Those eyes were wide open. I hurriedly stepped back to steady myself, then took a closer look.
Oh, shit!!
This was the bald gangster who had become my enemy at the hospital and had been looking for me ever since!
I stared at him in shock. I clearly remembered him bringing over a dozen underlings armed with machetes to the company that night to take revenge on me.
They had foolishly barged into the first-floor lobby, and all died before the bell. In the end, one man had indeed run out with his head covered in blood. Was that him?
Seeing how badly he had frightened me, the bald man rocked back and forth with laughter.
"Man, you're really something. You managed to subdue that evil bell, but you're still such a coward!"
I let out a breath and asked him:
"What exactly do you want? I already apologized for that misunderstanding with your father. Why won't you let it go?"
The bald man lit a cigarette and sat on the edge of the bed with his legs crossed, speaking in a low voice:
"Let it go? Even if we put my father's business behind us, what about my dozen or so brothers who died horribly at your company? Have we settled that score?"
"You were the ones who barged into the lobby that night. Besides, the bronze bell killed them, not me."
The man blew out a plume of smoke and sneered.
"Quit fucking talking in circles. If my skull hadn't been thick enough to keep that hit from killing me, you'd be talking to a ghost right now!"
He lowered his head in thought, then smiled at me again.
"There is a way to settle this, though. You just have to do me a favor!"
He was a gangster with plenty of underlings, so he was probably quite capable himself. Puzzled, I asked:
"You want my help? What could I possibly help you with?"
"My sister-in-law just bought a little four-story building over on Yilan Road. She wants to turn it into a hotel, but there's something seriously creepy about the place. You and that old man go sort it out for me!"
Hearing that, I finally relaxed. He must have seen the news about us subduing the evil bell and deliberately set this trap here, waiting for the two of us.
"Then tell me, what's strange about this four-story building?"
He threw his half-smoked cigarette onto the floor, ground it out with his shoe, and leaned closer.
"The building isn't downtown. It's surrounded by residential complexes. Seven years ago, it was a big supermarket, but a security guard tossed away a cigarette butt and started a huge fire. A lot of people burned to death."
He pressed his lips together before continuing:
"The supermarket went bust after that. Later, some clueless hick from out of town bought the building and turned it into a hotel. Guess what happened? The fucking place caught fire again!"
I exclaimed in surprise:
"What a coincidence! A lot of people must have died in those two fires, right?"
"A hundred or so, definitely!"
Puzzled, I asked:
"If so many people died in that building, why did your sister-in-law buy it?"
"It was cheap!"
He lowered his voice and continued:
"After those two incidents, the building sat abandoned. Nobody dared take it over. But my sister-in-law just doesn't believe in ghosts and monsters. She bought it over three months ago, and every time the renovations reach the second floor, a fire breaks out for no reason. Several workers have died, too. If she didn't have powerful connections higher up, she would've been arrested long ago!"
Now I understood. First, the building was haunted. Second, this sister-in-law was no ordinary woman, either.
"All right, we'll give it a try. But let's get this straight: if I help you with this, you stop hounding me!"
Hearing me agree, he gave a couple of hearty laughs and slapped a huge hand on my shoulder.
"You got it! Take care of this for me, and I'll make sure you can run red lights with your eyes shut anywhere in the development zone!"
I nearly laughed aloud at that boast. He stood to leave, then turned back to add:
"My name's Zhang Qiang. People in the underworld call me Brother Qiang, but my brothers all call me Bun Head. You can call me Bun Head from now on. I'll send someone to pick you up tomorrow morning."
With that, the man nicknamed Bun Head opened the door and left.
Back in my room, Old Liu was still snoring deafeningly nearby. After lying down, I kept turning things over in my mind.
His sort always took revenge. If I wanted any peace in the future, I would have to do him this favor.
Early the next morning, Bun Head sent someone to pick us up.
Old Liu got into the car with me, looking bewildered. On the way, I gave him a rough account of what had happened and begged him to help.
Although Old Liu still refused coldly, I knew this old man. He had a warm heart.
When we arrived, the location stunned me. The building really was surrounded by residential complexes, and they were the sort of mid- to high-end neighborhoods where rich people lived.
The little four-story building stood right along the route people had to take when leaving those complexes.
From the moment he got out of the car, Old Liu stared at the building and kept shaking his head. I hurried over and whispered:
"Old Liu, there are so many people here. Stop shaking your head. You look so unsure of yourself."
Old Liu jabbed me with his battered stick, then headed into the building alone.
