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墨書 Inktalez
Su Jin'er cautiously stepped outside, first looking around and then gazing up at the sky. The pitch-black sky had no stars, and the moon that had just been visible was now hidden behind dark clouds. A cold breeze swept by, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
The two of them moved quickly and heavily through the night. The mountain path was already difficult to traverse, and with Zuo Yi unconscious on his back, Captain Xing, though a man, still found it somewhat strenuous. He mocked himself internally for being old, unable to carry even a young man, and a desolate smile crept onto his lips.
Su Jin'er stepped away from the door of the house and was surprised to find that Zhang Junsheng, who had been tied up, was missing. Even Linyuan's body had disappeared along with him.
Captain Xing set Zuo Yi down and examined the footprints inside the house, but it was too dark to see clearly.
"That strange person must have saved Zhang Junsheng. But why did they take Xiaoyuan's body?"
Captain Xing did not respond. He pressed hard on Zuo Yi's acupoint with his thumb, hoping he would wake up. His breathing was very weak; immediate medical attention was necessary, or he could be in life-threatening danger.
Su Jin'er did not hear any sound. She turned around to look at Zuo Yi behind her. His face appeared even paler under the dim light, and the bloodstains on him made him look somewhat terrifying. His long eyelashes fluttered slightly as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Zhang Junsheng, you bastard!" The first thing he did upon waking was throw a punch while calling out Zhang Junsheng's name. Fortunately, Captain Xing was quick enough to catch his fist, though he was startled by the strength of this young man.
"Seeing you still have this much strength means you shouldn't be dead."
Upon hearing Captain Xing's voice, Zuo Yi's mind cleared up. He looked at Captain Xing and Su Jin'er in front of him and managed a weak smile before his body slumped down like a soft persimmon.
"Aren't you supposed to be tough? Why are you collapsing again?"
Zuo Yi squinted; he truly had no strength left. That punch had used up his last bit of energy, and he hadn't expected it to be so easily blocked. Thankfully, the one who blocked him wasn't the person wearing a mask that looked like Chu Feifan.
"Where is Linyuan?"
His first question left Su Jin'er stunned. The reason she had remained silent earlier was that she feared he would ask about Linyuan, and she didn't know how to respond. Yet, he still brought it up.
Without waiting for an answer, Zuo Yi opened his eyes again. He looked at Su Jin'er, who was hiding in the darkness, and a bad feeling made him furrow his brow. He asked again, "Where's Xiaoyuan? Why isn't she with you?"
Su Jin'er trembled; she didn't know how to answer. It was her failure to protect Linyuan that led to this...
Tears streamed down her pale cheeks as she closed her eyes in pain, unable to bear the questioning gaze of Zuo Yi.
"What happened to Linyuan? You all need to speak up!" His voice was weak but carried an undeniable authority.
"Linyuan... is dead!"
Su Jin'er said with great difficulty. In truth, she had never wanted to accept the fact that Linyuan was gone. However, she was not someone who could live by deceiving herself, nor did she want to lie to others. Eventually, one must face the truth. Although it was hard to accept, it was better to confront it immediately than to cling to false hope only to discover later that it was merely a kind lie.
Zuo Yi paused slightly, seemingly not having heard what Su Jin'er said clearly. He forced a smile and said, "You're joking, right? That's not funny at all."
Though he smiled, tears fell from the corners of his eyes. He could deceive others but not his own heart.
Su Jin'er’s tears continued to fall slowly. She didn’t say a single comforting word because if she couldn’t even comfort herself, how could she console this weak and sorrowful man before her?
People often say: A man’s tears are not easily shed.
In reality, that's just part of the saying; the rest is: It’s just that he hasn’t reached the point of heartbreak yet.
Su Jin'er turned her face away. It is often said that men cannot bear to see women cry, but in truth, she could not bear to see men cry either. At this moment, if she were the one to die, would Chu Feifan be sad? Would he mourn her death like Zuo Yi did?
