I pressed closer to Gao Jianning, and he finally broke, surrendering: "I'll talk! It's those three memorial portraits that are problematic."

When it came to a case, I wasn't one for joking; my face darkened. "Speak plainly. What is the deal with those portraits?"

"Haven't you noticed," Gao Jianning countered, "that the three portraits give off a single, shared feeling?"

A feeling? The three men in the photographs were clearly distinguishable from animals, but otherwise, they were just flat images. Finding a feeling from a man's perspective wasn't easy unless he happened to have a tail.

Just then, the three photos appeared, lined up on the screen. Thanks to the carefully adjusted lighting and the fact that only their heads were magnified, the three men looked remarkably clear, almost vivid. Yet, the more lifelike they seemed, the more unnerving the effect became.

I leaned in, examining the three men who had died so strangely. In life, they had led vastly different paths, but their journeys ended in a startlingly consistent manner. Death was a release for them and for the killer, but it left us with too many questions. We couldn't save their lives, but we absolutely had to find the true culprit hiding in the shadows.

Suddenly, I turned back. "Xiao Cuo, you're the expert in this area. Give us an opinion."

Xiao Cuo shook his head. "I've been looking for a while, and honestly, I feel nothing at all."

At this point, Gao Jianning said darkly, "Are they smiling? And does their smile look similar?"

My focus shifted infinitesimally. The dead men's faces on the screen blurred slightly, but something hidden behind the features flashed into view.

I saw it: they weren't smiling; they were speaking. Or perhaps, they were photographed at the precise moment they were saying the same thing.

Three men, each with their own life, why would they utter the same sentence?

And what kind of bored individual would be taking their picture at that moment?

What was even harder to fathom was that all three men had died bizarrely. Was their death because they spoke a single sentence they shouldn't have? A sentence deserving of death?

I racked my brain, but I couldn't think of a single sentence in Chinese, or any language I knew, that was so utterly deserving of death. But the three men in the photos were undoubtedly conveying a final message to me, and if I failed to grasp it, I would regret it for the rest of my life.

Though often bewildered, I wasn't stupid. I knew there was no regret potion for sale in this world, so I had to know what they were saying!

I paused, certain that no single sentence was inherently deserving of death, then a bold new idea struck me: Could it be that these three men, in death, were trying to tell us something in this manner?

"Xiao Cuo, listen to what they are saying."

Xiao Cuo looked at me, utterly confused. Seeing how serious I was, he thought I was joking and shook his head. "I don't have that ability. I can't hear photographs speak."

"Can you hear ghosts speak?"

"There are many kinds of ghost talk. Which kind do you want to know about? But I can assure you, ghosts don't understand high technology; they can't talk through photos yet."

Xiao Cuo's words dimmed the lamp of my hope slightly.

"I think there's someone who can help us solve this. Xiao Cuo, go fetch You Qiaolin's mute assistant for me. He should be able to manage this favor," I said, looking up at Xiao Cuo. The moment I finished speaking, the kid vanished, just like a phantom.

"How can he help?"

Gao Jianning, that computer bug, was somewhat dense in this regard. I was about to taunt him, but seeing Lan Meimei look equally puzzled, I immediately stopped myself.

I chuckled lightly and explained, "He knows lip-reading."

"Lip-reading... Brilliant! How did you even think of that?" Gao Jianning exclaimed in amazement.

"Three deaths. The anonymous sender must intend to transmit more than just this. But if he truly used lip-reading, it is indeed quite ingenious. By the way, what about the other photo? Did you find any clues?" As I spoke, I suddenly remembered the photo of the group of young women.

"I was just about to bring that up with you. This photo is clearly old, and there's absolutely no point of entry, making it impossible to track. There's something I have to tell you, and please don't blame me..." Gao Jianning looked at me guiltily, terrified I might consume him.

"Spit it out," I didn't have the luxury of wasting time with him now.

"I exerted every ounce of strength I had, and still couldn't figure out who these girls were or where this place is. So then, I posted the photo on the forum... asking our all-powerful netizens for help..." Gao Jianning's voice trailed off, undoubtedly due to my gaze, which was growing sharper and fixed entirely on him.

"And the result?" I forced down the irritation welling up inside me and spoke slowly, word by word.

"The result, of course, was finding a lead!" Gao Jianning immediately switched to a smug, grinning expression, showing off proudly. "Look at this picture."

I didn't have time to banter with this kid Gao Jianning; I needed to see his results first. I shifted my gaze back to the computer screen. Now, two photos were displayed side-by-side: one was the black-and-white old photo from the email, and the other was a color landscape shot. The old photo featured a tree resembling a Jacaranda and four childish young women. The color landscape photo showed only fluttering petals and the fragrant, earthy scenery of the countryside.

