Chapter Fifty-Seven "Chapter Fifty-Five" (Three)

  I hastily returned home to grab some essentials, then immediately hailed a car and rushed to that small town. I didn't have the heart to chat with the driver along the way; my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of where Mom and Dad were now, what had happened to them. I didn't know who made that phone call or what they heard on the other end, but judging from all the signs, I felt it was highly likely that the two elderly people had also come to search for our old home, secretly and in a hurry. I don't know what exactly happened here, but now my only hope is that they're both safe and sound. I must catch up with them before they do anything.

  Because of the silence on the way, the driver drove very fast. Although I left much later than the two old men, when I arrived at the town and checked the time, if they really came here to find their old home, they should have arrived only two hours earlier than me. There were not many hotels in the town, and I went from door to door asking about them, but unfortunately, no one knew anything about their whereabouts. The long-distance bus was parked there, but unfortunately, the driver could not be found, and there was no way to contact him, nor could anyone confirm whether two old men were on his bus. This left only two possibilities: either they had not come here at all, or they had not rested after the tiring journey and had set off directly in the dark to find their old home. Whatever the situation, I had to rush over immediately; I couldn't let anything happen to them.

  I'm finally going to face the old mansion again, and apart from the worry and anxiety caused by the two elderly people, I also feel a deep-seated fear. This fear is different from before, after reading that letter written by my so-called ancestor, I thought I already knew the truth of the matter, although it's still the same fear, at least I'm clear about the cause, but because of that strange dream, what I saw and heard in the dream made me suddenly feel like there's something behind the truth I understand, some secret I don't know.

  Fifty-five folding doors, strange sounds in dreams, the mysterious author who writes down all my stories, what else is there that I don't know?

  I hastily purchased some batteries and other items, but the small local shops didn't have much good stuff to sell. My main priority was finding the two elderly people so I could bring them back home as soon as possible, which meant I wouldn't be returning to that remote mountain mansion again. As a result, I didn't buy many things, and while shopping, I also didn't gather any useful information from the small shop owners. It seemed that the two elderly people hadn't bought their necessary equipment here either, or perhaps they simply didn't know what to bring since they rarely left home. This made me increasingly anxious. I paid a high price for a car ride to take me to the mountain road entrance, then turned on my flashlight and began walking forward.

  At this time, the weather was approaching early winter, especially on the mountain, it felt even colder. I climbed up a high stone and stood on tiptoes to look ahead, hoping to see a light in the distance, perhaps that was where the two old men were heading. Unfortunately, no matter how long I looked, all I saw was darkness ahead, so I had to come down from the stone and continue walking towards the deep mountain village with heavy steps.

  Many of the leaves on the trees on the mountain have withered and fallen, making a rustling sound when stepped on. In this environment, it feels particularly terrifying to hear this sound, as if it's not coming from under your feet, but from behind you, or in front of you, or from some unseen corner. I kept encouraging myself, trying not to think about the things that made me feel uneasy. Just then, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. In front of me and to the right, I seemed to see a faint light in the bushes. I shone my flashlight around, and suddenly got goosebumps on my back.

  I'm familiar with this place, last time I stayed here for a while and saw a doll hanging from the tree. Now in the deep mountain at midnight, I'm alone, and that thing emitting light is under the tree.

  I hesitated, feeling my legs start to go soft, but I gritted my teeth and shone the flashlight at that tree. The leaves on the tree had fallen off in large quantities, and the strange-shaped trunk and branches looked incredibly ominous under the beam of light, but fortunately there wasn't a doll hanging from it, which made me breathe a sigh of relief.

  I casually picked up a branch from the small tree by the side of the road, carefully walked towards the light, and then gently swept it with the branch. Only then did I realize that the source of the light was a flashlight, and the light had already become very dim. It seemed that the battery inside wouldn't last much longer either.

  I picked up the flashlight, and for some reason, I started to feel a thrill of excitement. This must have been left behind by the two old people; otherwise, who would be running around in this godforsaken place at midnight? As soon as I thought of "godforsaken place", my heart suddenly skipped a beat: this tree is not in the middle of the road, to be precise, it should be on the slope beside the road. If this was really left behind by the two old people, why didn't they just walk on the good road, but instead climbed up onto this slope and then left the flashlight here?

