Mysterious Martial Arts: The Record of the Swordsman

[Bonus Chapter 1: Night Kill]

In the middle of the night in Chong'an County, the lights at the entrances of the streets and alleys suddenly went out—the wicks were completely broken, leaving not even a spark, as if an invisible hand had choked them.

The bluestone path gleamed coldly, and the withered vines on the rammed earth wall rustled, sounding like someone grinding their teeth behind them. Zhao Erguan huddled in the haystack of the woodshed, his fingers rubbing together whenever they touched the haystacks.

He was always very clean, brushing his teeth with salt every morning and evening, and washing his hands with soap before meals. The musty smell mixed with the earthy smell in the haystack made his stomach clench.

The door to the woodshed was ajar, and the light leaking in from outside stretched out in silvery lines, only to be abruptly cut off by two shadows.

The wind stopped, and the two shadows stood outside the door like black stakes driven into the ground, their cold, hard outlines only occasionally revealed when the corners of their clothes fluttered.

Zhao Erguan knew that he was being watched.

His fingers touched the grass clippings again. He instinctively tried to wipe them off, but it was too late. He scrambled to his feet. The back door of the woodshed was made of three broken wooden planks. He rammed them with his shoulder, and the planks shattered with a crash.

The shadow didn't speak; its footsteps sounded like a millstone grinding dry wood, devoid of any emotion. So Zhao Erguan turned and fled towards the alley entrance, starting along the base of the wall and approaching the city's outhouse.

Zhao Erguan knew that the other party had come to kill him, but he didn't want to die by the latrine—the stench could stick to him for days.

He ran past the cloth shop in the west of the city. The signboard above the door was covered in dust, and he didn't recognize the place. He just remembered that his "sister" came here to buy cloth every month. Last month, he saw her passing a note to a strange man. She hid when she saw him, but there was no hint of romance between them.

"Sister" hasn't changed; she's always been the same "sister."

Ahead lies the Scholar's Bridge, its bluestone slabs worn smooth, the stone lions on the bridge railings missing their ears, and he doesn't recognize the place.

Last year, "Dad" was still here teaching him how to carry water, saying that a man should shoulder responsibilities. But that day, he saw "Dad" wearing a dark cloth and whispering to someone. He was so frightened when he saw him that he kicked over the water bucket. "Mom" is even stranger. She used to sew clothes for him, and the buttons were sewn on neatly. But in the last six months, they have become crooked. At night, she would mutter unintelligible words to the moon.

In fact, he had already discovered that no other "parents" would be like this. Apart from looking the same, the two of them spoke differently, dressed differently, and even had different tastes in cooking every year.

His "parents" kept changing, making him feel contradictory and unfamiliar. Now, all these fragments were pieced together—he didn't like staying at home because they weren't family, but rather people watching him.

He had no one to talk to, and couldn't even find clean water to wash his hands.

The footsteps grew closer, occasionally punctuated by muffled tinkling sounds like copper bells. He suddenly noticed his own gatehouse, with its mud-brick walls, black tile roof, and copper lock that had just been replaced last year.

He rushed over, and just as his hand was about to touch the door, a "click" came from inside the yard—the sound of the bolt locking the door, so deliberate it couldn't be more deliberate.

Zhao Erguan's hand froze in mid-air. The firelight shone on the door knocker, illuminating his pale, long face. The person inside was clearly awake; they had heard his footsteps but locked the door.

He remembered his mother saying, "The door will always be open for you," his father patting his chest and saying, "With me here, no one will bully you," and the sweet cakes his sister gave him. His fingers were covered in rust from the door knocker, and he wanted to rub it off, but he was too weak.

He caught a glimpse of the burning black-tiled roof of the old county government office in the distance, and ran desperately toward the main street. Suddenly, his arm felt a chill, and some kind of liquid gushed out. It was thick and sticky on his hand, and he instinctively tried to shake it off before realizing that it was his own blood.

Zhao Erguan turned around and tried to run again, but blood dripped onto the bluestone slab like broken red beads.

