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墨書 Inktalez
Early the next morning, I called Director Wang and asked him to send someone to fetch some drinking water from Baili Village to be tested in the Provincial Capital. Meanwhile, we were preparing for our second search of the man-made Passageway inside the cave. I had already ordered it to be sealed off yesterday afternoon.
Inside the Passageway, we had brushed past the Killer and faced her directly for the first time. Although our encounter with the Killer was brief, one thing was certain: she was a woman. The other members of the Special Investigation Team were waiting for me downstairs. I took a few deep breaths, preparing to confront once again the Passageway that had led to Xiaocao's death.
"How is your injury?" I asked Yan Junde as we made our way up the mountain.
Yan Junde smiled and replied, "The Killer wanted me to commit suicide, but that's simply impossible. A warrior will never die from weakness or their own inner demons." After saying this, Yan Junde looked at me meaningfully. I understood his intention; he was trying to comfort me in a way that offered little solace.
The generator outside the cave continued to buzz incessantly as we entered through the cave mouth. A tent was set up on one side of the cave, where the police officer on duty had slept last night. I nodded respectfully to them and asked, "Thank you for your hard work. Did anything happen last night?"
The duty captain shook his head and said, "We've been stationed here since yesterday afternoon. As of this morning, there hasn't been any unusual activity. There’s been no movement in the Passageway; we suspect there might be an exit on the other side."
I nodded; the duty captain's speculation aligned with my own. Yesterday afternoon, the Killer and the Witch had chased each other into the depths of the Passageway. If the Witch wasn’t the Killer, why had she cleared everything out of the cave? How had the Killer managed to find that Passageway behind the vines? What connection existed between the Witch and the Killer? This remained a question.
As we spoke, Yan Junde prepared his gear. He handed me a gas mask, and I nodded in acknowledgment. It was still uncertain whether there were any hallucinogenic substances in the air of the Passageway, so for safety's sake, I had specifically asked Yan Junde to prepare it. Looking into the dark Passageway, I took a few deep breaths. Yan Junde was right; a warrior must rise again from where they fell.
Entering the Passageway once more, I led as the vanguard with Yan Junde closely following me. We moved forward past those fifty-five names. Under the beam of my flashlight, something appeared before us—a bullet. I picked it up and said, "It seems we were indeed hypnotized yesterday; we experienced negative hallucinations—the bullet was right in front of us, yet we couldn’t see it."
Yan Junde nodded in agreement as we continued onward. After about twenty minutes of walking, light appeared ahead; it seemed this was another exit of the Passageway. I turned off my flashlight and removed my gas mask. Stepping out from the mouth of the Passageway felt like stepping into a whole new world. It truly echoed that line from Tao Yuanming’s poem: “Initially narrow, just wide enough for one person; after walking several dozen steps, it opens up.”
Before us lay an expanse of land adorned with vibrant red and yellow flowers blooming in all their glory. A gentle breeze brushed against us, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort. In the distance stood a beautifully constructed wooden house. Yan Junde and I exchanged glances and walked toward it.
As we stepped out from the Passageway and walked a few paces, a stone-paved path appeared beneath our feet leading directly to that small house. We walked along the stone path while observing our surroundings. I remarked, "Someone used to live here; it was once a true paradise."
Yan Junde looked puzzled.
I pointed toward a piece of land that had been cultivated but now lay abandoned and said, "They surrounded this farmland with stones in a heart shape. A couple used to live here."
The door showed signs of having been opened recently; those marks looked fresh, indicating that someone had visited this house not long ago. However, we didn’t know whether this house belonged to the Witch or to that Killer. Pushing open the door revealed an empty interior. As we glanced around, we noticed that everything inside was meticulously clean—almost spotless—which suggested that someone had been living here regularly.
From the outside, the wooden cabin appeared exquisitely crafted, and the interior was no different. Various pieces of furniture, all made of wood, adorned the space, along with lifelike wooden carvings. The dining utensils and chairs were all part of a matching set. Yan Junde remarked, "It seems that two people lived here."
I nodded, then shook my head and said, "That's true, but for a long time, only one person has lived here." As I spoke, I picked up a cup. "This cup is frequently used, while the other one hasn't been touched in ages."
We climbed the stairs to the second floor, where a portrait confirmed my thoughts. It depicted a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking quite refined. In front of it were offerings that appeared to have gone unchanged for a long time. Beside it stood a double bed, accompanied by a wardrobe and a nightstand.
