Chapter 37: The Unspoken Secret (Part 1)

  Xiaorui and I didn't check out of the hotel until sunset, and we still had a long way to go to get to the place Xiaorui mentioned. By this time, there were no more minibuses, and even in small towns, there were no taxis. We finally managed to hire a tractor at several times the normal price. When the driver heard where we wanted to go, he refused to take us all the way, saying that the place was haunted and it was dangerous to get too close.

  Folk always spread all kinds of ghost stories, especially in rural areas. Xiaorui has been there once before. I don't believe this trip will be dangerous, but the driver refused to answer me and I couldn't do anything about it. I had no choice but to reluctantly agree. Thinking of Xiaorui going to such a place for me or for her ideals, I couldn't help but look up to her even more.

  The tractor drove for about two hours, and the master stopped the car and said that there was about an hour's drive ahead, and then helped me move a second-hand car I bought from the town down. While moving, he said: "It's really strange how you outsiders are so interested in these things, aren't you afraid of getting dirty?"

  I sensed something was off in his words and hastily asked: "Has anyone else come to this place?"

  Master said: "Yes, it was just a few days ago, also at night, and coincidentally, he was also riding my tractor."

  "What does he look like?"

  The master thought for a moment and said: "I didn't see clearly, wrapped myself tightly, but judging from the sound, it should be a young woman with a foreign accent."

  My heart immediately tightened, and I turned to look at Xiaohui. Xiaohui slightly shook her head at me, and my heart sank again. Previously, I had suspected that this mysterious person might be Xiaohui, but judging from her behavior now, it shouldn't be her. Since this person is not Xiaohui, the most likely possibility is the woman from the Dream Club who delivered packages to my home.

  I hastily asked again: "Then did you see when she left?"

  The master shook his head and said, "It's very strange. It seems that none of us saw her come out. Do you think she might not be human? Otherwise, who would go to such a place at midnight?" As soon as he finished speaking, he shivered himself, spat on the ground several times, and said, "Then I'll leave first, you guys be careful." He looked at us with a strange gaze, quickly turned the car around and hurried back. Thinking of what he just said, maybe he also thought we were ghosts.

  The town was too poor, I originally wanted to buy two bicycles, but barely found a cargo tricycle. I wanted to buy a new one for Xiaorui, but she refused, saying it's a waste of money. Anyway, she knows the way, riding a bike would take at most an hour, and the road isn't that bumpy, so just let me bring her along.

  Since Xiaohui didn't agree, I didn't force it either. After all, taking one person with me shouldn't be a big deal, let alone riding a bicycle carrying my beloved girl on the road to making her dreams come true, which is far better than my mom's super invincible moves anyway. I straddled the saddle and patted the back seat, Xiaohui smiled slightly and sat up.

  I originally wanted her to sit in the front, so that the late wind would gently blow her long hair and touch her face, a scene I had dreamed of countless times. But after all, my skin was too thin, and I couldn't say it out loud. After Xiaohui got on the car, she said, "Okay, let's go."

  I stepped on the pedal and rode for a few steps, saying: "You're really light, just like no one is sitting on it." Xiaorui didn't say anything, using her hand to gently wrap around my waist. My heart suddenly started racing violently, feeling dry mouth and tongue, and my usual eloquence was gone, the whole person seemed to be floating up.

  Xiao Rui pointed out the direction for me to move forward from behind, I slowly got used to this super treatment and started saying some words that even I thought were not nutritious. My heart hated myself at this moment, why was I so awkward? But when I opened my mouth again, I became clumsy. In the deep night, in the desolate wilderness, a lone man and woman, this is simply a rare and beautiful scene, even if it's a dead person, they would be excited, can't blame me for being abnormal.

  Just then, Xiaorui suddenly pulled me and said: "Alei, listen!"

  I was just about to ask "what?" when Xiaorui softly shushed me and whispered: "Listen."

  I pricked up my ears, and in the distance where no lights could be seen, a low sobbing sound suddenly came, vaguely a woman's voice. My hairs stood on end immediately, because I faintly heard the woman say two words: "Jiang Shan".

  I and Xiaorui stared at each other, both seeing the terror in each other's faces. I took a deep breath and carefully said: "Could it be that we misheard, was it just the sound of the wind?" But as soon as these words left my mouth, we heard the woman say two more words, this time we both heard them clearly. The color on our faces changed immediately, especially Xiaorui's face which turned deathly pale.

  Because this time we heard the old woman say her name was "Xiao Rui".

  I tightly grasped Xiaohua's hand, her hand was colder than ice, I could even feel her body trembling nonstop. I gently patted her hand and pretended to be calm, saying: "It's okay, why don't we go back? I will definitely become the best family."

  Xiaoyu shook her head and said: "I'll go alone." Her tone was firm, leaving no room for me to say another word.

  I sighed and said that it was a lie to say I wasn't afraid, but to let the woman I loved go on an adventure alone, this was something I just couldn't do. I stepped down hard on the foot pedal, and the car moved forward. "Where are we headed?" I asked.

  Xiao Wei pointed forward with her hand and said, "It's right there." My heart couldn't help but tremble slightly. That was exactly where the crying sound came from earlier. Xiao Wei said, "The coffin is placed right there."

  Perhaps it was because the surroundings were too quiet at midnight, so the crying sound seemed particularly clear and close. Although I could hear the old woman's cry, after riding for a long time, we still hadn't arrived. Instead, both of us were too tense to speak, so I tried to break the silence by asking: "How did you find this place?"

