Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

"Who is Xu Fugui? Your son is dead."

The neighborhood committee staff came to our door to notify us, while the police officers were busy investigating the case and looking for clues.

"What?"

Xu Fugui stared at the clerk in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Is your son named Xu Damao?"

"Yes."

"Then that's it. Your son was hanged from the crooked tree outside the courtyard at No. 95 at 4:30 a.m. last night."

"If you want to see Xu Damao, that's the Hongxing Police Station. His body has already been taken to the temporary morgue in the backyard of the police station."

collapse!

Xu Fugui turned and ran, with Li Shi and her daughter Xu Tianxian stumbling after him.

Xu Fugui tripped and fell twice on the three-kilometer journey to the police station.

He tripped on the bluestone pavement for the first time, scraping his knee until it bled, but he got up and kept running.

He bumped into a pile of bricks in the corner a second time, scraping a piece of skin off his forehead, but he still got up.

He seemed to feel no pain, and felt nothing at all.

With his only son gone, the Xu family line is about to end.

A row of stretchers was parked in the backyard of the police station.

It was covered with a white cloth.

Xu Fugui immediately spotted the one on the far right. Underneath the white cloth, half of a dark blue cotton-padded jacket sleeve was visible, with a crooked little flower embroidered on the cuff.

That was sewn on by Li last month when she made her son wear it for his wedding, because Xu Damao had torn a hole in the cuff.

Xu Fugui stood three steps away from the stretcher, then suddenly hesitated to move forward, afraid to see his son Xu Damao lying there coldly.

Li rushed past him, threw herself onto the stretcher, grabbed the edge of the white cloth with both hands, and suddenly ripped it open.

"Da Mao, my son, how could you just disappear like that? Waaah..."

Li touched the mark left by the ligature, her son's cold skin, and his disheveled hair.

"Da Mao, wake up and look at Mom. You told me yesterday that you wanted to eat the dumplings I make... I haven't had a chance to make them for you yet..."

Xu Tianxian knelt beside the stretcher, supporting herself with her hands on the ground, looking at her brother's unseeing face.

She is sixteen years old this year, and Xu Damao is three years older than her. He has always been the one who runs behind her since childhood.

Her brother fought for her, took the blame for her, stole candy from home for her, and saved his New Year's money to buy her hair ties.

Xu Tianxian's lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face like tiny pearls. "Brother! Brother, get up... don't scare me..."

"Brother, you promised to buy me new shoes, you promised to take me to the temple fair during the New Year... You didn't keep your word... Brother..."

Xu Fugui saw the marks on his son's neck, and saw his wife and daughter crying their hearts out while clinging to their son.

Who is it?

Who is the killer?

Xu Fugui slowly walked to the stretcher, without crying, and pulled up the white cloth to cover his son's face again.

He turned around and walked towards the entrance of the police station.

"Dad, where are you going?"

"Looking for the deaf old lady."

Xu Fugui didn't even turn his head. "She must know something. I'm going to avenge my son. Tianxian, you take care of your mother."

Xu Tianxian sobbed, "Dad, be careful, I will."

……

Lou Family Mansion.

The phone rang three times in the living room. Lou Bancheng answered it, but his face gradually darkened, and his brows furrowed into a knot.

"What's wrong?"

Bai Jie asked.

"Xu Damao is dead."

Lou Bancheng's voice was very low, "They hanged themselves from the crooked tree outside the courtyard. A total of eight people died in that courtyard last night."

Bai Jie's handkerchief fell to the ground.

I was scared.

Lou Xiao'e happened to hear her father's words, only hearing the three words "Xu Damao" and the word "death," and she was completely stunned.

She's only been back at her parents' home for a week, hasn't she?

How did Xu Damao die?

Wouldn't that make me a widow?

Lou Xiao'e ran to the sofa, grabbed her father's arm with both hands, her eyes already brimming with tears: "Dad, what did you say? What happened to Xu Damao?"

Lou Bancheng looked at her daughter without answering, unsure of what to say. After all, they had chosen this marriage, and her husband had died less than a month after it was arranged.

He felt sorry for his daughter.

"Dad, say something."

Lou Xiao'e's tears fell. "Did you just say Xu Damao is dead?"

"Hmm... dead."

Lou Bancheng nodded. "About last night."

Lou Xiao'e released her father's arm, took a step back, and tears streamed down her face silently.

Then he suddenly turned around and rushed towards the main gate.

She wanted to go see him.

No matter what, she wanted to see him one last time.

Bai Jie hugged her tightly.

"Let me go! Mom, let me go!"

Lou Xiao'e struggled in Bai Jie's arms, prying her mother's arms open with both hands, her voice trembling with tears, "I want to go to the police station, I want to see him."

"master……"

Bai Jie held her daughter tightly while turning back to look at her husband.

Lou Bancheng walked up to his daughter, looked down at her tear-streaked face, and said in a low, calm voice, "The person is dead, what are you doing there?"

"I want to see him off on his final journey."

Lou Xiao'e cried out, "He is me...he is my husband..."

Lou Bancheng stared cruelly into his daughter's eyes and said, "He was your husband, but he's dead. You're not anymore."

"Butler, go to the police station and get Miss divorced from Xu Damao. The Lou family doesn't need a dead son-in-law."

"Yes, sir."

The butler went out and left.

Lou Xiao'e was stopped and just kept crying.

"Lock her back in her room."

Lou Bancheng waved to Bai Jie.

Bai Jie hugged her daughter, who was crying her eyes out, and slowly made her way upstairs.

Lou Xiao'e looked back at her father while crying, her eyes filled with pleading and confusion.

She didn't understand why her father wouldn't even let her see him one last time, why he was so cruel.

After Bai Jie locked her daughter in the room and went downstairs, Lou Bancheng was standing by the window smoking. Bai Jie walked up to him and whispered:

"Master, why won't you let Xiao'e go?"

Lou Bancheng exhaled a puff of smoke: "Xu Damao is already dead. What good will it do for Xiao'e to go see him? She'll just cry more, suffer more, and then show her face at the police station."

According to accurate reports, seven people died last night in a courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

Including Xu Damao, there are eight.

There's still not a single clue about the killer.

The police sent a special task force of more than 30 people in, but after a whole morning, they hadn't found anything.

Even the police couldn't do anything about it.

At this critical juncture, what if Lou Xiao'e runs over there and gets targeted by the murderer?

"You think the killer only murdered people in that one courtyard? Xu Damao is married to Xiao'e; what if he attacked her?"

Bai Jie's face turned pale instantly. She subconsciously glanced back at the stairwell, her voice trembling involuntarily:

"Then...then our Xiao'e..."

"Keep her at home during this time and don't let her go anywhere."

Lou Bancheng pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray and crushed it a few times until the last spark was extinguished.

...