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墨書 Inktalez
After settling the bill, they stepped outside.
By this time, night had fallen. Zhang Ye and Wei Ning walked towards Old Man Shi's house, one in front of the other. It didn't take long for Zhang Ye to stop in front of a dilapidated building, its age so advanced that it was hard to tell what era it belonged to.
"Wei, this is Old Man Shi's place," Zhang Ye said with a nod.
Old Man Shi had a peculiar personality and rarely had any relatives visiting him. The villagers didn't think highly of him either; if it weren't for his exceptional skill in preparing Betel Nut, he would have likely been forgotten by everyone.
Wei Ning examined the building and frowned deeply. "The Evil Energy here is so strong!"
"What's wrong, Wei? Did you notice something?" Zhang Ye asked nervously.
Wei Ning didn't respond immediately; instead, he began to walk around the building, observing it closely. After a while, he caught a whiff of the night breeze and sniffed it under his nose. "Brother Zhang, let's go inside and take a look."
Zhang Ye nodded. Both of them were experts at climbing walls, and since Old Man Shi lived alone for many years in this old house, it was easy to scale the walls. Inside, the atmosphere was eerie; only a dim light bulb flickered weakly, casting a gloomy glow. Beneath the light stood a thin figure hunched over like a shrimp, busy with something on the table.
Wei Ning and Zhang Ye exchanged glances and nodded before peering through the crack in the door to observe further.
The room exuded an unsettling aura that made one feel nauseous. Under the dim light, Old Man Shi had various items scattered on the table, including freshly dried Betel Nut that had just come out of the roasting stove. True to his reputation as a Betel Nut expert, each piece was plump and glistening after being boiled and filtered. Zhang Ye couldn't help but salivate at the sight. Old Man Shi took out a glass jar that had been worn down so much that its color was unrecognizable. He used a straw to extract a yellow substance resembling oil from inside and dripped it onto each Betel Nut.
Seeing this, Wei Ning remarked, "So this is what you're using!" He then pushed the door open and entered.
Old Man Shi looked up, scrutinizing his unexpected visitors under the dim light. Wei Ning swiftly snatched the glass jar from Old Man Shi's hand and said sternly, "You seem to be someone knowledgeable about cultivation; how can you engage in such harmful practices?"
Old Man Shi slowly turned his gaze towards Wei Ning. His movements seemed deliberately slow, but this slowness created an unsettling feeling in one's heart. When he finally spoke, his voice was neither hoarse nor sharp; it cut through the air like a steel knife against glass, producing an uncomfortable sensation: "Do you know that I could report you for trespassing?"
Wei Ning coldly scoffed and raised the glass jar in his hand. "Then can you tell me what’s inside this jar?"
Old Man Shi smiled faintly, revealing his yellowed and blackened teeth from years of chewing Betel Nut. In a sinister tone, he said, "This is the oil used to make Betel Nut, so everyone involved in making it knows about it. If you leave now, I might consider not pursuing this matter further; otherwise..."
Wei Ning brought the glass jar close to his nose and sniffed. "If I'm not mistaken, this corpse oil should have been refined not long ago. The body must still be in the house. Brother Zhang, let's search... Brother Zhang... Brother Zhang..."
Wei Ning turned to look at Zhang Ye, only to see that his entire face had turned green. He swallowed hard and then vomited into the corner of the room. After a while, he straightened up and asked Wei Ning, "Wei, what was that you just...?"
Wei Ning suddenly realized that Zhang Ye was also a loyal customer of this Betel Nut shop.
"Wei, we can't act recklessly. If we don't have evidence, if... I mean if... we could be accused of defamation and face legal consequences."
Old Man Shi coldly replied, "I hope this matter ends here. If you continue like this, I will call the police and report you for trespassing."
Wei Ning nodded. "Right, call the police. Brother Zhang, do you have your phone?"
Old Man Shi's expression changed three times as he hoarsely said, "You shouldn't push things too far; it won't be good for either of us. Do you know who I am?"
Wei Ning ignored his words, took the phone from Zhang Ye's hand, and dialed the Public Safety Expert's number. Before long, a large convoy of police cars roared in, waking up the surrounding residents. With so many police arriving in the middle of the night, everyone knew something serious was happening and stayed awake, flocking to Old Man Shi's house to see what was going on.
"What’s going on? Who called the police? If this is just a petty domestic dispute or something trivial, I'll arrest all of you for obstructing justice," shouted a portly officer who clearly was not pleased to be woken from his sleep.
Wei Ning stepped forward. At this point, Old Man Shi's face had turned extremely ugly. Wei Ning said, "This old man's house has something strange going on; I hope you can investigate thoroughly."
The officer shot Wei Ning a sideways glance and said, "You shouldn't speak carelessly; such matters cannot be taken lightly. If nothing is found in the end, you'll bear legal responsibility."
"Boss, why not have some Betel Nut first?" Old Man Shi forced a smile and handed over a bag of Betel Nut. The officer's eyes immediately lit up; he understood why they had arrived so quickly—the report came from Old Man Shi's house! Old Man Shi had a peculiar personality and supplied Betel Nut by weight; now that he was in trouble with the law, these officers would likely take advantage of the situation to scoop up some profit and clear out all of Old Man Shi's Betel Nut supplies. They would certainly feel justified in calling themselves protectors of the people.
Old Man Shi distributed several bags of Betel Nut to the arriving crowd, saying, "This is just a small token of respect. Please, help yourselves."
"Mm." The Fat Officer casually grabbed a few more Betel Nuts from the table and walked around the room. "Old Man Shi, your hygiene really needs some improvement. Look here, it's so dirty... If you can't meet the sanitation standards next time, we might have to shut you down."
Old Man Shi repeatedly agreed.
"Alright, everyone can disperse now. Time to wrap it up," said a few police officers who had gathered enough and were ready to leave. The surrounding crowd, seeing that there was no longer any excitement to watch, also reluctantly went home to sleep.
"Is this how you enforce the law?" Wei Ning's face turned pale as he suddenly shouted loudly.
"By the way, your son is still here?" The Fat Officer adjusted his belt and mumbled through a mouthful of Betel Nut, "Take him back; a few days in detention will make him behave."
"You!" Wei Ning pointed at the surrounding officers. Zhang Ye stepped forward, blocking Wei Ning with his imposing figure, causing the officers who had come to apprehend him to hesitate.
"What do you think this is?" Wei Ning suddenly kicked open a hidden door, sending dust flying as the force of the impact shook the room.
"Ah!" Everyone present was stunned by the sight before them.
Inside the room, a blazing charcoal fire burned below while four or five corpses hung above like cured meats, all hooked by large iron hooks through their shoulder blades. The bodies were crimson and tightly pressed against their bones, with many areas visibly sunken in like dried jerky. As they roasted over the charcoal fire, drops of body fat dripped down through a swirling passage into a massive wooden barrel nearby. There were also three or four other barrels filled with murky yellow liquid, likely more body fat.
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