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墨書 Inktalez
Guan Zengbin's voice trembled slightly, and it was clear that he had seen something terrifying that caused his panic. His expression only heightened my fear, and at that moment, Gu Chen stepped past us, seemingly to confront the unknown entity that had been touching my head.
Upon seeing it, Gu Chen said sternly, "Stop clinging on. Someone's dead. You've seen at least fifty dead bodies by now; don't linger here. Come and look!"
Gu Chen's voice was quick and serious, making me realize the gravity of the situation. I quickly released Guan Zengbin and turned to look, with Guan Zengbin following my gaze. Just as I turned back, I saw a body hanging high from a tree behind us. The way it hung meant that its hands were close to my head.
At that moment, the body swayed back and forth, causing its arms to move, and its hands kept striking my head.
When we saw the corpse, both Guan Zengbin and I fell silent. The person hanging from the tree was none other than Wu Xiufen.
A cursory glance revealed that Wu Xiufen's pants had fallen to the ground, revealing a pair of red long johns underneath. But I couldn't afford to be surprised by what had happened; I simply couldn't fathom that Wu Xiufen would hang herself here.
For some reason, Wu Xiufen had hanged herself from the tree behind us. We had only been away from her for just over ten minutes.
"Quick!" I shouted. "She hasn't been gone long; she might still be alive."
With that, I rushed forward and grabbed Wu Xiufen's legs, straining to lift her up. Hearing my words, Gu Chen wasted no time and dashed forward in a few quick steps, swiftly climbing up into the tree. In an instant, Gu Chen pulled out a dagger and cut the rope.
Suddenly, I felt a weight shift as Guan Zengbin quickly came over to support the body. Together we laid her flat on the ground, and Guan Zengbin immediately began checking Wu Xiufen's condition. At that moment, Gu Chen also jumped down from the tree.
Earlier, we hadn’t been able to use our flashlights to avoid detection from Wu Xiufen, but now we couldn’t worry about that anymore. Both Gu Chen and I quickly turned on our flashlights to illuminate Guan Zengbin’s examination of Wu Xiufen.
We noticed a deep ligature mark around her chin; from the marks above, it seemed her jaw had likely been broken.
The loud "crack" we heard earlier must have been the sound of Wu Xiufen's jaw breaking.
Guan Zengbin merely touched Wu Xiufen’s neck and jaw before shaking his head and saying, "It's hopeless; it's instantly fatal."
Upon hearing this, my flashlight trembled in my hand. I could hardly believe that Wu Xiufen had ended her life like this. It was unimaginable that a woman in her sixties would take such a long time to climb up a tree just to end her own life.
But why did all of this happen?
But I actually understood that, regardless of the reasons, it was all connected to our arrival. Perhaps it was due to the secrets—those lies that Wu Xiufen told us and the reasons behind them, secrets she would rather die than reveal. So, the old woman Wu Xiufen must have known something.
Guan Zengbin stood up and said, "Death happens in an instant. Wu Xiufen climbed the tree and then tied a knot with a rope, placing her head inside it. And all of this began while we were talking."
Guan Zengbin fell silent for a moment.
With his description, we could imagine a scene. While we were conversing beneath the tombstone, an old woman was preparing for her own death in the tree above us. She moved stealthily, as if playing hide-and-seek with us. Slowly, she pushed her head into the noose, looking down at us.
We could not know what thoughts occupied her mind at the moment of her death. All I knew was that she committed suicide while all three of us were present, leaving no chance for us to save her.
I realized that the sound of the branch I broke earlier might have alerted Wu Xiufen to our presence. When we left, she climbed up the tree. When Gu Chen returned, Wu Xiufen had likely just reached the tree. If I hadn't made a sound, she might not have chosen to commit suicide.
After a moment of silence, Guan Zengbin continued, "Suicide is certain; you can see the clear marks on her neck. The fracture of the jawbone and cervical vertebrae is evident. I just felt her neck bone; there are signs of fracture as well."
Hearing Guan Zengbin's words, I looked at Wu Xiufen's face and indeed saw the features he described.
Guan Zengbin went on, "Medical experiments show that a force of fifteen kilograms is enough to break a person's neck. Given Wu Xiufen's weight combined with the force of her jump, it far exceeds that force. Therefore, the broken neck was fatal. Additionally, the noose above her larynx compressed the carotid sinus and stimulated the vagus nerve, which could also cause instantaneous death. As for the specifics, I will need an autopsy to find out."
