Chapter 6 6. Li Shuilu and Yugu

This was the biggest snowfall Liu Kai had ever seen.Overnight, Xiaoba Village was surrounded by heavy snow.The seagrass roof is like a white mushroom under the snow, a little overwhelmed; the woods in front of the village and the beach behind the village are all submerged in the boundless white.The snow on the ground was a foot thick, and even the door of the house was sealed. If Aunt Fang hadn't been very experienced, she put a shovel and a broom at her house last night, and shoveled a passage early, Liu Kai might be killed. Trapped in the house. Liu Kai looked at the snowflakes still dancing in the sky and asked, "How many days will this snow last?"

"Who knows? Three days? Five days? It's hard to say! One year, it went down for seven days at a stretch, and all the roads in the forest were sealed off. For a whole winter, Xiaoba Village was blocked from inside and outside. Fortunately, everyone in the village got used to it. When winter comes, food and cooking will be prepared." Aunt Fang said, rubbing her hands that were red and swollen from the cold. Hearing what Aunt Fang said, Liu Kai couldn't help but panic for a while.It seems that going to the cemetery is going to be a waste of time. As for when the trip will take place, God has the final say.Last night, he had noticed Mason's anxiety during the call with Mason.Li Shuilu's case can't be dragged on any longer, not to mention, in the eyes of Baiyun citizens, this is an extremely ordinary murder case.It was such an ordinary homicide case, but the police were unable to solve the case and could not find the murderer. No wonder people were making irresponsible remarks.Therefore, as the police officers in charge of solving the case, Liu Kai and Ma Sen have no way out. They must bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible and give Baiyun citizens an explanation.

Aunt Fang lit a fire with swift hands and feet. The red flames in the stove quickly warmed the cold room.The ice that sealed the windows tightly also began to melt little by little. "If the snow stops now, how many days will the road in the forest be passable?" Liu Kai asked while sitting on a small wooden bench by the stove, looking out the door. "It depends on whether the weather is warming up or cooling down! If the sun comes out right away and the sky is warm and warm, the snow will melt within two days; if the wind blows from the northwest pole, the snow will not melt for ten days and half a month. Aunt Fang said and looked up at Liu Kai, "Are you in a hurry?"

"It's urgent." "It's useless to be anxious. It's called people don't keep guests, but keep guests." Liu Kai smiled helplessly.Indeed, there is no use in haste. "Anyway, I can't go to the cemetery. After breakfast, can you take me to Old Ninth Uncle's house?" Liu Kai thought for a while and said. "You look for him..." Probably the village chief had set a rule for Aunt Fang, not to ask people who came from the public house.So she swallowed half of what she said. "It's for Yugu." Aunt Fang opened her mouth in surprise, but didn't ask anything.

After breakfast, the snow outside had stopped.But the sky was still cloudy, and the wind was getting stronger and stronger, making it extremely cold. The people of Xiaoba Village who got up early had already cleared the village street into a narrow passage.Aunt Fang led Liu Kai stumbling along the tunnel-like passage. The cold wind was like a sharp knife, and soon "pierced" Liu Kai's light bread jacket, causing him to shrink his neck and shiver all over his body. trembling.Fortunately, this section of the road is not long. After passing through a few houses, it stopped in front of a single courtyard in the west of the village.

Aunt Fang raised her hand and knocked the black iron door knocker. An old man's tired voice came from the room: "Who is it?" "Ninth brother, it's me!" "The door is open, come in!" Aunt Fang opened the door, followed by Liu Kai, and walked in. It was quite a large courtyard, but it was empty.Under the cover of white snow, it looks even more lonely and empty. Aunt Fang opened the door for Liu Kai. Perhaps because of the lack of popularity, this house, which is no different from other buildings in Xiaoba Village, seems incomparably huge in Liu Kai's eyes.After his eyes got used to the dim light in the room, he found an elderly, skinny old man sitting on a square stool in the center of the room. At first glance, the old felt boots that have disappeared from the city look like a pile of dark objects.If it weren't for the flickering light in the pipe the old man was smoking, the dim light and the blackness of his body, it would be difficult for people to see that the person sitting there was alone.The room was full of smoke, and Liu Kai, who had never smoked, couldn't help coughing due to the strong smell of tobacco leaves.

