At the break of dawn the next day, the cries for help from three male college students caught the attention of their neighbors.
The villagers found a way to break open the door. Armed with sticks and sickles, they charged upstairs, only to find that Shi Derong had long since stopped breathing.
He was drenched from head to toe; water dripped from his clothes without needing to be wrung out. His legs were spread apart, hands propping him up from the ground as he sat in the doorway of the side bedroom, head drooping onto his chest. His face was swollen to a purplish-red, his bulging eyes were bloodshot, and the corners of his mouth, stretched to his earlobes, curled into a sinister smile.
The villagers and passengers, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, gathered in the living room on the first floor of Shi Derong's house, buzzing with speculation.
Village Chief Lu Gui had some villagers take the three deeply shaken college students to other homes to rest.
