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墨書 Inktalez
We will never know if, at the moment Hao Ren acted bravely, he was thinking of seeking justice for the owner or if he wanted to make a name for himself. Just as we cannot determine whether Zhang Bin's words at the dinner table were drunken ramblings or the true thoughts of a sordid mind.
It is like we do not know where those who clamored for the truth, the Crowd, are now.
Perhaps all they wanted was the truth they wished to see.
It has been a week since Hao Ren left, and Mary posted about it, but her post quickly sank in the vast ocean of online chatter. Compared to the viral murder video from before, Mary's post about the truth behind that video received a pitiful number of clicks.
It wasn't that Mary's skills were lacking or that we couldn't afford to hire online influencers; rather, something else happened this week—a celebrity from the entertainment industry passed away. This star was known for being approachable and well-liked, and their untimely death created a wave of mourning online.
Guan Zengbin looked at Aunt Li's reposted Weibo and said, “Aunt Li doesn’t even know this celebrity but still shared some random topics as if she were a devoted fan. But maybe that's for the best; no one will keep hounding us anymore. Otherwise, I bet Gu Chen wouldn't dare go out lately.”
I suddenly recalled the news that had exploded on social media a few days ago: "Heroic Act Ends with Police Assault." The image accompanying the news was of Gu Chen gripping Hao Ren by his collar. In just a few days, it seemed no one was talking about it anymore, and the uproar surrounding the Hao Ren incident had also faded from social media.
Gu Chen shrugged and said, “I would have forgotten about it too.”
I sighed and replied, “The pace of society today is really too fast. People have become accustomed to living in such a rapid environment; news can be overshadowed by something bigger within minutes. We live in an online society where any event is known almost immediately. I think this matter might just end here forever.”
At that moment, the director walked over and told us, “We just received an invitation from Hao Ren. His martial arts school is finally opening next month, and all the prominent figures from Yumu City will be attending. He apologized to us; those were his lawyer's words.”
I shook my head and said, “Hao Ren really knows how to play this game well—apologizing only after things have calmed down? He’s not a criminal; he doesn’t need to apologize to us or anyone else. He merely used this incident to boost his own fame while dragging someone else into the mud forever.”
Everyone fell silent.
Guan Zengbin remarked, “That's how trending events work; they don’t last long. They might fade away in no time—at most within a month. Just like how people no longer mention Hao Ren, perhaps they don’t even remember who Zhang Bin is anymore. Does it really matter who is right or wrong? Maybe Zhang Bin has moved to another city and started a new life where no one knows him.”
“Go ahead then; what else can we do?” I replied.
On the morning of the sixteenth day of the lunar calendar, we found ourselves outside Hao Ren's martial arts school, the sound of firecrackers crackling in the air. It was a grand day for opening a business. However, there weren't many people gathered outside the school; the crowd was sparse. We spotted Hao Ren at the entrance, his face beaming with a smile.
Seeing us, Hao Ren approached and said, "I know I made mistakes, but it’s good to teach Zhang Bin a lesson. Look, I’ve successfully opened a martial arts school, and Zhang Bin will never make such a mistake again in his life. Isn’t that a win-win situation? Don’t look so serious; there aren’t many people here. People are forgetful; in a month, they will forget who I am and who Zhang Bin is."
With that, Hao Ren pulled out fifty thousand yuan and handed it to us. "Take this money to Zhang Bin. If I wanted him dead, he would have been dead long ago. Du Ziguo indeed wants to fight him; it was I who stopped him. Du Ziguo hasn’t been using drugs for long, and he has always done physical labor. Most importantly, he learned boxing from me."
Hao Ren shook his head, revealing a sorrowful smile. "If he were to confront Zhang Bin, how could Zhang Bin survive? Although Zhang Bin is despicable, he doesn’t deserve death. But I must teach him a lesson; can you understand how a father feels?"
"I can spare his life; that is my greatest mercy," Hao Ren said with a hint of desolation in his eyes. "Whether you see me as good or evil, I believe I can answer to my conscience. A few days ago was the seventh day since Qi and Zigui passed away. In our village, there is a custom: once the seventh day has passed, the person is truly gone."
"Then let’s end this matter here," Hao Ren continued as he walked into the martial arts school. "You give this fifty thousand yuan to Zhang Bin, and from now on we will have no more grievances or entanglements. The matters of the martial world belong to the martial world; my journey has come to an end. Whatever we do, we should be true to our conscience. If we can bring happiness to our families, why not do it?"
With that, Hao Ren left without looking back.
I stared blankly at the plaque above the martial arts school.
It wasn’t just Hao Ren's martial arts school; it was Hao Ren's Martial Arts Academy.
The art remains.
