Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

After listening to Zhou Ping's report on the results of the peripheral investigation, Luo Fei closed his eyes and meditated.At this time, it had been almost a whole day since he was rescued from the mountain. He was lying on the hospital bed. Although he had just had a heavy sleep, his body still looked weak. Zhou Jing sat quietly at the side. Although he was full of doubts about what happened on the mountain now, he also knew that when Luo Fei was thinking, it was best not to interrupt his train of thought. After a while, Luo Fei opened his eyes and looked at Zhou Ping with a smile on his face: "The results of your investigation are very detailed and valuable. Many things that I couldn't figure out when I was on the mountain now have results. I think I It has been able to completely connect the ins and outs of the whole story to explain everything that happened before and after."

"Really?" Zhou Ping also smiled, and then leaned back in the chair a little proudly, "I'm all ears, but I don't know where you plan to start?" "Let's continue with the end of your story, starting with Wu Jianfei's fall into the 'Death Valley'." "Yeah." Zhou Ping nodded, "Wu Jianfei didn't die. He came to Kumusi Temple and became a monk. His dharma name is 'Kong Wang'. I already know that." "At that time, Master Zhengming from Kumusi Temple rescued him." Luo Fei added, and then changed the subject, "You grew up in the local mountains, have you ever heard of the legend about 'Death Valley'? "

"Of course I know. This legend is well-known in the mountains. Although the resources in the 'Death Valley' are luxuriant, the villagers in the mountains never dare to approach it. I was disobedient when I was young, and adults often used this to scare me, saying that I If you make trouble again, let the demons in the 'Death Valley' come and take me away." Having said that, Zhou Ping chuckled, "I was frightened at that time. Now think about it, what 'Death Valley' is nothing more than the terrain It's dangerous and hard to come by, that's why there are these mysterious rumors. Didn't Wu Jianfei just come out of the 'Death Valley', and hasn't he lived well for more than 20 years?"

Zhou Ping originally thought that Luo Fei would support his point of view without a doubt, but what the other party said next greatly exceeded his expectations. "I believe the legend of 'Death Valley' is true. Although Wu Jianfei walked out of the 'Death Valley' alive, the demons in the valley also attached to him and came to the Dead Wood Temple with him." Zhou Ping stared at Luo Fei with wide eyes, as if he didn't understand what he was talking about. Luo Fei smiled slightly, and asked Zhou Ping: "You didn't come up with the rescue team, but you should already know the situation on the mountain at that time, right?"

"I know." Zhou Ping scratched his head, "I heard that many of you are crammed into one room, and there's still some kind of smell in the room, it's terribly choking." Luo Fei bowed his body and said in a low voice pretending to be mysterious: "The people in the room at that time were all people who were 'possessed' by demons." Zhou Ping was stunned for a moment, a light flashed in his eyes suddenly, and he seemed to understand something: "The devil you are talking about, do you mean..." "It can kill the entire village without a sound. What else could this demon be?"

Zhou Ping showed a stunned expression: "So, the legend is really true. But since the devil has found you, how did you survive in the end?" "The answer is very simple for me to say now. But I went through hardships and found it at the last moment when life and death were almost hanging by a thread." Luo Fei rubbed his chin, recalling the thrilling situation at that time, feeling both scared and a little The pride of narrow escape. Zhou Ping was aroused by Luo Fei's words, he shook his hand and said, "Then don't tell me, tell me what happened on the mountain from the beginning, bit by bit, and see if I can guess the result."

Luo Fei nodded: "That's exactly what I mean. You will definitely find a lot of fun in such a process of exploration." In the next two hours or so, Luo Fei started talking about his arrival at the Dead Wood Temple, and recounted to Zhou Ping all the weird and unpredictable events that happened in the next two days.In this process, Zhou Ping played the role of a qualified listener.Sometimes he was tense, sometimes surprised, completely immersed in the atmosphere at that time. Luo Fei's story came to an abrupt end when the monks were about to set fire to the corpse, and then he looked sideways at Zhou Ping: "That's all I can tell you for the time being, how is it? Have you figured out anything now?"

