The village children once sneaked into her house, stole her underwear, and ran around the village waving them... That day, instead of Single Rui herself, it was these girls who were more terrified. Single Rui even conducted emergency psychological counseling for them.
'There's nothing shameful about this.'
'This isn't my fault, nor is it yours.'
'Although you're girls, you should never feel ashamed because someone violated your privacy without reason.'
42.
After talking for so long, we still hadn't revealed who the murderer was.
But I had briefly studied criminal psychology.
Mainly because I'm a sociopath myself - I understand the minds of various perverts too well.
'The killers should be two men to have sufficient physical strength. The modus operandi is very methodical and mature, suggesting they're likely aged 30-40 with prior criminal records.'
'Their evident greater hatred towards Officer Cheng compared to Teacher Single is clear from how they treated the two victims.'
'According to what you've said, the entire village had fallen out with Single Rui...'
'I think they're from outside the village, probably criminals who had been arrested by police before.'
'Have there been any outsiders coming to the village recently?'
Deng Zhaodi shook her head, looking bewildered.
I frowned: 'Then there must be a female accomplice among the killers - someone from your own village.'
Deng Zhaodi: 'Huh? Why?'
'The set of underwear Teacher Single was wearing after death is the key.'
She mentioned children stealing underwear...
This kind of behavior doesn't seem spontaneous from children. I'd venture that most adults in Fengtou Village - the so-called 'elders' - hated Single Rui to death.
Children were undoubtedly instigated.
But instigating children to steal underwear then publicly humiliate through exhibition and parading doesn't seem like something male killers would do.
Rather, it's the kind of chastity-shaming humiliation female perverts prefer.
'She should be middle-aged, likely having humiliated you girls before. Also, she probably has extensive social connections, familiar with people from outside the village...'
As I spoke, I suddenly realized.
There was such a person.
Others might hate Single Rui, but not enough to kill.
Only this person had the strongest motive.
Because Single Rui had cut off her income source.
She should be the village's foremost female PUA expert, treating women as her 'merchandise'.
With wide connections, it's no surprise she'd know murderers.
Deng Zhaodi blurted out: 'Matchmaker M/a!'
43.
The interrogation room was still buzzing with brainstorming when Jiang Ning called.
I stepped out to answer.
She said: 'Yingying, I've caught the killers.'
Me: 'Who?'
Jiang Ning: 'Matchmaker M/a and two men! I knocked them out at the hospital. Bring the police here quickly!'
Me: '?!'
44.
Things suddenly turned surreal.
Wait, I just figured this out!
Riding in the police car to the hospital, I kept asking her on the phone: 'How did this happen?'
She said: 'Remember when I joined the village matchmaking group?'
Me: 'Yeah...'
'Those goddamn killers actually tried to set me up on blind dates! With two murderers!'
Me: '???'
Turns out Jiang Ning had been lurking in that matchmaking group.
She stayed silent, just observing.
Discovered the matchmaker charged fees, specifically arranging marriages for men, with 'resources' from several neighboring villages.
Jiang Ning thought: Isn't this the conflict of interest we discussed?
Because of Single Rui's influence, many village girls had developed strong rebellious attitudes.
Upon closer inspection, she found several of the matchmaker's 'deals' had indeed fallen through.
What's stranger, the matchmaker still wanted to set her up during this sensitive period.
So she decided to check it out.
'She's completely law-illiterate! Tried to straight-up sell me!'
Me: '...What?'
At the meeting, Matchmaker M/a brought two burly men.
Then said: 'This city woman's yours now. We're even. Have your fun then scram. Don't drag me down...'
The usually refined Jiang Ning cursed on the phone: 'Fuck! She was using me as payment for hiring killers! Never expected I could take them all down!'
...That was indeed unexpected.
45.
When we reached the hospital, the two men were still unconscious.
The police immediately checked the wanted database.
Turned out these two male suspects were murderers who had been on the run for ten years.
Looking at Matchmaker M/a on the hospital bed, I laughed angrily: 'You're something else!'
Matchmaker M/a wailed grotesquely.
'I had no choice! They forced me! They couldn't resist city women. What could I do?'
She turned to beg the police: 'Officers, I was coerced! They're murderers! I was scared!'
But the police weren't fools!
'I think you made some deal with them.'
Making deals with murderers isn't something you walk away from easily!
The officers were furious, bombarding her with questions by the bedside.
Matchmaker M/a, being legally ignorant, didn't think she'd done anything wrong.
'I didn't kill anyone! I just gave them directions...'
She even turned to curse me: 'Single Rui ruined marriages and got her retribution! Now you're here - you'll get yours too!'
Mid-curse, she suddenly turned ashen, convulsed, and foamed at the mouth...
The startled police immediately called doctors for emergency treatment.
An officer asked a nearby nurse: 'What's wrong with her?'
The nurse shrugged: 'Not sure.'
'They said it was a snake bite.'
The officer exclaimed: 'Snakes in this season? Shouldn't they be hibernating?'
The nurse sneered: 'Right? The wound looks like it, but symptoms don't match. Mainly because... they said the snake was wearing a sweater...'
'That's insane.'
The nurse nodded: 'Yeah. Why not say it was Bai Suzhen biting her?' [Legendary white snake demon]
46.
With Chinese New Year approaching, the police were determined to see this through.
Unexpectedly, this intense interrogation uncovered more bombshells.
Those two wanted criminals had been hiding in Shuixian Village next to Fengtou for three years.
Matchmaker M/a was truly desperate - willing to profit from anything.
Although the men refused to confess, Matchmaker M/a's belief in her own innocence made her spill everything through her loose lips...
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