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墨書 Inktalez
The building stood tall and imposing. Chu Yi tilted his head to gaze at the top floor, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over him. The Publishing Building housed several publishing houses from the city, spanning twenty-four stories, its six glass facades reflecting the white clouds and blue sky when the weather was fine. With its sharp peak, from a distance, the entire structure resembled a steel pen plunged into the earth. Chu Yi mused that since writing was now done on computers, the building should have been designed in a square shape instead.
New authors arriving to submit their works often found themselves awestruck; the literary world felt as daunting as this building, where they came to present their manuscripts for judgment, akin to criminals entering a courtroom.
Chu Yi glanced down and recognized he was standing on a manhole cover. Last year, a middle-aged man who had been immersed in literature for many years but had never managed to get published jumped from the top floor, his head striking this very manhole cover.
Chu Yi dreaded interacting with cultured individuals. He feared their formalities, their verbosity, and their ability to mask their true feelings behind a facade of "cultivation," making it challenging to unearth genuine thoughts without considerable effort. The editor he was about to meet, Ji Hui, fit this description perfectly. Chu Yi had dealt with him a few times before and found him difficult to handle. He always wore the same expression, perpetually adorned with a humble and gentle smile that made it impossible to discern his true thoughts; sometimes his words carried an underlying sharpness. There was a saying by Lu Xun that he couldn't quite recall: something about how the pen in one's hand is like a knife. He shook off these thoughts as he stepped into this building that could serve as both weapon and tool.
Chu Yi had no choice but to come here because every book by Jiang Weiting bore the imprint: Edited by Ji Hui. Since Jiang Weiting's relatives had yet to make an appearance, Chu Yi had no option but to arrange a meeting with Ji Hui over the phone to learn more about her.
This time, however, Ji Hui was unexpectedly candid—perhaps due to Jiang Weiting's influence.
"I have dealt with Jiang Weiting for many years. She was a reticent person, rarely venturing out. She was obsessively enamored with the era she depicted in her writing, wishing everything she consumed or used mirrored that time period. Her departure is a tremendous loss for us and for her readers," Ji Hui said as he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Did she have any relatives?"
"Her mother passed away a few years ago, and her father died this year. She had no other relatives in this world."
"Did she have any friends?"
Ji Hui didn't hesitate at all and replied confidently, "No. No confidants. Her only friends were books."
"Did she often wear a silver bracelet set with jade?"
"Yes. She always wore that bracelet on her left wrist. She said it didn’t interfere with her writing hand."
"Does that bracelet have any history?"
"I heard it originally belonged to her deceased mother."
"She handed a letter to her lawyer before committing suicide. Here’s a copy. Please take a look."
“Really?” Ji Hui opened the copy and examined it closely twice, looking quite puzzled. “You say this is a letter that Jiang Weiting gave to the lawyer?”
“Yes. Is there something wrong with it?”
“Look,” Ji Hui said, walking over to a bookshelf and pulling out a thick stack of manuscript paper. “This is Jiang Weiting's handwritten draft.”
Chu Yi took it and was equally surprised. Jiang Weiting's handwriting was neat and rounded, completely different from the letter.
“And look at page 30 of the manuscript,” Ji Hui continued. Chu Yi flipped to it and saw the words: If you deceive life... It seemed that Jiang Weiting had incorporated the content of that letter into his manuscript. Ji Hui added, “This is Jiang Weiting's latest work. We haven’t published it yet.”
“Can I borrow it to take a look?” Chu Yi asked.
“Sure. But this is the original; if you want to borrow it, you can only make a copy. However, I’m quite busy…”
Here we go again. Just when he thought they were being sincere for a few minutes, Chu Yi interrupted Ji Hui, saying, “Where’s the photocopier? I’ll go make a copy.”
As he left the Publishing Building, Chu Yi took several deep breaths of fresh air. No wonder Ji Hui was reluctant to make copies. That cramped photocopy room was hardly fit for anyone; it had no windows, the air conditioning was broken, and the air was stale with the smell of photocopiers—it was hard to breathe. Copying over 200 pages of manuscript could very well lead to a new murder plot.
Holding the manuscript tightly, Chu Yi hurried out of the publishing house and ducked behind a small delivery truck. He sensed someone following him. Sure enough, a shadow peeked around the front of the truck looking for him. Unable to see him, the person pulled out their phone. Chu Yi hastily reached for his own phone in his pocket, but holding onto the manuscript slowed him down, causing his phone to start ringing loudly. The person quickly turned around with a smile and said, “Captain Chu, we meet again.”
Liu Qi had seen Chu Yi leave the police station from a noodle shop. Sensing news worth following, she immediately left Xiao Sun behind and trailed after him. The publishing house was just a few subway stops away from the police station; taking the subway was faster than driving. Chu Yi hadn’t driven, giving Liu Qi the opportunity to follow him.
“Captain Chu, I originally intended for Xiao Sun to relay this message to you. Since we’ve met now, I’ll be straightforward. The moment I saw you enter the publishing house, I knew you were looking for Ji Hui,” Liu Qi said.
“This is quite an unexpected way to meet,” Chu Yi replied nonchalantly.
“I have some information that I’d like to exchange with you,” Liu Qi said.
Chu Yi raised an eyebrow as if to say go on. Liu Qi continued, “I know how Jiang Weiting’s father died.”
“What does that have to do with this case?” Chu Yi asked.
"Did you find a letter that Jiang Weiting left for the lawyer?" Liu Qi asked.
That damned lawyer, didn't he know his limits? Chu Yi felt quite displeased. Liu Qi continued, "This information didn't come from the lawyer. I got it through other channels."
"So it was Liu Chang who told you?" Chu Yi said.
Liu Qi was taken aback; she didn't say anything, but her expression confirmed that Chu Yi was right. "Rest assured, Captain Chu, I won't include that letter in my column for now. I'm here to tell you that the letter is part of Jiang Weiting's father's will."
"How do you know that?"
"I've always wanted to interview Jiang Weiting and have done thorough preliminary research. That will was discovered during my investigation," Liu Qi replied.
"Where is the will?"
"Chu Yi, we're friends. Isn't it a bit excessive for you to treat me like a criminal this early in the morning?" Liu Qi said, feeling somewhat offended.
"I'm just doing my job. Besides, our relationship isn't very deep," Chu Yi stated honestly. Although he didn't dislike Liu Qi and had some understanding of her character, their interactions were not particularly close. However, he believed that Liu Qi was trustworthy.
"I'll give you the information, but you have to promise me that after the case is solved, I will have exclusive reporting rights."
"There you go again, setting conditions," Chu Yi nodded. Liu Qi smiled and casually pulled out a large envelope from her bag, handing it to Chu Yi. "It's a deal."
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