Guai Dao Hu Zong Ren

  To be honest, I've done quite a few strange things in my life, some of which are even close to being perverted. But dressing up as a woman, that's something I've never done before.

  To be honest, if I didn't know Hu Zongren, I probably wouldn't have done this until now.

  I saw him speaking so casually, although I was not very willing in my heart, but I quickly understood why he wanted to say that. Because based on the current video information, the ghost in the elevator will only make a move at a fixed time period, and the objects of harm are all long-haired young women.

  That's what I couldn't understand at the time. If it was specifically targeting young women, then maybe it was just a pervert or a psychopath, but later on, older people also heard the woman's crying voice. The reason for her crying must be because she had grievances or resentment in her heart, but why would a woman have such strong resentment that she would go so far as to harm other women of the same type?

  Unless it was itself before birth, it was a young woman with long straight hair.

  I and Hu Zongren quickly took a taxi to the vicinity of Pipa Mountain Park. This road is one of the main roads in and out of Yuzhong District. In the very early days, old people walked this road to go to the "upper half of Chongqing". On the contrary, there was another road that led to the "lower half of Chongqing". Although time has passed for a long time, except for a slight widening in the 1990s, the surroundings still maintain their original appearance. The surrounding shops are almost all street-side, because the back of the shops is just a cliff. Many of these shops sell hearing aids, because there is a pediatric hospital with exceptional strength and technology in the western region nearby, and many children with congenital deafness often come to the rehabilitation center here for regular check-ups. Naturally, it also drives the sales of various brands of hearing aids around.

  Next to these equipment sales stores, there are also many rental and sales shops for stage props, costumes, or various wigs. Because in addition to the children's hospital, there is also a youth palace.

  Both Hu Zongren and I are over thirty, but perhaps due to our personalities, we don't get anxious that often, so neither of us looks like someone in their thirties; maybe we look a few years younger. We walked into a store with a wide range of styles, and after trying out several options, Hu Zongren finally chose two women's large-sized suits, as well as two long black wigs.

  He asked the shop owner if he could rent this hair? The boss said that clothes can be rented, but wigs cannot. So I had to inexplicably buy these two wigs and pay for the rental of the clothes. Just as I was about to leave, Hu Zongren suddenly asked the shop owner, "Do you have any larger bras in your store?"

  I was stunned at the time, staring at him with wide eyes, wondering what he wanted to do. Would he even want to decorate his chest? I was determined not to give in! The boss looked at Hu Zongren and asked, first pausing for a moment, then looking at Hu Zongren again, and then at me, while I was trying to put on the wig. Then the shop owner seemed to understand something, narrowed his eyes, raised his head and suddenly smiled very subtly. He said to Hu Zongren, "There is no bra, but there is a steel chest support for swan dresses, which looks bigger when worn inside. Do you two want one?"

  I actually knew what the boss was thinking, so I quickly told him that we didn't want it and that he might have misunderstood, this guy is my colleague. After saying that, I pointed at Hu Zongren. The shop owner blinked his eyes, with a "I understand" expression, and said to me, "It's nothing, actually customers like you, we encounter a few every month."

  Seeing that the explanation didn't get through, I got lazy and stopped explaining. At that moment, I was a bit angry, so I lifted my leg and kicked Hu Zongren's butt, telling him loudly, "Don't buy that thing, let's go!" Hu Zongren seemed to understand something at this point, turned around and left. Until we walked out quite far, suddenly a loud and clear laughter came from behind us.

  It's obvious that it was the boss of the store who shared this with others.

  So I and Hu Zongren walked all the way to the corner before slowing down our pace. He actually still asked me foolishly if the boss of that store just now thought we were gay? I said no. He asked why he spoke in such a strange tone then? I said it's not that he took us as gay, but rather he took us as gays who have some special hobby and like to play some weird games.

  Hu Zongren hummed, and then we didn't speak for a long time. After a while, he suddenly asked me, "Are you still buying that bra?" I said, "If you dare to buy it today, I'll break off our friendship."

  When we returned to the Yuanjia Gang, it was still quite early, so Hu Zongren and I just found a place to eat something. While eating, he said that since he is relatively tall, if we were to switch places after getting on the elevator, assuming we weren't discovered as fake women, one of us would definitely get caught by our hair. I nodded in agreement, because at this moment, it seemed like the elevator being haunted was almost a fact, except that Hu Zongren and I still hadn't detected any signs of ghostly activity inside the elevator. Maybe it's just that what we learned is too superficial, and not finding something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Hu Zongren continued to say that before the time arrived, we would first go into the elevator to do some preparations. I would print symbols on all sides except the top, and you would tie your rope to the ventilation openings in a row, setting up a trap. If someone's hand really reached in, whoever was still able to move would use the rope to tie it up.

  Actually, the only method I can think of is this one. Since the elevator is closed during operation and Hu Zongren and I have no way to directly open the top of the elevator car, the most direct approach is to capture that ghost inside the elevator car. Even if we can't capture it, at least we must temporarily restrain it.

  But at this moment, there is still a difficult problem, so I asked Hu Zongren, what if both of us are caught together? Hu Zongren pouted and then spread his hands, saying that we'd better hope such a situation won't happen.

  It wasn't until 5 pm that Hu Zongren took me back to the property management office. Zhang Dasao was waiting for us as promised. Hu Zongren told Zhang Dasao that although it was a weekend, many people had gone out to play or were returning home one after another at this time point. If we wanted to get things done smoothly, we had to stop the haunted elevator and prevent others from taking it. He hoped Zhang Dasao could arrange for an electrician to take care of it. Zhang Dasao saw that I was carrying a bag with fake hair in it, and the hair strands were scattered outside the bag, making it look like I was carrying a dead person's head. At first, Zhang Dasao was surprised, but she didn't ask me anything. Hu Zongren told Zhang Dasao to block the entrance of the elevator with a construction sign and display "Under Maintenance" on the screen. Since it was impossible to put up a construction sign on every floor, they had to rely on people's self-awareness not to take that elevator, which seemed to be the only solution.

