SWDnovel Chapter 47 Corpse in a Dung Heap
Chapter 47 Corpse in a Dung Heap
An hour passed.
Gu Qingyi and Guo Jin returned. Guo Jin filled a large bottle with water and sat down by the fire.
Gu Qingyi got into the car and started taking out her equipment.
Gu Xiaojiao offered him a cigarette: "Old Guo, something happened?"
"Indeed, five cows are missing. The fence around the cattle farm has a hole, and we don't know what caused the damage. We plan to go to the back mountain to take a look," Guo Jin said.
"Could someone be stealing cattle? But that doesn't make sense; cattle theft wouldn't happen without notice. How could the people at the cattle farm not have discovered it?"
Gu Xiaojiao took a drag on his cigarette and stroked his chin: "If it was done by someone, then they probably scouted the place and would take a back road... But that doesn't make sense, five cows, that's not easy to steal."
"You're even analyzing this now?" Gu Bai glanced at him. "Trying to solve the case?"
Gu Xiaojiao said, "No, based on experience, I'll give you some advice."
Gu Bai was taken aback: "You have experience with this?"
"Hey, I don't really have much experience when it comes to doing good deeds, but when it comes to stealing, I've seen it all, even if I've never done it myself."
Gu Xiaojiao crossed his legs, took a deep drag on his cigarette, and said with a profound look in his eyes, "There are plenty of trees on this mountain, which can provide cover. If I were to do it, yesterday would have been the best time."
"yesterday?"
"Yes, we're selling cattle today, so we had to count them and make preparations yesterday."
The cows and calves will not be sold, but they will be counted. If I were to take action, it would be after yesterday's count.
After a long day's work, the workers are exhausted and will definitely be sound asleep. Since anesthetics aren't selling well, drugging them is the best option.
Gu Xiaojiao spoke with great enthusiasm, as if recounting a glorious deed: "But dead oxen are harder to transport than live ones. It's best to bribe the cattle herder to lead them out without causing any disturbance."
"Your experience is so limited, you should keep it to yourself and study it."
Gu Qingyi, carrying the equipment, called out from outside the door, "Gu Bai, come here."
Gu Bai walked over: "What are you doing?"
"I need to go check this out. Take your equipment." Gu Qingyi handed him the gun.
Gu Bai took the pistol, and Gu Qingyi hung five grenades and magazines on his waist.
Gu Qingyi reached out and straightened Gu Bai's collar: "Turn your collar up, don't catch a cold. I'm leaving."
Gu Bai: "..."
She's like an old woman.
Also, the White Bone Demon doesn't catch a cold.
"Hehe, turn your collar up, don't catch a cold." Guo Jin came out, chuckled softly, and ran quickly towards the back mountain.
The two men, carrying their guns, went to the back of the mountain.
Gu Xiaojiao winked: "Brother Bai, Gu Zhian has feelings for you."
"Don't talk nonsense." The White Bone Demon's eyes were indifferent; he was a skeleton devoid of emotion.
"I'll go outside and talk to you," Gu Xiaojiao said.
"Go ahead and verify your experience." Gu Bai waved his hand.
With grenades and magazines hanging from his body, Gu Bai could no longer warm himself by the fire.
He certainly didn't want to be blown to pieces.
It's snowing again.
The White Bone Demon hadn't seen the sun in a long time, and he missed it.
Who said monsters are afraid of sunlight? I don't know who made that up. Monsters want to bask in the sun too.
Another heavy snowfall followed. In the distance, Gu Xiaojiao, with a haze of smoke, chatted with the workers, verifying his experience.
A quarter of an hour passed.
Gu Xiaojiao returned with a cigarette in his mouth, squatted down next to the White Bone Demon, and whispered, "Brother Bai."
"Have you received the results of your verification?" Gu Bai asked.
"The security cameras at the cattle farm broke down last night. Isn't that a coincidence?" Gu Xiaojiao squinted at the workers. "There's one person who took leave three days ago. Bai Jianjun saw him yesterday, but he can't reach him by phone today."
"An inside traitor?" Gu Bai asked.