  Won't they be scared because they also saw something on this tree, so they dropped the flashlight and didn't even have the courage to pick it up?

  A surge of ominous thoughts flooded my mind. I looked around and shouted loudly, "Dad! Mom! It's me, Ari!"

  No one answered me except for the cold wind on the mountain that went "Woooo".

  I let out a loud cry and almost tumbled down the slope, then ran forward desperately. I seemed to hear someone behind me following me, his feet trampling on the ground, making a rustling sound, just like mine, but I knew it wasn't me.

  Luckily, I was still holding the flashlight in my hand. Although I was already scared stiff and my legs were trembling, I stopped in my tracks. There was no one behind me. Maybe all of this was just my imagination. I knew that people could have all sorts of hallucinations under certain circumstances, especially since I had seen ghosts before. Erniang had been following me around just a few days ago, and it was all related to the old mansion in the deep mountains. So, it was normal for me to be having hallucinations. I comforted myself with this thought and continued walking towards the old mansion.

  In extreme fear, people tend to neglect many things, neglect time, and neglect fatigue. I don't have the habit of wearing a watch, and my phone is nowhere to be found, probably lost when I rolled down the slope earlier. So I also don't know how long I've been walking until the sky turned light, and finally saw that familiar stone. Standing on the stone, I saw the old house which had not yet fully emerged from the darkness of night.

  When I finally came down from the mountain, the sky was getting brighter and brighter. Although it wasn't daytime yet, at least I could see the road in front of me without using my flashlight. It was then that I noticed a thin layer of frost had already formed on the side of the road. What struck me as strange was that there wasn't a single person in the village.

  I remember that the last two times I came, the old people in the village got up very early, but now the village is quiet and deserted, not even a dog barking can be heard. My heart sank slowly, and I hurried along the familiar road to come to the door of a house, gently knocked on the door, and shouted a few times: "Old He, Old He."

  Inside was quiet, I wonder if he hadn't woken up yet? Or is it that the old man's age has made his ears bad? I thought so, and couldn't help but add a bit of force to my hand, as a result, the door was suddenly opened by me. It seems that the door wasn't locked at all. I was startled by this carelessly opened door, seeing the open door, I walked in, still shouting "He Lao Die" in my mouth.

  The room was pitch black, I couldn't hear Old He's response, nor did I know where the light switch was, and I wasn't even sure if there were any lights in this place. Anyway, every time I came before, they were all lighting oil lamps, so I had to turn on my flashlight, but inside, there was still no one. I walked towards Old He's room according to my memory, just about to knock on his door, when suddenly my eyes narrowed, and I discovered a place that didn't feel right.

  Every place illuminated by the flashlight was covered with a thick layer of dust, and this place seemed as if no one had lived here for a long time.

  The ominous feeling in my heart grew more severe, I pushed open the door to He Lao's room with my hand, inside was a bed with neatly folded quilts on it, I touched them with my hand and found that the bed also had a thick layer of dust.

  I rushed out of the house and quickly pushed open another room next door, but there was no one inside either, only a thick layer of dust. My heart sank: what had happened to the people in this village? I had originally wanted to ask them if my parents had also come here, but now they were all gone. I didn't have time to think too much, the old mansion was just there, and I had to hurry over to take a look.

  I rushed quickly towards the old mansion, and from a distance I saw that big gate which had already lost its color, the gate was still tightly closed. I walked up to it, just about to push it open with my hand, when suddenly I stiffened and stopped moving.

  At that moment, I felt as if I had fallen into an ice cave. I knew my guess was correct - the 54 doors represented the 54 chapters of the story. Now this door was right in front of me, with "Chapter 55" written on it. If I pushed open this door, would I be able to know the content of Chapter 55? Would I be able to know my future fate?

  My hand trembled, those five words stared at me coldly. I didn't dare push open the door after all. I don't know what I would see if I pushed it open, was it the tomb in my dream or the voice I heard in my dream?

  I knew that the door was pushed open, it must not be a desolate mountain. Since it's not a desolate mountain, then the grave in my dream won't appear either. But I don't know why I still feel a chill of fear. Just at this moment, I heard a sound coming from inside, as if something had fallen to the ground. My heart skipped a beat, fearing that the two old people were inside and worried that they might have gotten into trouble. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open with force.

  In an instant, my eyes narrowed and my heart began to beat violently.