  Zhang nodded in agreement, and then Hu Zongren said to Zhang, "Later, when the time comes, my companion and I will enter the elevator. Afterwards, you should be able to see us in the monitoring room. No matter what happens, save that video footage. If we can't solve the problem this time, these routes will still come in handy." After finishing speaking, Hu Zongren revealed a sly smile and said to Zhang, "Sister, trouble you to go out for a bit, we need to change clothes."

  This is actually not my first time wearing women's clothes, but that was when I was very young and doesn't count. However, after growing up, this is indeed the first time. So while changing clothes, I scolded Hu Zongren, saying that since I knew him, he had made me do many absurd things that I hadn't even thought of before. He asked if it was my first time dressing like this? I said of course! He seriously told me to hold on a bit, the first time is always a bit painful.

  Before I could even muster the energy to slap him in the face, he suddenly said, "Look at the time, it's almost here. Do you have any cigarettes on you? Let's smoke one and get ready to start work once Zhang Da Jie has arranged everything." So there I was, standing outside wearing women's clothing, smoking a cigarette. As cars drove by, they would inevitably slam on their brakes, but I thought that had nothing to do with me - it was because Hu Zong Ren's physique couldn't pull off the style of this small women's outfit.

  It's worth mentioning that both of us were wearing jeans on our lower body.

  Soon, Zhang Da Jie arranged everything and even posted a notice at the elevator entrance on the second floor of the parking garage and the LG floor. So, Hu Zong Ren and I temporarily placed some other things in Zhang Da Jie's office, each of us carrying some necessary items, such as compasses, red strings, etc. Hu Zong Ren also brought his seal box and a stack of yellow talismans. We then went around to the elevator entrance on the second floor. The old man who was collecting fees saw us two and was initially startled, probably just about to ask if we were male or female when we quickly slipped into the elevator.

  After the elevator door closed, Hu Zongren jerked his chin at me, probably asking if I was ready. I nodded, and he began to draw five thunder symbols on each of the five inner sides of the elevator with his right index and middle fingers, without actually dipping them in ink, but rather mimicking the motion. The power of these symbols is still quite great, and ordinary wandering spirits or wild ghosts wouldn't be able to withstand them for a few rounds before being eliminated. This is also one of the main reasons I dislike Hu Zongren's methods - he often tends to be too rigid and violent, frequently skipping directly from cause to effect while ignoring the process that is extremely important to me.

  It was easier for me, I just needed to let Hu Zongren support me, and wind the rope around the ventilation hole in a circle, leaving a live knot. The end of the rope extended so that it would be convenient for me to hold it in my hand. If there really were hands coming out, if I was the luckier one who wasn't caught, then I could pull the rope back and tie up the ghostly hand at the first moment.

  After preparation, Hu Zongren skipped the minus one floor and the LG floor, starting directly from the 2nd floor and pressing all the way to the 22nd floor. My friend and I stood right in the middle of the elevator, which means that the ghost's hand that grabs people's hair would come out just above our heads, at the air vent position. We stood there silently, feeling a little relieved every time we went up one floor, but then becoming even more tense. That was because you knew that the remaining floors were getting fewer and fewer, and in these gradually decreasing floors, there would be an instant when your hair would be grabbed.

  When the elevator was running between the 8th and 9th floors, it had a slight vibration, accompanied by the sound of steel cables creaking. Normally, Hu Zongren and I wouldn't have paid attention to this, but at that moment we were tense about any slight abnormality. When the elevator reached the 9th floor, the door opened, revealing a dirty wall and a fire extinguisher, just like on previous floors. The door closed again, and we continued towards the 10th floor. About 5 seconds before reaching the 10th floor, my right hand holding the compass suddenly started spinning wildly, its needle no longer following the rotation rule due to strong external interference, instead slapping against the cover and base. This conveyed a rather dangerous message to me, indicating that something was approaching or already around us, with considerable force.

  At that moment, I felt a chill on the top of my head. It was because the wig on my head was being pulled away by something. So, I quickly crouched down and used the momentum to pull back the rope that had been wrapped around me beforehand. In an instant, both wigs fell to the floor of the elevator, and the red rope in my hand felt a strong pulling sensation. Suddenly, I heard a strange sound in my ear, like a woman's surprised cry when she was splashed with water by a speeding car on the road. "Ah..." But this voice sounded very weak and calm, with a reverberating feeling, but it flashed by quickly. Soon, the pulling sensation in my hand also disappeared, just like two people were playing tug-of-war, and suddenly one side let go. The red rope fell to the ground, already broken into two pieces.

  The elevator was quiet again, and Hu Zongren and I were both stunned, letting the elevator continue to rise floor by floor. We couldn't understand what had just happened. I looked down at the broken rope on the ground, and the break wasn't a clean cut or burn mark, but rather a rough tear. This meant that not only did I fail to grab it, but I also let it slip away, and it even angrily tore apart the things that bound it. I stood up and looked at Hu Zongren, who was carefully examining the walls around us, where he had initially drawn the lightning symbol. Originally, there was no actual drawing, but now, in the position where he drew, a misty substance had formed along the path of the symbol.

  I couldn't help but laugh and say, it seems this thing isn't that easy to deal with after all! Hu Zongren, however, looked up at the air vent and asked me, "What's this thing?" I followed his gaze upwards, and at the air vent, some strands of hair were hanging down, dry and yellowish in color, not many, swaying gently in the wind blowing through the duct.