Zhou Ping replied: "I can't think of too much at the moment, but it should be certain that Hu Junkai killed Chen Jian and Wu Jianfei." Luo Fei frowned, as if he was a little surprised, but he quickly understood, and said with a smile: "You only think of these two points, which shows that your thinking line is completely different from the one I took at the time. It's no wonder, After all, you have learned a lot about the surrounding background first, and it is easy to draw the inference just now on this basis. Although we don't know the specific content of the "murderous painting" now, we can be sure that Chen Jian and Hu Junkai learned from the painting Knowing the true identity of 'Kong Wang'. After being shocked, the two discussed countermeasures on the edge of the cliff. Chen Jian didn't know the hidden secrets. He felt guilty about the past and was eager to recognize the master and apprentice. Hu Junkai couldn't stop him, so he sent him Pushed off the cliff. Afterwards, he sneaked back into the temple while the monks went down the mountain to save people, strangled Kong Wang to death, and faked the illusion of hanging himself. Is this the inference you have drawn so far?"

Zhou Ping nodded in agreement. "But I didn't know anything about the relationship between Kong Wang and Hu Junkai at the time, so naturally I couldn't think of it." Luo Fei continued, "I can draw the same conclusion as you from what happened later. It was pushed back bit by bit. We take Hu Junkai's murder of Chen Jian as a dividing point. What you investigated is the antecedent cause of this incident, and the situation I learned on the mountain is derived from this incident. Because of the different directions of inference, the result I obtained in the last step became your starting point, which is why I felt a little strange just now."

"Based on what happened on the mountain, it can be deduced that Hu Junkai killed Chen Jian and Kong Wang?" Zhou Ping thought about it for a moment, then shook his head helplessly, "Well, I really have no idea..." "It's no wonder, after all, you haven't personally experienced those things. Many situations and atmospheres at that time are difficult to accurately grasp based on my description, and some very important inspirations and ideas often burst out in a flash. Now Letting you sit and daydream is really difficult.” Luo Fei's words aroused Zhou Ping's curiosity even more, he chuckled: "Forget it, don't support me, and tell me quickly!"

