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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Four
The police station at midnight was as cold as an iron cage. Li Guofu curled up on the iron bed, but the bone-chilling cold could not dispel the burning heat within him. The stench of rotten fish clung to him like a nightmare, making him gag with every breath. He sat up suddenly, sweat soaking his clothes, fear crashing around in his chest, nearly tearing him apart.
"Clang!"
The blinding light pierced the darkness like a sword. Li Guofu instinctively shielded his eyes, huddling like a cornered beast being hunted.
"What the hell! Who's making noise in the middle of the night?" The On-Duty Officer roughly pushed open the iron door and snapped impatiently.
Li Guofu trembled, his lips quivering as he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, "Officer... there's... a ghost..."
The On-Duty Officer scoffed derisively, eyeing Li Guofu with skepticism. "A ghost? You must be joking! This is a police station, the place with the strongest yang energy—where would a ghost come from? You’re not trying to feign madness to escape responsibility, are you?"
"N-no... it's not that... I really... I smelled something... like... like rotten fish... it’s so foul... so foul..." Li Guofu stammered, fear rendering his thoughts nearly incoherent.
The On-Duty Officer waved his hand dismissively. "Enough with the nonsense! Just go to sleep!" With that, he slammed the iron door shut, plunging Li Guofu back into darkness, leaving only the sound of his rapid breathing echoing in the confined space.
Morning sunlight streamed through the iron bars, casting mottled shadows on the floor. Li Guofu slowly opened his eyes, the terror from last night still vivid in his mind, sending chills down his spine.
"Li Guofu, come out!"
The iron door swung open again, revealing a young officer standing at the threshold with a document in hand and a serious expression on his face.
Li Guofu's heart sank suddenly, a sense of foreboding washing over him. Anxiously, he stood up and followed the officer out of the holding room.
"We've found new evidence," the Young Officer said, handing a file to Li Guofu. "This was found on the Hunchbacked Old Man you hit."
Li Guofu trembled as he took the file, revealing a photograph of an ancient-looking golden toad pendant, caked in dirt and blood. It seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't recall where he had seen it before.
"What... what is this?" Li Guofu's voice was dry, as if stuck in his throat.
"The forensic team extracted DNA from this pendant. After comparison, it matches perfectly with that of Lin Xiaomei, the university student who went missing three months ago," the Young Officer's tone grew heavy, his gaze sharp as he fixed it on Li Guofu.
Li Guofu felt as if struck by lightning; images of the White Skirt Girl he had seen that night flashed through his mind, along with the overlapping shadows on the windshield... Could it be... could it really be...
"This... this can't be possible..." he murmured, his face turning pale in an instant.
"Moreover," the Young Officer paused, pulling out a bloodstained diary from the folder, "we recovered a backpack from below the cliff. This was inside."
Li Guofu shook as he took the diary, opening to the first page where neat handwriting greeted him, laced with a hint of despair.
"July 15th, Grandpa, today is your death anniversary. I miss you so much..."
"I'm wearing your favorite old clothes to pay tribute at the place where you had your accident..."
"Driver, why did you run away? Why..."
"I... do I have to become a wandering spirit like Grandpa...?"
The contents of the diary pierced Li Guofu's heart like a sharp knife. He recalled the night he collided with the Hunchbacked Old Man, remembering the tattered clothes the old man wore... Could it be that he had not hit just anyone, but Lin Xiaomei's grandfather?!
"Officer... I..." Li Guofu wanted to explain, but found his throat choked up, unable to say anything.
"Li Guofu," the Young Officer's voice was deep and powerful, "do you have anything else to say?"
Li Guofu was filled with fear and regret as he looked at the diary in his hands, as if he could see Lin Xiaomei's desperate eyes and hear her helpless cries.
"Officer... I... I..." He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Is there anything else you are hiding?" the Young Officer pressed, his gaze piercing.
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