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墨書 Inktalez
I carried my bag and walked alongside Zhao Yin towards Shanshui Village. Despite having put on her most outdated and unattractive clothes, which she usually avoided, she still stood out like a swan among a flock of ducks as we entered the village.
At the entrance of the village, an elderly man with white hair sat on a Maza, holding a bamboo pole in his hands and mumbling to himself. It was clear that he was quite lonely.
I glanced at the old man.
Even from a distance, he heard us and looked up in our direction.
I was startled to see that his eyes were completely white, lacking any pupils.
He was blind! No wonder his hearing was so sharp.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Zhao Yin noticed the blind man and said, "This is Grandpa Li. When I was younger, I loved listening to his stories. Back then, he wasn't completely blind; he would herd a flock of sheep up on the hillside with his stick."
Zhao Yin took a few steps closer to the blind man and spoke in Suqian dialect, "Grandpa Li, can you guess who I am? What happened to your eyes?"
The old man paused for a moment, then stepped back in fear. His hands trembled as he clutched the bamboo pole tightly, shouting loudly, "You... don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"
"Grandpa Li, it's me, Yin! You used to love telling me stories," Zhao Yin said as she took another step towards him.
The blind man sat down abruptly on the ground, trembling even more. His lips quivered as he repeated, "Don't come closer! I don't know you! I don't know you..." With that, the old man scrambled to his feet and ran away, crashing into a dirt wall. Blood streamed from his head, but he paid no mind to it; abandoning his bamboo pole, he fled in terror.
Zhao Yin was startled, standing frozen in place, unsure of what was happening.
I was taken aback as well, then walked over. "Zhao Yin, why is that old man so scared of you? Did you bully him before?"
"I... no, I haven't been back in ten years," Zhao Yin replied.
I felt a bit puzzled but decided not to dwell on it. "Let's go to your house and see your Adoptive Father and Adoptive Mother."
Zhao Yin nodded and moved a little closer to me. "Song Fei, maybe we should just go back. I'm feeling a bit scared."
I patted the back of Zhao Yin's hand. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Since we're here, we need to figure out what's going on. Do you want to spend your whole life alone without finding a boyfriend?"
Zhao Yin took a deep breath. "Alright then, my house is at the far west end of the village."
We walked west along a path through the village. People turned to look at us as we passed; some had sores on their heads, while others had crooked mouths, making them appear somewhat frightening. This was the aftermath of environmental pollution—diseases would haunt these people for life, and even their descendants would suffer from the same afflictions.
On the way, Zhao Yin forced a smile and greeted an Old Lady, who immediately turned around and rushed into her house, slamming the door shut behind her.
After that, everyone else seemed to lose their courage; they hurried into their homes and locked their doors tightly.
Zhao Yin became even more frightened and clutched my arm.
I felt uneasy too; what on earth was going on in this village? Why did everyone act as if they had seen a ghost upon seeing Zhao Yin?
When we reached the west end of the village, a dilapidated house stood there, its walls overgrown with weeds, and the grass in front was taller than our knees.
I turned my head to glance at Zhao Yin. She looked puzzled as well; she reached out and knocked on the wooden door, which suddenly creaked open with a series of squeaks.
Inside the door, weeds were everywhere, creating a desolate scene.
Tears streamed down Zhao Yin's face as she stepped forward into the house, wanting to call out for her parents, but her voice caught in her throat.
I stood beside Zhao Yin, knowing how much she was hurting. After all these years, she had believed that her Adoptive Father and Adoptive Mother were still alive and that she sent them money every month. But seeing this situation, it seemed likely that her family had long since perished.
Zhao Yin and I walked into the house.
The door was ajar.
Cobwebs filled the corners.
In the center of the room stood a black coffin.
Upon seeing the coffin, Zhao Yin took a step back and looked at me.
I wasn't afraid of the coffin; in fact, my courage had grown quite robust. If I wasn't afraid of Vengeful Spirits, what was there to fear about a coffin? I stepped forward and took a look inside.
The coffin had no lid.
I found it strange—why would Zhao Yin's parents keep a coffin in their home? Had they truly died, or had they simply left?
I leaned forward, trying to see what was inside the coffin.
A person lay in the coffin, an old woman dressed in black. On her face was a huge tumor that looked repulsive, uneven and hard. Even as a medical student, I found it somewhat nauseating.
I said, "Zhao Yin, come over and take a look. Is this your Adoptive Mother?"
Upon hearing my words, Zhao Yin slowly approached and peered into the coffin.
At that moment, the old woman suddenly sat up, her previously closed eyes snapping open.
"Ah!" Zhao Yin gasped and immediately hid behind me.
