Chapter 4

Only then did I realize things were far more complicated than I’d thought.

First, the Zhang father and son had accused Du Zhicheng of being the killer, but they had no evidence. They wouldn’t even say what their dispute had been sixteen years ago.

That was suspicious enough. Officer Li hadn’t taken their accusation seriously at first.

But the biggest problem was that Du Zhicheng couldn’t be reached at all.

For years, he’d lived in a nearby county, remarried, and had two sons.

But two weeks ago, he had suddenly disappeared without a trace. Even his family hadn’t been able to contact him since.

“Wait. What about Niem Niem? What about her mother? If he remarried, that means they divorced. Did Niem Niem live with her mother afterward?”

I asked in confusion.

Officer Li shook his head.

“Du Zhicheng’s wife disappeared sixteen years ago. No one reported it to the police. And Du Hieu Niem…”

“She died a long time ago.”

“She drowned in a river, also around fifteen or sixteen years ago… probably not long after Du Zhicheng moved away.”

My eyes widened.

So much had happened sixteen years ago!

Even Niem Niem was… dead?

I was too shocked to speak for a long time.

Officer Li kept watching my reaction.

At last, he said, “So whatever that ‘dispute’ was, it may be the key to uncovering the truth… And perhaps everything began when you and Du Hieu Niem went up the mountain. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have received that note, would you?”

I finally collected myself.

“Officer Li, is there anything I can do to help? I’ll do whatever I can.”

Officer Li must have had a reason for telling me all of that.

He asked me to find Zhang Lingzhi first thing the next morning and see whether I could use the fact that I knew the family to ask what the “dispute” sixteen years ago had been.

I agreed.

But after dawn, just as I was about to leave and look for the Zhangs, Officer Li hurried over to me.

“They’ve disappeared!”

He didn’t even sit down. He was clearly in a hurry.

“We had an appointment. Zhang Jianjun was supposed to come in this morning to give another statement, but he didn’t show up, and he isn’t answering his phone. Neither is his son. My colleagues have gone to the hotel where they’re staying, though I doubt it’ll help. We checked with the hotel, and their room is empty.”

I could only stare at him blankly. There was no point telling me all that.

This time, he didn’t beat around the bush.

“What do you think? Can you guess where they might have gone?”

My first thought slipped out: “It must be the killer! The killer used their desire for revenge to lure them…”

But before I could finish, I realized Officer Li must have thought of that already.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be this anxious.

But he’d also told me yesterday that Du Zhicheng, the prime suspect, couldn’t be reached and was missing, too.

Then I remembered something.

“When we were kids, Niem Niem’s father had a little orchard on the mountain south of our village. He even built a small wooden hut there!”

Officer Li frowned and rushed out.

I stayed seated in silence for a little while longer.

Then I reached deep into my bag and took out a tiny old-fashioned candy-bar phone with a straight screen.

I put it in my pocket and left.

Only after I was far away from the police station did I turn it on and send a message.

Just one word: “Orchard.”

That was enough.

After that, I found the motorcycle I’d hidden nearby and sped off.

The orchard was south of the village. The ruined temple was north.

I took the trail, but I didn’t go to the orchard.

I went to the ruined temple in the north.

It was even more dilapidated than I’d imagined.

More than half the roof had collapsed. Only the round, pearl-shaped stone ornament at the peak still stood stubbornly in place.

The four walls hadn’t fallen yet, but they were close.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and went all the way inside.

The Zhangs were tied to two pillars.

They’d been bound with hemp rope. Every knot was tied three times—clumsy, but careful.

Both Zhang Lingzhi and Zhang Jianjun had fresh blood smeared across their faces. Their eyes were shut, their faces ashen, their lips cracked and dry.

I was afraid they were dead, so I kindly took out a bottle of mineral water and splashed it on each of their faces.

Half a bottle apiece.

They finally woke up and immediately began howling.

They shouted for help, begged me to save them…

At last I understood why their lips were cracked and dry, and why they’d fainted.

They must have screamed themselves hoarse.

But this was on a mountainside. They could scream all they wanted, and no one would hear them.