A Hundred Ghosts Cry at the Door

Although I had prepared myself, I still couldn't calm down.

After all, I didn't want the murderer or accomplice who had pushed that crate to be either Bun Head or Little Six.

Thump... thump... thump...

I could clearly hear my own heartbeat.

The old man didn't hesitate. He pointed at someone in the photograph.

Shunzi!!!

The old man was actually pointing at Shunzi, the police officer assigned to this area!

Right, Shunzi was in the photograph too. Because he was a cop, I had subconsciously ruled him out.

I never would have imagined it was him.

Police officers were human too, with all the tangled emotions, love, and hatred that came with it. It certainly wasn't impossible.

I finally breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't Little Six or Bun Head!

I recalled how we'd inexplicably been locked inside the warehouse that night, and how Shunzi had come alone to open the door.

Then, when we'd discovered the old security guard, he'd stopped Bun Head from chasing him. And just now, he'd told me the old guard was a murderous maniac, and killing him would count as self-defense!

It all made sense. This was a carefully planned frame-up!

I narrowed my eyes and sucked in a cold breath. The world really was treacherous, and people's hearts impossible to fathom.

Seeing me standing there in a daze, the old man asked quietly:

"What's wrong? Does the fellow pushing the crate have something to do with that warehouse murder? If he does, I can testify. This old man isn't afraid of trouble!"

I excitedly shook his hand with a smile and told him I would pass the lead on to the police.

In a society where people didn't dare help someone who had fallen by the roadside, why was it always the poor who showed more kindness?

I didn't rush to call the police. I went back to the dormitory and told Bun Head about it first.

His eyes widened when he heard. He slammed the table with a crack and swore loudly:

"That bastard's really something! He dared lock me in the warehouse? He dared scheme against his Brother Qiang?"

I stared at him speechlessly. Bun Head was actually more concerned about being used than why Shunzi had killed someone.

"That old guard has a history of murder and served time. He couldn't have picked a better person to frame. But why did the guy kill someone?"

Bun Head curled his lip.

"He's a gambling addict. Might've been over that. I've lost count of how much money I've given him. All right, stay out of this. I'll have my other friends at the bureau handle it. We still don't know exactly what happened!"

I nodded. That couldn't have worked out better. After lunch, Bun Head hurried off.

Little Six was on the night shift tonight, so I asked Bai Fan out to dinner.

The moment Bai Fan saw me, she kept saying I'd lost weight.

With all the awful things happening lately, how could I not lose weight? I thought.

Bai Fan and I wandered along the street, but she still hadn't decided where to eat.

"Aren't you hungry? You keep looking at your phone. Are you meeting someone else too?"

Bai Fan glanced at me with a smile and said:

"Yes, we're waiting for Tang Yao!"

My brow instantly furrowed. Before I could object, a taxi stopped in front of us.

Dressed in casual clothes, Tang Yao stepped out and walked over, smiling.

I was falling apart inside. Tang Yao was too fucking good at putting on an act. In front of me, she always wore that sinister, terrifying red dress, but whenever Bai Fan was around, she made absolutely sure to dress like a human being!

Tang Yao greeted me with a smile and a nod, then linked arms with Bai Fan and walked ahead.

Watching the two of them chatting and laughing in front of me, I followed behind, feeling like I was the third wheel!

As we walked, I suddenly realized we were going the wrong way. How had we ended up at Great East Gate? There was nothing to eat around here. What were we doing here?

But at the next turn, I was utterly stunned!

The alley entrance-the entrance to the alley with that late-night restaurant!

I couldn't help calling from behind them:

"Bai Fan, there's nothing to eat here. Let's go somewhere else!"

Two dimples appeared as Bai Fan smiled and said:

"Tang Yao said there's a little restaurant in this alley. It's small, but it has its own specialties. Let's try it!"

I was just about to refuse when Tang Yao pulled Bai Fan into the alley.

Oh no! Bai Fan's in danger!

I couldn't worry about anything else and hurried after them.

At the end of the alley hung that battered sign. The words "Great East Gate Restaurant" stood out under the flashing LED lights.

The two of them opened the door and entered, chatting and laughing.

I froze. Bai Fan could actually see this restaurant!

An inexplicable chill ran through me, and goosebumps rose in patches all over my skin.