The blood was still flowing from his upper arm, sticking painfully to his hands—if there were a well, he would definitely wash his hands thoroughly and brush his teeth with salt to wash away the bitterness in his mouth.

Zhao Erguan turned around. Two figures stood five paces away. One held a blade dripping with blood, while the other's parchment was curled at the edges by the wind. The drumbeat sounded again; it was the fourth watch.

"Why are you running?" the shadow asked.

Zhao Erguan nodded, then suddenly smiled.

Blood loss caused him to slowly kneel down. The coolness of his knees touching the bluestone slabs crept up his bones, and the pain from his head hitting the door panel made him shudder. He heard blood flowing down his arm, dripping onto the ground and spreading into a small patch of foam.

He recognized this place; he had known it since he was a child because the little girl he liked in his class lived here. But his "parents" and neighbors all said that this place had been the Wei family's granary for over a hundred years.

"I don't know why I'm running."

Zhao Erguan was trembling all over, and his vision was blurring. But what was swirling in his mind was not the desire to live, but the question of death.

What am I afraid of?

He lingered at the entrance of the abandoned county government office because he had a question he wanted to ask the ghosts inside.

If people become ghosts after death, then a ghost is someone who "should have died but hasn't truly died yet"; but what about someone who "shouldn't be alive but is already alive"? Can they also be called a ghost?

Perhaps in this world, "ghosts" are never actually green-faced and fanged; they are simply a "misplacement" of existence.

The former is "the transgression of death," and the latter is "the premature birth of life." In essence, both are weightless beings that exist outside the pre-set coordinates of life and death. Ordinary people call them ghosts, which is just a way to put their own obsession with "what should and shouldn't" into words that can soothe their panic.

Zhao Erguan felt the same way. He was like a bud that broke through its calyx before flowering, or a seed that fell to the ground before it was full, carrying the panic of being "too early" and occupying an empty spot in front of the timetable of "being born".

"It's better to die confused."

A shadowy figure moved forward, carrying a heavy object above its head. Zhao Erguan closed his eyes, hearing the muffled thud in the wind and the soft sound of a blade cutting through the air. He thought of the eyes of his newly acquainted friend, the sound of the door locking at home, and the blood on his hands—if only he could wash it clean, if only he could brush his teeth.

A shadow approached, used its blade to pry open his collar, and quickly sheathed it. Another shadow, after a moment's hesitation, also sheathed its blade. The two shadows turned and walked away, fading into the night as if they had never existed.

Zhao Erguan leaned against a wooden door, his head against the wooden gate, his eyes wide open. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, and blood drew a small cross on the ground—like the soap suds he left when washing his hands.

He finally heard whispers.

"...Orders have been given to evacuate immediately; those who cannot evacuate will be cut off..."

That night, Chong'an City was bustling on one side, but deathly quiet on the other. The city dwellers would soon forget that there had once been a mentally challenged child who had moved there at the age of six.

This fool was quite clever at first, but he followed some strange rules every day until he stumbled upon a drowned baby girl floating in the outhouse outside his house. He was so frightened by her bluish-purple face that he became dazed and confused, and it seemed that he never grew up again.

The next day, the alleyway lamp was put back on, the new wicks burning, but they couldn't illuminate the bloodstains on the bluestone slab. The bloodstains looked like a small snake, crawling across Zhuangyuan Bridge, past the Zhao family's gate, and slowly being crushed by the wheels of later vehicles until they disappeared without a trace.

[Bonus Chapter 2: Takeout]

In June and July in Wuyishan City, even the wind feels hot.

Old Sun, from the old agricultural bureau dormitory, sat in a rattan chair in the living room. His reading glasses had slipped down to the tip of his nose. He tapped his phone screen for a long time before finally confirming and submitting his order for "Fish-flavored Shredded Pork Rice Bowl with Extra Rice".

The air conditioner remote was on the coffee table. He glanced at it but didn't touch it—it cost 65 cents per kilowatt-hour, and his wife was away on vacation, so he wanted to save money wherever possible.

The quartz clock on the wall pointed to 12:10, and the takeout still hadn't arrived. Old Sun got up and strolled to the balcony, glancing down at the old trees by the building entrance; their leaves were wilted and curled.

