"What? I'll go take a look. I never felt entirely settled about this village; I need to properly investigate its history later." Zhou Huan left the courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back, heading toward the Marriage Tree.

Dongzi ran up, panting heavily, but Zhou Huan followed at an unhurried pace, unconcerned: "Let me see, who drew those little red marks!"

"Brother, look, except for Da Luobo (Big Radish) Li Cuicui, everyone else has a little red mark on them, and Sister Xiaoling's mark is the thickest." Dongzi sounded both anxious and angry.

Zhou Huan looked, then smiled: "This is really something. I refuse to believe anyone would dare cause us trouble here. Who have we offended in this village? However…" Zhou Huan glanced back at Yang Xiaoling, "Your grandfather was an old soldier; given his mindset, he shouldn't have made enemies either. It must be someone with a grudge against your family."

"Our family has no grudges against anyone. On the contrary, Grandpa often helped others!" As Yang Xiaoling spoke, her eyes suddenly flashed: "Right, I remember something. The last time I saw Grandpa, he mentioned treating a patient just like Third Brother Yang, but then I left. Looking at the scene in the house just now, someone must have been fighting with Grandpa over the prescription. What could their motive be?"

"Greed for money!" Zhou Huan stated firmly. "Didn't Da Luobo just say that the Village Head claimed people had to donate money to the big tree to be cured? It seems our esteemed Village Head needs to explain the trickery here. Furthermore, if you look closely at the ink marks on that sign, you can tell the red marks and the name I wrote were made with the same pen. This morning when I used that pen, I felt some of the bristles were missing. This annoying smudging issue is the same as this morning's. Who do you think drew this?"

"The Village Head?" Yang Xiaoling couldn't believe it. "Brother Huan, could the Village Head do something like this?"

"Greed, or murder for greed. Since they've already sentenced us to death, we might as well go with the flow and see what they're up to. Let's go back; we'll make dumplings tonight." Just as they were about to leave, Zhou Huan turned back. "Oh, Xiaoling, use your grandfather's camera to draw out every stroke and every red mark on that sign. I need to think about that medicine carefully back at the house. Third Brother Yang probably won't last much longer."

After Xiaoling took the pictures, Zhou Huan led the group toward the old house. Da Luobo was covered in soot, but the kang (heated brick bed) was already warm. The group collapsed onto the kang and slept soundly until the sun blazed high at noon. Zhou Huan was the first to stir. He circled the house and found a crumbling adobe brick behind the structure that allowed access to the roof. Since it was an old house, the roof tiles could be lifted, revealing the main beams beneath.

When Dongzi woke up, Da Luobo was gone. The young lad panicked: "Where did Da Luobo go? That girl is even slicker than me; she ran off as fast as she arrived. Ah, women!" Just as he thought this, someone came running in breathlessly from outside. Da Luobo walked in carrying a bag of flour, a large bundle of vegetables, and a big slab of pork, heading straight for the kitchen.

"Dongzi, come help. Slept enough?" Da Luobo’s eyesight was indeed sharp; she spotted Dongzi getting off the kang easily.

Meanwhile, Zhou Huan had climbed onto the roof using the adobe brick. He moved slowly, and his feet barely disturbed the surface, making no sound at all. Zhou Huan had a plan forming in his mind. He then returned to the room, seeing Da Luobo and Dongzi busy mincing meat and preparing dumpling filling.

Yang Xiaoling woke up later, being a girl and perhaps more inclined to cling to the warm kang. When she got up, Zhou Huan and Dongzi had already folded the quilts and placed them at the end of the kang. Grandpa's clothes still lay at the head of the kang; no one had touched them.

It was past noon, but not yet evening, and the group had already wrapped a huge batch of dumplings—enough for everyone, including Yang San, who was still sound asleep on the kang.

Zhou Huan slapped Yang San awake: "Wake up, time for dumplings!"

"Dumplings! Wonderful!" Zhou Huan was startled again by Yang San’s voice.

