Unterwelt

Kapitel 8

Hearing Zhao Zhuo say this, Qin Fangcheng chuckled twice: "Old Zhao, I'm telling you, looking at this thing makes me feel cold all over. Why does this turtle look so scary? Look at its eyes, Lin Hong, why does it keep staring at you?"

Lin Hong screamed in fright and quickly fled into the sunlight of the living room.

Seeing her frightened expression, the two men burst into laughter. This laughter emboldened them. Leaving behind the strangely shaped turtle, they searched each room carefully again. Qin Fangcheng went to check the kitchen, while Zhao Zhuo headed towards the bedroom. Just as he opened the bedroom door, he suddenly slammed it shut, gripping the doorknob tightly. He turned around, his face deathly pale, and with a strange look in his eyes, said to Qin Fangcheng and Lin Hong:

"No, there really is nothing in the bedroom."

6)

Zhao Zhuo's words were very strange. His wording was as if he were arguing with someone. He didn't say that there was no one in the bedroom, but rather that there was nothing in the bedroom. It was as if someone present thought that there was something that shouldn't be there in the bedroom, but he vehemently denied it.

Neither Qin Fangcheng nor Lin Hong noticed Zhao Zhuo's strange behavior. Qin Fangcheng simply said "oh" and went to the kitchen and bathroom to look carefully, but still found nothing.

Then Qin Fangcheng began to open the cabinet doors to check if there was really someone hiding behind them. Zhao Zhuo, however, stood to the side, looking dazed and confused, his eyes fixed on the bedroom door, his face filled with fear and panic. Every time Qin Fangcheng made a sound, his body would involuntarily tremble.

Qin Fangcheng was standing on tiptoe, trying to open a cabinet door above his head, but he wasn't tall enough, so he called out to Zhao Zhuo, who was 1.82 meters tall: "Old Zhao, come and help me. What's wrong with you? You should be the main force in situations like this."

Zhao Zhuo agreed in a trembling voice, but didn't move an inch. Qin Fangcheng waited for a while, and seeing that he wouldn't help no matter what, he got angry. He went to the dining room, moved a chair, stood on it, opened the cabinet and looked at it carefully. Apart from a pile of cobwebs covered in dust, he found nothing.

They found nothing, but this frightened Lin Hong even more than discovering that there was someone in the house. The three of them had clearly seen that someone had escaped into the pig's room when they first came in. The sound of the door closing was still ringing in their ears. How could they not find anyone?

Lin Hong wanted them to look at it again more carefully. But Zhao Zhuo suddenly said, "Oh, I remember now, I have something to do, I'll go first." Before Lin Hong could react, he had already quickly walked out.

Zhao Zhuo's sudden departure puzzled Qin Fangcheng. He stroked his chin and asked Lin Hong, "What's wrong with this kid? Is he jealous because you're so nice to me?"

"Get out of here! Where were you all this time? Now you're being cheeky again!" Lin Hong scolded Qin Fangcheng, feeling utterly bewildered by Zhao Zhuo's change. Zhao Zhuo was a very magnanimous man, unlikely to hold a grudge against a girl like her over trivial matters; otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed over based on just one phone call. But the strange thing was this: since he came, and hadn't even figured out what was going on, why did he just leave like that? This irresponsible behavior was completely unlike Zhao Zhuo's style, utterly different from his usual principles.

Feeling puzzled, Lin Hong's gaze fell on the broken lock on the pigsty door: "Hey, Fang Cheng, what do you think we should do with the lock on the door?"

"What should we do? Call a locksmith to fix it." Qin Fangcheng said casually, "It's fine if we don't fix it, but that door—why did you lock it in the first place?"

Lin Hong thought about it and agreed, so she stopped thinking about it. In retrospect, Qin Fangcheng and Lin Hong had been intentionally avoiding the strange, large-headed turtle in the pig's room. A turtle's shell is for protection; it retracts its head and claws into it when in danger. But that turtle's head was so large that it couldn't retract, meaning it probably didn't need to. Therefore, since the turtle didn't need a shell for protection, it meant it had no natural predators. To be precise, this turtle was a terrifying creature, and this subconscious thought terrified them, so they tried their best to find excuses to avoid the pig's room.

