Unterwelt

Kapitel 21

Watching these two grown men put on such a show, Lin Hong felt a surge of anger and disgust towards Yang Sipeng. She had no intention of paying him any attention and coldly said, "I'm sorry, I was very ill afterward and was bedridden for a whole week. I've forgotten everything now."

“Oh,” Dr. Yang said, not offended by her attitude at all. Instead, he nodded and said, “Your situation is perfectly normal. The human nervous system has its limits. Once these limits are exceeded, psychological defense mechanisms will be activated. Forgetting can be said to be the most common psychological phenomenon of self-defense.”

Lin Hong lowered her head, picking at her nails, unwilling to continue the conversation. He Ming, however, smiled ingratiatingly and pleaded with her, "Hong Hong, think it over carefully. Say as much as you can remember. This is very important to you."

"I'm tired." Hearing He Ming's words, Lin Hong could no longer bear it. She stood up and said, "You two can talk. I'm going to rest." After saying that, she didn't even look at them. She went back to her bedroom, lay down on the bed, covered herself with the quilt, and closed her eyes.

A few minutes later, He Ming walked in with a worried look on his face, tucked her in, and returned to the living room. Their conversation drifted in through the crack in the door, and soon Lin Hong drifted off to sleep. When it was time for dinner, He Ming came to wake her. She stretched lazily. The saying "Men need to eat, women need to sleep" was absolutely true. After a good night's sleep, she felt refreshed and full of energy, and even her beautiful face seemed more alluring.

She playfully joked with He Ming, kissing him on the cheek, and then ran out of the bedroom, only to suddenly freeze in shock.

Yang Sipeng was still there, sitting on the sofa with an air of superiority. On the coffee table were several plates of pig's trotters, tongue, lung slices, beef tendons, and a few bottles of beer. When she suddenly ran out, Yang Sipeng was gnawing on a pig's trotter. When he saw her, he awkwardly forced a stiff smile, trying to speak, but his mouth was full of pig's trotters, and he could only mumble and not say anything.

Upon seeing this person, Lin Hong's hard-won good mood was completely ruined. She turned her head away in disgust and went into the bathroom, where she stayed for a full twenty minutes. If He Ming hadn't knocked on the door several times, and she was afraid he would become suspicious and make a fuss if she didn't come out, she really would have stayed inside and never come out.

At dinner, Yang Sipeng actually wanted to eat more. He sat at the same table with He Minglin and Hong, fiddling with the stainless steel cutlery in his hands and rambling on about a few jokes he had encountered during his medical practice:

Yang Sipeng recounts a bizarre story of mental illness in old age. The protagonist is an elderly professor who, because of a past transgression—forcibly kissing a colleague's beautiful wife—though she never dared to speak out, harbored resentment for years. In his later years, he was haunted by a terrifying demon. Every night, this demon would come out, embrace his head, and kiss him incessantly, a kiss that would last all night. The next morning, the professor would wake up feeling weak and listless. Most strangely, he would wake up desperately thirsty, but all the water glasses and bottles in his house would be completely empty.

The professor's condition worsened. To rid himself of this nightmare, he hid a water bottle filled with water before going to sleep, intending to drink it when he woke up. However, when he awoke from the nightmare, he discovered that the water in the hidden bottle was completely empty. Desperate, the professor devised a plan: he wrapped the bottle tightly in his clothes. But when he woke up again, he found that the wrapping was untouched, but the bottle was completely devoid of water.

Lin Hong listened casually, but before she knew it, she was captivated by the story. She found herself staring at the annoying Dr. Yang, listening to his calm demeanor as he continued. The metal cutlery in Dr. Yang's hand reflected a strong light, drawing her gaze without blinking. Suddenly, Dr. Yang stopped narrating, clapped his hands lightly, and said, "Alright, Mrs. He, you've rested now. Relax and rejuvenate. Don't let excessive fatigue affect your health and beauty. You can wake up when you hear me clap my hands again."

