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墨書 Inktalez
On the evening of May 25th at 8 PM, the Brick Factory in Lianhua Town, Tong'an District, Xiamen was still operating normally. Zhu Fei had just finished a day's work and, as usual, took a shower before returning to his dormitory.
In the three months he had been here, he had behaved like an ordinary worker—leaving early and returning late, speaking little, and working diligently. No one knew that this seemingly honest man from Sichuan had blood on his hands from an innocent elderly woman.
Zhu Fei truly believed he had escaped. "Sichuan is so far away; who would think I’d come to Xiamen?" he often reassured himself. "Besides, that old lady had no relatives; maybe no one will even notice she’s gone." Yet the fear in his heart never truly faded.
Whenever the night grew quiet, Zhu Fei would recall that fateful evening when Old Liu lay in a pool of blood. Sometimes in his dreams, he could still hear the old woman's pleas before she died: "Young man, I’ve treated you well; why would you do this to me?"
"Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it," Zhu Fei would often tell himself. "It’s all in the past; it’s fine."
That afternoon, while moving bricks, his coworker Xiao Li suddenly asked, "Zhu Fei, where in Sichuan are you from? My hometown is also in Sichuan."
Zhu Fei's heart tightened. "Hejiang County."
"Hejiang County? I know that place!" Xiao Li exclaimed excitedly. "I have a classmate from Hejiang. During the New Year, he mentioned that something big happened there—an old lady was murdered, and the killer hasn’t been caught yet."
The brick Zhu Fei was holding nearly slipped from his grasp. He forced himself to appear calm. "Oh... really? When did that happen?"
"It was around the Spring Festival. I heard that old lady was really kind and often took in people from out of town for lodging; in the end, she got harmed. It’s such a shame that good people don’t get good rewards."
Zhu Fei's face turned pale. He quickly lowered his head to continue working, but his heart raced like a drum.
"This is bad; it really has spread," he thought to himself. "Could someone suspect me?"
That night, Zhu Fei couldn’t sleep. In the following days, he became unusually sensitive. If someone looked at him for too long, he felt they were suspicious of him; if people whispered nearby, he thought they were talking about him. This mental torment was more painful than physical labor.
"Should I change places?" Zhu Fei began to consider fleeing again. "Xiamen isn’t safe anymore."
What he didn’t realize was that the police net was quietly tightening around him. On the afternoon of May 25th, while Zhu Fei was still working at the factory, the Sichuan Police had already arrived at He Shan Police Station in Huli District of Xiamen.
"Comrades, are you sure the suspect is within our jurisdiction?" Xiamen Police inquired.
"Pretty sure," Li Qiang replied as he presented the information. "Based on technical investigations, Zhu Fei's last known activities were around Tong'an District, and there are many factories there—perfect for hiding."
The Xiamen Police immediately sprang into action. They split into several teams to conduct checks at various factories in Tong'an District.
"Remember not to alert the suspect," Li Qiang instructed. "Confirm identities first before taking action."
At 6 PM that evening, when they reached the Brick Factory in Lianhua Town, the factory owner’s words excited everyone.
"There is such a person! Zhu Fei from Hejiang County in Sichuan; he came here at the beginning of May."
"Where is he now?"
"He should have just gotten off work and is resting in the dormitory."
Li Qiang and the Xiamen Police quickly devised a capture plan.
"How many exits does the dormitory have?"
"Just one door, but there are windows at the back."
"Alright, we'll surround him from both sides to ensure he can't escape."
At 7:30 PM, the operation officially began.
Zhu Fei was lying in the dormitory, still thinking about what Xiao Li had said. Suddenly, footsteps were heard at the door.
"Is Zhu Fei there?" someone asked from outside.
"Y-yes, I'm here," Zhu Fei replied, puzzled about who would be looking for him at this hour.
The door was pushed open, and several strangers walked in. The leader took out his identification: "We are from the Sichuan Hejiang County Public Security Bureau. Zhu Fei, you are suspected of intentional homicide, and we are here to arrest you according to the law."
