Chapter Twenty-Six: The Secret That Transcends a Thousand Years (Part One)

Hearing Li Yiting’s suggestion, Li Qisi agreed almost without hesitation. He too felt that the village needed a central figure to rely on; without the police present, the occurrence of a murder would surely cause immense panic in Li Village, or even the whole Luoshui Village. The only thing he was reluctant to make a decision about was the claim of divine retribution. Even after Li Yiting’s repeated persuasion, Li Qisi refused to relent.

In the end, he sighed. “I know the talk of divine punishment is nothing but nonsense, but sometimes these mysterious things can’t simply be suppressed—it might even backfire. It’s not that I don’t want to dispel the rumor, but unless you catch the murderer, no one will believe it’s merely a lie.”

Li Yiting nodded. His uncle’s words were not without reason. He too was born here, growing up hearing all sorts of fantastical tales; eradicating them overnight was harder than reaching the heavens.

He had only one question. “Uncle, I get the feeling you’ve thought from the start that the divine punishment story is a rumor. Do you have any specific reasons for that?”

Li Qisi was silent for a while. Instead of answering, he countered, “Yiting, I’ve long known you used to be a police officer. Your father has mentioned it to me many times in private. But the cases in our village aren’t as simple as you might think. That’s also why I’ve kept silent all this time. Once the police get involved, things could turn even worse. Honestly, if it weren’t for how horribly your third and fifth uncles died, I would still be enduring it…”

Li Yiting was astonished. What secret was hidden here that could make his uncle set aside brotherly bonds?

“What exactly is this for? As long as the murderer isn’t brought to justice, they could continue threatening you, my father, and Uncle Six. How could I possibly stand by and do nothing?”

Li Qisi suddenly sighed. “About your fifth uncle’s case—are you sure it was murder?”

“Ninety percent certain.” Out of professional caution, Li Yiting didn’t dare promise more.

Li Qisi was pragmatic. “Usually, when you police handle a case, it’s either yes or no. When you say it like that, it means you’re not entirely sure either. If the matter isn’t confirmed, how can I make a decision lightly? I understand your job, Yiting, but you have to see your uncle’s predicament too.”

Li Yiting fell silent. He had always respected his uncle since childhood, and so had his father and the other brothers. Even if his uncle asked his father to make a sacrifice, he believed his father would agree. But as a son, how could he watch such a thing unfold before his eyes?

So, the principle of police recusal was indeed a scientific law. Now, Li Yiting found himself in a passive position; many things were difficult to decide.

Seeing Li Yiting fall silent for a long time, Li Qisi spoke up. “Yiting, I watched you grow up. I know you’re upright and ambitious. I don’t want the village’s affairs to drag you down. Everything has a cause and effect—you must always believe that. If you’re not confident you can resolve this, then you’d better take your friends and leave the village…”

Li Yiting’s eyes grew moist. For his uncle to say such words carried a sense of a hero worn down by circumstances. Now, the only thing he was sure of was that his uncle might know some core clues but was unwilling to speak for various reasons, among which must be worries about the fate of the entire Li Village.

And his uncle was not someone easily persuaded.

He truly regretted not bringing his fourth brother along—otherwise, he might have learned something more useful.

Since things were settled, Li Yiting chatted a bit about family matters, mostly asking about his cousin Li Fuyi, but Li Qisi merely said his son was not very promising and said little more. Li Yiting had no choice but to take his leave, planning to discuss things properly with the rest of the Beiting group when he returned.

Just as he was about to step out the door, Li Qisi suddenly coughed heavily behind him; from the sound, the illness seemed quite serious.

Li Yiting turned back anxiously, but Li Qisi waved him away.

“When I’ve made my decision, I’ll send Fuqi to let you know.”

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When Li Yiting relayed the results of his visit to Chen Tianyu, the latter was not particularly surprised. He had a clear sense of what Yiting could accomplish. On the other hand, Kuang Suo’s news was not encouraging either; with his photographic memory, he still hadn’t found a matching button in Li Village.

Chen Tianyu frowned slightly. What was going on? Had they overlooked an important person?

But who could it be? Would they have to expand the search to the whole of Luoshui Village? That would mean thousands of people. Time wasn’t an issue, but if things dragged on, would the Li brothers suffer more tragedies?

He decided to go over the village roster with Kuang Suo once more to see if they had missed anyone. Li Yiting soon borrowed the family genealogy to help with the work. After carefully checking it, they discovered that the missing individuals weren’t just one or two—some were simply not at home, some never went out, others had gone to visit relatives in other villages.

In other words, Kuang Suo’s previous efforts had been in vain. This matter required a longer-term strategy; at the very least, they needed to identify a few key suspects and then conduct targeted investigations.

The task of narrowing down the main suspects fell to Chen Tianyu and Li Yiting—no one else could help.

The two of them pored over the list for almost half a day but still had no leads. Then Yiting’s mother came in and said that Li Fuqi was at their house and wanted to see him. Li Yiting was slightly puzzled—why didn’t Fuqi come inside? That was odd.

When he met Li Fuqi, he saw that Fuqi’s expression was grave, and a vague sense of foreboding rose in Yiting’s heart. Had something happened again?

Fortunately, Li Fuqi only said that his uncle had asked them to come find him, without specifying the reason.

Li Yiting changed his clothes and followed Li Fuqi up the mountain. Halfway there, he stopped and demanded, “Fuqi, where exactly are you taking me? This isn’t the way to Uncle’s house.”

But Li Fuqi just lowered his head and kept walking, as if he hadn’t heard.

Fuqi’s behavior was certainly strange today; he had always been outgoing and talkative as the village secretary. But Yiting couldn’t press further and could only follow. They made several turns and walked a long way along the field ridges. By now, they were not heading toward the village but out of it.

Ahead lay hilly country, with a vast stretch of terraced fields as far as the eye could see. This was the nearest rice-growing area to Li Village, and nearly every household had a plot here. The two walked along the narrow path between the paddies with almost no conversation.

They crossed another hill and entered a hollow surrounded by terraces.

Suddenly, Yiting realized something. He said, “Fuqi, wait a moment.”

This time, Fuqi cooperated and stopped, apparently ready to talk.

“Are you taking me to the ancestral shrine?” Yiting asked.

Fuqi nodded. “You guessed right, Brother Yiting. That’s exactly where we’re headed this time.”

Yiting’s expression grew serious. “To hold a meeting at the ancestral shrine means something major is afoot. Are we the only ones going? Without Uncle’s instructions, I don’t believe you’d dare bring me here on your own. And I just saw him this morning—he didn’t mention anything about this.”

Fuqi smiled. “If you were so suspicious, why did you still follow me here?”

“Uncle said you’d come to tell me his decision. Just now, I thought you wanted to find a quiet place to talk, not that we’d end up at the ancestral shrine. Besides, before the tenth day of the first month, we’re not allowed inside.”

Fuqi nodded. “That’s true. But Uncle said the situation is special, and we must wait for him outside the shrine.”

“Oh, I see,” said Yiting, thinking it over. “Did he say when he would come, or what matter requires us to go to the shrine?”

Fuqi shook his head. “Uncle has always been sparing with words. If he didn’t say, I didn’t dare ask.”

“All right, let’s just wait here then. When Uncle arrives, it won’t be too late to go over.” The ancestral shrine was not far away; even if they couldn’t see the building itself, the lawn outside was clearly visible. For some reason, as Yiting approached the shrine, he felt an invisible pressure—a sensation so peculiar that only those who grew up in the countryside could understand.

“That’s fine,” Fuqi agreed, and the two of them squatted by the roadside to smoke.