Witchcraft

  The boss's wife told the story so vividly that Liu Zhen and I were completely absorbed in it, our hearts racing and our hair standing on end.

  "What happened next?" I asked. By now, I was completely absorbed in the story.

  "What happened later?" The boss's wife raised an eyebrow and said, "As for what happened later, Cao the cripple doesn't remember anything. Think about it, who wouldn't be scared if they encountered something like this in the middle of the night? Cao the cripple is already considered brave, if this kind of thing were to happen to an ordinary person, they'd probably be scared to death!"

  I nodded and thought it was right, so I said: "So, he fainted from fright?"

  The boss's wife pursed her lips and said, "At first, I thought so too, but Cao Qiu Zi told me that he wasn't scared into a coma at the time. Instead, he smelled a pungent smell that was very irritating to his nose and felt strange. After smelling it for a while, everything in front of him started to become blurry, as if it were some kind of anesthetic. Soon after, he fainted." The boss's wife poured herself a cup of tea, moistened her throat, and continued, "Following the normal train of thought, Cao Qiu Zi was definitely more likely to be unlucky than lucky. However, on the second day early in the morning, he actually woke up in a daze. After checking his body, he didn't find any injuries, only that his face was a bit pale, as if he had been scared stiff the night before."

  Upon hearing this, Liu Zhen and I let out a deep breath. Liu Zhen said: "After that, the residents of that old apartment building moved away one after another?"

  The boss's wife nodded and said, "Yes, because there have been too many strange things happening. What I've told you is really insignificant."

  The landlady told us that, in fact, even before the demolition company came here, there were almost no one living in the old apartment. The remaining few households probably had big guts and didn't move out. Later, the demolition company came to prepare for the demolition, but several people were sent to negotiate the demolition matters, which was not very successful. Firstly, that crazy woman was eerie and everyone was a little afraid of her; secondly, as the news spread from person to person, it gradually became a haunted apartment in people's mouths. Some people even believed that the crazy woman was not human at all, which is similar to my initial suspicion.

  Liu Zhen asked casually: "Then, have you ever heard that there is a person with the surname Duan living in that apartment building?"

  The landlady thought for a moment and replied, "I don't know about that. Few people know who lives in that apartment building now. I think it's probably some elderly people with no family or support."

  I didn't say anything to Liu Zhen, and the boss's wife saw that we were no longer talking, and her own story was over, so she left. At this time, neither of us had much appetite, I just drank silently, my mind a complete blank. Liu Zhen on the side was also just smoking and drinking tea, wondering what he was thinking about. As for Bu Jin, her posture had hardly changed at all.

  We just sat there like this, nobody said a word, as if everyone was thinking about their own things, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward for a while.

  At two o'clock in the afternoon, we settled the bill and returned to that old dilapidated apartment building, continuing to wait for Duan Yuwen downstairs.

  The taste of waiting is always unbearable, we have nothing to do, it can be said that waiting for Duanyu Wen is the only thing we can do now. I don't usually smoke, but in this extremely boring wait, I also asked Liu Zhen for a few cigarettes to relieve my boredom. The two of us sat in the shade of the old apartment, chatting idly about past events. But Bu Jin seemed to be unable to calm down all the time, I rarely saw her like this, she kept pacing back and forth anxiously, but more often, she just looked at the old apartment with a worried expression, as if worrying that it would suddenly collapse.

  It was soon six o'clock, but neither Liu Zhen nor I suggested going to eat. Obviously, neither of us had an appetite. Liu Zhen and I almost talked about all the experiences we shared over the years, but soon we didn't have anything else to chat about. We were both very anxious.

  Just then, my mobile phone suddenly rang. I took it out and looked at it with joy - it was Gao Peng. For the past two days, since I had fainted for a night, I had almost forgotten about the task that I had assigned to him.

  I answered the phone and said, "What took you so long to call me?"

  "I haven't finished the task you assigned me, how can I have the nerve to call you? Besides, it's a long distance..."

  "Enough," I interrupted his nagging, saying: "I beg you not to bother me with those useless words anymore, come on, have you completed the task I assigned to you?"