Zhu Fei's mind went blank. He stared at the police in front of him, his mouth opening and closing but unable to utter a word. Three months of fleeing, three months of fear all erupted at that moment.
"N-no... it can't be... how did you find me here?" Zhu Fei's voice trembled.
Li Qiang calmly said, "Zhu Fei, we know all about your involvement in the murder of Liu Cuihua. You'd better cooperate with the investigation."
Hearing Liu Cuihua's name, Zhu Fei completely broke down. He knew it was all over. In the interrogation room, Zhu Fei revealed a shocking motive for the murder that left everyone stunned.
"I... I just wanted her TV and DVD," Zhu Fei mumbled, his voice barely audible like a mosquito's buzz. "I was afraid she would find out, so... so..."
"So what?" Li Qiang pressed sternly.
"I hit her with a piece of iron."
The interrogation room fell into dead silence. Everyone was shocked by such an absurd motive. To kill a kind elderly woman over a television and a DVD?
Li Qiang's voice was filled with anger: "Old Liu took you in; she treated you like a guest, cooked for you, gave you a place to stay, and yet you repaid her kindness with betrayal!"
Zhu Fei dared not look up: "I... I was out of my mind at that time..."
Li Qiang slammed his hand on the table, "After killing her, you even threw her body into a cesspit! Is that something that can be explained as being out of your mind?"
On May 26th at 11 PM, Zhu Fei was handcuffed and prepared to return home under escort by the Sichuan Police at Xiamen Railway Station. The resolution of the case caused a huge stir in the local area.
"They caught him! The murderer of Old Liu has been apprehended!" As news spread through Xiantan Town, many people found it hard to believe.
When Liu Yuanbiao received the police call, he was working on a construction site.
"What? Did they really catch him?" His voice trembled. "Where was he caught?"
"In Xiamen. He has already been brought back, and the trial will start soon."
Liu Yuanbiao hung up the phone, unable to hold back his tears. After more than three months of torment, it was finally over.
Next, Zhu Fei was formally indicted, and the case entered the judicial process.
In court, Zhu Fei confessed to his crimes. But when the judge asked about his motive, the entire courtroom fell into shock.
"All for a television and a DVD player?" The judge seemed incredulous.
"Yes," Zhu Fei lowered his head. "I thought, since she lived alone, those things were just a waste."
"Did you ever consider that Liu Cuihua had shown you kindness?"
Zhu Fei fell silent.
The prosecutor stood up, his voice stern: "Defendant Zhu Fei, Liu Cuihua took you in, cooked for you, treated you like family. And you, for a mere few hundred dollars' worth of electronics, brutally murdered this kind old woman. Your actions not only show a disregard for life but also trample on humanity!"
In the courtroom, Liu Yuanbiao testified as a family member of the victim.
"Your Honor, my aunt was kind-hearted her entire life and never held a grudge against anyone." Tears filled Liu Yuanbiao's eyes. "She took in Zhu Fei out of goodwill. Yet this person repaid her kindness with such cruel means. I urge the court to severely punish the murderer and give my aunt justice!"
Subsequently, after a rigorous trial process, the court rendered its verdict.
Zhu Fei was sentenced to death for intentional homicide and deprived of political rights for life.
After the judgment was read, Zhu Fei slumped in the defendant's seat.
It was only at that moment that he truly realized he had paid with his life for a moment of greed.
But the reflections this case left on society were far from over.
In Xiantan Town, people began to reassess those seemingly ordinary acts of kindness.
"Will anyone dare to take in strangers again?" This became a frequent topic of discussion among villagers.
Some said, "Old Liu was just too kind; people today are malicious and shouldn't easily trust strangers."
Others countered, "Just because there are bad people doesn't mean we should stop being good! Wouldn't that mean the bad people win?"
Zhu Fei's fate also proved an eternal truth to everyone: justice is relentless and will eventually catch up with you. No matter where you flee, the judgment of justice will come.
Good and evil will ultimately be rewarded; this is not superstition but rather the most fundamental moral baseline of society.
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