Seeing this, the old man took the long pipe out of his mouth, extinguished the burning smoke in the pot with his hands, and placed it on a simple square wooden table in front of him. "Ninth brother, this official family has something to do with you." Aunt Fang pointed to Liu Kai who was standing behind her. Liu Kai hurriedly stepped forward to say hello. "Ah, sit down!" The old man raised his head, glanced at Liu Kai with dim eyes, and said neither humble nor overbearing. Liu Kai then sat down on a wooden chair opposite the Eight Immortals table. After Aunt Fang settled Liu Kai down, she said she had something to do at home and hurriedly left.

When only Liu Kai and Old Ninth Uncle were left in the room, they suddenly fell silent, as if neither of them knew what to say. During this silence, Liu Kai quickly scanned the room.The main room is very large, but the furniture is pitifully sparse, and it looks like it has been around for a long time.In the corner to the north is a four-compartment wooden shelf that has lost its paint color. On the top of the wooden shelf, there are some messy old cardboard boxes. A wicker basket with a pile of shriveled cabbages and radishes in the bottom compartment.There is no spark in the stove hole, and the black and gray stove is covered with dust; a dirty rag is thrown on the greasy pot cover, and there are a few stained rough porcelain bowls and a pair of black lacquered bowls in the corner of the stove. Chopsticks.Witnessing all this, Liu Kai felt a chill that was even more icy than the bone-chilling wind.

Maybe it was because the room was already cold, maybe it was the unspeakable desolation that made Liu Kai shudder, and he couldn't help shivering. "Are you cold? I'll light the fire right now." As the old man said, he stood up slowly, staggered to the stove, lifted the lid of the pot, poured two ladles of water into the pot, From an iron nail on the mud wall, he took a wooden pot support that had been blackened by smoke and placed it in the pot.He came to the wooden frame, took out a hard black steamed bun from the wicker basket, and asked Liu Kai, "Have you had breakfast?"

"have eaten." "I haven't eaten breakfast yet. I live alone, there is no morning or evening." The old man grinned wryly as if mocking himself.He put the black steamed buns on the pot support and covered the pot. Then, he took some firewood from the corner of the house and stuffed it into the stove hole. He struck a match and lit it. It will be warm." He raised his head and said to Liu Kai. Sure enough, with the thick smoke and flames gushing out from the stove from time to time, the room began to feel warm. The old man added a few pieces of large pine firewood to the burning flame, and sat back at the wooden table.