After searching for a long time to no avail, Qin Fangcheng grumbled as he walked to the sofa and sat down to rest. Lin Hong came over to pour him some tea. Qin Fangcheng picked up the teacup, took a sip, then frowned and spat out the tea: "Oh my god, what kind of tea is this? It's so bitter!"

"Is it bitter? I don't think so." Lin Hong said strangely, taking the teacup from Qin Fangcheng and tasting it with the tip of her tongue: "It's not bitter. This is the kind of chrysanthemum tea that we usually drink at home."

"Throw away that rotten tea leaves, throw them all away." Qin Fangcheng stretched out a hand and ordered sternly, "Buy some new ones. Lin Hong, what happened to you? You used to be so beautiful, what happened to you? Is this what happens to all women after marriage?

"What... what's wrong with me?" Lin Hong glared at Qin Fangcheng with some annoyance.

"What's wrong with you? You're almost as bad as Fu Xiuying!" Qin Fangcheng shouted, turned his head away, lowered his head to drink his tea, and ignored her.

Lin Hong glanced angrily at herself in the dressing mirror. She saw a pale-faced woman in the reflection, wearing only a casual blue pullover. The once bright and beautiful Lin Hong was nowhere to be seen. A wave of sorrow washed over her. Since her marriage, she had been delirious, and He Ming's condition had worsened day by day. She felt as if thousands of years had passed, and she had become disconnected from reality. If Qin Fangcheng hadn't said those words to her today, she wouldn't have been aware of these negative changes in herself.

Qin Fangcheng stood up and placed one of his hands on Lin Hong's shoulder: "Lin Hong, do you remember? How long has it been since we were alone together like this?"

Lin Hong smiled awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Qin Fangcheng's hand gently caressed her arm, his brows furrowing. "Lin Hong, what illness do you have? Look at your skin, it's so thin it's almost transparent. How did you end up like this?"

Lin Hong looked down at her arm. Qin Fangcheng's hand rested on it, a large, strong hand—the kind of hand a man could rely on, a hand a woman could lean on in her weakest moments. No wonder Fu Xiuying clung to him so desperately, no wonder the five children clung to his legs and wouldn't let go… She couldn't help but sigh softly. The events of these past few days had left her heart pounding. Who knew the fear deep within her heart? She was running away. Leaving Taizhou was running away, and marrying He Ming was a continuation of that. But what exactly was she running away from? Was her current aged and haggard state also a form of escape?

“You weren’t like this before, Lin Hong,” Qin Fangcheng said with a pained expression. “You used to love going to all kinds of parties and were our undisputed party queen. But ever since you got married, you’ve inexplicably cut off all contact with your friends and classmates and haven’t left the house at all. How can you do this? We all live in this society. We are social beings and need close interactions and friendships. I suggest you see a psychologist for a checkup… Also, you should get more sunshine. I really don’t understand you. What’s the big deal about getting married? Is it worth ruining yourself like this?”

Lin Hong's lips twitched, a long-lost warmth welled up in her heart, and two streams of hot tears flowed down her cheeks without her realizing it.

Qin Fangcheng sighed, reached into his pocket to find a handkerchief to wipe Lin Hong's tears, but couldn't find one. He gave up and said, "Alright, alright, stop crying. If I had known you would be so unhappy, I would have preferred to marry you back then."

After saying this, Qin Fangcheng suddenly froze. Two people had entered through the door at some point and were looking at him with strange eyes. One was Lin Hong's husband, He Ming, and the other was Xiao Zhu, who was supporting He Ming. Lin Hong, unaware that they had returned, was still sobbing. Qin Fangcheng immediately felt an indescribable awkwardness and forced a smile as he greeted He Ming, "Hehe, you're back so soon."

