Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chu Feifan suddenly turned around, shining the flashlight into every corner of the first floor, but it was still empty with nothing in sight.
"What's wrong?" Zuo Yi also pointed the flashlight downstairs.
"Nothing, let's go up!" He felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him from behind, and it felt like countless ants were crawling on his back, making him very uncomfortable.
The Old Laboratory had long been undisturbed, covered in dust, and their footprints were clearly visible in the hallway.
Zuo Yi pointed to a room and said, "I remember it was in this room; at that time, Jin'er even found ketchup."
Hearing Su Jin'er's name, Chu Feifan's expression dimmed for a moment, but he quickly recovered. He gently pushed open the door, and a wave of dust hit them, causing them to cough.
"Why is there so much dust? It feels like no one has been here for hundreds of years," Zuo Yi waved his hand.
They shone their flashlights on the ground; there were no footprints at all. It really seemed like no one had been there for centuries.
"This is strange. Could it be that Xu Lingling is lying? She has no reason to deceive us!" Chu Feifan frowned.
"Can we trust that woman? Who knows how many schemes she has! Maybe the Killer is her," Zuo Yi said with a tone of grievance.
"Come on! Don't say such things! I can't stand you."
"Could it be—" Zuo Yi squinted and said, "Do you have feelings for that woman?"
"I'm telling you, we're here to find clues, not to have fun. Can you be serious for once?" Chu Feifan really wanted to give her two black eyes to help her see the current situation clearly.
"You really have no sense of humor. In such a tense atmosphere, can't we lighten things up a bit? It's suffocating."
Suddenly, a shadow flashed past them from behind.
"Who?" both of them asked in unison.
In the empty corridor, only their figures and the sound of frantic heartbeats could be heard.
"I clearly felt someone here," Zuo Yi said, touching his brow.
"We forgot something very important," Chu Feifan frowned.
"What is it?"
"The layout of the laboratory; the rooms on the second and third floors are designed exactly the same. Perhaps Xu Lingling mistook the third floor for the second out of fear."
They quickly ran to the third floor, their previously dull footsteps now sounding jarring. They pushed open the door in the same position.
"Sure enough, it's not wrong."
On the dusty ground, a clear human-shaped imprint pierced their eyes.
"If we had discovered this earlier, things would have been much simpler."
Chu Feifan crouched down to examine the human-shaped imprint on the ground, which was covered with a layer of dust but still somewhat visible.
Zuo Yi also crouched down, looking around the room: "Look over there!" He pointed to a spot not far from the imprint.
"Someone came through here before us."
Chu Feifan shone his light in that direction, but since it was still some distance from the doorway, he couldn't see clearly: "I'll go take a look!"
He walked over to closely inspect the faint footprints on the ground: "These footprints are shallow and small; they must belong to a girl, and she should be very light."
Suddenly, he widened his eyes at the footprint and slowly said, "I know who it is."
"Who is it?"
"Jin'er!"
Chu Feifan took a deep breath and said, "This should be the first scene of Xu Mengguang's death. There are still signs of struggle on the ground; although not very obvious, they can still be seen. Perhaps Jin'er already knows who the Killer is, but her memory has been erased by someone she should know. It's likely that she tried to persuade that person to turn themselves in, but was rejected."
"How do you know?"
"Because Jin'er believes that person wouldn't harm her, so she went alone. She's really foolish!"
"Maybe I also know who the Killer is," Zuo Yi said.
Chu Feifan turned his head back. The two exchanged glances and nodded in tacit agreement.
They returned to the dormitory, where Zhang Yang sat on the bed with his head down.
They looked at each other and then sat on Chu Feifan's bed.
"Zhang Yang, we hope you can tell us everything you know; perhaps we can help you."
After a long time, Zhang Yang lifted his head, tears streaming down his face. "You already know, right? Heh, I thought I could scare you into giving up the investigation, but I was really too naive."
"So that means it really is her?"
"Yes, it's her. But Xu Mengguang deserved to die; we didn't mean to do it, really."
"Where is she?"
"I won't tell you. You won't find her," Zhang Yang said, his eyes red as he suddenly glared at them fiercely, like a lion ready to fight at any moment.
“Zhang Yang, I understand how you feel, but taking a life requires paying the price. If she turns herself in, she might receive leniency.”
“No, she’s only 19 years old, and she accidentally killed him; it wasn’t intentional.”
“Tell us what happened.”
Zhang Yang looked at them and then lowered his head, saying, “Perhaps you already know that three years ago, Li Yiqing, who died five years ago, was her sister. At that time, Xu Mengguang told Qian Qian that he knew who the killer of her sister was, so they went to the laboratory together. However, that scoundrel Xu Mengguang said he was just fooling her; he claimed he didn’t know anything. Just when Qian Qian wanted to leave, he grabbed her and forcibly took off her clothes. I had liked her since military training, so when I saw Qian Qian with him at the Old Laboratory, I quietly followed them. When I arrived, Qian Qian was choking him and repeatedly saying she would kill him. When I rushed over to pull her away, Xu Mengguang was already dead.”
