Yue Feng and Gou Zi followed along the shore without going into the water, but if they wanted to get to Uncle Zhao now, they either had to go around in a big circle or go into the water.

Yue Feng gritted his teeth, took off his shoes, went into the water, and walked straight to the old man.

“I guessed right! Look what this is?”

Uncle Zhao pointed to a deep footprint in the moist soil next to the puddle.

“This…you mean that Zhou Yuanchao or Liu Laosan went upstream along the mountain stream and walked all the way to this side before landing!?”

Yue Feng was not stupid, it was just that his thinking could not keep up with the pace. After the old man’s reminder, he immediately thought of the key point.

The old man nodded: “Yes! If you want to avoid being tracked by leaving behind scent, moving in the water is a good way!
Even the best police dog would have a hard time following the scent in this mountain stream!
Now this footprint is most likely left by Zhou Yuanchao!

Judging from the softness of the soil near the water, an average adult’s weight is not enough to leave such deep footprints. It is likely that one would have to carry a person to create such a deep footprint!

Let’s assume that Zhou Yuanchao killed Liu Laosan and then carried him away from the crime scene by water.

If I were him, the next step would be to find a suitable place to hide the body!! “

“That makes sense!!” Yue Feng nodded repeatedly after listening.

“It’s impossible to walk too far in the mountains carrying a corpse in broad daylight. It would be too risky to run into other mountain people who come to the mountains to collect mountain products!
If you want to hide someone, the safest way is to find a place to bury the body!

They went into the mountains to hunt bears, so it was impossible for them to carry tools like shovels or pickaxes for digging holes!

It is not easy to dig a hole to bury a person without tools. If there are tree holes or rock holes, it can greatly save time and improve efficiency!
Are there any patches of old, thick poplar trees or rock formations nearby?”

Uncle Zhao knew the place called Erguniang Spring, but he didn’t know much about the surrounding terrain, so he turned around and asked Yue Feng.

Poplars grow relatively fast and are prone to becoming hollow. When they reach a certain age, tree holes are more likely to appear.

In terrain like shale, stones of all sizes are easy to move. In the absence of digging tools, using stones to hide the body is the most efficient way.

Yue Feng thought for a moment and replied, “Go northwest from here, and after crossing a ridge, there will be a large area of ​​poplar trees!
As for the Shilazi, it is right below the ridge on the Yinpo Mountain, but it is very small, with gravel and pebbles everywhere!”

“Let’s go to Shilazi first!” Uncle Zhao did not hesitate to climb up the shady slope.

Yue Feng followed immediately with Canglong, put on his shoes again, and climbed up the ridge holding on to a small tree on the shady side of the slope.

Standing on the ridge and looking south, you can see large and small broken stones and pebbles exposed in many places at the bottom of the ditches and ponds.

There is almost no soil in these places, so there is only sporadic vegetation, and most of it is inconspicuous stones.

Grandpa Zhao stood on the ridge and looked around. He didn’t find anything unusual, then he went down along the sunny slope to the bottom of Shilazi Pond.

This kind of terrain has no cover or markings. If there is really a person buried there, it would be difficult to find him by sight.

But when I came out, I specifically reminded myself to bring Canglong with me, and now it comes in handy.

“Canglong, look around to see if there is any rotten meat!” Uncle Zhao called out to the dog.

On weekdays, when the old man takes his dog for a stroll in the mountains every day, he will play this kind of hide-and-seek game, which is mainly to exercise the dog’s sense of smell.

As soon as the command was given, Canglong immediately started sniffing around excitedly.

A human’s sense of smell is far inferior to that of a dog. The person standing next to the rock couldn’t smell anything, but after Canglong gave the command, he sniffed here and there, and soon stopped next to two stones more than a meter and a half high.

Wang Wang Wang!
The dog smelled the stench, then lowered its body, and used its front paws to dig in the pile of stones, barking non-stop.

“Found it!!”

Uncle Zhao knew what was going on as soon as he saw the dog’s reaction, and he immediately pulled Yue Feng and walked over quickly.

When I got a few meters away, a faint stench of decay floated in the air.

Most of the stones in the shale are large and small stones. It is convenient to use them to bury corpses, but they are not very effective in isolating odors.

Yue Feng walked up to him, bent down and was about to pick up the stone, but was stopped by Uncle Zhao.

“What’s wrong, sir?”

“There must be someone buried underneath, but I don’t recommend that we start digging!” Uncle Zhao said with a serious expression.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Compared to the old man, Yue Feng’s thinking is obviously not divergent enough.

We finally found the buried person. We should dig him out as soon as possible so that at least our third brother can rest in peace.

Now that the body has been found, Uncle Hat will pay more attention to it.

“We followed them all the way here! Apart from that footprint, we didn’t find any useful traces!
If we dig the person out and find him, but there is no trace on the body that could indicate the murderer, what can we do even if we call the police?

Is the evidence enough for Uncle Hat to arrest Zhou Yuanchao?” Uncle Zhao’s words were like a bucket of cold water, pouring cold water over Yue Feng.

Without evidence, there is no way to convict, and without a conviction, there is no way to prosecute Zhou Yuanchao.

