Chapter 29: The Ninth Well (1)

  Xiaohui once showed me a photo of her when she was little, which is exactly the same as this one in the newspaper. If the news in the newspaper is true, then why did Xiaohui pretend to be that dead little girl?

  I don't understand why Xiaorui had to do this, she didn't even get the house left by Old Chu, nor did she make others recognize her identity, and deep down I feel that Xiaorui probably doesn't care about being Old Chu's 'daughter' at all, so why did she say those things to me?

  I thought of sending a text message to Xiaorui several times, but I finally held back. Everyone has their own secrets, and I shouldn't pry into them. But just then, a sentence suddenly popped out of my heart: "Use their secrets to write the real story."

  Perhaps I can use Xiaohui's secret to write a better suspense story? This thought flashed through my mind, but immediately I was startled by this sudden idea: What's wrong with me, for the sake of writing, I actually compromised my own principles, and what's more, it's about Xiaohui.

  I shook my head, trying not to think about these things, and continued to study the clippings. But my mind kept wandering back to the doll hanging from the ceiling in Old Chu's house, which looked just like the scene described in the newspaper. If this was indeed a tragedy that had befallen Old Chu's family, then who could have hung the doll from the ceiling?

  I thought and thought, the only possibility is the murderer himself.

  I didn't have any 'dealings' with Old Chu, if it wasn't for Er Liang I wouldn't even know he existed, and if it wasn't for Xiao Hua's words I wouldn't be thinking about these issues. But if I could figure out that this really did happen at Old Chu's house, then I can confirm that Xiao Hua is just pretending to be Old Chu's 'daughter'. Naturally, I won't need to have any reservations, and I can write whatever I want. As for catching the culprit, it's not something I'm capable of doing.

  This uncle of mine, whom I had never met before, was indeed a die-hard detective fan. This was an involuntary exclamation that came out after I flipped through this page, because he would personally go to the scene to investigate any criminal case that occurred near the city, and then make his own inference in his own way, of course all of this was his one-man show, and he didn't hand these over to the public security for review.

  On the previous page, I saw two photos. One was a man in his 30s, and I could vaguely see Old Chu's appearance from it. The other was a young woman who looked like Xiaorui. Below were the materials written by my father's friend, saying that the man's surname was Chu, and the woman's name was Liu Huifang. Although they had been living together for a long time, they did not obtain a marriage certificate. They had one son and one daughter. As for the reason of the case, this uncle did not analyze anything out, nor did he hear any useful news from the neighbors. In the end, it could only be attributed to an unsolved mystery case. However, judging from the relevant reports later on, this case has indeed remained unsolved until now.

  But what I'm concerned about is not these, but that photo of Liu Huifang. No matter how I look at it, it's Xiao Hua's face. The woman in the photo smiled slightly, and suddenly I couldn't help but shiver, because I remembered that painting, this woman's smile, exactly the same as the one in the painting.

  Xiao Rui only had a face similar to the person in the painting, but this woman named Liu Huifang was identical even when she smiled. The only difference was that she didn't have those blood-red teeth. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but look at her lips in the photo, and in that instant, I felt as if she had come to life. Her black eyes seemed to be staring at me, revealing a strange smile.

  I tossed the clippings into a corner of the wall, not wanting to look at them again. I don't know if it's just my imagination or because I've been immersed in this for so long, but I feel like everything in these clippings is eerie, especially the photo of Liu Huifang that I saw earlier, which gave me a strange feeling. Thinking about Xiaorui's appearance, I couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that Xiaorui is really the 'daughter' of Old Chu and Liu Huifang? Otherwise, how could she look so similar?

  But I just thought about it and didn't pursue it seriously, after all these years, this kind of thing is only known to the people involved, Lao Chu is dead, Liu Hui Fang doesn't know where she is, Xiao Rui doesn't even respond to my texts now, everything is just a confusing case for me, and coincidentally I know the people inside, that's all. I won't think about these things anymore, I still need to get into the "spirit" of creating my story, in two days it's time to submit the manuscript, and I haven't found inspiration yet.

  I sat in front of the computer, unable to think of a single word. My eyes involuntarily fixed on the clippings on the wall corner again, and the tragic case I saw earlier reappeared in my mind: Why not, I might as well write this story? Anyway, Xiaohui shouldn't be Lao Chu's 'daughter', and whatever relationship is inside isn't particularly important to me. Even if Xiaohui reads this article in the future, I can completely say that I came up with it out of thin air.

  Once I had found an excuse for myself in my heart, everything that followed was no longer a problem. I quickly came up with an outline for a novel, which I titled "Rocking to Grandma's Bridge". This is a title that I am quite proud of, because at that moment, I thought of the doll hanging from the ceiling, and its swaying motion, and thus came up with this warm yet terrifying name.

  Just as I was proud of this article, the text message suddenly rang out. When I opened it, it was from the Dream Club. Now I'm full of curiosity and good feelings towards this mysterious Dream Club. I even think that my previous suspicion about Er Lang's death being related to it was a mistake. As for me, you can say that the Dream Club has step by step pushed me into the position of the so-called first person in the new generation of horror writers. It taught me how to write, and there's nothing unusual about me.

  I also once suspected that the letter about Chu Jiangshan and Wang Qiang's creative experience was a ghost, but fortunately, there is a biggest difference between me and them. Everything I wrote later was written by myself, not relying on others to tell stories. Moreover, until now, I haven't seen any "female" with red teeth coming to find me. Gradually, I almost regarded this mysterious number as my teacher and friend.

  So I happily opened the message and saw it written: "Do you still want to write better?"

  This is simply nonsense. Being a great horror writer has always been my dream, but to be honest, although many people like what I'm writing now, every time I finish writing, I always feel that something is missing, so when I saw this message, I replied without thinking: "Think."