“How could a girl possibly kill a boy?” Chu Feifan said skeptically.
“I was surprised too. When I pulled her away, I found her strength astonishing, and her eyes were particularly fierce, like those of a demon.”
“And then?”
“Then I woke Qian Qian up. She looked at Xu Mengguang’s body and was almost scared to death. I promised to keep it a secret for her. We initially planned to dispose of the body, but then Xu Lingling suddenly showed up. Qian Qian and I hid, and when Xu Lingling saw us, she screamed and ran away. Later we moved the body; as for why his body fell from the girls' dormitory building, we really don’t know.”
No wonder they saw Li Yiqian at the Old Laboratory that day: “So Li Yiqian lied about looking for Teacher Zhang?”
“Yes, she was referring to me. Luckily you didn’t go to verify it at that time.”
“Then why did Su Jin'er lose her memory?”
Zhang Yang shook his head: “After Qian Qian killed someone, she was always terrified; she lived in fear every day but had to pretend nothing happened. Later when Li Ran died and Zhang Junsheng also died, she became even more scared and wanted to escape, so she came to find me.”
“And then you implemented that disappearance plan?”
“Yes, but unexpectedly Du Xiaonan from their dorm insisted on going with her because she feared for her safety. So we knocked her out; as for what happened to her afterward, we had no idea. I thought things would just pass because those foolish police would never find out. Since Qian Qian kept a diary, I secretly broke into their dormitory and stole it thinking it would cover our tracks. However, Su Jin'er still discovered it; she even found out where Qian Qian was hiding and went alone to persuade her to turn herself in. So just like with Du Xiaonan, I knocked her out too. Initially, I wanted to kill her, but Qian Qian said she believed Su Jin'er wouldn’t report us; perhaps fate was helping us! She ended up losing her memory.” Zhang Yang laughed while shedding tears.
Chu Feifan suddenly rushed over and grabbed him by the collar saying, “If you dare harm Su Jin'er, I will make Li Yiqian pay the price; our situations are the same.”
"Is it still useful to say this now? Don't you all already know?" Zhang Yang said with a bitter smile, having lost all hope.
Zuo Yi stroked his chin and said, "If it was really Li Yiqian who did it, why are there no fingerprints of hers on his neck?"
"We're not stupid. Although we were scared, we still found a way to wipe off the fingerprints."
"Maybe Xu Mengguang wasn't killed by Li Yiqian; perhaps he just fainted at that time, and you all thought he was dead. Later, he was killed by someone else," Zuo Yi shrugged.
"What are you talking about? I remember he was lifeless at that moment!"
"Well, I don't know either; it needs to be verified."
"Did you really only kill Xu Mengguang?"
"I've already told you everything. Whether you believe it or not is up to you!"
Chu Feifan fell into deep thought. The whole incident stemmed from Li Yiqing's death, so they should investigate what exactly happened three years ago. Su Jin'er mentioned that they had inquired with the counselor and learned that the school had replaced all the teachers five years ago. What could have happened five years ago that was serious enough for the school to replace almost all the teachers? The only ones left were Old Man Liu and Teacher Zhang. Since Old Man Liu was already dead, they could only seek out Teacher Zhang. However, he had heard the Student Council Chairman say that Teacher Zhang had a very strange temperament and was hard to deal with. Right, there should be some fifth graders who know something! Perhaps that Chairman knows.
"Zhang Yang, for now, we will trust you. We will keep this secret for you, so we hope you can cooperate with us."
Zhang Yang looked at Chu Feifan in surprise. He thought they would report it after knowing the truth, but... had he underestimated their intentions?
"Okay, I promise you, as long as you help me keep this secret."
"We're well aware that someone is manipulating all of this from behind the scenes. Perhaps that person is hiding in some dark corner right now, watching us as we step into the trap they have set."
Zuo Yi suddenly asked, "Do you know who that person in black today was?"
"It was Qian Qian!"
"How could that be? Do you know if there is a small grove not far from the town?" Chu Feifan asked.
"I saw it when I went to the town to buy clothes for Qian Qian, but I've never been there. Qian Qian doesn't know anything about it."
"So you're saying that the person in black that Jin'er and the others saw is not the same person we saw this afternoon?" Chu Feifan said, confused.
"That's very likely," Zuo Yi agreed.
"Are you saying that Su Jin'er once saw a person in black who looked just like Qian Qian?"
"Yes!"
"Then I remember someone. When I went to buy clothes that day, there was a person who bought exactly the same thing as me. I thought it was strange at the time, but since someone had the same taste as me, I didn't think much of it."
"What did that person look like?" Chu Feifan asked anxiously; this was an important clue.
"I didn't see what she looked like; I only saw her back. She was a woman."
"A woman?"
Comment 0 Comment Count