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墨書 Inktalez
Upon hearing the words of the High Taoist, even though Wang Chao was skeptical about ghosts and gods, a sense of unease crept over him. This feeling had been present since he began this mission. He turned to look at the others; everyone was in a state of panic. Suddenly, he felt that the chaotic noise around him had quieted down.
"Stop daydreaming," Jiang He said, tugging at Wang Chao's arm. Leaning closer, he whispered, "Everyone in the village is out looking for the villager who just ran away. Now is the time to search for clues in the village."
Wang Chao pushed aside those unrealistic thoughts and followed the project team members back.
The fields were littered with corn that had been knocked over by someone’s touch. Even so, the dense corn still obscured most people's line of sight. Finding the fleeing villager in this vast Cornfield was not an easy task, especially if that person had escaped into the deep mountains; it would be even harder to locate them.
As Jiang He walked toward the village, he pondered the villager's words about a curse. What kind of curse could it possibly be?
The project team arrived at the village, but it was completely deserted. The comfortable mountain breeze from the morning swirled through the desolate village. Xu Yiman tried calling out a few times, "Is anyone there? Is anyone home?"
Her voice was soft, and no one responded.
Old Shao noticed that every household had its doors tightly shut. Growing up in a rural area, Old Shao recalled that villagers usually left their doors open; they often visited each other like family. But in this village, every door was closed as if they feared something entering or were afraid of something escaping.
"Let’s search around," Shao the Elder suggested.
"Listen carefully," Old Shao said just as Jiang He interjected, "There’s a sound coming from that yard next to us."
The group climbed up to the large iron gate and listened intently to the noises coming from inside the yard. Upon closer inspection, they indeed heard sounds emanating from within—a metallic clanging noise that started as a light "ding ding" and then escalated into a louder "crash crash."
Jiang He recognized it as the sound of metal scraping against metal.
At that moment, Yuan Jun had already leaned closer, pressing his ear against the gate to listen carefully.
"The door isn’t locked from the outside," Jiang He observed after examining it closely. "The villagers must have gone outside; it can't be locked from within. We should go in and see what’s happening."
A few people nodded, and Old Shao spoke up, "Wang Chao, keep an eye outside. Let us know when the villagers return."
At that moment, Yuan Jun had already reached in to pull back the latch and opened the iron gate.
The group filed in, facing the main entrance, with the east and west wing rooms on either side. Half of the courtyard had been turned into a vegetable garden, filled with tomato and cucumber trellises, all bearing fruit. In the sweltering summer heat, it exuded a refreshing coolness.
In the northwest corner of the courtyard stood a cellar. The entrance to the cellar was covered by an iron plate that was flush with the ground and secured with a large black lock. The sounds they heard came from within this cellar. A few people walked over to the side of the cellar, listening to the clanging noises emanating from inside.
Jiang He crouched beside the cellar. He lifted the black lock and examined it closely. The lock was thick and old-fashioned, making it difficult to pry open with brute force. A lockpick would make things easier, but finding wire or anything similar at that moment was not an easy task.
Jiang He tapped on the iron plate of the cellar. Suddenly, there was a loud metallic crash from inside, as if some beast were trying to burst out. The sound of metal chains rattled within the cellar, growing louder and startling everyone.
However, the iron plate was tightly sealed against the ground, making it impossible to see what lay beneath.
Yet the noise continued to intensify.
What could be down there in the cellar, bound by iron chains?
Jiang He continued to pound on the iron plate as the commotion inside grew louder.
"Is there someone down there?" Old Shao suddenly shouted at the cellar.
But there was no response; instead, a louder clanking of chains echoed back at him.
Yuan Jun scratched his head and said to Old Shao, "From that sound, it seems like they might be keeping a wolf or something inside."
Everyone fell silent as they suddenly recalled that there wasn't a single dog left in the village.
What exactly is hidden in the Cellar? What secrets does this village hold? Is Zhang Wenhua really in this village, and where have all those women gone?
At that moment, Wang Chao suddenly rushed back, saying, "The villagers are coming back. We need to go."
The others momentarily set aside their curiosity about the Cellar; they couldn't afford to alert anyone just yet.
As Yuan Jun was closing the main gate, he saw a dark mass of villagers returning from a distance.