He Ming's lips twitched, and his gaze towards Lin Hong and Qin Fangcheng carried a hint of sarcasm: "Maybe it's a bit too fast? But, is it also your fault for not telling me beforehand?"

Qin Fangcheng chuckled twice, knowing that He Ming had probably misunderstood. He was too lazy to explain further and stopped talking. Lin Hong quickly wiped away her tears and stood up. She first introduced Qin Fangcheng and He Ming to each other, and then instructed, "Little Pig, prepare two more dishes for lunch today. Qin Fangcheng, you rarely come here, so please eat with us."

Qin Fangcheng hurriedly waved his hand: "No need, I have to hurry back. There seems to be a cold, eerie atmosphere in your house, making me feel uncomfortable."

"Yin energy?" Lin Hong was taken aback. Qin Fangcheng had already strode to the door, opened it, and then turned back to say, "I have a suggestion for you: you'd better move. There's something wrong with the feng shui of your house." Before Lin Hong could answer, he had already closed the door and quickly went downstairs.

"Feng shui?" Lin Hong looked at her home in surprise: Could there really be something haunting her house?

7)

When she got home, she found that her bedroom door had been forced open. Little Pig's face turned blood red, and her usually gentle eyes turned fierce. She walked up to Lin Hong, looked at her angrily, and waited for Lin Hong to give her an explanation.

Lin Hong didn't say a word. She sat on the sofa, pretending to flip through a fashion magazine. Firstly, she didn't know what to say in this situation. Secondly, she felt there was no need to explain. This was her home, and she had the right to do whatever she wanted. It was that simple. What explanation was needed?

The little pig waited for a long time, finally losing her temper. She kicked her bedroom door hard, then lay on her bed and began to wail loudly. The country girl's crying was terrifying, making Lin Hong's heart tremble. He Ming was greatly surprised. He leaned against the wall and walked to the little pig's door, peering inside. He then turned to Lin Hong and asked, "Honghong, what's wrong with the little pig? Why is she suddenly crying?"

Lin Hong put down the magazine and said casually, "Who knows what you two were doing outside? She started crying as soon as she came in. I was just about to ask you about it." After saying this, she realized that she was also being unreasonable. She found it funny and was afraid that Xiao Zhu would rush out to confront her, so she quickly grabbed the magazine and hid in the bathroom, locking the door and refusing to come out.

She sat on the toilet in the bathroom and read a magazine for a while. Her mind became muddled again, and she forgot what had just happened. She washed her hands and came out to wait for lunch. But after waiting for a while, Little Pig still hadn't come out to cook, so she called out, "Little Pig, why haven't you made lunch yet?" He Ming's angry voice came from the room: "What are you shouting for? Little Pig went out to buy groceries."

"Oh." Since the pig wasn't home, Lin Hong felt relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart, or as if some problem that had been troubling her for days had suddenly been solved. She walked briskly into the bedroom and saw He Ming lying on the bed fully clothed, his eyes half-closed as if he were half asleep. She went up to him and pulled him up: "Hey, I don't want to eat at home today. How about we go out to eat?"

With just this small suggestion, He Ming's eyes lit up, and he sat up in bed as if he were perfectly healthy: "Eat out? Great! My mouth always tastes bitter from eating Xiao Zhu's cooking these days." Lin Hong chuckled: "So you don't like her cooking either." He Ming said: "It's more than just disliking it, eating is like torture for me every day. If it weren't for the fact that you like it, I would have thrown down my chopsticks and quit long ago."

Lin Hong was both amused and exasperated: "I like to eat it? No way! I thought you liked her cooking!"

Only after they talked did they realize that neither of them liked the pig's cooking, yet they both assumed the other did, forcing themselves to suffer. It was truly strange; they were husband and wife, married for so many days, truly devoted to each other, yet they lacked even this kind of everyday communication. It seemed that becoming husband and wife had suddenly created a distance between them, which was truly unbelievable and hard to believe.

