Chapter 41: Old Master Gu

"Ha, you show up and just walk right in!" Wang Zikai rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the door. "Let me see if I don't beat it to death!"

"Hold on…" Gao Yang grabbed Wang Zikai and covered his mouth.

Fat Jun, not daring to speak, hurriedly hid behind Qingling. Officer Huang made a hand signal, and everyone quickly took cover on either side of the door, pressing their bodies against the wall.

Officer Huang drew his gun, aimed it at the door, and shouted, "Who is it?"

A raspy voice came from outside. "I was wondering who had the light on in this house. Turns out it's Officer Huang."

Gao Yang recognized the voice—it was the old man who had been herding the geese earlier in the day. He exchanged a glance with Officer Huang, signaling safety. Officer Huang holstered his gun and went to open the door.

Standing outside was indeed the old man who had been herding the geese earlier—everyone in the village called him Old Master Gu. With his thin lips, he held a smoking pipe, and when he smiled, his face was covered in wrinkles. "Oh, all of you are here, investigating the case?"

Officer Huang gave a half-smile. "Yes, we're just making sure we didn't miss any clues, so we came to check again."

"You police are really hardworking," the old man said as he took the pipe out of his mouth and scratched his back. "I saw the light on in here and thought I had seen a ghost."

"So, why would you dare knock on the door? Aren't you afraid of ghosts?" Wang Zikai shot back, though this remark was fairly subtle—Gao Yang had been about to ask the same thing.

"Heh," the old man laughed heartily. "I'm not afraid. I had a good relationship with Hua Zi's family. Even if they've turned into ghosts, they wouldn't harm me."

"Is that so?" Officer Huang focused and thought carefully. "Old Master Gu, could you tell us more about Hua Zi's family?"

"Sure, but it's a bit inconvenient here. My house is just over there. Why don't you all come over and sit?" Old Master Gu suggested.

"Sorry for the trouble."

...

Five minutes later, the group arrived at Old Master Gu's house. He lived alone in a small earthen house that was much smaller than Hua Zi's family's home. The house was backed by a mountain, surrounded by a large yard filled with geese that honked occasionally.

They all sat around a table, and Old Master Gu brewed some tea, but no one drank.

Old Master Gu didn't mind. He smoked his pipe as he began to talk. "Hua Zi's father was a really honest and hardworking man, but he stuttered, so no one wanted him. He was almost forty when he married. His wife came from the neighboring village and had some disability in her legs, but she was otherwise good.

"They got married and had three big, healthy boys. His wife passed away a few years after the third child was born. His father couldn't support three sons with farming, so he had to work outside the village, sending money back every year. He asked me to take care of Hua Zi and his two brothers. They would often come to my house to eat. I raised them like my own grandchildren…"

The group listened silently, and Officer Huang asked, "Old Master Gu, do you think the killer could be someone from the village?"

Old Master Gu paused, then smiled meaningfully. "Officer Huang, I don't have any legal responsibilities for what I say, do I? I don't understand the law…"

"No worries, we're just chatting. Say whatever you know," Officer Huang reassured him.

Old Master Gu nodded. "Well, I think the killer must be from our village."

"Why?"

"Several families in the village keep dogs. Not to mention dogs, even my dozens of geese would honk if they saw a stranger pass by my house."

"If Hua Zi's family was dismembered and their bodies were scattered everywhere, a stranger from another village wouldn't be able to do that without disturbing the dogs," Gao Yang said.

"Right," Old Master Gu looked at Gao Yang. "You're sharp, young man."

"So," Officer Huang pressed further, "who in the village do you think might have a motive?"

"I really don't know," Old Master Gu said after taking a sip of tea. "That family was well-known for being honest. The three children were also very well-behaved. I've never seen them have any quarrels with anyone. For someone to dismember the whole family, there must be a huge grudge."

"Could it have something to do with the new bride?" Officer Huang shifted the question.

"Hmm…" Old Master Gu pondered. "That could be possible. The head of the bride still hasn't been found, right? It could have been aimed at her, and it just so happened that she was marrying that day. What a coincidence."

"Did you see the bride?" Officer Huang asked.

"I saw her when she got out of the wedding sedan. She's a beauty."

Old Master Gu glanced at Qingling. "She looked just like you—fresh and beautiful, with a head of shiny black hair, like a fairy descending from the heavens. Everyone was envious, thinking Hua Zi must have had great fortune in his past life to have such a wife."

"I get it!" Wang Zikai slammed the table, making everyone jump. "Everyone, have you watched The Tenth Rank Sesame Official?"

"I have," Fat Jun weakly said. "Are you suggesting… it was done by Chang Wei?"

"That's right! It must have been some perverted man from the village who, seeing the bride, got the wrong idea, went to steal her in the middle of the night, and then when things went wrong, killed the whole family in a fit of rage…"

"But dismembering them isn't necessary for that," Fat Jun muttered.

"Hmph! You don't get it, my young brother! Let me analyze this for you!" Wang Zikai stroked his chin, pretending to be mysterious. Gao Yang felt like the Detective K theme song was about to play.

"This is called doing the opposite! Who would have thought that a simple attempt at kidnapping the bride would end up with a whole family being killed and dismembered? The police wouldn't think of it this way, so it perfectly clears the perpetrator's name!"

Gao Yang paused, and for a second, thought Wang Zikai's nonsense actually made some sense. But after thinking it through, it didn't stand up at all. To dismember a whole family just because of lust was too extreme, and from what they had seen in Hua Zi's house, there were no signs of struggle or resistance. The incident had happened in the yard.

Fat Jun thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Brother Zikai, I still don't think it adds up. If you were the pervert, would you do something like this?"

"You're the pervert! Your whole family is perverts!" Wang Zikai shot back angrily.

"Brother Zikai, your logic is strange too. If you wouldn't do it, I'm sure a pervert wouldn't either…"

"Fatty, what did you say? Say it again if you dare!"

"I may be fat, but I don't wish for death. It's bad luck to talk like that at night…"

As the two idiots bickered, Gao Yang's head started to hurt again. Suddenly, he noticed that Officer Huang and Qingling's faces had turned pale, their eyes flashing with cold, murderous intent as they stared at Old Master Gu across the table.

Gao Yang turned his head slightly and instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

Old Master Gu appeared unfazed, calmly sipping his tea. But his arms had begun to sprout translucent, scaly, keratinous growths, and his rough, wrinkled hands were gradually transforming into the textured, moist skin of a lizard. His nails grew into sharp claws about two centimeters long.

Then, his eyes began to change. The whites of his eyes slowly turned yellow, dotted with tiny patterns, and his pupils were squeezed by some invisible force into long, narrow slits. His human eyes transformed in seconds into reptilian ones, like two cold, finely crafted glass beads.

At this moment, Old Master Gu's body was undergoing partial "beastification" right in front of the four awakened individuals and one lost beast.

But Old Master Gu didn't attack. He continued to sit there, leisurely sipping his tea.