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墨書 Inktalez
Zhuangzi once dreamed that he had transformed into a butterfly. Upon waking, he was filled with doubt. He asked himself whether he had dreamt of being a butterfly or if he was actually the butterfly dreaming of being him.
In the realm of dreams and reality, do you know which one is truly real?
Xing Ruyi had a dream, and upon waking, she saw her sister Sun standing there, along with a fox behind her.
Just as she was about to speak, she noticed the fox making a "shh" gesture towards her. Xing Ruyi nodded and focused all her attention on her sister. Then, she noticed something unusual.
First was her sister's attire; despite the cold winter weather, Sun was only wearing a single layer of clothing while standing by the bed, showing no signs of feeling cold at all.
Next was her expression—she appeared dazed, with hollow eyes, as if she were merely a shell without a soul.
Finally, there were her actions. One of Sun's hands hovered above her chest while the other hand attempted to cover her mouth and nose.
As Xing Ruyi slowly moved her body, trying to get up quietly, Sun suddenly turned and walked toward the door.
"What does she want to do? Is she planning to kill me and take my place?"
"That's possible!" the fox replied, picking up the heavy cloak that Xing Ruyi had left at the foot of the bed and wrapping it tightly around her before taking her hand. "Let's follow her and see!"
Having just rained, the village roads were very muddy. Even Xing Ruyi and the fox stumbled as they walked. In contrast, Sun moved effortlessly, skillfully avoiding puddles and muddy spots on the ground.
"So sleepwalking can unlock such special abilities! If I had known I could sleepwalk too, I wouldn't have to trudge through this mud," Xing Ruyi pouted, looking down at her feet. Her once pristine boots were now soiled beyond recognition. Although the fox also stumbled a bit, it was due to her; his feet seemed to glide over the mud as if walking on clouds without sinking at all.
As Sun walked faster and faster away from them, Xing Ruyi sighed softly, stopped in her tracks, and playfully said to the fox, "I can't walk anymore; carry me!"
"Okay!" The fox responded without hesitation and picked up Xing Ruyi effortlessly.
Without the burden of Xing Ruyi, the fox's pace naturally quickened, and now he was only an arm's length away from Sun Mei.
Xing Ruyi squeezed the fox's arm and asked, "When did you notice something was off with Sun Mei?"
"She has always been off!"
"I don't mean her having inappropriate thoughts about you, but rather what just happened when she stood at the foot of my bed. By the way, where are Si Niang and Lingzheng? I clearly remember that I was sharing a room with them while you were in a room with Li Mao."
"I sent Li Mao on an errand. That room was empty and useless, so I let Si Niang and Lingzheng move in. As for you, your sleeping posture has never been good, so I needed to keep an eye on you to prevent you from catching a cold."
Xing Ruyi blushed sweetly, "Alright, I know you're good to me. What about Sun Mei? When did you realize she entered my room?"
"Of course, it was when she walked into the room. However, I don't think she came for you."
"Not for me!" Xing Ruyi frowned but then understood: "Some people have dreams that are the opposite of reality, while others use dreams to escape reality. Among those who sleepwalk, some are hiding and evading certain matters. For example, a deeply hidden murderer can disguise all their actions and expressions well while awake, but once they dream, they will repeatedly relive those fragments they wish to forget. In severe cases, they may sleepwalk and continuously repeat those murderous actions.
I remember clearly that when Sun Mei stood at the foot of the bed just now, she made two movements. Her left hand seemed to want to press against my chest while her right hand aimed to cover my mouth and nose. The room I stayed in was where Sun Mei's father-in-law lived before his death. If Sun Mei's sleepwalking wasn't directed at me, it could only be towards her father-in-law.
In the dead of night, a daughter-in-law enters her father-in-law's room and makes such a gesture; it seems that the secrets Sun Mei harbors are even more than we imagined."