The two went downstairs, and He Ming seemed to have recovered considerably. He didn't even need Lin Hong's help; he walked briskly on his own, showing no signs of illness. Lin Hong didn't dare go too far from home, so they found a nearby hot pot restaurant, and the two ate a steaming meal. While eating, Lin Hong thought of Qin Fangcheng again. It was quite amusing; after that guy came, he said a lot of unpleasant things, but it seemed to have brought back her former self. Not only had her mental state improved a lot, but she had even become more beautiful.

After dinner, neither of them wanted to go home, so they strolled around the streets. When they talked about the food that Little Pig had cooked, they both shook their heads. The strangest thing was the bitterness. They really didn't know how she made it. And the drinking water at home, it became bitter and hard to swallow after it passed through her hands. Now that they were alone with Little Pig, they felt how bright the sun was and how wonderful life was.

“Let’s send Little Pig back to my dad’s house,” He Ming decided. “My dad and mom are getting old and need more care. Let’s hire another caregiver.”

"Okay." Lin Hong happily took He Ming's arm. She had been keeping this suggestion to herself, but He Ming was the first to say it, and she was overjoyed.

The two wandered the streets for most of the afternoon, and as it neared dusk, they found a restaurant and ate something. Then, reluctantly, they huddled together and steeled themselves to go home. As they approached their building, they passed a roadside garden and strolled in. Two middle-aged women, slightly older, were sitting on a stone bench knitting. Upon seeing them, they greeted them in a slightly accented, rural Beijing dialect.

"Brother, you're better now, and you look much better too."

He Ming smiled and said, "Yeah, you can't be sick forever, right?" He recognized the two women as out-of-town nannies hired by a family nearby. Little Pig would sit with them every afternoon, knitting and chatting. He then asked, "Little Pig isn't coming down?"

“I just saw her walk past here,” a middle-aged woman replied, looking at He Ming with a strange expression as she spoke.

The middle-aged woman's gaze made He Ming inexplicably uncomfortable. He looked himself up and down and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

The middle-aged woman quickly put on a smile and said, "I mean, you two are such kind-hearted people. You treat Xiaozhu so well. If it were someone else, they definitely wouldn't tolerate her."

He Ming's body suddenly trembled. Before he could speak, Lin Hong stepped forward: "What...did Little Pig do?"

The middle-aged woman's smile turned sinister: "Little Pig...hehehe, that child is really strange. What I mean is, she works as a nanny in your family and keeps that weird thing. Other employers definitely wouldn't allow this, afraid it would frighten the child. But you all don't seem to care. You're young, aren't you? You don't believe anything, so generous." Saying this, she put down the knitting in her hand and turned to the other nannies, saying, "Look at that young couple, they're such a perfect match, tsk tsk, beautiful and rich, keeping a big-headed weird turtle at home. Aren't you scared at all?" The last question was directed at He Ming and Lin Hong.

Lin Hong's body suddenly trembled. She realized she had forgotten something crucial: the turtle—the big-headed turtle with words carved on its shell in the pig's room. She should have asked the pig why it secretly kept such a terrifying, strange turtle. How could she have forgotten such an important question? If this woman hadn't reminded her, all she would have thought about was that she had made a mistake with the pig's door and that she was guiltily avoiding the pig. What was she afraid of? Was she afraid of the pig? Or was she afraid of that big-headed turtle?

It seemed as if a simple child's voice came from a distant place:

The tortoise is thin and doesn't gain weight.

Skin covering hard bones

Four paws and one head

Three years to reach my doorstep

Where did that voice come from? Why did it sound so familiar, yet so eerie? Suddenly, she trembled, regaining her senses. She tightly gripped He Ming's hand, which was even colder than her own, like a block of ice, the chill penetrating straight into her heart.

Lin Hong turned around in surprise and looked at He Ming. She was not surprised to see the muscles on his face contorted, showing the extreme fear in his heart. Moreover, he was almost unable to stand and kept backing away. Lin Hong tried her best to support him, but she couldn't hold him up no matter what she did. She watched helplessly as He Ming staggered and fell to the ground.

