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墨書 Inktalez
Chu Feifan and Su Jin'er walked into the leftmost cave, which was still dark inside, with only Su Jin'er's phone emitting a faint light.
"I think my phone is about to run out of battery, and it seems like we haven't even covered half the distance," Su Jin'er said, looking at the little remaining power on her phone.
"I still have my phone!"
"Your phone's battery needs to be preserved."
"Do you think we'll get a signal down here?"
Su Jin'er sniffed and frowned, saying, "Do you smell something? A strong odor, like the stench of a dead animal."
Just catching a whiff made her feel nauseous.
"Is it possible there's a dead animal ahead?"
"Have you noticed? We've been going downward; the terrain seems to be getting lower."
Chu Feifan nodded and then realized she couldn't see him. He said, "I noticed. Are we going underground?"
"Don't forget, we entered the cave halfway up the mountain, which means we could either be heading back to the surface or we might have taken the right path all along. The village could be below us; we just haven't seen it."
"That's possible!"
The smell of decay grew stronger, and Su Jin'er pressed her hand against her chest and leaned against the wall as she began to vomit. Her stomach churned violently, and she felt like she might throw up everything inside her.
Chu Feifan gently patted her back in concern. They had brought some food when they left but hadn't felt hungry enough to eat any of it.
"How about we go back? This smell is really unbearable."
The air in the cave was already poorly ventilated, and standing in the polluted air made it even harder for them to breathe.
"No, if we don't go forward, we'll never find the answer."
"Alright then! How about we eat something first? It's already two o'clock, and we haven't even had lunch."
"In this environment, can you eat? I can't."
"Then let's hurry and move on."
Her empty stomach twisted in pain, and at that moment, her phone shut off automatically.
"My phone is out of battery."
Chu Feifan checked his phone and said, "Looks like we need to move quickly; my battery is low too."
They quickened their pace, fear gradually taking over their once calm hearts. After walking so far, they still hadn't seen an exit. The terrain continued to slope downward, resembling a passage to the depths of hell. They had no idea which direction they were heading or what kind of world awaited them at the end of the cave. The unknown always instilled fear.
Su Jin'er vomited again, and Chu Feifan couldn't hold it back either. In this warm cave, the bodies decomposed more quickly.
"We're getting close to that disgusting corpse. I just want to leave this hellish place right now," Su Jin'er said, clutching her chest in distress.
"I think we can see the corpse now."
Chu Feifan shone his phone ahead and said, "Perhaps that's not an animal's body; it might be a human."
A corpse lay a meter or two away from them. They pinched their noses and slowly approached, unable to see the face of the corpse clearly anymore.
Chu Feifan stared wide-eyed at the body. If he remembered correctly, the corpse should be Zhang Yang's. How could he have died here? And who killed him?
"It's Zhang Yang."
"What? His face is so decayed that you still recognize him? I doubt even his mother would recognize him."
"Whether his mother can recognize him or not is not my concern. I remember his clothes; this is what he was wearing when we rescued Li Yiqian."
"But I remember Li Jing told us he was captured! How could he die here?"
"I find it strange too. Could it be that Li Jing lied to us?" After a pause, Chu Feifan continued, "I might know where the entrance to this cave is. I never expected it to be like this."
"Where is it?"
"Let's keep moving forward! We should go back and call the police. Next time we come, we’ll bring everything we need and come with everyone."
Su Jin'er nodded in agreement. Faced with the decaying corpse and the suffocating stench, no one wanted to stay there any longer. They had to leave before Chu Feifan's phone ran out of battery; otherwise, they would have to navigate in darkness, not knowing what they might encounter along the way.
Although Chu Feifan had guessed where the cave's exit might lead, it was still just a guess, and he wasn't entirely sure.
Just as they passed by the corpse, it suddenly moved. Zhang Yang's decayed hand trembled as if trying to lift itself.
Su Jin'er shrank into Chu Feifan's embrace, both of them wide-eyed as they watched the corpse's next reaction. Then, in the dim light of the phone, a mouse scurried out from under his hand, squeaking as it ran away.
"Oh, it was just a mouse! You scared me! I thought we were going to encounter a fake corpse!" Chu Feifan sighed in relief and laughed.
"We have encountered many strange things, and I just can't understand why Li Jing would deceive me."
As they walked, they discussed the recent odd occurrences. After walking a bit further and turning a corner, Chu Feifan crouched down to inspect the ground. If he remembered correctly, this was the place where he and Zuo Yi had hidden that day. This must be the cave in the woods, and if they went a little further, they would see the traces of the fire that Li Yiqian had made.
Sure enough, he saw the remnants of the fire; there were still the rope and plastic bag that Zhang Yang had brought over that day. However, the dog meat that Li Yiqian had roasted was nowhere to be found. He couldn't help but wonder where Zhang Yang had caught a dog for Li Yiqian to cook, causing his stomach to churn again.
"Someone has been here and made a fire," Su Jin'er said as she looked at the items on the ground.
"Yes, this is the cave where we rescued Li Yiqian."
"That means the woods are ahead; we have returned to school."
"I think so."
They had just been worried about where this cave would lead and how to find their way back, but unexpectedly, they had returned directly to school. However, this did not lessen their concerns; instead, it heightened their suspicions about what this cave was used for. It couldn't possibly be for hiding a corpse.
The journey ahead went smoothly. As they reached the school gate, they ran into Zuo Yi and Linyuan. Seeing Su Jin'er return safely, Linyuan joyfully hugged her.
Chu Feifan briefly explained what they had encountered and then asked Zuo Yi, "How did it go?"
"We found that strange Professor Zhang, but he wouldn't say anything. So we went to find our lovely Chairman, but she said she wouldn't speak until she saw you."
Chu Feifan felt a pang of guilt. He secretly glanced at Su Jin'er and noticed she seemed lost in thought, as if she hadn't heard what Zuo Yi said. He exchanged glances with Zuo Yi.
However, he cleared his throat and said loudly, "Since our Senior Sister wants to see me, let's go together."
He deliberately spoke loudly; all along, he felt that his feelings for Jin'er were one-sided. She had never shown any response. Perhaps through this opportunity, he could find out whether Su Jin'er had feelings for him as well.
Linyuan also noticed Su Jin'er lost in thought. She nudged her with her elbow and said, "Did you hear what Zuo Yi said? Senior Sister wants to see Chu Feifan before she tells us what she knows!"
Su Jin'er snapped back to reality and looked at Chu Feifan, saying, "Oh! Let's go over together!"
After saying that, she walked ahead, appearing somewhat absent-minded. The three exchanged glances and followed Su Jin'er's lead.
Su Jin'er was preoccupied with the question of why Zhang Yang's body appeared in the cave. If Zhang Yang really killed Xu Mengguang, then who killed Zhang Yang? Or was it possible that Zhang Yang committed suicide because his crime was exposed? But that seemed unlikely; if he intended to commit suicide, why would he try to escape? What secrets were hidden in all of this? And who was the person that made her inhale the strange gas? What connection did they have to these events? The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt, and she unconsciously rubbed her temples.
"Jin'er, what are you thinking about? You're so lost in thought," Linyuan asked as she linked arms with her.
"Nothing much, just reflecting on everything we've encountered. It feels strange, but I can't make sense of it. Chu Feifan, do you have any way to find a forensic doctor? I think I might know the cause of Zhang Yang's death."
"Sure! But didn't you say you knew Li Jing from the police station? Maybe she'd be willing to help."
"I'm starting to doubt her. I feel like she's always leading me into dead ends, intentionally or not."
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