Li Sanhan had led the villagers back, and one of them shouted, "What are you doing standing in front of my house?"
After that statement, his expression changed, as if he were worried about something.
Old Shao shifted the topic, asking, "So, did you find that person?"
Li Sanhan shook his head, his tone unfriendly. "No. In such a large mountain area, it's impossible to find someone who could be anywhere."
Old Shao nodded and continued along that line of conversation. "What curse did that villager mention when he ran away? What kind of curse could frighten him so much?"
At the mention of curses, all the villagers fell silent, their eyes fixed on Old Shao as if trying to peer into his very soul. Old Shao noticed their unease; each villager wore a grim expression, some looking fierce like hungry wolves in human skin.
"It's best if you don't ask too many questions about what's happening in the village," Li Sanhan said. "And if there's nothing urgent, try not to leave Er Dan's house. You came to the village without any issues, but since you arrived here, someone has died. You should understand what that means."
Old Shao realized that the more they knew, the more danger they were in. A villager named Nobleman had been decapitated and his head sewn onto a female corpse, while Nobleman's body remained missing. One villager had gone mad upon seeing this and ran deep into the mountains; there had been no sign of him since.
In this isolated mountain village, the killer must be nearby, most likely among the villagers themselves.
Who is the killer? What unspeakable secrets does the village hold? And what lies locked away in the Cellar?
The mystery stirred within the hearts of the project team members.
As he looked at the villagers with fierce expressions, Old Shao made a silent decision. He resolved to contact Guan Deng via satellite phone when he returned, asking Guan Deng to bring a large number of police officers. Old Shao understood that as the investigation deepened and the secrets of the village were uncovered, it was likely that he and his team would not leave alive.
The urgent task at hand was to uncover what the so-called curse was.
For a moment, no one spoke. Li Sanhan patted Old Shao on the shoulder and gently said, "Old man, I hope what I just said didn't scare you. But I can see that you folks aren't exactly timid; it seems you're not afraid of corpses."
This statement startled Old Shao. Could it be that Li Sanhan had already seen through their identities?
Old Shao replied without missing a beat, "We are archaeologists; don't you understand?"
The villagers murmured among themselves, seemingly unaware of what archaeology meant.
Li Sanhan turned to the villagers and explained, "Archaeology is like tomb raiding, but it's organized by the state."
Old Shao helplessly added, "Archaeology involves protecting ancient tombs, so we often encounter corpses. We are not afraid of them."
Upon hearing this, Li Sanhan chuckled and simply said, "I'll notify you during lunch. In the meantime, let's go look for that coward."
This time, Li Sanhan would not let the project team remain alone; he arranged for several villagers to stay in the village. However, Old Shao knew this was merely to keep an eye on them.
When they returned to Er Dan's home, they found no sign of him. Uncertain of where Er Dan had gone, Qiuju Niu appeared somewhat happy at first upon seeing everyone return but then quickly turned anxious. She asked, "Have you found my grandson?"
Old Shao shook his head.
Qiuju Niu looked as if she were about to cry, murmuring to herself, "Wenhua, where could you be? Grandma can't be without you."
When they returned to the house, Jiang He’s words plunged everyone into silence: “Where did our backpacks go?”
Everyone turned their gaze to the spot where their backpacks had been placed earlier, only to find that the area was completely empty—none of the backpacks were there.
Xu Yiman immediately rushed back to her and Qiuju Niu's room, only to discover that her backpack was also missing.
The backpacks contained their change of clothes, food, drinking water, money, and other personal belongings. More importantly, Old Shao's backpack held a satellite phone. Without it, the project team would lose contact with the outside world; in this mountain village, regular mobile phones had long since lost signal.
But who could have done this? Early in the morning, all the villagers had gone to open coffins and handle the dead, and in Er Dan's home, only Qiuju Niu remained. Could it be Qiuju Niu?
However, Old Shao quickly realized that it couldn't have been Qiuju Niu. Although she often appeared to be at odds with everyone, she wouldn’t do something so foolish—unless she didn’t want to take her grandson away.
But if Qiuju Niu had been home watching over things, how could the backpacks have vanished?
Could it be related to the mysterious knocking they heard last night?
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