Midnight Reed Marsh

Blood-soaked hands tore at my flesh as they surged towards me, tearing me into pieces. In the midst of this, I saw a giant face imprinted in the sky, and it was none other than Xiaohutu's. She glared at me with a savage expression, her mouth filled with mud, sand, and blood, and even two sharp fangs protruded from within. She had become a true demon and was now coming to claim my life. But I was innocent. I didn't kill her; I even wanted to help her. Her relentless pursuit left me feeling angry and indignant. In response, I began to resist with all my might, reciting the Diamond Sutra and the Great Compassion Mantra in my heart. At the same time, I focused my breath and energy, practicing the first layer of the Lingtai Secret Art as instructed by the blind old man. Finally, through my fierce resistance, the pain of my body being torn apart gradually dissipated, and the illusion around me began to fade away. I was able to wake up from my dream calmly. Upon awakening, I found myself lying in Bai Xinghua's house. My parents and Bai Xinghua were outside discussing something. Checking the sun, I realized it was already setting and that it was approaching evening. I had slept for an entire day. When they saw me wake up, my parents and Bai Xinghua came over to inquire about my condition. I was feeling good, and my body was full of energy. I no longer feared ghosts, so I felt fine. However, I wouldn't let Xiaohutu's situation go. I had to seek justice for her, and I would not rest until I did.

But I really didn't know what to do. Should I kill Hu Jun myself? If I did that, wouldn't I also be committing a crime? Besides, I might not even be able to defeat him.

Just as I was struggling with these thoughts, the sound of police sirens suddenly came from the distance.

Police sirens, and police cars. For a small village like ours, this was a rare sight. So when everyone heard the sound, they instinctively walked out of their homes and gathered on the roadside to watch. Many people were even speculating about why the police had come to our village and whether someone had committed a crime and was about to be arrested.

I was also curious about the police car. Of course, what I was most curious about was that I saw a blind old man sitting on one of the police cars. This made me even more puzzled, so I immediately started following the police car.

To my surprise, the police car stopped when it saw me following behind. The leading police car then opened its door and a handsome police officer in uniform walked up to me and asked if I was Liu Yihen.

I was confused at first, wondering how he knew my name. But I nodded and admitted that I was Liu Yihen.

Upon hearing my response, the police officer smiled and said, "Very good, little Yihen. We received a report that a little girl named Hu Tutu was murdered in your village. We are here to investigate the case. Can you provide us with any clues?"

"I know, I know, Little Houtu was killed by her father Hu Jun. Can you execute Hu Jun?" I said excitedly as I heard they were here to solve the case. "Not yet, we have to wait until everything is clear. But in the meantime, you can help us. Come on, get in the car, take us to find the body first, we need to perform an autopsy," said the police officer, pulling me into the car. This was my first time in a small car, so I was a bit excited. Once in the car, I saw that the blind man was sitting in the front seat next to an old policeman who was smoking. The old policeman looked at me and smiled, asking the blind man, "Is this the kid? Are you really going to take him as your disciple? What's so special about him?" "Special? A once-in-a-century talent," the blind man chuckled and then turned to me, saying, "Yihen, this is your Uncle Li Hui. He's in charge of criminal investigation and is very good at solving cases. The person next to him is He Wei. They are all good friends of Master. If you encounter any difficulties, you can also turn to them." "Okay, I know," I nodded and then looked at the old policeman, asking, "Uncle Li, you must catch Hu Jun. He really killed Little Houtu." "Did you see him kill her with your own eyes?" Uncle Li asked me. "No, I didn't. But I dreamed of the scene," I said helplessly.

"Our public security work requires evidence, so we can't just rely on your word," the old police officer said as he picked up a small black box, which looked like a walkie-talkie and seemed very advanced. He then spoke into the box, saying, "Wu Lan, follow my car and go directly to perform the autopsy. Gao Liang, go directly to Hu Jun's house and detain him and his wife and bring them back to the station."

"Understood," a voice came from the box, and one of the two police cars that had been following us left the road and drove towards Hu Jun's house. Meanwhile, the old police officer asked me to guide them, and the two police cars followed each other to the edge of the Daguowan.

By the time we arrived at the edge of the Daguowan, the sun had already set, and the world was shrouded in darkness. The light was not very good, but Li and his team were not worried about this. They wore headlamps and found the burial mound of Xiao Hutu. They immediately began to dig the soil, preparing to perform the autopsy overnight.

During this process, many people from the village came to watch the excitement. My parents and Bai Xinghua were among them, and they were obviously worried about me. However, when they saw me and the blind old man together, and even guiding the police, they couldn't help but feel relieved and silently stood on the sidelines to watch.

Li and his team were very professional in their work. They set up a cordon around the burial mound of Xiao Hutu to keep people away. After the body was dug out, a female forensic doctor in a white coat approached with a box and began to perform the autopsy.

The body was placed inside a snakeskin bag and had already decayed, emitting a strong and unpleasant odor when it was dug up. He Wei was worried about scaring me, so he asked the old blind man to take me outside the police cordon. Thus, I was not able to see what had become of Little Huto's body. All I saw were the beams of flashlights flickering inside the reed marsh, and waves of stench wafting over. The onlookers around us were also discussing in hushed tones. As it was getting late and the Great Gully was not a clean place, many people left to go home. Eventually, only Li Shu and his team, and us, remained in the reed marsh.

At this point, my parents and Bai Xinghua also came closer. My mother grabbed my hand and asked what was going on, warning me not to speak carelessly and offend anyone.

Upon hearing my mother's words, the old blind man chuckled and reassured her not to worry. He then introduced us, saying that Li Shu was very capable and a very professional police officer who had solved many major cases, even some mysterious ones. These people had once benefited from him and were invited by him this time to handle this case. Therefore, we didn't need to worry, and he believed that Li Shu and his team would definitely help Little Huto seek justice.

I knew that Old Blind was fulfilling his promise, but I really didn't know if Li Shu and the others could help Hutoo get justice. As expected, we waited until midnight, and finally the old policeman Li Shu, with the female forensic doctor in a white coat, walked out with a helpless look on his face and said to Old Blind, "Old man, it's not that I, Li Hui, don't want to help you. There's really nothing we can do. The autopsy results are out, and due to the severe decomposition of the body, we couldn't find anything valuable. Moreover, according to the examination results, she did die from drowning. We can't falsely accuse innocent people. Hujun is her biological father, and as they say, a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. Hujun couldn't have drowned his own child, right?"