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Along the way, Gu Chen was somewhat taciturn. Normally, he would ask me questions about Zhao Mingkun, but today he remained silent. I wasn't sure what Gu Hui should call Gu Chen based on their seniority, but I could tell that as long as there was even a hint of doubt, Gu Chen would not give up on investigating.
After a while, Gu Chen finally spoke to me for the first time: "I watched Gu Hui grow up, from such a little one to where she is now. From her short hair that made it hard to tell her gender to her beautiful long hair."
Gu Chen drove slowly, not looking at me as he spoke. "She’s only five years old. If it’s an accidental death, then I can only say that Gu Hui's luck is bad. But if there’s even a slight suspicion, we need to investigate further. I know my abilities in this area are far inferior to yours, which is why I came to you, hoping you could help me look into this matter."
I nodded, sighed lightly, and replied, "No problem."
After that, we fell into silence again.
The village had only one road leading out, a dirt path. Looking from the Asphalt Road towards this path, it was clear that it was extremely muddy; I wondered if stepping in would cause me to sink in and be unable to pull myself out. While I was lost in thought, Gu Chen had already parked the car and pointed to the back seat.
I turned around and saw two sets of raincoats and rain boots in the back seat.
Gu Chen said, "The weather forecast predicts heavy rain soon; we can use these."
I looked through the car window at the gray sky in the distance; it was still drizzling. I reached back and grabbed the raincoat and boots, putting them on. As I stepped out of the car, I exchanged glances with Gu Chen before we walked down the muddy road.
The slippery road made me truly understand what it meant to take one step at a time.
In the low-lying areas, rainwater had pooled together and was glistening. At that moment, I suddenly recalled a piece of knowledge: on a clear night after rain, when facing the moonlight, the brighter areas on the ground are puddles; when your back is to the moonlight, the ground appears brighter.
This is because water reflects light like a mirror while the ground reflects light diffusely. When light shines on water and you face it, all the light reflected by the water enters your eyes, making it appear brighter. Conversely, when your back is turned to the light source, you cannot see any reflected brightness.
The ground reflects light diffusely; when light hits it and reflects in all directions, some of that light reaches your eyes and appears brighter than the water surface.
I had forgotten that this was knowledge learned in middle school. The journey was long and Gu Chen remained quiet; I wandered through my thoughts as I walked forward. Just as I took a step forward, I felt my foot slip away beneath me and fell face-first into the mud.
Gu Chen heard the noise and quickly turned around to help me up.
I felt as if my leg was stuck in something; looking down revealed that my foot had sunk into a pit. I tried to pull my leg out but found no solid ground to push against; my hands were covered in mud and offered no leverage.
Gu Chen grabbed my hand and exerted great effort to pull me out of the pit. Once I stood up again and looked at myself, I resembled a donkey that had rolled around in mud several times—completely covered in dirt with no way to clean myself off.
"Let’s go," Gu Chen said after glancing at me. "When we get to my house, I'll get you some clean clothes."
I shook my head and pointed to the hole in the ground. "This hole is quite narrow, but it's a bit deep. Are there really so many pits on this road? With the heavy rain, almost all the holes are filled with water, and we can't tell if we're stepping onto solid ground or into a puddle."
Gu Chen spoke up, "This village has been around for a long time, and this road has probably existed even longer. There used to be similar pits, but not as many as now. The recent rains have been too heavy and frequent, and there were already some voids beneath this road. These downpours have washed all the hidden dangers to the surface."
I looked at the pit and wondered if Gu Hui had encountered something similar before—perhaps she accidentally stepped into a hole and couldn't get out. It was very possible, which explained why the police's initial conclusion was accidental death. However, based on what Gu Chen had told me earlier, it was hard to analyze any signs of foul play.
Yet, if someone had deliberately led Gu Hui into this pit, that wasn't out of the question either. The heavy rain had washed away all the footprints left in the mud, making it impossible to find any useful clues.
I asked, "Although it may seem abrupt to ask these questions now, it's important for the investigation..."
