"Call someone to clean it up." The doctor shook his head, delivering a death sentence.
However, Chi Bo's relatives were not around, and even Teacher Wang couldn't clean up Chi Bo's body that was lying in vomit. His classmates were even less likely to do so; they were almost driven mad with fear.
"Mom, Mom," someone said on the phone to their family. "I'm so scared."
"I want to go home! I want to go home right now!" they screamed, trembling.
They arrived in the village happily, but within just one day, one classmate died, two others were targeted by a psychopath, and they couldn't leave. The students' mental state completely collapsed.
Even Xiangxue and Xiaomin, who were arguing just moments before, didn't expect this bizarre turn of events. They were on their graduation trip, so how did someone end up dying? Was there some hidden illness? How could they have been classmates for three years without knowing anything?
Xiaomin let go of Xiangxue's hair; she felt she needed to calm down.
Xiangxue stared blankly in the direction of Chi Bo's room. She suddenly thought: Now that I've just disappeared, can I clear my name of suspicion?
Teacher Wang asked the doctor to stay. She called 110 (the emergency number in China) and explained the situation, indicating that the death might be caused by human intervention. She had cordoned off the area and hoped they could arrive quickly.
"Are the police coming?" Ren Yifei overheard the conversation and repeatedly tried to put his hands in his pockets, but ultimately hesitated. Although the village was sparsely populated and it was raining, there was no guarantee there weren't innocent people on the bridge. What if there were...
The students all wanted to go straight back, and they surrounded Teacher Wang and the driver, saying all sorts of things.
"Enough!" Frustrated, Teacher Wang finally snapped, her face hardening. "This isn't your home, where you can do whatever you want. Someone's dead, you know? Nobody leaves until the police arrive!"
"I can't stay here either, people are dying here!"
Looking at the sky, Teacher Wang sighed: "If you don't stay here, where will you stay? It's still raining outside. If you go out in the rain and get sick, wouldn't that make your family even more worried?"
"So the teacher knew that getting caught in the rain could make you sick. She even asked us to find someone just now. Being a teacher is so easy. All you have to do is give an order."
The teacher and students seemed to have become adversaries. Teacher Wang didn't know when it happened, but she could feel the students' heartfelt rejection and disgust.
The students in the corridor looked at her with questioning eyes and said the same thing.
"You're just a teacher I hired; who do you think you are?"
Ren Yifei, sitting in the corner, almost applauded the exciting plot. Indeed, true feelings are revealed in danger, and humanity is tested in choices.
The rain poured down, and the eaves seemed to be playing a percussion symphony. Amidst this beautiful melody, he took out a bottle of water from his bag, drank it, and watched the confrontation between the teacher and students.
Suddenly, a hint of quiet sandalwood appeared amidst the bitter aroma. He turned his head and saw the tattooed man, who was also looking at him.
He seemed to glance at Ren Yifei casually. However, Ren Yifei's intuition told him that this was by no means a casual glance.
"A strange player, out of place with everyone else, as if he's here on vacation." Ren Yifei turned around.
The students were still discussing the violent death of Chi Bo. It was the first time they had experienced death so closely, and the fear sent chills down their spines.
Why are humans so terrified of the corpses of their own kind?
"If Chi Bo died from homicide, doesn't that mean the killer is nearby, right next to us? Could we become the next victim?"
What's terrifying isn't the corpse itself, but the danger it represents—the danger of being killed yourself.
The only person who wouldn't feel fear when faced with a corpse is probably the murderer, right?
Ren Yifei lowered his head, clenching his fists together. Although he was silent, his body language betrayed his fear, along with an instinctive sense of self-protection and defensiveness.
Among this group of students, he stood out as naturally as one of the fallen leaves on the ground, unremarkable.
The students called their families, crying and complaining. Teacher Wang's phone was ringing off the hook. Time slipped by in this anxious atmosphere.
Drip, drip, a string of water droplets fell on the roof tiles. The rain lessened and gradually stopped, but the sky remained gloomy.
"The rain has stopped." The students under the eaves walked into the courtyard and stretched out their hands. Actually, there were still some raindrops, but very few, so few that these people felt they could go home immediately.
"When will the police arrive? Can we go home today?" This was their biggest concern.
Ms. Wang was also very concerned, so she called the police to ask where they were.
"They'll be here soon." Teacher Wang turned around, her eyes blazing as she looked at each student. "Once the police arrive, it will all be over."
She seemed to be convincing herself, and also convincing others.
"Who would like to come with me to greet them outside and explain the situation?" Her gaze swept over the students.
Only a few people said they were willing. Although the rain had stopped, it was still dark outside. They wanted to stay in a place with light, together as a group.
"Okay." Teacher Wang was about to leave when she suddenly noticed Ren Yifei in the corner. "Is Xia Chuan coming along too?"
Ren Yifei looked up, their eyes met, and he said, "Okay."
They went out with flashlights, and if they didn't have flashlights, they used their cell phones to light their way.