Lin Hong stared unblinkingly at Dr. Yang, her eyes growing even brighter. Dr. Yang looked at Lin Hong's face with some surprise, wanting to say something to He Ming, but then hesitated and held back. He slowly moved the cutlery in his hands and said softly:

"Alright, Mrs. He, now you can tell us what happened to you and your friends during the days you were missing?"

Lin Hong's voice carried a hint of coldness and disdain: "You surnamed Yang, do you really want to know?"

Dr. Yang gasped, glancing back at He Ming, who was hiding to the side, and then at Lin Hong. He had accumulated rich experience in using hypnosis to treat people with psychological disorders, but he had never seen anyone like Lin Hong before. Lin Hong didn't seem to have been hypnotized at all, yet her speech suggested that the hypnosis had taken effect. This inexplicable situation left him uncertain, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue the treatment: "Mrs. He, you can speak if you believe that your confiding will not harm you."

Lin Hong chuckled twice and said, "If you're willing to listen, of course I'm willing to talk." She laughed heartily, then suddenly her expression turned serious, startling Dr. Yang so much that he shrank back. Lin Hong had already stood up, grabbed a plate, and smashed it over his head: "Get out, you charlatan, get out of here! You actually secretly used hypnosis on me, what makes you think you're a man!"

The plate smashed onto Dr. Yang's head, causing him to scream in pain. Seeing Lin Hong pick up a hard, chrome-plated chair, Dr. Yang knew something was wrong. Without even saying goodbye to He Ming, he covered his head and ran out the door, fleeing for his life. Behind him, Lin Hong's unrestrained and joyful laughter rang out.

Her laughter was cold and evil, with a cruel sense of satisfaction and pleasure. It didn't sound like Lin Hong at all; it sounded like another woman!

She was like another strange and evil woman, filled with cruel and bloodthirsty desires!

Chapter Eight: The Phantom

1)

Because He Ming brought that psychologist surnamed Yang to his home without consulting her, it showed that He Ming lacked basic respect for Lin Hong. What Lin Hong found most intolerable was that the doctor surnamed Yang was so despicable, secretly using hypnosis to try to control her consciousness. This made Lin Hong even more furious. After kicking Yang out, Lin Hong, in a fit of rage, immediately packed her clothes and prepared to leave.

She was angrily packing her clothes into her suitcase when He Ming walked in and looked at her without saying a word: "If you think I'm wrong, I apologize to you."

Lin Hong ignored him, slammed the lid of her suitcase shut, and dragged it away without caring whether she had enough stuff. As she walked out the door, He Ming said only one sentence: "I thought you were a woman who could share my joys and sorrows, but it seems I was wrong."

"Don't you dare insult me like that!" Lin Hong turned her head angrily and shouted, "You were the one who disrespected me first."

He Ming suddenly roared, "Get out! Get out of here! You cold-blooded, despicable woman! You're not even as good as my second sister! At a time like this, all you know is to provoke trouble for your own pleasure! Once you leave this door today, don't ever come back!"

Seeing his bloodshot eyes, Lin Hong was startled, but she was caught in a dilemma. She had no choice but to steel herself, drag her suitcase, and leave the house. The night was deep, and a cold wind blew against her face, making her shiver involuntarily. Suddenly, she felt an indescribable regret. How much He Ming had suffered for her! Now his company was facing dire straits, both his parents were hospitalized, and he had spent days searching for her after her disappearance. He had even found a psychologist for her, though he hadn't discussed it with her beforehand—wasn't that just like he had confessed his feelings? It was all for her own good. It was one thing if she didn't appreciate it, but to run away from home at this time, leaving He Ming alone to face so many troubles, was no wonder he was so disappointed and resentful in scolding her.