"No matter how many secrets there are, haven't you seen through them?" The fox lowered his head and smiled at Xing Ruyi. Even in the dead of night, he radiated a rare brilliance, especially with eyes that seemed to hold stars.
Xing Ruyi tilted her head and looked back, only then noticing that the so-called light was actually Li Mao kindly holding up a lantern behind them.
"It seems I'm not the only one who discovered the secrets of the Sun family. By the way, what about Sun Mei's father-in-law and husband? I noticed their spirits were missing this evening."
"My wife cannot be gazed upon by other men, even if it's just a wisp of a ghost." The fox said gently yet dominantly: "Don't worry; I've sent them where they need to go. Matters of the mortal realm should be resolved by mortals, and as for ghosts, they should return to where they belong."
"I originally wanted to ask more questions. There were some water stains on the mouth and nose of Sun Mei's father-in-law, and combined with the action that Sun Mei had just taken towards me, I was certain that she was the murderer. As for the method of killing, it must have been the most secure and silent method of suffocation.
I found some poor-quality rice paper under the bed. Sun Mei's family had been farmers for generations, and she herself had never received an education, so that rice paper could not belong to her. This means that there was another accomplice behind Sun Mei, or perhaps the mastermind of the entire incident.
Xing Ruyi glanced at Sun Mei's back. At this moment, she had already stopped. When Xing Ruyi looked up, he realized that it was actually the ancestral hall of the Gou Family.
"Gou Dasheng! So Sun Mei really has an ambiguous relationship with this Gou Dasheng!"
Xing Ruyi shook his head, but saw that Sun Mei had already turned back. As she passed by Xing Ruyi and the fox, she even turned her head and gave them a strange smile. That smile was so unsettling that Xing Ruyi almost jumped out of the fox's embrace. It wasn't anything else; he just felt an urge to hit someone upon seeing Sun Mei's smile.
The rain stopped, and the next day was another beautiful day!
Lai Qi had dreamt all night and got up early to go to the fields. Because of Gou Dasheng's father's incident, Lai Qi's parents' grave had also been dug up. After everything was settled, Xing Ruyi gave him some silver coins to buy a new coffin to collect his parents' remains and re-bury them.
Due to continuous heavy rain, this re-burial could only be postponed. Last night, he dreamt of his parents, who told him that a stranger had come to their home and urged him to go take a look no matter what.
Since his parents were no longer alive, the home they referred to in the dream certainly did not mean the dilapidated courtyard he currently lived in but rather the grave that had already been dug up.
When he arrived at the fields, Lai Qi was stunned. He clearly remembered that after defeating the Drought Demon, he simply brought his parents' remains back home while leaving the dug-up grave unattended. Now, not only was the grave filled in, but even the surrounding soil had been dealt with.
Looking around, he could only see some vague footprints washed away by rain and traces left by a shovel digging in the dirt. Recalling what his parents said in his dream, Lai Qi did not hesitate; he went home to get a hoe and began to dig up the loose soil on top of the grave layer by layer.
When he dug down to about half a person's height, a human hand suddenly emerged from the dirt—specifically, a decaying human hand. Taking a deep breath, Lai Qi continued to remove soil until a complete male corpse appeared in the grave. The corpse had disheveled hair and its features were unrecognizable, but Lai Qi knew that finding another corpse in his family's ancestral grave would implicate him if it got out. Without thinking further, he dropped the hoe and rushed to report it at the nearest county office.
Soon after, the county office sent down a Yard Officer. After examination by the Coroner, it was determined that this was a male corpse approximately seven feet tall, wrapped only in an old garment with nothing else on him to prove his identity. Blunt force injuries were found on both his head and back; there were strangulation marks on his neck as well but they were not obvious and likely not fatal wounds. The estimated time of death was about six months ago. Local villagers identified this buried man as very likely being the Daoist who had been saved by Sun Mei's father-in-law years ago.
