Volume 3 Chapter 23 Jealousy
I returned to the room and found Wang Zijun awake, sitting on the bed smoking and dazed, with a look of fear in his eyes. I thought to myself, the curtains are open, the room is full of sunlight, could he be possessed by evil spirits?
"What were you doing just now? I had a nightmare. I dreamed that there were corpses all over the dark rocky beach, and a dark shadow was holding a dagger and picking open the crotch of the corpses to cut off the thing that would carry on the family line." As soon as he saw me enter the room, he hurriedly told me, "It scared me so much that I wanted to run but my legs were as soft as noodles and I couldn't move them."
I put all the incense and candles on the windowsill to dry, and asked him, "Did you see what the black shadow looks like?"
"No, he heard me behind him and just turned his head, and I woke up with fright." Wang Zijun said and took a deep puff of his cigarette.
It is normal for people to have nightmares when they are stimulated, but Wang Zijun's dream was not normal. He did not follow us to the rocky beach at all, so how could he dream of that scene? I looked up at the house. There was still a lot of evil spirits here, and people living in it could not live in peace.
"It's okay. Sometimes nightmares are a good thing." I tried my best to comfort him.
"Knock knock knock" someone knocked on the door loudly. I guessed it must be Shen Bing, so I nodded to Wang Zijun, signaling him to put on his clothes. After Wang Zijun put on his clothes, I walked over to open the door. Shen Bing rushed in and shouted, "Oh no, I just had a nightmare again. I dreamed that there were three men and a woman running around the mountain being chased by a ghost."
The dreams they were having were all real and must have happened. I was about to ask about the details of the dream, but Wang Yang and Qu Mo also came over and said they had just had a nightmare. Wang Yang dreamed that Chen Ming was running around in a valley, as if someone was chasing him, and he looked very frightened. Qu Mo said that in her dream she saw a person who could change into the appearance of the four of us at will, constantly changing his face, which was very scary!
Wang Yang dreamed that Chen Ming was running away, which meant that he was not dead. This was good news. Qu Mo's dream confirmed Tang Xiaohan's words. This ghost thing was good at changing and could transform into the appearance of people he had seen.
I first asked Shen Bing to tell me what the three men and one woman looked like. Shen Bing said that it was very dark and she couldn't see clearly, but one of the men looked very much like Chen Ming as described by Wang Yang. I then asked Wang Yang to tell me about her dream. Although she only dreamed of Chen Ming, the location and surrounding environment she described were basically consistent with what Shen Bing said, all in a deep valley.
Huangshan is a vast area with countless deep valleys. Where can we find them? But this matter cannot be delayed. We must find them during the day. Otherwise, when night falls, let alone saving people, we can hardly protect ourselves. I asked Wang Yang if he had preserved any hair or skin from Chen Ming's body.
Wang Yang thought about it, then suddenly looked up and said, "Yes." She took out a small, delicate sachet similar to a scented bag from her pocket, and opened it to reveal a few strands of hair, some long and some short. She said that when they made a wish at Huangshan, they both pulled out a few strands of hair and put them together, to represent never being apart.
I asked her to pick out Chen Ming's hair, wrap it around my fingers, and start soul-searching. Finally, I added a few more pieces of paper before my fingers stopped. The location was further ahead of where Tang Xiaohan died, basically twice the distance we had walked before.
It's so far, so we can't wait any longer. I put away the things on the windowsill and told them that we must not only find Chen Ming and the other three people before dark, but also rush back to the hotel. So this time, as long as Shen Bing follows me, the others will wait in the hotel. I plan to lead the ghost back to the hotel, and this time I will kill him in the hotel!
Qu Mo understood what I meant. Ghosts wouldn't appear during the day, so it was safe to stay in the hotel. She was left behind just in case to protect Wang Zijun and Wang Yang, so she agreed without objection. But she didn't know that I had other ideas. It was the best choice to take her with me. At least if we encountered a situation like the cave in the canyon, she could climb up and take a look.
Wang Zijun was of course happy not to go, and he was eager to agree to be with Qu Mo. But Wang Yang was worried about his sweetheart's life and death, and insisted on following us. This girl was actually very stubborn, and no matter how we persuaded her, it didn't work. It seemed that she had a deep relationship with her boyfriend. In the end, I had no choice but to take them with me. I was afraid that Wang Yang would waste time on the way and I wouldn't be able to get back before dark. I was also worried about Qu Mo and Wang Zijun.
When Qu Mo heard that he wanted her to follow him again, he smiled happily. I quickly turned around and pulled Shen Bing out. After leaving the hotel, we saw a lot of small businesses setting up stalls along the mountain road, all selling small accessories and the like. I walked over and picked a jade pendant to buy, and asked the stall owner which direction we were going and whether there were other shortcuts.
Shen Bing and Qu Mo saw me buy something and showed eager looks at the same time. No way, I didn't buy it to give to others, but to make it easier to ask for directions. The stall owner pointed to a mountain stream in the distance and said that at the end of the mountain stream, there was a very narrow crack on the stone wall, which was called "a line of sky" by the locals. Because stones often fall from it, it is very dangerous and no one dares to go there. But this road passes through the bottom of the mountain and can save half a day's journey.
I stood up and handed the jade pendant to Shen Bing. Even though I had thought of buying it for her before, I would definitely give it to her. Shen Bing happily took it and : "Stingy, you exchanged my windbreaker for such a cheap thing."
Qu Mo looked slightly disappointed. I pretended not to notice and pointed at the mountain stream and said, "Follow me if you are not afraid of death." I strode over there. Shen Bing was running after me while hanging the jade pendant around her neck. Wang Yang followed without hesitation.
Wang Zijun pulled Qu Mo and said, "Forget it, let's wait for them in the hotel." The boy was scared.
Qu Mo said with a stern face: "You want to go back to the hotel and no one will stop you. Why do you want to pull me?" He shook off his hand and caught up with us in a few steps.
"Why are you angry? I don't mean anything else. Wait for me..." Wang Zijun shouted in panic behind him.
"Do you want to know why I'm angry?" Qu Mo asked, turning around.
Wang Zijun nodded obediently like a grandson.
"Why don't you buy me a jade pendant?" Qu Mo turned his head away angrily and walked forward.
Wang Zijun ran back as if waking up from a dream, shouting, "I was wrong. Wait, I'll go buy two!"
Shen Bing followed me, gently pulled my sleeve, and whispered, "She seems jealous."
I hit her hand and said angrily, "Don't talk nonsense. Is this a joke?"
I know very well whether Qu Mo is jealous or not, but I would rather not know. What was originally a simple business trip turned out to be so complicated and heartbreaking. If I had known this, I would never have brought Wang Zijun and Qu Mo with me. It would have been so much more peaceful with Shen Bing.