"What's wrong with you? What happened?" Lin Hong was terrified. She grabbed He Ming's shoulders tightly and shouted his name loudly.

He Ming stared blankly at the sky, a bitter smile on his face, and said, "She still came after all these years. She still came looking for me."

"Who came to our door?" Lin Hong pressed. "Xiao Ming, can you please explain yourself clearly?"

He Ming lowered his head and stopped speaking; he had already fainted.

8)

Upon receiving Lin Hong's call, Qin Fangcheng drove over as fast as he could. He stopped the car, got out, and looked at the unconscious He Ming. He frowned slightly, said nothing, bent down, picked up He Ming, and placed him on the back seat. Lin Hong, her eyes red and swollen from crying, sobbed as she watched him close the car door. Then Qin Fangcheng asked, "Where's Lao Zhao? Didn't you call him?" Lin Hong shook her head without speaking. Qin Fangcheng asked again, "Then why didn't you call 120?" Lin Hong shook her head again.

Qin Fangcheng sighed, started the car, and soon arrived at the hospital. After taking He Ming into the emergency room, he walked over to Lin Hong, who was sitting on a chair in the hospital corridor, and said, "Alright, don't cry. Don't let He Ming's sickly appearance fool you. This guy has a long way to go. Once he gets through this, you'll all have good days ahead of you."

Lin Hong only responded to Qin Fangcheng's unfounded words of comfort with incessant sobbing. Qin Fangcheng sighed and rubbed his face. He had been dealing with hospitals non-stop lately—he was hospitalized himself, San Niu was hospitalized, and now it was Lin Hong's husband's turn. It seemed like none of these people had anything to do with him. So who was he working so hard for?

Shaking his head in exasperation, Qin Fangcheng simply stopped thinking about anything, sat down next to Lin Hong, and put his arm around her as before to calm her down.

It was already dark when the hospital decided to admit He Ming for treatment. By the time the formalities were completed, it was pitch black. Qin Fangcheng took Lin Hong into the car and said, "Let's go eat first, and I'll take you home after we eat."

After dinner, Qin Fangcheng drove Lin Hong downstairs. He stopped the car, opened the door for her, and said, "I'll take you upstairs." Lin Hong shook her head: "No need, Xiao Zhu is at home, you don't need to take me." Qin Fangcheng frowned slightly: "Alright, I'll just drop you off at the door and then go back. Now you should be relieved, right?"

Lin Hong hesitated. This was her most vulnerable moment, the moment when she needed love and support the most. Qin Fangcheng's presence would give her the greatest sense of security and comfort, but it was also the most terrifying temptation for her. She truly didn't know what would happen after Qin Fangcheng escorted her to her doorstep. Of course, she trusted Qin Fangcheng, but she dared not trust herself.

"Go away," she said in a cold tone. "You'd better drive away now."

Qin Fangcheng refused: "No, your mental state is very unstable right now. If I leave like this, what's the difference between me and Zhao Zhuo?" He blurted out Zhao Zhuo's name, and then Qin Fangcheng became puzzled, tapping his head with his fingers: "That kid, why did he suddenly change his attitude? I don't understand."

"Please, Fang Cheng," Lin Hong pleaded, almost crying, "I'm afraid of you."

"Afraid of me?" Qin Fangcheng pointed to his nose in surprise. "Afraid of what? Taking advantage of someone in distress?"

"Sigh, I'm not going to talk to you anymore." Lin Hong got angry, turned around and walked into the stairwell. Qin Fangcheng followed closely behind and walked in: "You don't need to be afraid of me. I'll do all sorts of bad things, but I won't take advantage of someone in distress. If I want to get you, I'll have more than one or two opportunities. You know that. I'm not bragging."

Lin Hong knew he was right, but she really had no mood to joke with him in this situation. She lowered her head and walked up the stairs without saying a word. When she reached her door, she opened it, glanced back at Qin Fangcheng, and went into her room without paying any attention to him.