He sold his own house long ago to pay for his son's down payment. This old agricultural bureau dormitory building belonged to his wife, and they had lived there for thirty years. This spring, an elevator was finally installed, but on the day it was installed, he almost got into a fight with his neighbor on the third floor.

According to the cost-sharing plan, the sixth-floor resident would have to pay an extra 48,000 yuan, which Old Sun felt was unreasonable—"I've been climbing stairs for thirty years, and now I have to pay more to make things easier for the downstairs residents?" In the end, his wife secretly transferred the money, and that was the end of the matter.

From then on, Old Sun became even more reluctant to use the elevator. The elevator access control was worn shiny from being tucked into his pocket, and he still held onto the handrail when going up and down the stairs. Fortunately, he was a retired local police officer, so his physical fitness was still pretty good.

The phone finally rang, the caller ID showing "Food Delivery." Old Sun answered and immediately asked, "Where's my food? It's ten minutes late! What's wrong with your efficiency?"

The voice on the other end was that of a young man, speaking timidly: "Uncle, I'm so sorry, I delivered it to the wrong neighborhood. The navigation took it to the Wuyi Tax Building... Could you please come and pick it up? It's only about 200 meters away."

Old Sun's temper flared up instantly: "Delivering it to the wrong place is your problem, why should I run around? I'm over sixty years old, I can barely climb six floors, and you want me to go somewhere else? You better deliver it to me right now, or I'll call and complain!"

The young man was too scared to say a word after being scolded. After a long while, he whispered, "Then, I'll come over now. Please wait another twenty minutes, and I guarantee it will be delivered."

Old Sun snorted and hung up the phone. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He picked up his phone again and looked through the order details, staring at the three words "Delivery Knight: Wu XX" and ranting about it for a long time.

"Young people these days are clumsy and careless." He poured himself a glass of cold water and started looking through the photos on his phone.

Twenty minutes passed, and the delivery still hadn't arrived. Just as Old Sun was about to call again, his phone rang first. It was the same deliveryman: "Uncle, I'm at the entrance of your complex, but the navigation isn't accurate, and I can't find your building... Could you come down and meet me? I'm afraid I'll deliver to the wrong place again."

"There are only two buildings in the complex, and there's an old tree at the entrance, can't you see it?" Old Sun's voice rose another eight octaves. "I think you just don't want to give me a ride, and you're making up an excuse! Even though this is an old complex, it has an elevator!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

"No, uncle, I really can't find it... Could you come down here for a few minutes?" The young man's voice was pleading and he was a little out of breath, as if he were running.

Old Sun had no choice. After dawdling for a while, he grumbled and put his phone away before heading downstairs.

In the early days, the stairwells were windowless, dark, and stuffy. Sunlight could only squeeze in through the cracks in the doors on the first floor, making dust particles float in the air. He gripped the worn handrail, sweat slowly trickling down his forehead, soaking the back of his shirt. When he reached the first floor, he leaned against the wall, panting for a while, and looked up at the entrance of the complex—where was anyone in a yellow delivery uniform? Not even a delivery vehicle in sight.

Old Sun took out his phone and dialed the deliveryman's number, his tone full of anger: "Where are you? I'm already on the first floor, where are you hiding?"

The phone rang five or six times before it was answered. The young man's voice sounded strange, like he had a cold, and he said in a muffled voice, "Uncle... I waited for a long time but didn't see you, so I came up first. I'm on the sixth floor now, just come up and get it."

"What did you say?" Old Sun was so angry his hands were shaking. "I just came down from the sixth floor, and you want me to go back up? Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not kidding you, I really am on the sixth floor. You'll see me when you come up." The young man's voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.

Old Sun gritted his teeth, turned around, and started climbing upstairs.

The only sounds in the stairwell were his footsteps and panting, each step feeling like walking on cotton. Finally reaching the sixth floor, he leaned against his doorframe, bent over, and gasped for breath. Looking up, he saw the doorway was empty; not even a paper bag was there.

His anger had completely reached its peak.

