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墨書 Inktalez
"Damn it, it must be Old Six's doing," Qian San growled, clutching the few strands of hair left on his head. "The things we brought out from the tomb must have been taken by that guy. We need to hurry back; we might still catch this traitor."
With that, Qian San stood up and was about to leave.
However, Qian Er grabbed his younger brother, pulling his sparse hair together. "This isn't as simple as it seems. We've had the items for a while now; why did Old Six choose today to act? What's different about today compared to other times?"
Qian Er's words hinted at suspicion, and I understood the implication—he was doubting us.
Hearing Qian Er's remarks, Wei Erge and the others turned to look at me and Guan Zengbin.
Qian Er continued, "But Sister Zhao just arrived yesterday."
Zhao Mingkun shot a glance at Qian Er and replied coolly, "If there's an issue, we can discuss it when we get back."
"What about San'er’s body?" Big Egg, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.
Everyone turned their gaze to Wei Erge, the leader of our group, who could only wait for him to make a decision. Wei Erge glanced at me and then at Zhao Mingkun. It seemed Qian Er's words had made an impact; whether or not Wei Erge believed me at this moment, the seed of distrust had already been planted in his mind.
"What do you think, Qian Er?" Wei Erge asked, uncertain about what to do next.
Qian Er surveyed the chaotic crowd below and said, "First, we need to retrieve San'er’s body. Then we must prevent them from calling the police. Ghost Marriage is one thing; a dead body is a serious matter. If they report it, we’ll never be able to bring San'er’s body back."
"What should we do now?" Big Egg looked down the mountain with concern. "How can we get the body back?"
Qian Er smiled slightly. "We’ll pretend to be police."
Twenty minutes later.
"We received a report; what happened here?" Qian Er addressed the still-chaotic crowd.
The crowd was in a state of panic. Upon hearing Qian Er's words, they believed him without question. The Groom's Mother said, "I don't know. This coffin was supposed to contain my son. I have no idea how it ended up like this. We don't recognize this person at all."
"Alright!" Qian Er replied. "Take the body away; we will investigate when we return."
With that, several people lifted the coffin and began to leave.
"Hey, what are you doing?" someone attempted to intervene.
"What are you doing, obstructing justice?" Zhao Mingkun pulled out his gun.
No one dared to move.
Guan Zengbin and I were watched by Qian San, unable to make any unnecessary moves.
Suddenly, a chilling wind swept through, extinguishing all the candles in the shed. Darkness enveloped the area; only the faint moonlight allowed us to see a few meters ahead. Beyond that distance, we could barely make out silhouettes, and nothing else was visible.
The crowd erupted into chaos, shouting in alarm.
A haunting melody drifted from the shed—a voice I recognized all too well. It was the same tune sung by the female corpse when she sat in the palanquin. What I didn't expect was for that voice to resurface now.
Was the dead singing again?
"That's the song! That's the song!" someone shouted from the crowd. "She's back! She's back!"
"Run! Run! Chu Mei is back! Chu Mei is back!" another voice cried out.
Upon hearing these words, the villagers seemed to go mad, rushing outside in fear of this person named Chu Mei.
"Go!" Qian Er shouted.
Taking advantage of the chaos, everyone lifted the coffin and headed towards the county.
Half an hour later, we returned to the courtyard.
Wei Erge closed the main gate tightly and turned to say, "Collect their phones!"
Without hesitation, I handed over my phone and patted Guan Zengbin on the shoulder, signaling him to do the same. This was not the time to clash with these Grave Robbers, especially since Gu Chen was not here. I couldn't take them on; it was better to assess the situation first.
Seeing that I was somewhat cooperative, Wei Erge didn't make things difficult for me. He simply said, "Brother Wu, you know how things are right now. The Qian Er Brothers are decent; Old Six has been with us for over ten years. This isn't something we just got yesterday. It seems things aren't that simple. Until we get to the bottom of this, let's cooperate."
I nodded and smiled, saying, "Of course, but I just arrived here today."
Wei Erge understood my meaning and patted my shoulder without saying anything further.
"Sister Zhao." Wei Erge walked over to Zhao Mingkun and extended a hand.
Zhao Mingkun smiled widely, her dimples making her look quite charming. She placed her handgun in Wei Erge's outstretched hand, but before he could grip it firmly, Zhao Mingkun suddenly lifted her knee and kicked Wei Erge in the stomach. He doubled over in pain and fell to the ground.
