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墨書 Inktalez
Severe Cold struck the tiles laid over the surface of the Pit with a hammer, producing a hollow sound beneath. This indicated that there was an empty space below; if it were solid, there would be no such echo.
"What could be down there?" Severe Cold asked, slowly chipping away the cement in the gaps between the tiles with the pointed end of a rebar. One tile came loose, revealing itself to be a high-quality glazed tile, its surface finely crafted and smooth. Logically, such an expensive tile shouldn't be used for something hidden beneath; what exactly was Li Darwen up to under this Pit?
Severe Cold handed the removed tile to Ziya, who neatly arranged it in a corner. As more tiles were taken away, the gap beneath the Pit became increasingly visible.
"What’s down there?" Ziya asked, peering in with impatience.
"Just a moment; once I take this piece off, we’ll see," Severe Cold replied, scraping off the dust from the tile without looking up.
As the pile of removed tiles grew larger in the corner, fewer remained on the surface of the Pit. A thin layer of unremarkable dirt appeared before Ziya and Severe Cold, releasing an unpleasant odor that wafted up as the tiles were removed.
Severe Cold frowned at the thin layer of dirt now just an inch away from the tiles, feeling puzzled. On the surface, it seemed like there was nothing significant, but this thin layer of dirt didn’t appear to be naturally formed; it looked as if someone had deliberately covered something up.
Just as this last thin layer of dirt was about to reveal Bathing White's secret, Ziya’s heart raced to her throat. When Severe Cold handed her the final tile, she nearly forgot to reach out and take it.
"We might need another tool to clear away this dirt before we can see what’s underneath," Severe Cold said, glancing down at the thin layer of dirt with slightly raised eyebrows.
"Uh... I'll go look for something."
"To your right as you exit here, there's a Storage Room. Inside there's a wooden box; bring me whatever looks like tweezers from there," Severe Cold instructed while pulling out a cigarette from his pocket. He glanced at Ziya but kept the cigarette in his mouth without lighting it as he brushed off the dust from his hands.
After two minutes, Ziya returned with a steel saw blade from the toolbox. Severe Cold was taken aback but didn’t scold her; after all, she was just a girl from a big city who didn’t know much. He had no choice but to make do with what she brought!
Severe Cold used the saw blade to scrape away at the thin layer of dirt. Before he could fully clear it away, he felt something beneath it that made him tense up and inadvertently jerk his hand. Ziya noticed this and was even more anxious than he was; her palms were already slick with sweat.
As he scraped through, something shifted slightly beneath it as if he had bumped into something. Wiping away beads of sweat caused by his nervousness with one hand, Severe Cold applied more force with the saw blade to lift whatever was obstructing it.
With a soft sound... it was a small fragment. Severe Cold and Ziya instinctively exchanged glances before continuing their exploration with the saw blade, but progress felt agonizingly slow. Determinedly, Severe Cold handed the saw blade to Ziya and said, "Forget it; I’ll just use my hands!"
"Wait... what if there’s something dangerous down there that could hurt you?" Ziya replied anxiously as she took back the saw blade.
“It's fine,” Severe Cold replied, already reaching down to scoop up a handful of dirt from the area where the fragments lay. It was quite a struggle to bend down and gather dirt around Bathing White, unlike the ease of using the serrated tool earlier. Each time he bent over, it took considerable effort.
“I'll help too,” Ziya said, rolling up her sleeves and moving closer to Severe Cold, preparing to bend down as well.
“Don't... I can do it alone; you stand back,” Severe Cold playfully pushed her away with a smile.
As Severe Cold bent down for the third time, he suddenly jerked his hand back. “A bone...” At the same moment, Ziya noticed a bone that resembled a human leg being unearthed by Severe Cold.
“This...” Ziya swallowed hard, her throat dry with tension, unable to articulate her thoughts.
“Don't panic; let me take another look.” Severe Cold brushed aside the thin layer of dirt, revealing a curled-up corpse in front of them.
Ziya stared at the body in shock, as if she could see how Zhen had tormented her...
………………………………………………………………………………………
“Li Darwen shouted angrily at Zhen, “How could you kill her!”
“It was you who told me to make her shut up…” Zhen replied with an air of arrogance, showing no remorse for her actions.
“You're truly cruel. I don't believe you only dealt with Wanru unilaterally; you must have used something else against her,” Li Darwen deduced, noticing that the wound on Wanru's forehead couldn't possibly be fatal. He was even more convinced that Zhen had slipped something into Wanru's medicine while attending to her.
“Haha... you finally understand! Yes, I put plenty of sedative powder in her drinking cup every day! Drinking water alone is fine, but if mixed with her medicine...”
“Smack...” Li Darwen slapped Zhen across the face, regretting his momentary lapse in judgment...
…………………………………………………………
“Ziya... are you okay?” Severe Cold straightened up and suddenly noticed Ziya staring blankly at the bones. He quickly grabbed her hand and shouted loudly.
"Uh..." Ziya snapped back to reality, and everything before her instantly vanished, like a bubble bursting.
"Here... and this too." Severe Cold was noticeably calmer now as he handed a black handbag he had dug out from the pit to Ziya.
Ziya looked at the handbag, feeling a sense of familiarity. She took it and gasped, "A black... handbag?"
"You can't tell me you've seen this before!"
"Uh... it's hard to explain right now. What should we do? Should we call the police?"
"I don't think that's necessary! A skeleton doesn't really tell us much, and besides, the owner of this villa..." Severe Cold wiped the sweat from his forehead and picked up the skeleton from the pit. They were in a remote town with no cell service, and transportation routes were still being mapped out. Plus, they couldn't afford to delay dealing with the child's body.
"Not calling the police? Is that even acceptable?" Ziya asked hesitantly.
"Yes, from what I've observed, this female corpse was buried elsewhere before being moved here."
"How can you be so sure?" Ziya asked, her face filled with confusion.
"Heh, do you know what my job is?" Severe Cold replied playfully.
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