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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 1: Corpse (Part Two)
The old lady laughed, her voice bright and full of energy. After winding through several turns, I saw a large courtyard, but the doors opened in different directions, each facing its own way, resembling a standalone house. Before seeing the house itself, I first had to pass through a patch of trees and bamboo. From a distance, it looked dark and ominous, but as I got closer, I realized it was actually several burial mounds.
The mounds were shaded by the trees and bamboo, appearing as large dirt heaps with muddy holes that seemed to be burrowed by snakes. They were completely bare, not a single blade of grass growing on them.
A path cut straight through the middle of the mounds toward the old lady's front door.
Along the path lay many Mao Bamboo leaves, likely due to the recent rains. The leaves were pressed tightly against the ground, and although the path had been swept, it did nothing to change how firmly the leaves clung to the earth.
As I approached the old lady's home, a foul odor hit me. It was the stench of rotten meat, nauseating enough to make my stomach churn. I had just eaten well at the village chief's house; although it wasn't anything extravagant, it was certainly better than what most people would see on their tables.
The old lady hadn’t told me her surname, but I noticed a large character for "Zeng" on her wall—so her name was Grandma Zeng.
Grandma Zeng was talkative and spoke clearly. It seemed there was no one else in her home; although it was small and made of mud, it was clean and tidy. I couldn’t understand where that awful smell was coming from. I wanted to ask but feared hurting her feelings.
Upon entering the house, the light suddenly dimmed. While I was still puzzled by this change, Grandma Zeng brought over a stool for me to sit on before sitting down herself. Then she got straight to the point: “Young friend, if you can listen to me, I would be very grateful. Have you heard of Corpse?”
She asked this because she didn’t know what I did for a living. I smiled and replied, “Yes, it's about water hitting sticks.”
Grandma Zeng grinned widely despite her missing teeth and nodded approvingly: “You seem like an informed person; my judgment is good.”
Actually, that meal at the village chief's house had been great overall; however, after all that talking and walking a bit further, I felt quite thirsty. Seeing that Grandma Zeng didn’t seem inclined to offer me any water, I finally asked hesitantly: “Do you have boiled water? Cold water is fine too!”
“I don’t have any water here; just hang in there for a bit.”
Just then, a woman’s voice called out: “Mom, we have a guest?”
“Oh, it’s none of your business; I'm talking with this young friend.”
So there was someone else in Grandma Zeng’s house—at least one young woman. I thought to myself that my thirst was becoming unbearable but felt embarrassed to say so: “It’s alright; I'm used to drinking cold water; I wouldn’t mind having some.”
“Mom, if he wants to drink, just let him!” The woman spoke again, though I still hadn’t seen her face.
Grandma Zeng was getting anxious. She stood up and suddenly pushed me out, saying, "Comrade, you should just leave. The old lady doesn't want to talk about that anymore."
I thought there was something off about this old woman. It was just a matter of wanting some water, and she started shooing me away. I stood up in annoyance and walked outside. Not long after, my phone rang; it was Qin Jian calling me. When I answered, I felt a chill run through me.
Qin Jian was asking where I had gone, saying he couldn't find me anywhere. Instinctively, I turned around and was startled.
Behind me, where Grandma Zeng's house should have been, there were only graves; there was no sign of Grandma Zeng's house at all. See? Drinking leads to trouble; I must have encountered something sinister just now. Both Grandma Zeng and that young daughter-in-law were not human. This kind of thing really scared me awake.
I stumbled out of the woods and followed the path until I saw someone riding a bicycle heading away from the area. I hurriedly called out, "Hey! Excuse me, can you tell me where this place is?"
I must have startled him when I suddenly burst out of the trees because he didn't even look back and pedaled away quickly. I ran after him, shouting, "Don't be afraid; I'm a person!"
When he finally realized I was human, he stopped, his face turning pale. "What were you doing in that forest?"
I glanced back at the dark woods; it was indeed frightening. I slapped my forehead and muttered, "Drinking leads to trouble."
The man introduced himself as Mr. Mu. I asked him if there was someone named Grandma Zeng around here. He shook his head vigorously and told me not to ask anymore before pedaling away faster than a rabbit. What was going on? What did Grandma Zeng mean?
Qin Jian arrived with some people looking for me. He joked about whether I had gone into a dog hole or something, his face covered in cobwebs. I reached up to touch my hair and found it sticky with spider webs.
I asked Qin Jian if he had seen anyone named Grandma Zeng. He laughed and said I was making things up and scolded me for wandering off into strange places. "You know very well that many things in Worldly Matters are unclear; just tell me if you saw someone named Grandma Zeng!"
"Did you see anyone? You just vanished! Ask the owner of Pond Tea House; she saw you rushing toward Zeng Family Bay all by yourself."
Mentioning Zeng Family Bay made everyone from Ten Li Slope look fearful, their faces paling at the mention.
"Does anyone know anything about Grandma Zeng?"
As soon as I mentioned Grandma Zeng, the villagers exchanged glances, and soon someone made an excuse about having too much to do at home and left. Those who stayed seemed to be arranged by the village chief; they looked like they were just there to accompany us through this charade.
We were treated to a lavish meal for free, and when it was over, they sent us off while those who accompanied us received fifty yuan as compensation.
This was something a child inadvertently let slip.
At Ten Li Slope, people were bustling about, both inside and outside the village. Adults, children, women, and daughters-in-law had finished their meals and were either leaving or busy with their tasks. Among them was a child whose father was also involved in the commotion. As he watched everyone leave, the child said, "Dad, you got fifty yuan; buy me a Transformer."
At that moment, I didn't quite understand what he meant, so I discreetly asked him. The child blinked his big, bright eyes seriously and said, "Big Brother, this is a secret. I'm only telling you. Dad has some visitors; the village head arranged for them to keep him company. Each person gets fifty yuan."
Neither Qin Jian nor I were particularly important figures, so we naturally didn't like these formalities. We wanted to send these people away so we could work freely without feeling like we were being watched. However, these individuals were determined to assist the village head and were resolute in their purpose. In the end, we had no choice but to deal with them hastily.
As dusk approached, the village head arrived, and only then did these people begin to leave one by one.
Next, the village head routinely inquired about the progress of the investigation.
Qin Jian examined some chickens and ducks that had been killed and noted that the cow's innards had been removed. The villagers were too scared to eat it and had buried it deep; we hadn't even had a chance to see it ourselves. We couldn't return to the bureau until we figured out what had happened, so we needed to continue our investigation.
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