I stared at the two pictures in disbelief because they were not only taken in the same location but seemingly from almost the exact same angle!

"This..." I was so astonished I could barely speak.

"I ran a computer comparison. These two photos were definitely taken in the same spot, only one has four girls, and the other just has the village," Gao Jianning explained from the side.

"More than that," I muttered casually.

"Huh?" Gao Jianning didn't react immediately.

"Did you find out where this place is?" My eyes remained fixed on that photo. This location was destined for me to visit.

"It's an old village in the mountainous area of Tangyuan County, called... Guyi Village. It only has a few dozen households, but the scenery is quite nice. This photo was taken by a travel enthusiast," Gao Jianning replied. He had indeed done good work.

"Is there anything special about this village?"

"If you say special, it is quite special. The people of this village, or rather, the ancestors of this clan, all migrated here from elsewhere. It's estimated they moved here over a hundred years ago," Gao Jianning continued to present everything he had learned.

"A migrated village?" As a native of Anyang City, I had barely heard of an entire village relocating to Anyang.

"Yes," Gao Jianning nodded.

Just then, Xiao Cuo walked in, bringing the mute assistant with him.

The "mute" was You Qiaolin's student and assistant; his work permit read Li Shaojing. He maintained that cold, distant demeanor, laced with malice, as if eager for everyone to know how ruthless he was. If we hadn't known his identity, we would certainly have suspected him in some case.

Li Shaojing didn't say anything, seeming to already know why we had called him. He walked straight over. Xiao Cuo must have conveyed our intentions on the way. I didn't need to say more.

Li Shaojing approached the computer, looking stern. The rest of us wisely made space for this "Great Master," and no one prepared to speak to him.

He stared at the three photos, glancing back and forth a few times. Standing behind him, I wondered what his reaction would be to these bizarre images. But then I dismissed the thought; he dealt with disgusting things for a living; a few photos wouldn't rattle him.

Li Shaojing took his hands off the mouse, picked up a pen clipped to his chest pocket, and wrote two characters on the adjacent white paper—"Qiézi" (Eggplant/Say Cheese).

Li Shaojing's handwriting was delicate, fitting his scholarly facade.

Qiézi is the standard word used when taking a picture, making the face appear naturally joyful. If these were indeed the words, it could explain the mystery of the identical mouth shapes. However, Li Shaojing's expression made me suspicious: could one mouth shape convey two Chinese characters?

"Is this the only information the photos convey?" I asked as Li Shaojing turned around, making sure to slow my speech slightly.

Li Shaojing didn't respond—nor could he. He simply nodded silently and disappeared from our sight.

"No way? That's it?" Xiao Cuo looked equally incredulous. Not just him and me, but probably all of us expected some hidden secret, but the result was so anticlimactic.

"This proves at least one thing," Gao Jianning interjected. But when we all looked at him expectantly, he shamelessly declared, "The person who sent the email definitely knows lip-reading."

"Isn't that stating the obvious!" Xiao Cuo couldn't help but exclaim, patting Gao Jianning's head in the way I usually did.

"Alright, alright. You keep looking for information on those four girls in the other photo. Get organized; we're heading to that Guyi Village now. I have a feeling we'll find unusual clues there," I instructed Gao Jianning, then turned to Lan Jinxuan.

"Now? Guyi Village?" Lan Meimei seemed startled by my sudden decision, taking a moment before nodding twice and going to pack.

"Oh, wow! The scenery in Guyi Village is beautiful. This isn't an investigation; it's practically a honeymoon trip!" Gao Jianning whined sarcastically as soon as I finished issuing orders, causing Xiao Cuo to smirk behind his hand.

"If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute. Are you that bored?" I shot back at Gao Jianning before beginning preparations to leave for Guyi Village in Tangyuan County.

Since it was just an investigation and we wouldn't be staying long, Lan Meimei and I didn't need to pack much. We grabbed only essentials and hurried on our way.

We had certainly missed the train to Tangyuan County. As we left, Zhang Jiewei came out and offered to be our guide and driver, revealing that he was actually from Tangyuan County.

Having a free guide was welcome, but I kept feeling a knot of unease in my stomach. After all, this tactless, stern-faced guy had thoroughly ruined my "honeymoon" trip with Lan Meimei!

Tangyuan County wasn't large, but finding that tiny Guyi Village took considerable effort. Putting aside its secluded location, the rugged mountain roads surrounding it were challenging enough.

