Chapter 84 Bitten to Death
Old He looked at me gloomily, with a thin horse face, untidy beard and full of wrinkles. In a trance, I even had the illusion that I saw Cheng Xiaoyan's grandmother.
He said that sooner or later he would become like Cheng Xiaoyan's grandmother - that cruel monster.
"I will stay in Building D for the next few days. I will leave after the Ghost Festival is over." After saying this, Lao He left.
I really wanted to ask him where he was going, but in the end, I chose to remain silent.
So what if I ask? Can I help him?
Whether it’s Building D or Lao He, I can’t change anything.
Suddenly I felt very tired, both mentally and physically.
From the first day I came to Building D, I saw those familiar faces leaving me one by one - and soon, Lao He would also leave.
What will be his ending?
Harming innocent people everywhere, or being burned to death by the sun?
Nobody knows.
I returned to the second floor below ground, punched in the freezer, and saw Cheng Xiaoyan lying quietly inside with her pretty face, as if she was asleep.
She had a lot of things she wanted to say, but now, she couldn't hear them.
However, I still "told" her, just like usual, telling her everything about my time in Building D, all my experiences and troubles.
"Xiaoyan, this is what happened...Everyone has had accidents, Lao He is about to leave, and I might be the next one. You are right, after people die, they can't leave this cold cabinet. One day, I might be here too."
I gently stroked Cheng Xiaoyan's cheek and said self-deprecatingly, "Maybe that dirty thing is right. I can't save anyone."
…
Finally, I received a call from my class teacher. She said she was very sad and regretful to hear the news of Cheng Xiaoyan's death, and hoped that I would mourn her.
However, life must go on and studies must continue.
The implication is that you should come to class, otherwise your credits will be deducted.
I couldn't feel any care as a teacher from her words. Her greetings were always formulaic. Even when Cheng Xiaoyan passed away, no one came to see her.
Not to mention those students who treated Building D as an exhibition center and chatted and laughed during the visit.
I told her that I would come to class and would not wait until after the Ghost Festival tomorrow.
The class teacher was very confused and asked me why I was waiting for Ghost Festival?
Without waiting for my answer, she seemed to have suddenly realized something and said, "I understand. Then you must come after the Ghost Festival."
I hung up the phone on my own initiative because I really didn't want to listen to that disgusting voice anymore.
I was in a daze that day. Apart from talking with Cheng Xiaoyan in the freezer, I didn't go anywhere - or rather, I didn't know where to go.
At noon, the sun was shining brightly, and the cold Building D finally felt a little warmer. Many guests brought their small stools and sat at the door to bask in the sun and chat. People passing by who didn't know them might not think they were dying patients, but a group of ordinary people chatting about their daily lives.
"Brother Tian, why haven't you finished get off work yet?"
Ma Qiang came over at some point and said with a smile.
I said in a cold tone: "If you don't want to leave, then don't leave."
Ma Qiang didn't feel embarrassed. He chuckled and rubbed his hands at me.
I threw a cigarette to him irritably and said, "There's no lighter. Go buy one yourself."
"It's okay, I'll just hold it." Ma Qiang put the cigarette in his mouth, leaned in front of me, and whispered: "Brother Tian, there's something wrong with Huang Haitao."
I looked at him and said, "You are the one with a problem. You always say bad things about others behind their backs."
"No, I'm not saying anything bad about him. He has sleepwalking problem at night..." Ma Qiang defended.
Sleepwalking?
When I heard this, I suddenly thought of He Min.
I remember that when Cheng Xiaoyan first moved into 105, He Min also had a habit of sleepwalking - she would hold an invisible baby and sing nursery rhymes at night.
Later, because Cheng Xiaoyan was afraid, I temporarily transferred He Min away. Unexpectedly, when Ma Qiang moved in, he also encountered the same situation.
I asked Ma Qiang what he said while sleepwalking?
Ma Qiang thought for a moment and said, "It seems like... let me go out. It's so stuffy in there. I don't want to stay in there or something."
"Are you sure it's this?" I frowned, wondering why He Min was different, was it just a coincidence?
"Well, that's all... I asked him about it in the morning, but he said he didn't remember anything," said Ma Qiang.
I said that people who sleepwalk usually don’t remember what they did at night - so, you should pay attention to Huang Haitao in the future to see if he has any strange behavior in the middle of the night.
"Haha, that's easy, but Brother Tian, are you going to give me some benefits?" Ma Qiang said with a grin.
I took out my wallet and pulled out a few hundred-dollar bills.
Ma Qiang's eyes lit up and he almost drooled: "No...you don't have to be so polite."
I smiled and took out a twenty-dollar bill from among several hundred-dollar bills and handed it to him.
Ma Qiang looked disappointed and asked why there was so little.
I told you whether you want it or not, just observe him for a few more days, and if you find any definite clues, I will give you more money.
