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墨書 Inktalez
Sometimes, the eyes can deceive, and often, one cannot rely on guesses.
The Old Village Chief had told me this, and so had Li Danan. At this moment, I found myself believing those words wholeheartedly. What I saw before me—was it truly the reality? Did it mean that if there were more people involved and their feelings were sincere, then their actions would be justified? If that were the case, actors would become judges.
My voice was not loud, but it was enough to reach the ears of the three people present.
Before anyone could respond, a voice came from the ground. It was Uncle Li's voice: "Enough of this. We're at this point; what good is there?"
As he spoke, Grandfather Sun helped Li Luo slowly descend from the ladder.
Li Danan asked, "Why are you two coming down? What about the other two?"
Grandfather Sun replied, "After knocking them out with a stick, I gave them some sedatives. They probably won't wake up for a while. But really, does it matter whether they wake up or not? Are you planning to kill all three of these police officers?"
At this statement, all five fell silent.
Li Danan looked at me, and I looked back at him. Although his wounds had stopped bleeding, his face was still smeared with dried blood, resembling a scene from a car accident. Li Danan glared at me fiercely before gritting his teeth.
Then a scheme slipped from his lips: "Brothers, listen. Right now, those two police officers are still up there unconscious and unaware of anything. The only one who knows we five are murderers is Wu Meng. If I take him out, then no one will know."
Li Danan thought he had come up with a brilliant idea: "We'll stick to our original plan. After I knock out Gu Chen and Captain Zhou, Wu Meng will arrive just in time. We'll get into a scuffle, and in the chaos, I'll kill Wu Meng. At that moment, you all will have mistakenly returned to the city and run into me."
Li Danan was excited: "Just like that, you'll catch me and wake up Gu Chen and Captain Zhou. With my testimony and yours combined, our Officer Wu Meng will become a martyr; he will have died in the line of duty while I face the legal consequences as I should. This way, everything remains hidden from prying eyes."
After he finished speaking, everyone fell into a brief silence.
"What do you think?" Li Danan asked.
"Let me speak first," said Er. "This matter started because of me; I am the main culprit. I no longer want to run away or kill. I can't even tell if I am a perverted murderer or just an ordinary person anymore. I'm so tired. Killing is not as easy as I imagined. You know, since this all began, I haven't had a single peaceful night's sleep. I don't want to continue like this. Every time I close my eyes, I can see Russell Mei sitting up..."
Tears slowly fell from his eyes, but there was no sound of sobbing. The tears he shed today might surpass all those he had cried in the first half of his life.
"I'm not running, not killing, not hiding anymore." Er looked at me with misty eyes. "Yes, I don't want to kill you. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it long ago."
At that moment, Li Luo sighed and said, "I was once blind and couldn't escape far. In my own home, I feel like a fish in water; in a strange place, I'm no different from being dead. If I've done something wrong, it's only right that I face punishment."
Li Danan frowned and asked, "Have you all decided to let him go? Is there no one who thinks like me?"
At that moment, Old Xia shouted, "Kill!"
Old Xia was indeed a person of few words; even when it came to killing, he only needed one word.
This created an awkward situation; it was now two against two. Only Grandfather Sun remained silent, and everyone turned to look at him. The implication was clear: Grandfather Sun held my life and death in his hands. But honestly, I didn't mind. Because things had progressed to this point, it was increasingly aligning with my expectations.
However, the atmosphere remained cold—not cold with anger but cold within the heart.
Grandfather Sun glanced at me and then at everyone else; his lips moved slightly as if he had made a decision. "I believe this officer is a good person. When Kang Ning saw that hand, he thought it was meant for him. This officer not only didn't blame Kang Ning but also protected his dreams."
His eyes reddened as he continued, "Kang Ning has forgotten many things over time. But as a father, I can't forget a single word from those people. I will forever hate them and can never forgive them. The reason I moved here is that this place feels more like home to us; here we can survive."