"If you ask me, this murderer must be that old man. Just think about it: this Daoist was supposed to tell fortunes for him but ended up being taken away by me instead. After being treated well with food and drink, he changed his mind and decided not to tell fortunes for that old man but for me instead. As a result, that old man harbored resentment and killed him."
Just as the villagers were discussing among themselves, the missing Village Chief Gou appeared.
"Do you all remember how the old man died? His family claimed he died of illness, but from what I know, he hanged himself. However, his family lied to cover up the truth and escape responsibility by saying it was due to illness. Sister Sun, what do you think? Wasn't this just a fabrication from our Village Chief?"
"That's right, Sister. How did your father-in-law really die? Back then, you said he died of illness, but I hardly believe that. He was so healthy usually; how could he suddenly die of sickness?" Aunt Wang, who had helped Sister Sun take care of her child and was also a relative, couldn't help but ask after hearing Village Chief Gou.
Sister Sun looked troubled at everyone and finally fixed her gaze on Village Chief Gou. Gritting her teeth, she said, "That's right, my father-in-law did not die of illness; he... he hanged himself!"
"So, is it true that your father-in-law killed this Daoist?"
"No! That's not it! Even if my father-in-law hanged himself, it doesn't prove that the Daoist in this tomb was killed by him. You all know my father-in-law's character; he wouldn't dare kill anyone, let alone a person—he wouldn't even harm a chicken or a dog."
Perhaps feeling guilty in her heart, Sister Sun began to desperately defend her deceased father-in-law. In the end, she even knelt before the Yard Officers and pleaded, "Please, brothers in charge, see clearly that this person's death has nothing to do with my father-in-law or our family!"
"If it has nothing to do with you, then why did your father-in-law commit suicide?" Village Chief Gou's expression changed as he quickly approached Sister Sun. It seemed like a question but was actually pressuring her.
Sister Sun gritted her teeth and lowered her head. "Don't you know how my father-in-law died, Village Chief?"
"Sister Sun, I warn you not to speak recklessly!"
"The village is suffering from drought; we have no harvest at all. Our family's situation was already poor, and we have a young child to support. My father-in-law had no choice but to come to your house for rice. Who knew you would refuse him? Seeing that our food was running out, he took the desperate step of trying to save some rations for us.
As the village chief, isn't this responsibility yours? Isn't my father-in-law's death related to you? If you had lent us some food back then, my father-in-law wouldn't have felt hopeless and sought such an end. If my father-in-law hadn't died, how could my husband... how could he have died?"
After finishing her words, Sister Sun began to cry softly.
Xing Ruyi originally thought she would witness a good show but was surprised that Sister Sun and Gou Dasheng would continue to protect each other in this way. She let out a sigh and pushed through the crowd of onlookers until she stood in front of the male corpse.
"This person was definitely not killed by Sun Mei's father-in-law. The reason is simple: only the murderer would feel guilty and move the body."
"Was the body moved?" a villager asked.
"Of course it was moved, and the Coroner can confirm this!"
"This young lady is correct; there are indeed signs that the body was moved. Everyone, please look at this body. The dirt on the elbows, thighs, and the lower part of the legs is from being buried underground, but the mud on the palms and soles of the feet is from dragging.
Furthermore, due to the decomposition of the body, the wear on the bones from dragging is also quite clear. From the overall condition of the body, it appears that someone used a softer material to wrap and drag it here, and this occurred during the recent rain."
"Thank you, Coroner!" Xing Ruyi nodded at the Coroner and then turned to the villagers, speaking loudly: "Just before this heavy rain fell, we found the Drought Demon in this very grave. At that time, I believe those present over there are most clear about what happened."
"That's right! It was Ruyi who led us to dig it up; I remember clearly that there was only one coffin in that pit, and no other body!"
"I can confirm! This young lady speaks the truth; her words are true because I was also there when we fought the Drought Demon!"
Xing Ruyi looked at these people with satisfaction, turned around, and smiled at Village Chief Gou: "Village Chief Gou, do we really need to hide a dead person and cover up the truth?"
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