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墨書 Inktalez
In Dongxing City, finding a Black Internet Cafe turned out to be quite a challenge. After much searching, we finally located one tucked away in an alley.
On the official website of Dongxing University, we compared the years based on our guesses and previous students' records. Eventually, we found a photo of Hu Pei from ten years ago. In Hu Pei's class, girls were indeed rare, with boys making up three-quarters of the group. Fortunately, beneath the information of these individuals, we found the contact details of their instructor.
We entered the instructor's information into the Dongxing University database, and his phone number appeared before us.
Zhao Mingkun glanced at me and said, "It's your turn to play the fake cop."
I shrugged.
By the time we arranged to meet this teacher, it was already evening. The instructor was now retired, and the investigation was set to take place at his home. It had been seven years since Hu Pei and his classmates graduated, so the instructor didn't have a clear memory of them. After some searching, he finally found a group photo from when they first enrolled.
The instructor spoke up, "This tall guy here—well, you know how it is; college students are all adults now. We don't really keep track of them. Seven years have passed, and I honestly don't remember much. However, I do have some students who visit me during holidays; I have their phone numbers if you'd like to see?"
I pondered for a moment and then asked, "How many classes are there in your major? Do you have photos from other classes?"
If this couple had entered a construction site together, it was likely that this girl was in the same major as Hu Pei and attended the same university. Therefore, she could only be from one of the several classes within that major. The instructor nodded and rummaged through his files to produce a larger photo.
This photo depicted the entire major.
"Here!" Zhao Mingkun suddenly pointed at a woman.
I looked closely and indeed recognized her in the photo. Upon further inspection, I realized this woman was the same one whose eyes had been gouged out at the construction site. It was evident that both women in the photos were quite young. The woman had died seven years ago; at that time, she would have been around twenty-three years old.
"Look at this," Zhao Mingkun pointed to another woman.
Seeing this woman took me by surprise. She was none other than Hu Pei's current wife—Hu Xiaoxue's mother—the woman who had gone insane. It seemed that this case was connected to these three individuals. However, this woman had died seven years ago; now Hu Pei was dead too, and his wife had lost her mind. Was this where the clues ended?
The names of the students were written on the back of the photo, corresponding to their positions in the group shot.
Zhao Mingkun glanced at the names and said, "Hu Pei's ex-girlfriend is Lu Zhiqiu, and his current wife is Jiang Xiaochun. One spring, one autumn—there's something interesting about that."
I frowned and lightly tapped my chin with my hand. "Lu Zhiqiu died seven years ago, but look at how old Hu Xiaoxue is."
Upon hearing my words, Zhao Mingkun immediately replied, "She must be around seven or eight."
I snapped my fingers. "So, after Lu Zhiqiu's death, Hu Pei didn't wait long before getting together with Jiang Xiaochun. If they were such a loving couple, would the man really find a new girlfriend so quickly after the woman’s death and immediately get married and have children?"
Zhao Mingkun continued to examine the photo and answered, "Absolutely not; that's too fast. If it happened that quickly, it means he didn't truly love Lu Zhiqiu. But what was the real truth back then? Was there any connection between Lu Zhiqiu's death and Hu Pei or Jiang Xiaochun?"
At that moment, Old Instructor spoke up, "Police comrades, are you here to investigate the cause of this female student's death?"
I nodded. "That's right. What's the matter?"
Old Instructor slapped his thigh and said, "Wait a minute! I don't remember much about that Hu Pei guy, but I'll never forget this girl! Just a moment; I'll go call her advisor over. You two wait here; I'll be right back."
We both nodded.
Zhao Mingkun continued to look at the image. "There are twice as many boys as girls in this major. How did this Hu Pei manage to charm two girls when he isn’t even that handsome?"
I scanned the photo from left to right, taking in everyone. They were all around twenty back then; now, ten years later, most of them were in their thirties. At this age, I figured most had already gotten married and had children. Of course, there were exceptions like Zhang ****, who at thirty-three seemed like a forty-year-old man with nothing to show for himself and still hadn’t found a partner.
I just wondered if anyone still remembered what happened back then.
"Isn't that the famous architect?" Zhao Mingkun pointed at another man.
I shrugged. "Stop focusing on these useless details. Graduates from Dongxing University at their current age are probably pillars in various industries. In another twenty years, when these people are in their fifties, you might see them on television—it’s only a matter of time."
