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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 106: Dead Loop (Fourteen)
The parents of the Death Girl were visibly tense at our unexpected visit. After Mi's detailed explanation, their expressions turned to confusion, and they exchanged glances. The father spoke with a firm tone, "Ever since the first time someone discovered our daughter's body had been stolen and discarded in that Thicket, and was sent to the morgue for preservation by the Relevant Authorities, we have not known anything about this matter."
I asked, "Where was your daughter initially buried?"
"Please, don't mention her," the mother suddenly broke down in tears. "I've been having nightmares lately, dreaming of her crying in a pitch-black darkness. It's terrifying."
"I'm sorry, ma'am. We're here to clarify a few things and then we'll leave. Please try not to be too anxious," I quickly reassured her, signaling Mi to take out my wallet from my bag and hand two hundred yuan to the sobbing boy.
Upon seeing the money, the boy's tears turned into a smile as he clutched the bills tightly.
Seeing this scene made us all chuckle, and after sharing a laugh, it felt like we had bridged some distance between us. The girl's father began to share their struggles.
Like many parents who have lost children too soon, they found it incredibly painful and difficult to accept their child's death. The girl had died from leukemia; after chemotherapy, she had lost all her hair and was nothing but skin and bones. Her parents had poured everything they had into her treatment, but ultimately, she still passed away.
As migrant workers living in a rented Tool Factory Residential Area, they couldn't afford to bury their daughter in an expensive cemetery that cost tens of thousands. In rural areas, such matters are particularly heartbreaking. They didn't inform friends or family; instead, under the cover of night, they secretly took her to a nearby unguarded graveyard at Xiangbatou and buried her there.
However, not long ago, someone spotted the girl's body in a rarely visited Thicket on the west side of town. This Thicket was far from their home—two completely opposite directions. When someone showed them a photo of their daughter in the Thicket, they nearly collapsed in disbelief at such a horrifying and bizarre occurrence happening to their family.
Eventually, under emotional persuasion from the Relevant Authorities, they had no choice but to agree to one thing. Only by agreeing would they avoid being fined.
This matter involved rumors; after discovering the girl's body in that Thicket, someone spread a rumor that their daughter was a Cat Ghost who had wandered into that area. Fresh mud was found on her feet, indicating she had walked there.
To dispel these rumors, the Relevant Authorities sent the girl's body to the morgue for further examination. However, somehow her body went missing again after leaving the morgue.
As her parents recounted this story, I listened intently while observing Mi. I expected she would be frightened or overwhelmed by pressure and at least hesitant to continue listening. To my surprise, she displayed remarkable courage; not only did she listen intently until the end, but she also walked out of the Blade Factory residential area with me.
Once outside, Mi tightened her collar and shivered slightly as she rubbed her arms. It was clear she was quite scared, especially given that it was one of those early autumn days when you needed an extra layer.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and asked gently, "Are you cold?"
"A little."
I took off my outer jacket and draped it over her as we walked toward the entrance of the residential area when suddenly my phone rang loudly. Checking the caller ID revealed it was Fatty calling.
“Brother Qi, something's wrong. You left too soon; I couldn't use the Dao Bottle to collect Chiang's Spirit. That paper effigy spontaneously combusted, and when I doused it with water, it turned to ash and a pile of debris. His Spirit is gone.” This fat guy is always so reckless; he truly has a knack for turning success into failure.
We were just about to catch the last bus to Chi Ruiqiang's house when Fat Chi Xinrong came to pick us up.
We had no choice but to wait for her at the Blade Factory Platform. While we waited, Mi suddenly brought up the matter of the Girl. “Brother Qi, I feel so sorry for her, especially since her mother dreamed of her crying and being scared.”
“Yeah, her daughter is in the Intermediate Body phase, and her corpse was taken by some unknown evil entity. She can only seek help from her family in dreams.”
“Then why didn’t you tell her family earlier?”
“This matter has become a bit complicated. I can't scare them; I have to take it slow.”
“Alright then!”
As we spoke, the last bus slowly approached. It arrived at the platform with a clang as the doors swung open towards us. Inside sat only one person—a girl wearing a hat, dozing off with her hands propped against the back of the front seat.
She was clearly a girl because she wore a floral outfit.
The bus door remained open for quite some time without leaving, quietly inviting us in. Mi and I hesitated to board, fearing we might miss Chi Xinrong arriving to pick us up. The massive silhouette of the bus loomed over us, and that open door gave off an unsettling feeling that made me anxious.
Especially as Mi nervously stared at the dozing Girl and grabbed my arm, whispering, “Look at her; doesn’t she look like that missing corpse?”
If I were an ordinary person, just the eerie silence of the bus with its door wide open would have sent my heart racing. Coupled with Mi’s comment, it was enough to scare me out of my wits.
“I don’t think so; I don’t sense anything unusual about her,” I replied. In truth, I hadn’t really paid attention to the girl inside until after brushing off Mi’s concerns and finally turned my gaze seriously toward the dozing figure.
Just then, after several minutes of idling, the bus suddenly started up again, and with a clang, the doors closed. At that moment, I saw the dozing Girl spring up and wave at us—
“That’s her!” My heart leaped into my throat as I took off running after her.
I hadn’t chased far when Han Mi shouted, “Hey, Brother Qi! What are you doing? Rongrong is here!”
Indeed, Chi Xinrong had arrived; she was driving a car that Chiang used to drive.
Seeing me run ahead puzzled her; she stopped the car for Mi to get in. I had no choice but to stop and get in as well, telling her, “Chase that bus!”
"I'm telling you both, you're just full from eating. The best option is to come back to Uncle's house with me. Is chasing after the bus really necessary?"
"You don't understand, hurry up and chase it." I was anxious, wishing I could drive myself.
Chi Xinrong shot me a glance, and after hearing the situation from Mi, she stepped on the gas and sped off. The bus moved slowly ahead, its tail lights blinking as it signaled a turn. We followed and watched the bus stop, quickly getting off.
I told Han Mi to stay with Chi Xinrong while I ran ahead to check the bus.
It was the same bus, but instead of the girl in a hat who had been dozing off, there was a woman holding hands with a blind man rushing for the last bus. They were visiting relatives and had come home late; catching the last bus was already quite fortunate.
The bus driver was an older man.
I asked him about the girl in the hat who had been sleeping. He said there was no girl dozing off; no one got on at the Blade Factory bus stop, and he hadn't even stopped before driving away.
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