Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
Time has passed again. Although I helped Jin Zhao remove the killer's label, we have made no progress regarding Jin Yang; it remains a complete mystery.
I asked Jin Zhao what he saw behind us, and his answer was similar to that of Wuling City. He mentioned seeing a red shadow in the bathroom, swaying at the door.
What exactly is the red-clothed ghost that Jin Zhao, Jin Yang, and Wuling City saw? Did Old Man Jin also see the red-clothed ghost? Was the multimedia message that Old Man Jin received actually sent by Jin Yang? All of this leaves me utterly confused.
However, due to this incident, the Jin Family has been very polite to us. Ding Fatty and I can roam freely around the villa. Of course, it mainly stems from my statement that performing rituals is an important part of the process, requiring us to conduct ceremonies in every room to help Old Man Jin's spirit depart.
Indeed, this was a fabrication on my part, taking advantage of the Jin Family's lack of knowledge on the matter. Meanwhile, Qingfeng Daozhang turned a blind eye because I told him that all our fees would go to him. The combined fees for Ding Fatty and me amount to several thousand yuan; if considered as bribery, that sum could lead to criminal charges.
I held a compass and carried a Peach Wood Sword while Ding Fatty followed behind me with a stack of yellow paper. Well, it was a stack of talismans that I bought for zero dollars from one of Qingfeng's disciples.
First, we made a serious round on the first floor, spending five or six minutes in each room. This round took us almost two hours; there are just so many rooms—living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, gym, and so on. There are even four worker rooms: one for Yang Guo'er, one for Steward Shi, one shared by driver Li Chao and maid Taozi as a couple, and another shared by chef Old Xu and another maid Sister Rong as a couple.
Fortunately, we had acquaintances; we took a brief rest in Yang Guo'er's room. Ding Fatty had a strange smile on his face. I knew what he was thinking—something along the lines of me falling for her and her falling for me—but of course, he preferred to omit the word "love."
After resting for a while, we went upstairs directly to Jin Yang's room. We closed the door behind us; this time we were here openly to perform rituals and rummage through everything without restraint.
Nothing was found!
We did not locate any projectors or even any signs indicating where a projector might have been placed.
It doesn't make sense; there have already been two locations where the red-clothed ghost appeared—one in the center of the room where Jin Yang saw it in the window glass before it vanished when he turned around. The other location was at the bathroom door, seen by Jin Zhao, Shih Chih-Yang, and Wuling City; it is impossible for three people to experience an illusion simultaneously.
I stroked my chin while pacing at the bathroom door. Ding Fatty was carefully examining the toilet inside.
"What's that guy doing?" I asked out of curiosity.
"When listening to ghost stories, it's always a hand reaching out from the toilet!" Fatty chuckled, his chubby face nearly dipping into the toilet.
I knew he was checking for a Projector, but I mocked him, saying, "Ghosts have their pride too, you know. Do you think they wait in the toilet at midnight just to poke your rear?"
Fatty pulled his head back from the toilet, looking a bit disappointed. It seemed there was no Projector installed in there either.
As we walked back to the room, I took out a cigarette and handed one to Fatty, which Jin Zhenzhong had given me.
"They might really be seeing things," I said with a laugh as I exhaled some smoke. After a moment, I squinted and said, "Fatty, what if our initial thinking was wrong? This thing might not necessarily be a Projector."
Fatty looked at me in shock. "You mean, there really is a ghost?"
"Get out of here! What ghost? The shadow might not be produced by a Projector but by other technical means!" I sat down on a chair, holding my cigarette against my temple and rubbing it lightly. "There's also the possibility that this Projector is very small and could be attached to a remote-controlled plane or car. That way, the shadow could be manipulated by someone!"
"Right!" Fatty hit his palm with his fist. "No wonder we couldn't find any signs of a Projector in the room."
If my theory holds true, we would need to shift our search focus and see if anyone else had remote-controlled cars or planes in their rooms.
"Should we perform the ritual again?" Fatty asked me uncertainly.
"We have to finish this one first!" I took a deep drag and was about to toss the cigarette butt when I realized there was no Ashtray in the room. I remembered that Jin Yang didn't smoke.
Looking around, I walked to the bathroom and tossed the cigarette butt into the toilet. Suddenly feeling the urge to urinate, I turned around and closed the door behind me.
"What's the big deal? What's the big deal? It's not that rare! Who doesn't have one?" Fatty laughed outside.
"I'm just afraid of scaring you. There's an old saying, 'How can a Sparrow understand the ambitions of a Great Bird!' Do you know what that means? A little bird like you will never comprehend the realm of a big bird!" I said with a smile as I unbuckled my belt.
"Bro, that's called a Swan! Not a Great Bird! Pfft!" Fatty chirped with laughter outside.