As she shivered in the cold wind, someone suddenly draped a coat over her shoulders. Without turning around, she knew it was He Ming. The two stood in the cold wind for a long time before He Ming sighed, "Honghong, you may never understand how I feel right now. To be honest, I really regret letting you marry me."

"What do you mean?" Lin Hong suddenly turned her head and glared at He Ming.

He Ming rummaged in his pockets with both hands until he finally found a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and slowly said, "This afternoon, my second sister also went to the hospital. I haven't had a chance to tell you about it yet."

Lin Hong asked in surprise, "What's going on with your family? Why are you all having one accident after another?"

He Ming smiled wryly: "These are things that everyone encounters."

"So what are you going to do now?" Lin Hong asked.

He Ming silently lit a cigarette again. A long time passed, until Lin Hong asked him again, and he finally sighed helplessly: "There are so many things to deal with at the company, I can't leave at all. And things are in turmoil at home, I can't be left alone either. I just hope there is someone who can help me now."

Lin Hong curled her lips in disdain. Instead of asking Lin Hong to take care of his parents, he said something like "I hope someone can help me"—what a load of nonsense. Lin Hong had originally wanted to offer to go to his house to take care of them, but seeing how heartless and ungrateful he was, she simply kept quiet.

He Ming smoked for a long time before finally saying, "You'll have to take care of yourself from now on. Remember to cover yourself with a blanket before going to sleep." After saying this, he gently patted Lin Hong's shoulder and then turned and walked home, without any intention of persuading Lin Hong to go home.

This humiliation enraged Lin Hong, and she shouted at his back, "Hey, you surnamed He, stop right there!"

He Ming paused for a moment, but didn't stop, continuing to walk forward. Lin Hong was furious. She threw down her suitcase and chased after him, grabbing him: "I'm calling you, can't you hear me?"

He Ming's face darkened, and he gave a sorrowful smile: "Of course I heard it, but what do you want me to do?"

Lin Hong was so angry she was about to go crazy, and she shouted without any regard for decorum, "I'm your wife!"

He Ming threw down his cigarette butt and stubbed it out with his foot: "Honghong, that's precisely why you are the woman I love most in this world, and that's why I don't want you to get involved."

"What do you mean by getting involved?" Lin Hong didn't understand.

He Ming hesitated for a long time, but suddenly pushed Lin Hong hard: "You should leave now, get far away from this house, the farther the better."

Lin Hong glared at him angrily, then suddenly turned around, went back to get the suitcase she had just thrown away, and rushed home before He Ming could. She entered the house, and He Ming followed her in sheepishly. She went into the bathroom to wash up and prepare for bed, but He Ming sat on the sofa and started smoking. After washing up, Lin Hong angrily locked the bedroom door and went to sleep.

She had only intended to spite He Ming for his earlier attitude, but the moment her head hit the pillow, she actually drifted off to sleep, sleeping surprisingly soundly and peacefully until the early hours of the morning. Her hand instinctively reached for He Ming's side, only to find nothing. Suddenly waking, she heard soft sobbing coming from the living room. She sat up in surprise. Was He Ming crying? Impossible. He was a grown man, after all. If his current situation was troublesome, he had faced far more difficult things before. How could he be so easily swayed by setbacks?

She carefully got out of bed, walked barefoot to the door and listened carefully, but the faint sobbing was no longer heard. She pushed the door open, and immediately a cloud of smoke rushed in, startling her. Looking closely, she saw that He Ming was still sitting on the sofa without moving. The ashtray in front of him was piled high with cigarette butts. When Lin Hong came out, he didn't react at all, still staring blankly at some uncertain point in the space, smoking incessantly.

Lin Hong walked over, silently emptied the cigarette butts from the ashtray, and then snatched the cigarette from He Ming's mouth and threw it away as well: "Okay, I've calmed down. Don't torture yourself like this. Go back to the company first thing tomorrow morning. I'll take care of things at home."

