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Staring at the row of eerie embroidered bound feet shoes, everyone looked at each other, feeling as if they had wandered into the wrong movie set. It was as if a murder mystery had been transformed into a thriller with a single click, and even the entire sky was shrouded in a funeral home filter.
"Gurgle." The student in the front row shuddered and burped.
"So many, so many embroidered shoes!" His legs went weak and he knelt down.
Ren Yifei stood to the side, from which he could see the backs of the two police officers and the sides of the onlookers. The onlookers included students, three tourists, and staff from the guesthouse, and their expressions varied.
However, they all craned their necks to look at the embroidered shoes in the corner.
These shoes were soaked and ruined by the rain; the fabric, damp with water, appeared even darker in color. Hidden under the weeds, they were difficult to spot.
"They show signs of use; they're not modern artifacts." The veteran officer crouched down to examine them closely, while the junior officer took photos. They discovered that the shoes all showed signs of use and were not intended for display.
Moreover, judging from the fabric and the embroidery, it's not from ancient times, but rather a modern product.
Modern-day shoes for bound feet? Does that mean there are women with bound feet still wearing them?
"There are still women with bound feet in this day and age?" The students watching from afar looked on in astonishment. "The country banned foot binding before liberation. The last people who bound their feet are now old ladies in their eighties and nineties, and they've all unbound their feet. There are still people with bound feet in our country?"
"It's not just about foot binding," Saman said, arms crossed. "It's about the fact that many people had their feet bound."
"Huh?" A big question mark appeared on the faces of the group of students.
Seeing their puzzled looks, the illustrator kindly explained, "Is it because the shoes are different sizes? People who have studied drawing might be more sensitive to this; these shoes are all different styles."
"Foot binding required breaking the bones of the toes and insteps and wrapping them into the shape of a rice dumpling. This foot shape had to be tightly wrapped with foot binding cloth and worn with shoes that fit snugly to walk. Therefore, shoes for bound feet had to be custom-made. The fact that these shoes were not the same size and width indicates that they belonged to different people."
Ren Yifei, standing in the crowd, casually adjusted his glasses, showcasing his vast knowledge as a top student.
"It seems that there were not only women with bound feet in this era, but more than one. In fact, they were all in this village."
The students listened with astonishment and disbelief. They simply couldn't imagine that there were still people who bound their feet in this era, let alone a group of them.
"Are they those old women?"
Ren Yifei shook his head: "Judging from the color and pattern of the embroidered shoes, the owner of the shoes is a young woman."
He remembered the old woman he had met by the well yesterday. She also had bound feet, and they were still tightly bound.
Could the secret of this village be related to foot binding?
"Ah, I knew it," the illustrator said, stroking his chin. "I've been wandering around this village for days looking for scenery, and I can occasionally hear people talking in the houses, including young women. But I haven't seen a single young woman outside."
"You too?" The photographer scratched his head. "This village is really strange. If you take pictures of the outside of the houses, the people get very angry."
Ren Yifei watched the two perform with a cold eye. They acted like a double act, talking about various abnormalities in the village. The expressions of the guesthouse staff in the crowd all changed.
Later, a group of students who didn't know the truth joined their discussion, and the more they talked, the more they felt something was wrong.
There really isn't a single young woman to be seen in this village, but they had always thought that this was normal for women left behind in rural areas. Now they're starting to realize something's not right.
"This village has a conservative atmosphere, especially towards women. Could they be secretly reviving the disgusting custom of foot binding?"
Several girls couldn't stand it and got goosebumps: "How disgusting! What era are we living in? That's impossible! This is persecution, it's illegal and criminal! Hey, sister, you live here and know this place well, has this really happened?"
The staff member who was asked the question was taken aback, then laughed and held up his foot: "Look at my big feet, how could such a thing happen?"
Upon closer inspection, everyone realized that both individuals indeed had natural feet, and they chuckled and dismissed their previous discussion as mere conjecture.
"I knew it! How could something so outrageous happen? This is a tourist area. If something like this were to happen, it would have been discovered long ago."
"Putting aside the issue of foot binding, why would that person leave such a row of bound feet shoes here? Is He Xiangxue's disappearance related to bound feet shoes?" The student standing behind rubbed his arms, feeling a chill.
These brightly colored, embroidered bound feet shoes are a staple of many horror movies. Like those for 'ghost brides' or 'ghost marriages,' and now they're appearing in rows...
"It didn't rain for very long yesterday, so how could this mysterious person have managed to sneak in, steal, and arrange shoes in such a short time? Could we be being targeted by some evil force?"
"Nonsense! There's no such thing as evil. Stop spreading alarmist rumors. That's all superstition!" The speaker himself was afraid, but he still insisted on upholding materialism.
"It's not something evil, it's a person." Ren Yifei looked at the soaking wet embroidered shoes in the corner. "These shoes are completely soaked, which means they were put down before the rain stopped. And the time before the rain stopped wasn't limited to just the time it was raining."
"This back door is locked and has been unoccupied for years; the intruder took advantage of that. He had these shoes there beforehand, just waiting for us to find them. And..."
"And what else?" The others, seeing that Ren Yifei spoke so eloquently, forgot that they originally disliked this person and pressed him for answers.
"Moreover, the person who broke in may not be someone outside the guesthouse. It could also be one of us who did these things and then returned to the room as if nothing had happened. Apart from those with clear alibis, everyone else is a suspect."
