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墨書 Inktalez
Li Danan suddenly appeared behind me, catching me completely off guard and giving me quite a fright. The sound of his two limbs striking the shelf was not like a typical impact; it resembled two pieces of metal clashing together.
In the midst of our conversation, Li Danan abruptly swung his arm to hit me, and I instinctively raised my arm to block it. However, when his limb struck my arm, I realized that what was wrapped in flesh was not bone at all, but rather a hard metallic substance.
The pain shot through me, making me feel as if I were a child; my arm felt numb. Seizing the opportunity, Li Danan grabbed a rope from above the shelf and securely bound me to it. Then, he surprisingly went to stoke the fire in the stove, casually remarking, "It's a bit cold tonight."
Watching Li Danan's skilled movements, I could hardly believe that this person without hands was capable of such actions. I also hadn’t anticipated that there was no bone in his arms, but something else entirely.
Sometimes, judging a person's inner self by their appearance can be utterly unreliable. At that moment, I was painfully reminded of this truth.
I turned to Li Zhinan and asked, "Did you kill the person?"
Li Zhinan didn’t look at me; it seemed he thought I wouldn’t escape: "Yeah, I killed him."
Yet I still couldn’t believe that Li Danan was the murderer responsible for this crime. There were too many inconsistencies when applied to him. But looking at Li Danan’s calm demeanor made me hesitant to be certain. After all, someone who could brutally kill and dismember a victim would either be terrifyingly composed or utterly deranged.
Li Danan appeared to be the former.
He calmly tended to the fire and seemed not to have any intention of killing me—at least not yet. On this snowy night by the National Highway, no one would come by. This meant that by dawn, Li Danan would have at least three hours to torment me.
I asked, "So now that I'm in your hands, I really can't believe you're the one who kills."
Li Danan smiled lightly; the bashful grin had vanished from his face, replaced by a chilling smile. He said softly, "Officer, you need to understand something in this world: what you see with your eyes is not always the truth. Never rely on assumptions."
Suddenly, those words sounded familiar. It dawned on me that Old Village Chief had said something similar.
Li Danan continued, "Just because you see me as a disabled person doesn’t mean I can’t kill. What I despise most are people like you who look at others through colored glasses. Just because I'm disabled doesn’t mean I can't kill. Look at you—tied up on that shelf like a little chick. Can you struggle free?"
Li Danan's sarcasm left me speechless, so I asked, "Since you admit it, why don't you clarify a bit more? Why did you kill Russell Mei, and why did you dismember her?"
At that moment, Li Danan had already started a fire. Watching the glowing coals, the room indeed became warmer. He stretched out his arm to warm himself by the flames before turning back to me and saying, "Because Russell Mei looked at me with the same expression as you do, as if I were some kind of animal."
Li Danan seemed a bit angry, striking the counter with a bone, even denting the wooden surface. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Russell Mei looked at me with that cheap sympathy. But in reality, her heart was darker than anyone else's. She tried to use her pity for me to make me fall in love with her."
"Bah!" Li Danan spat on the floor before continuing, "Am I going to fall in love with her? I just wanted to toy with her. So I offered her five hundred thousand, and that foolish girl actually agreed."
As Li Danan accused Russell Mei of various faults while looking at me, I found myself wanting to laugh.
But Li Danan wasn't done: "And that Captain Zhou is even more disgusting! Knowing we are disabled, he often comes to Tou Gou Zi Village to help us! Who invited him? Do we need his sympathy? I killed Russell Mei partly because of him! That Captain Zhou may seem kind on the surface, but you can tell he's not a good person!"
I replied lightly, "Alright, Li Danan, since you're the murderer, let me ask you a few questions."
Li Danan furrowed his brow and shrugged. "Still have questions before dying?"
I scratched my itchy back against a shelf and said, "Of course I have questions; it's only right before death. Since you killed Russell Mei, how did you do it?"
Li Danan quickly responded, "She died from blood loss; I didn't use any special method. You saw that newspaper, didn't you? Sometimes I think this is just fate; it happened that you found that newspaper while using the restroom. By the time you left, I had already decided it was time to act."
