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墨書 Inktalez
Seeing that the other party knew everything, Wang Da felt there was nothing left to hide. He walked into the restroom and pulled out a deep blue trash bin. He yanked out the black plastic bag on top and set it aside, revealing a blue package at the bottom of the bin.
Wang Da took out the package, unzipped it, and dumped its contents onto the coffee table. A clattering sound echoed as various pieces of jewelry spilled out—earrings, rings, necklaces, and studs.
The jewelry piled up in a chaotic heap, consisting of silver, gold, and platinum pieces—there were dozens in total.
Everyone was taken aback by the sheer quantity of jewelry. It seemed that over the past five years, many unclaimed bodies had been found, along with those whose identities could not be determined. Old Shao sighed; as a veteran detective with decades of experience, he understood how many people go missing in every city. Many of these individuals are never found again—they vanish without a trace, leaving their fates unknown.
In this world, people are born every day, and others pass away. Among those who die, some remain unclaimed—without family or friends—becoming wandering souls. At Old Shao's age, he valued farewells deeply because no one knows if they will ever meet again in life.
"Is that all there is?" Old Shao asked as he glanced at Yuan Jun. "Pack this up."
As Yuan Jun gathered the jewelry, he remarked, "This is quite a lot; no wonder Li Erdan was planning to use this jewelry to pay off his debts."
Old Shao continued to observe Wang Da and said, "Li Erdan never had a gambling habit until five years ago when he developed an addiction. I wonder who taught him to gamble."
Wang Da waved his hand dismissively. "You can't pin this on me! I only got him to play Fight the Landlord; that has nothing to do with me."
Old Shao stood up and told Wang Da, "You look terrified. Let's head back to the police station and follow the procedures; these things aren't yours, so there's no need to hide them."
Wang Da looked like a wilted eggplant, not uttering a word.
Back at the City Bureau, Old Shao spoke to Guan Deng. "Li Erdan's phone is unreachable, and Zhang De has no idea where he went. Guan Deng, can you locate Li Erdan's phone? If it's turned off, we might never find him."
Guan Deng nodded and began typing away at his computer.
Old Shao turned to Jiang He and said, "Perhaps we can learn about the Criminal Consultant's whereabouts from Li Erdan. I’ve checked before; the Criminal Consultant stayed at the crematorium for such a long time without anyone noticing—only Li Erdan discovered him. This could very well have been intentional."
At that moment, Yuan Jun said, "Damn this Criminal Consultant. He has been living in the crematorium and should have known long ago, just like Old Wei, that Zhang Haitao is the murderer."
Jiang He spoke up, "This Criminal Consultant is far more dangerous than a criminal like Zhang Haitao. Some criminals only kill, but he kills people's thoughts. Just like Wei Demian, he influences many to commit evil and crime. If someone like him isn't caught, there will be even more criminals in the future."
Old Shao nodded in agreement with Jiang He's words and said seriously, "Wei Demian and his ilk have an evil yet clear purpose: to restore humanity's primal instincts and push for evolution. What they fail to understand is that humanity gradually abandoning its primal nature is already part of the evolutionary process."
"No matter what their goals are," Jiang He's gaze was firm, "as soon as their methods go wrong, they will lose their way. It's like a student who often cheats; once their methods fail, in the end, it’s just superficial success."
Old Shao nodded slowly and remarked, "This world is always gradually getting better. However, along this path, the evil of human nature will always emerge. When one Wei Demian dies, there will be a disciple to take his place; when that disciple dies, others will follow. Bad people cannot be eradicated, but there will always be someone to carry the torch we hold, dispelling darkness wherever they can. With a bit of warmth, we can emit a bit of light."
With that, Old Shao stood up and looked out at the moonlit night.
As Old Shao gazed at the distant starry sky, the moonlight was bright tonight, dimming the surrounding stars. Yet far away, there were a few particularly bright stars. Their brilliance was not diminished by the moonlight; they shone just as brightly.
Old Shao knew those stars were not people he recognized. He understood that those who had passed away were not remembered by many; they were merely dust in the vast history. Yang Juan, Zhao Mingkun, Wu Meng, Liu Jian, Shih Huacheng... these individuals were just fleeting figures in Old Shao's long life. Yet as he grew older, he found it harder to forget them.
Their stars were destined not to shine brightly but also not to extinguish.
Because Old Shao was there remembering them.
