Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
She stood at the edge of the platform, looking down. Under the streetlight, a few elderly men were playing cards, cooling off. She stood there in a daze for several minutes before turning and walking to the center of the platform. There were many items scattered about—some junk left by others, a bicycle, various pieces of trash, and importantly, someone had set up a clothes drying rack.
The drying rack was not very tall, supported at both ends by wooden planks and other miscellaneous items. At that moment, it held four or five garments, with not a breath of wind stirring them.
She picked up a plastic bag beside her and took out several red candles. Carefully, she placed the candles in eight positions around the drying rack and then lit them one by one. The flames flickered brightly on the still platform, casting a gentle glow over the drying rack.
With an expressionless face, she pulled out a knife from the plastic bag. The blade gleamed ominously in the humid summer night, giving off a chilling aura.
One cut.
Two cuts.
Three cuts.
She made three deep gashes on her wrist, blood dripping down as it flowed freely. Then she took out a piece of paper from the plastic bag and let her blood fall onto it. Next, she ignited the paper with one of the candle flames.
As the paper was engulfed in flames, she watched it intently, a strange smile suddenly appearing on her face.
Finally, she glanced at the drying rack and staggered toward it.
A red skirt fluttered on the platform.
The night was like water, and a storm was approaching.
The weather forecast predicted rain for the second day. Aunt Li felt hot and stuffy; suddenly, a gentle breeze began to blow in the middle of the night. She remembered that she still had clothes hanging on the rooftop and feared it would be too late to collect them by morning. Sweaty Aunt Li got out of bed, shaking a fan as she stepped outside and slowly made her way to the platform.
Dark clouds rolled in, and a gentle breeze stirred the air, making the night feel terrifyingly dark and eerily quiet.
A chill swept over Aunt Li, bringing her a sense of comfort. She set her fan aside and walked toward the clothes rack. The light fabric of her garment danced gracefully in the breeze.
The red long skirt stood out vividly under the faint light; it was not Aunt Li's dress. As a middle-aged woman, she felt that such a color was unsuitable for her. She thought it must belong to someone else and didn’t dwell on it. Noticing that a heavy rain could fall at any moment, Aunt Li quickened her pace.
Suddenly, she stumbled, looking down to identify what had tripped her. It was a burnt-out candle.
The half-burnt red candle stuck to the ground made her heart flutter with unease, prompting thoughts of various strange occurrences.
Deciding it was best to collect the clothes and head home to sleep early, she began.
One piece.
Two pieces.
Until she reached the middle one—the Red Skirt.
As Aunt Li reached out to push aside the garment behind it, she turned back to grab the Red Skirt and froze at the sight of a human head.
The head's eyes were rolled back, revealing only the whites.
In the breeze, the Red Skirt fluttered ominously.
Aunt Li felt as if her legs were filled with lead, making it difficult to move. She stared blankly at the head, hardly daring to breathe. Finally, she saw clearly what was before her; this was not just a red skirt hanging on a clothesline, but a woman dressed in a red skirt.
A flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a deafening thunderclap.
In that brief moment of light, Aunt Li saw the corpse's hands rise. The twisted hands reached out desperately toward her, as if trying to grasp the already paralyzed Aunt Li. Her vision went dark, and this time she could see nothing at all.
Jiang He also heard the thunder. He left the exhausted Sow he had been tormenting and walked over to the window.
It seemed that Dragon City was about to experience a heavy rain.
A week later, on August 11th, it rained.
A woman held an umbrella, watching the man running through the rain. At that moment, she felt utterly disillusioned.
This woman was Shui Xinlan, twenty years old, a sophomore at Dragon City University in the distance. She was an online author and also Jiang He's tenant. At that moment, her landlord had given her a task: to use a stopwatch to record how long it took Jiang He to run a lap.
At that moment, Jiang He ran over.
"How many seconds?" Jiang He asked.
"Fifteen seconds," Shui Xinlan replied.
Jiang He nodded and dashed upstairs to change his clothes before stepping back into the rain.
Moments later, Jiang He rushed back, asking, "How many seconds?"
"Thirty-two seconds," Shui Xinlan replied.
Jiang He nodded and went back upstairs. When he came down again, he was wearing a completely new outfit.
Shui Xinlan voiced her opinion, "My landlord, I've washed all your clothes. Are you intentionally trying to make things difficult for me?"
Jiang He paused. "First of all, you exchanged your labor of washing clothes for two hundred yuan in rent. There are professional laundries at Long City University, and they are cheap—only two yuan per item. If I wash two items, that’s thirty yuan, which totals one hundred twenty yuan, leaving you with eighty yuan. So technically, you’ve made eighty yuan off me. Moreover, strictly speaking, I wouldn’t wash sixty items in a month. Considering the time factor, you still come out ahead."
