File 091—Ghost Face in the Water (6)

"That empty house... hmm... was probably around a hundred square meters. When you went in, there was an empty courtyard full of weeds, no paved path. There was just one room, no partitions. Ah, right, no partitions. That was actually pretty strange. Such a big courtyard, half of it open ground and half of it the house, and inside the house there were only pillars, no walls... As long as I could remember, it had always been empty. No one lived there. The paint had peeled off both doors, and there weren't even locks. Whenever the wind blew, they banged loudly. Oh, and that house had no doors and no windows. It was a very... strange house."

"What was inside?"

"Nothing. It was just empty. There wasn't even a table or bench, which was why everyone called it the empty house."

"Nothing happened after you went inside?"

"No."

"But you stayed in there for a long time."

"Ah, yes, we stayed there for a long time... Let me think... Back then... it seemed like we did do something, but it seemed... seemed like it had nothing to do with the empty house. A bunch of us boys went in and saw there was nothing there, no monsters either... Oh, I remember now. My brother said we should wait until nightfall for the monsters to come out, then catch them. We were making traps back then. Really, it was just kids messing around, digging pits and holes with our hands."

"Did you dig anything up?"

"No. We didn't have any tools back then, so we just scraped at the ground with our hands a few times. We never even made a pit. We were all pulling weeds. Um... yes, pulling weeds. Someone even got into an argument with my brother, saying he was full of bad ideas and that they'd die of exhaustion before they made a trap."

"Did no one in the village ever think of dealing with that empty house? There had to be a reason it was left there, right?"

"I really don't know about that."

"Do you remember where that empty house was? This is a map of the village from back then, and this is the factory map. Can you still locate the empty house?"

"Hiss—this map only marks out a plot of land. It doesn't show the village houses."

"Yes, the archival records weren't that detailed."

"This... this... My family's old house was probably here. To get to the empty house, we'd go this way, then... it should've been in this direction. As for exactly where, I really can't point it out."

"All right, thank you. Sorry to trouble you again."

"It was nothing."

July 22, 2015. Contacted Wang Feng, a member of the construction crew that built the factory. Audio file 09120150722.wav.

"Here, this whole area. When we demolished the houses, this was the first place we tore down. No one lived here. The courtyard was surrounded by an earthen wall, and the house was wooden, with wooden pillars inside. It was easy to demolish."

"This area wasn't included in the first phase of the factory project, was it?"

"No. Back then, what first phase or second phase? They just said they were building a factory, then organized the villagers to move out, and the construction crews got to work. Our foreman took a look around, saw that this house was empty, and said we might as well tear it down first instead of sitting around waiting. We asked the villagers, and they all said it didn't matter if the house was demolished. Later, by the time the house was mostly torn down, the factory blueprints didn't extend this far, so the area was left empty."

"Then, during the expansion, the park was built here."

"That's right."

"You were still on the construction crew when the park was built, correct?"

"Mm, I was. But by then, we just followed orders. We were all over there clearing weeds and planting trees."

"Did anything unusual happen during that process?"

"Anything unusual? I don't think so."

"For example, did you dig anything up, or were there any incidents among the construction crew?"

"No. Nothing like that."

July 25, 2015. Searched historical documents and found a pre-founding county gazetteer for Jiao County. It recorded a criminal case in which local villagers had used vigilante justice to kill someone. The details were unclear.

Attached: photocopied archival materials.

July 26, 2015. Received a call from Jiang Meifen, a former Jiao County villager and Red Star Factory worker. Call recording 201507260914.mp3.

"Little Liu, do you remember Auntie Jiang? We met in the park, and you contacted me afterward to ask about the empty house."

"I remember, of course I remember. Auntie, did you recall something else?"

"Not exactly. But I got in touch with someone for you—my grandaunt. She's one of the village elders and knows a lot of things!"

"Oh! That's wonderful! Would it be convenient to meet her?"

"Yes, yes, but she's very old. Take it easy when you question her."

"Of course. Thank you so much!"

July 30, 2015. Met with Tong Jiang-shi. Audio file 09120150730.wav.

"Xiaofen said you wanted to ask about the village?"

"Yes. Mainly about that empty house and the strange things that happened in the village."

"Strange things?"

"For instance, hauntings."

"..."

"Grandaunt, just tell them about the empty house. Whose house was it originally?"

"That place was originally the village ancestral hall."

"Huh?"

"An ancestral hall? How did it end up abandoned and become an empty house?"

"Because of the vigilante execution, perhaps."

"What? Young man, what vigilante execution are you talking about?"

"In rural areas, vigilante justice was often carried out in places like ancestral halls. We found that before the founding of the country, the village carried out a vigilante execution that was later treated as a criminal case by the authorities. That ancestral hall was probably abandoned because of that, wasn't it?"

"Boss, you'd thought of that already?"

"Only after hearing it was an ancestral hall."

"Huff... That was the last vigilante execution in the village. That woman—I called her Sister Hua—had married in from another village. Her surname wasn't Hua, but she could weave beautiful flower bracelets. She made them for every young woman in our village and even took them into the city to sell. That was how she met that so-called lover of hers. They called him her lover, hehe! But there was nothing between him and Sister Hua! Back then, some city thugs tried to drag Sister Hua away. That man had a shop nearby, and he came out to help her. That was how they met. Later, when Sister Hua went into the city to sell flower bracelets, she set up outside his shop, and those thugs didn't dare come near anymore. There was never anything between those two, but that beast wouldn't believe it. That beast... he was truly rotten to the core! He truly was!"

"Grandaunt, calm down. Watch your health."

"Huff... huff... Mm... I'm fine. I have to tell this story. I have to tell it before I go into my coffin!"

"Grandaunt..."

"I'm fine. That beast beat Sister Hua. And after beating her, he went to find the village chief, beat the gong, and summoned the entire village! They dragged Sister Hua, dragged her all the way from his house to the ancestral hall... The whole road was covered in blood... blood all along the road! Sister Hua screamed the entire way. Later... she couldn't make a sound anymore..."

"Grandaunt, wipe your tears and catch your breath."

"Grandma Jiang, don't rush. Take your time."

"Mm. Huff... I followed behind them. I wanted to save Sister Hua, but there were so many people. I didn't dare go over. I didn't dare... They went into the ancestral hall, and people were packed inside and out. I knew there was a hole in the back wall of the ancestral hall where I could see inside, so I went around to it. Night had just fallen, and many people were holding torches. They tied Sister Hua up like a pig about to be slaughtered. That beast held a knife and slit Sister Hua's throat... The blood sprayed so high. I saw Sister Hua staring at me with her eyes wide open... staring at me just like that..."

"Grandaunt..."

"Then they started peeling Sister Hua's face off."

"Ah!"