"I can't take Kang Ning out with me; he understands things now." Grandfather Sun smiled through his tears and said, "I don't want to take him on the run. Even if I die, if I can leave him here, I'll be satisfied. Honestly, it's not easy meeting you guys or meeting this officer."
"It's not easy," Grandfather Sun said softly. "Nothing is easy."
Li Danan looked at everyone as if unable to comprehend. "So you mean to just let him go? Once he goes out, we'll all be caught. I only have half a year left to live; it doesn't matter where I spend it. But you all are different; you still have plenty of time and a long life ahead."
"That's it," Er sighed. "My original obsession was to buy a house in Dongxing City, but now I see, what good would it do to buy a house? I wanted to leave two years ago, yet here I am, still stuck. I didn't understand before, but now I do. This place is truly a paradise; it's really different from the outside world."
"Yeah," Li Luo agreed. "We've lived here too long; we've been marked by this place and can't leave."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Er looked at Li Danan and Old Xia and said, "We've really decided not to run anymore. Right now, those two outside are still unconscious, and Wu Meng poses no threat to us. It's pitch black outside; you two can take my truck and drive along the National Highway to escape. By the time dawn breaks, you'll be far away."
"And then never come back," Er said somewhat melancholically. "Never come back, hiding in a place like Tou Gou Zi Village for the rest of your lives. I know you are all good people; you deserve to live long lives. You all deserve to live long lives."
A somber atmosphere spread among us, as if these few were delivering their last words.
Caught in the middle of these people, I felt like an outsider. If it were someone with a softer heart, they might have already succumbed to the brotherly bond of these five during this moment of Separation of Life and Death. In truth, hearing this made me feel a bit melancholic and sympathetic; my heart even wavered slightly.
Li Danan suddenly slammed his hand against the wall beside him and said, "If you’re not running, then why should I? I only have half a year left to live; I don’t want to die on the run. I've lived my whole life in Tou Gou Zi Village, albeit a short one. But home is where the heart is; I don’t want to die out there."
Old Xia muttered, "Damn."
Though it was just one word, we understood Old Xia's meaning from that thunderous voice: he wasn't leaving either.
The five of them stood firm, looking at me.
I shook my head, gazing at these people, unsure of what to say.
I had already guessed the truth about everything, but when I uncovered that truth, I wished I hadn’t known it at all. The truth was always starkly bloody and dark, yet I was fascinated by this feeling. At my age, I wanted to understand everything in the world.
Like why I had been abandoned, whether I would see Zhao Mingkun again, and who exactly Wu Zui was.
And what these five were truly planning to do.
I furrowed my brow and said, "You really don't want to kill me. Despite your fierce appearances, you never intended to take my life from the very beginning. If it were someone with a weaker mindset, they would have fallen into your trap long ago. But I'm not that person; I've never been afraid of death."
"I just don't understand why you're doing this," I continued. "But suddenly, I realized something. I had asked you about this before. In this world, there is not only love but also other emotions that give rise to pain and evil. Sometimes, killing isn't just about taking a life; it can also be about saving one."
"What do you really want?" Number Two looked at me.
I spoke slowly, each word deliberate: "From the moment I entered this city, you arranged a play that was easy for me to see through. So I figured out that Li Danan was in cahoots with you. You five conspired to kill someone. But when I saw the body and watched your performance, I understood—you are still acting."
Number Two shook his head. "What acting?"
I gave a bitter smile. "There's no need for acting anymore. Since I can say this, I already know the true nature of this case. What I can't comprehend is whether it was really worth it. From the moment you decided to kill, you must have anticipated how things would unfold now."
I looked at everyone—Number Two, Old Xia, Li Danan, Li Luo, and Grandfather Sun—the five of them desperately trying to portray themselves as twisted individuals.
The interesting thing about the world is that those who are twisted never admit to being so, while those who are not twist the label onto others.
I continued, "You five sacrificed yourselves merely to save one person."
I fell silent for a long time, and so did they.
After a while, I finally spoke again, my tone slow, each word almost popping out of my mouth: "Is this person really that good? Is this person truly worth what you've done? Is this person really worth your sacrifice?"
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