It wasn't completely dark; in the distance, you could still see the chastity archway against the dim sky. Suddenly, Teacher Wang's phone rang. She answered, "Hello? You've arrived? Where are you?... Oh, you're just about to get off?"
With her back to several classmates, the students who had volunteered were delighted: "Great!"
Ren Yifei looked at them, his hands hanging naturally in his pockets.
This is a good time to stop the police. The police are the variable; they're like hunting dogs, and he's the fox. The hunting dogs are trained to hunt foxes and wolves, and they'll sabotage his plans.
The things the original owner left behind were most likely intended to destroy the iron chain bridge and turn the village into an isolated island. If the original owner were still alive, he would have made the same choice.
But he stopped the moment his fingers touched his pocket.
When the teacher turned to talk to the police, her voice underwent a very subtle change. Although she tried her best to suppress it, it still sounded a little more agitated than before.
The excitement wasn't about the police arriving, but rather a kind of excitement like watching your prey with one foot in the trap.
Ren Yifei trusted his own judgment, so he did nothing.
The teacher finished her phone call quickly, and turned to look at the group: "Let's go."
However, they hadn't gone far, just a few steps, when a group of two uniformed policemen appeared before them. Their hats were wet.
The rain had stopped long ago, and I don't know how long they had been standing there for their hats to get so wet.
Teacher Wang, police, pause... details swirled in Ren Yifei's mind, his fingers tightening and loosening.
If he wasn't mistaken, these police officers had arrived in Wutong Village much earlier, at least ten minutes or even longer. Teacher Wang's earlier phone call was a test of them.
No, she was testing him—Xia Chuan.
Everyone else came voluntarily, but he was the only one whom Teacher Wang specifically requested to come at the last minute.
The reason the police cooperated with her was because Teacher Wang gave her some special hint, or they had discussed it beforehand.
If Ren Yifei had pressed the button earlier, he might have been caught red-handed. Of course, things aren't much better now; he's certain that Teacher Wang suspects him.
So, here's the question.
Is it because Teacher Wang is a 'ghost' who knows his background, or because she, as an NPC, investigated the original owner and knows that the original owner and Han Feifei are twin siblings?
Regardless of which one it is, does her behavior mean that the teacher who chose to ignore the victims back then now wants to protect the perpetrators?
Ah, what a great teacher!
"Police uncle!" the tall, burly young man blurted out. The young policeman opposite him, who looked to be in his early twenties, was both amused and exasperated. However, they didn't say anything, only asking, "Can you tell us what happened?"
"Okay, okay." The boy nodded repeatedly, as if he had found his pillar of support.
Ren Yifei mingled among the students, his eyes filled with surprise, and he frequently adjusted his glasses.
The two officers walked along, asking questions as they went. They all spoke at once, sharing what they knew. Ren Yifei, being rather reserved, usually only spoke when asked.
His narration was more organized than others, and he even mentioned many details, fully demonstrating the calmness and rationality of a top student.
Of course. As an outsider with limited knowledge, his words still contained many biased and personal elements. For example, he would subtly state that he had absolutely no contact with Chi Bo, in order to prove his harmlessness.
The two police officers, one veteran and one newcomer, were both experienced criminal investigators with a wealth of knowledge. Ren Yifei's behavior was, in their view, perfectly normal.
People naturally tend to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and their testimonies often contain elements that protect them, which requires investigators to carefully discern.
"This is where we're staying temporarily..." Ren Yifei was introducing the place to the two police officers when suddenly a loud bang came from the direction of the sound, which was not like thunder, but like fireworks exploding.
He was startled: "Thunder?"
The two officers had already turned and rushed back the way they came. Seeing them run, Teacher Wang followed, leaving several students looking at each other in bewilderment: "Should we too?"
After a moment's thought, the students decided to go and see what was going on. Holding their phones, they ran towards the source of the sound, all the way to the suspension bridge.
Teacher Wang and two police officers were there, holding onto the handrail and peering out. Several students also went over, and when they saw what was happening before them, they were completely stunned.
Ren Yifei held his phone in one hand, his elbow resting on the armrest, his body hunched back, and he was trembling slightly.
He wants to see, yet he's afraid—that's how he is right now.
Yes, he also has a fear of heights, so he can't afford to make any mistakes at crucial moments.
His other hand was in his pocket, with a handkerchief wrapped around an oval electronic car key.
Ren Yifei quickly pulled out the handkerchief, slipped his hand under his waistband, and the contents of the handkerchief slid down his trouser leg and landed on his shoe. Then, with a slight kick, the electronic car key slid off the cliff and disappeared into the vast night.
Teacher Wang suddenly turned his head, and in the dim background, he could vaguely see the outline of the student pressed against the railing.
Ren Yifei was there, carefully examining the broken section of the bridge, his face filled with undisguised astonishment, and he murmured incredulously, "The bridge... is broken?"
Was it him? No? She was somewhat confused.