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墨書 Inktalez
When we returned to the village, it was already dark, and the clouds in the sky finally could no longer bear the weight, scattering large flakes of snow onto the ground. It seemed that this snowfall would last for quite some time. After we got back, the Old Village Chief hurriedly found us a Siheyuan.
The main house was divided into two suites on the left and right. Guan Zengbin, being a girl, naturally took one room for herself, while the three of us men squeezed into one room. Fortunately, the bed was large enough to comfortably accommodate all three of us. However, none of us had ever used a Coal Stove before and had no idea how to get it started.
Luckily, Captain Zhou was also from a rural background and had plenty of experience with such Coal Stoves. Before long, he had both stoves in the rooms burning brightly. Captain Zhou looked at us and said, "You city folks probably haven't seen this kind of Coal Stove before. It will likely become a thing of the past and disappear from this world."
As he spoke, we had already settled down on the bed.
However, it was only a little past seven o'clock, and for young people like us who rarely went to sleep before one in the morning, going to bed now felt like torture. Tossing and turning in bed without being able to sleep, we began to chat. Captain Zhou was quite invested in this case and kept asking me about various details.
Captain Zhou asked, "I think this case might not be as simple as you imagine. If the murderer is indeed a butcher, then someone like that would stand out too much in this village. Is it possible that the murderer is deliberately disguising themselves as such?"
I lay on the bed, staring at the floral ceiling above me while listening to Captain Zhou's analysis. When he got serious, his reasoning was quite sound. Could it be that the murderer was intentionally mimicking someone else's methods to lead us down the wrong investigative path from the very beginning?
"That is a possibility," I replied earnestly. "The murderer is not a butcher; they might have seen a case involving a butcher killing somewhere and decided to imitate that butcher's methods."
"Imitating murder?" Gu Chen asked.
I tugged at my hair with my hand while thinking aloud. "Imitating murder is often done as a twisted homage to what one perceives as a superior killer. In this village, there may not be such imitators. It's similar to how there are fervent fans in our lives; no matter what their idol does wrong, they continue to support them. The moment you say anything against their idol, they become hostile towards you."
The two of them nodded in agreement.
I continued, "Just like these obsessive fans, some serial killers also have devoted followers who imitate their idol's methods of killing. For instance, even today, there are still people who mimic Jack the Ripper's methods from the nineteenth century, despite it being over one hundred twenty years ago."
Captain Zhou shook his head at my words and said, "In this village, there shouldn't be anyone so fanatical. It's been many years since Yumu City has seen a murder case; even accidental deaths and suicides are rare. If such a person existed in Tou Gou Zi Village, I think they would have killed long ago instead of waiting until now."
I closed my eyes slowly and said to them, "But if the murderer is just an ordinary person, why would they cruelly dismember their victims' arms and limbs while killing? So far, only one arm and one leg have been found; the rest of the body parts have yet to appear."
"Do you think the next body part that appears will be disposed of in another way?" Gu Chen asked. "That leg was chopped off by the Murderer with a blunt knife, and that arm was bitten off by a dog. So what about the other arm and leg? Will they be removed in a different manner?"
As Gu Chen spoke, another image formed in my mind.
The Victim was tied to a bed, unable to struggle or resist. A butcher stood to her left, holding a bloody blunt knife, methodically chopping off her entire left leg. Meanwhile, a hunter with a dog stood to her right, commanding the dog to tear at the Victim's shoulder, ripping off her entire right arm.
I was suddenly startled by my own thoughts. If this were true, then the case was much more serious than I had imagined. Given the current situation, it seemed likely that there were two Murderers involved—a combination of a butcher and a hunter. One would dismember while the other disposed of the body.
This way, they could carry out several dismemberments in a short amount of time.
However, it often seemed that the more brutal a murder case was, the more likely it was that there was only one Murderer. Even serial killers do not want to be caught by the police. While some may send provocative letters to taunt law enforcement, it is merely for provocation and not an actual desire to be apprehended.
Two Murderers would always be more unstable than one; no one could predict if one might betray the other at any moment.
Gu Chen's words reminded me of my earlier thoughts—that having too many criminal signatures on one person seemed unreliable. But if two perverse Murderers conspired to kill the Victim, that too felt highly improbable.