"It's pretty much a done deal. Bai Jianjun's son has already gone to look for him," Gu Xiaojiao said. "Five cows, beef extract is expensive these days, that's a loss of tens of thousands of yuan. It's a pity, he can only accept it."
Gu Bai said, "Once it's done, there will be traces."
"But we still need to find the cow; if we can't, then there's no evidence."
Gu Xiaojiao exhaled a puff of smoke: "If he denies it to the death, at most he'll be fired. Bai Jianjun isn't going to kill him, is he?"
"Are all the people on your side as experienced as you?" Gu Bai asked.
"Pretty much," Gu Xiaojiao said, gazing at the darkness with a sigh. "Actually, I've only stolen some watermelons and peaches, and gotten into fights and stuff."
Gu Bai remained silent, listening quietly.
Gu Xiaojiao said, "I dropped out of school in the second year of junior high. My family was poor at that time, so I wanted to make money as soon as possible. I went to work in a black factory and earned two thousand a month."
I've changed jobs many times, dreaming of earning 3,000 yuan a month, but I'm uneducated and underage, so I can't even earn 3,000 yuan.
"Haven't you ever thought about going back to school?"
"Won't people laugh at us when we get back? Ever since I started school, I've heard people talk about how bad the people in our village are—fighting, stealing, pimping, cheating..."
The moment I pulled out my ID card, my image was already defined in their eyes.
Gu Xiaojiao let out a heavy sigh: "I've also run a business. When I was making money, I could earn tens of thousands a month. I spent it all lavishly and didn't save a single penny... But good times don't last long..."
"Our village is actually quite simple; it all boils down to one word: money! If you can make money, that's considered successful. Nobody cares how you got your money."
"Boss Gu, Boss Gu."
During the conversation, Bai Jianjun rushed over anxiously, looking flustered: "Something's happened! You need to call Gu Zhian back right away."
"What happened?"
Gu Bai took out his phone and sent messages to Gu Qingyi and Guo Jin.
Bai Jianjun glanced at the workers and lowered his voice: "The worker who asked for leave died. He was just outside the cattle farm, not far away."
"What?"
Gu Bai and Gu Xiaojiao were taken aback.
Gu Qingyi also sent a message: "If it's not far away, there's a cordon on the car. Go and secure the scene first, we'll be right back."
"Let's go take a look first."
Gu Bai took his bag from the car and left with Bai Jianjun, with Gu Xiaojiao quickly following behind.
Outside the cattle farm, the smell of fermenting cow dung was somewhat pungent.
A huge pile of dung had been partially uncovered, steam rising from it, revealing half of its body while the lower half remained buried in the dung pit.
"Boss Bai, go and look after the cattle farm. Xiao Jiao, you go too. Take this grenade for self-defense. I'll wait here." Gu Bai tossed him a grenade.
"Okay, Brother Bai, be careful." Gu Xiaojiao took the grenade and pulled Bai Jianjun away.
Gu Bai set up a cordon and did not touch the body.
The back of the body's head was covered in blood and was a blurry mess, but there were no other injuries.
There was dirt in its nostrils, and its mouth was stuffed full.
"It's man-made," the White Bone Demon concluded.
This isn't something that was killed by its own kind. Its own kind would only drain it dry; it's too wasteful to just kill and discard it.
Moreover, it's unlikely that someone of his kind would bother burying him in a cesspool.
Gu Qingyi arrived quickly, putting on gloves: "Guo Jin is questioning me; I'd like to examine the body."
"You can even perform autopsies?" the White Bone Demon asked in surprise.
"I learned a little forensic medicine from Zhang Yu, but I'm not a professional."
Gu Qingyi examined the body: "I have a pen and notebook in my bag, can you write this down for me?"
"Okay." The White Bone Demon began to record.
"He suffered a blunt force trauma to the back of the head, but it was not fatal. There were foreign objects in his mouth and nasal cavity, but no other injuries. The preliminary assessment is that he was buried in a cesspool after losing consciousness and suffocated to death..."
"There's a foreign object under my fingernail... is it... cat hair? And dog hair too, they must have been in contact with cats and dogs before they died..."