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墨書 Inktalez
I was reluctant to make such a choice, often swayed by my emotions. But the thought of how brutally Russell Mei had died, with her body right in front of me, made me feel it was necessary to seek justice for her. At the very least, I didn't believe that Russell Mei was so irredeemable that she deserved to die.
I shared my thoughts with five people.
After I finished speaking, there was no expression on any of their faces. The greatest hypocrisy in this world is the ability to hide one's emotions; sometimes, I envied those who wore their hearts on their sleeves.
When they were happy, they laughed heartily; when they were sad, they cried openly. That was the innocence of childhood. Yet as we grew older, we increasingly forgot this innate ability. Our laughter didn't always signify joy, and our tears didn't always indicate sorrow. We had to constantly guess each other's thoughts, making life exhausting.
How wonderful it would be if we didn’t have to rely on guessing!
They remained silent, neither arguing nor breaking down.
I knew I was right.
I continued to unravel the truth of the matter.
In fact, Captain Zhou had known from the moment he saw that foot that it belonged to Russell Mei. He had gone to pick her up just after she left a nail salon. What puzzled Captain Zhou was why the body appeared at the East Village entrance when he had clearly killed someone at the West Village entrance.
A wave of intense fear and curiosity surged within Captain Zhou. He realized that this case was inextricably linked to him, and he knew he had to find out who was responsible.
However, what surprised Captain Zhou was that it wasn't a complete body but just a leg. He felt fear because anyone capable of such an act could not be an ordinary person. At that moment, Captain Zhou felt a sense of duty and necessity to investigate the truth behind this incident.
Even if it ultimately turned out that he himself had killed Russell Mei.
Thus, Captain Zhou displayed immense passion for this case; he had to get to the bottom of it.
Yet the case was incredibly convoluted, and Captain Zhou knew he couldn't solve it alone, so he placed his hopes in me.
That night, Captain Zhou spoke with us about Russell Mei. When he became emotional, it almost seemed like he would confess to being her murderer. But at that time, both Gu Chen and I thought Captain Zhou was merely troubled by his feelings and paid little attention. It was also at this moment that Captain Zhou decided to first investigate who had dismembered the body.
I looked at everyone and slowly said, “There is one crucial question: What secret did Russell Mei know about Captain Zhou that made him feel compelled to kill her?”
"Finally unable to hold back, Er asked, 'All of this is just your speculation. Why would you, Captain Zhou, want to kill her girlfriend?'
I replied slowly, 'Actually, you don't know this either. Russell Mei didn't tell you. So you still don't understand why Captain Zhou wanted to kill Russell Mei, do you?'
'What?' Er continued to ask.
I glanced at the staircase above and then said, 'Captain Zhou once told us that he has two younger siblings who need a large sum of money for school. Captain Zhou was very poor; he was terrified of being poor. Nothing gave him a sense of security, but Russell Mei was about to take away his only source of security.'
'Captain Zhou was passionate about being a police officer,' I continued. 'He couldn't leave this profession. It was the most important identity for his survival, but Russell Mei wanted to take that identity away from him; otherwise, she would demand a large sum of money from him.'
I shook my head. 'Captain Zhou couldn't give her the money, and he couldn't give up that identity either. But he couldn't have both the fish and the bear's paw; what could he do? Captain Zhou chose the most extreme method—he killed the person who threatened his ability to have both.'
Er seemed a bit irritated and said, 'Stop beating around the bush; just say what you mean.'
I nodded and looked around at everyone. 'Because Captain Zhou is colorblind. According to our country's laws, colorblind individuals cannot be police officers. Captain Zhou once told me that when he became a police officer, the information entry wasn't strict. He concealed this fact and became a police officer.'
'And after becoming a captain, the department naturally wouldn't suspect that someone who had been an officer for nearly ten years could be colorblind,' I stated firmly. 'That's why Captain Zhou always comes here to help everyone; in his heart, he believes he is just like you.'
As I spoke about these matters, a hint of bitterness arose within me. Captain Zhou had been a police officer for twenty years and had never made any mistakes due to his colorblindness. But rules are rules; just as I could never become a police officer. Ironically, I had the ability to join an auxiliary group because of my qualifications, while Captain Zhou did not have that opportunity.
'Captain Zhou is colorblind?' The others couldn't believe my words and asked in unison.
