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墨書 Inktalez
Gravekeeper
The moment I woke up, my phone was flooded with messages—some from people I knew, some from strangers. There were those suggesting girlfriends for me, others calling me a pervert, and some asking if I was enjoying myself and seeking my advice on experiences... Damn, these people are really bored.
Ignoring them, I grabbed my things, slung my bag over my shoulder, and headed to Zhao Yin's place. While in the taxi, I called Zhao Yin. She wasn't feeling well and was resting at home.
When I arrived at Zhao Yin's house and stepped inside, I found her lying on the sofa, looking a bit pale.
I asked, "What's wrong?"
"I... my heart hurts, and for some reason, my ankle is killing me. It feels like it's been cut by a dagger. It's so strange!" Zhao Yin replied.
I froze for a moment, staring at Zhao Yin while instinctively gripping the Peach Wood Sword and Fire Thunder Talisman in my bag.
Zhao Yin looked at me curiously. She sat up and rubbed her ankle. "What's wrong? You look a bit off."
My mind was racing with questions. Last night, the Vengeful Spirits had suddenly taken on Zhao Yin's appearance, which had already raised my suspicions. Now she was telling me about her heartache and ankle pain—wasn't that exactly where I had injured that Male Ghost?
I fixed my gaze on Zhao Yin and asked, "Where were you last night?"
"I? I was at home the whole time," Zhao Yin replied, looking at me. Then she frowned and asked, "Song Fei, what do you mean? Are you suspecting that I went out looking for men again?"
I took a deep breath and waved my hand. "Wait, wait. Let me sort this out. Zhao Yin, this situation is a bit complicated. Just give me a moment to think."
Zhao Yin sat on the sofa watching me.
Taking another deep breath, I realized that the first step was to confirm Zhao Yin's identity; at the very least, I needed to prove she wasn't a ghost. I moved closer to the sofa. "Zhao Yin, don't move. Look at this Talisman." With that, I pressed the Fire Thunder Talisman against her forehead.
Zhao Yin blew out a breath. "What are you doing?"
Seeing no reaction from her made it clear—Zhao Yin was indeed human. If she were that Male Ghost, she would have been terrified, and the Talisman would have reacted as well.
I put away the Talisman and said, "Zhao Yin, something feels off. Last night, I encountered that Vengeful Spirit."
"Really?" Zhao Yin looked at me, her expression curious. "What happened next?"
"He... he was a bit strange," I replied. "He was a man, square-faced, and he had a scar at the corner of his mouth. Do you know him?"
Zhao Yin paused for a moment after hearing my description, then her eyes turned red. She nodded and said, "I know him; it's Brother Zhao."
"Zhao Min?" I asked, puzzled. "What exactly happened? Please tell me in detail."
Zhao Yin nodded and said, "When you mentioned the scar, I understood. That scar... it was me who bit him. I never expected Brother Zhao to already be... gone."
I looked at Zhao Yin.
She lowered her head and continued slowly, "I’m an orphan. I was adopted by Zhao Min's parents. They treated me very well, like their own daughter. Brother Zhao is three years older than me; I liked him a lot when I was young. My favorite thing was when he carried me around to play. Back then, people in the village would say, 'Zhao Yin, when you grow up, will you marry Zhao Min?' I would always laugh at that."
"But back then, I really didn’t understand those things. Later on, I started school—elementary school, middle school, and then college. Brother Zhao was always good to me. However, I gradually became a bit distant from him because I could sense that Zhao Min's feelings for me were not just brotherly; there were... other feelings as well. But after I entered college and got exposed to the outside world, I didn’t want to go back to that remote place anymore. There was hardly any common language between me and Zhao Min; our conversations were limited to mundane questions like 'Have you eaten?' or 'What do you want to eat?'"
I frowned as I listened to Zhao Yin.
With red eyes, she continued, "Actually, Brother Zhao treated me very well. The village where I lived—Shanshui Village in Suqian City—was terribly poor. To support my education, Brother Zhao started working as a stonemason at sixteen in the mountains, blasting rocks and earning money for my schooling. He sacrificed everything for my education—junior high school, high school, and then college. Those tuition fees might not seem like much to city folks but were a fortune for the villagers of Shanshui Village; it was something Brother Zhao earned with his life."
I asked her, "So how did he end up dead?"
Zhao Yin shook her head. "After I graduated, I joined Sihai Group because I wanted to stay in the city. Although I was grateful to Brother Zhao, I couldn’t love him back; my feelings for him were purely gratitude and sibling affection. After working for two months and saving five thousand yuan, I returned to Shanshui Village."
