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墨書 Inktalez
Daiyu picked at her toes as she said, "Five years have passed, and I never thought anyone would still be willing to pay to hear my story."
She then brought her hand to her nose and sniffed, "Not bad."
Guan Zengbin and I exchanged glances, our brows slightly furrowed. It seemed that Daiyu had grown accustomed to her disheveled appearance. I couldn't help but wonder if she had moved on from the emotional turmoil of five years ago. However, judging by her current demeanor, it seemed like such concerns were trivial now. The death of Chu Mei was indeed tragic, but sometimes merely being alive could be the saddest fate.
A girl who had once been accepted into a prestigious university now looked like this. Even though her appearance was far from attractive, it still evoked a sense of pity.
Daiyu mentioned six people—the ones who had gang-raped and killed Chu Mei. Could they be the Tomb Robber Six Brothers? I recalled that when Chu Mei was mentioned before, these individuals had shown signs of hesitation, as if hiding some secret.
But only Daiyu and Chu Mei knew when they returned home; it seemed these people acted on impulse. They likely didn't even know their names, meaning they probably weren't aware of Chu Mei's name either. If that were the case, what were these Grave Robbers truly afraid of?
At this moment, everything was unclear; it seemed impossible to unravel any clues.
Daiyu placed the skin she had picked off her foot onto the table, watching it with interest.
I felt my stomach churn; it was quite nauseating.
"But that's not the point," Zhao Mingkun said without changing his expression, as if he were unfazed by the smell. "Last night at our place, we encountered something strange. The villagers said that Chu Mei has returned. After her death, did something else happen?"
At this point, Daiyu paused her movements, a glint appearing in her narrow eyes. "Do you believe in ghosts?"
Hearing Daiyu's words reminded me of the female ghost who had cried mournfully in our yard last night. The dress she wore was indeed the same one as the corpse we saw during the Ghost Marriage ceremony. If that figure in the yard was truly that corpse, then what was its identity? Who had brought the body here?
Daiyu's words sparked a potential breakthrough in my mind.
Zhao Mingkun raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "It's better to see a ghost; I've never seen one that scares people."
Implying that he too believed what was in the yard wasn't a ghost but rather some trickery.
Daiyu placed her hand on her other foot. "Since you don't believe in ghosts, I have nothing more to say."
Despite Daiyu's incredibly unattractive appearance, there was a hint of arrogance about her. It seemed she wouldn't continue unless we played along with her narrative. I quickly added, "Sister Daiyu, I'm really afraid of ghosts. Last night I nearly scared myself out of my wits; otherwise, I wouldn't have sent my sister to ask about these things."
Daiyu glanced at me and said, "Your brother speaks quite well."
This is yet another story.
Chu Mei died on the spot, and the murderer vanished without a trace.
But a person's death never truly ends with one person's destruction. Although Chu Mei knew nothing anymore, the story surrounding her was far from over.
The history of ghost marriages in Baijia County is long-standing, and a young and beautiful woman like Chu Mei was naturally an excellent choice for such a union. Even though the murderer had smashed the back of her head to pieces, her beautiful face remained intact. After the mortuary staff stitched up her skull, she was once again a beauty.
Even in death, a beautiful corpse is worth more than an ordinary one.
At that time, the son of the Old Huang Family in Baijia County was killed by a car on the road, and the driver compensated the Old Huang Family three hundred thousand. Three hundred thousand is a significant amount of money in this county. Yet, with their only son gone, the elderly couple could only shed tears over that sum.
It turns out that a person's life is like thirty stacks of money laid out on a bed. No matter how much they squandered, they couldn't figure out how to spend that three hundred thousand.
Finding a good daughter-in-law for their son was the only thought in the minds of the Old Huang couple. The intermediary had presented them with many corpses, but they consistently disagreed. They believed that only a beautiful woman deserved their son. No need for virtue or gentleness; beauty was all that mattered.
Living was already suffering; in death, one could indulge freely.
Finding a beautiful corpse was the last wish of the Old Huang couple before they passed away.
Half a year later, Chu Mei died.
In life, Chu Mei was a beautiful woman; in death, she became a beautiful corpse.
The Chu Family also needed to arrange a ghost marriage for their daughter. Chu Father was an open-minded man; he believed in promoting gender equality and felt that girls should also have ghost marriages. The son of the Old Huang Family had just died six months ago, making him an appropriate choice, especially since the Old Huang Family offered three hundred thousand.
This was to be the largest ghost marriage in Baijia County. Although it took place at midnight, many people attended.
Some who were alive had never experienced such grandeur at their weddings. Twenty tables of feasts were set under the starry sky. In the shed sat the Old Huang couple and Old Chu and his wife. At that moment, they were waiting to complete an important procedure in the ghost marriage ceremony, looking at each other without knowing how to begin speaking.
A coffin was placed in the center of the shed.
Relatives and friends of the Old Huang Family and the Old Chu Family had all gathered, and those attending the Ghost Marriage were filled with confusion, unsure whether to cry or laugh when the ceremony began.