Bai Fan was the girl I had liked most in all these years. I liked her innocence and kindness, how approachable she was, and her pure soul, untouched by worldly ways.

Of course, another small part of the reason was that she was pretty!

There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with her. I thought Tang Yao must have cast some spell on Bai Fan to deceive her eyes.

I had experienced how sinister this restaurant was, from the white worms I'd spat out to Bun Head pointing at it a few days ago and saying it was a wall.

I knew the restaurant was haunted, yet I was walking straight into it. I had no choice!

When I entered, the square-faced middle-aged man approached with that printed paper menu from the eighties.

"What would you like?"

Tang Yao took the menu and ordered several stir-fried dishes like a regular, then turned to ask me:

"Would you like a bowl of noodles?"

At the mention of noodles, and the sight of her faintly provocative smile, I wanted to tear her apart.

"No. Bring me a bottle of that ghost beer from '89, the one they stopped making!"

Bai Fan froze at that. She reached over, took hold of my arm, and said quietly:

"Ghost beer? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Bai Fan didn't know what was going on, and I certainly couldn't explain it to her in detail. I just smiled and brushed it off.

Before long, all the dishes arrived. Tang Yao pushed the bowl of noodles she'd ordered in front of Bai Fan and said:

"Little Bai, try these. This cook's hand-rolled noodles are incredible!"

Bai Fan picked up her chopsticks and was about to eat. Frightened, I quickly pushed the bowl away.

"Bai Fan, eating noodles this late at night will make you gain weight!"

Bai Fan looked at me in surprise and asked quietly:

"What's gotten into you tonight?"

Then she shook her head helplessly and pushed the noodles back to Tang Yao.

I breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed the beer on the table, and gulped down a large mouthful.

I was shocked. The first time I'd drunk this beer, I'd vomited everywhere. Why did it taste pretty good this time?

I sat drinking in silence while the two of them chatted about all sorts of women's topics.

After getting through the meal in fear and trepidation, we left the restaurant and said goodbye to Tang Yao. She took a few steps, then suddenly looked back at me and said:

"I helped you so much by giving you that photograph, and you won't even say thank you?"

She wanted me to be grateful? Sure, she'd given me the photograph, but the matter wasn't settled yet. There was still no final verdict on whether Shunzi was the murderer. What was there to thank her for?

When I didn't respond, Tang Yao gave another eerie smile and left.

All the way as I walked Bai Fan home, I earnestly urged her to stay away from Tang Yao. I stopped just short of telling her the truth-that Tang Yao was already dead.

Bai Fan kept smiling and nodding as though she were listening to a story, saying they'd been friends for over ten years and there was no need to worry.

After seeing Bai Fan home, I received a call from Bun Head on my way back to the company.

"Brother, we've figured it out. Shunzi really did kill him!"

I was startled. In the end, it really had been that cop who'd gone astray.

"They've confirmed it? Have they found the old security guard?"

"He confessed to everything. He was pushed too far over gambling debts and accidentally killed the guy. He'd moved him into the warehouse ages ago. They found the old guard too. His face was burned, and his sense of smell doesn't work anymore. He'd been living by the warehouse entrance all along without ever discovering there was a dead man inside!"

Hearing they'd found the old guard filled me with joy.

"So those ribs hanging from the warehouse ceiling weren't human?"

"No, they were a dog's!"

Knowing I was anxious to find him, Bun Head continued:

"The old guard will be released from the police bureau tomorrow morning. Come early, and we'll catch him at the entrance!"

I arranged a time with Bun Head and hung up.

I didn't sleep well that night either. Finding the old guard was only the first step. I could only hope that once I saw him, he could clearly explain what had happened in the fire ten years ago.

Whether Old Liu was a good man would depend on what he said!

Early the next morning, Little Six and I went to wait at the police station. Bun Head had actually arrived even earlier.

He looked exhausted. He probably hadn't slept well last night either.

Seeing him like that, Little Six couldn't help asking:

"Bun Head, why do you look so drained? Did Shunzi's case get you in trouble?"

Bun Head waved his hand and said:

"Ah, it's not about getting me in trouble. We were brothers, after all. It's just such a waste, what happened to Shunzi. I could help with other things, but there's really nothing I can do about murder. I took some money to his parents last night. That's all I can do!"