"Okay then, I will tell you about these things exactly according to my thinking at the time. Maybe you can gradually get involved in this process." Luo Fei said while touching his chin with his hand, where a growth had grown. At the same time, his thoughts returned to that morning six days ago... "After I went up the mountain, the first thing I learned about was the incident of Chen Jian falling off the cliff. But like you, I only heard some side accounts of this incident, the most detailed part of which was Zhang Bin's words relayed by you Later, I surveyed the hut where Chen Jian and others stayed. Shunde told me about the experience of seeing a 'headless ghost' appearing in the hut, which sounded so absurd at the time, but in fact, it has very significant." "Really? Are these all true?" Zhou Ping scratched his head, looking incomprehensible. "It can only be said that those phenomena are real." Luo Fei replied ambiguously, "You must not understand what it means now, and I was also confused about it at the time." "Then what exactly is this 'headless ghost'?" Luo Fei smiled: "I can't tell you now, you just listen to me and continue. Then, I followed the clue of 'fierce painting' to find Monk Kong Wang, but at that time he had already turned into a Corpse. By the way, have you seen that corpse?" Zhou Ping shook his head: "No, those corpses have all been quarantined." "That's right, that's right, it should be like this." Luo Fei tapped his head with his fingers, "I told the rescuers this when I was on the mountain, you see, I just fell asleep and forgot about it." Zhou Ping smiled understandingly: "But don't worry, others have not forgotten what you confessed. The 'demon' has been brought under control, and the relevant written report will come out soon." "Very good." Luo Fei happily leaned against the head of the bed, and continued, "It's a pity that you didn't see Kong Wang's corpse. You can find many things from that corpse. First of all, It is easy to see that he suffered severe trauma, which caused his severe acquired disability of hunchback; secondly, there was a strong strange smell on his corpse." "What exactly is this smell?" Zhou Ping asked impatiently. From Luo Fei's narration of the whole incident just now, he found that this smell was mentioned repeatedly, obviously playing an unusual role. "I didn't know it at the time, and I didn't even pay enough attention to it. But when Hu Junkai died strangely, I also smelled the same smell on him, which made me feel a little strange. Even so, after Hu Junkai's death, I I still don't have a clue about the whole incident. But in this situation, Shunping added another mess: he used Kong Wang's body to scare Shunde to death." Regarding Shunping's actions, Zhou Ping had heard Luo Fei say it just now.He went on to say: "Shunpei is really smart enough to think of such a way to commit crimes. He cleverly used the rumors of ghosts in the temple, and he hardly left any traces at the scene. This will have some effect on you at the time." Misleading?" Luo Fei nodded: "To disturb the situation, fish in troubled waters, this was his purpose. Later he told the legend of 'Death Valley', that's also the purpose. His plan almost succeeded. I have to admit that after Shunde's mysterious death, It was the moment when I felt the most lost. Everything seemed so grotesque and inexplicable." "But in the end, man is not as good as the sky. The heavy snow failed to cover his footprints. He deserved the consequences for himself." "Self-restraint? So, you already know the cause of Junpei's death?" Zhou Ping curled his lips, as if Luo Fei was asking too much: "He has been in contact with Kong Wang's corpse for such a long time, so he will naturally be possessed by a 'demon'." "Well, this is your thinking now. But at that time I didn't have a clear understanding of 'demons', you might as well imagine being in my situation at that time, and think about this matter again, then you will gain even more. " "Oh?" Zhou Ping touched his forehead with his hand, thinking. "Don't forget the smell. I sniffed it on purpose. Shunping also has that smell. And he and Hu Junkai..." Luo Fei couldn't help reminding. "Wait...I got it!" Zhou Ping interrupted Luo Fei with a wave of his hand, "Shunping and Hu Junkai died of the same strange disease, there must be some kind of connection between them. The same smell! The reason for the smell on Shunping's body is very clear: because he had been in close contact with Kong Wang's corpse for a long time. From this, it can be imagined that Hu Junkai also left the smell on his body because of contact with Kong Wang. People have been exposed to Kong Wang, and all have died of strange diseases, and further deduction, Kong Wang is the source of this strange disease!" "That's right." Luo Fei cast an approving glance, "That's exactly what I thought at the time. Kong Wang stayed behind closed doors for a long time before he died because he was afraid that the strange disease would spread from him." Zhou Ping regained his energy: "Wait a minute, let me continue to follow your train of thought. Since we know that Hu Junkai has had contact with Kong Wang, from the point of view of time, he is the most likely to be the murderer of Kong Wang !" Luo Fei nodded: "You're right, but I wasn't sure at the time because I didn't know the relationship between Hu Junkai and Kong Wang, so I really couldn't find a reason for Hu Junkai to kill Kong Wang. Until I was in the empty room Seeing that