Ma Qiang took the twenty yuan reluctantly, muttering that I was too stingy and wouldn't give a penny.
I ignored him and looked at Huang Haitao, who was standing in the sun not far away, in a daze.
The obese body cannot hide the bloat even if wearing a loose hospital gown.
…
That night, my mother called me and said that tomorrow was the Ghost Festival, and I should remember to go burn paper money for my father.
My father’s grave is on Moon Mountain not far from here, just a few stops away from the hospital.
I promised my mother that I would go and burn it tomorrow.
As usual, she asked me some questions about my life and study. After hanging up the phone, I went to the B2 floor to see Cheng Xiaoyan. After seeing that she was safe and sound, I returned to the lounge.
Because it was close to the Ghost Festival, I patrolled all the floors several times that night. After confirming that everything was safe, I returned to the lounge.
There is a little episode here. When I was returning to the lounge, I accidentally bumped into Cao Fengjiao who was going upstairs. I thought this shrew would scold me, but she didn't even look at me and left in a trance.
This behavior is totally out of character.
Perhaps it was the calm before the storm, and the night was peaceful and everyone went to bed early. There were no strange sounds from 404, as if all the disasters and nightmares were far away on this day.
But I know very well in my heart that the real terror will surely appear tomorrow.
Those dirty things are always looking for an opportunity, so how could they miss it during the Ghost Festival?
…
When I went out the next day, I saw Lao He.
He stood at the door, staring at the dark sky in a daze.
His face became even more gray and haggard, his lips were dark purple, as if he had been poisoned, his eye sockets were sunken, and his pupils were vertical, which could make anyone shudder when he looked at him.
From a distance, he looked like a mummy.
"Today is an unlucky day. Your forehead is black and there is an evil spirit from the top of your head that is rising straight into the sky. This is the consequence of too much contact with evil things. You'd better be careful when you go out." Lao He looked at me and said.
I looked at him and nodded: "Thank you."
"Hasn't Cheng Xiaoyan been burned yet?" asked Lao He.
I shook my head: "Her grandmother will come and take her away."
"That's right. If that old monster can't see his granddaughter, he will probably get angry and start killing people." Old He laughed dryly twice, and his voice sounded like it came from an old radio, hoarse and dull.
Seeing that I was staring at him and didn't leave, Lao He said, "Don't worry, I have found a way to temporarily control the corpse poison. At least in the next few days, my corpse poison will not take effect."
"I hope so." I slowly said, "Lao He, I owe you an apology."
"Stop talking. What I said yesterday was just angry words. You have done nothing wrong to me." Lao He showed a bitter smile. "I just can't accept that I, a person who studies the law, have fallen into the evil."
"Old He..."
"Go, go early, come back early, and be careful on the road."
Lao He waved his hand, turned and left.
Looking at his back, I suddenly felt a sense of desolation in my heart. Is this the fate of those who slay demons and eliminate evil?
He is far less glorious than the exorcists in the movies, and most of the time, he is even in a very miserable state.
Reality may seem realistic, but in fact, it is often much more absurd than movies...
…
I went to a nearby shop to buy some gold ingots, candles and paper money. Instead of hailing a taxi, I walked slowly towards Moon Hill.
I am quite familiar with Moon Mountain. When I was a child, I often came here with my classmates to catch fish. At that time , there were many people living on the mountain. Later, I don’t know why, there were fewer and fewer people, but there were more and more graves.
Until today, it is almost deserted.
The road on Moon Mountain is very difficult to walk on. It’s okay at the bottom, after all, people have lived there before. But the higher you go up the mountain, the more troublesome it becomes, with jagged rocks and overgrown weeds. The most dangerous thing is the countless cliffs. If you are not careful, you might fall down.
Basically, people who come here to visit the graves will stop after reaching the mountainside.
I remember that when we visited the grave last year, my mother almost fell. Fortunately, I was quick to catch her. Now, walking on this steep mountain road, I am also staggering and my scalp is tingling. I am wondering whether I should consider moving the grave.
People say it is easier to go up a mountain than to go down, but I feel that going up the mountain here is like rock climbing. My father's grave was handled by several relatives at the time. They only collected money and did not care whether it was convenient for worship. They just placed the grave in a small area close to the top of the mountain.
Halfway through the walk, there were basically no people around, and there wasn't a single cemetery to be seen. Even someone like me who had a pretty good physique, I was still exhausted and sweating after climbing up.
I finally arrived at my father's grave. As soon as I opened the plastic bag full of gold ingot candles, I saw a girl in her twenties walking up from below.
The girl was probably in her twenties, wearing a very ordinary white shirt, sky blue slim jeans, and white canvas shoes. Her legs were long and slender, but her face was surprisingly pretty.
Her silky black hair floats in the wind, she has long and slender eyebrows, and clear eyes, like a pool of water, with a bit of timidity and weakness, which makes people feel pity for her. She has cherry-like red lips and a flawless oval face, as tender as a freshly peeled egg.
