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墨書 Inktalez
Where had Qiuju Niu gone? As the night fell and darkness enveloped the surroundings, Qiuju Niu still had not returned, causing some concern among the project team members. Qiuju Niu had come to find her grandson, Zhang Wenhua, but now that Zhang Wenhua was still missing, Qiuju Niu had also disappeared.
By ten-thirty at night, Old Shao could no longer sit still. If Qiuju Niu had gone out on her own, she should have returned by now. Moreover, even if she intended to run away, she would have at least tried to find her grandson. In such a vast forest, knowing the paths would require three or four hours to exit the mountains. The project team members had been flown in by helicopter to a location close enough to reach the village.
Under these circumstances, it was essentially a dead end for Qiuju Niu if she attempted to escape. It seemed highly likely that something unfortunate had happened to her. Could it be that Qiuju Niu had fallen victim to the mysterious curse of the village's song?
With this thought in mind, Old Shao decided to gather the project team members to search for Qiuju Niu.
As several of them got out of bed, Er Dan was still sound asleep inside the house. The broken door remained ajar, and no one had bothered to fix it. However, Er Dan clearly did not care about these conditions; he continued to sleep peacefully in the cool summer night with his large belly exposed. Yet, the project team members felt compelled to search for Qiuju Niu.
As Yuan Jun pushed open the front door, a shadow darted past him in the darkness. The shadow lunged directly at Yuan Jun's chest with great speed and force. As a member of the Special Police, despite the urgency of the attack, Yuan Jun instinctively raised his hand to block while slightly turning his body in preparation for a counterattack.
Just as he opened the door, the moon hid behind clouds again, leaving Yuan Jun in complete darkness. He could not see what was coming at him. However, when his hand collided with the shadow, he immediately realized it was an arm belonging to a person—and his first thought was that this person was quite strong.
Yuan Jun's hand wrapped around the shadow's arm until he reached the elbow joint. Then he struck at that vulnerable point; the arm recoiled in pain and lost its strength. Seizing the opportunity, Yuan Jun executed a hip throw on the shadow.
With a thud, the shadow was slammed onto the ground as Yuan Jun mounted him.
The shadow hit the ground heavily and did not utter a sound.
"Who are you?" Yuan Jun asked.
The shadow remained silent as Jiang He approached and crouched down to take a look. "Gangzi, why are you here?" he asked.
Gangzi turned his head away and did not respond.
Seeing this, Yuan Jun tightened his grip and lifted Gangzi's arm upward using a common restraint technique—sufficiently uncomfortable without needing further explanation.
Gangzi's arm was nearly raised beyond his capacity, yet he still showed no intention of speaking.
Old Shao gently tapped Yuan Jun's arm and said slowly, "No need to ask; Brother Luo sent him to watch us. Gangzi, go back and tell Brother Luo not to worry. Our things are also missing; we won't leave until we find our belongings."
Upon hearing this, Gangzi finally responded with a simple "Hmm."
Yuan Jun released Gangzi, who stood up and was about to leave.
Old Shao spoke up again, "Gangzi, we have a person missing. She's in her fifties or sixties, and she might be in danger."
Gangzi responded with a slight "hm," walked a short distance, then turned back to Yuan Jun and said, "Your name is Yuan Jun, right? I admit I was careless earlier. Let's practice properly under the sun sometime!"
Yuan Jun chuckled, "Once we sort out the matters in the village, I'll take you down then."
In just a few minutes, a bright light appeared in the distance; it was Brother Luo arriving with some people. The commotion startled several villagers awake.
Brother Luo stepped forward and asked, "I heard someone is missing?"
Old Shao replied, "A woman in her fifties or sixties."
Brother Luo furrowed his brow and asked, "When was she last seen?"
Old Shao shook his head. "I'm not sure, but it hasn't been more than an hour."
Brother Luo turned to the others. "Have any of you seen a woman around sixty?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"At this rate," Brother Luo said with a troubled expression, "it seems we won't be able to search very far with just us. Gangzi, gather the villagers; we need to look for this woman together."
Before Gangzi could call the villagers, another bright light appeared in the distance. As the flashlight beams danced around, a large group of villagers arrived. Leading them was Li Sanhan, dressed in shorts and throwing on a shirt as if he had just woken from sleep.