"It's such a cold day... What do you want from me?" The old man narrowed his eyes reddened by the smoke, and looked at Liu Kai in bewilderment. Liu Kai nodded. Liu Kai suddenly felt a little nervous, a kind of nervousness at a loss.Facing this teenage old man who looked older and weaker than his actual age, facing this lonely old man without a wife to accompany him or children and grandchildren around his knees, he suddenly wanted to retreat.At this moment, he wanted to talk about some light topics, rather than pour another ladle of ice water on that sad heart.He hesitated, filled with fear, but the purpose of his visit and the police officer's sense of responsibility told him that the conversation had to go ahead no matter what. So, in this suffocating silence, Liu Kai opened the briefcase with trembling fingers, and took out the photo of Yugu. "Old Ninth Uncle, I am a police officer from the Baiyun Criminal Investigation Brigade, and my name is Liu Kai. I am here today to ask you to help identify someone." Liu Kai said so, and handed the photo to the old man. The old man took the photo, glanced at it with indifferent eyes, and asked, "Who is this person?" "Don't you know her?" Liu Kai asked eagerly. "I don't know. How could I know her!" The old man shook his head repeatedly, and returned the photo in his hand to Liu Kai. "Do you think she looks like someone you are familiar with?" Liu Kai further enlightened. The old man couldn't help frowning, looking a little impatient. Liu Kai looked at him in surprise, thinking to himself, did he really not recognize his wife anymore, or did he not want to?Or he didn't think about it at all.After all, Yugu has been sleeping in the fake grave he made for decades. Liu Kai had to change his angle: "I heard that your wife is missing." The old man was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his head and fell silent. "Did you quarrel with her before she disappeared?" Liu Kai asked again. The old man didn't seem to hear Liu Kai's words clearly, instead he picked up the cigarette pouch from the table, lit it, and started smoking again.His face was quickly covered in smoke. "Don't you know the reason for her sudden disappearance at all?" "She's not missing, she's dead." The old man's angry voice came from the smoke. "Actually, according to the evidence we have, Yugu should have run away from home. Because she has been living in Baiyun City for decades, until..." Liu Kai finally said the name Yugu, but He still couldn't tell the bad news of Yugu's death. The room immediately became deadly silent. Liu Kai originally thought that after he said that Yugu was still alive, the old man in front of him would be overjoyed and ask him: Where is my wife right now?how is sheIs she okay?It is a pity that the old man is not only not ecstatic, but also a little angry.The old man's reaction was like a lion that was licking its own wound was suddenly stabbed again, an unstoppable anger.He suddenly pulled out the cigarette pot from his mouth, and knocked the ash on the side of the table viciously, that loud voice seemed to be threatening Liu Kai: Shut up, be careful I will beat you! Why is he like this?Did he not believe Liu Kai's words, or did he give up already and simply stop opening the closed window? However, facts are facts, whether the old man is willing to accept it or not, Liu Kai must make the facts clear. After a moment of confrontation, Liu Kai had no choice but to continue the topic above: "Can you tell me what happened before Aunt Yu ran away from home?" As soon as Liu Kai finished speaking, the old man stood up suddenly: "I said she was dead! Dead! How many times do you want me to say it?" Liu Kai was taken aback: "But she really didn't die. We found her in Baiyun. Before that, she probably went to other places. She did run away with a purpose..." "You're talking nonsense! Get out!" The old man suddenly interrupted Liu Kai, pointed at the door unreasonably, and drove him away. Liu Kai was stunned by his actions.But this didn't frighten him, on the contrary, it aroused his tenacity to figure out the reason. So, after a while, Liu Kai tried his best to say in a calm tone: "Old Ninth Uncle, I am the police officer who solved the case of Yugu. I am not talking nonsense. Of course I have a basis for saying that Yugu ran away. This conclusion was reached after a series of investigations. The woman in the photo I showed you just now is the elderly Yugu. Moreover, I saw her in person in the hospital..." "I don't want to hear your nonsense! She died! She died decades ago! I buried her with my own hands. She was buried in the cemetery by the forest." The old man waved the long tobacco rod in his hand, angrily yelled loudly. Liu Kai didn't show any weakness: "That Yugu's tomb is fake and it's empty inside, you know that better than anyone else." "You keep talking nonsense, be careful and I'll beat you!" The old man finally couldn't bear it anymore and raised the cigarette stick and threw it at Liu Kai. "Get out! Get out!" The door opened, and then, he stood at the door, waiting for Liu Kai to walk out from here. The wind carrying snowflakes came in through the open door, and Liu Kaifu felt the chill when he first entered the room. After the old man issued such a strong order to expel the guest, Liu Kai had to surrender.He stood up slowly and walked past the old man in great embarrassment. "Goodbye!" he said.But the old man just let out a bitter "hum" from his nostrils. After lunch, the cloudy sky was washed clear by the violent northwest wind.In the blue sky, the sun is like a big egg yolk, gently shining on the earth, the sun is very bright.The snow began to melt, and the air became fresh and transparent, making people feel a desire to run in