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墨書 Inktalez
The dim candlelight stretched their shadows against the wall.
Chu Feifan pressed his finger into the soft wax on the table. "Seven years ago, my brother was burned to death on this mountain."
"But what does that prove?" Linyuan said, puzzled, as he touched his nose with his index finger.
"Do you think your brother's death is related to the murder case in this village?" Su Jin'er speculated. "I feel like we've been led around by the Killer since we started investigating this matter. The Killer seems to want us to find him, but doesn't want to give us any clues; he's deliberately leading us in circles."
"I have a feeling this case is connected to me," Chu Feifan said, frowning. This was not the first time he had felt this way, and recently, the feeling had grown stronger.
"Let's go check that room now," Su Jin'er said as she stood up.
Unbeknownst to them, the sky had already begun to lighten, and the five of them quietly made their way toward the room, where not a single person could be seen outside.
Inside, the room still bore the appearance it had when Alang died; only his body had been removed. Although it wasn't fully bright yet, the light streaming through the window was enough to see the entire room.
"Let's search around and see if we can find any useful clues," Gaya Ze said, standing in front of the table and looking at the half-burned candle.
The rope used to hang Alang still hung from the beam. It was long; one end was used for hanging Alang while the other end trailed on the ground. Below the window were some disordered footprints—Alang's footprints—indicating that he had wandered near the windowsill.
"But don't you find it strange? The Killer wanted to make it look like a suicide, but it seems full of holes," Chu Feifan squatted by the window, examining the messy footprints. "Look here; there are drag marks from the rope." The drag marks started from the windowsill.
"I really want to know if the Killer tried to create a locked-room murder but failed or if he did this on purpose," Su Jin'er said, looking at the long drag marks.
"It must be that the Killer is playing with ambiguity," Linyuan said, tilting his head to look at the rope on the beam.
"I think so too. How could a Killer be so careless!" Zuo Yi added.
"I might be able to guess how the Killer committed the murder," Su Jin'er said as she looked at the footprints on the ground.
Everyone looked at her in disbelief.
"You think about it! Alang could not have walked in by himself and put his head in the noose, so it must have been Killer who knocked Alang out and placed him in the prepared noose to strangle him. There are no footprints from Killer in the room, which suggests that Killer might have worn Alang's shoes and walked out backwards after killing him, which is why there are no footprints leading out. Moreover, Killer took advantage of our inability to detect the depth of the footprints, making him even bolder."
After hearing Su Jin'er's words, they nodded. Chu Feifan said, "This doesn't seem premeditated; it looks more like a spur-of-the-moment decision."
"It’s possible that Alang discovered something, which is why Killer had to silence him."
At this moment, it was already bright outside, and people had begun to move around.
"Look here!" Gaya Ze pointed at the windowsill.
Everyone gathered around and saw a clear footprint on the edge of the windowsill.
This footprint completely overturned Su Jin'er's earlier reasoning.
"Why does this footprint look so strange?" Linyuan pouted, looking curiously at the black footprint.
Gaya Ze touched it with his finger and said, "It hasn't rained recently, right? How could there be mud?"
"There’s dirt everywhere here, but it hasn’t rained lately, and there’s no river nearby. By the way, where do they get their drinking water?" Su Jin'er looked outside at the busy people.
"Arian mentioned that there’s a well outside the village," Chu Feifan recalled what Arian had said a few days ago.
"We should go find someone; maybe he can tell us something."
Su Jin'er's words reminded them of A-Jian, who resembled Alang and had gone to the Mage's House that night.
A-Jian was drinking alone, frowning as he gulped down his drink. Those who saw him thought he was grieving over the sudden death of his best friend.
His hands were tightly clenched on the table, his knuckles turning ashen from the pressure. The hand holding the bottle trembled uncontrollably, almost dropping it. Alang was his best friend; although they had once had conflicts over Arian, he knew clearly that Arian liked Alang, so he stepped back to preserve their friendship. However, ever since those people suddenly appeared, everything changed. Arian ended up marrying that guy—the one who had just arrived a few days ago. He took another swig from the bottle, transparent liquid dripping down his chin as he wiped it away with his sleeve.
Even though Arian didn’t like him, he felt secure entrusting her to his best friend. But this sudden group not only stole away his best friend's beloved but also caused his death—how could he swallow this bitterness?
He grabbed the bottle and took a big gulp, then angrily smashed it on the ground.
This startled the few of them who happened to be at the door.
Seeing the person he had just cursed thousands of times suddenly appear at the entrance, A-Jian stood up angrily, glaring at them.
"How dare you come here? You are the ones who caused Alang's death; you are the Killers!" He pointed at them, cursing in anger. After drinking all night, his body was already numb, and at that moment, he collapsed to the ground.
Chu Feifan and Zuo Yi came over to help him up, but he forcefully shook off their hands and fell back down again.
"You—" he pointed at Chu Feifan and said, "It’s you who took Arian away, which led to Alang's suicide. Do you know that Arian and Alang have been betrothed since childhood? But because of your sudden appearance, the village chief hastily married Arian to you. What do you have that’s so good? Is it because the village chief is old and his eyesight is failing that he allowed Arian to marry you?" Unable to stand, he simply sat on the ground and tears began to flow.
"This isn't what I wanted either. The village chief threatened me with my friend's life; I had no choice but to do this. Besides, I didn't know she was already betrothed before marrying her. Moreover, I have someone I like too," Chu Feifan squatted down to look at him. Although his last words were quiet, Su Jin'er and the others still heard him.
"I don’t care; all I know is that my best friend is dead. He’s dead."
A grown man sitting on the ground crying was heart-wrenching. Su Jin'er also squatted down and said, "We all understand your sorrow, but no matter how sad we are, we can't bring back the dead. Don't you want to know who killed him?"
"Wasn't it suicide? He committed suicide!" A-Jian suddenly lay on the ground and shouted loudly.
"No, it wasn't suicide; he was murdered. That's why we want to ask for your help in finding the Killer," Linyuan said while supporting himself on his knees.
"Killer? To me, you are all Killers." A-Jian kept his eyes closed.
"I'll just ask you one question; just answer me truthfully."
A-Jian remained silent, lying quietly on the ground as if he had fallen asleep.
"Last night, did you go to the mage's place?"
A-Jian's body moved slightly, but he still kept his eyes closed, his eyeballs moving faintly beneath his eyelids.
"Yes, I went. The village chief said that as long as we can do what the mage instructed, we must do it."
"What did he instruct you to do?"
A-Jian suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Su Jin'er in front of him. "You just said you would only ask one question." He sat up, supported himself on the table, and stood up. "Now that you've asked your question, you can leave. I don't want to see you."
Su Jin'er and Chu Feifan exchanged glances. Chu Feifan said, "I believe you know what happened in your village five years ago."
A-Jian suddenly turned his head, squinting at him as he said, "Did Arian tell you?"
"You don't need to know who told me, but your reaction has already given me the answer."
A-Jian was taken aback for a moment, then snorted heavily and said, "Women are unreliable."
"Many things are not as simple as they appear. I know you harbor hostility towards us, and I also know your feelings for Arian. However, if you truly don't want your friend to die unjustly, then tell us everything you know." Chu Feifan seemed unconcerned about whether A-Jian would share information. After speaking, he turned to his friend and said, "Let's go!"
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