I bring bad luck to my husband, you bring bad luck to your wife.

The next morning, after having breakfast, Yang Tongchuan said goodbye to Grandma Zhou before leaving.

He added that he was already looking for a house according to Mrs. Zhou's request, and would take her to see it if a suitable one was found.

Upon arriving at the yamen, the constables in charge of investigating the case worked through the night. Based on their ages, they estimated that there were about ten men in their twenties in Changxing County who had been caned, but none of them were missing a finger.

"The fingers may not have been missing before the punishment; they may have been lost later. We need to investigate all these people, and if we can't find them, we need to carefully question their families."

Those who went out to inquire didn't find any useful information, but they did learn that the owner of the house had been childless for many years, and the children were all adopted from relatives many years ago.

After a day of investigation, the number of suspected individuals was reduced from about ten to three.

None of these three people have been seen, and their families don't know where they are either.

Yang Tongchuan went to find these three people in person.

Finally, one was dragged out from the bed of a prostitute, and another was found in the backyard of a gambling den; this guy owed a lot of money and was being beaten up inside.

The last one was someone who hadn't contacted his family for many years, but this person was a bit special.

Because a neighbor said that they seemed to have seen him come back some time ago, but they didn't know when he left.

Yang Tongchuan focused most of his energy on the last person. When the information was retrieved, he discovered that the person was a "celebrity in Changxing County".

Wang Dayu's parents were notoriously lazy in Changxing County, so lazy that they made a living by having and selling their children.

One at the beginning of the year, one at the end, they keep having children year after year, but they don't raise them.

Sometimes, the poor would even negotiate a price with a human trafficker before the child was even born.

Wang Dayu is their eldest son and the family's "god of wealth".

When Wang Dayu was a child, his parents ran out of money for food, so they would take him out to steal. They would steal anything they could get their hands on, whether it was food or other necessities.

They were caught, but when the authorities saw they were holding a child, they didn't make things too difficult for them and let them go.

Later, when Wang Dayu grew a little older, the family was able to make ends meet by selling their children, and Wang Dayu became an important part of improving their lives.

Today I steal a piece of meat from this stall, tomorrow I steal a few fruits from that stall, and the day after tomorrow I see someone drying fish and I steal it.

Many families have been robbed, and none of those living near his house have escaped unscathed.

If you grab him, he'll kneel down and kowtow to you until he bleeds, making it impossible for anyone to hit him.

They're practically like cockroaches and bedbugs.

Later, when Wang Dayu came of age, people stopped indulging him and became more wary of him. Since he couldn't steal during the day, he switched to stealing at night.

One night, he went to a grain and oil shop to steal money, but was caught by the shop assistant and taken to the yamen.

The county magistrate sentenced him to thirty strokes of the cane and a year in prison. After his release, Wang Dayu felt that Changxing County could no longer tolerate him, so he went to another place and did not return for several years.

When Yang Tongchuan went to the Wang family to investigate, he discovered that

There are only two people left in the Wang family now.

The Queen Mother passed away many years ago.

Wang's father suffered a stroke a few years ago and has been paralyzed on one side ever since. He can't speak properly anymore, and he drools whenever he opens his mouth.

Another one is Wang Dayu's younger brother, Wang Xiaoyu, who is fifteen years old and works as a laborer at the dock.

Yang Tongchuan questioned Wang's father for a long time at the Wang family home.

When asked where Wang Dayu had gone,

You could barely make out that he was saying he went to make money.

I couldn't understand what the others were asking.

The Wang family is now relying on Wang Xiaoyu to support them, and the little money he earns is barely enough for the father and son to live on.

Yang Tongchuan went to the dock again and found Wang Xiaoyu. Looking at him from a distance, he was clearly thinner and smaller than his peers.

Others can carry two bags of the same goods at a time, but he can only carry one.

It's impossible to make much money at the dock under these circumstances.

Yang Tongchuan first found Uncle Chen, the manager of the dock. Because of their past relationship, Yang Tongchuan was still respectful to Uncle Chen.

I asked Uncle Chen what kind of person Wang Xiaoyu was.

"Sigh, he's just alive. His mother had too many children. I heard that towards the end, the flesh inside her belly fell out, and she died not long after. His father wasn't a good person either; he committed many sins when he was young, and now he's getting his comeuppance."

"Do you remember his older brother, Wang Dayu? Has he been back recently?"

"Everyone knows that bastard. He left Changxing County not long after he was released from prison. I haven't seen him recently."

"Are Wang Dayu's fingers damaged?"

"I'm not sure about that. Even if people see someone like that, they'll just avoid them and won't go up to look."

Do you know where Wang Dayu went afterward?

"I don't know, but as long as this kind of person isn't in Changxing County, it's fine." Wang Dayu had also stolen things at the docks before, and Uncle Chen had arranged for workers to beat him up.

"What about Wang Xiaoyu? Compared to his older brother?"

"He's better than his older brother. This kid doesn't talk much and leaves as soon as he finishes his work every day. I originally felt sorry for him and wanted to introduce him to another job, but he refused, saying that the dock's hours are flexible and he can go back to take care of his father." Everyone who does hard labor at the dock has their own difficulties. Uncle Chen helps if he can, and doesn't force anyone if he can't. Everyone has their own fate.

"Call him over, I need to ask him something."

Uncle Chen brought Wang Xiaoyu over, and Yang Tongchuan observed the boy up close.

The fifteen-year-old boy had no light in his eyes; they were dull and lifeless, like those of an old man on his deathbed.

"So you're Wang Xiaoyu? Where's your older brother, Wang Dayu?"

"I don't know." Wang Xiaoyu was a little nervous and didn't dare to look up.

Have you been back recently?

"I came back once after the New Year, stayed for a day and then left." Wang Xiaoyu's voice grew softer and softer, and Yang Tongchuan had to lean close to hear it.

"What date did you come back? What date did you leave?"

"I can't remember."

"Why did he come back? Why did he leave after only one day?"

"They'll come back asking for money; if they don't have any, they'll leave."

"When did your older brother's finger break?" Yang Tongchuan deliberately tried to trick him.

"I don't know... my older brother's finger wasn't broken." Wang Xiaoyu suddenly stammered, then looked up at Yang Tongchuan before immediately lowering his head again.

This gave Yang Tongchuan an opening.

"Oh, it's not broken. Then come with me."

Yang Tongchuan took Wang Xiaoyu back to the morgue of the government office to identify the body.

At the same time, we arranged for people to go down and investigate whether Wang Dayu had actually lost a finger.

Yang Tongchuan first showed the clothes the corpse was wearing to Wang Xiaoyu for identification.

"Are these your older brother's clothes?"

"No." Wang Xiaoyu glanced at it and then lowered his head again.

"Do you remember what clothes your older brother was wearing when he left home?"

"I don't remember."

Yang Tongchuan then took him to the morgue.

The coroner had removed the rotten flesh from the corpse, leaving only a white skeleton.

"Look at this skeleton. This is the owner of that outfit. Do you remember him now?"

Wang Xiaoyu looked up at the skeleton, his eyes filled with shock.

When a child of this age sees a skeleton, they are not afraid or terrified, but rather shocked.

This is quite intriguing.

"I can't see anything." Wang Xiaoyu's voice trembled slightly, but Yang Tongchuan could tell that there was an element of pretense in it.

"You can tell a lot from bones, such as what stabbed him, what hit his head, and who killed him."

Wang Xiaoyu shivered.