What was happening? Yang San’s voice had reverted to that of a child, and his eyes held the vacant look of a toddler.

"Yang San, do you know who I am?" Zhou Huan leaned his face close to Yang San’s.

Yang San looked at Zhou Huan and shook his head sharply: "Don't know. I just want dumplings. I want dumplings!" Little Yang San started throwing a childish tantrum.

Zhou Huan smiled: "Alright, we'll eat dumplings. Here, let this uncle help you wash your face first, then come eat."

"En!" Yang San now displayed pure childlike innocence, a stark contrast to the masculine tone he’d used earlier.

When the dumplings were ready, everyone sat cross-legged on the kang to eat. Of course, eating dumplings required vinegar—a Chinese custom.

Yang San sat at the head of the kang; being the youngest, everyone doted on him.

Watching Yang San’s regression, Zhou Huan felt a deep unease. He said quietly, "If he sleeps another night on that hot kang, this fellow might just roll right back into his mother's womb."

"Brother Huan, what should we do?"

"Let's eat first. I'll study this in the afternoon and then make arrangements." After they finished the dumplings, only Yang San remained. He ate one plate after another, nearly drinking the entire bottle of vinegar. Finally, he erupted in fury, throwing the vinegar bottle everywhere, spilling a lot onto the kang.

"Your clothes! You child, you…" Yang Xiaoling was slightly agitated. Seeing the child spill vinegar all over the clothes, she was naturally displeased; those were her grandfather's things, and she cherished them.

Suddenly, Zhou Huan realized a crucial point: "Right, Xiaoling, your grandfather was always so tidy; why would he leave this military uniform lying on the kang? Was there no space in the wardrobe?"

"I don't know, but that's true. Grandpa never had this habit; he always put his clothes away in his closet."

As Yang Xiaoling finished speaking, Zhou Huan began turning the grandfather's clothes over vigorously. Finally, he uncovered a large patch that seemed stained. Zhou Huan sniffed it, then picked up the vinegar bottle and poured the remaining vinegar over the clothes. He then bent down to examine it closely.

Yang Xiaoling moved Yang San to the side and then leaned close to Zhou Huan, looking at her grandfather's favorite garment.

"Xiaoling, look here. There are several very distinct, large stains. If I'm not mistaken, these should be bloodstains. With such a large patch of blood, your grandfather must have already been injured when he wore this uniform." Zhou Huan currently resembled a detective, analyzing the problem with sharp clarity.

"Then that means Grandpa was definitely murdered at home, right?" Yang Xiaoling guessed.

Zhou Huan mused: "This matter has become simpler. We now have a rough sequence of events." Then Zhou Huan laid out his analysis.

"First: Grandpa's death was definitely a homicide, not suicide, and the location of death was under the Wangba Stone (Turtle Stone).

"Second: When Grandpa was at home, he must have been trying to save that person who shrank, causing a conflict of interest with certain individuals.

"Third: The Village Head must be involved with the people connected to this; he is the primary suspect, due to his suspicious demeanor when we met him this morning, and the handwriting on the Marriage Sign.

"Fourth: The photograph in the camera is very likely the very thing that caused Grandpa's fatal misfortune."

After Zhou Huan's analysis, Yang Xiaoling was lost and unsure what to do. She asked Zhou Huan, "Brother Huan, if your analysis is correct, what should be our very first step?"

"The first step is to prove there was an issue between the Village Head and Grandpa. Since he could use the red pen to mark our names, I will perform a play for him, and he will confess himself. This will require Da Luobo’s help, and I'll also need to summon some lonely spirits to assist."

"That's easy. Da Luobo is straightforward and decisive. Just tell her what to do," Yang Xiaoling said, knowing Da Luobo well. Her greatest virtue was never betraying a friend, but her flaw was being too easily betrayed by friends.

Subsequently, Zhou Huan and Yang Xiaoling finalized a plan in private. Then Zhou Huan returned to the room and immediately called out to Dongzi: "Come here, Brother has something for you to do."