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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 76: The Mystery of the Alley (Part One)
Qin Jian handed a cigarette to Lai Shu, which he had specifically bought at the Smoke Shop in Taling. I refused to carry cigarettes; the last pack they gave me took about half a month to finish. I'm stingy, and while Qin Jian is frugal, neither of them knows that my intention is to avoid harming my organs with nicotine.
"I don't have any," I ignored the inconspicuous ghost and walked straight towards the parking area.
However, when this person appeared, Qin Jian shivered slightly and said loudly, "This guy looks like a ghost."
"Don't look at him, don't say anything," I advised as I continued walking straight ahead. Qin Jian is not an ordinary person; if a ghost wants him to see something, he can see what I see. I am aware of this, but I don't know what he thinks about it.
The car parked quietly in the Taling Parking Lot. We both got in, and the sound of the door closing echoed far away. A dark shadow darted towards us at a swift speed, slapping against the car window and gesturing at me. It was the Addict who had just asked me for a cigarette.
His thin lips moved rapidly, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I told Qin Jian to wait a moment and rolled down the window to ask, "What do you want?"
"I know you're very capable."
I shot him a disdainful glance without looking directly at him and replied, "If you know I'm capable, why are you looking for trouble?"
"I have something important to tell you."
An Addict craving a cigarette—what important matter could he possibly have for me? I couldn't be bothered and said to Qin Jian, "Let's go."
"Does he know you?"
"No."
"Then how does he know you're capable?"
"Because he's not human."
Qin Jian was taken aback and asked, "Not a person, but a ghost?"
"Of course, what else would you think it is?"
"Alright! I'm speechless." After a moment of silence and a swift drive, the matter concerning Addict slipped from his mind. It was so quiet that getting back to my rented place required winding through half the city. Qin Jian turned on the radio, and the soothing voice of Teresa Teng filled the car.
"If I were real,
If the flowing water could turn back,
Please take me away,
If the flowing water could accept,
No more worries,
Someone envies you,
Flowing freely..."
Qin Jian couldn't stand the melancholic tone of the song and quickly changed the station.
After switching, he heard a news report.
Late-night news: A bizarre death occurred on Park Road, Fruit Street. A fruit vendor was found dead in the men's restroom, with the cause of death unknown. The Sixth Police Station in our city has taken over the case. I listened intently and hurriedly asked Qin Jian to replay what had just been broadcast.
To my surprise, this simple request earned me a scolding from him: "Do you think this is a disc I can control? This is late-night news! You’re not the great Ma Qi or the remarkable Mortician who can command people to replay news at will; I certainly can't do that."
"You old man, that's just how it is. You bombard me with firepower, and it's like killing people without any consequences, right?"
"Ma Qi, I'm driving, so stop arguing with me."
"Fine. I'll keep quiet." I wanted to shut up and take a nap, but the scene I saw in the restroom on Fruit Street kept flashing in my mind. An old man, hunched over, seemed to be sweeping. I couldn't see what kind of broom he was holding, but how could this possibly be related to the mysteriously dead woman?
The hunched old man—suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head, and I shouted for Qin Jian to stop the car. The vehicle screeched to a halt, the sound piercing through the quiet night.
"Qin Jian, what's going on?" he asked gruffly.
"Turn back to Taling."
"What for?"
"I can't explain right now; just turn around quickly."
Qin Jian backed up and turned the steering wheel, making an eighty-degree turn (there weren't many people on the street anyway, and it wasn't a no-turn zone) as we headed back toward Taling. I hoped he was still there.
"Ma Qi, stop speaking in riddles. Just tell me what's going on."
"Well! On the way to Taling, I stopped by Fruit Street. There’s a restroom there, and when I went in the dark, I saw an old man hunched over sweeping…"
Qin Jian wasn't stupid; he quickly pieced it together. "You mean the mysterious death case mentioned in the late-night news is connected to that restroom you just entered?"
Exactly! Qin Jian had a point. With such a long street as Fruit Street, there couldn't be just one restroom! Was I being overly sensitive, linking unrelated events and scaring myself?
I chuckled foolishly, unsure of what to do next.
"Are we still going?"
"Forget it, let's head back!"
At that moment, I gave up on finding that Addict, but Qin Jian was still keen. He held onto a glimmer of hope, thinking that there wouldn't be any police around to catch us drinking and driving at this late hour. As long as he drove carefully and nothing went wrong, we wouldn't fall under the police's radar.
Qin Jian suggested not going to Taling but instead checking out Fruit Street.
"Are you trying to confirm how many public restrooms are on Fruit Street?"
Qin Jian turned the direction around and retorted, "Do you really think there would be two public restrooms on one street?"
Right! At the other end of Fruit Street is a park, and where we were heading was near the Farmers' Market. The Farmers' Market had actually been transformed into a department store long ago, with a flood of merchants revitalizing the economic development of Fruit Street. This indirectly boosted the entertainment industry and food scene along the street.
I agreed with Qin Jian's plan to go to Fruit Street.
Fruit Street was now eerily quiet, with only the shadows of trees and streetlights illuminating the area. Occasionally, a few foolish rats scurried out from the sewers onto the street in search of rotten fruits to eat. In fact, it was these rotten fruits that sustained these creatures living in dark corners.
In Qin Jian's words, this place truly lived up to its name—Fruit Street. Being here, a faint smell of decaying fruit lingered in the air, how could it not attract rats and cockroaches?
Our shadows stretched and shrank under the dim light as we walked. I couldn't tell if it was our footsteps or our shadows that scared the rats away; they squeaked and scattered in all directions. "There," I suddenly pointed out a restroom I had spotted amidst the silence. At this moment and in this place, it felt genuinely eerie.
Qin Jian furrowed his brow tightly as he followed my indicated path toward the restroom.
The restroom remained pitch black, and even from afar, a pungent stench assaulted our senses. His brows knitted into a deep furrow as he muttered, "How can you even suggest coming to a place like this?"
"When nature calls, any place that isn't too embarrassing will do."
Qin Jian rarely refrained from analyzing and debating my words in detail. He nodded, "That's true. I once saw a woman in a hurry while riding in a car. She laid down a newspaper right there on the ground. At that moment, she didn't care about feeling embarrassed or ashamed; she just wanted to be comfortable and not suffocate."
"Absolutely correct."
As we approached the bathroom door, we noticed the caution tape fluttering in the cold wind. We stepped over the tape and entered the damp, foul-smelling restroom. Qin Jian covered his mouth and nose with his hand, his brow still furrowed, signaling me to go ahead.
I walked in and pointed to where I saw an old man sweeping the floor. "Look, there's the old man sweeping."
It seemed my words startled Qin Jian; he instinctively moved closer to me and wrapped his arm around mine. "It's a bit chilly."
"A little," I replied, continuing forward. "At that time, I thought the old man had gone inside, but then I saw this wall." I waved my mobile flashlight, pointing at the partition wall.
"You saw someone and hurried to follow them, but then they disappeared?"
"Yeah." Qin Jian carefully examined the floor, where faint bloodstains were still visible. He nervously jumped back and solemnly checked the soles of his shoes to confirm he hadn't stepped in any blood before continuing, "Did you see the broom he was holding?"
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