And among those he missed most was Yang Juan. Thirty years had passed in the blink of an eye; he wondered how she had been all this time.
Before he knew it, tears began to flow.
"Old Shao," Jiang He's voice came from behind him. "Guan Deng has found Li Erdan's whereabouts."
Old Shao coughed twice, rubbed his eyes, and nodded.
Guan Deng handed over his phone, which still displayed "Huang Family Shed."
Yuan Jun scratched his head and said, "This Li Erdan, after all the twists and turns, we’re back at Huang Family Shed."
"Let’s go," Old Shao said. "We’re heading out."
Yuan Jun drove the group toward Huang Family Shed, and they were almost familiar with the route. Around ten o'clock at night, the area around Huang Family Shed was dark, with no streetlights and the buildings unlit. From a distance, it looked like a "ghost town" squeezed into the city.
The hallway was dimly lit, and Jiang He had to use his phone's flashlight for illumination. Along the way, he saw messages about debts and repayments; the bright red paint reflected in the white light of the flashlight. This could be directed at Li Erdan or perhaps all the residents living here.
Their footsteps startled several spiders, which hurriedly scurried into corners, observing these uninvited guests from the shadows. The intruders finally stopped in front of a door. At that moment, Guan Deng dialed a number on Li Erdan's phone while Jiang He pressed his ear against the wooden door.
After a moment, Jiang He said, "I can hear sounds inside."
"Li Erdan?" Yuan Jun banged on the door while shouting.
There was no response from inside; it was unclear what Li Erdan was doing.
Xu Yiman glanced at Guan Deng's phone and said to everyone, "No one is answering."
"Li Erdan, if you don’t open the door, I’m going to kick it down!" Yuan Jun declared.
Still, there was no reaction from inside.
Yuan Jun nodded and said to Jiang He, "Jiang He, step back a bit. I'm about to kick the door down."
Jiang He moved a few steps aside, just in time to see Yuan Jun deliver a flying kick. The Huang Family Shed was already an illegal structure, and the wooden door was merely for show, meant to deter honest people rather than thieves. With a loud bang, the door flew open, crashing against the wall with a resounding thud.
Yuan Jun was the first to enter, and under the moonlight, he saw someone swaying in mid-air.
"Who?" Yuan Jun shouted.
The figure remained silent, continuing to sway. Yuan Jun had no fear of the tangible world, but he was wary of these ethereal entities. Jiang He approached the shadow and after a moment said, "Li Erdan."
"Li Erdan?" Yuan Jun asked.
With a sharp click, Jiang He found the switch on the wall and turned on the light.
A corpse was hanging, swaying in the wind along the narrow corridor. A draft blew in through the bathroom window, causing everyone to instinctively wrap their clothes tighter around themselves.
Li Erdan had hanged himself, dying in his own hallway.
Yuan Jun immediately drew his handgun from his waist and cautiously made his way down the corridor.
Jiang He spoke up, "No need to search; there shouldn't be anyone else in the house."
Yuan Jun did not relax until he had checked every room thoroughly.
Li Erdan was hanging by a long red rope, with a chair placed at his feet. Not far from this chair stood another one. However, while Li Erdan's chair lay on its side, the other chair was upright. The two chairs were only about ten centimeters apart.
Old Shao gently walked up to Li Erdan's corpse. At this height, Old Shao's head was just at the level of Li Erdan's waist.
"I don't get it," Yuan Jun said, looking at Li Erdan's body. "You weren't killed by Li Erdan, and none of this has anything to do with him. Why would you commit suicide?"
"Is it really suicide?" Xu Yiman replied. "It's still uncertain."
Jiang He slowly circled around Li Erdan's body. He looked up at Li Erdan's neck, where there was clearly only one mark from a ligature, with no second mark in sight.
"The door was locked from the inside," Old Shao said, glancing at the lock in the room.
"This is the fourth floor; there’s nowhere to escape outside. It wouldn’t be easy to leave after committing murder," Jiang He remarked as he walked into the bathroom. He closed the window in the bathroom, blocking the cold autumn wind outside. "No one can get in through this window."
"What about the other windows?" Jiang He asked.
Yuan Jun and Xu Yiman entered various rooms, and after a moment, they reported back, "The windows in the other rooms are all locked; only the bathroom window was open. But that space is too small for anyone to squeeze through."
"Locked Room Murder?" Yuan Jun asked.
"No," Jiang He and Old Shao replied simultaneously. "It's suicide."
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