  Xiao Wei said: "I received a letter telling me about this place."

  I immediately thought of Tao Dingtian and hastily asked: "Whose signature is on the letter?"

  Xiao Rui indeed reported the name I had expected: "Chu Jiangshan."

  Suddenly receiving a letter from someone who has been dead for many years, telling you to go to a certain place, and then finding a coffin there. This kind of plot that can only be seen in horror movies is now happening right in front of me. I swallowed my saliva and asked: "Do you think this might be someone playing a prank?"

  From the moment Er Lang showed me those letters, I've always felt that someone was hiding in a certain place, quietly manipulating everything. Chu Jiangshan is already dead and it's impossible for him to have written another letter like this. The only possibility is that someone has forged his name to write these letters. As for what this person's purpose is, I haven't figured it out yet.

  Xiao Wei's voice came from behind, with a hint of puzzlement: "Those letters, judging from the paper, seem to have been written for quite some time, but were only sent out recently."

  I was startled, stopped the car and turned to ask: "Do you mean that Chu Jiangshan wrote these letters several years ago, and then someone helped him send them out until now? How could Chu Jiangshan have known what would happen many years later?"

  Xiaohui looked up at me and said, "Have you forgotten about Wang Qiang?"

  My heart skipped a beat, if what was said earlier is true, then Wang Qiang's death may not be an accident, but a murder. Because Chu Jiangshan knew all this would happen early on, it's possible that he had arranged for all this to happen. But by the time it happened, Chu Jiangshan was already dead, so even if he had planned to kill Wang Qiang before his own death, what would be the point?

  I expressed my doubts in my heart to Xiaorui, and Xiaorui said lightly: "You forgot two people."

  "Who?" I asked hastily.

  Xiao Wei said: "Sun Xiaohong and Li Jie, both the property company and the landlord said they had never seen these two people at all."

  I thought for a moment and said, "What if this is just a smoke bomb set off by Chu Jiangshan, and there are no two people at all? After all, our understanding of Wang Qiang comes from that letter." But I immediately negated my own inference, because all my previous speculations were based on the assumption that what was recorded in the letter was true. If I denied Li Jie and Sun Xiaohong, then naturally there would be no previous conclusion, let alone the fact that I had indeed seen a woman like that before, on the day of Erliang's accident, when I saw her on the stairs wearing a red skirt with a red tooth exposed.

  Xiaoyu patted me lightly and said, "Let's go quickly."

  I responded with a sound, hastily pedaling the car forward. Xiaohui leaned her head lightly against my back and suddenly asked me a question: "Arei, do you believe there are ghosts in this world?"

  My body stiffened, discussing whether there are ghosts in the world in a place like this is not a romantic thing at all, but I didn't know what to say to Xiaohui, so I could only answer vaguely: "Shouldn't be... right?"

  Xiao Wei said softly, I don't know if she was answering me or talking to herself: "I'd rather believe that there are ghosts in this world, then I can see the people I want to see and be with them forever. You say, how great is that." As she spoke, she started humming a familiar tune: "In This World, Only Mom Is Good".

  Xiaohui's voice was low and almost inaudible, and for a moment I felt a little scared. I quickly pedaled the bicycle with all my might, and in the darkness it seemed like countless eyes were staring at me. I could only pedal desperately, not knowing how long had passed, until Xiaohui said "We're here." I hastily applied the brakes, and only then did I realize that I was covered in sweat, unsure whether it was from fear or exhaustion.

  Xiaohui said, "Let's walk over, the bike can't get through here." I took down the powerful flashlight tied to the bicycle head and looked in the direction Xiaohui pointed. There was a big ditch there that could barely be jumped over, but the bicycle couldn't be taken with us. I locked up the bike and walked forward holding Xiaohui's hand.

  Not long after we walked, we arrived at our destination. It was a common tile-roofed house in the countryside. There were no other houses around it, only this isolated row of houses. Behind the house was a river, and you could hear the sound of rushing water. The big ditch we just crossed was an irrigation canal.

  Although the old woman's crying voice had long since disappeared, standing in such a place still made me feel a little creepy. On the contrary, Xiaorui was much calmer than I was, leading the way in front of her. This place obviously hadn't been visited by anyone for a very long time, with weeds growing wildly all over the place. For a moment, I even had an illusion that I had returned to the backyard of my old house.

  The house wasn't locked, and Xiaohui gently pushed it open. A musty smell wafted out, followed by a rustling sound, which could have been a mouse or something else. I shone my flashlight inside, and the room was cluttered with all sorts of junk, but there was no coffin in sight.

  Xiaohui pointed to the room on the right and said, "It's over here." The typical rural tile-roofed house was very simple. After entering the main gate, there was a large hall with an incense table and couplets hanging above it, followed by a large square dining table. On either side of the hall were the wing rooms. According to custom, the place Xiaohui pointed to should be the master's bedroom.

  We cautiously walked into the room, and in this master bedroom, there was indeed a coffin. Under the strong light of the flashlight, I could confirm that the style of the coffin and the patterns engraved on it were exactly the same as those in the small black house in the backyard of the old mansion. I remembered Tao Dingtian telling me that these patterns were actually a kind of Daoist symbol that very few people knew about, which was used to absorb the yin energy between heaven and earth. What could be the purpose of Chu Jiangshan placing such a coffin in his own room? Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind: Could there also be eight wells here?