Chapter 125: Guidance—and Corpses!

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Xiaomei seemed especially afraid that I would become involved with the police in Yu City the way I had used Chen Fan, so she gave me a special warning to be careful of those two men. Regardless of her reasons for giving me the notebook, it never hurt to be cautious. I put it away and went to sleep with Little Ghost.

The next morning, as soon as it was light, we went out again. The temperature in Yu City was not particularly low, but the rain was falling harder and harder, making the city feel even colder than Beijing. We held up our umbrellas and continued asking around near the railway station. The station was enormous, yet after searching for two whole days, we had found not a single clue.

At last, just as we were preparing to give up and return to the hotel, Little Ghost suddenly grew restless. It was evening, and people were streaming in every direction. The moment Little Ghost began to stir, I became alert as well. When I asked what was wrong, she said she thought she had seen Xuanyi.

In the past, whenever Little Ghost saw someone who resembled Xuanyi, she would have rushed over at once. But she had already promised me that she would not run off on her own again. I asked where she had seen him, and she pointed in a certain direction. I picked her up, told Wang Yazhuo to follow me, and immediately headed that way.

The area outside the railway station was crowded. With the rain pouring down and everyone carrying brightly colored umbrellas, it was difficult to move quickly. After weaving through the sea of umbrellas for a while, we were soaked by the splashing rain, but we still could not find Xuanyi. I asked Little Ghost whether she could still see him. She shook her head in disappointment.

Xuanyi had watched Little Ghost grow up. More precisely, he was the person closest to her. Little Ghost could not distinguish good from evil, so it was only natural that she would miss him. Wang Yazhuo pushed back her dripping hair and asked who Xuanyi really was and why Little Ghost missed him so much. I had never told Wang Yazhuo the details of Xuanyi’s story, but after her earlier investigation, she had subconsciously assumed that Xuanyi was my enemy.

I was just about to answer when Little Ghost suddenly pointed in another direction. I followed her finger with my eyes. There were very few people over there, and I immediately spotted a figure holding a black umbrella. The person had his back to us, and the umbrella concealed everything above his shoulders.

People came and went all around him, yet he alone stood motionless. Frowning, I could not tell from his back whether he was Xuanyi, but I trusted Little Ghost’s instincts. I slowly walked toward him. A road lay between us. Just as I was about to cross it, the man with the umbrella slowly turned around.

He did not turn all the way, but I caught sight of his profile. He really did look like Xuanyi. Excitement surged through me, but at that very moment, a car came driving past. I had no choice but to stop. By the time the car had gone by, Xuanyi had disappeared.

We hurried across the road, but Xuanyi was nowhere to be seen. I cursed under my breath. We had been only a step away from catching him. I began scanning the surroundings. Xuanyi had clearly appeared on purpose. If he had some objective in mind, he would not show himself only once merely to toy with us. Sure enough, after searching for a while, I saw that large black umbrella again at a nearby corner.

We followed him once more, but Xuanyi seemed to have mapped out the entire area long ago. Every time we were about to catch up, he vanished again. In this way, Xuanyi lured us farther and farther away. The area was becoming increasingly desolate, and darkness had fallen, making us even more cautious.

After leading us into an isolated residential district, Xuanyi disappeared completely. Little Ghost’s face was wet; I could not tell whether it was rain or tears. Wang Yazhuo seized my wrist and said that the place felt gloomy and frightening. She was right. It was so remote that there were not even any streetlights.

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There could not have been many people living in the neighborhood, because only a few houses had their lights on. Wang Yazhuo asked whether we should go back. I checked the time. It was already seven in the evening. I did not want to give up so easily, but I was also afraid that some danger might arise that we could not control, so I decided that we would make one more circuit and then leave immediately.

It was certain by now that Xuanyi had deliberately lured us here. What I could not figure out was why. If he intended to harm us, this place was secluded enough; he could have made his move at any time. We went around the area once, but the danger we had anticipated never appeared.

I sighed and turned to Wang Yazhuo. “Looks like we won’t find him today. Let’s go back.”

Wang Yazhuo had just nodded when Little Ghost suddenly pointed in another direction. She said there was something over there. Whenever Little Ghost said that, I became extremely vigilant. Narrowing my eyes, I scanned the area several times. It was far too dark for me to see anything, but Little Ghost was certain that she had seen something lying on the ground.

I walked over slowly. Aside from the sound of rain, there was nothing to be heard. The closer we got, the more tightly Wang Yazhuo clung to my wrist. When we drew near, I too began to make out something indistinct. At the entrance of one of the houses, there really was something there, but it was too dark to identify.

Wang Yazhuo’s breathing grew increasingly hurried. She asked whether we could leave it alone, but I ignored her. I took my phone from my pocket and used the faint blue glow of its screen to continue forward. At last, I saw what it was: an open black umbrella lying at the doorway.

At first, I was afraid that something might be hidden beneath it. I kicked it with my foot, and only after knocking it over did I confirm that there was no danger. I set Little Ghost down and picked up the black umbrella. It had to be the same one Xuanyi had been carrying earlier. I looked around, but there was no sign of Xuanyi, and Little Ghost showed no reaction either.

Then I noticed that the door of the house was only half-closed. It was not locked. I looked up and saw a three-story brick building. Only the light on the third floor was on. I gently pushed the door open. Inside was pitch-black. On the floor just beyond the doorway, I found several wet footprints.

They might have been left by Xuanyi when he entered. After a few steps, the footprints were already dry. Clearly, Xuanyi had placed his umbrella outside and left several damp footprints inside to lure us in. I did not know whether he was still inside, but something in my heart told me that I had to take a look.

After a moment’s hesitation, I made up my mind: we would go in.

I led Little Ghost and Wang Yazhuo inside. Wang Yazhuo scarcely dared to breathe. She stayed behind me the entire time, clutching my clothes. The first and second floors were completely dark. We searched them but found nothing. Just before we went up to the third floor, I suddenly heard a sound. It was very faint.

I asked Wang Yazhuo and Little Ghost whether they had heard it. Both nodded.

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A room on the third floor had its light on. The door must not have been fully closed, otherwise the light would not have spilled out so easily.

We climbed the stairs one step at a time. After only a few steps, I caught a whiff of something foul, and tension tightened in my chest. I knew that stench all too well.

It was the smell of a corpse.

The farther up we went, the stronger the odor became. The sound we had heard also grew louder.

It was a man’s voice. He was moaning.

A strange thought arose in my mind, while Wang Yazhuo still wore an expression of bewilderment and confusion.

She did not know what the smell of a corpse was like, but she could tell what a man’s moans implied. Wang Yazhuo took hold of my hand, signaling me not to go any farther.

“You’ve only heard a man’s voice, not a woman’s. Don’t you find that strange?” I asked.

Wang Yazhuo immediately asked in a low voice what I meant. I shook my head and continued upward. Soon, I reached the door. The stench of decay was coming from inside. The door was indeed not fully closed, and through the narrow gap I saw what was within.

On the bed lay a corpse that had been completely decomposing for a long time, the flesh nearly falling from its bones. It was the body of a woman, though all her hair had already fallen out.

The corpse’s legs were spread apart, while a man lay on top of it, moaning softly as his body moved in wave after rhythmic wave.

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