Two coffins were brought out, and the Ghost Marriage proceeded as scheduled.
According to tradition, the newlyweds would bow once to the ground, then twice to the heavens, and after the Couple Bowing, they could enter the bridal chamber. This chamber, of course, was the coffin.
Two officiants presiding over the Ghost Marriage supported the son of the Old Huang Family on one side and Chu Mei on the other.
They bowed to the ground.
The wind caused the candles in the Shed to flicker.
They bowed to the heavens.
People seemed to hear a soft, delicate sound rising in the desolate night.
Couple Bowing.
As the two exchanged bows, the Old Huang Couple stared intently at the newlyweds. Everyone was startled; their raised glasses fell to the ground, their chopsticks slipped from their hands, and some even sat down abruptly in shock.
Because they realized that Old Huang's head had rolled off.
The head rolled around on the ground before coming to a stop at Chu Mei's feet.
It continued to stare at the newlyweds; perhaps they would reunite below.
No one knew why Old Huang's head had fallen. Blood soaked the Shed and drenched both corpses.
Old Chu screamed and was the first to run outside.
The officiants exchanged glances, abandoning the bodies and fleeing.
People screamed and howled as they ran, scattering food from the banquet set outside. The candles had all extinguished without anyone noticing, and a chilling sound emerged. It resembled a ghostly wail, sometimes deep and sometimes sharp, echoing endlessly in the silent night—a truly terrifying sight.
Someone reported a crime.
When the police arrived, the body of Chu Mei was missing.
Chu Mei's body had vanished; someone claimed to have seen her emerge from the shed.
The scene was chaotic, the moonlight dim. At that moment, the candlelight inside the shed flickered out, plunging everything into darkness. In the confusion, countless people bumped into tables and tripped over one another. A fifteen-year-old boy, fearing he would be knocked down, hid beneath a round table.
He heard sounds coming from the shed and saw a figure stepping out.
To be precise, a corpse emerged from the shed.
It was indeed Chu Mei's body, still clad in that red long dress. The fiery red gown stood out vividly against the pitch-black night, resembling a cluster of flames. The noise around him seemed to fade away, leaving the boy's mind blank. Despite having participated in numerous ghost marriages, this was his first encounter with such a situation.
Chu Mei moved slowly, her trailing skirt gently brushing against the ground. Although the boy couldn't see her feet, he sensed that she wasn't walking in the conventional sense; it felt as if she was gliding just above the ground. Gradually, Chu Mei faded into the night.
No one dared to conduct ghost marriages anymore.
Rumors spread that those who participated in ghost marriages would meet untimely ends. Since this ghost marriage was organized by Old Huang, it meant that Old Huang had to die.
This was what they called Chu Mei's curse.
Some skeptics continued to hold ghost marriages despite warnings. Unsurprisingly, every planner of these ghost marriages met bizarre fates—some drowned in rivers while others succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning. As such incidents piled up, fear gripped everyone; no one dared to organize ghost marriages anymore.
However, when Zheng Family's son unexpectedly died, Old Zheng Family dismissed these superstitions and proceeded with a ghost marriage.
People advised Old Zheng to reconsider and reflect on past consequences.
Old Zheng replied, "This is all nonsense. We are people of the twenty-first century; how can we still believe in ghosts killing people? Superstition! Let’s proceed with the ghost marriage!"
But this time, trouble indeed arose.
The voice that echoed was the same as five years ago during Chu Mei's ghost marriage; all who had attended that event returned. But with Chu Mei's return came the grim reality that someone would die. This time, however, it wasn't the planners of the ghost marriage who perished; it was a grave robber named San'er who met his end.
The body of Chu Mei was missing again; this time, yet another corpse had vanished. Could it be that every time a Ghost Marriage was held, a body would go missing? This needed to be investigated thoroughly.
Suddenly, I remembered someone—a person with necrophilia, whose favorite pastime was sleeping with female corpses.
This person was none other than Old Six.
So, five years ago, was Old Six in Baijia County? And during the subsequent Ghost Marriages, was he also present?
The skinned corpse outside Wei Erge's courtyard might not even belong to Old Six. Its eyes had been gouged out, and its face severely disfigured, making it difficult to identify who had died. Was it possible that Old Six had found a scapegoat and pretended to be killed?
"I only know what I know," Daiyu said suddenly, her tone serious. "The reason I want to share this story with more people is that the more who know, the greater the hope of finding those who gang-raped Chu Mei."
"Do you believe that Chu Mei has returned as a vengeful spirit?" I asked.
Daiyu burst into laughter. "I'm a college student; how could I possibly believe that! Even if Chu Mei became a ghost, she should come back to find me first."
Indeed, Chu Mei and Daiyu were good friends.
"Actually, I used to be afraid of ghosts, even though I knew it was all fake. But after Chu Mei died, I stopped being afraid."
Daiyu's voice was slow and gentle.
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