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墨書 Inktalez
I placed the Storage Disk on the computer and clicked play. The screen flickered twice before becoming clear. The . surveillance camera had a high resolution, so even though the distance was considerable, I could still see the girl's face clearly.
The first girl was wearing a Cheongsam, smiling as she walked into the room. She seemed very happy. Once she entered, the surveillance footage briefly flickered before returning to normal.
Jiang Min said, "There are no surveillance cameras inside the room, but there are around it. After this girl walked in, she never came out again; there’s no trace of her."
I nodded and looked at the second video, which featured the girl who had gone missing a week ago. She was quite cute, appearing to be around sixteen or seventeen years old. She held a tray in one hand while talking on her phone with the other, mumbling something. I checked the timestamp; it was in the afternoon, likely just before closing time. Perhaps she was calling to arrange a date after work.
The girl walked into the room without any issues, and then the footage flickered again before returning to normal, but she vanished and never came out.
I frowned and turned to Jiang Min. "She just disappeared?"
"We're not open at night; we mainly serve guests during afternoon tea. Since some rooms are still under renovation, we’re temporarily closed in the evenings," Jiang Min replied with a nod.
I glanced over the profiles of both girls. They had different backgrounds and ages, and aside from being colleagues, there seemed to be no other connection between them. It didn’t appear that they had planned to perform magic together.
I tapped my forehead in frustration.
At that moment, there was a knock at the office door.
"Come in," Jiang Min called out.
A girl with big eyes and braided hair entered. She was also wearing a Cheongsam, looking like a spirited girl from Jiangnan Water Town.
The girl approached and whispered, "Um, Manager, I... I want to resign..."
“Fang Ying, you need to think this over.” Jiang Min stood up and walked over to the girl, gently patting Fang Ying on the shoulder. “Why are you suddenly thinking about quitting? You won’t be able to achieve what you have now in any other job.”
Fang Ying stood there, silent.
Jiang Min continued to comfort her, “I know, Fang Ying, you’re scared. I’m scared too. But as long as we don’t go into that room, we’ll be fine, right? When you started following me, you were only fourteen. Now, after three years of learning the tea ceremony, you’re a talented young woman. This place is where you truly belong. If you quit, what will you do? Work in an electronics factory or a textile factory as an operator? Have you thought about your future job? Besides, my salary for you is already quite good; it’s enough for you to support your family and pay for your mother’s medical expenses, isn’t it?”
Fang Ying nodded slightly, her eyes fixed on her feet. “Sister Jiang, I know everything you’ve done for me, and I’m grateful. I’m not afraid as long as you’re here at this tea house because you’ve treated me so well. But this time, Sister Jiang… it’s my mother who is forcing me to quit.”
“Hmm?” Jiang Min looked at Fang Ying. “Why is your mother pressuring you to resign?”
Fang Ying hesitated for a moment before speaking up. “It’s… it’s because of my mom. She thinks this place isn’t clean.”
“What do you mean by not clean? That’s nonsense.” Jiang Min frowned.
Fang Ying raised her head and looked at Jiang Min earnestly. “Sister Jiang, you… you should probably quit too. My mom believes this place… used to be a club, a business club. When it was thriving, there were suddenly several murder cases here, and later someone set a great fire that burned the whole club down. Many people died back then. So my mom thinks this place isn’t clean; she worked here as a cleaner for a while and knows what happened inside.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Min froze for a moment and turned to look at me.
I immediately realized that the low-priced transfer of this tea house had its reasons; perhaps those who were supposed to take over knew about these incidents and chose to walk away. Liu Xin wasn’t familiar with Donghai City, which is why he took over this land and built the tea house.
But what had happened in the previous club and the sudden disappearance of the current staff had to do with each other?
“Fang Ying, hello. May I ask where your mother is? I would like to meet her if possible,” I said.
Fang Ying looked at me with curiosity.
Jiang Min quickly interjected, “Fang Ying, let’s put the resignation aside for now. You don’t have to come to work during this time. This is our tea house's master detective; he’s very skilled. I hope you can take him to see your mother.”
Fang Ying nodded in agreement.
I reviewed the video once more, finding no issues, and could only leave with Fang Ying. Once outside, I saw Liu Yiyi and Liu Xin deep in conversation.
Upon noticing me, Liu Yiyi greeted, "Hey, Song Fei, what are you up to?"
"I'm looking for someone. Do you want to come along?" I asked casually.
"Sure!" Liu Yiyi smiled and then actually pulled Liu Xin into the car with us.
Liu Yiyi drove us—me, Liu Xin, and Fang Ying—toward Fang Ying's home.