the snow.The rare good weather in this winter has awakened all things sleeping in the white snow, and even the sound of children chasing and laughing on the snow can be heard on the silent street. The better weather made Liu Kai's tense heart relax a little. As soon as Liu Kai walked into the small courtyard of the village chief's house, the village chief greeted him: "Aunt Fang said that you went to Old Ninth Uncle." "I went to his house. But he kicked me out!" Liu Kai said with a wry smile. "How dare he..." The village head opened his mouth wide in shock, "You're doing business! Otherwise, I'll go with you again and explain the truth to him." Liu Kai immediately nodded in agreement: "That's what I came to see you for." However, when Liu Kai and the village chief came to the door of Lao Jiushu's house, they saw that the door was locked. "He seldom goes out. Where would he go in such a cold day?" the village chief said to himself. Liu Kai looked up at a narrow snowy road outside the village: "Could he have gone into the woods? Do you know the exact location of the cemetery in the woods?" "The cemetery? I know, I know." "I think Old Ninth Uncle should be in the cemetery by now." "Old Ninth Uncle went to the cemetery..." "Isn't his wife buried there?" "Oh! perhaps! It's true that he used to go to the graveyard. Why, you're going to the graveyard to see him?" "Can you take me there?" "Of course. But it's very cold in the woods." The village head looked at Liu Kai's thin clothes, "I have to go home and find you a leather jacket to wear." "He's there!" From a distance, the village chief pointed to a shaking figure in the cemetery in amazement. "Go back! Let me talk to him alone." Liu Kai said to the village chief who was walking in front. The village chief immediately stood still knowingly. So, Liu Kai walked forward alone along the snowy road shoveled by Old Ninth Uncle. When he got closer, Liu Kai realized that Old Ninth Uncle was waving the shovel in his hand, cultivating snow on a snow-buried grave.He seems to have been working for a long time, and this mound is several times taller than the mounds next to it.Because of his concentration, he didn't realize that someone was coming behind him. "Don't do it, Old Ninth Uncle. It's useless! You can't hide people in the snow." Liu Kai raised his voice. At the same time, the shovel in Old Ninth Uncle's hand fell to the ground.He suddenly turned around and looked at Liu Kai with a confused look: "It's been so many years, what on earth are you looking for her for?" "Yu Gu is dead. Your wife Yu Gu was killed, and that's why I came here." Liu Kai didn't want to hide anything anymore. Old Ninth Uncle shuddered all over and fell down on the snow.Liu Kai hurried forward and helped him up. "I knew something was wrong. She didn't escape..." A line of tears flowed down Old Ninth Uncle's old cheeks. "Do you know who killed Yugu?" Liu Kai asked anxiously. "She's dead. Alas - I don't need to hide anymore. This is a long story. Come with me!" Old Ninth Uncle said, pulling Liu Kai away from the cemetery and walking into the cemetery not far away A fisherman's hut in the fall. "In the winter of 1944, Xiaoba village was bloodbathed by the Japanese devils. All the villagers were driven into the sea and drowned. The whole village was turned into ruins in the fire. The day after the tragedy, I came back from my hometown. It was in such a shack that Yugu rescued a wounded soldier wearing a Japanese military uniform. The man was seriously injured and was unconscious all the time. Yugu couldn't bear to kill a dying man. Therefore, in a snowstorm Because of Lin's weather, she left him in the shack and escaped from Xiaoba Village alone... A few days later, when Yugu returned to Xiaoba Village from her relatives' house in Dadao Town, she met a young Kuomintang soldier who came to Xiaoba Village. Looking for the wounded Japanese soldier, saying that he was a good brother of his. Yugu denied that she had seen the wounded soldier. The Kuomintang soldiers came to search for three days in a row. During this time, Yugu had buried the wounded Japanese soldier who had frozen to death in the shack ..." Speaking of which, Old Ninth Uncle lit a pot of cigarettes for himself with trembling hands, took a deep breath, and then pointed to Yugu's grave, "He was buried in a deep hole under Yugu's grave. In the pit. Actually, that grave is not empty... Next to that poor man is the grave of his wife Li Shuilu. Yugu and I buried them together. Only Yugu and I know about this. " Liu Kai gave an "oh" with a deep understanding.Then, he asked softly, "What happened next?" "Later, that woman named Li Shuilu came to look for her husband. She lived in my house and showed her husband's photo to Yugu. How could the young student be alone?" Old Ninth Uncle sighed. "Wait a minute, Old Ninth Uncle, please tell me more details." Liu Kai begged. "Let me tell you from the back! Anyway, she is gone, and there is nothing to worry about. The truth of the matter is that the wounded Japanese soldier was Zhao Lun, a soldier of the Eighth Route Army. He was captured during the attack on the Japanese stronghold in Dadao Town... Li Minghui, a Kuomintang soldier guarding Zhao Lun, was a young student who had just graduated from school. Touched, he decided to help him escape. So he took off the military uniform from a Japanese soldier who died in battle, disguised Zhao Lun as a Japanese soldier, and showed him the way to escape to Xiaoba Village... From Li Shuilu After learning that the wounded Japanese soldier was Zhao Lun, Aunt Yu was already deeply regretted and worried. Not long after, two transferees came from the Jinshan Coal Mine in the northeast. The photo of Li Minghui was shown for her to