I was a little dazed for a moment.
I have to admit that she is really beautiful, like a fairy. Even Cheng Xiaoyan is inferior to her.
The girl also saw me and was obviously stunned. Then she frowned slightly, and her seemingly weak eyes revealed a bit of coldness.
I quickly shifted my gaze, realizing that staring at someone like that was impolite after all.
However, this girl is really amazing. She can walk so high in one breath without even taking a breath?
You know, I'm still very tired now.
I couldn't help but secretly glance at the girl again, and found that she really didn't blush and looked good. There wasn't even a drop of sweat on her fair face.
"Have you seen enough?"
The girl said unhappily.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm just curious, why aren't you tired at all after climbing such a high mountain?" I said with an awkward smile.
"You call this high?" The girl curled her lips and said disdainfully, "Back then, when I climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, I didn't feel anything."
I touched my nose.
Climb to the top of Kunlun Mountain?
Wow, this girl is out of breath when you say she is fat?
Don't brag like that. If I remember correctly, Kunlun Mountain is more than 4,000 meters high. Let's not talk about whether it feels like climbing up there or not. First of all, you have to be able to climb up there.
It turns out that bragging is not only a man's nature, women are almost the same.
"Excuse me."
The girl came to me at some point and whispered.
A faint fragrance wafted into the air, and upon closer inspection, her profile was so beautiful that it seemed unreal.
I quickly moved out of the way and she walked past me, came to a higher hill, and finally stopped in front of a very inconspicuous tombstone.
I saw that she had nothing in her hands, and I was curious about what she was going to rely on to worship her ancestors.
Just as I was wondering, I saw the girl reach into the pocket of her jeans and took out three incense sticks and a yellowed talisman paper. She shook the incense in her hand, and a miracle happened - the incense lit up automatically.
She pinched three incense sticks between her fingers, knelt on the ground in a strange posture, and inserted the incense into the ground, muttering something softly.
Then, she threw the yellow paper into the air, and with a "whoosh", the talisman paper automatically burned in mid-air and fell on the grave.
I rubbed my eyes, completely stunned, and felt like she was performing magic.
I'm sure she didn't take out a lighter or other ignition tool, but the incense and yellow paper caught fire just like that...
Without taking time to look at it, I took out a bunch of incense, lit it with a lighter, bowed respectfully to my father and said, "Dad, Mom is sick in the hospital and can't come to see you. Please give me more money and pray for Mom's recovery soon. I know you have a good relationship, but she is still young now. You can't just take her away like this. Wait a little longer and let me show my filial piety to her."
Then, I poured out all the gold ingots, candles and paper money, lit them with a lighter, and started burning them one by one.
"Here's a piece of advice for you: don't burn paper money."
A crisp voice rang out.
I was stunned for a moment, then looked up and found it was the girl, who seemed to be talking to me.
"Why not burn paper money?" I asked curiously.
She said calmly, "Because these ghost money are not considered regular banknotes in the underworld."
"Huh?" I was confused. "What do you mean?"
“What I mean is, this money is equivalent to counterfeit banknotes in real life. If you burn it, not only will it not benefit your loved ones, but it will also cause them to fall into the realm of hungry ghosts,” said the girl.
Is this true?
I scratched my head and asked, "Why do you think this is counterfeit money?"
The girl sneered and said, "Believe it or not."
I asked her again, if she didn't burn the gold ingot candles, wouldn't her relatives in the other world be so poor that they couldn't even afford clothes?
She rolled her eyes and said, "You're overthinking it. That world is just like ours. You need to work with your hands, struggle, and create income... Besides, if people don't need to work hard after they die, and can make a fortune by burning money, then what is there to be afraid of in death?"
I was stunned by her theory, which sounded so real, but I didn't know how to refute her. I could only smile bitterly and said, "You know a lot."
"More than you think," the girl said coldly.
Naturally I didn't believe it in my heart, so I used a lighter to light the paper money and gold ingots, and burned them as usual.
On the way, I took a look at the girl's grave. It was quite desolate. There were only a few simple lines of words and a black-and-white photo on the tombstone.
The deceased was named Yu Bei.
Below it is written "Yu Bei, born in 1888, died in 1990."
I couldn't help but ask, "Who is this immortal to you?"
"He's my boyfriend." The girl answered casually.
I was stunned. Boyfriend?
How can this be?
Judging from her age, this girl is only 1 or 2 years older than me, and the deceased is from the last century. If it were today, he would be over 130 years old. He is more than her great-grandfather, and she has a boyfriend? Is she kidding me?
"How did he die?" I asked.
"He was bitten to death." said the girl.
"What?"
"He was bitten to death by a monster!"
Her voice suddenly became extremely cold, and her eyes revealed an unspeakable resentment.