I nodded seriously and said, 'That's right; Captain Zhou is colorblind. When we were at Old Lady Wang's house before, Captain Zhou cooked us a meal. To showcase his culinary skills, he once said something like "fragrant and flavorful."'
I shook my head. 'That statement caught my attention because how would an ordinary person phrase it? The correct way is "color, aroma, and flavor." But Captain Zhou is colorblind; there are no colors in his world. So what seems ordinary to him feels ordinary to us as well.'
'However, one later incident made me fully realize that Captain Zhou is colorblind,' I looked at the five people and said. 'Because you didn't know about Captain Zhou's colorblindness, you wrote provocative words on the wall with blood. But that blood had been there for some time; it had darkened significantly, and the blue bricks of the wall were close in color to that dark red blood.'
I shrugged my shoulders. 'If it were us, we would naturally see the Blood Characters on the wall at a glance. But for Captain Zhou, he couldn't see them. That morning, he shoveled snow as if he were oblivious to it all. At that moment, I had an inkling of the answer.'"
“Having lived with Captain Zhou for a long time, Russell Mei might have inadvertently discovered that Captain Zhou is colorblind,” I said slowly. “Before uncovering this secret, Russell Mei may have thought about spending a lifetime with Captain Zhou. But after learning this secret, Russell Mei changed.”
I sighed, finding it somewhat amusing. “People are like this; when a relationship is balanced, two people can be happy together. But when the scales tip, people change. Russell Mei knows that as long as she knows this secret, Captain Zhou wouldn’t dare to act too boldly.”
“And then, tragedy struck.”
I shrugged and recounted the whole truth of the matter.
Captain Zhou, at forty years old, still hesitated to marry, perhaps fearing such situations. Yet for Russell Mei, Captain Zhou must have developed genuine feelings. Otherwise, how could someone who has pretended for a lifetime fail to maintain the facade for just a few months? But Captain Zhou doesn’t understand that the world is always dynamic; people change.
People fear loss, but once they know they won’t lose something, they become careless.
It’s like knowing your parents will forgive you, so you often argue back and show them your displeasure. It’s like knowing your boyfriend won’t leave you, so you throw tantrums and cause drama.
The ones who get hurt are always those who invest more; this is an unchanging truth.
Yet the most ruthless are often these very people. When your parents finally decide to sever ties with you or when your boyfriend finally chooses to leave, that’s when you realize how wrong you were. And as Russell Mei’s behavior escalated, Captain Zhou could no longer hold back.
Captain Zhou had always wanted to see the prowess of our team and witness us solving cases. But when the opportunity truly arose, it was about Captain Zhou’s own case.
“But you have no evidence,” Er said calmly.
I waved my hand dismissively. “I don’t have evidence now, but it will appear soon enough. Captain Zhou has recently given all his money to Russell Mei; he certainly hasn’t sent any extra money to his siblings. Also, there is a clear distinction between committing a crime before murder and murder before committing a crime.”
I glanced at Russell Mei’s body and said lightly, “Don’t think that simply stabbing something into a female corpse’s lower body can create a narrative of rape. Even if you’ve done quite a bit of work to cover up the truth.”
“But most importantly,” my voice softened, “Captain Zhou will choose himself, just as you wouldn’t kill me either. Captain Zhou is indeed a good person who helps others; you are good people too, grateful and loyal. But in this world, many things cannot be explained merely by good and bad.”
“Stop this,” I said. “Captain Zhou merely hopes to solve a case on his own before it’s too late.”
Several people silently looked at me, and I could feel the sadness in their eyes.
Were these people good or bad? Was Russell Mei a good person or a bad person? Was Captain Zhou a good person or a bad person?
Is there really such a clear boundary between good and bad that one can distinguish at a glance?
"Why, why did it end up like this?" Er cried out. "We did so much, thought of so many ways, why did it still come to this?"
I didn’t understand, nor could I make sense of it.
Perhaps this is how the world is—there will always be things that you cannot comprehend.
Tou Gou Zi Village is a good place; the villagers here are simple and helpful to one another, not cold at all. But Tou Gou Zi Village is also not a good place; it showcases all the kindness while suppressing all the malice within, which feels too false.
Is this really a paradise?
I slowly climbed up the ladder, and no one stopped me.
Just as I had woken Gu Chen and Captain Zhou, I heard the blaring of police sirens outside.
A person pushed the door open and walked in; it was Guan Zengbin.
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