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墨書 Inktalez
Just as Old Liu and I were preparing to take action, my phone vibrated. It was a text from Zhou Jing: "Return to the police station immediately, we've found an important clue."
"You stay here," Old Liu said. "I'll keep watch."
"It's too dangerous."
"No, I've been a cop for thirty years; I know how to hide." He pulled out a map he had obtained from Second Master Wang. "You check what the clue is; I'll familiarize myself with the terrain here. Remember, come back before dark."
When I returned to the police station, I noticed something was off. Several officers looked at me strangely, hesitating to speak. Jiang Zhendong's office door was closed, but I could hear heated arguments coming from inside.
"This is impossible!" It was Zhou Jing's voice.
"It can't be fabricated," Jiang Zhendong said. "You must tell him the truth."
Suddenly, the office door burst open, and Zhou Jing rushed out. When she saw me standing at the entrance, she froze.
"What’s wrong?" I asked.
Jiang Zhendong followed her out, handing me a report. "The autopsy report is in. Granny Li left behind a blood letter before she died. We dug up the soil beneath that old locust tree in her yard according to the clues."
I took the report. It contained comparison results; the samples came from a set of bones. The remains belonged to a girl around ten years old, who had died approximately twenty-five years ago. And this girl—
My hands began to tremble.
"Is Zhou Jing's sister," Jiang Zhendong said.
I turned to Zhou Jing. Her face was pale, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry; I didn't tell you the whole truth."
"What happened?"
She took a deep breath. "Twenty-five years ago, I had a twin sister, Zhou Yu. We had just turned ten when a group of strangers came to our village. They said they wanted to take some children to school in the city."
"Wait," I interrupted her, "Twenty-five years ago, Zhang Shou hadn't come to the village yet, right?"
"That's right. But those people wore masks just like the ones on the altar now." She bit her lip. "Later I learned that Zhang Shou didn’t come to Changling Village by chance; he came to take over this criminal network."
"You mean—"
"This child trafficking network has existed for at least forty years," Jiang Zhendong said. "It started after the Japanese left. They used those bunkers as cover to abduct children under various pretenses."
"So you infiltrated the village not just to investigate Zhou Ming's disappearance?" I looked at Zhou Jing.
She nodded. "I wanted to find the person responsible for my sister's death back then. For all these years, I've been searching for evidence. It wasn't until recently that I discovered an astonishing truth."
"What truth?"
Zhou Jing took out a notebook from the bag. "This is my father's diary from when he was alive. He investigated this matter too, and he knew your father."
I quickly flipped through the pages of the diary. On the second-to-last page, I came across a shocking entry:
"Finally, I understand why they need so many children. Those buyers are not ordinary traffickers; they are part of an international organization called the Sun Society. This organization believes that children's blood can extend life. They have bases all over the world, and Changling Village is one of them."
The name "Sun Society" sounded somewhat familiar. It was associated with those Japanese military doctors from back in the day. Jiang Zhendong had said that after the war, they went underground and continued their inhumane activities.
I continued reading: "What is most shocking is that their headquarters in Japan is built in a place called the Abode of the Gods. The bunker in Changling Village was constructed to resemble that place."
The last page of the diary had been torn out. However, in the notebook's pocket, I found a yellowed photograph. It depicted a group of Japanese people dressed in kimonos, performing some sort of ritual. In front of them was an altar, on which rested a bronze mask.
That mask looked exactly like the one worn by the assailant on the day my parents went missing.
"Now do you understand why I’ve been silent?" Zhou Jing's voice trembled slightly. "I was afraid you would act impulsively."
That ritual... I gripped the photograph tightly. "Is it what they are going to hold in the bunker tonight?"
"Yes," Zhou Jing confirmed. "It’s said to be their most important ritual. Every full moon night..."
Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Old Liu: "Come back quickly! They’ve started moving your parents!"
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