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墨書 Inktalez
I handed the note to everyone, and under the bright streetlight, the two black characters appeared somewhat eerie. The writing was in running script, and the characters were in a slender gold font. It was evident that this old man had a certain level of education. Moreover, the fact that he managed to slip this note into my hand without anyone noticing while escaping indicated that he was quite logical, not someone who had lost his mind.
Juan Juan said, "There's an old saying: 'A person's handwriting reflects their character.' Anyone who can write so beautifully cannot be associated with madness. Mastering such calligraphy is not easy; it must have taken years of practice. This suggests that the old man is patient and rather cautious."
Analyzing a person's handwriting can indeed reveal aspects of their personality. For instance, if someone's writing is clean and tidy, it indicates that they care about their appearance and have a strong sense of self-respect. Conversely, if someone's letters are large and not aligned horizontally, it suggests an extroverted personality but a lack of patience.
The type of character one has will dictate the nature of their actions; this is already determined when they put pen to paper. Practicing writing can improve its appearance, but it does not change how one's character manifests in their writing.
I looked up at the sky and said, "It's getting late; we should head back."
With that, I patted Dezi on the shoulder three times. Upon returning to the Police Department, we had a simple dinner at a nearby stall. Captain and the others were not in the office; they were likely still busy outside. The reinforcements from above would arrive tomorrow, which meant Captain and his team would soon have less on their plates.
I wondered if there would be a sixth victim tomorrow; I estimated there wouldn't be. The Killer must want us to investigate Spring Return Nursing Home; this was the clue left for us. Until we grasped this lead, it seemed unlikely that another victim would appear.
Sitting on my bed with my eyes closed to rest, I didn't change out of my clothes because I knew someone would come looking for me. Sure enough, around one o'clock in the morning, I heard footsteps approaching. I opened my eyes to see Dezi pushing the door open. Earlier, when I had tapped him on the shoulder three times like in a scene from Journey to the West, he understood my intention perfectly.
Though it wasn't exactly three in the morning yet, it was close enough.
Seeing that I hadn't changed into pajamas yet reassured Dezi that he had come at the right time. He asked me, "Brother Shao, is something going on?"
I nodded and replied, "This afternoon, it became clear that there's something wrong with Spring's Return Nursing Home. I didn't say anything earlier because I thought it might be dangerous. Now that it's just the two of us, let me explain in detail. When you restrained that old man earlier, I noticed deep wounds on his wrists and ankles."
"The way those wounds looked clearly indicated they were caused by wire." I continued, "Even if he were mentally ill, no legitimate hospital would use wire to restrain patients. Plus, He Pingli confirmed he was a licensed physician; that's abnormal. Although we don't yet know what’s going on at Spring's Return, I suspect there's something fishy related to these elderly people."
Dezi listened intently and agreed that something felt off. He said, "Yeah, I also found it strange—his hair and clothes. There's a difference between mental patients and homeless people; I was the one who restrained him, and he smelled like he hadn't washed in years!"
I stood up and prepared my gear—knife and flashlight—glancing at Dezi who was already suited up. I couldn't help but smile as I said, "Exactly! Tonight we’re going to find out what secrets Spring Return Nursing Home is hiding. Was that old man's note just a prank from a madman or is there something truly deadly behind it…"
Arriving near Spring's Return Nursing Home, we didn’t approach the entrance directly; our goal was to infiltrate secretly without being discovered. We parked far away and saw lights shining in the distance—it must have been the front desk—but all the streetlights inside the Nursing Home were turned off at this hour to save electricity.
Spring Return Nursing Home covers a vast area with parks and streams interspersed throughout; turning off the lights at night saves quite a bit over a year. This made our infiltration much easier as well—the iron fence surrounding the Nursing Home wasn't very high and there were many blind spots where security rarely patrolled.
We climbed over the wall and took cover among the branches of nearby trees; it was pitch dark around us—our hands couldn’t see five fingers in front of our faces—and while we couldn’t see anyone else, they couldn’t see us either. On this chilly autumn night, a cool breeze rustled through the treetops with a sound reminiscent of ghostly wails, sending chills down our spines.
This was also one of the reasons I didn't want Juan Juan and Mary to come.