Everyone else shivered in unison, and a few of them glanced at Ren Yifei discreetly.
"Put these shoes away." The old police officer stood up. He had heard Ren Yifei's analysis and agreed with it in his heart.
However, this doesn't mean he's free of suspicion. There are many types of crimes; besides committing them oneself, one can also choose to control others.
"Any other discoveries?" the senior officer asked the junior officer, but the junior officer just shook his head.
If the intruder was someone from the guesthouse, 'he' would definitely have come back. But since there are no other traces, it can only mean that this person wasn't from the guesthouse, or that 'he' returned before the rain stopped.
The veteran police officer was inclined to believe that the person was still at the guesthouse, and that the villagers didn't need to take such a risk.
However, the rain at three o'clock was just a shower, lasting only a little over an hour. In that short time, everything needed to be done, and the location for settling the missing students couldn't be too far from here.
However, most of the villagers live far away from here, and there is no suitable place.
This guesthouse was converted from the house of a local gentry member in the past, and it was originally far away from other villagers.
Speaking of which, someone died here, the police showed up, and the bridge was blown up. In most villages, the village chief and others would have already come looking for him. But Wutong Village remained completely silent; they were really patient.
"This village isn't big, but it has a lot of secrets." The old policeman understood something, but he didn't want to alert them. He simply told his disciple to put the shoes away and they went back to the guesthouse.
Before Chi Bo's matter could be sorted out, He Xiangxue's disappearance occurred, which then led to an even more secretive criminal case.
With his keen police instincts, the veteran officer suspected that something more was going on behind the embroidered shoes. It might involve a group of crimes against women.
Even the most experienced veteran police officer felt the situation was getting tricky.
He made several phone calls to headquarters to discuss countermeasures. Their suggestion was to bring the students and tourists out first and then devise a long-term plan.
They also told the veteran officer that one of the tourists was one of their comrades, who had come specifically for the embroidered shoes.
Ten days ago, the city headquarters received a tip from the public alleging that a criminal gang was organizing and forcing women into prostitution. They then received a package containing a pair of embroidered shoes and a letter of complaint signed by the complainant.
After that, the higher-ups sent a comrade to conduct a secret investigation.
However, they didn't know who this comrade was, only that 'he' was codenamed 'Artist'.
The old police officer sighed, took off his hat, and touched his dwindling hair: "I'm getting old, about to retire, and I never expected to encounter such a perplexing case."
Three events and two groups of people all collided. It was said that someone had designed it, and that it required a lot of luck. But while it was said to be luck, it also subtly revealed a sense of design.
After receiving clear instructions from his superiors, the veteran police officer gathered all the tourists and students together and asked them to stay in their rooms, only allowed to go to the kitchen once a day for meals, until the bridge was repaired and the police arrived.
Then they can move their position and leave this place.
When will the bridge be repaired?
"If there are no unforeseen circumstances, the passage should be open this afternoon." The young police officer glanced at his master, and seeing that his master did not object, he told the others about it. "Because it is a murder case, the higher-ups have given special permission to have the breach repaired and perfected within a day."
"What should we do about He Xiangxue who is missing? The first 24 hours are the best time for rescue. If too much time is spent, the consequences will be unimaginable." Someone remembered He Xiangxue who was missing.
Chi Bo's death has already cast a shadow over their graduation trip. If He Xiangxue also disappears, this graduation trip will truly be 'unforgettable'.
"I have obtained a search warrant and will be conducting a thorough search of the guesthouse today." The veteran officer looked around. "Please cooperate."
The student, caught in the gaze of those sharp eyes, felt a chill run down his spine. His voice trembled as he asked, "You mean... He Xiangxue is actually still in this guesthouse, just hiding? Like a cellar, underground water pipes, brick walls..."
"Sigh," the veteran officer said, both amused and exasperated, "there might not be enough time to build the wall."
As a member of the graduation trip group, Ren Yifei will also be restricted from going out and may have his luggage checked, but he showed no change in expression.
He wasn't the one who started it, so it wouldn't have been his turn to do anything. The only downside is that it seems he can't do anything to anyone else anymore.
With Chi Bo and He Xiangxue getting into trouble one after another, if anyone else deserves punishment, it's Jiang Min, who deliberately leaked the information, the classmate who acted as an accomplice, and Teacher Wang, who neglected his duties.
However, these people are indirectly evil. If they all die, the matter will become too big and it will be detrimental to the original owner's future.
He looked at Jiang Min, who was sitting there crying, being comforted by others. Yesterday she was ostracized by everyone, but today she was already accepted by the group of girls.
He Xiangxue was the one who was taken away, but she managed to portray herself as a 'victim,' appearing weak to others, and then successfully clearing her name.
Sometimes Ren Yifei felt that Jiang Min was a very capable woman. She had high emotional intelligence and a very low moral bottom line. She was a born political animal and a 'successful' businesswoman who knew very well how to benefit herself.
Such people are selfish and unlikable, but they often thrive in the complex and hypocritical adult society.
In the Han Feifei incident, Jiang Min, as both an observer and participant, was fully aware of everything He Xiangxue did to Han Feifei, yet she neither stopped it nor warned Han Feifei. Therefore, Ren Yifei said she had a low moral compass and was also pragmatic and selfish.
Such a person, who wouldn't act without self-interest, wouldn't choose to reveal Han Feifei's pregnancy to Chi Bo unless there was something in return. What benefit would this bring her?