I hurried after him as Bun Head shouted from behind us:
"Well, uh, I won't be going in. You two be careful!"
Once inside, I couldn't help being startled. Though there wasn't much in the building, the wallpaper, decor, and ceiling chandeliers were all quite lavish.
Clearly, this had once been a place where the nouveau riche splashed their money around.
After entering, Old Liu frowned and said:
"Quite a few people have died in this building!"
That remark was both accurate and blunt. I added:
"I heard there were two fires. They were pretty awful!"
Old Liu nodded and started toward the stairs with his flashlight. Worried, I caught his arm.
"Old Liu, we're going straight up?"
Old Liu replied coldly:
"It's fine!"
Although it was daytime, the abandoned building had no lights. With no light anywhere, it was even darker than night.
On the second floor was a long corridor, with some doors standing open on either side and others tightly locked.
By the light of our flashlight, we made our way to the end of the second floor. Suddenly, a strange squeaking came from the darkness ahead.
I nervously pressed closer to Old Liu. The noise grew louder and louder, making my scalp prickle. Old Liu didn't seem frightened at all and kept walking at the same steady pace.
When the flashlight reached the source of the noise, I jerked my head away in fright.
It was a woman with tangled hair, a filthy face, and a red birthmark over her right eye. With a sack draped over her back, she crouched on the floor and stared fixedly at us, seemingly unafraid of the flashlight's bright beam.
I took a moment to recover, then asked cautiously:
"What are you doing here in the pitch-dark?"
The woman actually started laughing.
Beneath her filthy, tangled hair, she spread her mouth in a broad grin, her laughter sending a chill through me.
"I'm scavenging!"
I couldn't help shuddering. Without a light, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face in this building. She was scavenging here?
With that, the woman stood and walked past us.
Once I saw her go downstairs, I whispered to Old Liu:
"Old Liu, let's not go any farther. This is really creepy."
Old Liu stared after the woman for a long while, then nodded.
After we came outside, Bun Head hurried up nervously and asked:
"How was it, Elder Liu? Is it a lot of trouble?"
With his aloof temperament, Old Liu ignored him completely. Leaning on his stick, he walked away as though Bun Head were invisible.
I spoke up afterward:
"It was fine. We just ran into a woman scavenging for junk. You saw her, right?"
Bun Head looked at me in utter bewilderment.
"What woman scavenging for junk? What valuable junk could there be in there? Besides, I didn't see anyone come out."
"She didn't come out?!!"
His words gave me another fright. I didn't dare dwell on it. Seeing that Old Liu had already gone some distance, I nodded to Bun Head and hurried after him.
Old Liu walked with his head lowered, thinking about something. After a long while, he said:
"That building's a serious problem. It won't be easy!"
Even Old Liu said it was a serious problem. I couldn't help breaking into a nervous sweat.
"We'll have to come back at night to deal with it!"
"Old Liu, it's already as dark as night inside during the day. What's the difference?"
Old Liu shook his head.
"It's different. Yang energy is strong during the day, so evil spirits don't come out."
"Oh," I said, following behind him without another word.
After returning to the inn, Old Liu began his preparations. The supplies were simple and strange: half a bottle of chicken blood, a sheet of white paper, and a bag of incense ash.
I found a bag, carefully packed the three items inside, and waited anxiously for nightfall.
Only after nine that evening did Old Liu call me to head out. I went to the front desk and paid for a few more days.
But just as we were leaving, I suddenly heard the owner mutter behind the desk:
"Two more rooms freed up!"
The weather was pleasant that night, and the route to the abandoned building was bustling. But the closer we got, the fewer people there were along the streets and in the squares.
Standing in front of the building, I took a deep breath and nervously asked Old Liu:
"Old Liu, when do we use the three things in this bag?"
Old Liu ignored me and went inside with his head down.
We headed straight for the second floor, but after making a circuit of it, we found nothing unusual.
Old Liu pointed:
"Up to the third floor!"
The third floor had a different layout from the second.
This floor had probably been a dance hall, with a very large dance floor, but the fires had left it burned, eerie, and terrifying.
We had just reached the third floor when a clang! suddenly came from behind us.
It sounded as though something heavy had fallen.
I turned around nervously and shone my flashlight toward it.
Cold sweat instantly poured off me. In the corridor ahead, a woman with disheveled hair stood with her back to us, swaying her hips as she danced.
The thing was, she was wearing a whole set of charred clothes!!
I screamed in fright, "Old Liu, look!!"
Then I suddenly sensed something was wrong. I whipped my head around and discovered-
Old Liu was gone!!