Chapter 6: The Bizarre Human-Faced Cat (1)

  I had countless strange and wonderful dreams all night, wild chickens, dark rivers, earth turtles, everything I experienced seemed to be replayed in my dream like a movie. I was woken up by the noisy phone ringing, I groggily picked up the phone, and unexpectedly heard a sweet girl's voice on the other end: "Hello? Who are you looking for?"

  I took a look at the caller ID on my phone and it was actually Lao Cong's number. This guy has found himself a woman.

  "I'm Luo Ze, tell Lao Cong to answer the phone." I said loudly.

  Who would have thought that as soon as I spoke, the other person burst into tears. I was puzzled and asked calmly, "What's wrong?"

  "I'm sorry, I'm his sister. He was in a car accident and is still unconscious." The girl said while crying.

  "What's going on?" I exclaimed.

  "Last night..." The girl said with a sob.

  "Oh." I replied while putting on my clothes, "Has that culprit been caught?"

  The girl fell silent as soon as I spoke, as if there was something she couldn't say. After a while, she said: "Brother Luo Ze will understand everything when he arrives!" Then she hung up the phone.

  All the way back, I was thinking about what Lao Cong's sister had said. What exactly was she hiding? I couldn't understand and continued to pedal my bicycle forward. When I returned to the county town, it was already past four in the afternoon. I handed over the receipt slip at the post office, drenched in sweat. Then I bumped into Du Wei, who grabbed my arm so hard that my face almost distorted with pain.

  As I walked across the street, I shook off his hand and said, "What's wrong with you?"

  Du Wei said with a terrified face: "Lao Cong is in trouble, did you know?"

  I nodded and asked immediately: "Which hospital is Lao Cong in now?"

  Du Wei shook his head and waved his hand to stop a taxi, we sat in the back row of the taxi together. Du Wei didn't tell the driver where we were going, he just kept giving directions. I sat next to Du Wei, but my mind was constantly thinking, why didn't Lao Cong stay in the hospital after the car accident?

  I leaned back in the rear seat and after about half an hour or so, a foul odor suddenly rushed into my nostrils.

  "What's with the smell of sewage here?" The driver said while continuing to drive, but Du Wei ignored him and continued to direct the driver to move forward. After driving for over a mile, Du Wei suddenly said: "Uncle, stop here!" and handed the driver some money.

  I pushed open the car door, and a wave of foul smell came rushing towards me like a giant wave, giving me a dizzy feeling for an instant. This strange smell suddenly reminded me of that girl from Beigua Village, but the smell I smelled now seemed even more pungent than what I had smelled on her body.

  "Hurry up, hurry up and close the door, what's that smell?" The driver cursed as he turned the car around and sped away. I covered my nose, while Du Wei stood silently beside me. I looked around at our surroundings, we were about 20 miles from the county town, surrounded by low hills, and currently standing on the road.

  Du Wei pulled me towards the wasteland by the side of the road, and as we walked through it, I vaguely saw a small bungalow in the low-lying valley ahead. The closer we got to the house, the stronger the stench became. It must be the source of the foul smell, my heart skipped a beat, could it be...? I didn't dare think any further, even if it was true, I didn't want to believe it.

  We walked quickly to the front of the bungalow, which was roughly three or four rooms in size, with a low wall surrounding it. Du Wei led me to push open the small door in front of the bungalow, and when the door opened, a girl wearing Nike shoes came out to greet us. This was the first time I had seen this girl, and she wasn't Old Chong's sister. She was slightly taller than Old Chong's sister, with long hair that fell to her shoulders, and a faint smile played on her lips when she saw us.

  I nodded to her with Du Wei, and then the girl led us into the bungalow. As soon as I entered, I felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, because all the curtains in the bungalow were tightly closed. This scene made me feel like I had returned to Zeng's house in Beidao Village. The girl walked to our front after entering the house and gently pushed open the door of the room on the left. Du Wei and I entered that room, under the fluorescent lamp, Lao Cong was half-paralyzed on the bed, with big drops of sweat flowing down from his forehead.