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墨書 Inktalez
Su Jin'er slowly approached the girl, who was still making strange movements. As Su Jin'er got closer, she could see that the girl's hands were raised in the air, with her right index finger slowly drawing a circle in the air, followed by her left index finger doing the same. Then, as if she had grasped those two circles, she brought her hands together, as if placing the two circles side by side. After that, she slowly gathered the combined circles into her hands and placed them gently on her chest. Finally, she lifted her head slowly.
Since Su Jin'er was standing behind her, she couldn't see the girl's expression.
The girl stood quietly in place for about a minute before slowly turning to look in Su Jin'er's direction, revealing a strange smile as if she knew Su Jin'er was there. Then she gradually walked away.
Seeing her leave, Su Jin'er immediately chased after her. She noticed that the girl’s feet seemed not to be touching the ground but rather floating, as she wore a long white dress that almost dragged on the ground. Although Su Jin'er couldn't see her feet, the girl moved so quickly that it truly looked like she was gliding.
Su Jin'er followed her through the basketball court and soccer field. It seemed like the girl was intentionally leading her on a detour. Just as they were about to cross the soccer field, the girl suddenly quickened her pace and entered the Student Activity Center, heading toward the hospital.
Confused, Su Jin'er followed her, unsure of what she was up to. However, to avoid losing sight of her, she also quickened her pace. Fortunately, she had changed into sneakers instead of slippers when leaving.
Since there was only one building and a swimming pool at the activity center, she could clearly see the girl's white figure. Although fear gripped her heart, curiosity compelled her; she really wanted to know what this girl wandering through campus in the early morning was up to.
The girl's speed was astonishing; despite Su Jin'er using all her strength to keep up, she found herself left behind by a distance of two hundred meters. She watched as the girl passed through the activity center and entered the forest behind it. Once Su Jin'er entered the forest herself, the girl’s figure had already vanished.
Bending down and resting on her knees while gasping for breath, Su Jin'er looked around for any sign of the girl. However, all that could be heard in the quiet forest was the sound of leaves rustling in the wind; everything was eerily silent. This forest was usually deserted; although they were all medical students who often dealt with such places, rumors had spread that the Morgue was a passageway to hell, causing students to avoid it ever since. This was also Su Jin'er's first time here.
Just as she prepared to turn back, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her—right where the Morgue was located.
Her back stiffened instantly, and a chill ran down her spine.
No way?
In such a silent place, hearing footsteps out of nowhere would frighten anyone!
Or could it be that the footsteps belonged to that girl from earlier?
She slowly straightened up as a cold wind blew past her. Unable to suppress a shiver, she thought: Could it really be that thing?
"No, isn't it said that thing is floating? This has footsteps; it should be a person."
Thinking of this, she gathered her courage and turned around. Then, she saw a wrinkled face, with eyes, nose, and mouth almost all crumpled together.
Just as she was about to scream, the wrinkled face suddenly spoke: "Don't be afraid, little girl. I am a person, not a ghost."
The old man's voice was very hoarse and raspy.
Su Jin'er sighed in relief; it turned out to be a person!
"Grandpa, it's not dawn yet. How come you are here?"
The old man spoke while taking out a pipe from his waist. After adding some tobacco, he took a puff and said, "I am the gatekeeper of the Morgue."
Does the Morgue still need a gatekeeper? Is there really someone who would steal corpses?
Thinking about this, Su Jin'er asked.
"There are plenty of people who steal corpses! That's why someone needs to keep watch."
Su Jin'er was somewhat confused. What would people do with stolen corpses? Normally, just seeing a corpse would scare anyone to death; who would want to steal one?
"Those who do such things are heartless! Nowadays, many rural areas have ghost marriages, so some people come to steal corpses and sell them to those who want a ghost marriage."
"What is a ghost marriage?" Su Jin'er helped the old man sit down on a nearby bench.
"A ghost marriage is when someone who was unmarried in life has their family find a partner of similar age for them after they die."
Su Jin'er frowned and said, "What’s the point of doing that? Once a person dies, they have nothing left. What does it matter whether they get married or not?"
"You are still young and don't understand. Perhaps you don't know that in the countryside, there is a belief about the deceased sending dreams. Some people die with unfulfilled wishes, and their souls linger in the human realm, existing in a form that people cannot see. At the right moment, they may suddenly appear before their family or someone they believe can help fulfill their wishes. This is what people commonly refer to as ghosts."
Listening to the old man's words, Su Jin'er felt a wave of fear. Could it be that there are indeed things in this world that we cannot see?
