Chapter 26
If Xu Zhiruo were a police officer from the Chengzhong District Police Station, the suicide of the single woman in the Gu family mansion wouldn’t be a criminal case, and there would be no need to keep it confidential. He helped inquire about it and quickly gained some internal information.
Originally, Xia Leyang planned to invite Xu Zhiruo to a restaurant for a meal. However, he reconsidered, thinking that having a meal would take too much time. If they finished discussing topics and still hadn’t eaten, it might be awkward. So, he arranged to meet Xu Zhiruo at a coffee shop in the Chengzhong District.
Shang Tingzhi couldn’t leave Xia Leyang, so he followed them to the coffee shop.
Xu Zhiruo had an open face, slightly dark skin, looked young, and wore casual clothes. He didn’t give off the typical distance associated with a police officer. After Xia Leyang greeted him, not knowing how to be polite, he went straight to the point and asked about the events of that year.
“You guys really have guts, actually moving into that murder house,” Xu Zhiruo sipped his iced coffee. He had already roughly understood the cause and effect and didn’t waste words, “The woman committed suicide on July 10, 1992, and she was three months pregnant when she died.”
“Pregnant?” Xia Leyang was surprised, recalling the scenes of encountering the ghost before. However, at that time, he only glanced at the female ghost and fainted, not paying attention to whether her abdomen was abnormal.
“Neighbors said she was someone’s mistress. No one came forward to claim the body after her death, probably true,” Xu Zhiruo shrugged, looking indignant, “Her lover must have been afraid of exposure, so he neglected her.”
Suddenly, Xia Leyang felt a bit uneasy. A woman had left her hometown for the man she loved, even moving into a murder house. In the end, she died pregnant in a foreign land, and there was no one to claim her body.
He asked, “She spoke Cantonese, should be from Guangdong, right? Did the police find her relatives?”
“That’s for sure. She’s from Hong Kong,” Xu Zhiruo said. “There was an aunt who often bumped into her when buying groceries. They chatted a few times, and she knew the woman came from there.”
“Then, were there no missing persons records or anything in Hong Kong?” Xia Leyang asked again.
“At that time, Hong Kong hadn’t been returned yet,” Xu Zhiruo reminded, “This isn’t some international big case; no one wants to bother with it.”
That was really unfortunate.
Having been possessed by the female ghost twice, Xia Leyang could empathize with how much she loved that man. Whenever that man appeared, Xia Leyang could feel that itching, eager feeling personally. Even when he got close to Shang Tingzhi later, he could reluctantly accept it.
So, who was this extraordinary scumbag who could do such outrageous things?
“No one claimed her body,” Xia Leyang asked with complex emotions, “Where was she buried?”
“Well…” Xu Zhiruo looked at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle and thought, “The unclaimed bodies are first taken to the funeral home for fifteen days. If still unclaimed, they are cremated on-site.”
“Just, just cremated like that?” Xia Leyang was stunned, “What about her ashes?”
“They’re probably placed in a mass grave,” Xu Zhiruo said, “Isn’t there a graveyard on Luoyi Mountain? The ashes of those unnamed individuals are all buried there.”
Xia Leyang sat up straight, staring at him, and asked, “Are you talking about the mass grave on Luoyi Mountain?”
“That’s right.”
“Isn’t that the new campus of Bian Shi High School now?”
“I don’t know about that.” Xu Zhiruo shook his head, “Only a small part of that cemetery was a mass grave. The rest was a managed cemetery. It’s true that the managed cemetery moved away, but as for the mass grave, I really don’t know.”
The relocated cemetery was operated by Zhou Runhua, Xia Leyang knew about that part. He just didn’t expect that the female ghost was actually buried in the mass grave next to the cemetery.
“By the way, I heard from Xia Tianshui that you guys encountered ghosts in the murder house, right?” Xu Zhiruo asked.
Encountering ghosts is like a popular legend, always having an audience. Whether others believe it or not, listening to such stories is never boring.
“Yeah, that house is really eerie,” Xia Leyang sipped his coffee through a straw, “A few days ago, I was almost scared to death.”