"I gave the money to Brother Zhao and said, 'Brother, from now on I'll take care of you.' But he refused it; he wanted to marry me instead and started kissing me. At that moment, I lost my temper and bit his lip hard. I told him that in this lifetime, I'd never be able to like him or marry him; we had no common language whatsoever."
"Brother Zhao's mouth was bleeding as he looked at me in shock. Then I ran away from Shanshui Village that night; since then... I've never gone back. However, I regularly send money into an account belonging to Zhao Min's parents—every month I give them one thousand yuan as a way to repay their kindness in raising me."
After hearing about Zhao Yin, I took a deep breath and said, "It seems that the Vengeful Spirit really is Zhao Min. He doesn't even know when he died. Out of love turned to resentment, he has come after you. Although he doesn't want to kill you, he can't bear to see you being intimate with other men. So, those men you've been with have met their end because of him."
Zhao Yin wiped her tears and cried, "I really didn't want this. I just wanted to live a normal woman's life. I wanted to escape that mountain village and live in this city like a regular woman—get married, have children, work, and manage a household. Why...?"
I waved my hand and said, "Right now, the most important thing is to find out the cause of Zhao Min's death and resolve his Resentment. Since he was injured by me, he shouldn't be able to return for a while. Let's go back to Shanshui Village to investigate the cause of Zhao Min's death and put an end to this tragic love of yours."
Zhao Yin nodded, "Okay! I... I also want to go back. Let me pack my things, and we can set off right away. Suqian City is about a four-hour drive from here; I'll take you there."
I nodded in agreement.
Zhao Yin packed her things while I returned to my dormitory and seriously prepared a bag of supplies. I initially wanted to call Yang Gou Dan, but he refused to come with me, insisting that everything would be fine with good fortune and avoiding misfortune.
Since he wasn't going, I decided not to call him again. In fact, I had two Fire Thunder Talismans in my bag, which made me feel quite secure. Inviting Yang Gou Dan along was mainly for saving money; each talisman cost ten thousand! If I brought Yang Gou Dan, I wouldn't have to waste any talismans.
With Yang Gou Dan not coming along, I had no choice but to carry my bag alone as I went downstairs.
Zhao Yin was waiting for me in her red Mazda at the bottom of the dormitory building. I got into the car.
Zhao Yin's hometown was in Suqian City, which was still quite a distance from Donghai City. However, it wouldn't take too long if we took the highway.
By the afternoon, we had arrived in Suqian City.
After leaving Suqian City, we drove for nearly another hour before stopping in a rather rundown town. I looked up and saw that this town was an abandoned industrial area filled with dirty trash; there were very few people around, clearly indicating that the economy was severely underdeveloped.
Zhao Yin continued driving northeast through the town and sighed, "There used to be a large Chemical Plant here. Back then, people didn't know how to protect the environment. Many agreed to let the Chemical Plant be built here for a few thousand yuan in land compensation. As a result, ten years later, diseases like leukemia and cancer began to emerge continuously; some villages could lose dozens of people in a single year... Sigh!"
Sitting in the car listening to Zhao Yin's words reminded me of the recent uproar at Changzhou Foreign Language Institute. My heart felt heavy. Twenty years ago, China indeed paid a huge environmental price for economic development. For the sake of immediate benefits, they ruined the entire environment; eventually, nature would make humanity pay for its greed.
As we passed through the town and drove for about fifteen minutes more, the road became bumpy; we were now on mountain roads. The asphalt laid down years ago had deteriorated into potholes over more than a decade without anyone coming to repair it.
The car came to a stop after rounding a mountain.
Zhao Yin pointed ahead and said, "Look, that's Shanshui Village, the village where I grew up."
Following Zhao Yin's gesture, I saw dozens of houses made of piled stones scattered across the hillside. The road into the village was uneven, and vehicles with low clearance couldn't possibly make it through. The mountaintop was overgrown with weeds, appearing particularly desolate under the setting sun.
I suddenly understood why Zhao Yin was so determined to leave this place; it was even more barren than Shantai Village, where I had lived! Much more barren! Once someone has experienced the splendor of the city, who would want to survive in such a place?
Zhao Yin parked the car by the roadside and asked, "What should we do now?"
"We should go into the village and find out about Zhao Min's cause of death," I replied. "If we can get Zhao Min to forgive you, that would be best. If not, we need to find his body, burn it, and forcefully guide his spirit back."
Zhao Yin sighed, "Let's go. I haven't been here in ten years."
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