As we were talking, a hunched figure emerged from the police station, dressed in rags, half his face a mangled mass. It was the old security guard.

We hurried after him. It looked as though he'd had a rough few days too. He was so listless he could barely walk.

The old guard lived as a vagrant, and his sleeping place had been taken over these past few days. I figured he hadn't been eating or sleeping well.

We quickly took him to a nearby restaurant. When the owner saw the state of him, he seemed inclined to throw him out, but after spotting the fierce-looking Bun Head behind us, he didn't dare voice his displeasure.

The old guard didn't stand on ceremony and ordered a whole table of food.

We sat to one side and watched him eat alone for half an hour.

Bun Head couldn't sit still any longer and said coldly, in an irritated voice:

"Brother, that's enough. Pack up what you can't finish. We're waiting to ask you something!"

The old guard nodded repeatedly, wiped his mouth, and said:

"I know. I owe you fellows for making it out of that police station alive this time. Whatever you want to ask, go ahead!"

Pleased by his cooperative attitude, I asked:

"Brother, I wanted to ask whether you really started that fire at 2386 Residential Compound ten years ago."

The old guard froze at my question and stared at the food on the table for a long time without speaking.

Seeing his reluctance, I quickly said:

"Brother, it's been so long. You've served your time, and the case is closed no matter what. Whatever happened, just tell us!"

The old guard nodded and said:

"Although I can't deny my involvement in that fire, when it comes down to it, I really wasn't the one who started it!"

His words sent a chill through my heart!

If he hadn't started it, then Old Liu had. Why had he set a fire to burn people?

Seeing my tense expression, the old guard continued:

"Ten years ago, I worked as a security guard at that compound. The location was bad, and there were always unclean things there. A fat resident surnamed Liu claimed to be a yin-yang master and taught me some ways to ward off evil. Who would've thought that after I met him, even more strange things would happen in the compound? First, we inexplicably heard people crying miserably in the corridors. Then there was more and more crying, until you could hear it outside practically every household's door!"

At this point, a tear rolled down the old guard's face.

A fat man surnamed Liu! Who else could it be but Liu Yunbo?

The old guard wiped away his tears and continued:

"When I saw how serious it was getting, I went to an old friend who understood yin and yang. He said that fat man Liu had tricked me and put a curse on me. Not only did I have little time left, but I'd drag everyone in the building down with me. To save me, my old friend came into the building with me to break the spell. We never imagined it had already gotten so bad-it was already A Hundred Ghosts Cry at the Door!"

Hearing this, Bun Head couldn't help repeating:

"A Hundred Ghosts Cry at the Door? Sounds pretty freaky."

The old guard nodded and continued:

"When a hundred ghosts cry at the door, death comes in three days. It's a vicious curse. It was already late at night when my friend arrived, almost the third day. After midnight, it would be too late. Breaking the curse required an open flame to drive away the souls. To save me, and to save the people in that building, my friend dug out his own right eye as a sacrifice and started a fire!"

Hearing this, I suddenly understood. No wonder Old Liu's right eye was as green as a gemstone. It was an artificial eye.

Little Six was absorbed in the story too and asked:

"What happened then?"

"Then? Heh. Then it was just as the news reported. A fire killed half the people in the building. But who knew that without that fire, everyone in the building would've died!"

I'd misjudged Old Liu!!!

I took a deep breath, feeling as though a way forward had suddenly opened up. I understood the old guard's decision to take the blame and go to prison, and I understood even more why Old Liu had looked so strange when he mentioned that fire!

It had all been for salvation!

Bun Head swore:

"That fat bastard Liu was fucking evil. How did he curse you in the first place? Didn't you notice anything?"

The old guard shook his head and said:

"All he did was give me a yellow paper figure. He said it'd protect my life and ward off evil. Who knew the thing was so sinister!"

At the mention of the yellow paper figure, my heart trembled. Liu Yunbo had given me a yellow paper figure at the coffin shop in Tangwazi a little while ago too, and he'd also told me it would protect my life!

I'd been tricked!!

I hurriedly reached into my pocket, ready to throw away the yellow paper figure. The fright nearly made me spit out a mouthful of blood.

The yellow paper figure was gone!!!