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墨書 Inktalez
In the Midwest of our country, in certain counties, the custom of Ghost Marriage still exists. Although these counties have escaped poverty and moved towards prosperity, the remnants of feudal superstition still linger in their bones.
A well-preserved corpse of a young woman can sell for as much as one hundred fifty thousand, and if the woman has never been married, the price could be inflated to around three hundred fifty thousand. Such sums are not insignificant even for some urban families. Where there is a market, there will be trade.
I encountered a prisoner in jail who had strangled a female university student. His motive was simple: to sell her corpse for money. In his eyes, dead bodies were much easier to sell than living ones.
Old Zhang's involvement in the corpse trade certainly could not be done alone. Our task now is to uncover the industrial chain behind Old Zhang through these corpses and to capture this group hidden in the shadows. I have a vague feeling that this matter might also be related to Lai San.
We notified the Qingcheng Criminal Police Team Leader and transported all the corpses to the funeral home to await the City Bureau's forensic autopsy.
At this moment, we needed to focus on the sources of these missing corpses. If someone had stolen them, I believed their families would definitely report it to the police. Transporting these corpses was not an easy task either, so they were mostly stolen from around Qingcheng.
After comparing all the deceased's information and knowing their burial locations, I looked at the map of Qingcheng and its surroundings and pointed out a location very close to Qingcheng—Linfen City, Baijia County.
According to what the prisoner told me, this place had the strongest Ghost Marriage culture; he initially intended to sell that female corpse there.
"I think we need to pay a visit," I said to Captain Shao.
Captain Shao nodded and replied, "I know you have your own methods, but can you confirm that these corpses from Old Zhang are used for Ghost Marriage besides being involved in drug trafficking? If we're mistaken, we'll be far from catching Old Zhang."
I pondered for a moment before saying, "This matter isn't certain, but I have a gut feeling about it. Moreover, even if Old Zhang isn't part of it, breaking up a corpse trafficking ring would still be a good deed."
"Alright, I'll go set up an office in Linfen City. Let me know if you need anything," Captain Shao agreed without hesitation.
"Without any evidence, we should keep our identities concealed for now. I might infiltrate as a criminal, but I do have one request," I said.
Captain Shao responded with interest and asked, "Honestly, I didn't expect you to have any requests."
"I want you to help me get someone out," I said, looking at Captain Shao.
Captain Shao spun his hand around the teacup a few times before responding, "Oh? Is that so? Where is this person imprisoned?"
"He’s not in prison," I shook my head.
Captain Shao looked quite surprised and asked, "If he’s not in prison, is he in a mental hospital?"
Seeing my smile, Captain Shao realized he had guessed correctly. "Really in a mental hospital?"
I knew someone, but he didn’t see himself that way. He considered himself a dog, the best dog in the world. I didn’t know his real name; he only called himself Wang Er Gou.
Wang Er Gou truly acted like a dog, or rather, there was no difference between him and a real dog. He didn’t like wearing clothes, and when he saw someone he liked, he would lick them all over. He enjoyed lifting one leg to urinate by tree roots and would go wild when he spotted a female dog.
If someone threw a stone, he would run after it quickly and bring it back with his mouth.
Wang Er Gou was just like any other dog; he hated baths and didn’t like getting his nails trimmed.
Perhaps he was the only dog in the world that could speak human language.
But a year ago, Wang Er Gou wasn’t a dog. Back then, Wang Er Gou was still a person.
Wang Er Gou was a graverobber; in their lingo, it was called Tomb Raiding.
In Wang Er Gou's line of work, they believed in mourning for three years after losing someone.
Tomb Raiding requires mentorship, as the risks of self-learning are immense.
Once a student takes on a master, the master imparts their Tomb Raiding skills. If the apprentice has no source of income, the master supports them for three years. After three years of training, when the apprentice embarks on their own Tomb Raiding ventures, they must honor their master with a portion of whatever treasures they find, regardless of their value. The master decides how much to share with the apprentice, but if the master is displeased, they may refuse to give anything at all, and no one else can say a word against it.
This is the rule of serving three years and honoring for another three; no one dares to defy it. Violating this code means losing one's livelihood. Such a person would be ostracized by all peers, and it wouldn't be surprising if they faced underhanded attacks behind their back.
Tomb Raiding is a collaborative effort, where trust is paramount.
Everyone fears being betrayed; if one were to die in a tomb, who would know? Thus, the only solution is mutual trust—those who betray are dealt with severely by their peers.
If you ask a Graverobber what they fear most, they might mention the extinguishing of candles in the southeast corner, ancient corpses turning into zombies, hidden traps within tombs, or encountering ghosts.
