Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

Zhang Baolu was still in shock. He sat on a rock at the village entrance, his hands trembling, his face pale, his lips dry, and his eyes filled with fear. When he saw Lu Chuan and his group in police uniforms approaching, he suddenly stood up, wanting to go forward but hesitant.

Lu Chuan stepped forward, speaking in a calm tone to avoid putting too much pressure on the other person: "You're Zhang Baolu?"

"It's...it's me, officer." Zhang Baolu's voice trembled. "I was really terrified. I've never seen anything like this before in my life..."

“Don’t be afraid. We’re just here to understand the situation. Just tell the truth, say whatever comes to mind, and don’t leave out any details.” Lu Chuan gestured to the police officer next to him to take out a notebook and a recorder. “We will protect your safety and we will also investigate the case thoroughly.”

The villagers nearby also gathered around, whispering among themselves, their faces filled with fear and curiosity. Lu Chuan glanced back and said to the local police officer, "Have the villagers disperse first, don't gather, don't spread unverified information, avoid causing panic, and prevent collusion."

"Yes."

The police officers immediately stepped forward and persuaded the villagers to go home and not to gather around. The village entrance quickly quieted down, leaving only Lu Chuan, the police officer who was recording the incident, and Zhang Baolu.

Lu Chuan found a clean rock and had Zhang Baolu sit down, while he stood in front of him, maintaining a relaxing distance.

"Start telling me from the moment you leave home in the morning, and go on slowly, in as much detail as possible."

Zhang Baolu took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and began to recall the events intermittently.

“I go out to herd sheep before dawn every day, and today was no different. Around five o’clock, when it was just getting light, I drove more than twenty sheep up the mountain. I can walk around the mountains near our village with my eyes closed. I know exactly where the grass is and where the slopes are. Usually, when I herd sheep, I walk up the path at the east end of the village, and when I get to the flat area halfway up the mountain, I let the sheep graze there. I sit next to them, smoke, and watch over them to make sure they don’t wander off.”

“It was the same today. When I was herding the sheep to the flat area near that old cave dwelling, they suddenly stopped. This had never happened before. Even when they encountered snakes or weasels, the sheep would only panic for a moment, never stop like this. The lead sheep kept backing away, bleating in alarm, its voice trembling. The sheep behind it huddled together, heads down, afraid to take another step forward. Some even burrowed near my feet, as if begging for protection.” “I found it strange. I thought there weren’t any dangerous wild animals in these mountains, maybe just foxes or rabbits. The sheep weren’t usually afraid of those things, so why were they reacting so strongly today? I put down my whip and took a few steps forward to see what was ahead, to see if something had frightened the sheep.”

"I had only walked about ten steps when a gust of wind blew over, and a stench suddenly wafted over. It was so strong that it immediately filled my nose, making me feel like vomiting. I immediately covered my nose, frowned, and took a step back, feeling a little scared. I've lived for over fifty years, spent half my life in the mountains, herded sheep, farmed, and dug for wild game. I've seen dead sheep, dead rabbits, and dead pheasants. I've smelled the rotting smell of those things, but I've never smelled anything like this."

"The smell wasn't just a simple stench of decay; it also had a fishy smell and a musty odor, like a bunch of things rotting together. It rushed into my head as soon as it entered my nose, making me dizzy. I immediately thought, this smell is wrong; it doesn't seem like the smell that comes from the carcass of a wild animal. Could it be a human?"

"Although I was scared, I was still a little unwilling and curious, so I mustered up my courage and slowly walked forward, covering my nose as I went to try to breathe as little as possible. When I was a few steps away from the cave, I saw the vines and jujube branches at the entrance of the cave. Some of them were broken, and the cuts looked very fresh. They didn't look like they were broken by the wind, nor did they look like they had been broken for a long time. I was even more puzzled at that time. This cave has been abandoned for so many years and no one has come here. How could the branches be broken so fresh?"

"I reached out and carefully parted the vines blocking the entrance to peek inside. The cave was pitch black, with very little light. I could only make out the general situation by the faint light coming through the entrance. The grass near the entrance was trampled down, and there was a trail that looked like something had been dragged into the cave. Looking further in, in the innermost corner of the cave, there was something lying there. It was dark and I couldn't make out exactly what it was, but it looked like the shape of a person."

"I squinted and took another closer look, and what I saw almost made my soul leave my body. It was definitely a human, lying on the ground, motionless, its flesh rotten and blackened, pieces falling off one by one. It was crawling with countless insects, maggots, and other small insects I couldn't name, crawling around on the corpse. It was enough to make my scalp crawl. There was also a pool of dark liquid on the ground, probably from the rotting corpse, emitting an even stronger stench."

“My legs went weak and I almost collapsed to the ground. The whip in my hand fell to the ground. My mind went blank, and I only had one thought: someone is dead, someone is really dead. I didn’t dare to look a second time. I turned around and ran down the mountain. I ran very fast. I fell several times along the way, scraping my knees, but I didn’t feel the pain. I was so focused on running that I forgot about the sheep. The sheep were still standing there. I didn’t care about them. I just wanted to get back to the village as soon as possible and tell the Party Secretary so that he could call the police.”

“I ran for about ten minutes before I reached the village. I didn’t encounter anyone along the way, and the villagers were still asleep. I ran straight to the village secretary’s house and banged on the door, yelling at him to get up, saying there was a dead body in the cave halfway up the mountain. When the secretary woke up and opened the door, he saw me panting and pale. He thought I was joking. But after I finished explaining, his expression changed, and he quickly took out his phone and called the police.”

“After I called the police, the village secretary stayed with me and waited at his door. I was still trembling with fear and couldn’t sit still. The scene I had just witnessed kept replaying in my mind, and I was sure I would have nightmares that night. Later, some people in the village found out about this and came to ask me what happened. I didn’t dare to tell them the details, and just said that there was a dead body in the cave and the police were coming soon. Then you came, along with the officers from the police station, who arrived early to prevent villagers from going up the mountain.”

After Zhang Baolu finished speaking, he began to tremble again, his hands clenched tightly together. The lingering fear in his eyes showed no sign of lessening, his lips were cracked, and he stammered as he spoke. He picked up the water bottle beside him, took a sip, and only then did he calm down slightly. (End of Chapter)