Qin Fangcheng whistled nonchalantly and swaggered in behind her. Lin Hong casually tossed her handbag onto the sofa, went to the bathroom to wash her face and touch up her makeup. She still remembered Qin Fangcheng's mockery of her disheveled appearance that morning and didn't want to face him looking too haggard and invite his ridicule. Qin Fangcheng sat down alone and poured himself some tea. The tea was truly bitter, making him frown.

He almost forced himself to swallow the bitter tea, reached for the tea canister, grabbed a handful of tea leaves and examined them closely. There seemed to be a white powder on the tea leaves. Qin Fangcheng shook his head, puzzled, and muttered, "What is this?" He called out to Lin Hong, who responded muffledly from the bathroom. She was still washing up and would be out in a while.

Qin Fangcheng pondered for a while, holding the tea leaves in his hand. After a long pause, he found a piece of white paper, wrapped the tea leaves in it, put it in his pocket, and suddenly frowned, taking another sip. This time, perhaps because his mouth was numb, or perhaps because he had gotten used to it, it didn't taste as bitter and hard to swallow as the first sip.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and the door to the room where Little Pig lived was pushed open from the inside. Qin Fangcheng turned his head and glanced around casually. Then, he stood up with some surprise, blinked a few times, and suddenly froze. After a long while, he suddenly let out a strange cry, jumped up, lost his footing, and fell to the ground. When he fell, his arm hit the coffee table, which knocked all the teacups off the table and shattered them into pieces on the floor.

"What's wrong?" Hearing the noise, Lin Hong came out of the bathroom: "How come you can't even sit up straight, you're such a big person?"

Qin Fangcheng suddenly raised his head, panting heavily, and looked at Lin Hong. Lin Hong was startled and took a step back. In her life, she had never seen such a fearful face.

Qin Fangcheng's face was filled with despair and a blank stare. His pupils widened rapidly, and his mouth and nostrils were agape, revealing his teeth and nose hairs. The muscles in his cheeks twitched incessantly. "Who?" he asked, pointing with terror at the pig's room door. "Who's in that room?"

Infected by his terrifying appearance, Lin Hong couldn't help but feel scared: "Fang Cheng, you...you're scaring me."

"I'm not trying to scare you. I just... I just saw..." Qin Fangcheng said nervously. Perhaps remembering that he was a man, he finally mustered up his courage, walked over, hesitated for a moment, looked at Lin Hong, and pushed open the door that Zhao Zhuo had kicked open during the day.

He glanced inside, quickly closed the door, and turned to Lin Hong, saying, "There's really nothing in here."

The way he spoke and his tone were exactly the same as when Zhao Zhuo opened the bedroom door. This strange demeanor aroused Lin Hong's suspicion: "Really? Fang Cheng, you're not lying to me."

"I won't lie to you, never." Qin Fangcheng said, grabbing Lin Hong's handbag that she had thrown on the sofa. "Come on, come with me. You really can't stay here anymore, it's too dangerous."

"Wait a minute," Lin Hong was already terrified. She didn't dare to stay at home alone without anyone by her side, but the pig was still in the room, so she struggled to break free and called out the pig's name as she turned around.

Strangely, the little pig didn't answer. Instead, a strange laugh echoed from her room, like a child's laughter, cold and evil, filled with a terrifying violence and resentment. Hearing that laughter, Lin Hong felt a chill run from her heart to her toes. Fear gripped her mind, numbing and stiffening every muscle and nerve in her body. If Qin Fangcheng hadn't forcibly pulled her away, she truly didn't know how she would have escaped this increasingly terrifying home.

Without looking back, Qin Fangcheng grabbed her and ran downstairs. When they were almost at the bottom, he suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground, dragging Lin Hong down with him. She screamed in terror.

Qin Fangcheng got up without a word, wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand, and mumbled, "Go, hurry up, get in the car, this way."

Lin Hong ran over, and just before getting into the car, she looked back upstairs.