I glanced at the rope cut by Gu Chen; it was a long red strip of cloth. In rural areas, people often use a piece of red cloth instead of a belt to hold up their pants, which explained why Wu Xiufen's trousers had fallen down to reveal her red long johns underneath.
At that moment, I realized that if an old woman could let go of her dignity in death, then surely the secret she kept was more important than her life and even more important than her dignity.
I looked at Zhang Qiang's tombstone and then at Wu Xiufen lying beneath it. This couple, who had come together for reasons unknown decades ago, had finally reunited and lay together once more.
I sighed and said to Gu Chen, "Contact the village chief; we need to get the body back."
While Gu Chen called the village chief, I made a call to Mary.
On the phone, I asked Mary to check the customs surrounding the burning of black paper for deceased relatives and what it signifies. I also inquired about the fourth story. Mary informed me that it was around nine o'clock, and everyone at the City Bureau was waiting for the fourth story to emerge, but it had yet to appear.
At that moment, I understood that once the story appeared, we would know whether the Murderer had indeed used the Twelve Zodiac Signs method for killing. Mary assured me that if a new story surfaced, she would notify me immediately.
After hanging up, I felt a heaviness in my heart.
What did Wu Xiufen's death truly signify? Meanwhile, Liu Zheng was lying in wait near Wu Xiufen's brother's house. What would the Murderer's fourth story entail? Who was he planning to kill? And what was the purpose behind the Homicide? These questions swirled in my mind like a tangled mess, leaving me feeling increasingly agitated.
Twenty minutes later, Gu Chen finished his call.
"Damn it," Gu Chen said. "The villagers are too scared to come move the body at night; there are dark things on this mountain. No one dares to come here after dark, except for that Wu Xiufen who has been burning paper for thirty years. But he’s been living alone in that house for thirty years and doesn’t want to communicate with anyone; he’s not exactly a normal person."
I frowned. The village chief's earlier behavior had seemed odd, and now I understood there was such a terrifying legend in the village. No wonder he kept looking around; as the village chief, he probably felt awkward discussing ghostly matters with us.
Gu Chen looked around and then said, "Let’s not waste time waiting for them. Who knows when they’ll arrive? Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll carry the body down while you guys light the way in front."
"Are you sure?"
I glanced at Wu Xiufen's body on the ground. Although those in this line of work aren’t usually afraid of corpses, carrying a dead person forward can be quite daunting. Anyone without absolute courage would certainly hesitate to do such a thing.
Gu Chen nodded seriously. "What else can we do? Or do you want to carry it?"
I quickly waved my hand and, along with Guan Zengbin, helped Gu Chen lift Wu Xiufen's body onto his back.
And so we began our descent.
When we reached the Foot of the Mountain, my phone suddenly rang—it was Mary calling.
"Is there a story?" I asked.
"No," Mary replied. "The story hasn't emerged yet, but your customs are easy to look up. I visited near Dongxing City a long time ago, and I usually like to collect some folk customs. When I compared them on my computer, I actually found that one place has such customs."
"What place?" I inquired.
After a pause, Mary spoke up, "It's the customs of Wanghu Village, also in Dongxing City. When someone dies, it is categorized as either a normal death or an unjust death. In Wanghu Village, if a person dies a normal death, they burn yellow paper. If the person dies unjustly, they burn black paper. The reason is that the residents of Wanghu Village believe that those who die unjustly have not completed their lifespan and cannot be reincarnated; burning yellow paper would not reach them."
"Wanghu Village?" I glanced at Gu Chen and the body behind him. "Mary, isn't the Red Mill Factory located in Xingdong Village?"
"I couldn't find that out," Mary said. "I only saw some information online about purchasing bowls produced by the Red Mill Factory back in the day, which also mentioned these bowls. Later, a knowledgeable netizen provided information about Wu Xiufen, so I looked her up. As for where the Red Mill Factory is exactly, why don't you ask Wu Xiufen?"
I shook my head and looked at Wu Xiufen; she probably wouldn't be able to speak again.
"Let's leave it at that," I told Mary. "If possible, check whether the Red Mill Factory is in Wanghu Village."
"Okay, I'll contact you if I find anything," Mary said before hanging up.
However, just after Mary hung up, a question came to my mind.
"Mary, if unjust deaths use black paper and normal deaths use yellow paper..."
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