ceremonial cloak, everything really became clear." "Cloak? Does this have anything to do with the matter?" Zhou Ping frowned, and all the complacency just now turned into confusion. "As I mentioned just now, Kong Wang has a severe hunchback. And that cloak has a jumper hat. Can you imagine what it would look like if Kong Wang put on this cloak?" Zhou Ping closed his eyes and imagined. Suddenly he slapped his thigh and shouted excitedly: "Headless ghost! Kong Wang is that headless ghost!" "That's right!" Speaking of the climax, Luo Fei, who has always been calm, also leaned forward excitedly, "Now it can be imagined that when Kong Wang came to the hut that night, the 'headless ghost' that Shunde saw was actually It is his shadow reflected on the window. Affected by rumors in Shunde, Zhang Bin saw Kong Wang’s figure in the night, and it was easy to associate him with the ‘headless ghost’. In order to prove this idea, I specially An experiment was done." "What experiment?" Zhou Ping looked at Luo Fei curiously. "After I guessed that the 'headless ghost' might be Kong Wang, I put on that cloak that night and stood on the ridge with my back hunched. The monks who saw me in the dark really thought I was the one from the rumors. They even chased me all the way to the door of the guest room." Luo Fei couldn't help smiling when recalling the scene at that time, "How easy it is for people to have illusions after the formation of psychological hints." "Well." Zhou Ping was silent for a moment thoughtfully, and asked, "But what are you talking about now, what is the connection with Hu Junkai killing Kong Wang?" "It is from here that I found the motive of Hu Junkai's murder." Luo Fei began to explain Zhou Ping's question, "It is confirmed that Kong Wang is the rumored 'headless ghost', which means that when Chen Jian fell off the cliff, There were three other people at the scene: Hu Junkai, Zhang Bin, and Kong Wang. Without knowing the relationship between these people, we can make two conjectures: 1. Kong Wang pushed Chen Jian off the cliff; 2. Hu Junkai pushed Chen Jian off the cliff. According to Zhang Bin’s narration, the first possibility is usually the first one that comes to mind, but if you think about it carefully, you will find that the second possibility is greater, or it is better explained what happened next." Zhou Ping thought for a while, and immediately understood: "That's right. If Hu Junkai murdered Chen Jian, then according to Zhang Bin's account, Kong Wang should have seen the process on the other side. Later, Zhang Bin told Hu Junkai that he had been hiding behind the cliff. A headless black shadow, Hu Junkai immediately thought that this black shadow was Kong Wang, so he turned pale with fright. Later, when everyone went down the mountain to search and rescue Chen Jian, Hu Junkai sneaked back into the temple and strangled Kong Wang to cover up his crime." Luo Fei nodded in satisfaction: "This is how I deduced the truth of the matter. You know, at that time I could only figure out what happened, but I didn't know anything about it. After hearing the results of your investigation, I have a feeling of sudden enlightenment, and it will match up so well with my inference." Zhou Ping showed a look of admiration and envy in his eyes: "You must have a sense of accomplishment when you figured out all this! In comparison, your experience on the mountain is much more exciting than my boring investigation down the mountain." Luo Fei smiled wryly: "Sense of accomplishment? Maybe a little bit. But then I fell into a terrible crisis. If you were in my situation at that time, you would definitely not think that there was anything exciting about it." Zhou Ping put away his smile: "You mean that 'devil'?" "The 'devil' from the 'Death Valley'." Luo Fei said these words in a calm voice, the atmosphere in the room seemed to become gloomy. "What are you two talking about? You are talking about it." Accompanied by clear words, Xu Lijie walked into the ward with a smile, as if she was soaked in sunlight, she made the room brighter all of a sudden. "Director Luo just woke up, so you can't let him rest for a while?" Xu Lijie stared at Zhou Ping and said. "Hey, Xiao Xu?" Luo Fei looked at her in surprise and joy, "Why are you here?" "She has contributed a lot to this case!" Zhou Ping replied on behalf of Xu Lijie, "She found out the identity of Kong Wang, and she also 'deceived' some secrets between Wu Jianfei's father and daughter and Hu Junkai from Wu Yanhua. from." "What is cheating? Sister Wu and I have a good relationship now! She tells me everything." Xu Lijie proudly raised her nose.She wasn't bragging, although Zhou Ping had guessed that there was a secret relationship between Hu Junkai and Wu Jianfei, but no matter how he asked, Wu Yanhua always held back in front of him.Later, Xu Lijie and Wu Yanhua chatted for a long time, maybe it was because they were both women, maybe Xu Lijie did have a strange affinity, after all, after the chat, Wu Yanhua became her good friend, and those past events were all Wu Yanhua's 1510 told her.The experience of Hu Junkai murdering Wu Jianfei was deduced by Zhou Ping based on the investigation results, and Wu Yanhua did not know about it. "Okay, okay, I know you are capable, no one can compare to you!" Zhou Ping praised Xu Lijie half-jokingly and half-sincerely, and then changed the subject, "Let you go to the doctor to ask the results of the disease sample analysis, Is there any gain?" When it came