Chapter 2: The Mysterious Wooden Building

  My car stopped in front of Tianjia Restaurant in the town, and immediately attracted many envious glances. I knew that my ride, although already used by the old man to be half new and half old, was still enough to cause a stir in this remote small county town. I smiled slightly and walked into the store.

  Although this is my hometown and my roots, no one knows me here.

  The boss of the restaurant was slightly chubby and looked to be in his forties, with a smile all over his face as he walked towards me: "Boss, are you here to eat?"

  I nodded: "Yes, give me a stir-fry of cured meat, a bowl of braised pork ribs with winter melon soup, and an extra jug of good wine."

  I like drinking, especially strong liquor. This time when I came back from Shenzhen, I specifically brought back ten bottles of brandy from the old man. The restaurant owner hurriedly went into the kitchen to stir-fry dishes.

  I casually poured a cup of tea and sipped it while sizing up the Tianjia restaurant. The restaurant wasn't big, with all sorts of cured meats hanging everywhere, emitting a strong aroma that was almost overwhelming. There weren't many customers, just a few scattered individuals who were all eyeing me curiously, this stranger who looked like a young master in his fine clothes.

  Awesome! The feeling of being admired is really great. I leisurely put my feet on a chair and swing them back and forth.

  The boss of the restaurant was surnamed Tian, and his name was Tian Dabang. When he told me his name, I almost spat out the wine in my mouth. Tian Dabang, wasn't that the bandit leader from the TV series "Ulong Mountain Bandits" who could run as fast as a dog? I held back my laughter with great effort.

  After finishing the meal and paying the bill, when I was about to leave, I thought of a question. I asked the restaurant owner Tian Dabang: "Uncle Tian, I want to find a young person in town to help my family with cleaning, can you help me find one?"

  Tian Dabang was taken aback: "Your home? You mean your home is here?"

  I nodded and replied: "Yes, I am Shen Shangyu, the son of Shen Yuzhong. I just returned from Shenzhen today and live in the old Shen family house."

  Tian Dabang's eyes flashed with a hint of doubt: "You... are you saying that you're the son of Shen Yuzhong, the richest man in our town?"

  "I replied affirmatively once again: 'Old Tian, yes, what's wrong?'"

  Tian Da Bang said: "Nothing... nothing... what's the problem, I'll help you find it. If I find it, I want that person to come to Shen's old house tomorrow morning to find you..."

  I didn't notice anything unusual about Tian's expression, thanked him and drove back to the old mansion.

  I returned to that room which had been cleaned up and it was already 7 o'clock in the evening. When I turned on the light, the dim yellow light spread throughout the room.

  Looking at this unfamiliar house, I carefully scanned the furnishings in the room with my eyes, hoping to make some unexpected discoveries.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, I found an old-fashioned phonograph in the corner of my closet. This kind of thing can be considered a rare antique now. I was extremely excited to pull it out and carefully wiped off the dust on it.

  On the bottom of the phonograph was a line of words: To my dearest Ruo Wu - Yours, Xie.

  It seems that this room used to be inhabited by a person named Ruo Wu. This Ruo Wu must have been a woman with stories to tell. Why did she also live in my Shen family's old mansion? What kind of person was she, and what kind of past did she have? And who is that evil person? My heart is filled with curiosity, but I have no way of knowing the answers.

  I plugged in the old tape recorder and unexpectedly found that this worn-out thing still worked. I gently pressed the play button, and Teresa Teng's voice flowed out. It was a classic old song: ...fine wine with coffee, one cup after another, thinking of the past, drinking the second cup...

  In the melancholic melody, I poured a glass of brandy and held it in my hand. I like drinking strong liquor, especially when it's late at night with no one around. This bad habit has been scolded by the old man countless times, but I still do as I please.

  I sat in a rocking chair with a glass of wine, gazing out the window.