identify. The person transferred from outside said to Yugu: "When Li Minghui was cleaning up the class ranks, he admitted that he had been a Kuomintang soldier, but he also said that when he was a guard, he rescued an Eighth Route Army named Zhao Lun." Warrior, and said that he met you when he went to Xiaoba Village to look for Zhao Lun after Xuehou! Of course Yugu recognized Li Minghui, but she dared not admit it, because once she admitted that she had seen Li Minghui, she would immediately You will be questioned about Zhao Lun's whereabouts... If you kill a soldier of the Eighth Route Army, you will be shot. Although this is a misunderstanding, and even if Aunt Yu wants to save Zhao Lun, it is difficult to save Zhao Lun without medical treatment. Him. But in those days, who would listen to your explanation! More importantly, her crimes would affect the little child and me... Yugu was frightened, and I was frightened. That night, she I simply packed up a few clothes and left Xiaoba Village. Since then, there has been no news... Later, when the "Cultural Revolution" began, Li Minghui's wife, a woman named Lin Qingwan, came to Xiaoba Village twice. She told I, Li Minghui, have been imprisoned. If someone proves that he saved the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, he will be released. She also said that Li Minghui is a good man, and also a good young man with a conscience and talent. That’s why I joined the Kuomintang army back then. It was because he was deceived by the KMT’s propaganda to resist Japan and save the country. He entered the KMT army with the enthusiasm to defeat the Japanese invaders. All this is not his fault. She knelt in front of me and begged me to For her and her daughter's sake, I will find Yugu and testify to Li Minghui..." At this point, Old Ninth Uncle suddenly stopped, smoking fiercely, and coughing loudly. This time, Liu Kai didn't urge him, but just waited patiently for him to continue. Sure enough, after a while, Old Ninth Uncle spoke again: "Yugu, she finally didn't hide. When Lin Qingwan left Xiaoba Village for the second time, she was very desperate. She once stared at me bitterly and said: I swear to find Yugu ! I will never let her go! Never!" "You mean to say..." "I think Lin Qingwan found Yugu. After decades, Lin Qingwan never let her go!" "How did she find Yugu? Based on the situation you described, the two women don't know each other." "But besides Lin Qingwan, who else would lay hands on Aunt Yu? Otherwise, Li Minghui has just come out of prison..." "Li Minghui... Li Minghui..." Liu Kai repeated the name twice. "Actually, all these years, I've been secretly inquiring about him. People, you can't do bad things. I know that Yugu and I owe Li Minghui a lot, so I'm afraid that he will be released, and I hope He could be free one day sooner." "So, how much information about Li Minghui have you heard?" Liu Kai asked. "Actually, Li Minghui's family has been uprooted in China. On the eve of liberation, the whole family went to Taiwan except Li Minghui. A few years ago, when a distant relative of his in the county was still alive, I was able to inquire about some news. It’s not all good news. At first, Li Minghui was locked in the big prison. Later, it was said that Li Minghui had no news... Then, that distant relative died, so the news stopped.” "You guessed it right, it seems that Li Minghui was released..." After a while, Liu Kai said if he realized something.At this moment, the few lines of poems written by the old scavengers flashed in his mind: "My brother—your grave is in Xiaoba Village, and mine is also there—although I am still alive, but, My soul has long since died, just like yours, buried in Xiaoba Village in a foreign land." "Yes! From the moment Zhao Lun was buried in Xiaoba Village, Li Minghui's soul was also buried here." Liu Kai said to himself. Old Ninth Uncle didn't ask any more questions, but just looked at him with puzzled eyes. On the morning of the third day, as soon as Old Ninth Uncle opened the courtyard door, Liu Kai stood outside the door in a dusty manner. "I heard that you went to Dadao Town, why did you come back so soon?" Old Ninth Uncle asked. "I'll go to the Dadao Town Police Station and borrow a fax machine." Walking into the room, before Old Ninth Uncle gave up his seat, Liu Kai hastily took out a faxed photo from his wallet to show Old Ninth Uncle, "See Have you ever met this woman?" Old Ninth Uncle took the photo and squinted his eyes to look at it for a while: "Isn't this Lin Qingwan? She looked like this when she came to Xiaoba Village. Where did you get the photo of her when she was young?" "If you're not mistaken, the woman in the photo should be Lin Qingwan's daughter. Her name is Li Ailing." "Why did you show me the photo of Lin Qingwan's daughter?" Old Ninth Uncle asked puzzled. "I can't answer you now. However, I have a feeling that the case will come to fruition soon." Liu Kai said confidently, "I will take the evening bus back to Baiyun today. I will write to you with the details when the case comes to light. I told you." Old Ninth Uncle's expression suddenly dimmed: "Are you going back? But Yugu will never come back, never come back..." Old Ninth Uncle sobbed, "It's been decades, I'm only here I met her in my dream. I was looking forward, looking forward, but what I was waiting for was the news of her death..." Liu Kai looked at the grief-stricken Old Ninth Uncle in front of him, thinking of the pain and suffering he had suffered for decades, and felt an indescribable sorrow in his heart.Yes, wars and countless movements after liberation have brought horrific suffering to ordinary people!For history, that is all in the past, but for a family and a specific person, it is an eternal pain.