We found a small path and followed it out. Dezi whispered to us, "Brother Shao, where are we going now? This Spring's Return Nursing Home is just too big, and it connects to the Scenic Area behind it. If we take a wrong turn and end up in the Scenic Area, we won't be able to return tomorrow."
As I walked, I kept my head down, looking at the patterns on the path, and slowly said, "Do you remember that small path from this evening? If we can find that path, we can follow the direction they took the elderly away. At least we'll have a general direction."
Dezi replied, "There are so many paths here; can you really tell them apart?"
After walking for more than ten minutes, I noticed a character formed by stones on the ground and said, "Yes, this is it. When the elderly person knocked Manager Wang down, he happened to land on this character. After that, they took him in that direction." As I spoke, I pointed.
"These details depend on your memory," Dezi said as he looked into the distance.
I smiled and replied, "In a bit, it will probably depend on you. Let's go!"
Following that direction, we continued onward. After about twenty minutes of walking, all we could see were trees. The surroundings were silent; nothing could be distinguished even a meter away. The stone-paved path had disappeared beneath our feet, replaced by a dirt road that seemed undeveloped.
Dezi was getting anxious as I led him further off course. He said to me, "We've gone from the cement road to the stone path and now to this dirt road. It seems like we're moving further away from Spring's Return Nursing Home. Are we heading into the mountains?"
Indeed, we could feel the ground sloping upward beneath us. I stopped and closed my eyes, carefully recalling the terrain and building layout when we first arrived at Spring's Return Nursing Home. Directly opposite the main entrance was an office with European-style architecture; to the east was an office with Chinese characteristics. From there, one could see that to the north were the residences for the elderly and their leisure area.
No one had ever taken us to the west side because Spring's Return Nursing Home was higher on the west side than on the east. The west appeared to be Five Dragon Mountain, with five winding peaks stretching from south to north. There should be no buildings on that side; if anything shady were happening, hiding in the mountains would be the safest option.
Considering various aspects—the terrain, the location of Spring's Return Nursing Home's buildings, and where the elderly were taken that day—the west seemed like the most plausible area. I told Dezi, "Let's walk a bit further; this direction should be promising."
Dezi nodded, and we continued climbing. In terms of stamina, Dezi was several levels above me. Sweat was pouring down my forehead while Dezi seemed as if he were taking a leisurely stroll without a hint of fatigue. I couldn't help but admire and envy him; he was truly young and strong.
The higher we climbed, the colder it became. I lost track of how many meters we had ascended; ahead of us no longer resembled a path at all. In the pitch-black night, if we got lost in these mountains, descending would likely take until morning. Although Dezi didn't say anything, I suspected he was filled with doubts.
I stopped to look around; in the distance, the light from the gatehouse had become just a dot—like a star hanging in the sky—and if you didn't look closely for it, you wouldn't see it at all. Before this point, we could still see its light to determine our direction; however, if we went any further up, getting lost would be easy.
I wondered if there were any small animals in these mountains...
"It seems like it's not here," I frowned and quietly said to Dezi, "Let's go down. If we keep going up and lose it, it'll be a hassle. If we can't find it, we'll meet with He Pingli tomorrow. We must get something out of her."
Dezi was about to speak when suddenly he reached out and pulled me behind a tree. The movement was quick and silent, like ghosts in the dark night. In that instant, we heard rustling sounds nearby, but we couldn't tell what it was.
Then, we heard the sound of water dripping, and we immediately understood—someone was urinating nearby. At the same time, a light flickered on; someone was smoking while relieving himself. He had his back to us, and neither Dezi nor I dared to breathe, fearing that we would be discovered.
"You brat!" a voice rang out. "Smoking again? We've been told multiple times not to smoke here!"
"I'm being careful; I won't start a fire," the smoker mumbled through his cigarette.
"Start a fire?" another voice laughed and replied, "Having a fire is just a minor issue. If you think about it carefully, you should know why they prohibit smoking up there. Don't say I didn't warn you; one day you might get caught by them, and then you'll regret it."
At this point, the smoker retorted, "I know that; what's so hard to understand? It's just about not getting caught. It's the middle of the night in the mountains; who would come here? As long as you don't report me, no one will find out."
As he spoke, the red tip of his cigarette glowed a few more times.
A senior high school student was kidnapped along with a leggy school beauty and a busty third-tier celebrity, trapped in an abandoned cabin after mistakenly eating unknown wild fruit, feeling restless all night.
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