  Outside the window, it was pitch black, without stars or moon. The night wind carried the strong fragrance of some unknown flowers, brushing against my drowsy head. I breathed in deeply, entranced, listening to this song that transcended time and space, with a sense of time flowing backwards.

  The record player kept replaying Teresa Teng's songs, a faint sadness surged up in my heart. I was intoxicated by Teresa Teng's voice, and with one toss of my head, the glass of brandy was emptied. I got up to pour another glass, when suddenly the phone rang, sending shivers down my spine on this quiet night.

  Damn it, who is this, calling so late at night, trying to scare me to death...... I cursed as I pulled out my phone from my pocket and took a look, only to find that it was the old man calling from Shenzhen.

  "Yu'er, everything is going smoothly, right?" The old man asked me on the phone.

  I pretended to be nonchalant and replied: "Of course it's going smoothly, thanks to your care, Director Shen..."

  The long silence on the other end of the phone was finally broken, and the old man said: "Yu'er, I know you hate me, hate me for not keeping you by my side... You'll understand my good intentions later..."

  I sneered in my heart: "Old man, aren't you just treating me as a thorn in your and stepmother's eyes? Now that you've driven me back to my old home, are you satisfied?"

  I didn't say anything more to the old man, hung up the phone, and tears had already flowed down from my face.

  I turned off the tape recorder and fell asleep on the bed in a daze. However, I didn't completely enter a state of sleep. It seemed that the old man's seemingly concerned words still lingered in my ears, pulling me back and forth between sleep and wakefulness.

  I turned over and looked out of the window at the night sky under the veil of night.

  This gave me a cold sweat, my heart racing, I sat up in bed with a start. I saw outside the window, the small wooden house by the artificial lake was emitting a faint light!

  Who? Who's there? I clutched the quilt tightly, cold sweat slid down from the spine to the waist...

  I fumbled in the darkness to turn on the room light, and when I looked at that small wooden house again, the faint light had disappeared. In the endless darkness, I comforted myself that it wasn't real, it must have been an illusion just now.

  I don't know how I fell asleep, but it seemed like I was struggling in a terrifying dream all night.

  It wasn't until the next morning when I woke up in the sunlight that I felt like I had finally caught my breath.

  I quickly got out of bed, remembering the strange light in the small wooden house last night. I slowly walked towards the wooden house by the artificial lake, wanting to find out what was going on.

  The whole garden was empty last night except for me living in it, that small wooden house looked like an abandoned flower room. Who was the one with the light on at midnight?

  My profession is a criminal police officer, although I am afraid of the dark night, my curiosity is stronger than that of ordinary people. My curiosity has never retreated in the slightest due to any fatal words.

  Although I was scared to death last night, today I still can't help but want to go and see what kind of monster is inside the wooden building. Maybe there's some homeless person who wandered into the garden and spent the night there?

  Yesterday when I walked into the garden, I was busy sweeping the room and didn't carefully look around this artificial lake. I quickly arrived at the artificial lake, and what appeared before me was a curved emerald green lake, as if it had captured my heart with its rippling waves, and surprisingly, it was flowing water! The craftsmen who built this artificial lake back then actually brought in living water from outside the garden, which is indeed a painstaking effort!

  The embankment of the artificial lake is lined with weeping willows, swaying in the wind, like millions of girls' hands dancing wildly in the wind. I stepped lightly onto the wooden stairs, the ladder was very old and creaked with a "creak" sound. I shook off the cigarette ash from my hand, stepped onto the last step, and gently pushed open the small door of the wooden building.

  The room was very clean, with a faint scent lingering in the air, as if someone had just swept it but no one lived there. I walked to the window and the wind blew up the white gauze curtains, through which I saw that behind the small wooden building was actually a lush green lawn.

  The wooden building was empty and deserted, it was clear that what I saw last night was an illusion, I put my mind at ease.

  I ran quickly onto the grass and let my body lie flat on it.

  "The little grass is also alive, you sleeping here will hurt them!" A cold voice suddenly sounded in my ear.

  Who? Who is talking to me?