Just as I pulled out my Swan, I suddenly noticed the cigarette butt I had thrown in the middle of the toilet move slightly—not just swaying with the water, but rather…
What the hell am I supposed to do?
It was as if an invisible hand was manipulating the cigarette butt, which had been lying horizontally on the water's surface, suddenly stood upright, slowly bobbing up and down. As it did so, ripples began to spread across the water in the toilet.
What is going on? For a moment, I was at a loss, holding my bird, unsure whether to shoot or not.
This situation lasted for about five seconds before the cigarette butt fell over, and then the water level in the toilet instantly dropped until there was no water left at all, leaving only a solitary cigarette butt lying at the bottom.
This seemed beyond my understanding. Although I couldn't explain it with physics knowledge, I knew that there should be a certain water level for it to be normal. I swear I learned about communicating vessels and air pressure balance in my middle school physics textbook.
I shouted, "Fatty, come in and take a look!"
Fatty pushed the door open, glanced at me, then his eyes swept downwards. He frowned and said, "Ghost Brother, you’re not really showing off your bird, are you?"
I quickly tucked my bird away, but due to my haste, its head grazed against the zipper, causing a sharp pain. I gasped and covered my groin while gritting my teeth and pointing at the bottom of the toilet. "Look at this! Doesn't it seem a bit unscientific?"
Fatty leaned in for a closer look and exclaimed in surprise. He casually pressed the flush button, and with a loud roar, water surged out in a swirling vortex, sweeping away the cigarette butt without a trace. Everything seemed normal again.
"Did I just see things? You saw it too, right?" I asked Fatty in surprise.
"With your education level, it's hard for me to explain!" Fatty replied proudly. "It could be that something over there was blocking it! It's that simple."
I waved my hand in confusion, signaling Fatty to leave. His explanation seemed plausible enough. As for the cigarette butt standing up strangely earlier, I couldn't be bothered to argue with him; otherwise, he would definitely explain that it was just the moment when the toilet water flushed down, creating a vortex where the cigarette butt stood upright, which is quite common...
While relieving myself, I kept an eye on the water level in the toilet, and this time there were no abnormalities.
I shook it off and carefully tucked myself away. That incident had left me with a shadow in my heart; I would probably pay more attention to this matter in the future.
Next to the toilet was the washbasin, which had some toiletries on it: a razor, men's facial wash, hand soap, etc. Additionally, on the left side of the counter was a vase containing several lilies. However, one of them had already begun to wilt, and many deep red petals had fallen onto the counter.
Above the counter was a European-style ornate mirror frame with an oval mirror embedded in it. I washed my hands and leaned in front of the mirror to look at my eyes. Huh, there seemed to be bloodshot veins.
Right, I hadn't slept well for several days; it would be strange if there were no bloodshot veins. I let out a bitter laugh and was about to turn around to leave when suddenly my vision blurred. It seemed like something had appeared in the mirror. I focused my gaze and felt a jolt of fear; my scalp tingled as all my muscles and joints tightened in an instant, leaving me frozen in place.
A red shadow suddenly appeared behind me.
Yes, a red shadow—the Red Shadow of Jin Yang and his group appeared behind me, and in the mirror, it was so close.
The red shadow resembled what Jin Yang described; it vaguely took on a human shape with a head and four limbs, hovering in the air and rising and falling. I blinked hard several times, hoping this was just an illusion caused by my lack of sleep. Unfortunately, the red ghostly figure did not disappear; instead, its head twisted in mid-air a few times before suddenly forming facial features and grinning eerily at me before lunging forward.
I screamed and grabbed the vase with my left hand, swinging it backward before quickly turning around and throwing a punch with my right hand.
"Ping!"
The vase was thrown against the wall, shattering into pieces.
It seemed someone let out a soft gasp.
My punch sliced through the air with a whoosh. I was well aware of my reaction speed and the power behind my strike. If there was someone or something behind me, it would definitely be hit, especially after throwing a vase forward.
The red shadow unexpectedly vanished into thin air.
"Ghost Brother?" Fatty rushed in, and upon seeing the scene before him, he paused in surprise. "What happened?"
I took a deep breath and quickly recounted what I had just seen to Fatty.
Fatty reacted swiftly, immediately closing the door behind him. "When I came in just now, the door was ajar, and I didn't see any remote-controlled cars or planes leaving. If something is here, then it must still be in this room!"
I snapped back to reality and disregarded any sense of decorum. Together with Fatty, we turned the bathroom upside down, destroying everything in our path. Even the shower gel was emptied by Fatty.
Nothing was found!
The air was filled with the fragrance of lilies and shower gel, and the room was in disarray, with shards of the vase scattered everywhere as if mocking us.
Comment 0 Comment Count