We opened the nightstand and found some documents along with several black-and-white photographs. I picked up one of the photos and examined it closely; it featured a smiling little girl with her name written above: Fangfang. After looking through several more photos, I finally confirmed my suspicion. I said, "Twenty years ago, that little girl didn't die at all..."
Yan Junde handed me the documents and said, "Take a look at these."
After flipping through a few pages, my brow furrowed deeper. I said, "Put these away and take them to Juan Juan." The yellowed documents contained information that I could only grasp superficially because they described in extremely professional and arcane language how to control a person's mind and researched methods of Hypnosis for murder.
I opened a small window on the second floor, revealing a grave that stood alone on a small mountain. I pointed towards the distant grave and said to Yan Junde, "Do you see that grave? Let's go check it out."
After securing the cabin door, we made our way toward the grave. Sure enough, a stone path appeared before us, leading straight to the mountain's peak. Yan Junde and I exchanged glances and continued our ascent. I remarked, "If two people truly wished to escape from the world and spend their remaining days in such a place, they must have been in love."
Yan Junde replied, "True love that led someone to take revenge by killing fifty-five people from Baili Village."
When we reached the mountaintop, we finally got a clear view of the grave before us. The area surrounding it was also meticulously cleaned. Looking up at the tombstone, I saw it read: Grave of Chen Zhen. There were no other inscriptions present. I closed my eyes and said to Yan Junde, "Do you remember anything about the Village Chronicle from Baili Village?"
Yan Junde nodded.
"Then do you know who this Chen Zhen was?" I continued to ask.
Yan Junde shook his head.
"Chen Zhen was the village doctor," I pondered aloud. "At that time, there were simply too many deaths; the forensic experts couldn't keep up with it all. It was Chen Zhen who helped with the autopsies. However, Ma Weishan hadn't circled his name in the Village Chronicle; I thought that after everything that happened, he had already left Baili Village. I never expected to find his grave here."
A scene unfolded before my eyes. The events from twenty years ago began to make sense. The little girl hadn't died at all; she reached out her hand to tell everyone she was still alive but was mistaken for being dead. After hastily burying her body, a young man emerged from the darkness of night and rescued her from the earth.
The man was a doctor. After rescuing the little girl, he threw the body of the Witch into the depths. Perhaps it was luck or perhaps it was divine mercy, but under the doctor's care, the little girl did not die. I recalled what was mentioned in the files: at that time, the little girl had rejected Ma Hengdong's advances, saying, "I have a boyfriend. Please do not harass me again."
Perhaps the person she referred to was Chen Zhen. She was not a Witch and did not understand any curse techniques. She was merely a kind girl searching for her beloved. The doctor took over the Witch's cave and hid there with the little girl.
Chen Zhen said, "All the villagers present at that time must die."
Thus, he began to frantically study mental vacancy methods and hypnosis. He embarked on his path of revenge, and it wasn't long before he had killed fifty-five people. He inscribed names on the Passageway; with each kill, he carved another name. Until all the villagers who knew fled, until Ma Hengdong and others were captured.
He and the little girl opened up the Passageway and built a home of their own in the wilderness. But for many years, he could never forget his thirst for revenge for his beloved. However, waiting would take twenty years. Looking at this grave, it seemed that it had been no less than seven or eight years.
If Chen Zhen were alive, then the Killer would undoubtedly be him. But if Chen Zhen were dead, then who would the Killer be? Who else would take up Chen Zhen's vengeful baton? Could it be their offspring? But that should be impossible. As I pondered this, I heard Yan Junde's voice call out: "Team Leader, look behind you; there are bloodstains here."
Upon hearing this, I rushed to where Yan Junde pointed. Sure enough, I found bloodstains on the ground behind the grave. The blood trailed off into the distance; it appeared someone had been injured, but I couldn't tell if it was the Killer's blood or that of the Witch—or perhaps Fangfang's.
I bent down and dipped my hand into some of the blood; it seemed no more than a day old. This meant that regardless of whose blood it belonged to, they couldn't have gone far. Moreover, judging by the amount of blood, this person was likely in critical condition. I looked at the trail of blood leading into the distance and said to Yan Junde, "Let's follow it carefully."
Yan Junde nodded and patted his handgun reassuringly to signal me to stay calm.
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