Old Sun took out his phone, his fingers trembling with anger, and dialed the number again. The phone rang for a long time, so long that he thought no one would answer, before it finally went through.

"I climbed up and down the stairs twice just to get this takeout!" Old Sun yelled into his phone, his voice hoarse with excitement. "Where are you hiding, you bastard? Where's my food?! Are you playing a trick on me?"

There was no hesitant apology from the young man on the other end of the phone.

A gust of wind blew by, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible smell of decay. From the metal box behind him, which had been there for six months but had hardly ever used, he seemed to hear the elevator doors gently tinkling as they slowly ascended from downstairs, as if urging him on.

After a two-second silence, a voice came from the phone—

Not young and timid, but cold and sharp, as if emerging from an ice cellar frozen for millennia, speaking right up to the coffin lid; every word carried a bone-chilling coldness, piercing straight into Old Sun's ears:
Why did you take the stairs?!

[Bonus Chapter 3: The Disappearance Case]

Full Case Name: Criminal Investigation Division, XX District Branch of XX City
Category Name: Criminal Case Files - Missing Persons Cases
Case file title: Investigation file of the "June 7th" disappearance of Zhao Xichuan, a student at Yuqing Elementary School (Volume 6)
时间：1997年6月7日—1997年6月9日

Storage period: Long-term

Pages: 86

File Number: X Public Criminal Case File [1997] 078

Produced by: XX Municipal Archives Bureau
I. Case Acceptance Registration Form (X Public Security Bureau Case Acceptance No. [1997]156)
[Content missing]

II. On-site Investigation Record (X Public Security Criminal Investigation [1997] No. 214)
勘验时间：1997年6月7日20时00分—22时30分

Weather conditions: Cloudy turning to thunderstorms, on-site temperature 29℃, relative humidity 88%, lighting conditions: natural light (early stage), reconnaissance lights (later stage).
Inspection location: Swing area and surrounding area on the west side of Yuqing Primary School playground

Protection Status: The school secured the scene at 18:50 PM; no one entered and there were no signs of damage.
Inspection process and results:
1. Site Location: The site is located on the west side of the school playground, next to a kindergarten. It is bordered by the side wall of the teaching building to the east, the school wall (2.4 meters high) to the west, the equipment room to the north, and the playground lawn to the south. The center of the site is a sandpit under the swings (4.5 meters long, 3.2 meters wide, and 0.5 meters deep).

2. On-site investigation of the center:

Three footprints were extracted from the sandpit. After comparison, they were found to be left by the missing person Zhao Xichuan and his classmate. The footprints were of uniform depth and there were no abnormal traces of jumping or struggling. Several fine scratches (about 3 cm in length, the marks were blurry and the specific shape could not be identified, omitted) were found in the northwest corner of the sandpit. There were no obvious fingerprints attached.

After a thorough inspection of the soil layers at the bottom of the sand pit, no signs of loosening or excavation were found. Three samples each of the surface and middle layers of sand (numbered JC-9706701 to JC-9706706) were taken for testing. One of the samples tested positive for trace amounts of grayish-black fibrous crystals (the composition could not be identified at this time, omitted).
3. Surrounding environment survey:

The western wall is 28 meters long. The top of the wall is covered with weeds and there are no signs of trampling or climbing. A light gray mark (irregular grid pattern, suspected to be residue, material cannot be identified, omitted) was found 1.6 meters from the ground on the wall. The mark disappeared naturally after about 10 minutes.
The drainage outlet at the bottom of the wall (0.2 meters wide and 0.3 meters high) has an iron grate installed inside, with the grate bars spaced 4 centimeters apart. There are no signs of disassembly or deformation, and no abnormal footprints on the surrounding ground.
日期：1997年6月7日22时30分

III. Interrogation Record (X Public Inquiry [1997] No. 309)
询问时间：1997年6月8日9时30分—10时50分

Interrogation location: Interrogation room of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, XX Branch Bureau

Person questioned: Lu XX (alias: Lao Lu), male, 59 years old, ethnicity: Han, ID number: XXXXXX1938XXXXXXX (some birth date digits are illegible, omitted), occupation: gatekeeper of Yuqing Primary School
Inquiry content:

Q: What is your relationship with the missing person Zhao Xichuan?
A: It's nothing. He's a student at Yuqing Elementary School. He passes by the school gate every morning. I've seen him a few times. He's a very young kid. His family teaches him to be very clean. He always washes his hands at the gatehouse after playing.