My mind was in chaos. Was it one person exhibiting too many Murderer traits, or were two people colluding to murder the Victim?
Shaking my head, I realized I couldn't discern the truth just yet.
I sighed and said, "The Ming Village Chief will gather everyone together. Then we can see if there are any suspicious individuals. But it's already the third time we've met, and we still lack basic information; we don't even know anything about the deceased."
Captain Zhou rested his arms behind his head and replied, "Yes, the villagers of Tou Gou Zi Village have quite a bit of mobility; most are disabled, and ordinary people don't come here. It's unfortunate that Yumu City is such a small place that they haven't even managed to record all the villagers' information online."
The wind outside began to howl, startling me. I pulled back the curtain to look outside; large snowflakes were falling onto the windowsill and accumulating on the ground. It seemed like tonight's snowfall would last through the night. I felt a twinge of worry because once this heavy snow passed, tomorrow morning would be blanketed in white, covering any traces left behind.
I lay back down, wrapping myself in a blanket, and continued, "Isn't all your information recorded online?"
Captain Zhou nodded and replied, "Yes, I remember when I was a police officer over twenty years ago. Back then, information checks weren't strict; everything was on paper. It wasn't until the twenty-first century that the internet really took off, and that's when we started entering that information online."
Over twenty years ago, I was still in my mother's womb.
Captain Zhou continued, "At that time, a lot of information wasn't verified; it was just recorded as it was. Many people temporarily changed their ages or ethnicities without any strict checks. However, after the internet came along, things really sped up. During those years, we caught quite a few fugitives through the internet."
Gu Chen chuckled at this moment and said, "But Captain Zhou, you're already in your forties. We've been in Yumu City for three months now, and we haven't seen you getting married or anything. I remember you were interested in a local girl—what was her name? Mei? We haven't heard from her lately. Shouldn't you be getting married at your age?"
At this point, I perked up my ears to listen as Captain Zhou sighed and said, "You know what? I can't figure out what's going on with me. I don't know if I've upset my girlfriend or what. My phone hasn't rung in a week."
With that, Captain Zhou pulled up his call log for us to see.
I was lying next to Captain Zhou and peeked over to take a look. Sure enough, the only call listed was from me.
Gu Chen also turned over to see and said, "I think it's over for you, Captain Zhou. It's not that I'm not giving you face. I really think you've been dumped. We've seen your girlfriend; she's quite stunning. How old is she again?"
Captain Zhou replied, "She just turned thirty."
Gu Chen clapped his hands and said, "See? There's a ten-year gap between you two. There was always going to be a difference in this relationship, and you haven't contacted her at all. She probably got upset and blocked you unilaterally. When that happens, you'll just have to cry about it."
"That can't be," Captain Zhou shook his head. "I have a case to handle."
I laughed and said, "Having a case is just an excuse. Look at all the free time you have now; can't you at least give her a call?"
Under the coaxing of me and Gu Chen, Captain Zhou, a man in his forties, appeared a bit shy. Eventually, he couldn't resist our persuasion and dialed his girlfriend's number. We urged Captain Zhou to put the call on speakerphone. His face turned red, leaving us unsure whether it was embarrassment or something else.
However, no one answered for a long time until a woman's voice came through: "Sorry, the number you dialed is busy. Please try again later."
Upon hearing this, Captain Zhou's expression darkened immediately. From his eyes, we could see sadness and helplessness. Gu Chen and I, who had been joking around moments ago, suddenly found ourselves at a loss for words.
I wondered if Gu Chen's words had come true; it seemed Captain Zhou had been blocked unilaterally.
Gu Chen muttered, "I remember Mei was quite attached to you; she should like you. I was just joking earlier."
Captain Zhou glanced at Gu Chen and then at me, his lips moving slightly as if he wanted to say something.
Finally, Captain Zhou spoke up: "Gu Chen, Wu Meng, there's something I want to tell you..."
I waved my hand dismissively and said, "Forget it. There are plenty of women out there; why obsess over just one?"
"That's not it," Captain Zhou shook his head.
Gu Chen said, "Stop thinking about it; let's just sleep."
No one spoke after that.
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