Or would he blame himself for Wen Shishi's death, just like the impersonator Zhang Junsheng did? She thought sadly.
"Now is not the time to grieve. We must leave here quickly. Also, you have injuries. Although they are not deep, you have lost too much blood. If you don't receive timely treatment, it could be dangerous."
Zuo Yi smiled faintly, his face pale. With Linyuan gone, what was the point of him living? It would be better to be dead; at least on the road to the underworld, they could still keep each other company.
Captain Xing guessed his thoughts and immediately said, "If you want to let Linyuan down and make her restless in death, then you might as well die!"
Zuo Yi looked at Captain Xing in confusion, noticing that he seemed unwilling to engage with him and turned his gaze toward Su Jin'er.
Su Jin'er was slightly taken aback. She could empathize with Zuo Yi's pain because she felt even more anguish. After all, Linyuan was a friend she had grown up with; they had rarely been apart. She knew very well that Linyuan did not like medicine, let alone the profession of forensic science. Linyuan had always been a timid person; how could she possibly enjoy dissection or dealing with the dead? She had only been encouraging herself by saying that she liked the feeling of a knife cutting through skin, enjoyed dissection, and liked being a forensic scientist. She also thought it was great that they both got into Yijiang Medical College together; she understood all of this but had never voiced it.
"I'm sorry!"
Aside from this apology, she truly did not know what else to say, yet those words still felt so powerless.
"How did she die?"
Captain Xing frowned and sighed. "She died trying to save you. She rushed over to confront Zhang Junsheng without realizing he was armed with a dagger."
"So it was Zhang Junsheng who killed her."
Captain Xing nodded.
The air suddenly became quiet; no one spoke, and the oppressive atmosphere was suffocating.
Suddenly, they all grew uneasy as strange footsteps echoed from outside the door.
Su Jin'er’s body tensed up; she recognized that sound. It was the heavy and slow footsteps of the strange man from earlier, each step felt like it was pressing down on her heart, and her heartbeat strangely synchronized with his footsteps.
"That's the strange man!" Su Jin'er said with difficulty, her body trembling even more. The terrifying face of that person lingered in her mind, and for some reason, she felt particularly afraid of him.
Captain Xing supported Zuo Yi, and the three of them retreated behind the door. Su Jin'er quickly turned off the flashlight.
The man finally reached the doorway, and with a creak, the door was pushed open. At that moment, their heartbeats quickened even more, as if they were about to leap out of their mouths.
The figure of the man appeared before them, but what terrified them even more than his silhouette was the two bodies he carried on his back: one was the corpse of Linyuan, whom they had been searching for, and the other was Zhang Junsheng. It was clear that Zhang Junsheng was already dead, blood dripping from his lowered head onto the ground.
Seeing this scene, the emotions of the three were complex—there was sadness and joy.
Zuo Yi trembled at the sight of Linyuan's corpse, looking painfully at Linyuan's drooping head. Su Jin'er tightly grasped Zuo Yi's hand; their palms were sweaty.
The man casually dropped Zhang Junsheng's body to the ground and then carefully placed Linyuan's corpse down. Su Jin'er watched this strange scene, wondering why he was so gentle with Linyuan's body.
Just as she felt puzzled, the man spoke: "Jin'er, come out!"
Su Jin'er felt as if she had been electrocuted. She paused for a moment, then rushed out and tightly embraced the strange person.
Captain Xing and Zuo Yi also stepped outside, looking curiously at the strange figure before them.
Zuo Yi coughed a few times and walked straight toward Linyuan's corpse, while Captain Xing looked at them with confusion, waiting for a reasonable explanation.
The strange person patted Su Jin'er on the back and gently said, "It's okay, see? I'm perfectly fine."
However, Su Jin'er punched him hard in the chest. He grunted in pain, smiled, and his ugly face became even more terrifying with that smile.
The strange person slowly removed his mask and looked at them.
"So it's you!" Captain Xing said incredulously.
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