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墨書 Inktalez
The woman's words made my heart skip a beat. The bus from last night vividly appeared in my mind. I gently tugged at Molin's arm, pulling him a bit aside to facilitate our conversation.
"I might know what's going on."
Molin looked at me in shock. "You know?" Then he quickly frowned. "Did you get into trouble again? Jun Chong is going to be angry if he finds out."
"Hey, hey, hey." I shot him an annoyed look. "First of all, I didn't cause any trouble; I just might know something! Secondly, why do you care if I upset Jun Chong? It's not like he's your anything."
"Exactly."
Tian Yuan muttered quietly, then started laughing with me. Molin looked at us in disbelief, and a chestnut fell unceremoniously on my head. Before I could retort, Tian Yuan chimed in, "I'll go tell the Lord that you hit his woman."
"…"
I immediately burst into laughter, wrapping my arms around Tian Yuan and rubbing my face against hers. Raising an eyebrow, I proudly said, "Tian Yuan, well done!"
"Don't stoop to the level of women and pets," Molin said with a click of his tongue. Even though he was at a disadvantage, he still had a sharp tongue. Frowning deeply, he asked, "What exactly do you know?"
Since we were getting serious, I didn’t want to delay any longer. While watching the developments over there, I told him, "Last night, Jun Chong and I saw an old bus pass by on the road from the balcony. I even wondered why it was so crowded at this hour. Jun Chong told me there were no people inside. At that moment, I didn’t see if those two deceased were on it, but I felt there must be a connection. There’s only one bus that runs late on that route; I just didn’t catch which line it was."
Molin furrowed his brow in thought for a moment before suddenly pulling me toward the store manager. The manager was quite burly and was animatedly explaining the situation to the police; his voice was loud enough for us to hear clearly even from a distance.
"I already said it was around one-thirty in the morning. We were counting inventory too late, and since they insisted on going back, I took them to the bus station and watched them board the bus before returning home. They were both fine at that time; there was no one else around to vouch for me, but I certainly didn’t kill them!"
"You say it was one-thirty, but our preliminary estimate of the time of death is between one-thirty and two-thirty. During that period, you were the only one who had contact with them, and the last call recorded on the deceased's phone was from you. Therefore, we have no choice but to suspect you and ask you to come with us."
"The time of death is between one-thirty and two?" I said while holding onto Tian Yuan with one arm and resting my chin on my hand. "I remember the bus showing up before two; could it be that a Vengeful Spirit committed the murders?"
I didn’t hear Molin ’s response; turning around, I realized he had disappeared. Looking left and right, I couldn’t find him anywhere. "Where did he go?"
"He cast an invisibility spell and went inside," Tian Yuan said, scratching his neck. "The atmosphere here is thick with blood energy, mixed with an unknown scent that is somewhat unpleasant. There are no souls of the deceased around."
"Could it be another snake demon?" The last encounter with a snake demon left me uneasy, and Tian Yuan's description sounded somewhat similar.
Tian Yuan shook his head. "No, but I can't quite say what it is. However, I did sense an eerie aura last night. That bus you mentioned might be the Ghost Bus. I suspect the two people accidentally boarded the Ghost Bus and were then torn apart by a ghost, their souls taken away as well."
"But ghosts kill like beasts do?"
"A Vengeful Spirit can, but not all ghosts do." Tian Yuan licked his claws. "I haven't dealt with this kind of thing for a long time since following my master, so I don't know much about ghosts. My guess could be wrong."
At that moment, the police had finished their investigation. A few officers were lifting two corpses into a vehicle, and I stood nearby.
As they approached, my eyes suddenly felt very painful. I rubbed them and when I looked up again, it seemed like the bag containing the bodies had become transparent, allowing me to see the corpses clearly inside.
The clothing on both bodies was torn to shreds, revealing skin that was bloody and mangled beyond recognition. Distinct claw marks were evident, each one deeply embedded into the flesh, exposing stark white bones beneath—a sight that stirred a primal urge for vengeance.
"Hey, what are you daydreaming about?"
Molin clapped me on the back from behind, startling me. Passersby turned to look at us, and Molin's face darkened. "What are you yelling for? Am I that scary?"
"You don't know how frightening people can be!" I shot him a glare. When I looked back at the bag, it was still just a bag; I couldn't see the bodies inside at all. " Molin, what did you see just now?"
"The wounds on those two bodies do resemble claw marks from a beast, but it's hard to tell which beast it could be. However, aside from the fatal wound on the neck, none of the other injuries are lethal—but they could certainly make someone wish for death. I think someone must have harbored a deep hatred for them to kill them in such a manner."
"So it might not be a ghost?"
