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墨書 Inktalez
Gravekeeper
Zhang Yuru suddenly stopped, looking at me and exclaimed, "Hey, Yang Granny is only thirty-six! Just thirty-six! How does she look like she's sixty-three?"
I had anticipated this reaction. I could sense the Ghostly Energy emanating from her; she was half-human, half-ghost. It was a miracle she was still alive. I replied, "There's nothing strange about it. Yang Granny spends all her time with ghosts, so it's no surprise she won't live long."
Zhang Yuru took a deep breath and looked at me with confusion. "Who exactly are you? You can't be a police officer; no cop would act like a fortune teller." With that, she rummaged through my backpack.
I pulled out the investigation certificate Captain Chen Shan had given me and showed it to Zhang Yuru. "Comrade Zhang Yuru, even though I'm just an investigator, I've contributed too. Can I ask you for a favor? Let's go back to the station to look into Yang Granny's identity and then arrest her. While we can't use her raising ghosts as a reason for arrest, she has damaged the corpse and made Face Masks to deceive consumers. That should be enough to justify an arrest."
Zhang Yuru nodded. "That should work. Let's head back to the station and ask our captain... Dinglingling, the vast horizon is my love..."
Just as she spoke, Zhang Yuru's phone rang.
She picked up the phone, her voice instantly turning sweet and flirtatious. "Hello, Captain... I just hid a corpse for a little while... Okay, I'll be there soon." With that, she hung up immediately.
I was stunned. Just moments ago, she had seemed like a rather rough woman, but now she transformed into a coy lady on the phone!
Zhang Yuru put down her phone and frowned. "Damn it, I just hid a corpse! Does that idiot captain really need to call me at night to scold me?"
I was left speechless in astonishment. Indeed, women are fickle creatures; their moods can change faster than flipping a page.
Zhang Yuru glanced at me and noticed my expression, laughing lightly. "Did I scare you?"
I nodded. "The way you spoke just now made my bones feel weak; I thought a female ghost had possessed you!"
Zhang Yuru sighed in frustration. "Do you think I want to? But our captain is just too much; he always flies off the handle over the smallest things. If I don't act sweet with him regarding hiding a corpse, he'll scold me for at least half an hour! Forget it; it's not easy being me either. By the way, Song Fei, can you accompany me back to the crematorium?"
I replied, "Sure. But what exactly happened?"
"It's about the deceased Zhuang Dazhou. One of his friends rushed back from America and wanted to see Zhuang Dazhou's body at this late hour. When he arrived at the crematorium and found the body missing, he reported it to our captain." Zhang Yuru said, wrinkling her nose in a rather cute manner as she expressed her grievance.
I understood the situation and said, "This isn't really your captain's fault. Let's hurry up and go."
Zhang Yuru and I returned to the crematorium, where an imported Audi A6 was parked outside. It was clear that Zhuang Dazhou's friend was a wealthy person.
Zhang Yuru glanced at the Audi and curled her lip. Once we entered the crematorium, I asked, "Where did you hide the body?"
"I hid it in the corner of the Cold Storage Room," Zhang Yuru replied. "As a girl, I had to drag the body from the Embalming Room to the Cold Storage Room all by myself just to catch the criminal. It was so hard for me, and then that damn captain just started yelling at me without asking anything first. He's such a jerk!"
We arrived at the Cold Storage Room, which was indeed very cold. At the back of the room were more than ten refrigeration units; some bodies that couldn't be cremated immediately were placed in these units.
As I stepped inside, I instinctively tightened my grip on the Peach Wood Stick in my hand. It felt eerie and somewhat terrifying.
Zhang Yuru deliberately moved closer to me, murmuring, "Song Fei, this is really your fault. I used to not believe in ghosts or gods, so I never felt scared coming to places like this. But after what just happened, my courage has weakened."
I chuckled.
We stopped at one of the Freezers in the far corner of the Cold Storage Room. Zhang Yuru reached out and pulled open that Freezer. "This is it! Zhuang Dazhou... Huh? Where did Zhuang Dazhou go?"
I glanced at Zhang Yuru and then looked inside the refrigeration unit.
Zhang Yuru instinctively took a step back. "Could it be that I remembered the wrong spot? No way! I was so afraid of getting it wrong that I specifically chose this corner Freezer to make it easier to remember." With that, she opened the adjacent Freezer.
Inside the neighboring freezer lay a pale-faced woman with wide-open eyes, staring at Zhang Yuru. Her eyeballs seemed ready to pop out, and there were dried bloodstains on her face.
Zhang Yuru let out a gasp.
A sudden realization struck me, and I quickly shut the freezer door. "We might be in trouble; let's go find Zhuang Dazhou's friend."
