Chapter 27: Their Secret (1)

  My heart skipped a beat, but I tightly grasped the bed sheet, trying to suppress my urge to jump up and run away. My eyes were fixed on the woman above me, but in just that instant, all I saw was a water stain.

  Yes, above there was only a water stain, but from this water stain I saw a painting, just like the colors that Old Chu's family painted on the wall in a messy way. In this painting, I just saw a woman smiling at me, and even I could see that her teeth were blood red. If I hadn't insisted on not running away, just taking a quick glance, I would have thought this painting was a real woman looking down at me from the ceiling.

  I let out a sigh of relief, only to realize that I was drenched in cold sweat. I lay weakly on the "bed", thinking to myself, could this be what Er Lang said he wanted me to see? Did he also see such a "woman" when he lay on this "bed"?

  Of course, no one can tell me the answer to all this. After lying down for a while, I got up from the 'bed', pulled the quilt tight, and was about to go see Lao Chu when my foot seemed to step on something, and as it moved forward, it made a slight rubbing sound.

  I lowered my head and moved my left foot, and found a mobile phone SIM card under my foot. It was probably originally at the bottom of the 'bed' and was brought out by my foot. I curiously picked up the card, wondering whose it was. Since I got to know Er Liang, he seemed to have only had one number.

  I didn't take this matter to heart, even if it was really Erliang's, what could I do? Everyone should have their own secrets. Just as I was about to put the SIM card back, I suddenly had a thought: If this is really Erliang's card, would there be any useful clues inside for me?

  I was excited by this idea, and quickly took out my mobile phone card, then put the SIM card in, installed the battery, turned it on. My heart was racing, fortunately the card still worked. I opened the address book, and my body couldn't help but shake. There was only one number inside, a number that I knew all too well, because it was my own phone number.

  A sense of foreboding had been lurking in my heart, so I tried calling the number on the mobile phone that Niang had given me. As it turned out, it was just as I had suspected: this was the mysterious number that had sent me a text message telling me to go back home and take a look.

  Why is this card here? Didn't Erliang tell me it was an empty number? Has he been deceiving me all along? I dialed the number back with my mother's phone, and indeed, the voice on the other end said: "Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service."

  I suddenly feel like laughing, I actually forgot that there's something in the world called a prank call. It's because I trusted Erlang too much, so I didn't suspect anything at all. But why did Erlang deceive me?

  Just then, the phone in my hand suddenly rang. It wasn't my usual mobile phone, but the one with that SIM card installed. I was startled by the sudden ringtone and saw an unfamiliar number, but carefully picked it up anyway. Since this person had called me, maybe I could get some information out of them.

  The phone connected, and an old woman said slowly: "Welcome to the Dream Club."

  My body shook uncontrollably and I asked: "Where is the Dream Club?"

  That voice was indeed as I had expected. After a stifling sigh, the gloomy response came: "You're already at the club." Then there were a few "beeps" and the phone hung up. I called again, but no one answered.

  Dream Club, you've finally found me here. I don't know what relationship Erliang has with this Dream Club, but I'm determined to continue investigating this matter, even if I now know that Erliang deceived me at first. Because I always feel that Erliang's death is related to this club, thinking of that gradually reddening white 'jade' peony, perhaps the next person to have an accident might be me.

  Although it seems like I've found a clue, I just can't grasp one and pursue it relentlessly. Every time a clue appears, it breaks off and doesn't give me the chance to explore the answer. Of course, I don't believe what that old woman said on the phone, thinking that Er Lang's home is the Dream Club. As for why she would say that, I just can't figure it out either.

  I sat back down, trying to sort out the recent events: Erliang said his ideal was in that old mansion deep in the mountains, where nothing else had been found except for the painting I got, but after studying it for a long time, almost using the water and fire torture from martial arts novels, I still couldn't figure anything out. Erliang kept saying there must be another way, currently, the only thing I can do is go take a look at Old Chu's place.

  I just remembered the painting I got, and now I've decided to go visit Old Chu's house. It's only natural that I thought of Xiao Rui again. For so many days, she hasn't been answering my calls or responding to my texts. I think she's still mad at me, so all I can do is keep waiting until her anger fades away, or until I write a good story about it.

