Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Xu Damao's house.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut, leaving not even a crack, and he was the only person in the room.

He was supposed to be showing a movie in the countryside tonight, but he took a day off, saying he had a stomachache.

Xu Damao is now filled with regret.

He should go.

He should leave this courtyard, leave this godforsaken place, and go anywhere.

The people who died in the courtyard were all people he knew, people he was familiar with, people he had grown up with.

Although Jia Dongxu was a few years older than him, the two families lived close by and saw each other all the time.

The two brothers, Liu Guangfu and Liu Guangtian, lived in the backyard and often played together. Liu Guangqi was so hypocritical that there was little contact between them.

Yan Jiecheng and he were childhood friends. Their families lived just across a courtyard from each other. They had been friends since they were little, swimming in the river together naked.

Now they're all gone, they've all become dead.

Xu Damao muttered fearfully to himself, "Who's next? Will it be my turn?"

The light bulb suddenly flickered.

It wasn't that it was actually shaking; it was just that the wind outside made the power cord sway slightly, and the light bulb moved along with it.

But Xu Damao suddenly curled up into a ball, clutching the pillow tightly to his chest.

Jia Dongxu, Liu Guangfu, and Liu Guangtian were swinging on the swing when Bang Geng's head was smashed open, leaving a large hole.

The three Yan brothers fared even worse, and had to split up to carry out their own plans.

Xu Damao became more and more frightened as he thought about it, and the more frightened he became, the more he thought about it, with those terrifying images replaying repeatedly in his mind.

What should I do?

He asked himself the same question over and over again.

What to do, what to do, what to do?

escape?

Is it safe to escape?

The three Yan brothers went out of their yard to call the police, which was only a few dozen meters away from the police station, but they still lost their heads.

This means that it's not safe outside either; it might be more dangerous outside than inside the yard.

Stay in the yard?

Is it safe to stay in the yard?

Banggeng was killed out of nowhere in the courtyard, right in front of his grandmother, Jia Zhangshi.

The yard isn't safe, the outside isn't safe, nowhere is safe.

What should we do then?

Xu Damao suddenly felt as if he were trapped in a sealed glass jar, surrounded by unseen monsters, and that going anywhere would mean certain death.

Is Heaven forsaken me?

He thought of Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu can fight.

But Sha Zhu is at the police station now.

He, Qin Huairu, and Yi Zhonghai were taken away by the police.

Xu Damao suddenly really wanted Sha Zhu to come back quickly. Although he and Sha Zhu didn't get along usually, those were minor issues.

In the end, they're all just trivial matters, nothing compared to murder.

"Silly Zhu, please come back soon..."

"As long as you come back, I'll never argue with you again, and I'll never target you again, silly Zhu..."

...

"Chief Li! Something terrible has happened!"

Xiao Wang rushed into the backyard of the police station, his voice completely hoarse, sounding like a broken gong.

"At courtyard house number 95...something has really happened again!"

It's bad enough already.

Could things get even worse?

Director Li calmly took a drag of his cigarette, then slowly walked forward and asked, "What's going on? Explain yourself."

Xiao Wang, bent over and panting heavily, said, "Bang Geng from the Jia family in the courtyard is dead. He is the son of the deceased Jia Dongxu and the son of Qin Huairu, who had illicit relationships with women."

"What?"

Chief Li saw at the main gate that two police officers were carrying a stretcher in, covered with a white sheet.

Zhang Defu, who was walking in front, pursed his lips into a thin line, while Zhao Jianguo, who was walking behind, simply turned his head away, not daring to look at the things on the stretcher.

Director Li paused for a moment, then rushed forward even faster. When he reached the stretcher, he reached out and lifted a corner of the white sheet.

He glanced at it, and his hand froze in mid-air. The white cloth slipped through his fingers and covered him again.

The police officers behind him gradually surrounded him, some of them glancing at him before quickly turning their heads away.

Director Li turned to look at Xiao Wang, his throat bobbing with difficulty: "How did he die?"

Xiao Wang took a deep breath and recounted Jia Zhangshi's tearful complaint in the simplest language possible.

Director Li was stunned after hearing this.

"This is too creepy."

"In one night, seven lives were lost. Bang Geng was killed by being smashed. Jia Dongxu, Liu Guangtian, and Liu Guangfu were three people who liked to roam."

The three Yan brothers were beheaded.

The ways they died were all different, and the times and places were all different too. Some died in the courtyard, some in the trees, and some in the alleyways.

"This is fucking..."

He suddenly swore, then immediately stopped himself.

Director Li subconsciously swallowed, and the veteran police officer, who had worked in criminal investigation for more than ten years, felt a chill he had never experienced before.

"I hope there's nothing really dirty in there."

The older police officer standing nearby heard this and his expression immediately changed. He lowered his voice and said:

"Officer Li, don't say that. We are the police. It is unacceptable for the police to openly frame feudal superstition. Knowing the law and breaking it is an even more serious crime."

But his hands were shaking as he said this.

Director Li snapped out of his daze, realizing he had said something he shouldn't have. He rubbed his face vigorously, and his usual composure and seriousness returned.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore."

"This matter was reported to the Municipal Public Security Bureau overnight, and the special task force from the Municipal Bureau will arrive after dawn. This case..."

"This is beyond what our Hongxing Police Station can handle. Let the special task force come and take responsibility... to solve the problem."

After he finished speaking, no one responded.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Seven lives lost in one night.

This number weighed heavily on the hearts of everyone present, making it hard to breathe.

In the courtyard house.

Lin Tian's ghostly figure stood silently outside the deaf old lady's room, listening intently.

"Auntie, when will this ever end? I'm scared."

"Don't be afraid of the rain."

An older woman named Wang Cuilan comforted them, saying, "If we stay together, we can look after each other. It will be better when it gets light."

"It was dawn when the police arrived, and the murderer didn't dare to come back."

Madam Jia sobbed, "My poor grandson, he's only seven or eight years old. He hasn't grown up yet, he hasn't married, and he hasn't left any descendants for our Jia family."

God, you have no eyes! Why did you take my grandson away?! God, you're blind!

Old Jia, Dongxu, you must protect me and Xiaodang from heaven, otherwise the Jia family line will truly end.

"Aunt Jia, please don't cry. What if you hurt yourself by crying?"

He Yushui's voice carried a sense of helpless exhaustion. She had comforted so many people tonight that she was almost out of words to offer comfort.

"Xiao Dang is still here, don't scare the child."

Xiao Dang was held in Jia Zhangshi's arms. The little girl was wearing a patched floral jacket, and the tear stains on her face dried and then became wet again.

Her grandma was crying so hard, her voice was so loud, that she was so scared that she shrank into her grandma's arms and held onto the buttons on her grandma's clothes tightly.

She didn't understand what had happened, why her brother had suddenly disappeared, why the adults were all crying, or why her grandmother said her brother had gone to heaven.

It's so cold up there, why does my brother want to go up there?

Lin Tian stood outside the window for a moment, then gently shook his head, as memories of his past life flashed through his mind.

Some debts can only be repaid with blood.

If once isn't enough, do it again.

……