Chapter Twenty-Five: The Law of Roca Exchange

The criminal investigation team was blocked outside the mountain by a landslide. Due to several days of continuous rain, the county road leading to Luoshui Village had collapsed in many places. The winding mountain road, already steep and difficult, was now completely cut off. Though government departments quickly assembled crews for emergency clearing, landslides continued to occur all around. In the face of such natural disasters, even city workers were powerless. News reports said that some workers had already lost their lives in secondary landslides during repairs.

For safety reasons, the government had no choice but to slow the repair work and prioritize the workers’ lives. It seemed that normal traffic to the nearby villages would not resume for at least ten days or half a month—if the weather cooperated and the rain stopped in time.

When Qiu Xi brought this bad news, everyone’s face grew heavy. It was as if the hope for support from the criminal investigation team had been extinguished. After a brief discussion, they realized that waiting indefinitely was pointless for preserving the scene. It would be better to use the existing personnel to investigate. Li Yiting made a decisive decision to take on the task himself. Normally, as a relative of the deceased, he should have recused himself for the sake of propriety, but in these mountains, he was the only real detective. There was no alternative.

Chen Tianyu promptly explained the situation to Qiu Xi and asked him to participate in the investigation as well. Though young and inexperienced, Qiu Xi had studied relevant subjects, and this was an excellent chance for him to gain experience. Li Yiting naturally agreed.

Taking advantage of a brief lull in the rain, the two meticulously examined the area around the trap where Li Qiumao had died. Li Yiting’s skills were undiminished, and Qiu Xi was quick to learn; they worked together seamlessly and indeed found some useful clues.

First, the vegetation around the scene was clearly trampled. At first glance, it looked like the passage of a single person, but Li Yiting noticed something odd. In a direction directly facing the trap, there were also signs of bent or flattened shrubbery. Because of the shrubs’ resilience, the traces were subtle. This spot was twenty meters from the trap; without careful observation, it would have been missed. If the rain lasted a few more days and the plants grew wild, the trace would disappear altogether.

Second, about six or seven meters from the trap, a bamboo stalk was bent. To most people, this slight deformation would be unnoticeable, but Li Yiting had grown up here. He knew the bamboo well and could quickly verify whether external force had bent a stalk or left marks on branches and leaves. Li Yiting himself enjoyed climbing bamboo. He tried to climb up, and, sure enough, the bend was directly above the trap. He checked the spot where he’d climbed for abrasions and found, at the base of a thick branch, a groove—evidence of something having been tied there.

Third, Li Yiting carefully searched the area and found a number of tiny iron pellets near the trap. He was no stranger to these; they were standard birdshot, used as filler in homemade shotguns common in the mountains. These cartridges typically contained both iron bars and pellets to increase lethality. The only downside was that the meat of any game shot in this way would be riddled with pellets, hard to clean out, and liable to chip a tooth. Yet there was no sign of the shotgun or the iron bars. Based on the scatter pattern and trajectory, there should have been iron bars in a certain location, but now there was only a small hole.

They tried to find clear physical evidence, such as footprints, but with their limited tools—not even a simple measuring stick—they had to let it go. The critical point was that Li Yiting suspected the scene had been cleaned up, but the rain made it impossible to confirm.

There had definitely been a second person at the scene! Li Yiting was nearly certain. Whether this person was the murderer, why they had climbed the bamboo, and why they had taken Li Qiumao’s shotgun—all these questions required further investigation. But the suspicion of murder had sharply increased.

Next, the two of them carefully climbed down into the trap. Here, the young and slender Qiu Xi proved his worth, descending the rope more easily than the powerfully built Li Yiting. Li Yiting, somewhat resigned, could only stand at the top, sweeping his flashlight around, leaving the bottom of the pit to Qiu Xi. Fortunately, Qiu Xi did not disappoint.

At the bottom, Qiu Xi was lucky enough to find some ice shards. Given the cold mountain temperatures, these shards had not completely melted even after a day and a night. He was both amazed and delighted. Although it was winter, the natural formation of ice at the bottom of the pit was unlikely. Recalling the forecast before the rain, the temperature in town was about eight to ten degrees; even in the mountains, it wouldn’t dip below zero. There was no way ice could have formed naturally.

Standing at the bottom, Qiu Xi gathered the ice again and again, handing it up to Li Yiting. Almost all the shards had regular shapes, which confirmed Li Yiting’s suspicions. He told Qiu Xi to keep looking for other evidence.

