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墨書 Inktalez
"This... this is the Treasure Mouse raised by the Zhou family!" Seventh Uncle exclaimed, shaking his beard as he leaned in for a closer look. "See, it has a notch in its left ear; it's specially trained to search for food!"
Lin Dahe poked the red string tied to the mouse's tail with a branch. "Last night, it ravaged all the Mountain Yam in my house."
"Mountain Yam?" Seventh Uncle suddenly lowered his voice. "Zhou Liangzhang has been asking around about the Western Region Treasure... Lin Family Boy, tell me the truth, what exactly is that thing..."
Before he could finish, a heart-wrenching wail echoed from afar. When they reached the village entrance, they saw Aunt Wang slumped in her vegetable garden—those cabbages they had rescued just yesterday were now completely stripped bare overnight.
"Damn those mice!" Aunt Wang cried out, pounding her chest. The stems of the cabbages around her were covered in tiny bite marks.
Lin Dahe crouched down to inspect and suddenly noticed several strange paw prints in the mud—larger than a mouse but smaller than a wild cat, and arranged in an unusually neat pattern, as if... someone wearing specially made claw covers?
He suddenly recalled the location of the Zhou family's cellar marked on his system map. Just as he was about to turn around, his sleeve was tugged by Seventh Uncle. The old man shoved a rusty key into his palm. "There's an old mouse trap in the side hall of the ancestral hall, coated with snake venom..."
As the sun fully rose, Lin Dahe stood in his home’s main hall, staring thoughtfully at the new red string hanging on the wall. Aunt Ma's headband, which she had dropped in her haste last night, still hung on the fence like a snake flicking its tongue.
The iron wire of the mouse trap glinted coldly in the morning light. Lin Dahe carried this squeaking "stolen item" toward the ancestral hall, the red string at the bottom of the cage wriggling like a twisted earthworm. As he passed by Zhou's Grain Shop, he was suddenly blocked by a figure emerging from the shadow by the wall.
"Lin Xiucai, where are you off to?"
Zhou Liangzhang leaned against the wall with a smile, holding a Qingci Wine Pot in his left hand. The sunlight shone on his slick hairdo, and the pattern on his sandalwood hairpin matched that of Aunt Ma's bracelet.
"I'm going to find Li Zheng for some justice." Lin Dahe shook the cage, causing the gray mouse inside to squeak loudly. "Your treasure has visited my house more often at night than I go to the toilet."
"A misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!" Zhou Liangzhang laughed heartily, suddenly grabbing Lin Dahe's wrist with his right hand. "This creature has been sneaking away for over six months; I offered a reward of fifty coins and still couldn't get it back." He magically produced a string of copper coins. "Today, let me treat you to some drinks!"
Just as Lin Dahe was about to decline, a system prompt suddenly popped up: [Character Profile Updated: Zhou Shichang, missing left pinky finger (suspected injury from a sharp weapon), matches characteristics of main suspect in Chongzhen Year Famine Relief Case.]
When the wine pot was offered to him, he deliberately reached out with his left hand. Indeed, Zhou Liangzhang's left pinky was completely missing; the stump had wrinkled skin that resembled crumpled paper. Even stranger was how he always tilted the spout toward himself when pouring wine—as if trying to hide something.
"Try this, Shaoxing Twenty-Year-Old Huadiao." Zhou Liangzhang urged him enthusiastically while his fingernail accidentally grazed the spout.
Lin Dahe pretended to drink deeply but quietly poured some of the wine into his sleeve. The moment the strong liquor soaked through his inner shirt, a system alert flashed red: [Detected presence of narcotic ingredients!]
"Good wine!" He feigned staggering and took advantage of the moment to splash what remained of his drink onto Zhou Liangzhang's clothing. "It's just a bit too strong..."
A glint of satisfaction flashed in Zhou Liangzhang's eyes as he pretended to assist him while suddenly snatching away the mouse cage. "I'll take this creature back and teach it a lesson!"
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