However, they will tell you that the most terrifying thing in this world is human nature.
Initially, Graverobbers operate without any mentorship; their actions are driven by greed.
After securing the Tomb Entrance, one person descends to retrieve treasures while another remains above to hoist them up with a rope. However, those pulling the rope often become greedy and abandon their companions for riches. This led to the emergence of father-son teams among Grave Robbers, though there were many instances where sons abandoned their fathers.
Eventually, it became customary for sons to descend for treasure while fathers remained above to pull the rope. This practice effectively eliminated cases of leaving someone behind in a tomb pit.
This year, Wang Er Gou has set out on his own.
Wang Er Gou has begun his independent ventures but does not dare forget the rules. For the first three years, any treasures he retrieves—regardless of their worth—must be offered to his master. However, going down alone poses challenges; not only is luck a factor in returning safely, but Tomb Entrances are often vertical or slightly inclined, making ascent difficult.
Wang Er Gou found his father.
His father was an uneducated villager, either drunk or up to no good; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent his own son to learn Tomb Raiding.
"Alright! I'll pull the rope from above while you go down to get the treasures. Once you have them, just tug on the rope, and I'll pull the treasures up. Then I'll lower the rope again. When you're done collecting, give it two tugs, and I'll pull you back up," Wang Er Gou's Father said happily. "I never expected you'd amount to something."
"Well, I have to honor my master first, and then depending on how generous he is, I might get a share," Wang Er Gou replied quickly, seeing his father's excitement. "For the first three years, it'll be like this."
Wang Er Gou's Father slammed the bottle onto the ground. "Damn it, what kind of ridiculous rules are these?"
The two of them set off.
Those Royal Tombs and Noble Tombs were either already protected or had been completely emptied. Wang Er Gou knew he wasn't skilled enough to find an untouched grand tomb, but at least he could locate the tombs of former wealthy families or landlords.
This was a tomb belonging to a once-rich family. The mound had long been weathered by rain and wind, and the gravestone had vanished without a trace, hidden in the mountains where no one knew. However, with his skills, Wang Er Gou easily found it. As soon as he dug with his Luoyang shovel, he knew this tomb had potential.
The shovel struck down directly onto the coffin.
These tombs were not as elaborate as royal mausoleums and naturally lacked heavy traps. Although the items inside might not be worth a fortune, Wang Er Gou considered it merely practice; perhaps if his master was pleased, he would give him a larger share.
Wang Er Gou reached down to feel around.
He touched the deceased's clothing and determined through touch that the owner of the tomb had turned to bones long ago. He continued to explore and brought out various treasures. In the darkness, he couldn't see exactly what they were, but based on his three years of experience traveling with his master, Wang Er Gou estimated that even if these items weren't priceless, they were still quite valuable.
Wang Er Gou tugged on the rope several times in succession, sending all the treasures up.
At this moment, Wang Er Gou was also about to exit from the Tomb Entrance. According to their agreement, he pulled the rope twice. Something miraculous happened; the rope unexpectedly fell into the hole. Wang Er Gou thought his father had accidentally let go and quickly shouted, "Dad, find another rope to pull me up!"
"I'm not letting go! Just wait for me!" Wang Er Gou's Father replied.
Sitting on the coffin, Wang Er Gou felt quite pleased. This time, his master would surely give him a larger share out of consideration for their relationship. What would he do with this money? He remembered that Cui had been complaining about her phone running too slowly, and he wanted to buy her a new one.
Currently, smartphones were quite cheap; one could be bought for just around a thousand yuan.
Wang Er Gou couldn't help but smile. Sometimes he found it strange that things in tombs became more valuable with age, while high-tech items seemed to drop in price the newer they were.
He thought about buying himself a motorcycle, but then he remembered that without a driver's license, he wouldn't be allowed into the city. The cost of getting a license and registering it was more expensive than the motorcycle itself.
Having spent years in the mountains, Wang Er Gou felt somewhat unfamiliar with the outside world.
He happily sat on the coffin lid, waiting. Looking at the Tomb Entrance, all he could see was an expanse of emptiness. Suddenly, he recalled a story he had heard about a frog in a well; he chuckled to himself, feeling like that frog. The more he thought about it, the funnier it became, and soon he burst into loud laughter.
In the deep mountains, no one could hear Wang Er Gou's hearty laughter.
He waited from day until nightfall. In this area, he could only see half a moon and a few stars. Wang Er Gou remembered that Cui was a Pisces; Pisces were known for their romantic nature. However, Wang Er Gou had never understood what romance truly was.
As night fell, his surroundings grew dimmer; his father never returned.
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