  Now I have to pay attention to that old woman at all times, so after leaving Erliang's house, I immediately went to buy a mobile phone and took the bus to Lao Chu's house. I quickly arrived at his door and used the old method to open the door and slip in.

  Lao Chu's home was still the same, only with a thicker layer of dust and a foul smell due to poor ventilation. I didn't dare open the curtains or windows, fearing that someone would see me and cause unnecessary trouble. If someone saw me at night, they might think this place is haunted again. Suddenly, I had an idea: after Chu Jiangshan's death, people also saw shadows moving in his room at midnight. Could it be that someone was searching for something in his home, just like my purpose here in Lao Chu's house?

  I patted my head, telling myself not to think about these things for now. This is a habit I've developed over the years of writing - whenever I see anything, I try to associate it with more things. But now is clearly not the time to exercise my imagination. I took a look around Old Chu's room, and the decorations here are all too familiar to me, really hard to find any new inspiration.

  Since I've come all the way here, I couldn't just take a casual look and leave. But after circling around again, I still didn't find anything. I sat down on the sofa in frustration, thinking about why Erliang had to come here. Lao Chu was already dead, what was Erliang's purpose for coming here? Just then, my eyes suddenly lit up, and I finally found a place that wasn't quite right.

  Yang Hui told the developer boss that he had picked up a few pieces of 'jade' pendants from a dry well, one of which was given to the boss and later sold to Old Chu; Yang Hui himself also sold several pieces out. From Erliang's reaction at the time, it can be seen that he already owned such a 'jade' pendant then. This is certainly not possible for Yang Hui to sell to him, otherwise he would not have recognized Yang Hui. After Old Chu's death, whether on his body or in his room, no 'jade' pendants were found. Is it possible that Erliang's 'jade' pendant was given by Old Chu?

  The more I think about it, the more likely it seems, but the problem is that even if I do understand these things, there's no use now - both people are already dead. That piece of 'jade' pendant has strangely changed color and is on my body. My eyes scanned around and landed on that pile of papers in front of the sofa. If I had to say what it is here that I haven't carefully checked, it would be these papers.

  The last time I accompanied Xiaorui here, I saw a few pieces of paper with some messy words on them, but Lao Chu carefully preserved them. I suspect that Lao Chu has a strong voyeuristic desire, which is why he kept these papers that recorded people's psychology so well.

  I sat down and looked through the papers one by one, just when the light in the room was getting darker and I could hardly see the words, I finally found a notebook.

  Yes, it's not a piece of paper, but a notebook. As I flipped through the pages, the cover page had a few words written on it: "Their Secret". I curiously continued to flip through, and on the first page, there were only three words, but these three words made my pupils shrink instantly. On it was written: "Ye Erliang".

  I eagerly turned the page, but my heart suddenly sank, as if I had fallen from a high mountain into an abyss: all the pages behind were torn off!

  I persisted in flipping through, and on another piece of paper, I saw two more words: Wang Qiang. I held my breath and carefully flipped over the paper, but there was nothing useful behind it, only a faint mark left after the paper had been torn off.

  This notebook was quickly flipped through by me, but except for their names, the rest were all blank sheets of paper, just like my current brain is a complete blank.

  I slumped powerlessly on the sofa, my last lead had been cut off, I didn't know how to investigate further. I closed my eyes, feeling a bit tired. I had no idea what I should do next. Just then, a familiar sound suddenly came from behind me: "Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding", followed by the sound of marbles rolling on the ground.

  I was suddenly frightened by this voice, my first reaction was to quickly turn around, but behind me was a wall, white wall, nothing. Just then, I felt something lightly touched my shoe, I was so scared that I immediately jumped onto the sofa, and when I looked down, I saw a glass marble rolling at my feet.

  The "click" sound came from behind me, but there was only a white wall behind me. Where did this glass marble come from? My heart had been tightly gripped, as if there was someone in the room that I couldn't see, just like every time I felt at Erliang's house. Was there also a pair of green bricks hidden behind this white wall?

  Just as I was indulging in wild thoughts, the "clattering" sound came from the room again. Although this time the sound came just as suddenly, but I wasn't scared because I finally found out where the marbles were coming from.

  At that very moment, I saw a marble falling from the top of my head and then bouncing on the ground several times. I hastily lifted my head and then saw an unforgettable scene that I could hardly forget again.

