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墨書 Inktalez
Old Xia slowly walked towards the roadside, his footsteps making no sound on the snow. It was as if he were a phantom, floating in the air. No wonder when he had grabbed my shoulder back in the village, I hadn’t even heard him approach.
I had always felt something strange about this so-called Disabled Village, and seeing Old Xia only intensified that feeling. If the villagers in Tou Gou Zi Village were all like him, then this place would indeed be unsettling. Lost in thought, I followed closely behind Old Xia as we moved to the side.
“Hold onto your shovels!” Captain Zhou called out.
Two vehicles had their hazard lights flashing, and the detectives behind us held flashlights to illuminate our path. On these rural roads, streetlights were few and far between, and most of them were burnt out—either vandalized or simply old and broken.
The cold wind howled around us, weaving through the branches and creating a sound reminiscent of the Wailing of Ghosts and Wolves.
Aside from a few Police Flashlights, everything around us was pitch black as we trudged forward through the snow.
If one were to walk alone on such a road, even without anything present, they would likely scare themselves senseless. It was wise for whoever had discovered the body to leave early; staying quietly with a corpse in this environment would be unbearable for anyone, even me.
Though I was a staunch atheist, people have a tendency to frighten themselves with things that don’t exist.
However, Old Xia, leading the way, seemed completely unfazed by the eerie atmosphere. He moved quickly ahead in near darkness, almost as if he didn’t need to look at his feet. I couldn’t help but recall how he had closed his eyes in the car earlier yet seemed to know exactly where we were going.
When one sense fails, others become sharper.
We continued walking forward; despite wearing gloves, I could still feel the biting cold piercing my hands.
After walking quite a distance, we found only one set of Footprints in the snow. If I was correct, these Footprints belonged to the person who had first discovered the body. This meant that when the victim died or was discarded here, it must have been snowing heavily. The snowfall had covered the Murderer’s Footprints, providing them with perfect concealment.
“This!” Old Xia suddenly exclaimed, his voice hoarse yet loud, resembling a deep bass sound muffled by water.
It seemed he could only manage to shout one word at a time with great effort.
Upon hearing him, we quickly halted our steps, directing several flashlight beams onto the ground. Sure enough, beneath the snow lay a foot. It was bare—no shoe or sock in sight. This was only natural; otherwise, the reporter wouldn’t have been able to see the nail polish on the toenails.
This location wasn’t far from what could be called a road; under normal visibility conditions, it would be entirely possible for someone by the roadside to see a foot protruding from beneath the snow.
However, just from this foot alone, I couldn't be certain that it belonged to a woman. After all, in previous cases, I had encountered all sorts of people and didn't want to jump to conclusions. We didn't rush to dig the body out of the snow; first, we needed to assess the surroundings.
I took out a flashlight and shone it around.
There were no visible traces nearby; the heavy snow had completely covered any signs left by the murderer.
“Wu Meng, have you found anything?” Captain Zhou eagerly sought to learn some techniques from me, his earnest gaze making me feel somewhat elevated.
I quickly replied, “The heavy snowfall stopped about three hours ago. When we received the report, it was still snowing lightly, but that amount of snowfall would not be enough to cover a person's footprints. So the time of death must have been at least three hours ago. As for the exact time, we'll need Guan Zengbin to perform an autopsy.”
“That's right,” Captain Zhou nodded seriously.
I continued, “It's currently nine-thirty in the evening. Three hours ago would be six-thirty. At six-thirty, it was still light outside. The murderer dared to commit the crime in broad daylight and hide the body by the roadside, which means he must be very familiar with this route. He knew that under this heavy snow, almost no one would walk by here.”
As I spoke, I suddenly felt as if I had rediscovered that initial thrill of solving a case—the confidence that came with it. I wondered if my time in Yumu City over the past two months had helped me calm my mind.
“The murderer may not be a villager from Tou Gou Zi Village, but he certainly knows this village very well!” I asserted firmly.
Captain Zhou nodded, “So now, should we dig out this female corpse?”
I nodded and said, “Let's dig it up, but we can't conclude it's definitely a female corpse just yet. Just because there's nail polish doesn't mean this foot belongs to a woman; men can also engage in such behavior.”