"I know you all believe in science, so you can take my words as a story and not take them to heart."
Su Jin'er had heard her grandmother mention that in another village near her grandmother's, an old man died. A few months later, the village wanted to convert that land into farmland and relocate all the graves there. That night, the old man appeared in a dream to his son, saying that they should not move the graves, at least not now, and to wait a few more days. His son believed his father's dream, but the village chief did not and insisted on moving the graves. Eventually, under pressure, they opened the old man's grave. To their shock, they found a body that had already turned into half a dragon. The moment the grave was opened, that half-dragon body began to bleed, staining the surrounding land red. The blood flowed for three days, and the old man's son cried over his father's corpse for three days.
At first, she thought this story was just meant to scare children. Could there really be such a thing as dreams from the deceased?
"I have also heard about this belief regarding dreams from the deceased. Is it possible that what is called Ghost Marriage in rural areas also comes from these dreams?"
"Yes, it started spreading like that. Later on, if a young person died without getting married during their lifetime, their family would find ways to arrange a Ghost Marriage for them."
She had heard of Ghost Marriage before but had never heard of anyone stealing a corpse for it.
"But isn't it required for both families to agree on a Ghost Marriage? Can stealing a corpse work?"
"A Ghost Marriage doesn't necessarily require both families' consent. It's actually quite simple; you just need to find a corpse of the opposite sex, bury them together, and hold a small wedding ceremony."
Su Jin'er nodded. Indeed, many rural areas still retain some old customs, though more often than not, they are what modern people call superstitions.
"Are there still cases of missing corpses nowadays?"
"Very rarely now; at least there haven't been any in the past two years," the old man said as he took another puff of his cigarette.
"By the way, Grandpa, have you always been here?"
"Yes. As one gets older, sleep becomes less frequent; that's why I often can't sleep through the night!"
"Did you see a girl in a white dress come in just now?"
The old man shook his head. "I heard footsteps and thought it was another reckless person trying to steal a corpse, but when I came out, I only saw you standing there. I didn't see anyone else."
That was strange. She clearly saw her come in; how could she suddenly disappear?
"How many people's footsteps did you hear?"
"I'm old, my hearing isn't good anymore, so I can't tell how many footsteps there were."
Could she have gone into the Morgue?
No way! How could a girl go into the Morgue alone? Perhaps she had already left the woods.
"Thank you, Grandpa. It's already five-thirty. I'm heading back now. The sun is coming up; you should go back and get some rest too!"
Su Jin'er bid farewell to the old man.
On her way back, she was still thinking about what he said. She had only heard of ghost marriages before, but never of anyone stealing a corpse for a ghost marriage. It really proved that saying: the world is vast, and there are wonders everywhere!
Back in her dormitory, Ruan Hongmei was still sleeping soundly, while she felt wide awake, her mind in disarray. She sat on the bed, leaning against the wall, contemplating the recent events.
If someone really did use the story Zhuo Xiaoman told to commit murder, it should be enough to find out how many people knew that story. But then she thought again; the Killer might know, but if they claimed not to know, that would be troublesome.
If it were just people from their dormitory involved, it would be easier to handle. What worried her was if someone from their dormitory shared it with others; that way, one person would tell ten, and ten would tell a hundred—it could become complicated.
What puzzled her was the death of Wang Xiangxiang and that of the Construction Worker. Could there be some connection between the Construction Worker and Zhuo Xiaoman?
Perhaps she could find out more about the deceased Construction Worker from Captain Xing.
After thinking for a while, she surprisingly felt a bit sleepy. She yawned and found it hard to keep her eyes open, rubbing her forehead. Since there were no classes in the morning, she decided to take a short nap.
She didn't know how long she had slept when a bright light woke her up. Blinking her eyes open, she saw a girl sitting on what should have been Li Yiqian's bed. The girl had long hair cascading down her shoulders and was wearing a white dress, looking at her seriously.
Startled, she sat up quickly and rubbed her eyes to see clearly. It turned out that the girl sitting on the bed was Ruan Hongmei.
"What are you doing sitting there so early and scaring me?" she said unhappily.
"I've been sitting here the whole time! You're the one who scared yourself," Ruan Hongmei replied, pausing for a moment before leaning closer and saying, "Did you not sleep well last night? You have dark circles under your eyes."
"Yeah! I hardly slept at all last night; I only fell asleep in the early morning," she admitted.
Ruan Hongmei pouted and asked, "So what were you doing last night?"
"Nothing much, just went out for a stroll," she said while changing her clothes.
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