  In the corner of the rooftop, a short rope was hanging from the neck of a doll. The doll wore a black nightgown and had long hair, but its head was bowed down, with empty eye sockets. The two glass beads that were once in its eyes had fallen to the ground. Even in the dim light, I could see the grayish white color around its eye sockets.

  This pair of empty, hollow eyes stared at me, as if they wanted to see through my soul. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in from somewhere, and the doll began to shake. In that instant, I seemed to hear again the "creak creak" sound I had heard that night in the old mansion.

  Because I didn't notice anything unusual in the house on previous visits, this time I didn't even look up. Moreover, the position of that doll was just a blind spot, and the lighting wasn't particularly good, so it couldn't be found even if one looked for it. It wasn't until those two glass beads fell down that I discovered the doll hanging above.

  This is a very strange discovery, not only because hanging dolls here is a weird thing to do, but also because I'm familiar with this doll, it's the one Xiaorui took away last time.

  Xiaohui definitely wouldn't be bored enough to run back alone and hang the doll from the ceiling with a rope, so who did this, or is Xiaohui in trouble now?

  As soon as I thought that Xiaorui might be in trouble, my heart became even more tense. I quickly took out my phone and dialed a number, but like every other time, the call went through but no one answered. I could only hang up and send a text message, but Xiaorui still didn't respond to me. In my anxiety, I thought of Aunt Er, who had introduced Xiaorui to me. She should have Xiaorui's address.

  I hastily dialed my mom's phone number, asked for Auntie Er's contact information, and immediately called her. However, the answer she gave me was disappointing. She said that it was also very late when Xiao Rui walked into her matchmaking agency on her own accord, and she didn't even leave an address or anything. Since Auntie Er thought Xiao Rui was a good person, with the idea of "not letting good water flow into someone else's field", she immediately thought of me, and at the end, she even asked about my recent progress with concern.

  I didn't even have the heart to deal with Erniang, so I just made up an excuse and hung up the phone. I thought about going to the police station to file a report. Although I don't know anything about Xiaorui, what if something really happened to her?

  Just then, my phone rang and a message came in. I quickly took out my mobile phone, but it was an unfamiliar number. When I opened it, it read: "Do you want to know their secret?"

  I was stunned for a moment, and then I understood. I looked at the notebook that I had thrown on the sofa, and I thought to myself: if this person wanted to hide something from me, why didn't they just take the whole notebook away? Why did they leave behind these two pages with their names on them? Now that I've seen this message, I think I understand. It's like bait - he's been luring me in step by step.

  I don't know who this person is or where he wants to lure me to, but I still replied with a text message: "Want."

  The text message came back quickly: "Tell me your dreams, your deepest 'desires' in your soul!"

  My eyes almost snapped shut instantly, and I immediately replied, "Dream Club?"

  The other party didn't reply to my message this time, and I didn't call them either, because I knew they definitely wouldn't answer. So after staring at it for a while, I sent another one: "I want to know the truth."

  "This time the other party quickly responded, but still with that old phrase: 'Tell me your dreams, your soul's deepest desires!'"

  I fell silent for a moment, and it seemed that the other party had some understanding of me and did not think that my "want to know the truth" came from the depths of my soul. But what was the dream in the depths of my soul? At this moment, I was a little dazed, forgetting about Xiaohua, forgetting about the doll hanging on the "Tianhua" board, and forgetting that it was already dark outside.

  I finally made up my mind and sent a message saying: "I want to write the most terrifying story."

  The reply came back quickly: "As you wish."

  At that moment, I suddenly felt that there was an extra person in the room. That strange feeling filled my whole body. My back was clearly against a white wall, and it was fine just now, so why did I suddenly have this feeling?

  I suddenly turned around, and of course there was no one behind me. The light in the room had already become very dim, but I didn't dare turn on the lights. I was afraid that others would mistake me for a thief, and if they called the police, I would be in big trouble. After thinking about it, I decided to come back tomorrow instead. As for "as I wished", I was completely baffled and couldn't understand what it meant.

  Just as I was about to close the door, I suddenly heard a "thud" sound coming from inside the house. My instincts made me raise my head and look at the doll, and all the hairs on my body stood up: even in the darkness, I could clearly see its pale face with empty eye sockets smiling at me.