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墨書 Inktalez
I looked at Luo Ding's lifeless body again, unable to find the words. The shock I experienced today was overwhelming. First, Xing Yafang seemed to have seen something in the elevator and gouged out her own eyes. Then, Luo Ding was terrified to death in his own home by a face.
From Luo Ding's actions of hiding in the closet, we could imagine a scene. When we made the call, Luo Ding had not yet encountered any supernatural phenomena. At that moment, he must have come out of his bedroom looking for his phone, only to see a white face wandering in the living room.
This face, three or four times larger than a normal human face, appeared out of nowhere in the living room, but its eyes were pitch black, resembling the face of someone who had their eyes gouged out. This sight terrified Luo Ding so much that he lost control and ran for his life. He grabbed a phone from the living room and hid back in his bedroom, retreating into the closet.
He set his phone to vibrate, fearing that the ghost would chase him down. However, the overwhelming fear and lack of rest had already weakened Luo Ding's body. His nerves were constantly on edge, and his heart had long since reached its limit. Under such circumstances, when faced with today's events, Luo Ding's adrenaline surged excessively, causing his heart to race. He held himself tightly, and soon after, his heart stopped beating.
Luo Ding bore no visible injuries. Based on the scene and my previous deductions about him, it seemed most likely that he had suffered cardiac arrest due to extreme terror.
We still had many questions we wanted to ask Luo Ding, yet he died right before our eyes. He must have known something; otherwise, how could he have been so certain that it was Lu Zhiqiu's ghost returning for revenge? Back at the hotel, there was something he wanted to reveal, but that coincided with Xing Yafang's death.
Zhao Mingkun spoke up: "We can't stay here any longer. We came in by climbing over the wall; now that someone has died, whether you have a police badge or not, the security here will definitely not let us leave easily. When real police arrive, we won't be able to get away."
I nodded and said, "Search! Look for anything in Luo Ding's belongings! Someone with such an introverted personality like him must have left behind some written material. Check if there's a diary or something."
Zhao Mingkun nodded and began rummaging through the entire house.
I started searching through Luo Ding's clothes. I remembered he had been wearing a T-shirt before, but now he was dressed in a jacket. It wasn't cold at home; why would he be wearing an extra layer? I felt around in his inner pocket and pulled out a notebook.
This notebook was slightly larger than a phone and fit perfectly in the inner pocket.
I flipped through it casually and found it filled with dense and messy handwriting.
"Let's go; I found something."
Zhao Mingkun and I exited the room. The door lock was broken and couldn't be closed anymore. Outside the building, there was still no one around; everything was eerily quiet. This place wasn't soundproof at all; anyone upstairs or downstairs should have heard what was happening. Yet no one came out to check what was going on upstairs, which surprised me greatly.
It seemed that Zhao Mingkun could read my thoughts. He spoke up, "This situation is quite normal; which family doesn't prefer to avoid trouble? Although the person hasn't come out, they might have heard the commotion and called the police, so we should leave quickly."
After climbing over the wall again, it was already around three in the early morning.
This was a road, and there were hardly any people around.
"Where are we going now?" I asked. "I was planning to stay in Luoding for a night to gather some information, but now it seems that's not an option. You, this ghost, are quite impressive. You even knew we were coming to Luoding tonight."
Zhao Mingkun shrugged. "I don't think the people I've seen dead are just a few. Could it be that those who saw Lu Zhiqiu's body ended up dead?"
I scoffed at that idea. "That's unlikely. If that were the case, then the police would have been the first to die since they were the ones who arrived first. From what Wang Yikai implied, they got there before us."
Zhao Mingkun posed a question: "If that's true, then who reported it? The old lady I spoke with earlier didn't mention anything about it. And no one else has either. Who was the first person to see Lu Zhiqiu's body?"
I furrowed my brow and thought for a moment. "If that's the case, then the first person who found the body is very suspicious. But it's been seven years; who would know anything about it now? If we were still police officers, we could look at the files from back then, but now that's impossible."
Zhao Mingkun sighed. "Don't worry; your innocence will be proven sooner or later."
I waved my hand dismissively. "It's useless; everyone knows I'm with you now, and you're a fugitive. Even if that matter gets cleared up, can our relationship be sorted out?"
With that, both of us fell silent.
After a long while, Zhao Mingkun finally said, "Don't worry; in the end, your innocence will be proven."
"How will that happen?" I asked, somewhat puzzled.
Zhao Mingkun didn't answer my question but instead asked, "Do you know where we're headed now?"
I shook my head.
