Chapter 46: The urn on the urn
Everyone knows that Li Li is an old lady working at the crematorium. However, very few people talk about her personally. Even my father Ke Zuo is mentioned from time to time. However, few people mention this woman, the female alchemist. This makes me feel a little strange.
We drank in the evening, and it was almost ten o'clock when Li Li stood up. This woman can drink. Let's go to the crematorium. I don't like going to the crematorium at night. It's too quiet. But there are thousands of souls here, invisible and intangible. It's such a small place, and it will cause a kind of pressure on my heart.
The gatekeeper opened the door without saying a word, then went into the house, lit a cigarette, and sat by the window. The cigarette butt flickered, which was a bit scary. He waited for us to come out, closed the door, and then went back to sleep. I don't know if he was scared here.
We entered the first floor of the columbarium and walked to the room. Li Li took out a bunch of keys with dozens of keys on it. She actually shook it and laughed. It was weird, really weird.
"I can open the doors of all the rooms here."
I don't know what she meant by this. She had already retired, but she still had all the keys. This seemed a bit strange to me. What on earth was this woman doing with these keys?
The door opened. Li Li pushed it open and reached in, touching the wall beside her. With a "click", the light came on. It wasn't very bright, but I could see inside clearly. I screamed and jumped up. Yinyan also shuddered. It seemed that Yinyan had never been here before.
There was a large coffin in the room, tall and colorful. It was beautiful, but it made me feel creepy just looking at it. I was not prepared, so I was lucky enough not to be scared to death. I leaned against the wall, and Li Li walked in slowly, walked around the coffin and said.
"Come in."
Yinyan and I went in, and Yinyan held my hand. Li Li took a look at her, and her eyes seemed a little strange.
After entering, we saw that there was a spiral staircase behind the door. It was made of wood and emitted a dark red light. It was obviously a particularly good kind of wood.
"Master, whose coffin is this?"
"This is a full coffin, a talisman. This evil place always has a talisman, just like some places have lions or thousand-year-old turtles. There's nothing strange about it. But don't be curious and want to open this coffin. I've had that urge too, but I've never dared. Okay, go upstairs."
There was dust flying in the room with the footsteps. It seemed that no one had been in for a long time.
There was a sound coming from the stairs, which was so abrupt in the quiet night.
The stairs were very narrow. We went up and saw the room, which was empty. Li Li went straight into the bathroom. The faucet in the bathroom was dripping with water. She looked at me and said.
"It's nothing, an echo effect, of course, it's strange to see it happening here."
Li Li turned off the main faucet. Apparently, the faucet was not closed tightly. After a while, it stopped dripping. I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought something strange had happened again.
We came out and I went to Yinyan's house.
I felt that Yinyan was particularly cold, so I didn't come up.
On my way to work this morning, I went into the urn. Sure enough, there was no dripping sound. But as I emerged, I saw a white shadow. I shuddered. The first time, I thought it was an illusion, a mistake, or something was blurry. But this time, I was certain I wasn't. I came out and checked the surveillance camera, but there was nothing.
Someone came in holding an urn and opened the door. I told them number 18. The person said in surprise that he wanted number 13. I was stunned for a moment. He actually knew that number 13 was empty. 13 is an unlucky number, especially in a crematorium, so few people put it there. I didn't say anything and they went in.
I sat there thinking about that figure. The door to the urn was electronic, with an access control system and fingerprint verification. No one else could open it except the three staff members. Who could that person be? What was he doing in there?
I think I have encountered something strange again that I can't figure out.
After the three people came out, I went in and walked around a few times, but I didn't see the shadow. The shelves for storing ashes were arranged in rows. If I had walked around them, I wouldn't have been able to find it. I passed by storage compartment No. 13, took a look, and leaned against the shelf. The shelf shook a little, and the urn on it also shook a few times.
The photo on that urn was me. It was definitely me, no doubt about it. I was stunned. How could this happen? What did this mean?
I hurried out of the urn, sat down, and opened the information on the computer. The man was 32 years old and a laboratory technician in a factory. The information told me that the man was not me, but the photo was mine. It was correct, and the one in the computer was the same. I was sweating and took out my cell phone to call Yinyan.
Yinyan was off today. She came over, took a look at the photos on the computer, then went into the urn. Seeing the urn number 13, she frowned, reached out to take the urn down, opened it, and it was empty.
"It seems like someone is deliberately teasing you. Did I offend anyone?"
I shook my head, unable to think of who I could have offended. What was the meaning of this person playing tricks on me?
Yinyan put the urn back and watched the video. She didn't recognize any of the three people.
I shook my head. This was too strange . After Yinyan left, I sat there, lost in thought, when I suddenly heard the sound of dripping water. How could this be possible? The strangest thing was that no one else could hear the dripping sound. Li Li said it was an echo effect. She was lying. If that were the case, other people would have heard it too. This was absolutely impossible.
