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墨書 Inktalez
Li Danan was shouting at the entrance of Old Lady Wang's house, his tone urgent as if something serious had happened. Old Lady Wang, however, showed no reaction to the commotion outside and continued to smile cheerfully. We quickly stood up and headed outside, while the Old Village Chief hurriedly gestured a farewell to Old Lady Wang.
As we stepped out of Old Lady Wang's home and opened the large iron gate, we saw Li Danan's anxious face.
I was about to speak when Li Danan jumped in first, "Officer, you need to come see this! Something big has happened."
I nodded and replied, "If it's urgent, you should take your time. What exactly is going on?"
Li Danan finally took a breath and explained the situation: "I was waiting for you at the Village Committee when some villagers came running in with news of something unbelievable. I asked what was going on, and one villager said he saw a hand sticking out of the snow! There’s a patch of snow over there with a hand coming out of it!"
His eyes reflected sheer terror.
"A hand sticking out of the snow?" Li Danan hesitated, and I was confused about what he wanted. I asked, "What do you want from me?"
Seeing that I wasn’t getting it, he simply grabbed my arm and said, "You’ll understand once you see it."
We nodded and followed Li Danan quickly toward the west side of the village. After walking for about ten minutes, we spotted a dense crowd gathered in the distance, all staring intently at a particular area in the middle. The people were packed tightly together, making it impossible for me to see what was happening inside.
As we got closer to the crowd, I could hear their chaotic discussions.
"This is freaking strange!" someone exclaimed. "A hand grew out of the snow?"
Others chimed in, "Is this a joke? It can't be real."
The Old Village Chief was being pushed forward by Gu Chen. As he moved ahead, he shouted, "What’s going on? Why are you all gathered here? Step aside, everyone! Make way!"
Hearing the Old Village Chief's voice, many people instinctively parted to create a path for him. Following this opening, I finally got a clear view of what everyone was surrounding.
Indeed, it was a hand protruding from the snow; it was clearly a right hand.
"Clear the way, clear the way," the Old Village Chief shouted. "Let the officials from the City see what’s going on here."
I closely observed the hand that emerged from the snow. It was painted with nail polish, and it looked like the same color and style as the polish on the large leg we had found. This hand, protruding from the snowy ground, revealed an arm and palm. The palm was in a gripping position, but there was nothing in it, only air.
The skin of this arm was pale and slender, and combined with the large leg, it strongly suggested that the deceased was female.
The snow here was about thirty centimeters thick; it would be impossible for a person to be hidden beneath it. Thus, like the large leg, this was merely a severed limb. Judging by the thickness of the snow and how the arm stood upright, it appeared that this arm had been thrust into the snow, with more than half of it buried.
Guan Zengbin crouched down to carefully examine the severed arm.
After observing for a while, Guan Zengbin put on gloves. She grasped the hand with her left hand and pulled hard, yanking the entire arm out of the snow. A gasp erupted from those around us, and everyone instinctively took a few steps back. As Guan Zengbin pulled out the arm, everyone could clearly see where it had been severed.
From examining the severed end of this arm, it was evident that it had not been cut with a blade. We could see that the edge was jagged and bore clear signs of having been bitten by some animal. On the cross-section of the bone, there were rows of bite marks.
These bite marks appeared dense and sharp, with deep holes visible on the bone. This indicated that such marks could not have been made by a human. In this village, I could only think of one animal likely responsible: a dog. However, since I arrived in this village, I had yet to hear a single bark.
Was it that there were no dogs in this village, or were its dogs deaf and mute?
Guan Zengbin frowned slightly and slowly addressed us, "Look at this arm; the tendons inside are taut, which is why the fingers are in a grasping position as if reaching for something empty. In medical terms, this condition is called cadaveric spasm. It typically occurs at the moment of death due to muscle contraction and rigidity, which fixes the posture and expression of death."
After a moment's thought, Guan Zengbin continued, "The previous large leg exhibited similar characteristics; its foot was also tensed upwards due to muscle contraction and rigidity. This means that when this arm was bitten off, this person was still alive. It’s possible that both limbs belonged to the same individual under similar circumstances."
