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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Two
The rain showed no signs of letting up; instead, it intensified, like countless invisible hands frantically pounding against the car windows. I drove the police car along the slick streets, speeding toward the second crime scene. The windshield wipers moved futilely, and through my blurred vision, the world seemed distorted into a series of eerie, ghostly faces.
This time, the location was a small clinic in town called " Hall of Rejuvenation." The name sounded auspicious, but at this moment, it felt ominously sinister. The victim was an elderly traditional Chinese medicine doctor named Lin, who was said to be quite respected in the town and was affectionately referred to as "Lin Shenxian." Yet now, this "immortal" had met a tragic fate, brutally murdered in his own clinic. The killer employed the same method as before—cold and precise—using a wooden prosthetic hand. The incisions on the victim's arms mirrored those of the previous victim, as if they had been carved from the same mold.
"Captain Li, take a look at this," my capable assistant Xiao Zhang said as he handed me a sealed plastic evidence bag containing a yellowed medical record. The edges of the paper were frayed, suggesting it had been frequently handled.
I took the medical record and carefully unfolded it. Written in bold penmanship were several lines that hinted at Mr. Lin's former prowess. The record detailed a consultation from a month ago:
"Patient: Zhang Ming (owner of Pig Trotter Shop )
Age: 45
Symptoms: Rheumatoid Arthritis, severe joint deformation in both hands, unbearable pain, limited mobility.
Diagnosis: Late-stage Rheumatoid Arthritis
Recommendations: Seek systematic treatment at a regular hospital, combined with medication and physical rehabilitation methods. Do not trust folk remedies or undergo unregulated treatments to avoid exacerbating the condition.
Remarks: The patient insisted on seeking treatment at a local Carpenter's Workshop despite my strong objections and detailed warnings about the risks; he remained resolute and refused to listen."
"This old doctor seemed to know something," I said as I closed the medical record, furrowing my brow as an ominous premonition washed over me. Zhang Ming was indeed the first victim—the owner of Pig Trotter Shop. It appeared that these two cases were intricately connected.
"Captain Li, we have new developments!" Just then, a young patrol officer rushed in with an excited expression on his face. "We found that Carpenter's Workshop!"
The Carpenter's Workshop was located in the most remote corner of the town, along a winding muddy path where our police car bumped along. The surrounding trees swayed menacingly in the wind and rain, resembling beasts poised to pounce. Finally, we arrived at a dilapidated two-story building with peeling walls and several broken window panes hastily boarded up. The entire structure exuded an air of eerie decay. The shop door was tightly shut, with a faded wooden sign hanging above it; its original red paint had chipped away to reveal a haphazardly painted inscription of "Carpenter's Workshop," written in messy black paint that conveyed an inexplicable strangeness.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" I stepped forward and knocked on the door with force. The dull sound echoed through the empty street, but no one answered. I glanced back at Xiao Zhang, who nodded, signaling that he was ready.
"Break the door!" I commanded, and several officers immediately sprang into action, using a battering ram to smash against the old wooden door.
The lock shattered with a loud crack, and the door creaked open, releasing a strong scent of sawdust mixed with a faint hint of blood that sent chills down my spine. Taking a deep breath, I was the first to step inside.
The interior was dimly lit, with only a few weak rays of light filtering through the gaps in the windows, barely illuminating the surroundings. The walls were adorned with various wooden prosthetics—hands, arms, legs—along with some strange wooden organs. In the dim light, they cast eerie shadows that seemed to dance like ghosts, as if countless hands were beckoning us, making my skin crawl.
"Be careful; search separately," I whispered, signaling everyone to stay alert.
Suddenly, a thud echoed from upstairs, as if something had fallen to the ground. In this silent environment, it felt particularly jarring.
Xiao Zhang and I exchanged glances and quickly drew our guns. Moving one in front of the other, we cautiously ascended the creaking wooden stairs.
The second floor was a workshop, more spacious yet even messier than below. Various woodworking tools lay scattered across the floor—planes, chisels, saws, axes—all present and some still covered in fresh sawdust as if recently used. On the workbench were several half-finished wooden prosthetics; some had taken on human shapes while others remained rough blocks of wood. In one corner lay several pieces of Golden Silk Nanmu, exuding a faint fragrance that did little to mask the nauseating smell of blood lingering in the air.
"Captain Li, look!" Xiao Zhang suddenly pointed at a notebook on the workbench, his voice trembling slightly.
I approached and saw it was a handwritten craft notebook, its cover worn and pages yellowed. It was filled with detailed notes on various techniques and insights for making prosthetics—from material selection to carving and polishing—showing the owner's passion and dedication to this craft. However, the last few pages sent shivers down my spine:
"Ordinary wood won't do; it lacks spirit. The prosthetics made from it are merely lifeless objects; only Living Wood can truly bring them 'to life'..."
"Failed again; the wood isn't fresh enough; its vitality is lacking... It must be crafted immediately after amputation to preserve its liveliness as much as possible..."
"Finally succeeded! By nurturing it with living people's essence and blood, the prosthetics can gain life and become part of the body..."
“This is no carpenter; he’s simply a madman! A twisted demon!” Xiao Zhang gasped, his face pale, clearly terrified by the insane words.
“Creak… creak…” Just as we were still in shock, a strange sound suddenly came from behind us, like wood rubbing against wood, or some creature moving its joints. In the silence of the space, it was particularly clear and unnerving.
I turned around abruptly, and the sight before me made my hair stand on end and my scalp tingle.
The wooden prosthetics that had been quietly hanging on the wall had all turned to face us without us realizing it. The once hollow wooden eyes now seemed to flicker with an eerie light, as if countless eyes were staring intently at us, like vengeful spirits watching our every move!
“Run! It’s dangerous here!” I shouted, grabbing Xiao Zhang and sprinting down the stairs.
“Want to leave? Too bad… it’s already too late…” At that moment, a hoarse voice echoed from behind us, like a whisper from the depths of hell, each word carrying the scent of death.
I turned back to look, and a gaunt old man had appeared at the stairway, blocking our path. His body hunched over like a dead tree, dressed in a tattered long robe covered in wood shavings and stains. His hands were pale as paper, devoid of color, with fingers twisted grotesquely and nails long and sharp, resembling… branches of wood.
“You are the carpenter?” I raised my gun and aimed at the old man’s forehead, speaking sternly.
The old man grinned widely, revealing yellowed teeth that looked like decayed wood. “No, you mere mortals could never understand. I am an artist. I create life; I create eternal works of art…”
“Bang!” With a loud crash, Xiao Zhang suddenly collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing in agony as a wooden hand gripped his neck tightly! That hand was one of the prosthetics hanging on the wall!
I was about to pull the trigger when I felt a tightness around my ankle. Looking down, I saw that a wooden hand had emerged from beneath the floorboards and was gripping my ankle with an icy touch that sent shivers down my spine…
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