"I understand," Gu Chen nodded and replied. "It's not our place as police officers to decide whose death is more significant than another's. You can ask whatever you need; even though she's my relative, I am still a police officer."
I nodded and said, "What I want to know is what kind of person Gu Hui was. Was she the type who would quietly stay at home, or was she more like a whirlwind?"
After thinking for a moment, Gu Chen said, "I haven't seen Gu Hui in a while, but from what I remember, she was quite wild. You know I'm in the armed police and tend to be adventurous myself, so I often took her racing and such."
"Uh-huh."
I acknowledged his words but remained silent. If Gu Hui had such a personality, there was a good chance she could have run off on her own. I still leaned towards believing it was an accidental death; however, until the investigation was complete, I shouldn't jump to conclusions.
Moreover, from what Gu Chen's brother Gu Zhi had said earlier, he already had someone in mind as a suspect. But who could that person be? Why would Gu Zhi suspect someone without any evidence? All of this would have to wait until we reached Zhi Li Village.
As we walked along, we finally arrived at the village that evening, and I found myself at Gu Chen's home.
Gu Chen's parents were ordinary villagers. When they saw Gu Chen return, they were very happy but also somewhat helpless; they could never have imagined that he came back because of this incident.
Gu Chen explained my situation to his parents before I changed into his father's clothes.
After some simple pleasantries, Gu Chen got straight to the point. "Mom and Dad, I came back because my brother called me. This is my colleague and also a police officer. Can you tell us what's going on? Where's my brother? Where's my old man?"
Gu Chen's father sighed slowly and said, "About four days ago, Gu Hui went missing. Then she was found dead in a roadside pit; the police say it was drowning and likely an accident. You know your brother and sister-in-law are working in Dongxing City; your old man’s sister was taking care of Gu Hui when this happened. She fainted when she heard about it and never woke up again—just like that."
Gu Chen's mother added, "Who can bear such a thing when becoming grandparents?"
With that, Gu Chen's mother handed me a cup of hot water.
"Yes," Gu Chen's Father continued, "after that, your brother and sister-in-law rushed back. They don't believe that Gu Hui's death was an accident; they think someone must have killed him. But the police don't have any evidence and are still investigating. Then your Old Man came to discuss with me whether we could call you back. You're a police officer, so you would definitely investigate diligently."
Shaking his head, Gu Chen replied, "Even other police officers would investigate thoroughly. How are my brother and sister-in-law doing?"
Gu Chen's Father said, "Your brother hasn't slept in days, just waiting for you to return. Recently, he even went to that troublemaker's place, and we followed him, but there was no evidence, so we couldn't do anything. Your sister-in-law fell ill right after seeing the body; she can't even get out of bed now and looks extremely weak."
Sighing, Gu Chen's Father added, "Your Old Man feels incredibly guilty. With Gu Hui gone, his partner couldn't accept it either and has passed away as well. All the burden has fallen on him. Your sister-in-law keeps thinking that if they had taken better care of the child, she wouldn't have died. Several times, your Old Man has thought about ending it all like his partner did."
"It's so tragic—a five-year-old girl who was about to start school," Gu Chen's Father shook his head, unsure of what to do.
Gu Chen nodded and said, "We will investigate this matter. You keep an eye on my Old Man and make sure he doesn't do anything foolish. Right now, my brother probably doesn't have time to look after his father; you need to watch over him. I'll go check on my brother and ask some questions. Are you coming along?"
Gu Chen's Father nodded and replied, "Yes, you stay at home, dear. I'll go with my son and his colleague to see your brother."
"Alright, you go ahead," Gu Chen's Mother said slowly as she looked at us.
Gu Chen's house wasn't far from his brother's—only a few hundred meters apart.
I asked, "Who does your brother suspect? Why does he think that person is involved?"
Gu Chen remained silent, but Gu Chen's Father spoke up: "This story is quite long. Once we get to your brother's house, I'll explain it to you properly. It all started a few years ago; honestly, it's something that's not easy to talk about in our village..."
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