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墨書 Inktalez
In the early morning, I was jolted awake by the creaking sound of the wind slamming against the wooden cabin.
"What’s going on?!" I sat up, surprised to see Zhao Lifeng, whose face was equally filled with shock.
We hesitated to open the door, deciding instead to peek outside through the window. As soon as I unlocked the window, a fierce gust of wind burst through, nearly slamming the window shut on my face. Zhao Lifeng quickly pulled me back just in time.
Outside, everything had descended into a chaotic white storm. The wind howled, mixing with heavy snowflakes that swept across the forest at an astonishing speed. The visibility was terrifyingly low; I could barely make out anything beyond ten meters.
Venturing out in such weather would be akin to courting death.
Together, we managed to close the window again, realizing we would have to wait for the storm to ease before we could leave. Thankfully, there were some logs stored in the cabin, so we sat by the fire in silence. The flickering flames danced on Zhao Lifeng's furrowed brow and pursed lips. Stealing a glance at his left hand, I decided to break the silence.
"Officer Zhao, that ring of yours looks even better the more I see it."
Zhao Lifeng paused for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by my sudden comment. He instinctively touched the ring and replied briefly, "Thank you."
I smiled at him and continued in a casual tone, "The design is really exquisite. What brand is it? Did you have it custom-made?"
After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke up, "It’s custom-made. My fiancée and I designed it together."
"No wonder it’s so special," I said, trying my best to smile sincerely while concealing the turmoil within me.
Since the ring was custom-made, it ruled out any possibility of having bought a similar one by chance. This confirmed it: the female corpse must be Zhao Lifeng's fiancée!
Under normal circumstances, he should have recognized her from her clothing and belongings. Why would he deliberately hide this?
This girl's death had to be connected to him! Was it an accident? Or murder?...
Just then, Zhao Lifeng suddenly stood up, interrupting my thoughts. "I'm going to get some snow from the window to boil some water."
Watching him grab the Little Iron Pot and head towards the direction of the corpse sent a chill down my spine.
The two people in this wooden cabin could very well be murderers.
By noon, the snowstorm showed no signs of letting up. After eating a bit of compressed biscuits, Zhao Lifeng crawled into his sleeping bag, and soon the soft sound of his snoring filled the air.
The discovery from last night had kept me awake for half the night, and I only managed to catch a few hours of sleep just before dawn. Now, as I watched the firewood crackle and burn in front of me, my eyelids began to feel heavy. But this was not the time to sleep.
Now that it was clear that this female corpse was Zhao Lifeng's fiancée, his earlier statement about "not disturbing the scene and waiting to report it after we are rescued" was actually meant to conceal the truth. Once we were rescued, he would surely find a way to return here and dispose of the body. Even if I reported it, the police would only find an empty, abandoned cabin with no body and no evidence, and naturally, they wouldn’t trace it back to him.
So, I didn’t need to worry about disturbing the crime scene anymore. I decided to take this opportunity to search for the girl’s corpse and belongings again, hoping to find evidence related to Zhao Lifeng or something that could prove the girl's identity.
I waited quietly for a moment, confirming that Zhao Lifeng was sound asleep before I quietly got up and tiptoed over to the girl’s corpse.
This poor girl, in a way, was just like me—we were both prisoners in our own stories, victims of violence. Only by facing the truth could we attain true freedom.
I glanced back at Zhao Lifeng once more to ensure he was still asleep. Shaking off my slightly trembling fingers from nervousness, I crouched down to carefully inspect the girl’s clothing and backpack.
I first checked her coat pockets—empty.
Then her pants pockets—also empty.
Turning my attention to her backpack, I searched inch by inch. I thoroughly examined the main compartment, side pockets, and even those hidden little slots. Still, nothing turned up.
I returned to the girl’s corpse and cautiously lifted her coat. Underneath, she wore a thick fleece sweatshirt with a love-shaped design on the front. The love shape had a slightly raised three-dimensional effect.
As I reached out to touch this three-dimensional love shape, I discovered that it actually concealed a small pocket with a tiny zipper cleverly hidden within the outline of the design.
Perhaps due to age, the zipper was somewhat stiff and stuck. After several attempts that left my fingertips sore, I finally managed to pull it open.
Inside this little pocket was indeed something!
I carefully pulled it out—a photograph cut into a heart shape that matched the design on her sweatshirt.
By the faint glow of the firelight, I examined this photograph closely. The moment I recognized what was in it, I felt my blood run cold.
The photo depicted a pair of young lovers; among them was a man... a face I knew all too well.
He looked much younger in the photo, his face radiating a happy smile, a stark contrast to the stern prison guard I knew.
But there was no doubt that the man in the picture was Zhao Lifeng!
Suddenly, a cold voice rang out behind me, "What did you find?"
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