The snow-haired landlord's eyes flickered.
Even with the dimming eyesight of someone at her advanced age, Gu Mian could still see the emotional stirring in her gaze.
The landlord hesitated and spoke, "I know, Doctor Gu, you probably think my house isn't clean, but I can tell you that no one has ever died in this building, not a single person. However, when you mentioned the knocking, it actually reminds me of something..."
Qing Huan watched her intently, waiting for the rest.
"A tenant did die two years ago, but not in the apartment on my side. He was a man in his early thirties named Zhao Wen, and he died in an accident outside."
"He was still renting my place at the time when people found him dead in an outside hotel. It seemed like he starved to death, and his body was already starting to stink when they found him."
Gu Mian asked, "Then what does this dead Zhao Wen have to do with the knocking?"
The landlord slowly continued, "That brings us to why he rented my apartment yet moved out to live elsewhere."
"That Zhao Wen was a hot-blooded young fellow, barely past thirty. He was quite lively when he first moved in, running around and visiting neighbors all day long."
"But not even a month passed before he couldn't take it anymore. I don't know why, but I watched him grow haggard, losing a massive amount of weight, and he didn't even have the strength to walk around."
"Until one time, he secretly asked me if anyone had died in the apartment I rented to him. Of course not; if someone had died, I wouldn't have kept it from him."
"Then he told me that in the middle of the night, he always heard strange knocking on the door, but when he looked outside, there was no one."
"Not long after, he called a few of his friends to come stay with him, but aside from him, no one else could hear that knocking. Every night he couldn't sleep because of it, and later, probably scared out of his wits, he didn't even bother to cancel his lease and hastily rushed back to live at his family home. His home isn't too far from here."
"After that, I didn't hear any news of him for a while."
"As a result, in less than two months, I heard his neighbors discussing that this young fellow had died. Sigh."
When the landlord reached this point, Qing Huan's expression turned a bit strange.
He stiffly twisted his neck to look at Gu Mian. So the thing knocking on Doctor Gu's door last night really was a ghost? So Doctor Gu really had cursed that ghost out from top to bottom last night?
Gu Mian didn't pay too much attention and instead continued asking, "Do you think Zhao Wen's death was related to the knocking he mentioned?"
The landlord shook her head, "I wouldn't know about that. He seemed to have gone back home to live for a period first; you can ask his family for the specific details. I should still have his family's phone number somewhere... left down when he registered for the rental."
As she spoke, she stood up and walked over to a nearby desk, then felt around for a key to open a drawer.
At this moment, Gu Mian suddenly spoke again, "Right, was the room Zhao Wen lived in back then the same one I'm living in now?"
The landlord shook her head, "No, after he died, I never rented that apartment out to anyone else again."
"Although I figured that knocking was just something he imagined, I didn't continue renting out that room. Anyway, my building never stays fully occupied, so it doesn't matter if it stays empty."
"Right up until you came to find me today, I started to find it strange. Could it be that what that child Zhao Wen said was true..."
While speaking, the landlord fished a thick notebook out of the drawer.
It was a notebook with a yellow cover, and the paper was extremely thin, barely thicker than toilet paper. Several pages in the middle had fallen out and been taped back together with scotch tape.
Wearing her reading glasses, she carefully flipped through it, stopping after a good while. "Found it. I have his family's landline..."
Back in 2002, a large portion of people still didn't have personal cell phones, but families generally had landlines.
Gu Mian copied down Zhao Wen's family landline number, bid farewell to the landlord, and brought Qing Huan outside.
Qing Huan closely followed behind Gu Mian. "Doctor Gu, was that Zhao Wen killed by the ghost that was knocking?"
"Probably."
"Then will all of us targeted by those ghosts die just like Zhao Wen..."
Thinking of this, Qing Huan shivered. Those ghosts had actually been killing people all along, and he had no idea which batch of cursed people they were.
Gu Mian patted his shoulder to comfort him. "No need to worry. With me around..."
Qing Huan looked up at him, somewhat moved.
Gu Mian then spoke, "Anyway, as long as I don't die, we won't suffer a total wipeout."
"..."
Zhao Wen's family landline was still in use. When Gu Mian called, a not-so-young woman answered the phone.
"Hello?" A voice came from the opposite side.
"Hello," Gu Mian asked, "Is this Zhao Wen's residence?"
Upon hearing this, the person on the other end obviously paused. Only after a few seconds did she speak with a hint of suspicion, "Who are you..."
"We're from the Supernatural Investigation Bureau. We noticed that a deceased person from a few years ago might have died from a supernatural incident—specifically Zhao Wen. We hope you can assist us with our investigation." Gu Mian paused. "We pay."
Things went very smoothly. Gu Mian and his companion encountered no obstacles in finding Zhao Wen's home address.
Zhao Wen's home wasn't far from Hong Sheng Apartment where Gu Mian lived; it took an hour to get there on foot. It was a somewhat old family residential building.
Though small, the apartment was very clean. At the moment, only a woman approaching forty was at home.
She poured two cups of water and handed them to the two people on the couch.
"I'm Zhao Wen's sister, Zhao Meixiang." The woman looked hesitatingly at Gu Mian. "Are you... a doctor?"
"Mm," Gu Mian nodded. "Members of our Supernatural Investigation Bureau all have main jobs. You don't need to mind it too much."
Only then did Zhao Meixiang pull her gaze back. "You're here to investigate my younger brother, right? Actually, there's no need to pay. As his sister, I've also always wanted to figure out why my brother died."
When talking about Zhao Wen, her expression sank, filled with sorrow.
"He's my only younger brother, and we were especially close since childhood. I never expected him to leave so suddenly. Once he was gone, Mom and Dad were getting up there in age, and they were too heartbroken, so these past two years they followed him out..."
As she spoke, Zhao Meixiang wiped her tears. "Ask whatever you'd like to ask. I will definitely tell you everything I know."
Since she put it that way, Gu Mian asked directly, "I heard from Zhao Wen's landlord back then that for a period of time, he could always hear a knocking on his door. Did Zhao Wen mention this to you when he came back?"
Zhao Meixiang nodded. "At the time, he was working odd jobs at a factory not far from my house. Originally, I wanted him to live here, but he wouldn't agree."
"Back then I was already married, and keeping my younger brother at home to live wasn't really proper, so he went out and rented a place to stay."
"But he hadn't even lived there for a month before he hurried back, without even bringing his luggage. When I asked him what happened, he wouldn't say, and just panicked as he moved into our family's spare room..."
"I was quite worried about him. The next day, seeing that he still hadn't come out, I went into his room to look for him."
"When I went in, he was still inside his quilt, curled up into a tiny, tiny ball. Feeling that something wasn't right, I pulled the quilt back, and then I saw that his face was as pale as paper and his eyes were wide open."
"I got a fright and hurriedly asked him what was going on. With a pale face, he raised his head and asked me..."
"Did you knock on my door yesterday?"
Before you continue