Chapter 18: The Secret in the Iron Box (Part 2)

  If what Wu Lele said earlier was nonsense, then what she said later couldn't help but surprise me, because it was very similar to what I saw in the cave. At that moment, I even thought, could it be true what Wu Lele said? But if it's true, how did she know? Is it really like she said, just by touching this iron box can you understand the story about this iron box?

  This is also too absurd, I would rather believe that there are ghosts in this world than believe that there is such a supernatural power.

  So I'm half-believing and half-doubting what Wu Lele said.

  Wu Lele shifted her gaze from the iron box to my face and asked, "You seem like you don't believe me." I said, what's the point of believing it? Now I just want to know how to open it. Wu Lele stared at me intently and said, "After all I've told you, you still don't understand?" I was baffled, what did she mean by that? Wu Lele spoke solemnly, "What I'm saying is that this iron box is very dangerous. Not to mention what's inside, but just fighting over the box itself has led to countless innocent deaths..."

  "What do you mean?"

  "For safety's sake, where it came from is where you put it back."

  At this time, I heard my mother asking outside: "Little knife, why haven't you slept yet?" I quickly said that I would sleep soon, and then told Wu Lele: "It's very late, you should go back to sleep." In my heart, I thought, if you asked me to send it to the country, I could barely accept it, but asking me to return it, what a joke!

  See Wu Lele off, and indeed see my mother standing at the door. When she saw us coming out, she looked at us with a strange smile. I think my mother must have misunderstood us, thinking that we were talking about love in there.

  After waiting for my mother and Wu Lele to return to their room, I inadvertently glanced at the house across the street. This glance made my heart almost jump out of my chest. In front of my house is a wide open space, and on the opposite side is a two-meter-wide road. At this moment, someone was standing on that road! No, to be precise, it was a ghost.

  The red-clad female ghost.

  She stood straight there, holding an umbrella, motionless. The gentle breeze blew by, and her silky hair fluttered with it. Her pair of dark eyes stared at me intently, looking so mysterious and resentful!

  I shuddered all over and hastily retreated back into the house, quickly closing the door behind me.

  Although it was a rural area, high-voltage electricity had already been installed. I didn't dare turn off the lights or take off my clothes, and sat stiffly on the bed, highly strung and watching the door in terror.

  After about seven or eight minutes, I saw that there was no movement outside the door. My heart was really anxious and I prepared to go out and take a look. Perhaps the female ghost had already gone far away? But as soon as I opened the door, I saw that the red-clothed female ghost was standing in front of the door! I let out a startled cry and reflexively closed the door tightly.

  My heart skipped a beat.

  I knew she wouldn't let me off easily. I started blaming my father in my heart, how could he push this messy thing to me?

  "Bang! Bang!" The doorbell rang suddenly.

  I knew it was the red-clothed female ghost, pressing tightly against the door, holding her breath and listening. The red-clothed female ghost asked outside the door: "Where is your father?" I hastily replied: "He went to a distant place, probably won't be back for ten or half a month, come again when he's back." The red-clothed female ghost said: "I can't wait any longer, my injury is getting heavier and heavier. Since your father won't treat me, I have no choice but to find you."

  "Stop!" I cried out in a hurry: "My father didn't refuse to treat you, it's just that he couldn't. There is no yin-yang knife, looking for me is useless, I simply don't know how to treat."

  The red-clothed female ghost said viciously: "Then I'll haunt you forever!"

  I only felt a chill on my back, and before I could react, a ghostly figure suddenly appeared in front of me. To my astonishment, the red-clad female ghost had passed through the door and was now standing right in front of me, staring at me with a pair of venomous eyes.

  If this were a dream, I would have woken up from it long ago. The damned thing is that it isn't a dream!

  "What do you want?" I said in extreme frustration: "I'm not a doctor, I can't cure your illness, and it's useless for you to pester me!"

  The red-clothed female ghost let out a cold laugh, turned around and swept her gaze across my room, being drawn to the iron box on the bed. She slowly walked over, looked at the iron box, then suddenly turned around, her eyes wide with anger, and shouted at me in a stern voice: "You scoundrel!"

