain. Mosquitoes and flies swarmed everywhere, and even finding a spot to keep dry was difficult.

This place was subtropical rainforest; the conditions for survival were easy to imagine. Qiu Xi’s plan was simply to sleep inside the same shelter as Li Qiumao’s body. Though he tried to sound tough and resolute, his bravado was thinly veiled, and the people from Beiting saw through it. Seeing this, Wan Yongkun volunteered to stay and help keep watch through the night. After some thought, Chen Tianyu agreed.

However, he gave the two of them some encouragement, promising that the Beiting group would return to Li Village and bring back rope, plastic sheeting, tarps, bedding, raincoats, flashlights, and other supplies to help them set up a more decent shelter.

By the time all this was done, night had fallen. Ominous clouds blanketed the sky, fog swirled, and shadows flickered amid the bamboo grove, where jagged rocks formed strange, shifting shapes. The two men looked at each other in uneasy silence, both feeling a chill at the base of their skulls.

As night deepened and the chorus of frogs and insects rose, Qiu Xi—long accustomed to city living—became the first to feel afraid. Wan Yongkun quickly tried to bolster his spirits, and only then did Qiu Xi manage to calm himself a little.

Thus the two of them idled the hours with fitful conversation, occasionally getting up for a cigarette when they couldn’t sleep, enduring the night and longing for dawn.

By the time it was two or three in the morning, Wan Yongkun could hold out no longer. He lay down on his side to rest, and within minutes, deep snores filled the air. Exhaustion had swiftly conquered his fear.

Qiu Xi tried to stay awake a bit longer, but drowsiness proved contagious. The monotonous sound of rain drumming on the plastic roof lulled him, and soon he, too, nodded off, dozing while slumped against a bamboo stalk.

Qiu Xi had a strange dream. He found himself in a heated argument with a lean, sharp-faced man. The man’s tone was hostile, continually demanding to know why Qiu Xi hadn’t brought the thief who stole the Guanyin statue to justice. Qiu Xi tried to explain the legal constraints and relevant policies, repeating himself over and over, but the man would not let up, pestering him relentlessly.

Qiu Xi felt his arguments sounded feeble, yet he didn’t know how to make his case more convincingly. Just as he was racking his brains, a sudden flash of lightning split the sky, illuminating the man’s face.

“Aah!” Qiu Xi cried out, waking in terror and bathed in sweat. He shook Wan Yongkun violently.

Wan Yongkun jerked upright, staring at the panic-stricken Qiu Xi in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Qiu Xi could barely speak, mumbling incoherently. It took Wan Yongkun a while to piece it together: Qiu Xi believed Li Qiumao’s spirit had returned to complain to him!

Wan Yongkun gave a wry grin. “Brother, you don’t have to scare people like that. Look, isn’t he lying r