  "You still have the nerve to say that," said Gao Peng. "However, before you do, you must first answer a question of mine and answer truthfully."

  "Ask quickly." I said impatiently.

  "What kind of people have you guys offended?" Gao Peng asked, "If you still consider me a friend, then don't say you don't know and also don't try to deceive me with those irrelevant and harmless words."

  I was confused by Gao Peng's words for a moment, but I quickly reacted and asked: "Is something wrong with our family?"

  "You answer my question first," Gao Peng said resolutely. I was surprised to hear this, because although Gao Peng is usually petty, he often accommodates me in trivial matters and rarely takes a strong stance like today.

  I sighed and said, "Gao Peng, I regard you as my good brother. Do you think there's anything that I would hide from you? Now I'm in Yunnan, and I don't even know what happened at home."

  "You'd better stop talking nonsense and save it for fooling ghosts." Gao Peng said disdainfully.

  Actually, Gao Peng's reaction was within my expectation. However, I really didn't find it convenient to tell him the whole story of how I ended up in Yunnan over the phone. But judging from his tone, if I didn't give him an answer, he definitely wouldn't let it go. So I casually made up a lie and said: "Alright then, now that things have come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore. To be honest with you, brother, I've gotten into big trouble and my current situation is very dangerous, so I can only temporarily come to Yunnan to avoid it for the time being. It's also not convenient for me to talk too much on the phone right now, so quickly tell me what happened at home, otherwise I really am in danger at any moment."

  "What happened at your home has nothing to do with whether you're in danger or not in Yunnan." Gao Peng said puzzled.

  I knew this kid was no good, suddenly bursting into a loud scolding: "What the hell is wrong with you, always talking so much nonsense? When I ask you to speak, just speak quickly, don't tease me!"

  Gao Peng seemed to have sensed my anxiety, and perhaps also because he had indeed discovered something strange in my home, so he didn't press the issue further. Instead, he said, "Alright, I'll tell you. But before I do, can I complain to you for a bit?"

  I almost fainted when I heard this, and hastily said: "Complain, complain quickly."

  At this time, Gao Peng began to speak seriously: "You told me before that when there was no light in your house, I should sneak into the room quietly. You don't know, but I almost got killed because of what you said."

  I was startled upon hearing it and asked: "What did you say?"

  "Everything was as you thought, indeed someone broke into your house, but it didn't seem like a thief." Gaoping said: "The second night after you hung up on me, I went to your house. When I was downstairs, I looked up and saw that the windows of your house were all dark. At this time, a man came over, so I followed him into the corridor with him. We walked one after another, I followed behind him. The man's face was very cold, and I didn't know what he did, anyway, it looked like a tough guy, besides, there was a long scar on his lips, which looked scary."

  "You don't have to tell me every detail, just give me the main points." I said.

  "Shut up, this is the main thing." Gaoping's reaction was really beyond my expectation. He cleared his throat and continued: "To be honest with you, I'm a bit afraid of that scar-faced man. But that scar-faced guy seems to be on guard against me too, as if he's worried that I'll suddenly attack him from behind. At first, I felt very puzzled, but soon I knew why he had such a reaction. When we walked to the fourth floor, he suddenly stopped in front of your door."

  As soon as I heard it, my heart skipped a beat and I thought that someone else had indeed entered our home.

  He continued, "At that time, he didn't have any preparatory movements, it was as if the movie suddenly paused, and he froze in a very abrupt manner. Then, he suddenly turned around, staring at me with a terrifying gaze." He paused for a moment, seemingly still shaken, before continuing, "Luckily, I reacted quickly, just pretending to be clueless, and walked past him towards the fifth floor. Only then did that scar-faced man let his guard down, knocking on your door. At that time, I didn't dare turn back, but I heard the door being pushed open, and the scar-faced man said something in a low voice before entering. As I was about to turn back, I caught a glimpse of a middle-aged man with a shaved head wearing a black jacket, staring at me vigilantly. I couldn't see his face clearly because it was almost entirely covered in tattoos - intricate patterns that resembled auspicious clouds, densely packed like some sort of ancient mysterious totem. Generally, totems are animals, but the patterns on that man's face looked just like a grasshopper's head."