“People from Dongxing University, such high-quality talents, can they really kill?” Zhao Mingkun teased.
I smiled and replied, “Knowledge and quality have always been two different things. Just because someone graduated from Dongxing University doesn’t mean they won’t defecate in public or peek at others while they bathe. Those who haven’t been to school might still help the elderly cross the street or act bravely in emergencies. And those with high intelligence might even have the ability to express their malice through more covert means.”
“That’s true,” Zhao Mingkun agreed.
At that moment, Old Instructor returned, accompanied by an elderly woman in her fifties or sixties, a grandmother. Upon seeing us, she immediately asked, “Are you police? Are you here to investigate the Lu Zhiqiu case?”
I nodded.
“I’ve been waiting for you!” The old woman’s eyes were brimming with tears. “After all these years, you still haven’t forgotten this case.”
“Please sit down, Grandma,” I quickly urged her to take a seat.
She nodded and sat down on the sofa, picking up a photo from her admission documents. “I was Lu Zhiqiu’s instructor. Seven years ago—specifically, seven years and seventy-eight days ago—I received a call from the construction site saying one of my students had an accident there. At that time, I didn’t think much of it; I assumed it was just an injury, so I hurried to the site.”
“And then?” I asked.
The grandmother continued, “When I arrived at the construction site, they had already called the police. The officers had cordoned off the area with caution tape. Since I was her teacher, they let me in. Once inside, I witnessed something I would never forget for the rest of my life.”
Zhao Mingkun and I exchanged glances, knowing she must have seen the body.
The grandmother looked at us both and said, “From a distance, I saw someone lying on the ground. My heart sank; if someone is lying on the ground without being taken to the hospital, it’s almost certain they’re beyond saving. I hurried over and realized it was indeed my student. She was dressed, but her limbs had been severed. Her head—her head had also been cut off, and both of her eyes had been gouged out.”
She wiped away her tears and said, “It was so brutal; there was blood everywhere. Later, the police informed me that Lu Zhiqiu died at night, but there were no surveillance cameras at that time. No one knew why she was here in the middle of the night. The police suspected she might have been lured out by someone, but who that person was remained unknown.”
“Wasn’t it an accidental fall?” I asked.
"Did she fall to her death?" The old lady shook her head and said, "It definitely wasn't a fall. How could someone fall and have their limbs and head separated like that? I believe she was murdered. At the time, the police suspected it was someone she knew; otherwise, why would a girl come here in the middle of the night? But after investigating, they couldn't find a single suspect."
"Many of us studying this profession were there that night. It was our last internship, and while everyone else was happily drinking and singing, she died while the rest were still in the room. Even the body was discovered only later!" The old lady continued, "Initially, they thought it might not be someone familiar but suspected the workers at the construction site. Yet, there were no leads."
We nodded, signaling her to continue.
"The police interviewed many people but found no clues. We still don't know who came out that night. As for who Lu Zhiqiu was looking for, that's also a mystery. And why did they kill Lu Zhiqiu so brutally? I have no idea." The old lady's brow furrowed with worry. "With something like this happening in my class, how can I face Zhiqiu's parents? Seven years have passed, and there's still no clue. You must find this Murderer and avenge Zhiqiu! She has been a lonely spirit for seven years; it's time for her to rest!"
From the old lady's words, I began to sense some doubts.
Hu Pei, as Lu Zhiqiu's boyfriend, had not searched for his girlfriend all night when she went missing; instead, he only discovered her body later. There had to be something wrong here—was it possible that Hu Pei had killed Lu Zhiqiu?
Now, Hu Pei had died in his new house, and his daughter Hu Xiaoxue had gouged out her own eyes before dying. Jiang Xiaochun couldn't handle such a blow and had gone mad.
From the image on my phone, next to the close-up of Lu Zhiqiu's eyeless head were four words—"I have returned."
Who has returned? Is it Lu Zhiqiu? Could it really be a ghost committing murder?
At that moment, the old lady pulled out several old photographs from her pocket and said, "These photos were taken at the construction site back then. I've kept them for seven years, fearing that as time passes, it would become harder to clarify what happened. Take a look."
The photos were shocking; they were all images of Lu Zhiqiu's corpse.
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