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墨書 Inktalez
The Yamen and the Niu Family each held their own arguments, but due to a lack of evidence, the dispute remained unresolved. The Niu Family insisted that they were wronged. Xing Ruyi pondered for a moment and instructed Chang Tai to temporarily adjourn the court. He then led a group of Yard Officers to set up a straw shed in the open space in front of the Yamen, surrounding it with firewood. After lighting the fire, he ordered two pigs to be thrown inside.
One of the pigs was alive, while the other was dead. When the fire consumed the shed, Chang Tai commanded Shengzi to retrieve both pigs and place them directly in front of the Niu Family, prying open the mouths of the pigs for them to see.
The onlookers were puzzled and gathered around. They noticed that the mouth of the live pig was filled with ash after it died, while the dead pig's mouth was completely clean. Among the crowd, some clever individuals quickly understood Chang Tai's intention and shouted, "Niu Fugui is just like this dead pig; his mouth is clean."
Chang Tai nodded and instructed Shengzi to bring over Niu Fugui's corpse, prying open its jaw for everyone and the Niu Family to see. Indeed, Niu Fugui's mouth was also completely clean. Upon seeing this, the Niu Family collapsed to the ground and confessed, admitting that they had murdered their husband and disposed of his body in the woodshed.
As for the reason behind the Niu Family's murder of her husband, it turned out to be over a painting.
"A painting?" Xing Ruyi exchanged glances with Chang Tai, who then asked, "What kind of painting?"
"A painting of a woman; Fugui was obsessed with it and held onto it all day long," Niu Family said, lowering her eyelids. "I had heard long ago that the old Xie family residence is a haunted house. Anyone who moves in or even passes by its entrance will encounter misfortune. However, Fugui was a gambler who lost everything we owned, even our barely livable home was taken as collateral. Helplessly, I had to move in with him and our daughter.
On our first night there, I felt something was off; it was as if a pair of eyes were watching me constantly, sending chills down my spine and making me uneasy. I checked everywhere multiple times but found nothing. I thought perhaps I was just being paranoid from hearing too many ghost stories, so I coaxed my daughter to sleep.
When I woke up in the middle of the night, the room was pitch black. But I clearly remembered that my lamp was lit because I was afraid it would go out from a draft; I had even sewn a white gauze lampshade to cover it. I got up to light it again but saw someone standing outside my window."
"Your husband, Niu Fugui?"
Niu Family initially nodded but then shook her head in confusion.
"At first, I thought it was Fugui too, but under the light, it looked different. The figure resembled a woman. Remembering the rumors about the Xie family residence being haunted made me truly frightened; however, my daughter was right beside me. No matter how scared I felt inside, I had to pretend to be brave. So I picked up my lamp and held it in front of me while calling out Fugui's name towards the window. I tried to shout loudly, but my voice still trembled slightly; I thought she must have heard it too because she let out a sneer. Yes, that's right—a sneer. My heart trembled at that sound, and instinctively I hugged my daughter tighter. But after waiting for a long time, she just stood there at the window without moving.
I don't know how much time passed; I felt completely stiff and saw that the flame of my lamp was growing weaker. Just when I thought I couldn't hold on any longer, I heard knocking outside my door. When I gathered enough courage to shine my lamp towards the window again, I found she was gone. After a while longer, there came another knock at the door. Terrified, I shrank back into bed with my daughter. But when I heard Fugui's voice later on, I went to open the door. He came back soaked and didn't say where he had been but held that painting scroll in his arms."
Upon seeing me, he was no longer as coarse and loud as before. He simply grabbed the lamp and candle, placing the painting on the table to examine it closely. I stood behind him and glanced at the table as well. I saw a woman in the painting, her hair very long, but her face was unclear.
"How could you not see her face? Was it due to the light from the lamp?"
"No! I remember clearly that night; although the light wasn't bright, I could see the woman's hands and feet, even the patterns on her clothes distinctly. It was only her face that seemed shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see clearly. I initially thought the blurriness was due to water damage on the painting, but since that night, he has been obsessed with it, looking at it day and night. I increasingly felt that the woman in the painting resembled the ghost who stood at my window at night."
"A ghost?" Xing Ruyi recalled the woman who had clung to Chang Tai's back earlier; she was also wet, slender, with long hair, and her face was indistinct. "What happened next?"
"On the second night, because of the commotion caused by the white girl, I went to bed early. It was a peaceful night; I only felt a chill as if winter had come. When I lay down, he was still there, sitting in the room, staring blankly at that painting. When I woke up, it was already bright outside; he seemed to have sat there all night and looked very pale. I made some thin porridge and brought it to him, intending for him to eat something. But accidentally, I touched his painting, and he shoved it violently to the ground. He often hit me, so I was used to it and didn't take it to heart at that moment. Looking back now, his gaze seemed very abnormal." Niu Family thought carefully and added, "His eyes then were like those of a madman I encountered years ago. The difference was that while a madman's eyes were murky, his contained a fierce intensity. Suddenly, an idea struck me: if Fu Gui didn't die, my daughter and I would eventually be harmed by him."