Q: Please describe what you were doing around 5 PM on June 7th?
A: I was on duty those days. After the school bell rang at 17 p.m., I would see the students off at the school gate. Around 17:15 p.m., when most of the students had left, I would go back to the gatehouse to smoke. I would stand facing the west side of the playground, about 25 meters away from the swing area, where the kids were playing football.

Q: Have you noticed anything unusual near the playground?
A: Yes... there was a weirdo, and I still get chills thinking about him. I had just lit a cigarette when I caught a glimpse of someone standing outside the west wall of the playground. The sky was overcast and dark, and the person was wearing dark clothes, so I almost didn't see him clearly. But he was standing so strangely that he immediately caught my attention.

Q: Please describe this person's characteristics in detail.

A: He looked very tall, at least 1.85 meters, but his back was hunched over terribly. It wasn't the hunchback of an old man, but rather like someone was pulling him from behind with wire. His shoulders were hunched high, and his arms and legs were straight, with something stuck in his joints. From the side, the angles of his shoulders, knees, and ankles together looked like a crooked iron cage frame, exuding a chilling aura. He wore dark gray clothes with dense vertical stripes. When the wind blew, the clothes clung to his body, and the gaps between the stripes looked like the lattice of a cage, vaguely revealing... something inside, seemingly empty, yet also like something moving inside—an indescribable eeriness. His skin looked grayish, not like the color of a living person, and there was a glint in his eyes at his joints.

Q: Can you see his face clearly? Did you hear any sounds?
A: I couldn't see him clearly. His head was down, obscuring his face; I could only see a bit of his chin, which was also dusty. I didn't hear him speak, but when the wind stopped, I could vaguely hear a creaking sound, like the friction of metal frames, coming from the direction he was standing. He just stared at the playground, at the swing area. When I looked at him, my back suddenly stiffened, as if something was staring at me, and I didn't dare look any longer.

Q: How long did he stay there? Where did he go afterward?
A: About six or seven minutes. Around 18:25 PM, I heard students shouting "Zhao Xichuan is missing!" from the playground. I turned around to go into the gatehouse to make a phone call, and in just a few seconds, when I turned back, he was gone. The neighboring kindergarten is just outside the wall. I ran a few steps in both directions, but I didn't see him, nor did I hear any footsteps. There wasn't even a footprint on the ground; it was like…like he'd been hidden away. I later looked at the spot where he'd stood; there was a shallow imprint on the ground, shaped like the bottom of a cage, but it was blown away by the wind in a short while.

Q: Have you seen this person before? Or heard of people with similar characteristics?

A: I've never seen that before. This area is full of long-time residents; if anyone looked like that, it would have been widely known by now. After that day, I always felt uneasy, and I didn't dare look out the west wall when I was on night duty.

Q: Is what is said above true?
A: It's true. If I'm making this up, may I be struck by lightning.

The person being questioned checked the transcript: I have read the above transcript, and it is the same as what I said.

Signature and fingerprint: (The fingerprint is blurry and omitted)

日期：1997年6月8日10时50分

IV. Minutes of the Emergency Meeting on the Case (X Public Meeting Minutes [1997] No. 42)
会议时间：1997年6月8日20时30分—23时20分

Meeting Location: Conference Room, Criminal Investigation Division, XX District Branch

I. Case Report
1. Core facts of the disappearance: At approximately 5:25 PM on June 7, 1997, Zhao Xichuan, a second-grade student, disappeared near the sandpit in the swing area of ​​the playground. Two students who were with him confirmed that he did not exhibit any unusual behavior before his disappearance, did not have contact with strangers, and did not cry for help during his disappearance. Only Zhao Xichuan's footprints were found in the sandpit (which have been collected and sent for testing).