About fifteen minutes later—

Qiu Xi suddenly called out in delight. “What did you find?” Li Yiting asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

“A button!” Qiu Xi shouted.

Li Yiting was a little disappointed. “What kind of button?”

Qiu Xi didn’t answer, having finished his examination. He shook the rope, signaling his desire to come up. Li Yiting climbed out first, then helped pull Qiu Xi up.

Once on the surface, Qiu Xi clenched the button in his fist and, instead of handing it straight to Li Yiting, ran over to Li Qiumao’s body. He carefully inspected the clothing and, once sure, said, “Look—this button isn’t Li Qiumao’s.”

Li Yiting glanced at it and nodded. “Indeed, it isn’t. Though Uncle Five is also wearing labor clothes made of synthetic fiber, he hasn’t lost a single button. More importantly, this button is a different size from those on his clothing.”

The work clothes he mentioned were made from a coarse, durable fiber, worn by many locals, usually green with brown, round buttons. The button in Qiu Xi’s hand was also brown and likely from similar clothing, but it was clearly thicker and larger.

Chen Tianyu came over, examining it with a frown. It stirred something in him; he thought he’d seen it before. Out of habit, whenever he met someone, he would unconsciously observe their features. As a result, he seldom spoke, often giving people the impression that he was stingy with words.

What surprised him was that Li Yiting seemed not to recognize whose button it was, turning it over and over, muttering, “Are there many kinds of these work clothes?”

Ah, Yiting, you’re too involved, Chen Tianyu thought, but said nothing.

Wang Yongkun, who had been helping them, interjected, “There are many styles, and the buttons vary a lot. I’ve changed several kinds at your house alone.”

“Really? I was careless,” Li Yiting replied sheepishly, pocketing the button.

He turned to Qiu Xi. “Are you sure there’s nothing else down there?”

Qiu Xi nodded. “I checked thoroughly. Except for this button, everything else was clean.”

“Good.” Li Yiting paused. “You didn’t see a shotgun, did you?”

He knew it was unlikely, but asked out of caution.

“A shotgun? That’s too big to miss,” Qiu Xi laughed.

Li Yiting chuckled. “Seems I still don’t quite trust you,” he said, quick to tease.

Qiu Xi scratched his head, embarrassed but understanding—he was still a novice after all.

“I’ll definitely learn from you,” he said sincerely.

Chen Tianyu asked, “Yiting, do you have any leads?”

Li Yiting nodded. “It’s very likely murder. But first, I need to take Uncle Five’s body back for a thorough examination.”

“Alright,” Chen Tianyu said, not pressing further.

Kuang Suo, however, could not hold back. “Who’s the murderer?” he blurted.

“How should I know? Why are you in such a rush?” Li Yiting said, half-amused, half-exasperated.

Kuang Suo looked unwell, clearly not in good spirits. “Match the button to its owner, and the killer should be easy to identify. Honestly, I haven’t been able to eat for days. I feel so stifled.”

Wang Yongkun was puzzled. “You’ve always had a strong mind. Why the adverse reaction?”

Kuang Suo sighed. “I can’t say for sure. Maybe it’s because this place is so much like Crescent Mountain. It keeps reminding me of things I’d rather forget.”

Chen Tianyu suddenly spoke. “Jiudao, why don’t you tell us what you’re reminded of?”

Kuang Suo thought for a moment. “A remote place, eerie legends, mysterious death.”

Everyone shivered a little. Indeed, though the mountain village was peaceful, the occurrence of a murder intensified a particular dread. They all realized that the villagers would surely feel the same fear.

And with that fear would come more rumors.

Chen Tianyu thought of even more—just like on Crescent Island, there were those who would use these legends to cover up unspeakable deeds.

Qiu Xi suggested, “Fourth Brother, maybe you should reveal your true identities to the villagers.”

Chen Tianyu nodded in agreement. Qiu Xi had a point. With two deaths in quick succession, the investigative team unable to come, and the New Year approaching—a time of celebration—they had both a duty and responsibility to calm the panic.

Qiu Xi’s identity as an ordinary policeman was clearly no longer enough.

“Alright, Yiting,” Chen Tianyu said after a moment, “it’s best that your uncle handle this. He’s the most respected man in the village, and he’s already guessed our professions.”

Li Yiting nodded solemnly. “I’ll explain it to him.”

Chen Tianyu turned to Kuang Suo. “Evidence comparison is your specialty. Why don’t you find out who lost this button? With your memory, a stroll around the village should be enough.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get it done as soon as possible.” Kuang Suo took the ordinary button from Li Yiting, and a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.