Seeing Jiang He's serious expression, Shui Xinlan finally conceded. "You carry on, but I’m just curious about what exactly you’re doing."
Jiang He pointed to the sky and explained, "Under consistent rainfall conditions, I want to figure out whether a person gets less rain on their clothes running back without an umbrella and without planning to avoid the rain over a short distance or walking back."
Upon hearing this, Shui Xinlan nearly dropped her jaw in disbelief. "Alright then, landlord, your hobby is quite refined. Science needs spirits like yours. But I want to ask if you've come up with any results."
Jiang He shook his head. "The sample size is too small, and our time intervals are too short. So far, it seems that the amount of rain on the clothes is about the same. However, if the sample size increases, I believe there will be significant differences at some point. But if we wait any longer, we can't guarantee consistent rainfall conditions."
With that, Jiang He dashed back into the rain.
Watching Jiang He act like a madman, Shui Xinlan couldn’t help but marvel at how impressive these guys from Day Pig were.
Besides Shui Xinlan, many neighbors around were also watching Jiang He’s antics from their homes. His silly behavior undoubtedly brought them a lot of amusement. Just imagine on a rainy day; who wouldn’t want to sip coffee by the window while watching a fool run back and forth in the rain?
However, at that moment, the neighbors heard the sound of sirens approaching from a distance.
Jiang He stopped running, watching the police car drive closer through the rain. The license plate number flashed in his mind. He realized it was Wang Chao's car. Jiang He was ninety percent sure that Wang Chao had come to discuss business with him, rather than to catch up on old times.
So, Jiang He stood at the door, waiting for Wang Chao to arrive. You can hide from the monk, but not from the temple; since Wang Chao had found him here, it was highly likely that he had gathered most of the information about him. Jiang He was ninety percent convinced that Wang Chao had returned to take him back for questioning.
The neighbors peered through their windows, watching as the police car parked in front of Jiang He's house, anxiously thinking: This is bad; he really has gone down the path of committing crimes.
Wang Chao stepped out of the police car, stomped his feet to shake off the rainwater from his hat, and stood in front of Jiang He.
"What happened to you?" Wang Chao asked, looking at the drenched Jiang He.
Jiang He shrugged. "I was conducting some experiments."
Wang Chao nodded; no matter what Jiang He was up to, he wouldn't be surprised.
He glanced at Shui Xinlan beside him. "Is she your girlfriend?"
Shui Xinlan blushed. "What are you talking about? I already have a boyfriend."
Jiang He corrected him seriously. "No, she's my tenant."
"Tenant?" Wang Chao scratched his head.
"That's right, this house is mine. But from your words, it's clear you don't know that. This means you don't have my information. So, by deduction, you're not here to arrest me. If you're not here to arrest me, then what brings you here?"
"You arrived in a police car," Jiang He pointed at the vehicle. "And under normal circumstances, you can't use a police vehicle for personal matters. Moreover, you even turned on the siren, so I have a ninety percent chance of believing you're on official business. Yet you're not here to arrest me, given the current information..."
Wang Chao suddenly laughed. "Then take a guess at what I'm really here for."
Jiang He looked at Wang Chao and without hesitation said, "You're not here to arrest me, but since you're on official business, I have a ninety percent chance of thinking you're here to ask for my help because another murder has occurred, right?"
Wang Chao shook his head. "This time you've guessed wrong. It's not that I need your help; it's someone else."
"Someone else?" Jiang He asked.
Wang Chao then spoke seriously. "Jiang He, do you want to become a police officer?"
Upon hearing Wang Chao's words, an inexplicable feeling arose within Jiang He—one he couldn't quite understand. He had taken the city’s police recruitment exam five times but had never passed. Eventually, due to age restrictions, he could no longer participate and began conducting experiments at home instead.
But now, Wang Chao was offering him such an opportunity.
"Can you make me a police officer?" Jiang He asked.
Wang Chao shook his head. "I don't have that kind of authority, but there is someone who does. Do you remember the person I mentioned to you before?"
"The one who can see through people's hearts?" Jiang He interjected. "Has he come to Dragon City?"
Wang Chao opened the car door and climbed in. "That's right, he wants to establish a special task force and will select some individuals from countless outstanding police officers across the country to be part of it. If you can pass the selection and have no criminal record, you can become a police officer."
"Really?" Wang Chao asked.
Jiang He was already seated in the car.
"Drive," Wang Chao said with a smile.
The car gradually disappeared into the rain.
Preparations for the establishment of the task force took a week. When everything was ready, the director suddenly handed Wang Chao a note, insisting that he must contact this person. At that moment, Wang Chao did not understand why such a renowned figure as Old Shao would be so important.
However, upon seeing the familiar name on the note, Wang Chao understood.
Comment 0 Comment Count