Gu Chen looked at the fifty thousand yuan in my hand and slowly said, "Hao Ren's final words didn’t seem like lies. Is he ultimately a good person or a bad person?"
I didn’t answer; I didn’t know how to respond. Most of the time, we tend to view the world through a binary lens, but in reality, it is complex and ever-changing. A person can be both good and evil; something can be both white and black. In reality, there are never things that are purely black or white, nor are there entirely bad people or entirely good people.
Yet most of the time, we overlook this fact.
He might have been bad at the moment he intended to frame Zhang Bin, but perhaps he was good at this very instant.
Hao Ren turned and left, telling us that the matters of the martial world belonged to the martial world, and from then on, we would sever ties. With the fifty thousand yuan in hand, we set out to find Zhang Bin. It had been two weeks since we last saw him; ever since he left, we had not heard from him again, and he might have already left the city.
We went to the rental house to look for Zhang Bin, but he had already departed.
"Where are we supposed to look now? His phone is off. What if he has already left this city for another?" Gu Chen frowned and said, "After all, Zhang Bin isn't a local; he's an orphan. It doesn't matter where he goes."
I pondered for a moment and replied, "Do you remember that cheap rental place? Let's check there. If Zhang Bin isn't there either, we can just return the money to Hao Ren."
We arrived at the outskirts to the cheap rental house where Zhang Bin used to live.
The door was locked from the inside, and since these containers had no windows, it meant that if someone locked the door from within, there must be someone inside. However, Gu Chen knocked several times with no response. Growing frustrated, Gu Chen slammed his hand against the door, which surprisingly swung open.
A foul odor wafted out, thick and overwhelming.
A pair of feet appeared before us, hanging limply in mid-air.
As sunlight streamed in, we could clearly see those feet—and their owner.
It was Zhang Bin.
A rope was tied around his neck; he was dead.
The corpse looked like it had been there for some time. Fortunately, it was winter, so decomposition wasn't too severe. Even so, white wriggling maggots were visible; his place was indeed filthy and chaotic.
We all fell silent, unable to believe that Zhang Bin had died just like that. The person who had been so cowardly in the police station was gone. The container showed no signs of being tampered with, which made it clear—he had committed suicide. Zhang Bin, who was so afraid of death, had actually taken his own life.
Guan Zengbin stepped forward and examined the body. "Let's head back for the autopsy," he said.
The autopsy results came back.
Guan Zengbin stated flatly, "The time of death was around ten o'clock in the morning a week ago. The cause of death was hanging. From the scene, no additional fingerprints were found, which means..."
I continued his thought, "This means it was suicide. The container wasn't damaged at all; I carefully observed the latch behind the door. Unless Gu Chen forced it open, it couldn't be opened from the outside. Naturally, no one could have locked the container from the inside and then left. There's also one very obvious piece of evidence."
"What is it?" both of them asked simultaneously.
I replied, "He changed into a new set of clothes."
"Is that important?" Gu Chen questioned.
I nodded. "For someone who wants to die, it's very important."
"What does it signify?" Gu Chen asked again.
I glanced at the cold body and said, "It signifies that he wanted to bid farewell to his old self. Perhaps some unfounded accusations placed on a person everyone despises can be deeply hurtful."
"What about the body?" Guan Zengbin asked. "He was an orphan; if no one claims him in a week, he'll probably be donated to a university. Most of the bodies I autopsied were unclaimed ones."
It suddenly struck me that Zhang Bin was also an orphan. Before he became a thief, he had been an orphan too. Unfortunately, he hadn't encountered a father like Hao Ren; he could only rely on himself. I realized this only now; I had always thought that orphans like Zhang Bin were different from people like Wang Anfangqi.
I suddenly understood the last words of Zhang Bin.
The date of Zhang Bin's death was only a few hours apart from that of the celebrity.
The body had been placed for a week, and we had lost hope that anyone would come to claim it. Yet, in a twist of fate, a girl came to identify the body a week later. She looked shy and wore tattered clothes.
"I heard my brother's body is here for identification?" she said timidly.
"Your brother?" I asked.
"No, not my biological brother," she replied, clearly frightened by us. "His name is Zhang Bin; he is my adoptive brother. I saw the report on television."
I nodded and led her toward the morgue while asking, "How did you come to call Zhang Bin your brother?"
She answered softly, "I have always been with him; he adopted me. I have health issues and have been in the hospital recently."
Then she showed me the scar on her abdomen.
"It was from when my father hurt me. We never had money for treatment. Later, my mother was afraid my father would kill me, so she secretly abandoned me." She spoke without any emotion. "I had no money until now. Recently, my brother saved enough for me to have surgery..."
Finally, I understood where Zhang Bin had spent his money and realized who he had been hiding from all along.
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