He Ming shook his head without saying a word, and reached for a cigarette again, but Lin Hong grabbed his hand and said sternly, "Alright, it's time to rest. If you make yourself sick over this, aren't you just deliberately causing me trouble?"

As he spoke, he forcefully pulled He Ming up, as if he were pulling up a disobedient child: "Come on, go back to bed. I want you to stay with me and sleep!"

He Ming, like a paper puppet, was led by her into the bedroom. She took off his clothes and covered him with a blanket: "Okay, go to sleep. Don't overthink things when you go to the company tomorrow." He Ming lay on the bed, staring blankly at her. Lin Hong couldn't help but blame herself. Her husband was under such heavy psychological pressure, and she had only been acting recklessly. She really felt sorry for this man. She lovingly stroked He Ming's cheek and watched the fragile man slowly drift off to sleep.

He Ming had just fallen asleep, and Lin Hong was also half asleep when suddenly a terrifying scream rang out. He Ming, who was fast asleep, sat up abruptly: "Sister Zhu is back! Sister Zhu is back to take revenge!" His terrified scream suddenly rang out in the quiet midnight, carrying an indescribable sense of solemnity and terror.

2)

He Ming was right, Sister Zhu is back.

That evil and cruel mysterious woman, her shadow once again loomed over the He family.

Thirty years ago, Sister Zhu, the He family's nanny, kidnapped the He family during the lowest point of He Zhenggang's political life. She cruelly abused He Jing and He's mother. Before her mysterious disappearance, she left behind an evil curse:

"Whether my baby is a boy or a girl, she will definitely come back to find you in thirty years. You He family members better remember this: the feud between my family and your family will last for generations!"

These words weighed heavily on the He family's hearts like a millstone. Even more terrifying, twenty-seven years later, a distant relative of Sister Zhu, nicknamed "Little Pig," stepped into the He family's home again.

After the little pig arrived at the He family, strange things happened one after another, and evil spirits appeared one after another.

At night, the He family always felt someone walking around in their dreams, occasionally accompanied by a familiar, cold, snarling laugh. The sound carried a terrifying, evil power, always sending the He family members shivering with fear and unease. Accompanying this feeling of unease or state of mind was a series of inexplicable and horrific events.

The earliest incident was when the He family, out of fear, tried to drive away the helpless country maid. However, things went wrong when He's mother was hit in the eye by a cork while her second daughter, He Jing, was opening a champagne bottle, ultimately ruining their attempt to expel the little pig.

For the next three years, the He family lived in a nightmare of fear day and night. When the little pig came, it brought with it a big-headed turtle with an ugly appearance. This turtle often appeared at night, and its ugly appearance was exactly the same as the strange turtle that Sister Zhu had raised thirty years ago, only much larger.

The large-headed monster turtle's chilling eyes haunted the He family's nightmares, driving them to the brink of madness. To escape this terror, He Zhenggang tried countless times to catch and kill the turtle. But strangely, the turtle seemed to exist only in their nightmares; upon waking, they searched everywhere but could never find it. Three years passed in this protracted ordeal, and He Zhenggang honed his turtle-cooking skills to perfection, yet he still couldn't be certain whether such a monster turtle truly existed in their home.

The little pig worked for the He family for three whole years, which, when calculated, was exactly the thirty-year period that Sister Zhu had cursed.

At this time, Lin Hong and He Ming fell in love. When she entered He's house, she immediately experienced a terrifying feeling that made her soul fly away. This feeling was far stronger in He Ming's heart than in Lin Hong's. He was convinced that all these terrible omens were related to the piglet. Therefore, after marrying Lin Hong, he found an excuse to bring the piglet to his new home.

In this family that should have been filled with warmth, He Ming and Lin Hong were as if they had been thrown into a nightmare from which they could not wake up, with strange things still happening frequently and evil spirits still appearing one after another. Under these circumstances, He Zhenggang and his mother were both admitted to the hospital again. The situation was developing in exactly the same way as it had been thirty years ago. Back then, He Zhenggang had to entrust his family to the evil Sister Zhu, and now, He Ming had to entrust his family to Little Pig.