to work, Xu Lijie also put away her laughing expression: "I read the analysis report, and I can't tell you the details. Anyway, it is a parasitic pathogen, which is transmitted through the respiratory tract and physical contact. It seems that it itself It is not very harmful to the human body, but there is an enzyme in its metabolic secretions, which can destroy the capillary walls of the human body, cause systemic internal bleeding, and eventually lead to death." After listening to Xu Lijie's narration, Luo Fei nodded with a serious expression: "This is the demon from the 'Death Valley', and it finally showed its true colors on Lushan Mountain. The Dead Wood Temple was almost wiped out because of it." Xu Lijie looked at Luo Fei. Although she didn't know the situation on the mountain at that time, she still felt the weight of it from Luo Fei's tone and expression. "But don't worry now, this pathogen is very vulnerable to modern medical technology. The infected people on the mountain have greatly improved after being injected with corresponding antibiotics," she said. "At that time, we were trapped on the mountain, and the situation was very dangerous." Luo Fei said with emotion, "If there hadn't been a turnaround at the last moment, the Dead Wood Temple would have become a victim of the 'demon' raging like the legendary village. " "Luo Suo, you haven't told me how you finally found the rescue method. There must be a thrilling and tortuous reasoning process!" Zhou Ping seemed to be still interested in the analysis of the relationship between the two just now, and he couldn't wait to solve it. All the doubts in my heart. "Strictly speaking, there is no reasoning process. The final answer is entirely due to a flash of inspiration! Of course, it also contains a lot of luck." Zhou Ping was more interested by Luo Fei's words, he leaned forward, looking forward to the other party's next words. "After Shunping's death, I realized that the so-called 'Death Valley' demon is actually a highly contagious deadly virus. Twenty years ago, when Wu Jianfei was rescued from the 'Death Valley' by Monk Zhengming, He was already infected with this virus. This can be seen from Kong Jing's description of the situation at that time. Although this virus is dangerous, it is not incurable. Monk Zhengming is proficient in folk medicine, and he isolated Wu Jianfei in a hut , used some method to save him from the 'demon'. Of course Wu Jianfei knew about this method. He stayed behind closed doors a while ago, because he was infected with the virus again, so he isolated himself for self-healing. But he didn't Thinking of Hu Junkai's sudden arrival, he killed Wu Jianfei, which not only inadvertently caused the spread of the virus, but also no one in the temple knew how to restrain the virus anymore." Zhou Ping nodded while listening. These situations are easy to think of, and there is nothing difficult to understand. "At that time, you actually had a clearer idea of ​​the case, so the first task became how to find a way to fight the 'demon'." He interjected. Luo Fei smiled wryly like self-deprecating: "This is much more difficult than inferring and analyzing the case. I didn't have a clue at the time. In that situation, waiting for rescue seemed to be the only way to see hope of getting out of trouble. But this The spread and attack of the disease is so fierce, and if the momentum continues at that time, all the monks in the monastery will become infected within a day or two. When the rescue team arrives three days later, I am afraid they will not see a single person alive." Xu Lijie imagined the scene Luo Fei described, and couldn't help but change her expression. Zhou Ping leaned back on the chair easily, and said with a smile, "But in the end you still found a way to save yourself." "Yes, but I must admit that most of this is due to luck." Luo Fei spread his hands at Zhou Ping very frankly, "I also have to thank those monks who wanted to burn the corpses and the 'headless grass', They were the ones who tipped me off at the last minute." "Oh?" Zhou Ping raised his eyelids slightly, and said while thinking, "I think this must have something to do with the strange smell you mentioned repeatedly." "Yes. But I don't have a clear deduction process for this matter. When the monks threw the 'headless grass' into the fire, and the familiar smell came out, my mind seemed to be opened. A certain valve, many related audio-visual clips burst out in an instant, allowing me to find the answer I was looking for." "What did you think of at that time?" Zhou Ping asked excitedly. "I thought of the same smell that Kong Jing had smelled in the hut where Wu Jianfei recuperated twenty years ago. I thought that the smells I had smelled actually came from Kong Wang's body. I thought of Kong Wang burning the fire in the hut late at night Roasting 'Headless Grass'...Actually, these are already able to explain the problem. Anyway, at that moment, I had a feeling of enlightenment, and I understood it all at once." Luo Fei spoke very slowly, as if Guide Zhou Ping's thinking, want to remind him something. Zhou Ping smiled and shook his head: "I understand now." "What do you understand?" Xu Lijie's eyes widened with a bewildered expression. "That smell is the answer! Roasting the 'Headless Grass' and inhaling the smoke produced during the process, this is the way to restrain the 'Demon'!" Zhou Ping said excitedly, looking confident. Luo Fei looked at him and nodded approvingly.