"Not ruled out," Molin explained. "Ghosts are just a general term for souls; beasts have souls too. Some beasts can be as ferocious as a Vengeful Spirit. I couldn't detect the souls of the two individuals, so I can't find out much more; perhaps they are hiding."
"Hiding would still leave some trace, right?" I recalled last night's bus and said, "Do you think they could have been taken by the Ghost Bus? Tian Yuan mentioned that bus was actually a Ghost Bus."
"That's a possibility." Molin pondered for a moment before saying to me, "How about this? Tonight at midnight, let's come back here and try our luck."
He slammed his hand on the table decisively. I glanced at Tian Yuan, who shook his head at me, and I knew Jun Chong would definitely refuse. But Molin seemed determined to go.
Once the police left, the onlookers dispersed as well. I pulled Molin along, intending to head to the market to buy some groceries. Just a few steps outside, I spotted a tall figure standing at the corner of the alley.
Dressed in a beige casual outfit that exuded a gentle charm, he had his hands tucked into his pockets, leaning casually against the wall with half-closed eyelids, seemingly waiting for someone. Women passing by paused in their tracks, captivated by this sudden handsome man who radiated an aura of pink bubbles.
I halted my steps, and Molin turned back, clicking his tongue. "Why aren’t we moving?"
"Look over there," I pointed towards Su Ziqian. "I have a feeling he’s here for me."
Sure enough, as soon as I finished speaking, Su Ziqian opened his eyes and walked towards me with measured steps. He was tall and handsome, moving with an elegance that made each step resemble that of a prince from a fairy tale—graceful and courteous, just like his name suggested: Jun Su Ziqian, polite and refined.
Molin raised an eyebrow at him and chuckled. "Your second spring? No, wait, second spring is for Qi Yi; this must be your third spring then? Why hasn’t Jun Chong dealt with him?"
His voice was loud, and I wasn’t sure if Su Ziqian heard him. I stepped on Molin's foot hard and lowered my voice with a hint of schadenfreude. "He’s Xiao You’s potential boyfriend!"
Molin ’s expression soured instantly as he glared at Su Ziqian with resentment. I couldn’t help but feel delighted inside but tried not to show it too much. Su Ziqian stopped in front of me and smiled slightly. "Anxin. Can we talk?"
He got straight to the point. I knew we needed to discuss work matters, and considering how eager he was for me to join the Su Family, it surely wasn’t just because of Lin You’s suggestion.
"Sure! But I have something to do, so it can’t be too long."
"That’s fine; just a cup of tea's worth of time."
"Okay." Since I had made up my mind, I pushed Tian Yuan into Molin's arms. The two of them had never gotten along well; Tian Yuan clung to me stubbornly while Molin wore a dark expression and refused to take over.
I felt quite helpless and reassured Tian Yuan, saying, "If he bullies you, I'll help you get revenge; don’t worry." Then I tiptoed closer to Molin's ear and whispered, "You take Tian Yuan to buy groceries first; I'll help you get some information and see if I can help you win Xiao You back."
"I’m not involved with Xiao You like you think," Molin coldly replied with a cryptic remark before carrying Tian Yuan away.
I blinked, thinking he was just being jealous.
Su Ziqian found a very elegant café, decorated with a charmingly quaint style. The graceful sound of the piano was like a gentle spring breeze, making it quite comfortable.
I ordered a glass of lemonade and got straight to the point. "Mr. Su, I know this job was requested by Xiao You, but you really don’t have to go through all this trouble. Even if I were to lose this opportunity, I wouldn’t be upset, nor would I tell Xiao You. To be honest, the job at the Su Family is indeed excellent and would greatly benefit my future—it's something no one would want to refuse. However, I really have some matters to attend to recently, and I might not even be able to start until September."
"As long as you're willing to come, you can start whenever you want. I'm not just being so attentive because of Xiao You's request; it's because your graduation project aligns perfectly with our needs. We genuinely want to hire you."
Su Ziqian spoke in a soft voice, like flowing stream water, always making people feel comfortable and easily likable. Although Lin You often joked around and sometimes seemed carefree, if she truly liked Su Ziqian, I would definitely support her.
Yet, I personally believed that the one who truly deserved Lin You was Ling Feng.
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me; it's your ability that brought us here. We should be the ones thanking you for considering us. Actually, I didn’t just invite you here for this matter."
"What else is there?"
Su Ziqian added half a packet of sugar to his coffee and stirred it with a spoon before tapping the spoon against the cup's rim and setting it aside. He lifted the coffee cup and took a sip. When the bottom of the cup touched the saucer, it produced a delightful "ding." For a moment, my mind went blank before his gentle voice returned.
"Ling Feng is dead."
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