"Here we are. This is the place. It used to belong to the Li family, but their daughter-in-law had a baby, so the old couple moved in with their son to help take care of the child. They lent this house out..."
Knock, knock! Knock knock knock knock!
Bang bang bang...
"Hey, are you really family of that woman?"
"Ma'am, thank you. We'll handle things ourselves from here..."
Click!
"Oh, it's Auntie Qian. I was wondering who was knocking... Hey, Auntie Qian, are you looking for that young couple?"
"It wasn't me..."
Bang bang bang bang!
"A-Miao, you break down the door!"
"Hey, what are you doing..."
Crash!
"Good grief, what's that smell!"
Thud thud thud thud...
"What's going on? What happened?"
"Who are you people? Auntie Qian, who did you bring here?"
"They're... dead... They've been dead for two or three days..."
"Boss! The ring!"
"How could this..."
"Ah!!! There's a dead body!!!"
May 28, 2004: The client's body was discovered. Her limbs were tied to the bedposts, and her abdomen had been cut open. There were signs of a struggle, but no other injuries were found. The Ghost Fetus was missing. The client wore a square-cut diamond ring on her left ring finger. It disappeared after being removed and was confirmed to be a paranormal object, not a physical item.
May 30, 2004: The deaths of Xu Ling and her husband were confirmed. They died in a car accident. According to the police investigation, the two had crossed the road at night and been hit by a passing vehicle. There was nothing unusual about the incident. An investigation into why they had gone out at night had yielded no results.
Attached: Photocopy of the police investigation report.
June 7, 2004: The whereabouts of Xiao Zheng's ghost and Wang Fangjie's body were discovered. It was confirmed that on May 30, 2004, he had appeared in the residential complex where Xu Ling and her husband lived, carrying an infant. He disappeared afterward.
June 15, 2004: Investigation suspended. Case outcome: leads on Xiao Zheng's ghost, Wang Fangjie's body, and the Ghost Fetus had been lost. The case was classified as "unresolved." Room 809 at the Junli Hotel would be monitored long-term, with "Wang Fangjie" set as a keyword. If Wang Fangjie's whereabouts were discovered, the investigation would resume.
January 1, 2005: No abnormalities found in Room 809 at the Junli Hotel.
January 1, 2006: No abnormalities found in Room 809 at the Junli Hotel.
January 1, 2007: No abnormalities found in Room 809 at the Junli Hotel.
January 1, 2008: Unable to book Room 808 at the Junli Hotel. The guests in Room 809 that day were confirmed to be a married couple. Other rooms at the hotel were booked for surveillance.
January 3, 2008: The couple were confirmed to be showing no abnormalities.
January 1, 2009: No abnormalities found in Room 809 at the Junli Hotel. The danger at this location was confirmed to have passed, and surveillance was terminated.
"This one died too, and there aren't even any relatives we can ask." This time, I flipped straight to the end of the case file, skimmed the conclusion, then shrugged at the two brothers, one fat and one thin.
"Why does everyone keep dying? Is there no one who made it out alive?" the skinny one complained. "Could they have all died, turned into vengeful spirits, and killed everyone at that agency?"
"You've got quite an imagination." I gave a dry laugh, unplugged the USB drive attached to the file, and plugged it into the computer. "I think I just picked the wrong ones back then—the files I chose happened to be the cases they'd failed. How about this: you two go look through the other stuff in that filing cabinet?"
"You've got to be kidding me!" The skinny one's face fell, his expression terrified. "I'm not going back in that creepy place! Didn't you feel it when you went in? It was freezing in there! There's definitely something wrong with it!"
"It was a little cold, but it was probably because it hadn't seen sunlight in ages." I clicked the mouse and opened the first page of the file I'd just looked at, "New Year's Day Ghost Fetus."
"I think so too. The windows were covered with tinted film, so not much light got through." The fat one agreed with my explanation.
The skinny one turned to Guo Yujie for support. "Xiao Jie, you thought it was weird too, right?"
"Huh? I didn't really feel anything." Guo Yujie looked perfectly innocent.
With no one on his side, the skinny one looked at us as if we'd let him down. When he saw me take out my headphones and start reading the file carefully, his eyes darted around. He sidled up to me, draped an arm over my shoulder like we were old pals, and said, "Qi-ge, it's all up to you now! You're the bravest one here! Do your little brother a favor and go look for us, okay?"
"This isn't even my responsibility." I took off my headphones and looked at the skinny one helplessly.
Besides, it wasn't that I was brave. It was more like some strange impulse.
The skinny one was right. The Greenleaf Paranormal Agency was freezing inside. Dark window film covered the windows, and who knew how long the owner had been missing? The rooms had been sealed up the whole time, shut away from the sun and covered in dust, which gave the place a cold, gloomy feel. There wasn't even any electricity; they must have cut it off after the bills went unpaid for so long. With no sunlight and no lights, the rooms were dim even in broad daylight. Yet before the police from the local station could switch on their flashlights, I'd already noticed that row of filing cabinets. As soon as we went in, I'd opened one without a second thought. I found Greenleaf's case records inside, and when we left, I'd grabbed a few files without a second thought, too.
As if possessed?
I looked down at the file in my hands.
"Qi-ge, come on! Do me a favor! I'll treat you to a late-night snack! How about barbecue? Fifty lamb skewers to start, then another fifty beef skewers!" the skinny one said grandly.
I heard the fat one slurping in the background.
"You're paying half! This is both our job!" The skinny one pointed at the fat one.
"Huh?" The fat one looked like he'd been dragged into it out of nowhere.
"Then you can go get the files." The skinny one gave the fat one a choice.
The fat one shook his head, the rolls of fat on his face jiggling.
"Then it's settled!" The skinny one patted my shoulder.
"What's settled?" I laughed in exasperation.
"Here, take the key." The skinny one fished a key out of his pocket.
Back then, we'd asked the local police station to break in. Afterward, the lock had been repaired and new keys made, and the skinny one had been given the key to keep.
I looked at the key and took it without thinking. As I held the key, warmed by the skinny one's pocket, I found myself thinking of that filing cabinet in the shadows.
"By the way, Qi-ge, see if you can figure out when they went missing," the skinny one reminded me. "Check their last case."
"Oh, sure." I agreed casually.
"Actually, there's no need to go to all this trouble, is there? We've already followed all the proper procedures. The police have put up missing-person notices, and you've asked around the neighborhood," Guo Yujie said. "If they still haven't been found by the time the area is demolished, just make a note of it. If they show up later, you can pay them the demolition compensation then. Wouldn't that work?"
The fat one nodded along.
The skinny one shook his head. "We've only been looking for a few days, and you want to give up already? The media will go crazy—crazy with excitement! We'd be handing them a story. First it'll be 'Homeowner Missing, Government Forcefully Demolishes House.' After it gets passed around a few times, it'll turn into 'Government Forcefully Demolishes House, Homeowner Disappears.' A few days later, they'll be writing that we killed them and dumped their bodies just to force the demolition."
That might not affect the demolition itself; they'd tear the place down regardless. But for an individual... Good grief, it could ruin your career!
"Is it really that bad?" Guo Yujie looked at him like he was full of it.
"Better safe than sorry. You have to assume the worst of people who have no shame." The skinny one wore the mournful expression of someone lamenting the state of the world.
Before you continue