Chapter 59: Encrypted, files sealed!

As Sun Zhenbang and the others were puzzled, Hu Xiaocao stopped and said, "We're here."

Sun Zhenbang quickly asked, "Where is it?"

Looking around, besides their group, there was no one else.

Hu Xiaocao pointed at the ground, a small-house-like building, "It's right here."

Though called a small house, it didn't really look like one; it felt like the earthen shrines they'd seen in their hometown, less than a meter tall and very crude.

Seeing the twisted figure before them, unclear whether it was a worm or a snake, Sun Zhenbang and the others fell into silence.

They had always thought the "Mountain God" was a person!

What they ended up seeing was what?

Just a snake?!

Sun Zhenbang couldn't believe it: "Xiaocao, is this the Mountain God you meant?"

Hu Xiaocao nodded as a matter of course and, treasuring it, took out a candy from her pocket.

Sun Zhenbang recognized it as the candy he had given her yesterday; she had been reluctant to eat it and had kept it until now.

Because the temperature was too high, the sugar coating had melted a little; Hu Xiaocao carefully unwrapped the candy, placed it before the shrine, and sincerely paid her respects.

"Thank you, Mountain God Grandfather, for blessing me to turn danger into safety; if it weren't for you, I might never see my mother again in this life. I came in a hurry and brought nothing; I hope you won't disdain it."

Watching Hu Xiaocao's actions, everyone felt somewhat helpless; they were on high alert, expecting to see a real person.

But they hadn't expected that what they saw was merely the enshrined statue inside the tiny temple.

It's also their fault for not asking clearly beforehand, causing a small mix-up.

Sun Zhenbang could only wryly smile; looking at the modest shrine, though roughly made, the sparrow may be small but it has all five viscera.

Someone couldn't help asking, "Why is the Mountain God a snake?"

Hu Xiaocao said righteously, "Why can't the Mountain God Grandfather be a snake?"

That question left him speechless.

Apparently, that's also the reasoning.

Although in most people's minds, immortals are mostly human in form, exceptions are not ruled out.

The Mountain God's appearance bears distinct regional characteristics.

As in the *Classic of the Western Mountains*, the Mountain God has a human face with a horse's body, a human face with an ox's body, or a sheep's body with a human face; in the *Classic of the Northern Mountains*, it has a human face with a snake's body, a horse's body with a human face, or a boar's body with eight legs; in the *Classic of the Eastern Mountains*, it has a beast's body with a human face, or a human body with sheep's horns.

Those that are entirely a snake are truly few.

Temporarily setting aside the fact that the Mountain God is a snake, the key is how he manifested his power.

Whether the human trafficker Hu Xiaocao said was frightened away is related to the excessive shock detected later by the coroner.

"Xiaocao, could you tell us in detail how the Mountain God manifested his power?"

Hu Xiaocao fell into recollection: "At that time I was seized by those bad uncles, and then the Mountain God Grandfather brought his attendants——"

Her tone paused, as if searching her mind for a suitable descriptor.

"Then, accompanied by his attendant the White Bone Great Immortal, he appeared and scared those bad uncles half to death; they fled, and I don't know what happened after that."

Everyone fell into silence again.

Those who didn't know might think they were listening to a story here, even the outrageous tale of the White Bone Great Immortal came out.

"But when the earlier human trafficker called the police, he seemed to have mentioned the White Bone Spirit……"

Sun Zhenbang's expression showed some surprise, but after thinking it over left and right, there seemed no connection, only adding to his gloom.

Afterward, they sent Hu Xiaocao home, then visited a few more houses; by then it was getting late, the sunset's afterglow shrouded the small hill, casting a thin layer of golden light, and the cooking smoke rising from every household intertwined with those rays.

It made the originally ordinary mountain village instantly become somewhat extraordinary.

Sun Zhenbang and his companions stood at the village entrance; the sunset stretched his shadow extremely long, and there were already many cigarette butts underfoot—he smokes when he's annoyed.

The others also drooped their heads, looking somewhat dejected.

After that day, there was hardly any progress; they had thought that visiting and investigating would bring some breakthrough to the case, but in fact it had no effect.

"Team Leader Sun, does the Mountain God really exist in this world?"

Sun Zhenbang stubbed out the cigarette in his hand, gave him a sideways glance, and said, "What do you think?"

Another companion beside him teased, "A Ming, you're just influenced by what those villagers said—how could there possibly be a Mountain God in this world?"

"Even if the villagers say that, you're a police officer—where did your nine years of compulsory education go?"

The officer called A Ming, a little embarrassed, scratched his head and said, "I just asked casually; it's not that the villagers' words are exactly true."

No matter how mysterious this story gets, they don't believe it.

Although Hu Xiaocao spoke with conviction, she's ultimately just a child, easily misled.

Perhaps the snakes and white bones she saw were real.

But maybe someone used a blinding technique to deliberately confuse, then spoke through Hu Xiaocao to the public, attributing all this to the so-called "Mountain God."

It looks like the Mountain God manifested his power, but actually it's all human-made.

In this world there are originally no spirits; everything is made by humans.

"I suspect that this killer and the one who previously killed Li Han and the others are the same person; he has strong counter-investigation abilities, is a high-IQ criminal, and his combat ability is not low either."

"That's also why Liu Siming's cause of death is so strange; the other three, after appearing frightened, ended up killing each other—this definitely bears his hand as well."

"But just how he did it, they cannot now know."

"It's apparent that this person should be vengeful toward evil, and is engaged in punishing evil and promoting good."

"Because those he killed were all bad people; even if they didn't die, their final fate would likely be life imprisonment or even execution by gunshot."

"So did he still do a good thing? If it weren't for him, what would Hu Xiaocao have faced—it's hard to imagine."

Sun Zhenbang's gaze fell into the distance; he let out a faint sigh and said, "A good thing? You're still too young—you don't see things thoroughly and far ahead."

He does not approve of this practice.

Everything has two sides; taking justice into one's own hands is a bit radical, and besides, he could have simply notified the police—why take matters into his own hands?

If Sun Zhenbang knew the perpetrator was a snake, he definitely wouldn't have this idea.

This person's ability is truly too strong; repeatedly evading police investigation, he now kills bad people, but what if he later becomes addicted to the pleasure of killing, or inspires villagers to imitate him?

Civil violence needs to be suppressed; that is the purpose of law!

Sun Zhenbang's words left everyone silent.

Now he seems to be on the side of justice, but who can guarantee he will always possess such fair and strict judgment?

In short, such a person poses too great a danger to society; he must be apprehended as soon as possible.

The village yielded no useful information; the police could only continue searching the mountains.

Perhaps that person has been hiding deep in the mountains all along, never leaving, which is why there was a second crime.

However, the police found no traces of habitation on the mountain, and they also checked every village at the mountain's foot, finding no suspicious strangers.

Having investigated this far, the case has once again reached an impasse.

In the end, with no alternative, the case could only become a cold case, gathering dust in the files.

But on the surface of the file folder, a red seal was stamped:

【Level 2 Cold Case, File Sealed】

(End of chapter)