The nightmare that the He family experienced thirty years ago has descended upon them once again.

Awakened by a terrifying nightmare, He Ming was drenched in sweat and panting heavily. "Do you know?" he said, grabbing Lin Hong's hand in near despair. "Hong Hong, do you know? I just dreamt that Little Pig was dragging my father off the bed and beating him. My father's helpless eyes broke my heart. In the dream, I also saw her cruelly humiliating my second sister, just like Sister Zhu did thirty years ago."

Many things weighed heavily on this fragile man's heart, pushing him to the brink of mental collapse. He was unwilling to talk about these things with Lin Hong, and even tried his best to avoid her questions. However, all the pent-up emotions eventually needed an outlet; otherwise, He Ming would succumb to despair and madness under the immense psychological pressure.

For three years, Sister Zhu's shadow had lingered around the He family home. He Ming had seen her more than once. At first, she was just a blurry outline, but gradually, her figure became clearer and more real. Every night, she would float out of the He family's nightmares, drifting to He Zhenggang's bedside and cursing through gritted teeth. It was out of fear of her that He Ming insisted that Xiao Zhu stay with them, hoping to avoid misfortune for his family.

Unexpectedly, Sister Zhu's haunting presence continued to haunt He Ming and Lin Hong's new home, causing Lin Hong to encounter a series of inexplicable strange events, becoming involved in the Du Hongyuan incident, and ultimately mysteriously disappearing one night. What He Ming was unaware of was that tracing the source of this matter revealed it was also related to the piglet. It was because Lin Hong frequently sensed the eerie aura emanating from the piglet and noticed the unusual occurrences at home that she sought help from Qin Fangcheng and Zhao Zhuo.

The result of Zhao Zhuo and Qin Fangcheng's involvement in the He family's affairs was that Zhao Zhuo's wife became Du Hongyuan's prey, while Zhao Zhuo himself was sent to a mental hospital. As for Qin Fangcheng, his experience was not much better than Zhao Zhuo's. That trashy woman and her family haunted him like shadows, and he would probably never be able to escape from this torment for the rest of his life.

During this time, Lin Zhenggang and He's mother were both injured. The culprit was none other than the persistent Sister Zhu. Afterwards, He's mother secretly told her son that when He Zhenggang fell off the chair, she clearly heard Sister Zhu's familiar sinister laugh and felt someone push her hard from behind, knocking her to the ground right where He Zhenggang had fallen.

He Jing also sensed Sister Zhu's presence. The deep-seated fear made her panic and instinctively try to escape, but she had nowhere to run. She was still pulled back by a mysterious force and ended up lying on the hospital bed with her parents.

"Do you understand now?" Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, He Ming said in a hoarse voice, "My father fell off the chair not because he lost his balance, but because Sister Zhu pushed him. My mother was standing some distance away, but Sister Zhu still pushed her to my father's feet. And what happened to my second sister was also Sister Zhu's doing. She meticulously controlled our family just to continue her cruel and wicked ways."

Lin Hong blinked repeatedly as she listened: "This Sister Zhu you're talking about, is she a person or a ghost?"

He Ming shook his head blankly: "I don't know. I wish I knew."

"Don't rush." Lin Hong helped He Ming sit up on the bed, then got out of bed to pour him a glass of water. "Tell me slowly, do you think the existence of the little pig is the real reason for all these inexplicable things?"

"I don't know," He Ming repeated, "I wish I knew."

"So how can I help you?" Lin Hong asked.

He Ming looked at Lin Hong with surprise, then lay down without a word, closing his eyes as if he wanted to sleep. Seeing his childish sulking appearance, Lin Hong found it inexplicably amusing, so she patted his shoulder and said, "Don't be like that. Things aren't as complicated as you think. I'll come over tomorrow morning. You should feel relieved now, right?"