The urn numbered 13 appeared, with my photo on it. This told me that my death was approaching. There was no other meaning. After I died, the urn would be mine, and position 13 would also be mine. Thinking about it this way, the sound of dripping water was definitely not what Li Li said. Although I saw the real situation, I now began to doubt it.
I plan to go to the first floor at night, maybe I can find the answer there. It seems that no matter what happens in the future, I need to do it myself and find the answer myself, otherwise I will be dragged away.
In the afternoon, the manager came in and told me that tomorrow I would go to the dressing room and learn how to put on makeup from Zhao Juan. I was stunned.
"Director, just let me go back to the refining room."
"That's not what you said."
The manager had a very unhappy look on his face. He had never treated me like this before. I knew that he was doing it for the sake of my father Ke Zuo, but now it seemed that something had happened.
The next day I went to the dressing room, the first dressing room. Master Zhao Juan was sitting on a chair, watching an apprentice putting on makeup.
"Hello, Master Zhao."
After I finished speaking, I looked at Zhao Juan.
"Master Ke's son, Ke Mingzhe."
"Um."
"The director told me that today you just need to watch the makeup, and I will teach you slowly. You can be considered my last apprentice. After you are finished, I will retire. I really can't bear to leave this place."
This old lady makeup skills are first-class, and no one in the crematorium can compare to her. Everyone knows this. I never thought that I would have anything to do with makeup, and this makes me feel uncomfortable.
Yinyan came in. She was very familiar with Zhao Juan. We chatted for a whole day and then she asked me to leave.
"How could you agree to this? Do you know how deep the makeup is?"
"But……"
"Okay, it's too late to say anything. You can become a well-rounded player."
Yin Yan left after she finished speaking. She was very angry. I didn't discuss this with her. In fact, I didn't want to go into the dressing room either. In the end, I am still a refiner. My job title will always be recorded like this. I won't become a makeup artist just because I learned makeup. Maybe I can get a makeup artist certificate.
That day I was standing aside watching Zhao Juan's apprentice put on makeup. She was a female apprentice in her twenties, who said she had just graduated from college. I didn't want to say anything too much, because saying one more word would only cause more trouble, and I know I love to cause trouble.
That day, after get off work, I went home and didn't want to go anywhere. I didn't know what was going on with Yinyan. This strange woman, I will never understand her. She is like a book of "I Ching". Maybe you will never be able to understand it in your lifetime, and even if you do understand it, it will only be the superficial. She made me feel scared.
I was hungry and was about to make some noodles when Zhang Xiaoxue came with some food and wine.
"You know you can't eat and you can't take care of yourself. I'll take care of you from now on."
Zhang Xiaoxue came in as she spoke, always smiling like that. I like that kind of smile. In our family, from childhood to adulthood, we rarely see smiles. My mother doesn’t smile, and my father can’t smile either. If they don’t smile, I don’t smile either.
Zhang Xiaoxue put the dishes on the table, all of which were my favorites.
"Brother Mingzhe, you know I like you. Yinyan is not suitable for you. Grandma also told you. Actually, grandma didn't say it explicitly. Maybe you can figure it out."
I could tell there was something else behind his words, so I looked at Zhang Xiaoxue and asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Grandma won't let me tell you about this. You'll know later."
I know it’s useless to ask, so I just don’t ask.
At around ten o'clock in the evening, I sent Zhang Xiaoxue to Master Zhou's house. She has been living there, accompanying the old lady Master Zhou.
On my way back, there was a man following me. He was neither far nor close to me, and I couldn't see him clearly. This made me a little scared. I ran a few steps and hid at the top of a building and waited. The man also chased me. When he turned a corner, he saw me, looked at me blankly, and then ran away. I recognized him. It was one of the people who delivered the urns that day, urn No. 13.
I went home and thought, I haven't offended anyone, so did my father offend anyone?
The next day, Zhao Juan told me some things to pay attention to when putting on makeup, such as not wearing red or green, not having spikes on shoes, and many more.
I went to my grandma's house after get off work because I was worried that something might have happened to my mother.
When I went in, my mother was making dumplings. I saw her smile, but when she saw me, her smile disappeared immediately. My grandma held my hand, chatted with me, and asked me to stay for dinner, but I didn't. When I saw my mother's smile disappear, I felt like I was committing a crime. It was so rare for her to smile.
I went out and walked on the street, and that person followed me again. I didn't know what he meant. Did he want to kill me? I didn't know.
When I entered the restaurant, the man was standing on the street opposite, smoking a cigarette, seemingly hesitating about something. I finished my glass of wine, and the man crossed the street, probably thinking of coming in. However, just as he reached the middle of the street, a car rushed by and knocked the man three or four meters high. He fell down and blood was all over the ground. I thought, I don't need to look, he must be dead.
My heart was pounding. I had seen so many dead people, but I wasn't numb at all. I didn't know why, but it was always like this.
I drank a pound of white wine that day, went home and fell asleep, and woke up in the middle of the night. After my father left, I was like this, missing my father and asking him to hug me, but now it's too late .
I smoked and fell asleep when it was almost dawn.
