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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
Decades ago, the newly appointed leader of Futu Ridge, eager to showcase his extraordinary abilities, set the fires of ambition ablaze at Futu Ridge. He constructed a winding mountain road that connected the county town directly to Futu Ridge.
Futu Ridge was abundant with mountains and trees, boasting beautiful scenery. If it could be developed into a tourist attraction, it would undoubtedly stimulate consumption and increase economic income.
However, what no one expected was that before the station could even begin construction, the leader had gone mad.
Many people did not believe in the numerous supernatural occurrences in the world, dismissing ghosts and deities as mere myths. It was only when disaster struck that they began to pray for divine intervention, seeking psychological comfort.
The belief in ghosts and deities has existed since ancient times. As the Saint said, "People do not speak of strange forces and chaotic spirits."
Huang San'er, who had always followed Huang the Lame, believed in ghosts and deities. However, he certainly never anticipated that his usual luck would lead him into a forbidden area.
When we encountered the disheveled Huang San'er in the wilderness of the back mountain, we could hardly believe this was the same person who had been so spirited just days before.
His body was covered in repulsive slime, barely clothed, and his gaze was vacant as if he were under a spell.
"What exactly did you see in the forbidden area of the back mountain?" I asked in a low voice.
Huang San'er did not respond at all. My words seemed to trigger something within him; a layer of goosebumps suddenly erupted on his skin, and his body shook like a sieve.
Li Fugui stood before Huang San'er for a moment, then leaned close to whisper something in his ear before turning to walk toward the winding road.
"I leave him to you," Li Fugui's cold voice echoed back to us.
A tear rolled down Huang San'er's cheek, making him look quite pitiful. Huzi, feeling a pang of sympathy, said, "It seems he's really gone mad."
I replied, "So what if he's mad? He killed you, and you have to pay him back."
Huzi hesitated. As a person living in today's society, even in the ruthless Futu Ridge, he still couldn't bring himself to do it.
"I can't do it; he's already lost his mind," Huzi said.
I glanced at the pocket of Huang San'er’s pants and pulled out his frequently used Swiss Army knife. Then I led him into the overgrown grass.
Huzi frowned and followed us closely. In front of Huang San'er, I opened the Spring Knife and suddenly plunged it into his throat.
Huang San'er fell to the ground, clutching his neck as blood poured from his mouth. Blood sprayed everywhere from his fat neck, and his struggles reminded me of the arrogant face he had when we were children.
I didn't care how many people he had bullied over the years or how many he had secretly harmed due to his wealthy and powerful family. I remembered that the first slap I ever received was from him, that Zhou Manman was one of his victims, and that Huzi was someone he had killed.
The usually kind Huzi looked at me with confusion, as if seeing a stranger. He seemed shocked that I, who had always been somewhat willful yet kind-hearted growing up, would kill someone without blinking an eye.
Even if it was an enemy.
Huzi turned away and said in a low voice, "Aren't you afraid of killing someone?"
I replied, "It's just like killing a chicken."
I pulled a red string down from Huang San'er's neck, revealing a corner of the jade pendant that was hanging there; nearly four-fifths of the jade was missing.
Huzi clearly recognized that this jade pendant was the very object that had brought him misfortune. Huang San'er knew that his pendant had been taken by Li Fugui, a man who had no need for such worldly possessions. The fact that he stole Huang San'er's pendant likely meant it was intended for his only grandson, Li Hu.
When Huang San'er secretly saw the jade pendant around Huzi's neck, he had already harbored murderous intent.
"How did the pendant get broken?" Huzi asked.
"This pendant is a family heirloom of the Huang Family. Huang the Lame has only this one grandson, and the pendant given to Huang San'er must be a genuine spirit-concealing jewel. It is said that such jewels can protect their owner; if they save someone from death, they will shatter."
"So, Huang San'er should have been dead?"
I nodded and replied, "He trespassed into a forbidden area and should have died, but the jewel saved him. Even so, he still went mad. I really don't know what kind of things are hidden in that forbidden place."