  I took a step back and heavily bumped into the door, asking in shock: "I... how did I get cheated?"

  The red-clothed female ghost took a step forward, forcing me to say: "You said you didn't find the yin-yang knife?" I said no, and the red-clothed female ghost pointed at the iron box and asked: "What's that?" I looked at the iron box and shook my head, claiming ignorance. The red-clothed female ghost coldly snorted: "You still want to deceive me? That's where the yin-yang knife is!"

  My gosh! I bought a watch last year! For a moment, I didn't dare believe this is real.

  If it's really a yin-yang knife inside, then I'm too lucky! Is this fate?

  What's meant to be will be, these days I've been surrounded by evil spirits, my body is in bad shape, but my luck is surprisingly good, and I coincidentally found an iron box which turned out to be the yin-yang knife that my father has been searching for all along!

  However, what's the use of having a yin-yang knife inside the iron box? The iron box can't even be opened.

  I explained to the red-clothed female ghost, asking her how she knew that the iron box contained the yin-yang knife. The red-clothed female ghost said: "There are three words written on it: Yin-Yang Knife." I said no way, which three words? Why don't I recognize them? The red-clothed female ghost said those were underworld characters, so of course you wouldn't recognize them. Suddenly enlightened, no wonder those words looked so ugly.

  The red-clothed female ghost said: "Now I don't care what method you use, before midnight tonight you must open the iron box and take out the yin-yang knife to cure my illness."

  I was stunned for a moment, isn't this making things difficult? I asked gloomily: "What time is the hour of Yin?" The red-clothed female ghost widened her eyes, thinking I was teasing her, but in fact I really didn't know what time the hour of Yin was. Later I found out that the hour of Yin is the moment when night and day alternate, which is between 3:00 to 5:00.

  "This iron box I really can't open," I said with a bitter face: "Even if I opened it, your illness I couldn't cure, I'm not a doctor at all." By this time, my heart had added another sentence: even if I were a doctor, how could I treat you? You're a ghost, not a human being. Do you think I'm my father?

  The red-clothed female ghost said: "The girl beside you may be able to open it, she..."

  “Cough, cough…” Suddenly, a dry cough came from outside the door. The red-clothed female ghost's face changed, and her body flashed out of sight. I was still in shock, but then I heard that the one who had coughed was Wu Lele. Had she been eavesdropping outside all along? I listened carefully at the door, but there was no sound from outside. I slowly opened the door to take a look, and saw Wu Lele push open the door to the room where my mother slept, and quickly close it behind her.

  Was she just passing by my room door when she went out to relieve herself?

  I retreated back to my room, and before I could even close the door, the red-clothed female ghost appeared again. She said: "You go call that girl over to open the iron box." I was in a difficult spot, it was almost midnight now, and Wu Lele was sleeping with my mother, if I went to knock on the door, what would my mother think? She'd think I wanted Wu Lele to come sleep with me!

  "I'll do it myself." I picked up the iron box and fiddled with it for a while, only to find that it was sealed tightly, without even a tiny gap or hidden door. It was like an iron ball, impossible to open. I thought the words on the iron box were in the language of the underworld, and the yin-yang knife inside was used to treat illnesses of ghosts. Maybe this iron box could only be opened by ghosts? So I handed the iron box over to the red-clothed female ghost and asked her to open it. The red-clothed female ghost said she couldn't open it either, and told me to go find Wu Lele.

  Helpless, I had no choice but to force myself to knock on the door.

  Just as I was about to respond, my mother's voice came through: "Who is it?"

  I was so embarrassed that I wanted to die, my face burning with heat. I said I had something to ask Wu Lele. My mother paused for a moment and surprisingly supported me, calling out "Lele". Wu Lele asked, "What's up?" in a lazy tone, as if she had just been woken up from a dream, but I could tell she was pretending.

  Mother said I had something to find her, Wu Lele slowly said: "So late to find me what's the matter? If there is anything to say tomorrow." I looked at the red-clothed female ghost, her face was very bad-looking, worried that she would make trouble, so I went out and thickened my skin to say that this matter had to be solved now, and couldn't wait until tomorrow.

  "What's going on?" Wu Lele grumbled discontentedly as she got out of bed.