Chapter 3 — Debt Note

Without hesitation, I directly ordered the coffin to be opened. Truong Tu Dong shouted to stop, but it was too late. The coffin lid was opened, and at the same time, a strong earthy smell arose. The next second, Truong Tu Dong's face turned pale, his hands drooped helplessly next to the wheelchair. Dao Dao was also so stressed that she was sweating, her hair on both temples was wet, and her whole body was stiff. Everyone was angry and cursed at me, constantly demanding to call the police to take me away. But the next second, everyone was silent. No one could even say a word. Because they discovered... This coffin is empty! There's nothing inside!

“Why is that so?”

“Where are you?”

"What's going on? Obviously I saw Van Phuong being buried with my own eyes at that time!"

“Finally…!”

Everyone was talking then suddenly fell silent. All eyes turned to Truong Tu Dong. As if waiting for him to give an explanation. I smiled softly, slowly pointing to the empty coffin:

“Truong Tu Dong, you told me to ask Van Phuong for money.”

"Now we can't even find the body, so what about the money?"

But no matter what I said, Truong Tu Dong still kept a cold expression. No matter how people questioned him, he just pursed his lips and refused to open his mouth. Finally, the village chief couldn't bear it anymore and directly pushed him.

“Ask me!”

“Where is Van Phuong's body?”

“Where have you gone?!”

Truong Tu Dong shivered, then suddenly screamed in pain. He held his head, as if crazy.

“Body, body!”

“I don't know where it is!”

“Don't ask me! Don't ask me anymore!”

Standing next to her, Dao Dao also panicked and burst into tears.

"Where's mom? Where's my mom?"

"You're all bad guys! Go away, go away!"

After speaking, she ran into the kitchen, pulled out a knife, and waved it repeatedly, wanting to chase us away. Luckily, the village chief promptly called a few strong men to hold her tightly. I pointed at Dao Dao's face and said coldly:

“I will calculate your debt later.”

The people around didn't understand what I meant, but Dao Dao heard clearly. It pulled back, glanced at me secretly, then immediately turned its head in another direction. I took a deep breath and looked straight at Truong Tu Dong.

“Truong Tu Dong, I ask you one last time.”

"Where is Van Phuong's body?"

The village chief was also impatient. After all, he is the village leader. He should have understood everything big and small in the village. Now that the body suddenly disappeared, of course he couldn't stand by and watch. But Truong Tu Dong seemed to have made up his mind and refused to say anything. I smiled coldly and slowly spoke:

“If you don't say it, then let me say it for you?”

Just as he finished speaking, Truong Tu Dong suddenly raised his head and looked at me.

“You're not dead, right?”

A short sentence, but it left everyone present there dumbfounded.

“What did you say?”

"Not dead? How is that possible?"

"That's right! On the day Van Phuong was buried, I even came to help!"

Truong Tu Dong angrily gritted his teeth:

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

The village chief also found it hard to believe, frowned and said:

“Ngo Le Le, just because the body was not found, are you sure that the person is not dead?”

“Isn't it too wild?”

I smiled coldly and slowly said:

“The day Van Phuong was buried, I paid for the burial.”

“It's me also saw her buried with my own eyes.”

To be more precise, this coffin was bought by me. That day, I was in a meeting at the company when I suddenly received a phone call from Truong Tu Dong, informing me that Van Phuong had passed away. When I rushed there, Dao Dao rushed into my arms, sobbing.

“Aunt Le Le, my mother is no more!”

“My mother is no more!”

I still remember the scene of her crying bitterly that day. Using the word "engraved in the heart" to describe it is not an exaggeration.

“Don't bet!”

"Van Phuong's body disappeared, I don't know why!"

“I am also a victim!”

“Have you ever… been stolen by someone?”

Truong Tu Dong thought for a long time before trying to come up with a reason. Everyone also nodded along:

“Recently, I heard that there was a case of body theft in the neighboring village.”

"Van Phuong buried it shallowly, it's very possible that it was stolen!"

I shook my head and looked around curiously.

“Everyone says Van Phuong is dead.”

“But has anyone actually seen her body with their own eyes?”

Those who were certain immediately became hesitant.

“When I arrived, I saw Van Phuong lying in the coffin, I hadn't seen the body yet.”

“I don't seem to see it either.”

“Me too, when the village chief called me to help, it was time to prepare for the burial.”

I remained very calm and continued to ask.

“Who was the first person to be at Truong Tu Dong's house?”

Everyone shook their heads, indicating that it was not them. Only the village chief frowned:

“It's me.”

“I was the first to arrive.”

He paused for a moment, then continued:

"I received a phone call from Truong Tu Dong, saying that Van Phuong was in trouble."

“That's why I came.”

“When I arrived, the coffin was already closed.”

As soon as this sentence ended, everyone around was immediately stunned. That means, besides Truong Tu Dong and Dao Dao, no one has ever seen Van Phuong's body. I gently tapped on Truong Tu Dong's wheelchair handle, my voice firm:

"Van Phuong is not actually dead, right?"

Before coming here to collect debt, I thought back to the whole incident that happened on the day Van Phuong 'died'. At six o'clock that morning, I suddenly received a phone call from Truong Tu Dong. He asked me to borrow ten thousand yuan. Because I knew their situation, I did not hesitate, nor did I ask too many questions, but transferred the money immediately. Then, at ten o'clock in the morning, while I was in a meeting, Truong Tu Dong called again. This time, he announced that Van Phuong had passed away. When I arrived at the scene, he told me that the money he borrowed in the morning was to buy a coffin. I stared at Truong Tu Dong, but he also became more and more panicked.

“No, it's not like that!”

“Van Phuong is dead! She's dead!”

The last sentence, he almost screamed. Anyone with eyes could see that something was wrong, and neighbors also noticed the problem.

“Truong Tu Dong, what is the meaning of this?”

“Is Van Phuong not dead yet?”

The village chief kept calm:

“If she isn't dead, then where is she now?”

“Your family is so poor, where can she go?”

Hearing that, I glanced around. The house is so small that you can see the whole thing with just a glance. Shabby, messy, no place to hide people.

“There is truly nowhere to hide.”

“So why did Van Phuong fake his death?”

“Too strange strange!"

“That's right, no one wants to die!”

Everyone talked incessantly, while Truong Tu Dong's face became increasingly worse. Sweat poured down his forehead.

“Stop talking! Stop talking!”

“Ngo Le Le, how long are you going to cause trouble?!”

“Van Phuong is dead!”

“It's true!”

I raised my voice and said every word:

“Van Phuong is not dead!”

“Not only is she not dead, but you!”

After speaking, I deliberately stopped for a moment, then took out a small wooden hammer from my pocket.

“You have another secret, right?”

As soon as she saw that, Dao Dao immediately rushed towards me. I didn't have time to take precautions, but luckily the village chief quickly caught me, so I didn't fall. Dao Dao spread his arms wide, blocking Truong Tu Dong's face.

“Don't bully your dad!”

I ignored her and directly exposed the truth.

“Truong Tu Dong, there's actually no problem with your leg, right?”

"You're not inherently disabled, right?"

While everyone was still stunned, I swung the hammer up and knocked it straight down on his knee. The hammer fell precisely, just touching the knee. Following knee reflex, his leg immediately jerked slightly.