He Ming sat up again: "No, I suggest you hire a housekeeper from a domestic service company first."

Lin Hong hummed in agreement, looking at him, waiting for an explanation. But He Ming had already finished speaking and refused to say anything more. Lin Hong remained silent for a long time before smiling: "Alright, tomorrow I'll go check on Dad and Mom and their condition, and then I'll go to a housekeeping agency to hire a nanny. You can rest assured now, right?"

He Ming nodded, and the moment his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep. This man had been tormented by fear for too long; only in the arms of his dearest loved ones could he find a moment's rest.

3)

The next morning, He Ming drove Lin Hong to the He family's three-story house located on the riverbank. When they arrived at the building, Lin Hong's body suddenly trembled. An invisible fear, like a chilling wind, swept into her heart.

She stared blankly at the building, her face pale and uncertain. This was the place where she had gone through so much trouble to try to escape, but she never expected that after experiencing so many things, she would actually return here. It was as if some mysterious will was controlling her life and her joys and sorrows.

"What's wrong with you again?" He Ming looked at her in confusion. "Now everything at home depends on you. If you handle things efficiently, the company can't do without you either."

"You say..." Lin Hong began, her voice trembling, sounding extremely unfamiliar, as if it were someone else speaking: "Xiao Ming, do you think it's possible to get them all admitted to the hospital?"

He Ming smiled wryly: "Honghong, can you be more realistic? These are three patients, and I'm currently very short on funds. I simply can't afford such expensive hospitalization fees. If we only send one or two to the hospital, the nursing costs will be even higher. Running back and forth between the two places, who can stand that kind of exhaustion?"

Lin Hong suddenly shivered: "No, no, no, Xiaoming, I won't go in, I'm scared of this place."

This was the first time she had told He Ming that she was afraid. She said it because her fear had reached its peak. This fear was even stronger than when she saw the hole in Zhao Zhuo's head, even stronger than when she fell into Du Hongyuan's hands. Was there really anything more terrifying in this world than becoming food for evil beasts, having their brains sucked out?

If she hadn't believed in such fear before, now she was absolutely certain.

Faced with Lin Hong's doubts and fears, He Ming sighed, lit a cigarette, and had been smoking desperately these past few days, but even so, he couldn't relieve the heavy pressure in his heart: "Hong Hong, listen to me," he finally spoke, "Do you think you're the only one afraid of this place? In fact, none of us in the family like it here, but that's life. It's full of weariness, full of fear, yet we still force a smile and suppress our feelings. Hong Hong, you're an adult now, how can you still act like a child and be so willful?"

Lin Hong shook her head. What He Ming said had nothing to do with her fears, but that didn't mean He Ming's words were unreasonable. Perhaps she really should accept her fate. Since she was destined to suffer in this terrible house, any form of escape she could take would prove to be futile.

With a soft sigh, Lin Hong looked at He Ming with despair: "Fine, I can go in, but you must promise me that once I've arranged for a caregiver and let Xiao Zhu leave, you must allow me to return to work at the company."

He Ming nodded: "What you said is exactly what I was thinking. The mess at the company is far more troublesome than this family."

Lin Hong disagreed with He Ming's words. In fact, the company's business was not difficult to handle; what truly wore down people's spirits and wills were often the trivial matters of daily life. However, Lin Hong knew that now was not the time to argue about this issue. She sighed, suppressed the inexplicable fear in her heart, and followed He Ming into the building.

Upon entering, a strange smell assaulted her nostrils—the stench of human excrement, blood, and medicinal herbs accumulated in the long-sealed room. Lin Hong involuntarily frowned. Before she could speak, He Ming had already dashed up the stairs and rushed towards the bedroom on the second floor.

He suspected his nightmare had come true and worried that his family was being abused by the piglets; otherwise, how could the room smell so nauseating? Unless the piglets had no intention of caring for them at all!