In this desolate, rocky wilderness, a place even intelligent game animals wouldn't frequent—how could anyone live here?

However, once we crested those rocky peaks, a different scene unfolded before us.

The valley floor was filled with evergreen trees, lush and green. Nestled within the woods were a few farmhouses, and a clear little river flowed calmly through the bottom of the valley. In the flatter, lower ground, more homes were scattered about. It truly was a beautiful mountain village rarely visited by outsiders.

In a village like this, few outsiders usually entered, making our arrival both abrupt and impolite. Fortunately, the people here were hospitable. When we appeared as tourists, Village Elder Mu even offered us lodging at his home.

"Sit here for a moment, I'll ask my wife to prepare rooms for you," Elder Mu looked to be well over seventy, yet he was sturdy and spoke without the usual senility.

"Thank you very much, Elder. We are just passing through for a look; we might return tonight, so there's no need to trouble you too much."

Though the old village chief meant well, I felt uneasy disturbing the elderly couple. Besides, we were only here to look for clues and shouldn't stay long.

"What? You plan to leave tonight? Old man Mu tells you, that absolutely won't do. The mountain roads are treacherous. It’s getting late; it’ll be dark in about two hours. Our village rule is that you absolutely cannot go out after dark!" Elder Mu said solemnly, his eyes gleaming as if something terrifying happened at night.

"Oh? There's a rule like that?" I asked, somewhat incredulous.

"Yes. Our clan migrated here from somewhere else, but we still retain many of our original customs," Elder Mu said, stroking his beard, his face etched with time, as if reminiscing about the past.

"I see. How coincidental, we are students specializing in folk customs, here to conduct a survey. It seems we've come to the right place. Why don't you teach us a lesson?" I made up a story on the spot, realizing I had a talent for lying effortlessly.

"Haha, young man, you've certainly found the right person. In this village, there's nothing this old man doesn't know!" Elder Mu grew more animated as he spoke.

"Then why don't you tell us about that photograph?" I said, gesturing toward the photo album hanging on the wall behind Elder Mu.

Upon hearing this, Lan Meimei and Zhang Jiewei also noticed the picture in the album on the wall.

"A photograph? Which one?" Elder Mu turned to look at the photos in the frames. There were about a dozen pictures of various sizes, and he didn't know which one I meant. However, Zhang Jiewei and Lan Meimei instantly recognized it, both looking at that single photo with surprised eyes.

"It's the group photo of the four little girls," I pointed out the old photograph to the Elder again.

"Ah... that’s my granddaughter and a few of her little friends, taken over ten years ago," Elder Mu said slowly, his tone slightly sorrowful.

"Your granddaughter? Can we meet her?" Although I had noticed the photo as soon as we entered, I never expected one of the girls to be the granddaughter of the man before me.

"You won't be able to see her now. She moved to the city with her parents many years ago. She sends money home regularly, but hasn't been back for years," the Elder's brow furrowed deeper as he spoke.

"Really? What is your granddaughter's name? We're from the city; perhaps we know her!" I said casually, but surprisingly, I had hit the mark.

"Her name is Mu Anmian. She's quiet, just like her name, doesn't like to talk much," the Elder recalled, feeling a deep melancholy remembering his long-absent granddaughter.

Upon hearing the name, Lan Meimei tugged my sleeve. Zhang Jiewei remained expressionless, like a door god, as usual.

I continued questioning the village chief. "What about the other girls in the photo? Do you remember their names?"

"Them? I think one was named something like Yan... something Xie... I'm old, I can't recall clearly. They all moved to the city with their families when they were little," the Elder said, patting his head.

"Fan Yan and Xie Liying?" Lan Meimei blurted out, momentarily surprising the Elder.

"Yes, that's them!" Prompted by the reminder, the Elder suddenly remembered, not at all like someone in his seventies with fading memory.

"Sir, we are detectives from the Special Investigation Section of the Anyang City Public Security Bureau. We need your help with something," At this point, revealing our identities and purpose seemed the only way to gain more information.

"Detec... Detectives..." The Elder was clearly quite frightened. "I'm nearly ready for the grave; I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Please don't be nervous; just listen to us first. We only need to understand a few things," Lan Meimei was more effective; as soon as she stepped in, she calmed the Elder's emotions. Indeed, she won over both young and old.

We gave the Elder a brief overview of the case. He sat there stunned the entire time we recounted the events. By the end, he began to tremble as if he had been severely startled.

"A curse... it must be a curse..." the Elder muttered to himself, looking as if he had witnessed an ominous entity rising from the abyss.