  The text message came back quickly: "Go find the ninth well."

  This is the most inexplicable one I've received from Dream Club in such a long time. Although I couldn't quite understand what it meant, I knew she wouldn't be joking with me, so I carefully sent back: "Where to find?"

  The short message replied again: "Old house."

  My heart is gradually getting a little cold, because I was just saying that I am different from Chu Jiangshan and others, but now I think I have encountered the same thing as Chu Jiangshan: when two people are gradually approaching success, we both need to go back to the old house again.

  What's waiting for me in the old mansion? Chu Jiangshan returned to the old mansion not long ago and mysteriously died, will I be next? My heart inexplicably tightened, suddenly remembering something, hastily bending down from the corner of the 'bed' to 'feel' out an object, it was my ancestral jade pendant that I hadn't worn in a long time. Spreading open my palm, the peony flower's color had changed from pink to pale red, like a dull bloodstain.

  One night I didn't sleep well, and the next morning I packed my bags to head back to the old mansion in the deep mountains. Of course, I didn't tell my family where I was going, just saying I was attending a creative workshop outside, and it would take more than half a month to return. Then I asked for leave from the editor-in-chief, brought some essential items, and set off.

  Sitting in the car, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. The last time I came to this place, although I was also alone at first, at least Er Liang would join me soon after. But this time, no matter how long I waited, it would only be me facing everything alone. Er Liang is gone now. Sometimes I wonder if it's because of my fault that Er Liang died. If I had shown him that painting, maybe he wouldn't have been in trouble.

  I've thought of burning that painting for Er Lang several times, although I don't really believe he'll receive it even if I do. But perhaps by doing so, my own heart will be at peace. People are always like this, using all sorts of excuses to do all sorts of things, and the ultimate goal is actually just to comfort their own minds in various ways. The world is so big, how many people can really transcend these things?

  The painting didn't burn after all, because I thought Erlang's ideal must not be to find this painting, but something behind it. I had to help him fulfill his dream. When I thought of this, I suddenly felt a little ashamed. For the past few months, I've been thinking about my own affairs and almost forgot about Erlang, even though he was always on my mind.

  As I dozed off in the car, my mind wandered and before long, we arrived at our destination. I found the same hotel as last time and deliberately asked for the same room again. After turning off the lights and going to bed, I faintly felt that someone was watching me from across the way. I knew this was because I missed Er Lang.

  If there really are ghosts, then let me see you. I thought to myself and opened my eyes, of course, nothing was there except for the empty bed across from me with a sheet as white as snow, just like the one that had been spread over Erliang's body that day.

  Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. Tomorrow I still have to get up early, so I forced myself to go to bed early. What will happen tomorrow at the old mansion, even I don't know, but I have no choice but to go. Although I keep saying that there are no ghosts or gods in this world, yet I've encountered too many inexplicable and incomprehensible things.

  Will my final outcome be the same as Chu Jiangshan's? I asked myself in my heart, and at this moment, a familiar feeling came again. Someone was watching me, not an illusion this time. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel it. I quickly opened my eyes and saw a fleeting figure in front of me, wearing red clothes, a little girl. I had seen her once before at Er Liang's house, but this time I saw more clearly.

  I quickly sat up from the 'bed', didn't have time to put on shoes, immediately turned on the light and rushed in the direction where the little 'girl' disappeared. I wanted to see who this little 'girl' was and how she got into my room. The room is small, almost completely visible at a glance. The little 'girl' ran towards the 'door', next to which is the bathroom.

  The door of the room was still locked, and it was impossible for anyone to come in. Was there really a ghost? I thought so, but suddenly there was a loud "whoosh" sound, which scared me. Listening carefully, I found that it was just the showerhead in the bathroom that had suddenly started spraying water.

  The conditions of this inn were not particularly good, and the facilities inside were a bit outdated, which I knew from my first stay. But this sudden change still scared me. I remembered what my mother had told me about the strange things she encountered in the inn. My heart was so tense that it seemed to jump out of my chest. However, my purpose for coming here this time was precisely because of these mysterious events. If I retreated now due to fear, how could I face even more mysterious and unpredictable events? If I couldn't face them and solve these matters, would Old Chu's fate be mine as well?

  I'm not that I'm not afraid, I'm just being 'forced' to have no qualification to be afraid. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down, then I slowly pushed open the bathroom door.

  The bathroom was filled with mist, and as I walked in, I couldn't see very clearly. I stood at the 'door' for a moment, waiting for the mist to dissipate, and then I saw that the showerhead inside was gushing out hot water, but there was no scene inside that I had been worried about.

  I let out a sigh of relief, feeling that I had been overly nervous, and walked forward to find that the faucet was just faulty. I carefully turned it off, this broken place almost scared me to death.

  After all the commotion, my sleepiness was completely gone. I simply turned on the faucet and washed my face. When I lifted my head to look in the mirror, it was covered with steam and I couldn't see myself at all. I casually wiped it off, and the mirror became clear again. But then I let out a loud scream because what I saw in the mirror wasn't me, but another person.

  It was a little girl hanging, but different from the one I saw at Old Chu's house. A rope was tied around her neck and she was hung high above the ground. Her long hair fell down, covering her face, but I could see clearly that she was wearing a red skirt.

  I don't need to turn around, I know for sure that there's nothing scary behind me. Even if there was, at least my reflection should be in the mirror, but now all I see is a small girl hanging from it. My mind goes blank and I'm paralyzed with fear. The image has an eerie feeling to it. As I stare at the mirror, the little girl's corpse starts swaying gently, gradually increasing in speed, as if she's about to burst out of the mirror. Along with her swaying motion, her hair flies up, and finally, I see her face clearly.