By the third night, Fu Gui became even more erratic; he actually wore my clothes and walked around the room like a woman." Niu Family's eyes showed a hint of fear as she covered them with her hands, her lips trembling: "He walked strangely—not in a straight line but like how we would tease an ant."
"Like catching an ant and placing it among obstacles, watching it wander aimlessly without finding its way out?" Niu Family's words reminded Xing Ruyi of her days in her rural hometown when there weren't many things to play with; ants were among the easiest to find. Just using some twigs or leaves to encircle an ant would make it spin around until it could find its way out again. This game was simple yet fun; sometimes even just drawing a circle in the dirt with a finger and placing an ant inside would suffice. Niu Family had clearly played this game too; before she could think of a better description, she recalled that.
In Xing Ruyi's mind appeared a scene: Niu Fu Gui dressed as a woman spinning around in the house like an ant. To outsiders, his actions might seem very strange; however, if this scene occurred at night outdoors, one might think of another term—"ghostly wall!"
Ghostly wall is also known as Ghostly Veil. It is said that if one offends a ghost and is toyed with by it while having their eyes covered, they will keep turning in one place without being able to escape. The severity of ghostly walls can vary depending on the ghost's energy level. A powerful evil spirit could trap you on a mountain until you literally ran yourself to death from exhaustion. A weaker spirit might confine you in one spot making you spin endlessly without finding your way out—this latter situation closely resembled Niu Fu Gui's behavior.
But these were merely speculations; if that ghost was indeed the same one who clung to Chang Tai's back earlier, then we could rule out ghostly walls and simply interpret it as possession by a spirit or ghostly influence. Niu Fu Gui was dead now; as for how exactly he died, Xing Ruyi couldn't be bothered to investigate further. In any case, with herself and the fox present, whatever lay hidden in the Xie family’s old residence wouldn’t escape.
Letting out a breath, Xing Ruyi initially intended for Chang Tai to take Niu Family downstairs. She had already accepted guilt for murdering her husband; all that remained was for tomorrow when Xie Xuan took office to handle everything else. Chang Tai was merely a Constable; arresting people fell within his duties but interrogating wasn’t part of his responsibilities. In previous instances, without needing Xing Ruyi’s intervention, Chang Tai would follow protocol accordingly; however today he seemed unusually insistent on hearing all details of the case.
Seeing that her guilt had been established, Niu Family no longer had any intention of evading questions; she answered whatever Chang Tai asked. She described events from the night of the incident in great detail.
Niu Family The cause of the husband's death was related to that painting and a dream she had that night.
Niu Fugui Although he was acting crazy, he did not actually do anything out of line. After putting their daughter to sleep, Niu Family stayed up a bit longer to watch Niu Fugui, and before they knew it, they felt sleepy.
In the dream, there was a flash of lightning and thunder. After the lightning, she seemed to hear the sound of rain.
Niu Family got up from the bed and looked outside. In the large courtyard, it was indeed drizzling. In her ears, she seemed to hear two men talking. One said, "It's so late, will he come?" The other replied, "I asked, he will come." Niu Family was puzzled; why were there suddenly two men in the house? Could they be debt collectors from the Gambling House?
She instinctively searched for Niu Fugui, only to find that her room had changed. Although the layout was the same, there were many more decorations, and everything looked new. On the bed lay a Light Blue Silk Quilt, while she was covered with a Rose Red Quilt, both made of fine fabric. Niu Family pinched her own face; she felt something but did not feel pain. At that moment, she realized she was dreaming. But whose dream was it? She thought of the woman standing by the window and the woman in the scroll that Niu Fugui held.
Niu Family felt a bit anxious but did not know what to do.
Just then, she heard footsteps approaching and then moving away. The two men who had been talking fell silent.
The night was quiet, with only the sound of rain and occasional flashes of lightning in the sky.
After a long while, the previously closed door opened. A person dressed in black entered—an old lady with a face full of wrinkles and eyes that carried a gloomy aura. Her hair had almost turned completely white, and there were no extra decorations in her hairdo. In her right hand, she leaned on a Dragon-Headed Cane, while her left hand held an Azure Vase.
Niu Family stared blankly at the old lady until she approached and lowered her head, fixing her dark gray eyes on her. Only then did she feel a chill run through her. She opened her mouth but found it icy cold inside; her tongue felt frozen and could not produce any words.
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