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墨書 Inktalez
Daiyu probably thought that the two of us were still in the Cellar, and that everyone who knew her secret was already dead. With such thoughts, it was natural for Daiyu not to run away; doing so would only raise more suspicion. When we found her, she was standing in the courtyard, dressed in a red gown.
She twirled in her bright red long dress, as if the courtyard were her stage.
Our eyes met, and when she saw that I was unharmed, she clearly froze for a moment. Yet, she did not stop her movements; she continued to spin and leap around the courtyard. Daiyu was dancing, and her movements resembled ballet. The flowing crimson of her gown looked like shooting stars against the night sky, stunningly beautiful.
Of course, that was if you didn’t look at her face.
“Goose Lake?” Guan Zengbin remarked as he watched Daiyu.
Gu Chen, however, paid no mind to this and said, “Who cares about geese? Let’s just take her back.”
I grabbed Gu Chen’s arm, and he looked at me in confusion.
“Let her finish dancing,” I said calmly.
After a couple of cigarettes' worth of time, Daiyu finally completed her dance—more accurately, she tripped over her long skirt. Such movements were ill-suited for a dress with a hem this long. As she fell to the ground, Daiyu turned her face toward us and asked, “Shall we go?”
“Let’s go,” I replied.
Daiyu was taken back for questioning.
The police thoroughly searched the dilapidated house where Daiyu lived. In the earthen bed where she slept, they uncovered multiple skeletons. Forensic analysis revealed that all these remains were female, with varying times of death; they were likely the bodies of women stolen over the past five years during Ghost Marriages.
Daiyu confessed to her crimes without hesitation; she had killed Chu Mei. She had murdered those involved in Ghost Marriages and had stolen their corpses. Before Old Six committed murder, it was also Daiyu who provided him with recordings of ghostly voices under Chu Mei's name—everything was orchestrated by Daiyu.
“But why did you do this?” I asked.
This is the story of Daiyu.
Daiyu does not actually have the surname Lin; her real name is Lin Daiyu.
When Master Chu divorced his First Wife, she had just given birth to a child for him. This child was Daiyu, but she could not change Master Chu's mind about leaving. He departed, taking with him the child he had found by the roadside, a child with six toes.
For twenty-seven years, Daiyu had never seen her biological father.
In her school years, her mother remarried a man with the surname Lin. Her stepfather changed her surname, so she became Lin Daiyu.
While studying, she met her lifelong best friend named Chu Mei. Chu Mei's surname was Chu, and Lin Daiyu actually also belonged to the Chu family by blood. For some reason, Daiyu felt an innate fondness for people with the surname Chu. Thus, Daiyu and Chu Mei became good friends and close companions.
Chu Mei told Daiyu that her parents were not really her parents; they were merely the family she was staying with. She revealed to Daiyu that she had never known a mother, only a father. Everyone called her father Master Chu, but she did not know what his real name was.
Chu Mei explained that her father was a very mysterious man. Sometimes he would be away on business for months at a time, but whenever he returned, he would bring back gold and silver treasures. Her father had an apprentice who was not much older than her, yet this apprentice never attended school; instead, he followed her father to learn unknown skills.
Sometimes, Chu Mei would see this brother digging holes on a dirt slope.
Chu Mei teased him for being too old to be playing in the dirt, but the apprentice retorted that it was called a Tomb Entrance, not playing in the dirt.
Daiyu once asked her mother what her biological father did for a living. Her mother had mentioned something about Tomb Raiding and Grave Robbers.
What a coincidence; Chu Mei's father did the same thing.
Daiyu wondered if Chu Mei's father could possibly be her own father.
Daiyu’s mother told Daiyu that it was precisely because of Daiyu that her father divorced her. It’s not that he doesn’t love us anymore, it’s because he wants to protect us. Daiyu’s mother told her that there will be many enemies in this industry, and Master Chu is afraid that the resentment of the enemies will come to us, mother and daughter. Daiyu's mother told Daiyu that her father picked up a child on the roadside. The child had six fingers on his right foot. The father took her away and raised her as his daughter. The only purpose is that if there is an enemy seeking revenge, the resentment will be on the child. It turns out that the father raised others as daughters in order to protect himself. Daiyu once asked Chu Mei if he had six toes, and Chu Mei shook his head no. Daiyu thought to herself, how could something like this happen easily? Maybe she had surgery when she was very young. So they have always been good friends, because from Chu Mei’s mouth, Daiyu can know the current situation of his father. Knowing that his father is still protecting him silently, Daiyu is very satisfied. They went to school together, went to Middle School high school, and even went to college together. That day, Chu Mei told Daiyu that his father passed away. Chu Mei cried very sadly, and Daiyu also cried loudly along with Chu Mei. Others think this is the real best friend, but Daiyu understands in his heart that his father has passed away. The two decided to rush back as soon as possible. It was Early Morning when they got back on the road. They were then pulled into a cornfield by the Six Brothers. After six people gang-raped Chu Mei, Chu Mei was already dying. The six people disappeared into the darkness, and Chu Mei kept twitching on the ground. Chu Mei’s father died, and Chu Mei was gang-raped on his way back to attend the funeral. Chu Mei couldn't even cry anymore. She kept twitching and moving, and she murmured: "Kill me, I don't want to live anymore, kill me." It was night, completely silent.