“In that case, you guys should be careful,” Xu Zhiruo leaned on the table, leaning towards Xia Leyang, “Why not consider changing your place to stay for the next couple of days?”
“Huh? Why?” Xia Leyang asked.
“Look at the date, young man,” Xu Zhiruo tapped the table with his index finger, gesturing for Xia Leyang to check his phone.
“What’s wrong with the date?” Xia Leyang, who didn’t have a job and often didn’t even know what day of the week it was, had no concept of the date. He casually glanced at his phone screen, July 9th, Sunday.
“That woman committed suicide on July 10th,” Xu Zhiruo lowered his voice, mysteriously reminding Xia Leyang.
Xia Leyang suddenly took in a breath of cold air—
Tomorrow is the anniversary of that woman’s death?!
In many Hong Kong movies, female ghosts often become more powerful on their death anniversaries, coming out to harm people. Xia Leyang could easily think of three or four movies like that with just a quick count.
He shivered and looked at Shang Tingzhi beside him, asking, “What should we do?”
Shang Tingzhi didn’t react much, casually using his phone and said, “Didn’t Li Shan arrange a barrier in the bedroom? No need to be afraid.”
“Death anniversaries are different from usual!” Xia Leyang thought, “Have you not watched any movies? Many female ghosts cause trouble on their death anniversaries.”
Shang Tingzhi raised an eyebrow and put down his phone, looking at Xia Leyang, asking, “So where do you suggest we stay?”
This left Xia Leyang puzzled. Besides the haunted house at the Gu family mansion, the only other place he knew with heavy Yin energy was the hospital. But a hospital is not a hotel; you can’t just decide to stay there. The last option was… a cemetery?
That was even more impossible.
After thinking for a long time, Xia Leyang still couldn’t figure out where the two of them could go.
On the other hand, Xu Zhiruo had asked everything he could, but in the end, he still didn’t find out who this female ghost was. Xia Leyang and Shang Tingzhi returned to the Gu family mansion, the same house, the same decorations. However, Xia Leyang felt a kind of calmness before the storm in the house, making him uneasy.
Seeing Xia Leyang tense, unable to walk properly, Shang Tingzhi suggested, “Why don’t you summon the female ghost again and talk to her? The more you get in contact with her, the less afraid you’ll be.”
“What do you mean?” Xia Leyang frowned and said seriously, “Are you trying to provoke her again?”
Shang Tingzhi: “…”
“You have the talisman Li Shan gave you. She can’t harm you,” Shang Tingzhi patiently explained, “Think about it. Last time she scared you unconscious, did she do anything to you?”
After a moment of thought, Xia Leyang realized that indeed she hadn’t. Given the opportunity, the female ghost wouldn’t have let him off so easily. The only explanation was that Li Shan’s talisman was effective, and the female ghost couldn’t harm him.
“Makes sense,” Xia Leyang rubbed his chin and felt somewhat reassured.
“People are always afraid of the unknown,” Shang Tingzhi continued, “You’re scared because you don’t understand her, but there’s no need to be.”
Xia Leyang nodded, feeling a bit braver.
“Think about it yourself,” Shang Tingzhi paused, “If you want to summon her, I can stay by your side.”
Xia Leyang suddenly thought that last time he got scared because he wasn’t mentally prepared. If he prepared himself in advance and had Shang Tingzhi by his side, there was nothing to fear.
It was necessary to resolve the matter with the female ghost. Xia Leyang slapped his forehead and decided to take the initiative.
After nightfall, Xia Leyang hesitated for a long time but finally mustered up the courage. He dragged Shang Tingzhi to the bathroom.
He hid behind Shang Tingzhi and kept pushing him towards the bathroom, saying, “You go ahead, I’ll watch your back.”
Shang Tingzhi found it amusing. The situation where someone was being chased from behind was considered watching the back. What a coward, hiding himself like this.
However, he couldn’t be bothered to expose it and leisurely opened the bathroom door.
“I’ll be by your side. Go ahead and call her out,” Shang Tingzhi leaned against the door, pointing with his chin towards the direction of the bathtub.