I nodded as I looked at the arm and asked, "The nail polish on this person's fingers seems to match that on the leg. They both have a dark color and similar application techniques. Can we confirm that these two severed limbs came from one person?"
"Possibly," Guan Zengbin replied with a nod. "It’s very likely; although we can't guarantee they are from one individual without DNA testing, based on my experience, they should belong to one person."
A horrifying image flashed through my mind. If we considered this arm and that leg as belonging to one person, we could imagine a gruesome scene unfolding. While this person was still alive, they were controlled by a murderer who chopped off one of their legs with a cleaver while simultaneously unleashing dogs to bite off one of their arms.
How cruel a murderer must be to commit such an act.
To dismember a living person, regardless of how much the victim cries and screams, the murderer never hesitates.
In my mind, I picture a butcher with a dog, searching for prey. Once the prey is caught, I would mourn for it.
I looked around at the people nearby; each one was staring at Guan Zengbin and the arm he held. Their expressions varied—some were serious, others fearful. The snow-covered ground was filled with footprints, making it impossible to conduct any investigation. The murderer could easily blend in among these people.
Tou Gou Zi Village is surrounded by fields to the north and south, with rolling hills in the distance. At this time of year, it's unlikely anyone would be living in the mountains. To the east of the village lies a National Highway, with only a small town nearby and no residents. The west connects to Yuzhou City's urban area, which requires over two hours by car to reach.
This village has relatively poor transportation, especially after such a heavy snowfall that occurs once in many years. It would take at least three hours for someone from outside to arrive here.
Looking up, I saw thick clouds hanging low in the sky. It was unclear when it might start snowing again.
The murderer must be very familiar with this village to have hidden an arm in this snow pile without being noticed. This means that the murderer could very well be hiding among this group of seemingly harmless disabled individuals.
There were dozens of people gathered here. From their appearance, some were clearly disabled, while others were not immediately recognizable as such—perhaps they had disabilities like being deaf or mute.
Could the murderer also be disabled? And was the victim one as well?
Guan Zengbin said, "The conditions here are too rudimentary. I can extract DNA but cannot conduct tests or comparisons. Any findings will need to be sent to the city for examination."
Gu Chen nodded and then shook his head. "We need to return to Yumu City's Municipal Public Security Bureau; it will take at least three hours. It's very inconvenient, and there are no leads in Tou Gou Zi Village."
Captain Zhou patted Gu Chen on the shoulder and said, "How about this? I'll request an officer from the Municipal Public Security Bureau specifically for our transport."
Then Captain Zhou looked at Old Village Chief and said, "Wei Village Chief, it's quite gloomy now; it might start snowing at any moment. If we head back now, we could get stuck in the snow on the way. Moreover, given how ruthless this murderer is—disposing of a body in broad daylight—we should stay here for now."
"I wonder if there's anywhere for us to stay?" Captain Zhou said.
The Village Chief nodded. "You don't need to worry about that. There are plenty of houses in the village, even if there aren't many other things. I'll find a few rooms for you. However, the conditions won't be as good as in the city, and there won't be any heating; we use a Coal Stove for warmth. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that."
It seemed that Captain Zhou was quite invested in this case, showing a strong sense of duty.
I waved my hand, interrupting their conversation. "Now is not the time for these matters; we can discuss living arrangements later tonight."
"Who was the first person on the scene?" I shouted at the gathered Crowd.
The surroundings remained restless, and no one paid attention to my words.
Seeing that the crowd wouldn't quiet down, Old Village Chief shouted, "Everyone, be quiet! Can't you see that people have died? What are you making noise for? The officer is asking you—who saw this hand first? If it was you, step forward; if not, just stand quietly to the side."
In Tou Gou Zi Village, it seemed Old Village Chief's words held more weight than mine. Before long, those who had been restless fell silent.
Then, a child around seven or eight years old stepped forward.
I looked over; this child had only one arm.
"Grandpa Wei," the child said timidly while looking at Old Village Chief. "I saw this arm first. I... I even went over to touch it, but then my dad pulled me back."
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