Daiyu sat on the ground, watching her best friend plead for her own death.
Chu Mei had suffered the greatest misfortune, as if all her luck had been completely exhausted today. She was intelligent and kind, beautiful and captivating; she was a goddess in the hearts of many. Before the age of twenty-two, Chu Mei had never known what it meant to be unfortunate or unhappy.
But today, Lady Luck had turned her back on Chu Mei.
Daiyu lifted a large stone.
She looked at Chu Mei, and Chu Mei looked back at her.
The stone came crashing down on the back of Chu Mei's head, instantly splattering brain matter and blood. Fortunately, Chu Mei died almost instantly.
Then Daiyu called the police and lied to them.
From that moment on, Daiyu lived with the guilt of having killed her best friend with her own hands, but it was what Chu Mei had asked her to do. She didn't want her dear friend to die, but she wanted even less for her to live a life filled with suffering. Since then, Daiyu became somewhat neurotic and disheveled.
Master Chu was dead, and so was Chu Mei. Master Chu's funeral was handled by his disciples, but who would take care of Chu Mei's affairs?
This task fell to the family where Chu Mei had been staying.
According to the customs of Baijia County, they were to hold a Ghost Marriage for Chu Mei. Their purpose was simple: any marriage would bring in gifts. Moreover, the Old Huang Family had sent thirty thousand. This money naturally went into their pockets; in truth, they weren't even surnamed Chu and were not Chu Mei's parents at all.
Who cared?
Someone did care, and that someone was Daiyu.
Daiyu naturally knew that these two people were not Chu Mei's parents and was well aware of their vile nature. She despised Ghost Marriages, the absurdity of burying two corpses together as if forcing two unloving individuals to live together. She resolved to put an end to Ghost Marriages in Baijia County, ensuring they would never dare to conduct such ceremonies again.
The Ghost Marriage was making quite a spectacle, and Daiyu had received news of it early on; they had even invited her to attend.
In the support structure of the Shed, Daiyu had set a trap. A taut fishing line was hidden behind Old Huang's neck; as soon as Daiyu cut the end tied outside the Shed, the line would spring forward due to its elasticity. This thin fishing line was as sharp as a dagger.
Old Huang did not notice it.
The Ghost Marriage began, and everyone's attention was focused on Chu Mei's corpse.
Old Huang's head fell off.
A fishing line shot out, unnoticed by anyone.
The others rushed out from the Shed, and a gust of wind extinguished the candles on both sides. This aided Daiyu, as the darkness became her best camouflage. She entered the Shed and lifted Chu Mei's body onto her back. Just like when she had once carried the injured Chu Mei away in life.
Chu Mei wore a beautiful red dress.
"Let's go," Daiyu said softly.
A child hid under the table and saw the corpse moving on its own. In reality, it was Daiyu carrying Chu Mei; her long skirt concealed Daiyu's feet and blocked the child's view. He did not see Daiyu, and thus, Chu Mei's curse began.
Every time a Ghost Marriage was held, Daiyu would intervene. Those who organized these ceremonies would meet their demise at her hands. No one suspected a seemingly neurotic woman; in truth, she was anything but neurotic. People were always inclined to believe what their eyes saw, unaware that their eyes could easily deceive them.
Five years later, a group of Grave Robbers came to plunder Master Chu's tomb.
They all did not know that Daiyu was actually in the Tomb.
For five years, Daiyu could only confine her sorrow for her father within the confines of his Tomb. No one knew the structure of the Tomb better than she did. Naturally, they were also unaware that Old Six was alone in the grave, confessing his sins, which Daiyu heard clearly.
She had heard everything about the plan to kill Master Chu and the subsequent assault on Chu Mei.
It turned out that Master Chu did not die from illness; he was murdered by these beasts.
These six beasts were still unaware that Chu Mei had died five years ago; they believed she was still alive. Thus, Daiyu took advantage of this, using Chu Mei's identity to assist Old Six in his desire to eliminate the others, making them think that Chu Mei had returned.
She sowed seeds of suspicion among the Six Brothers, leading them to turn against each other.
A case that had spanned five years came to a close through Daiyu's gentle narration.
A biological daughter, an adopted daughter, a disciple weeping for the Noodle Shop, and five treacherous disciples—all intertwined with the millennia-old tradition of Ghost Marriage.
"Why do I feel so sympathetic towards Daiyu?" Guan Zengbin said as he stepped out of the interrogation room.
I nodded and then shook my head.
I asked, "Have you considered that there might be another possibility in this case?"
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