“Just a reminder, that female ghost is quite frightening,” Xia Leyang grabbed Shang Tingzhi’s collar, nervously saying, “Don’t get scared on your own first.”
Xia Leyang was sure that if Shang Tingzhi fainted, he wouldn’t be far behind.
“Rest assured.” Shang Tingzhi lazily raised his hand to ruffle Xia Leyang’s head. “I’m here.”
Suddenly, Xia Leyang’s head was covered by the warm, large hand. He blinked and looked at Shang Tingzhi, feeling his heart beat a bit faster for some reason. How come he didn’t notice before that this person exuded such a masculine aura?
“You’re not allowed to run, okay?” Xia Leyang muttered softly, then mustered the courage to look towards the direction of the bathtub. “Hey, are you there?”
There was no response from the bathtub side. Xia Leyang called again, “I know you’re there, come out quickly.”
As Xia Leyang’s voice fell, a cold wind swept over his neck. At the same time, a intermittent female voice sounded behind his ears, “What…is it?”
Startled, Xia Leyang turned around quickly, only to see not someone else standing behind him but the female ghost in the white dress and outdated bangs.
“Why do you always like standing behind people?” Xia Leyang jumped to Shang Tingzhi’s other side in fright. The spot where he had stood moments ago was now empty, and the female ghost immediately took a step forward, pressing against Shang Tingzhi. Xia Leyang visibly saw white smoke rising from the female ghost, who was enjoying herself as she rubbed against Shang Tingzhi. “Comfortable…”
Frowning, Xia Leyang unhappily pulled Shang Tingzhi behind him, forgetting for a moment how terrifying the female ghost could be, and stared at her warily. “Whose advantage are you taking?”
After being touched by Shang Tingzhi, the female ghost became more articulate in her speech. She circled around and tried to get close to Shang Tingzhi. “Let’s share him together.”
“What’s there to share?” Xia Leyang stood in front of the female ghost. “Did I agree to share him with you?”
“Tch.” The female ghost rolled her eyes and retreated to the sink, sitting on it and asking, “Why did you call me out?”
Only now did Xia Leyang notice that the area below the female ghost was ethereal, with no feet beneath her white dress. He became nervously aware of it and nudged Shang Tingzhi with his elbow, asking, “Did you see that?”
“No,” Shang Tingzhi followed Xia Leyang’s gaze and saw the empty space by the sink. “Did she come out?”
“Right there.” Xia Leyang pouted. “What kind of charlatan are you? You can’t even see ghosts.”
Shang Tingzhi: “…”
Xia Leyang didn’t know that he could see the female ghost because she had possessed him before, and it wasn’t strange that Shang Tingzhi couldn’t see her.
“Hello, am I a lion from the zoo?” The female ghost waved her hand, indicating that she could hear the two talking. “You called me out for a visit.”
Xia Leyang couldn’t help but think she was rarer than a zoo lion. Uncomfortably, he engaged in conversation with the female ghost, “Um, what’s your name?”
The female ghost scratched her chin with her fingertip, the exposed eye turning around as if contemplating. However, her response was, “I don’t remember.”
Xia Leyang glanced at the ghost’s stomach, unable to discern any obvious signs of pregnancy. He asked again, “Do you remember being pregnant?”
“Of course,” the female ghost said, drifting towards Shang Tingzhi suddenly. “I need to find nutrients for the baby.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Xia Leyang quickly raised his hand to stop the ghost. “He’s not the child’s father. Why do you keep targeting him?”
The female ghost snorted lightly, floating back to the sink, gazing into the empty space. “I don’t remember who the baby’s father is.”
Looking at the female ghost, Xia Leyang suddenly felt a sense of pity. Initially, the ghost’s death anniversary carried a terrifying vibe, but now the color had inexplicably turned to sadness.
After a moment of contemplation, Xia Leyang hesitantly asked, “Um… do you have anything you want to do?”
The female ghost inquired, “Something to do?”
“Yeah, I mean, tomorrow…” Xia Leyang paused, feeling a bit strange but continued, “Tomorrow, I’ll help you observe your death anniversary.”