"What about the others?" I asked with a smile.
"You should worry more about yourself," Li Danan replied without answering.
I nodded seriously and then asked, "Alright then, since you killed Russell Mei, when was the last time you saw her?"
Li Danan answered, "I was the first to discover the body. Can't you figure out some things? The person I killed, the body I disposed of, the call I made to report it—no one knows better than me when Russell Mei died. Let me tell you: it was two twenty-four in the afternoon four days ago. Is that detailed enough for you?"
I fell into deep thought. From these questions, it seemed that Li Danan's description was thorough and flawless, suggesting that he was indeed the perpetrator of this case. He had the motive to kill, the opportunity, and evidence that could link him to the crime. Yet, I still did not believe that Li Danan was the murderer.
"Alright, let me ask you one last question," I said, fixing my gaze on Li Danan.
Li Danan stopped warming himself by the fire and approached me calmly. "Go ahead," he replied.
"Do you have a car?" I asked with a slight chuckle.
"A car?" Li Danan frowned. "Why do you want to know that?"
At this point, I already had an answer in my mind. "Li Danan, you are not the murderer. Why are you pretending to be one? Don't think just because I'm in the village I can't find out what Russell Mei was doing before she went missing. The villagers of Tou Gou Zi Village are mostly disabled, so there isn't a single car in the village."
"Tell me," I said disdainfully. "How could someone without hands like you possibly have a driver's license? Where would you even drive? Where did you park the car? What were you doing before Russell Mei saw you?"
With each question I posed, Li Danan's frown deepened. It was evident from his expression that he had no way to answer these questions. This was the crucial point—something that someone without hands like Li Danan simply couldn't do.
My words undoubtedly struck a nerve with Li Danan, but my heart felt even more confused.
Li Danan was certainly not the one who lured Russell Mei out or killed her, but why would he take the blame for murder upon himself? From Li Danan's shy demeanor, it was clear that this honest man had very few friends. If that were the case, then who could the murderer be?
Li Danan couldn't respond; he merely said, "Why do you always look at me through colored lenses? Why can't disabled people drive? Why do you always think like this? I hope when you go down below, you'll also think clearly about this question; don't blame me then."
With that, Li Danan picked up a red-hot poker from the coal stove using two bony fingers and pointed it at me.
"This thing is burning bright red," he said, directing the heated end toward me. "If I stab this into your throat, you'll leave this world forever. At that point, everything will be settled."
"You would kill me?" I taunted him deliberately, knowing full well that Li Danan would never actually harm me.
Li Danan's eyes flashed with a fierce and helpless look as he said, "Nonsense, why wouldn't I dare to kill you? If it weren't for coming back to kill you, I would have run away long ago. Those fools have all been lured onto the National Highway. If you hadn't seen the newspaper, I wouldn't have been exposed at all."
I shrugged, watching the Fire Hook draw closer. "Alright then, make it quick. I'm afraid of pain."
Just then, the door to the Second Market was pushed open.
A rough voice like thunder rang out, "Let go!"
It was Old Xia's signature voice.
Li Danan jumped in fright at the sound, and the Fire Hook fell to the ground, nearly landing at my feet, startling me as well.
Er rushed in and saw this scene. "Li Danan, you little brat! Why do I keep losing sight of you? So you've been hiding here? You even know how to use the Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell technique? If it weren't for me and Old Xia being clever enough to come back here, you'd have slipped away."
Seeing this, Li Danan bent down to pick up the Fire Hook from the ground.
But at that moment, Old Xia had already rushed over first. Before Li Danan could grab the hook with his bony fingers, Old Xia stepped on him. With a swift motion, Old Xia delivered a hard slap to Li Danan's face, sending him tumbling to the ground and knocking over a row of shelves in the process.
Er ran over to untie me while Old Xia lifted Li Danan off the ground with one hand.
As Er untied the ropes, he said to Li Danan, "Li Danan, I always thought you were honest and straightforward, but now it seems you're the one hiding the deepest. Who would have thought you'd turn from a domestic pig into a general?"
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