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墨書 Inktalez
I drove the police car back to the café, gathering my things. This time, I took the lessons learned from my encounter with the Old Witch to heart and strapped on my Glock Pistol. As for the ghost-catching tools, especially the talisman I had bought from the Azure Cloud Taoist, I made sure to bring those along as well.
After packing up, I returned to the police station.
Not long after, a taxi pulled up, and then Ding Dong emerged, dragging a large suitcase and carrying a bag.
I was taken aback. "What are you doing? Are you resigning? Your Boss isn't firing you, is he?"
Ding Dong quickly replied, "No, no! Mr. Song, don’t worry. My Boss... I haven’t been home in a long time, so he’s letting me stay home for a bit. My salary will still be paid."
Just as I was about to respond, another taxi stopped, and Zhou Ruyun got out wearing clean sportswear. She brushed her hair back and said shyly, "Um, Song Fei, I have quite a bit of stuff. Sorry about that."
I said, "No problem. Ding Dong has a lot of things too. Here, let me help you carry it."
Zhou Ruyun nodded eagerly and opened the taxi's trunk. Inside were four travel bags! Then, in the back seat of the taxi, there were two large bags! Six pieces of luggage in total!
I was stunned. "Zhou Ruyun, did Liu Yiyi fire you? Are you moving back home?"
Zhou Ruyun quickly laughed and said, "Sorry about that, Song Fei! I'm not resigning; I'm just bringing some things for my relatives and neighbors. Our village is in the mountains, and it’s not easy to go back often. Not many people from the village come to the city, so I’m bringing more stuff. These two bags are from Liu Zong for me to take home."
I looked at her speechless and had no choice but to haul the bags into the car. "You two are treating me like a free courier! Luckily the police station provided a vehicle; otherwise, did you plan on having me carry all these bags back?"
Zhou Ruyun and Ding Dong both laughed.
Fortunately, it was an SUV with decent space; however, once everything was loaded in, the trunk was completely stuffed.
I got into the car and searched for Shuidong Village but found no results under that name. I didn’t think much of it and then searched for Yancheng City, Xiangshui County—this time it came up. Anyway, Zhou Ruyun and Ding Dong knew the way; we could navigate once we reached the county.
With both of them in tow, I drove my old Chery car toward Shuidong Village.
Yancheng is considered the largest city in Jiangsu Province, and I don't know much about it; my impression is that it's quite an ordinary city.
However, this time, as we reached Xiangshui County, I was surprised to see many forests and mountains along the sides of the road. While driving, I remarked, "I didn't expect your hometown to be so beautiful."
Zhou Ruyun replied, "It is beautiful here. There’s a nature reserve, and it’s home to elk and red-crowned cranes. Unfortunately, I only get to come back home three times a year at most."
Ding Dong sighed beside me, "That's how it is; the more beautiful a place is, the poorer it tends to be. To become wealthy, you have to destroy the environment and integrate into big cities. It's quite contradictory."
I realized he was right and chose not to respond.
After leaving the county road, Ding Dong directed me as we traveled along a county road for over an hour, navigating through various rugged mountain paths before continuing on a dirt road. The scenery here was already stunning; beside the dirt road flowed a river called Wenshui, which was quite wide and connected directly to the sea. As we followed the dirt road, we occasionally spotted a few scattered villages.
Although my car was old, its performance was still quite good on these dirt roads without any worries. However, for an ordinary sedan, it would be quite a test of skill since some parts of the dirt road were unevenly compressed and could scrape the car's undercarriage.
As we drove further, the scenery outside transformed into something breathtaking. In the distance were not towering mountains but rolling hills with dense vegetation. I rolled down the window and breathed in the fresh air.
Ding Dong pointed ahead and said, "It's just up ahead. There are two villages: Shuidong Village and Hexi Village, located on either side of the river. This village is considered one of the poorest but also has the best scenery because beyond our village, the river widens even more. Further ahead is a marsh where, during the right season, you can see plenty of red-crowned cranes. If we're lucky now, we might even spot some elk."
I drove into Shuidong Village and parked the car. The village itself was quite large in area but had few residents—only about a hundred households scattered along the riverbank. There were no tall buildings; the best structures were brick houses, while most were stone houses. The village had no proper roads; everything was paved with gravel.