Just like playing chess, it is not a smart move for a player to rashly get into a stalemate without the ability to kill the general.

“We can’t find the body anyway. Are we just going to leave without even taking a look? What if there are some useful traces?” Yue Feng muttered in his heart, a little unconvinced.

Uncle Zhao glanced at Yue Feng with a deep gaze and said, “You are right.

Given your character, you must take a look at it after going through so much trouble to find it, but you should also take the reminder I just gave you seriously!
You have to promise me that if we dig out the person and there is no evidence to bring Zhou Yuanchao to justice, you will let the third brother continue to lie here!
Although your relationship with Zhou Yuanchao is not harmonious now, it has not yet reached the point where it is irreconcilable. For Liu Laosan, it is not worth taking this risk!”

“Okay! You have the final say!” When Yue Feng heard the old man agree, he immediately nodded and agreed.

Humans are selfish animals. Although Yue Feng still has a sense of justice, he is not a pedantic person. He still understands the principle of choosing the lesser of two evils.

“Take Canglong with you and go to the ridge to keep watch. I’ll do this job myself!” Uncle Zhao said, pointing at the ridge.

Yue Feng felt warmed at heart when he heard this. He originally wanted to argue and fight for it, but when he saw the old man’s sharp gaze, he obediently led the dog and climbed towards the ridge.

Soon, Uncle Zhao got busy.

They pushed away the huge rock that was pressing on top, and then picked up the broken stones piece by piece and put them to the side. In less than half an hour, the body of Liu Laosan, wrapped in leg bandages, saw the light of day again.

Liu Laosan’s body was not exposed to direct sunlight, but the temperature was high during the day and the degree of decay was quite severe.

Faced with these smelly corpses, Uncle Zhao seemed not to be able to smell the stench and carefully examined the corpses.

There were no gunshot wounds, nor were there any neat fatal wounds caused by sharp blades. Judging from the condition of the wounds, it seemed more likely that Liu Laosan had been mauled to death by the blind bear’s sharp canine teeth.

After checking, Uncle Zhao planned to restore the stone to its original state and bury it back.

Just as a small stone nearby was being moved, an inconspicuous silver kerosene lighter appeared under the stone.

Uncle Zhao casually put the lighter aside, quickly put all the stones of different sizes back to their original positions, held the lighter between two fingers, and walked towards Yue Feng who was taking a walk.

“How is it, uncle? Have you figured out anything?” Yue Feng asked impatiently as he watched the old man climb up the ridge.

“The man was mauled to death by a blind bear. His head, face, neck, and abdomen all had marks from the bear’s canine teeth!
No signs of bullet or knife injuries were found!

By the way, does Liu Laosan smoke? I found a kerosene lighter under the rock next to the body! “

As he spoke, Uncle Zhao bent down, picked a grass leaf, and placed the lighter on the leaf.

This is a Sunflower brand kerosene lighter. The outer shell is made of aluminum. The surface is stained with dirt so it looks a bit dirty. It emits a faint odor when held in the hand.

Liu Laosan likes to drink a lot when he has nothing to do, but he really doesn’t smoke.

In the countryside at that time, ordinary people lived a tight life, and smoking was not as common as it is in later generations.

Yue Feng held the lighter in his hand through the leaves and examined it for a few seconds. On the bottom side of the oil tank, he found a very small word “Lan” engraved on it.

Zhou Yuanchao’s wife was named Wang Mulan, and this name seems to fit!
“This looks like Zhou Yuanchao’s lighter!!” Yue Feng said.

“Let’s leave here first, find a place to wash your hands, and then talk about it when we get back!” Uncle Zhao didn’t respond, turned around and returned along the same path.

The stench of a dead body is very distinct, and although the old man was careful enough, some of the smell was still on his hands.

When we got to the Erguniang Spring, we rubbed the grass leaves and dirt together and finally got rid of most of the unpleasant smell.

The lighter was also cleaned in water. Yue Feng took the lighter back as a possible key evidence.

After the two men and the dog returned to the farm, the old man washed them repeatedly with pig pancreas soap many times before the smell was washed away.

After washing his hands, the old man took Yue Feng into the house.

“If you listen to my advice, it’s better to keep it under control!” Uncle Zhao gave his thoughts leisurely.

“Could it be that Liu Laosan was not killed by Zhou Yuanchao, but was accidentally bitten to death by a bear?”

After listening to the autopsy report of the old man not long ago, Yue Feng’s attitude was a little dazed at the moment.

“There is no doubt that the man was killed by a bear. The irregular wounds left by the black bear’s canine teeth cannot be faked!

However, Zhou must have killed the person, otherwise, he would not have buried the body to cover up the traces!

The older generation of hunters often say that when brothers go up the mountain to hunt, they must be of one mind and one horse. This is what they mean!
It is difficult to save someone in the mountains, but it is easy to harm someone!
Even if this matter is brought to the attention of the authorities, there is a high probability that Zhou Yuanchao will be acquitted, or he may be released after being detained for just one or two years!
But, if we do that, we will completely offend him!! “(End of this chapter)