"What happened? What's going on?" Li Sanhan asked irritably.
"A woman is missing," Brother Luo informed him.
"What?" Li Sanhan jolted awake, tossing his shirt aside. "Whose woman is missing?"
"His home!" Brother Luo pointed at Old Shao.
Upon hearing Brother Luo's words, Li Sanhan pointed at Xu Yiman, "Isn't she here?"
Then, Li Sanhan realized, "That old woman? Women are just trouble. What else can we do? Let's search! Why are there so many people here? Wang Long, weren't you supposed to call everyone?"
"They're still busy," Wang Long replied.
"Busy, busy!" Li Sanhan shouted. "The dead are right at the door, and it's like they've never seen a woman before. Get everyone back and then split up to find her."
Although the village was small, the mountains behind it were vast. If Qiuju Niu had truly gone missing in the woods, it would be hard for anyone in the village to find her. Li Sanhan quickly divided the villagers into several groups to search for Qiuju Niu.
The task force and a few villagers were assigned to search near the village. On such a night, the mountains were incredibly dangerous; one could easily get lost, and there were wild wolves lurking deep in the woods. The fate of anyone who strayed alone would not be good.
Soon, Wang Long gathered everyone together.
In the pitch-black village, there were scattered lights as groups of villagers set out to search for Qiuju Niu.
"Everyone needs to stay close; we can't afford to lose anyone," Old Shao gently reminded them.
Several people responded, but only Jiang He remained silent. Old Shao shone his flashlight around and realized that Jiang He had disappeared without anyone noticing.
At that moment, Jiang He was walking through the dark night without a flashlight. He knew exactly where he was going; he had been here once before at noon. Jiang He stood at the entrance; the door was ajar, and the main room was pitch black with no lights on, resembling a ghostly presence. Quietly, Jiang He stepped inside.
Pushing open the door, he found himself in complete darkness. With the faint moonlight filtering in, Jiang He saw a shadow swaying slightly in the middle of the room. It was vaguely human-shaped. He took out his flashlight from his pocket and directed its beam at the indistinct figure.
A face appeared before Jiang He, followed by a woman's naked body hanging lifelessly.
The woman was Wang Mazi's wife. Earlier that day, Jiang He had personally stopped Old Shao and others from rushing in while she was being assaulted. At that moment, it had seemed like the best choice. However, this best choice was not necessarily good for everyone; there is no perfect choice in this world, and every choice comes with its price.
Sometimes the price is death.
Jiang He looked at the messy bed and the countless footprints on the floor. Suddenly, he felt an indescribable emotion stirring within him, one he had never experienced before. Soon, from the chair beside the bed and the imprints left behind, he deduced that this woman had committed suicide.
When Jiang He saw the deep marks on her wrists and ankles, he understood even more.
When one is born and into what kind of family, these are choices no individual can make. However, a person can choose when to die and how to die. For this woman, whose name Jiang He did not know, perhaps death was a great fortune in her life.
The marks on her wrists and ankles were evidence of being chained, indicating that when the man was away, her freedom of movement was completely restricted. If it weren't for Jin Niu Qiu Ju's disappearance, these villagers who were "busy" would not have been hastily summoned by the village chief. If these villagers hadn’t forgotten to lock the woman up in their panic, she would have continued to suffer indignities in the days to come.
Jiang He envisioned a scene: in a pitch-black environment, a naked woman dragged her weakened body while watching man after man leave her side. In despair, she lifted a stool onto the bed and repeatedly threw a bedsheet towards the beam.
The red floral festive bedsheet flew through the air again and again. After countless attempts, it finally caught on the beam. She slowly stepped onto the stool and tied the sheet into a noose. Then she placed her head in the loop. With a push of her feet, it didn’t take long before she ended her own life.
Jiang He did not know what thoughts might have crossed the woman's mind as she died; he only knew that for her, death sometimes had to be done quietly. She dared not make a sound or even turn on a light because she feared that if discovered, she wouldn’t even be able to die.
When Jiang He entered, the front door was wide open, yet the woman had no choice but to stay; she didn’t even have time to put on clothes. How desperately she wanted to die—she could not wait another moment.
There are no ghosts or deities in this world; human hearts are the true realm of spirits.
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