"You even dare to memorize the map of Dongxing City," Zhao Mingkun said disdainfully. "The secret to escaping is to always have a way out. The prerequisite for that is knowing the fastest escape route. Now, we need to head to Lu Zhiqiu's parents' house."
"Back home?" I asked.
Zhao Mingkun nodded. "That's right, but it will take some time."
Lu Zhiqiu's family lived in a rural area surrounding Dongxing City, specifically a place called Daimian Village, which was a three-hour journey.
By the time we arrived, the sky was already bright. Early risers could be seen working in the fields along the way. When we asked around for directions to Lu Zhiqiu's house, someone finally pointed us in the right direction.
After knocking on the door of the Lu Family, a woman who looked to be in her fifties appeared before us.
"Is this the Lu Family?" I asked as I took out my Police Badge.
The farmer woman spoke with a strong local dialect, "Yes, yes! We've been waiting for you. Come in, come in!"
Zhao Mingkun and I exchanged glances, unsure of what she meant. Our visit to the Lu Family was a sudden decision; we hadn't discussed it with her beforehand. However, from her enthusiastic demeanor, it seemed like she had been expecting us.
I felt somewhat bewildered by her warm welcome.
Zhao Mingkun asked cautiously, "Is this the Lu Family? The home of Lu Xiangyang and Lu Zhiqiu's parents?"
The farmer woman nodded and invited us into the main room. "That's right! I'm Lu Xiangyang's mother. You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Coming here so early—please, have something to eat! Old man, old man! Come over here; our police comrades are here!"
In no time, she had prepared bowls and chopsticks for us and brought out several dishes and steamed buns.
Although I didn't know what had happened, we certainly couldn't be poisoned right away. No amount of words could compare to filling our stomachs first. I wasn't polite about it, and Zhao Mingkun spoke up, "We're here to find Lu Xiangyang..."
As he spoke, a man walked out and sat down beside the table.
Zhao Mingkun continued, "We're looking for Lu Xiangyang."
"Looking for Lu Xiangyang?" the man, who appeared to be in his fifties, asked.
"Yes," Zhao Mingkun nodded.
The man looked puzzled. "Didn't we ask you to find Lu Xiangyang?"
"What?" Zhao Mingkun replied.
The farmer's wife interjected, "My son has been missing for a long time. He went out to find a classmate and never came back. It's been almost two weeks now, and there's been no sign of him. How can we not be anxious? You need to help me find my son! Where is he?"
Zhao Mingkun and I exchanged glances; Lu Zhiqiu's brother, Lu Xiangyang, was actually missing.
"How long has he been missing?" I asked.
"Over two weeks! Didn't we already tell you this?" The farmer's wife became a bit irritated. "Why are you still asking? Have you found him or not?"
Lu Xiangyang had been missing for quite some time. From the timeline of events, it seemed that Lu Xiangyang had both the opportunity and motive to commit a crime. At around seventeen years old, he was considered an adult. If Lu Xiangyang had secretly gone out for revenge without telling his parents, it wasn't impossible.
I asked, "Did he take anything when he left?"
"He just said he was going to City to find a classmate named Wang Kun. Didn't we tell you all this?" the man said. "We have a house in Dongxing City, so sometimes my son stays there by himself; it's not unusual. But now he's been gone for two weeks without any contact—doesn't that make you anxious?"
The house that the Lu Family bought in Dongxing City might have been purchased with the compensation received from Lu Zhiqiu's death seven years ago.
I opened my mouth to ask, "What was the relationship between Lu Xiangyang and Lu Zhiqiu..."
But before I could finish my question, I noticed the expressions of the farmer woman and the man change instantly. The farmer woman darkened her face and removed the dishes and buns in front of us, saying, "What does Lu Xiangyang have to do with Lu Zhiqiu? How are you even working? You haven't found the person yet, and you're bringing up Lu Zhiqiu?"
With that, she waved us away, "Who is Lu Zhiqiu? I don't know her. Get out! Bring my son back first."
I felt helpless; this farmer woman's mood changed faster than a page in a book. I had merely mentioned Lu Xiangyang and Lu Zhiqiu, and she started driving us out. I couldn't tell if they were truly Lu Zhiqiu's biological parents. Just as Zhao Mingkun had said, this family probably never regarded Lu Zhiqiu as their own daughter.
In the midst of our conversation, the farmer woman had already pushed us out. She stood at the door, shouting angrily, "You're all talk when you're just eating free food; finding someone is such a hassle."
I looked at the bun in my hand, feeling utterly despondent.
"Bang."
The heavy iron gate slammed shut.
Around us, a crowd of villagers had gathered to watch the commotion.
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