2. Preliminary findings of the investigation: There were no signs of external damage or footprints of third parties at the scene. The composition of the grid-like marks on the wall and the dust from the surveillance camera was unidentifiable, and they are currently in a state of "disappearance without a trace". Preliminary tests showed that the gray-black fibers in the sand sample contained trace amounts of crystalline components.

3. Progress of the investigation: 15 households within 50 meters of the residence were investigated. All of them reported that around 17 p.m. that day, "the sky was overcast and gloomy, and there were no birds chirping." No suspicious persons or vehicles were found. There were no conflicts or disputes among Zhao Xichuan's family members and relatives, ruling out the possibility that he left home on his own or that the crime was committed by an acquaintance.

II. Verification of Key Clues

The witness's statement and hand-drawn sketch have been verified. He has served as a gatekeeper for 15 years, has no history of mental illness, and neighbors and the school have confirmed that he is "honest and law-abiding, and never lies." His description of the "birdcage-shaped strange man" is consistent and without contradictions. A review of the school's entry and exit records before and after 17 PM revealed no one matching the description of the strange man entering the campus; surrounding shops closed early after 17 PM that day, and there were no witnesses.

III. Discussion Opinions

1. Technical perspective:

The on-site re-inspection should focus on the 50-centimeter soil layer below the sandpit in the swing area to detect any hidden passages. Urgent testing of the gray-black fibers and crystalline components should be conducted to determine if they are related to the specially made metal frame or clothing accessories. Chen Jianguo's description of the "birdcage-like shape" and the metallic friction sound cannot rule out the possibility of a specially made mechanical device or camouflage from deformed clothing; the scope of the investigation needs to be expanded based on the fiber composition.

2. Criminal Investigation Division's perspective:

Existing clues point to "the perpetrator being an unusual individual," but it is not advisable to publicize the "birdcage-like man" incident to avoid panic. The investigation should proceed in four directions: First, retrieve surveillance footage from intersections within a 3-kilometer radius between 5 PM and 6 PM (including suburban roads), focusing on individuals with unusual physical characteristics and those wearing dark striped clothing; second, visit local machinery factories and hardware workshops to check for records of custom-made "metal frames"; third, contact the municipal mental health center and welfare institutions to verify individuals discharged or released within the past three months; and fourth, collect eyewitness accounts of unusual individuals within the past month, paying particular attention to descriptions related to the "birdcage-like" appearance.

3. Branch Office Deployment Opinions:

Although the clues seem bizarre, we must focus on objective evidence and avoid subjective denials. We need to clearly define three key areas of investigation: the suspect's movements, the composition of physical evidence, and relationship analysis, with no restricted areas. We should work with the technical department to create detailed sketches of the suspect (supplementing unclear details such as joints and clothing textures, omitted here) to facilitate subsequent investigations.

IV. Resolutions

1.成立“6·7“专案组，分局长孙国强任组长，抽调15名警力分四组开展工作，6月9日8时前完成分工部署。

2. A notice for assistance in the investigation is to be issued before 2 PM on June 9th, describing the individual as "male, over 1.85 meters tall, with an abnormally stiff and 'cage-like' posture, wearing dark gray striped clothing, with what appears to be metallic reflection at the joints," accompanied by a hand-drawn sketch (blurred parts marked "unrecognizable," omitted), in order to collect clues.

3. A designated person was assigned to liaise with the family members, provide daily updates, and contact a psychologist for counseling. The school was also coordinated to compile a list of "sightings of unusual individuals" around the campus over the past six months (some records are illegible and omitted), which was then submitted to the special task force.

4. Time limit: If no breakthrough clues (including confirmation of the suspect's identity, the whereabouts of the missing person, and identification of key physical evidence components) are obtained before July 10, this case will be sealed according to the "special unsolved case" procedure, and the case file will be encrypted to the level of bureau-level access.

散会时间：1997年6月8日23时20分

Signature of recorder: XXX
Reviewer's Signature: Sun Guoqiang

Date of filing: June 9, 1997

Back cover of the case file (End of this chapter)