Captain Zhou slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “Oh! How did I not think of that? As detectives, we must avoid preconceived notions; I always seem to fall into that trap. You all see? Learn from Wu Meng here; he's only twenty but is already far ahead of you…”
As we spoke, we stepped back while Captain Zhou began directing the detectives to clear away the snow surrounding the area.
Fortunately, the snow was powdery and not too thick, so it didn't take long to shovel away. In just a few minutes, I heard Captain Zhou say, “We've uncovered it.”
We were blocked behind by the detectives and peered in; it was dark and murky inside, making it impossible to discern whether the body was male or female or what its physical characteristics were.
“What is it? Male or female?” I asked.
Captain Zhou coughed and said, "Wu Meng, I can't tell at all!"
"Can't tell?" I asked, puzzled. "How can you not tell if it's a man or a woman?"
Captain Zhou fell silent for a moment and replied, "Well, there's no leg hair, so it’s probably a woman..."
His words became increasingly vague, leaving me utterly confused. I hurried into the circle and finally understood what Captain Zhou meant. The body had indeed been dug up, but only one leg was exposed.
Sometimes life is like this; just when you think you have everything under control, it surprises you with an even stranger outcome. I had considered that someone with nail polish might not necessarily be a woman, but I never imagined that beneath me lay only a leg without a torso.
I furrowed my brow as I looked at the severed limb from the thigh. Slowly, I spoke, "Search! Look around for any other parts; spread out and search!"
A few detectives began to dig around in response.
From just this leg alone, it was hard to determine whether it belonged to a man or a woman. After all, not all men have leg hair, and not all women lack it. The cross-section of the severed thigh showed uneven layers; it was clear that the weapon used by the murderer was not sharp. It seemed that the leg had been hacked off with force.
Based on the thickness of the thigh, one could infer that the person—man or woman—was likely slender. The entire leg was about a meter long, leading to an initial estimate that the deceased's height was probably not short.
I cautiously picked up the leg, which had already become very stiff from freezing. I didn’t dare to apply too much force; everyone knows that harder objects can be more fragile. If I accidentally dropped it on a hard surface, it would likely shatter into pieces.
Guan Zengbin brought over a flashlight and carefully examined the cross-section of the leg.
After studying it for a while, Guan Zengbin spoke in a very serious tone: "Wu Meng, I'm afraid this case we’re dealing with won’t be simpler than what we encountered in Dongxing City."
As a capable forensic expert, Guan Zengbin's statement indicated that this case was certainly more complicated than we had imagined.
"What’s wrong?" I gently asked.
Guan Zengbin replied, "From the cross-section of this leg's wound, there are signs of life traces before it was severed. There are large amounts of blood flow marks at the wound site; the veins are shriveled, and the muscle inside appears to be in a contracted state. In simpler terms, when this thigh was cut off, the victim was still alive..."
Hearing Guan Zengbin's words made me feel an inexplicable heaviness in my hand as if I had swallowed a fly. This thigh had been brutally chopped off while the victim was still alive. The uneven cross-section clearly indicated that the murderer had struck many times.
How cruel and twisted a murderer must be to commit such an act, and how much suffering did the victim endure before dying in torment.
Guan Zengbin is right; this case is as significant, if not more so, than the major cases we encountered in Dongxing City. We can imagine a scene: on a snowy evening, the murderer wields a dull knife, hacking away at the victim's thigh, perhaps while the victim is bound to an iron bed. The victim struggles and writhes, but it is all in vain.
In immense pain, the victim finally succumbs to blood loss.
The murderer carries the severed thigh to the roadside and casually tosses it into the snow.
Then, the murderer quickly departs.
Snowflakes drift down, covering the murderer's footprints.
"I can't find anything!" Captain Zhou shouted from a distance. "It's too late now; even if there are other body parts, it will be hard to locate them. How about we seal off this area and come back tomorrow?"
"Sounds good," I called back.
However, I feared that there were no other body parts left here; perhaps the murderer had only left us with a single thigh.
"Fall back!" Captain Zhou commanded.
Everyone began to regroup. I looked at Gu Chen and Guan Zengbin and slowly said, "If I'm not mistaken, this won't be the last time the murderer dismembers and disposes of a body. He will do this again!"
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