Zhang Yuru paused for a moment after hearing me, then immediately transformed into a detective like Conan. "I get it! That friend of his must be the killer! He came here to steal the body! He must have heard about what I spread around and was afraid that Zhuang Dazhou's corpse would give him away, so he came to steal it!"
I shot a glance at Zhang Yuru, my footsteps quickening as I headed toward the hall of the crematorium. "Can you think normally for once? Who would steal a corpse and drive an Audi to do it, then voluntarily inform your captain?!"
We soon arrived at the waiting room in the crematorium hall. This area was designated for the families of the deceased, right next to the memorial hall.
I pushed open the door to the waiting room and was met with a pool of blood on the floor. Zhuang Dazhou's friend was nowhere to be found, only a bag left on a chair.
Zhang Yuru rushed in behind me. Upon seeing the bloodstains on the ground, she gasped and covered her mouth. Turning to me, she asked, "Song Fei, what... what happened? Where is he?"
"He's dead!" I began to connect all the dots in my mind. A thought emerged; I knew I was close to uncovering the truth. I pointed at the bloodstains on the floor. "It seems the murderer didn't go far; there's still blood here. Let's go." With that, I tightened my grip on the Peach Wood Stick in my hand.
Zhang Yuru and I followed the trail of blood toward the back door of the waiting room. She seemed frightened too, pulling out a toy gun and holding it tightly. Although it was just a replica, it provided her with some comfort.
Not far behind the waiting room was the Cremation Furnace. It was quite large, with a Conveyor Belt in front. Once a body was placed on it, all that was needed was to ignite it, and the Cremation Furnace would operate automatically. The Conveyor Belt would transport the body into the burning chamber, where an ignition device and diesel spray pipes ensured complete combustion while minimizing environmental pollution. Smoke would be vented underground, leaving only a small amount for family members to collect for their rituals.
As we entered, we saw two bodies laid out in front of the Cremation Furnace. An elderly man with a hunched back was pulling a switch, and suddenly, the Cremation Furnace roared to life!
One of the bodies was Zhuang Dazhou's, and beside it lay another corpse covered in bloodstains. Clearly, this must be Zhuang Dazhou's friend's body. It was shocking that he had just returned from America only to meet his end here.
I took a deep breath and approached the old man.
He turned around, revealing three horrifying scars across his face. I recognized him clearly; this was Master Yan, whom I had encountered when I first arrived at the crematorium.
Master Yan smiled at me broadly, looking quite pleased.
A sense of dread crept into my heart, though I tried not to show it. "Master Yan, you really are full of surprises."
His smile widened even more as he adjusted the Cremation Furnace and glanced at the two bodies on the ground. "Young man, do you know what is humanity's greatest power?"
I looked at Master Yan.
Master Yan moved slowly, dragging the two corpses across the ground towards the Conveyor Belt. He spoke as if to himself, "The greatest power is hatred! Hatred has kept me alive like a ghost; hatred allows me to perform this act. I've even forgotten who I really am... Master Yan? Hahaha, Master Yan? I truly am Master Yan now!"
I pointed at him and shouted, "Stop laughing! You’ve killed people; the evidence is undeniable. Prepare for the law's judgment."
"Law? What a joke! If the law were truly effective, would I have lived like a ghost for these twenty years?" Master Yan suddenly turned to face me.
I squinted at him.
Master Yan laughed again, saying, "Young man, there are many things you don't know. These two people on the ground—this Zhuang Dazhou and this so-called overseas entrepreneur, Xie Xiaofeng—oh, and let’s not forget Deputy Director Li, Secretary Zheng, and that scoundrel Li the Boss. Hahaha, they’re all famous figures, big shots! But do you know what they were doing twenty years ago? They were thugs, part of the Black Society! Back then, I was eager to start my own business and used all my savings to acquire a piece of land—the very land that is now being developed in the city. And what happened? When these five saw that my land was worth over a hundred million yuan, they began to forcefully buy it from me..."
Tears streamed down Master Yan's face as he cried and laughed maniacally. He shouted loudly, "They bought it at a low price; when I refused, they set fire to my house and stormed into my home. My wife and my two lovely daughters died that night! Those five beasts insulted them before killing them! Hahaha, these three scars on my face were originally just one mark. But that night, as I desperately escaped with my son, I promised myself that I would avenge this wrong! I sought lawyers; they dared not help. I went to the police—hahaha, the Criminal Police Captain back then was one of them! I sought justice but found none! That night, I told myself that revenge would be mine alone!"
Master Yan glared at me, pointing at his face with malice. "That night, I carved these three scars into my face to remind myself: this grudge must never be forgotten. My wife and my two daughters—I will never forget them for the rest of my life! I cannot forget!"
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