I parked at the entrance of the village, and Ding Dong and Zhou Ruyun excitedly jumped out of the car. Their homes weren't far apart; they were right at the village entrance. I helped Zhou Ruyun carry some items when I turned around and noticed two Dongfeng Mengshi off-road vehicles parked on the other side of the village—those imposing rugged SUVs.
I glanced at them but didn’t pay much attention before helping Zhou Ruyun with several bags as we walked toward her home.
As we entered Zhou Ruyun's house, I saw a middle-aged man walking out. He was dressed in casual sportswear and exuded an air of authority; he looked like someone relatively affluent.
When he saw me and Zhou Ruyun, he paused for a moment before nodding his head.
I nodded back at him as I stepped inside. In the yard, two elderly people were tidying up some things. Upon seeing Zhou Ruyun return, they both froze for a moment before walking over to greet her.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, I realized it was getting late, and I needed to find out the cause of the matter quickly. I turned to Zhou Ruyun's Mother and said, "Auntie, I want to ask you something."
Zhou Ruyun's Mother nodded, "Sure, go ahead."
I asked, "Auntie, do you remember when Zhou Ruyun was sick, and you gave her Blood Bun?"
Zhou Ruyun's Mother's expression changed slightly as she sighed. "That was a long time ago; we were all quite superstitious back then. However, it really was thanks to the Blood Bun that Zhou Ruyun's life was saved."
I immediately pressed on, "Auntie, please tell me in detail what happened back then."
Zhou Ruyun's Mother began recounting the story. "At that time, several children in our village suddenly contracted Tuberculosis. You know how poor our village's sanitation conditions are; they were even worse back then. The disease is called Tuberculosis and can be deadly. I took Zhou Ruyun to many hospitals, but nothing worked. They even provided free medication for Tuberculosis, but it was of no use. We were watching Zhou Ruyun slip away. That night, my husband went fishing in the fields and stumbled upon a woman's corpse; she must have died not long before. It was quite frightening at night, but we couldn't afford to be scared because Zhou Ruyun was dying. My husband had heard that Blood Bun could cure Tuberculosis, and coincidentally, there were three other children in the village who were also infected. The adults from our four families gathered together; instead of reporting it, we sent my husband to get four freshly steamed white buns. He went to the corpse and soaked the buns in blood before bringing them back for the four children to eat... Sigh, I still have nightmares about it. But those four children were saved by that woman's corpse; they all survived. Now during festivals, we still burn incense for that unknown woman."
I listened with surprise. Honestly, I didn't believe that Blood Bun had any scientific basis or could cure Tuberculosis. However, according to Zhou Ruyun's Mother, it seemed that the woman’s corpse had indeed saved four lives.
I continued to inquire, "So there were four people?"
Zhou Ruyun's Mother nodded. "Oh right, that person earlier also asked about this?"
"That person?" I paused in confusion. "The middle-aged man? What did he want with this?"
Zhou Ruyun's Mother replied, "He seems to be from a travel company; he’s here to investigate tourism projects and routes while casually asking about things here. He brought up the story of the nameless woman’s corpse; that happened many years ago. I don’t know how he found out about it, but he seems to know Hai Yan—the child who was one of those four who ate the Blood Bun back then. If we could really develop tourism here, it would be great! Then Zhou Ruyun wouldn’t have to work so hard in the city; she could manage some tourism projects here instead."
I nodded and glanced at the time. "Auntie, could you let Uncle take me to see where they found the woman's corpse?"
"This..." Zhou Ruyun's Mother hesitated.
At that moment, Zhou Ruyun's Father walked over and said, "We can go, but that place has turned into a swamp now; it's inaccessible. Besides, it's getting dark soon; let's wait until tomorrow."
I waved my hand, "It's better for my investigation if it gets darker. Uncle, point me to a place, and I'll be back. Oh, Zhou Ruyun, can you help me get in touch with the other two people who ate the Blood Bun back then? It would be best if we could find them quickly, alright?"
Zhou Ruyun understood my meaning and nodded, "Sure, I'll ask around right now. By the way, Brother Dingdong doesn't have anything planned for tonight, does he?"
I replied, "He should be free. After eating so many Cinnabar, I hope it helps resolve things. Let's not worry about that for now."
Zhou Ruyun hurried off.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and followed Zhou Ruyun's father as we walked toward the village entrance.
It was getting a bit dark.
After passing the village head, I spotted a car—a rather old Volkswagen SUV—parked there, covered in mud and water.
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