After we abandoned Huang San'er's corpse in the wilderness, we returned to the village. The recent events left me feeling anxious and drowsy.
Around seven or eight o'clock that evening, I was startled awake by the sound of police sirens.
I found it strange; the bizarre happenings in Futu Ridge were usually ignored by the police. Why were they suddenly here? And judging by the continuous blaring of sirens, it seemed many officers had arrived.
I recalled what Li Fugui had said three nights ago to Huang San'er—he intended to kill Huang San'er’s entire family without leaving anyone behind.
I had thought it was just an angry outburst and never believed Li Fugui would dare to openly commit murder in the county.
But when I reached the village entrance and saw a large group of police surrounding their house, I believed it. Li Fugui really was like that, having wiped out the Huang Family, who had connections in both the underworld and the legitimate world of the county.
Li Fugui was handcuffed and did not resist as he was escorted away in a police car toward the county.
After Li Fugui was taken away by the police, the villagers began to gossip. Some learned that Li Fugui seemed to have committed a serious crime in the county, and this time he was undoubtedly facing death.
Although Futu Ridge was a mountainous area deemed off-limits, where police generally wouldn’t intervene even if someone died inside, if someone from the mountains committed a crime outside that caused severe repercussions, the county leaders would certainly not turn a blind eye.
The day after Li Fugui was taken away, seven or eight vans suddenly stopped in front of Huzi's house. A large group of tattooed individuals got out, each wielding machetes.
This group went wild with their machetes on Huzi's front door, then kicked it down. When they stormed inside, they found no one home, so they proceeded to wreck Huzi's house.
Huzi's bed was also smeared with excrement. During this chaos, I took a look and recognized several of them as notorious thugs from the county whom I had seen a few times during my junior high school years.
These thugs would beat up students and teachers at school without anyone daring to intervene. Even when they were arrested and reported to the police, they were released within days.
They had photos of Li Fugui's family; Li Fugui had killed one of their gang leaders and wiped out his entire family. This vendetta had to be avenged—anyone from Li Fugui's family would be killed on sight. Just because they thought hiding in Ghost Village would keep them safe didn’t mean others would be afraid.
That night, Huzi and his parents stayed at my house. His parents slept on my bed while Huzi and I laid out a mat in the yard, covered by a mosquito net.
Huzi was very scared that night; he woke up several times in a cold sweat, each time running to check on his parents before returning to the mosquito net to continue sleeping. It seemed he was having nightmares.
The thugs in the county were ruthless; when they beat students at school, they would break facial bones, causing paralysis. Stabbing incidents were frequent as well. Even when parents complained to the police, it rarely escalated beyond a few thousand dollars in compensation.
Although Huzi and I didn't attend the same school during middle school, we both grew up in the county town. He had witnessed the chaos of the city: gangs dragging girls into bars to feed them pills, an old farmer being beaten by men in uniforms, and a butcher who, without hesitation, stabbed a city inspector who was trying to evict him from his stall. He had seen people shouting slogans of justice while looting a supermarket in the aftermath of a heavy flood.
There is never an absolute good or evil in this world.
Many people live in comfort, oblivious to the turmoil and suffering around them, leading civilized and upwardly mobile lives, completely disconnected from the chaos and crime of the world.
I heard Huzi's sigh and patted his shoulder, a silent comfort between men.
Huzi said, "I'm afraid something will happen to my parents. They care for me so much. If I really died a few days ago, how would they live?"
I replied, "It's okay. Don't think too much about it. Ming and I will go to the county town to see how your grandfather is doing."
As I gazed at the light of Starlight, I touched my Heart. I could vaguely sense the spirit of Zhou Manman sleeping within me; her frail state would likely dissipate if she left my side for too long.
But I feared that over time, I might grow weary of her presence.
Humans are particularly complex emotional beings. I liked Zhou Manman very much, but if she existed solely as a spirit within me for an extended period, I might eventually feel disgusted.
That feeling was strange, as if someone were watching me from the shadows; everything I thought and felt was accessible to her, leaving me with no privacy at all.
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