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Raksasa Eye
墨書 Inktalez
Since I can remember, my right eye has been blind.
Though it is blind, I can still see things—things that others cannot.
Rain fell like fine threads over the sky of Spring City in the fifteenth year of the Republic, pattering against the dark roof tiles of Wu Mansion. Lin Mingchang treaded on the damp redwood staircase, following Butler Feng to the study on the second floor. He wore a navy blue suit jacket over a white shirt, the collar slightly disheveled, exuding an air of fatigue as if he had been summoned overnight to handle a case.
As one of the few detectives who had returned from studying abroad at the Spring City Police Station, Lin Mingchang had grown accustomed to being assigned to tackle those "tricky cases."
"This is it, Officer Lin," the elderly Old Butler said as he pushed open the intricately carved redwood door.
The sight inside the study made Lin Mingchang frown slightly. The decor was quite tasteful; the redwood bookshelves were exquisitely carved, and a brass desk lamp still glowed on the desk, casting a dim yellow light that illuminated the distorted face of the deceased. Wu Hongzhi, the third-generation head of a renowned silk family in Spring City, lay curled up on the floor of the study. His eyes were wide open, and his mouth was agape, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying in life.
"The evidence has been preserved quite well." Lin Mingchang surveyed his surroundings, donned white gloves, and crouched down to examine the body closely. Two accompanying officers were already recording details of the scene, while a forensic doctor in a Western-style white coat was inspecting the corpse.
"Have you found anything yet, Liu?" Lin Mingchang asked the forensic doctor.
"Just a preliminary examination; I can't determine the cause of death yet," Doctor Liu shook his head. "There are no obvious external injuries or strangulation marks. If I had to guess, I would say it might be cardiac arrest due to extreme fright."
Lin Mingchang turned to Butler Feng. "Who discovered the body?"
"It was Young Mistress," Butler Feng replied softly. "Last night, Young Master didn’t return to his room for rest; he said he would be in the study reviewing some accounts. This morning, when Young Mistress came to bring tea... she found him already..."
Lin Mingchang nodded and continued to examine the deceased. Wu Hongzhi was wearing a silk robe, and his right hand was clenched into a fist. Lin Mingchang noticed that his knuckles were pale, as if he had exerted all his strength to grasp something tightly.
"Help me open his hand."
With Liu's assistance, Lin Mingchang carefully pried open the deceased's stiff fingers. A crumpled piece of paper suddenly appeared in his palm, upon which five trembling characters were written: "The Person in the Painting is Alive."
What does this mean? Lin Mingchang tucked the note into his jacket pocket and scanned the room again; there were indeed several paintings hanging on the wall, but they were all ordinary landscapes and floral scenes without anything particularly special.
"Has anything unusual happened here recently?"
Butler Feng opened his mouth and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Young Master... has been saying lately that someone has been secretly watching him."
"Did he mention who it was?" Lin Mingchang pressed.
"He said... it was someone from the painting," Butler Feng replied quietly. "I think the young master is just exhausted and hallucinating."
Lin Mingchang sensed that the Old Butler seemed to have more to say. "Butler Feng, is there anything else I should know?"
Butler Feng hesitated, then sighed, "Officer Lin, our young master has a younger brother, Wu Hongwen. He just returned from Shanghai recently and had a bit of a disagreement with the young master over some property issues."
"What kind of disagreement? Please elaborate."
"To be honest, I'm not entirely clear on the specifics. It seems that the young master had some trouble with his pawnshop business in Shanghai and incurred some debts. He came back this time hoping the young master would help him pay them off. The two brothers argued quite fiercely and almost came to blows..."
The sound of rain intensified outside as Lin Mingchang walked to the window, gazing at the blurred courtyard.
At that moment, a cry echoed from downstairs. Lin Mingchang exchanged glances with the butler and quickly descended the stairs.
In the main hall, a woman in a black qipao was weeping over a table. "Hongzhi! How could you leave us, your widow and orphans? If I had known this house was haunted, we would have moved out sooner..."
The butler introduced her softly, "This is our Young Mistress, the Yu."
The Yu looked up, her tear-filled eyes meeting Lin Mingchang's and the Old Butler's. "Officer, my husband... he never had any heart problems! He was taken by the ghost in the painting!"
Lin Mingchang was taken aback. "Ghost in the painting?"
"Yes! Absolutely!" The Yu exclaimed passionately. "My husband has been talking to himself in the study lately, saying that the people in the painting have come to life... Uncle Feng! Where is the master I asked you to find? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"
Lin Mingchang raised an eyebrow. "Master? What master?"
"A master named Shen. She is a well-known Wang Qi Master in Spring City and is said to be best at exorcising evil spirits and ensuring peace in homes."
Lin Mingchang felt speechless; as a well-educated detective, he usually scoffed at such superstitions. However... this case certainly had an air of mystery about it.
"This is your family matter; as long as it doesn't interfere with my investigation, you may handle it as you see fit."
That afternoon, as the rain eased slightly, a black rickshaw stopped at the gate of Wu Mansion.
A young woman dressed in a gray long gown stepped out. She was slender, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a black eye patch over her right eye while her left eye shone brightly with clarity and calmness.
The Yu rushed forward to grasp the young woman's hand. "Oh, Master Shen, you’ve finally arrived!"
Old Butler introduced her to Lin Mingchang. "Officer Lin, this is the expert I mentioned before, Master Shen Tong."
"Miss Shen," Lin Mingchang said, nodding coldly.
Shen Tong seemed accustomed to this attitude and returned a faint nod in greeting. The Yu, pulling Shen Tong inside, chattered on, "Master Shen, my family's old house is quite eerie! I’ve been saying we should sell this old place and buy a new western-style building, but my husband just won’t listen..."
"Could you take me to see the deceased's room first?" Shen Tong interrupted the Yu, getting straight to the point.
Lin Mingchang chuckled inwardly; it seemed this "Wang Qi Master" was not a talkative person, which was good—at least it wouldn’t waste too much time.
The Yu led Shen Tong toward the study, with Lin Mingchang following closely behind. He squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the "expert" walking ahead of him. Throughout his career, he had encountered too many frauds claiming to be "spiritual mediums," but this Shen Tong felt... different.
She appeared very young, perhaps in her mid-twenties, moving with a lightness that belied her age, exuding a calmness in her every gesture.
"What does Miss Shen do for a living?" Lin Mingchang asked tentatively.
"Wang Qi—calming the house," she replied succinctly. Her answer was unusually brief; indeed, she was quite reticent...
Arriving at the door of the study, Lin Mingchang stepped past Shen Tong and the Yu, pushing open the door and gesturing for Shen Tong to enter carefully. "The deceased was found here."
Shen Tong walked into the room and stood quietly at the entrance, surveying the entire space.
"There have been more than one death in this room," she said softly.
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