I was startled as well and instinctively reached for the Peach Wood Sword in my bag. This felt like a setup for a corpse to rise!
The old woman looked at me, then at Zhao Yin, and began to laugh ominously. "Yin'er, you finally... came home..."
Both Zhao Yin and I were taken aback; the key was that the old woman looked terrifying. The tumor on her face resembled a second head.
Zhao Yin trembled behind me and stammered, "Who... who are you? Where are my parents?"
"Your parents? Hehe, you still remember you have parents, my Yin'er..." The old woman chuckled, her gaze chilling. "Since you're here, why not bow to your father and mother before you leave?"
As she spoke, she trembled as she attempted to stand up.
I took a step back and pulled Zhao Yin with me. "Um, excuse me, Granny. Since Zhao Yin's parents are gone, we really don't need to be here," I said while backing away quickly, dragging Zhao Yin out of the house.
"Don't go!" The old woman's eerie voice echoed from inside the house.
I didn't want to linger any longer; the old woman gave me an extremely uncomfortable feeling. I pulled Zhao Yin along, and we walked faster and faster until we both ran out of the village and got into the car.
Zhao Yin's hands were trembling, and she twisted the car key several times without success.
"Don't panic. Forget it; I'll drive," I said, even though I had just come from driving school.
Zhao Yin nodded, her hands still shaking. The old woman had frightened her, and the reactions of everyone in the village had scared her even more.
I took my seat in the driver's position, fastened my seatbelt, started the engine, and reversed out of Shanshui Village. This Mazda was automatic, so it was quite easy to drive.
We drove far away from Shanshui Village before Zhao Yin finally calmed down. She turned to me and asked, "Song Fei, what... what is going on? Why does everyone fear me? Why did Brother Zhao die? Why did my parents die? And why... why was that old woman lying in a coffin?"
I had no words. It wasn't until we reached the town that I said, "Let's stay here. Tomorrow, I'll sneak back into the village to find out more. Is there a place to stay in this town?"
Zhao Yin looked around and then pointed not far away. "There's a Four Seas Hotel over there; let's stay there."
I glanced around and asked, "Where?"
"Just ahead, at the corner," Zhao Yin pointed.
I looked closely and thought, wow, the so-called Four Seas Hotel was just a two-story family inn. The outside looked filthy, clearly not cleaned in a long time. Could we really stay in a place like this? I turned to look at Zhao Yin.
She understood my thoughts. "All the inns in this town are like this. The big hotels have closed down; only these family-style inns are still operating."
I nodded. "Alright, if you don't mind it, what can I say?" I parked the car in front of the inn.
At the entrance of the hotel, there was a Mustang parked!
I was taken aback; I didn't expect there to be wealthy people in this town. Glancing at the Mustang's license plate, I noticed it was from Donghai City. It seemed quite coincidental that besides Zhao Yin and me, there were others from Donghai City staying at the Four Seas Hotel.
I parked my car and walked inside with Zhao Yin.
Inside, a girl with a robust build from the Five Great Mountains was slurping instant noodles while watching a K-Drama. The show was the recently popular Descendants of the Sun. She was wiping her tears while occasionally picking her nose.
Watching her eat made me feel a bit sad. I walked over and tapped on the table, saying, "Two rooms, please."
The girl glanced at me and replied, "ID card and deposit."
I handed over two ID cards.
Just then, a loud crashing sound echoed from outside. I turned to look; it sounded like glass shattering.
Suddenly, three people jumped down from the second floor and took off running.
I was momentarily stunned. What was going on? An action movie?
At that moment, a young man in his twenties shouted, "Catch the thief!" He then jumped out of the window as well. The young man had impressive skills; after landing on the ground, he rolled and then lunged forward, tackling one of the thieves. He swiftly kicked down another one and pulled out handcuffs to restrain him.
Hearing "Catch the thief," I dropped my backpack and jumped out the door, positioning myself in front of another fleeing thief.
The thief pulled out a rusty dagger and brandished it at me.
I wasn't particularly afraid, as I could tell that the thief was terrified. Besides, I had consumed Fox Demon Meat and had trained my body for so long that I could handle a mere thief.
At that moment, a young man rushed over. Without saying a word, he executed a swift grappling move, disarming the man of his dagger. Then, with a sharp click, he cuffed the thief's hands behind his back.
Just then, a third person on the ground attempted to flee. I swept my leg out and knocked him down.
The young man pulled out another pair of handcuffs and secured the third person as well.
With all three dealt with, the young man let out a sigh of relief. He nodded at me and said, "Thank you. I'll give you one-third of the reward." He then handed me a business card with an icy demeanor. "Call me at Third Master and send me your account details; I'll transfer the money to you."
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