No one expected Zhao Mingkun to strike so suddenly; Big Egg was the first among them to react. As Wei Erge bent down, Big Egg charged at Zhao Mingkun. True to his name, Big Egg was round and large; if he collided with Zhao Mingkun, she would surely be in trouble.
However, Zhao Mingkun was much quicker. With a swift kick, she struck Big Egg in the ribs, causing him to roll on the ground in agony.
Without pausing after that blow, Zhao Mingkun stepped forward and placed a foot on Qian San's neck, pinning him against the wall. Qian Er raised his fist to attack Zhao Mingkun from behind, but in the next moment, her gun was already pressed against his head.
This series of actions seemed complex when described but happened almost instantaneously. By the time I reacted, two were lying on the ground while the other two were already under Zhao Mingkun's control.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead with one hand, Zhao Mingkun said calmly, "Suspect me? The money I gave you is probably worth more than what's in that tomb. The brain is a wonderful thing; I hope you all have one. If either I or this brother were behind this mess, we would have taken the opportunity to escape while on the mountain."
"Come here and help me take their weapons," Zhao Mingkun beckoned me with her finger.
I nodded and retrieved a dagger from several individuals, along with my own phone and Guan Zengbin's.
All four daggers were of the same design.
I couldn't help but marvel inwardly; Zhao Mingkun was indeed no ordinary woman. Just moments ago, we had been at a complete disadvantage, yet in an instant, we found ourselves in control. I took back what I had previously said—this woman, Zhao Mingkun, could easily take on five of me without breaking a sweat.
Zhao Mingkun sat on the coffin, holstered her gun, and said, "I want you to understand that if I wanted to kill you, it would be no different than squashing a few bugs. Brother, bring me the dagger and see if the wound on his neck was caused by this kind of dagger."
I approached the coffin and examined the corpse inside.
There was no doubt that the deceased was San'er. At this moment, he was completely drenched in his own blood. Aside from a wound on his throat, there were no other injuries on San'er's body. This indicated that the fatal wound was indeed at his throat.
Using the light from the room, I carefully inspected the wound on the deceased's throat. Upon closer examination, I could see that it was deep and long, clearly not something that could be inflicted by such a short dagger.
Zhao Mingkun took the dagger I handed her and asked, "Do all of you Six Brothers have one of these knives?"
Although Wei Erge had been thoroughly beaten by Zhao Mingkun, he recognized her prowess and could only reply sullenly, "Yes, we all have one."
Zhao Mingkun nodded and pulled out a pair of gloves from her pocket before starting to examine San'er's corpse. She first touched the wound on San'er's throat with her fingers and then continued to search his body.
"The one who killed San'er didn't use this kind of dagger; it looks more like something akin to a cleaver," Zhao Mingkun observed while examining the body. "But San'er's dagger is missing; the Murderer took it."
Next, Zhao Mingkun looked at the coffin lid, and I followed her gaze to find it covered in scratch marks made by fingernails.
We could imagine a scene: the Murderer sliced open San'er's throat with a cleaver and then pushed him into the coffin before nailing down the lid. San'er's trachea was severed, leaving him unable to make a sound. Yet in his struggle for survival, he continued to scratch at the coffin lid with his nails until he succumbed.
San'er died in despair and fear.
My curiosity about Zhao Mingkun grew stronger. She had repeatedly escaped from the Special Cases Unit, eluding Captain Shao. Not only did she handle firearms skillfully and possess exceptional combat skills, but she also analyzed corpses with great insight. It was truly a pity that someone like her wasn't a police officer but had instead become a Criminal.
Zhao Mingkun turned her head and, noticing me staring at her, flashed a sweet smile. "What’s wrong? Are you interested in your sister?"
I replied playfully, "From what I see, Sister Queen, you look more like a police officer."
"Haha." Upon hearing my words, Zhao Mingkun burst into laughter. "I’ve thought about that too, but unfortunately, I’m an orphan. Both my parents are criminals. I wanted to be a police officer, but the obstacles were too great. Eventually, I realized that killing and saving lives aren’t really that different."
My heart sank.
Zhao Mingkun's situation was strikingly similar to mine, and I couldn't help but feel a strange emotion rising within me. My father was a criminal, and my mother has been missing ever since. Even if I could pass the political review, could I escape the scrutiny of public opinion?
Looking into Zhao Mingkun's eyes, I seemed to see the same helplessness reflected there, a loneliness deep within her soul.
We always wanted to be ourselves, yet living in this world meant being labeled in various ways.
"You’re just the child of a murderer." That was the phrase I heard most often during my childhood.
So, I had no friends.
I was just like Zhao Mingkun.
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