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墨書 Inktalez
I jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat. It had been a nightmare. Instinctively, I reached for the jade pendant at my chest. The warmth still lingered on it, almost too hot to touch. Just moments ago, something had indeed come close.
"Brother, was that you giving me a hint?" I whispered into the empty hall, but no one answered. I sat there, keeping vigil over the altar until dawn broke.
About half an hour later, my grandfather returned with a group of people. They brought Joss Paper, candles, incense, and quickly set up the altar again. Just in time before the first light of day, everything was restored to its original state.
"That's enough for now. You should rest," my grandfather said, glancing at me. I nodded and turned to head back to my room.
However, I had barely lain down when loud noises and the sound of things being smashed erupted outside. I got up to see a group of Social Youth vandalizing my yard.
"What’s going on?" I quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed a wooden stick, and rushed outside.
"Don't go!" My grandfather couldn't stop me in time.
The leader of the group wore flashy clothes and sunglasses, brandishing a baseball bat and swinging it wildly. "Smash everything!"
Without hesitation, I charged at him and kicked him to the ground.
"You bastard! You're asking for it!" Sunglasses Man roared as he swung the bat toward me.
I raised the wooden stick to block, then swung it back, striking his leg.
The Sunglasses Man let out a cry and fell to the ground.
"Kill him!" he shouted, clutching his leg and pointing at me.
Seeing this, the others rushed towards me.
I swung the stick wildly, but it was no match for their numbers. They quickly wrested the stick from my hands and pinned me to the ground.
I could only watch helplessly as they smashed up the mourning hall.
"You little brat, aren't you tough?"
The Sunglasses Man stepped in front of me and brought his stick down on my shoulder.
I gasped in pain.
"Keep acting tough!"
He pulled out a large knife and waved it in front of me.
"Do you believe I’ll carve a line on your face?"
"You dare!"
Seeing this, my grandfather rushed forward to intervene.
But before he could get close to the Sunglasses Man, one of his companions kicked him down to the ground.
"Old man, don’t rush; it'll be your turn soon!"
The Sunglasses Man spat on the ground and said viciously.
"You bunch of animals!"
I shouted in anger and struggled desperately.
"Getting anxious?"
The Sunglasses Man chuckled darkly, raising the knife as if to bring it down on me.
"I'll chop off your hand first!"
Just as the knife was about to fall, I lifted my foot and kicked him hard in the kneecap.
He stumbled back, dropping the knife onto the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, I broke free from my restraints, picked up a knife, and began to retaliate like a madman. The reckless ones were terrified; seeing me in such a frenzy, the Sunglasses Man was scared.
"Retreat!" he shouted, scrambling to escape. The others quickly followed suit, fleeing out of the mourning hall. I chased after them, slashing and driving them out.
Before long, the villagers heard the commotion and rushed over to help. Together, we managed to capture those intruders.
Our villagers were fierce and united. Looking at the crowd, everyone armed with makeshift weapons, the Sunglasses Man and his thugs knelt on the ground, begging for mercy. Just then, a middle-aged woman suddenly appeared from nowhere and collapsed on the ground, wailing uncontrollably.
"My daughter died such a tragic death!" she cried. "What am I going to do now?" Her cries gave me a headache.
"Who are you? You're not even related to us; why are you mourning?" I pointed my stick at her menacingly. "Come on!"
To my surprise, the middle-aged woman jumped up suddenly and leaned forward deliberately. "If you have the guts, go ahead and kill me!" she shouted. "Is there no law? Is there no justice?"
She pointed at me, raising her voice. "Let's talk this out; clarify what exactly happened."
Seeing a woman in distress, some villagers quickly stepped in to mediate.
"Your grandson has ruined my daughter's reputation and caused her death!"
"Everyone, let's judge this fairly. My daughter died so young!"
"It's all this family's fault. If it weren't for your grandson eloping with my daughter, she wouldn't have died!"
The middle-aged woman pointed at my grandfather, growing more agitated with each word until she finally sat down on the ground, throwing a tantrum.
"You’re talking nonsense!"
I trembled with anger.
"My brother is not that kind of person!"
"My brother died trying to save someone!"
"Save someone?"
The middle-aged woman sprang to her feet.
"Your brother jumped into the river to commit suicide; what does that have to do with my daughter?"
"If it weren't for your brother deceiving my daughter, she wouldn't have sneaked out at night!"
"If he hadn't dragged her along, she wouldn't have fallen into the reservoir!"
The middle-aged woman glared at me, her eyes wide with fury.
"My daughter died such a tragic death; how am I supposed to live with this?"
Seeing this, the surrounding villagers began to intervene.
"Hey, this needs to be handled properly; we can't be too forceful."
"Yeah, if this escalates, it won't look good for your family."
"Exactly, we should prioritize the deceased and resolve this quickly."
I shook with anger but felt utterly helpless. My grandfather sighed and walked over to me, patting my shoulder.
"Go apologize to her."
I gritted my teeth and approached the middle-aged woman.
"I'm sorry; please accept my condolences."
After saying that, I turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, the middle-aged woman grabbed my arm.
"You can't go!"
"You still owe my daughter her life!"
I shook off her grip forcefully.
"I've already apologized. What more do you want?"
"Apologize?"
The middle-aged woman scoffed.
"My daughter's life is gone, and you think a simple apology will suffice?"
"Your brother jumped into the river to commit suicide. Why should my daughter pay the price for him?"
"What wrong did my daughter do? She wasn't even married, hadn't had children; her life was just beginning. Why should she die in place of your brother?"
The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, finally pulling out a phone and a pile of documents from her pocket.
"This is my daughter's phone, this is her ID card, and here is the Household Register!"
"This is Physical Evidence!"
"Here are photos of my daughter before she died, along with that bastard's photo!"
"Now that I have all the documents, do you still want to deny it?"
The middle-aged woman thrust those items into the village chief's hands, crying heart-wrenchingly.
The village chief took the phone and documents, examining them carefully.
He first displayed the phone screen to everyone.
It showed a surveillance video.
The time was exactly the night after my brother had dropped me off at school.
In the dead of night, my brother and a girl sneaked to the reservoir, whispering something to each other before both jumped into the water.
The village chief then flipped through the documents.
It clearly stated the relationship between the middle-aged woman and the girl: mother and daughter.
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