On the way, I pondered a question: that room seemed perfectly fine, so why did the people inside suddenly go missing? The key point was that it was specifically Liu Shao and Li Jia who disappeared, not anyone else. This puzzled me. If there was indeed something wrong with that room, other employees frequently entered and exited; how come nothing happened to them?
I remained lost in thought until we arrived at Fang Ying's doorstep.
Fang Ying lived in a somewhat rundown area populated by resettled residents, making it quite dirty and chaotic. She led us into Building 3. On the first floor, she opened the door and walked in while saying, "My mom has trouble with her legs, so we live on the first floor. It's a bit noisy, but we don't have to go up and down stairs, plus it's cheaper."
Once inside, a woman was sitting on the sofa watching TV. Upon seeing us enter, she pushed herself up from the sofa.
I glanced at the woman; her joints appeared somewhat deformed, likely due to rheumatism. There isn't much that Western or traditional medicine can do for this condition; comparatively speaking, traditional Chinese medicine tends to be safer and more effective.
I spoke directly, "Auntie, we're here to inquire about the Ancient Style Teahouse."
"Ancient Style Teahouse?" The woman looked curiously at Fang Ying before glancing at me, Liu Yiyi, and Liu Xin. "Is there another death at the teahouse? Oh dear, Yingying, please don’t work there anymore; really listen to me."
I reassured her, "Auntie, no one has died. I just want to ask why strange occurrences happen at the Ancient Style Teahouse and what happened with the previous club there."
The woman sighed, "That club, it's been a long time. Back when I worked there, it was at its peak; every night, the entrance was filled with cars, all luxury vehicles. The girls working there, well, they were not exactly decent. I worked as a Cleaner and heard that a few girls suddenly went missing. Moreover, some people claimed they could hear painful screams at night. But at that time, no one cared; the club was making money and bustling with activity. As a cleaner, I earned four thousand a month! However, later on, my arm suddenly started acting up, and I couldn't continue, so I quit. Not long after I resigned, I heard the club caught fire. Apparently, one girl killed a customer and then set the place ablaze. In short, that Great Fire resulted in many deaths, and crucially, many bodies were never found. Firefighters rushed in to extinguish the flames, but later it was reported that two young firefighters from the '90s also went missing without a trace. Sigh, that place is really cursed; it's best not to work there."
Liu Yiyi and Liu Xin were both stunned after hearing the woman's words and turned to look at me simultaneously.
I hadn't expected this dark history behind the teahouse either. "Auntie, what exactly was wrong with that club?" I asked.
"I don't know the specifics; the news was heavily censored. However, you could ask the club's Boss," she replied.
"The Boss? Where is he?" I inquired.
"After the incident at the club, the Boss was arrested and reportedly sentenced to life imprisonment. Anyway, he had a rough time too. His name is Jiang Dong. Honestly, I think he’s a pretty good person. Although people say he’s involved with the Black Society, he treated us employees well and was generous. You can go to the prison and ask him what really happened at that club."
I took a deep breath and stood up. "I understand now; thank you, Auntie. I'm going right away." With that, I picked up my phone and called Qin Hai.
Qin Hai was reliable; he quickly found out Jiang Dong's location for me.
I hung up and said goodbye to Fang Ying and her mother. As I stepped out of the building and got into the car, I asked, "Ladies, do you want to come with me to the prison?"
Liu Xin hesitated for a moment.
Liu Yiyi chimed in, "Sure! I'm quite interested too; just remember to save us if things get dangerous."
I laughed and gave her an address.
Liu Yiyi drove us towards Langcun Prison.
The prison was located in a secluded area; those locked up here had sentences of fifteen years or more for serious crimes. The security was very strict, but the work assigned to inmates wasn’t too laborious. In another sense, serving time here could be seen as a good way to reflect and improve oneself.
I approached the prison guard with a clear intention. After all, I had an Auxiliary Police Certificate, and with a little help from Chen Shan and Qin Hai, Liu Yiyi, Liu Xin, and I smoothly entered the prison. In the Visiting Room, we met Jiang Dong, dressed in a prison uniform.
Jiang Dong looked very thin, but his eyes appeared gentle, lacking the fierce aura described in the reports.
"Who are you?" Jiang Dong asked as he sat down. He glanced at the three of us before fixing his gaze on me.
From Jiang Dong's expression, I could tell that he had changed a lot during his time in this prison.
"Mr. Jiang, I would like to ask you about the Meiyuan Club incident from before," I said directly.
Jiang Dong's eyelids twitched. "Why are you asking about that? It happened four years ago; why bring it up now?"
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