Exorzismus - Kapitel 32
"It really is her!"
Chunyu felt as if her heart had been stabbed, and she stood there blankly for a long time.
CoCo looked at her with a puzzled expression and stuck out her tongue: "That's ridiculous."
Chunyu immediately ran to her desk, opened the drawer, and found the small phone charm with the character "兰" (orchid) printed on it. Then, upon turning on her computer and seeing the orchid on her desktop, she suddenly understood everything.
The mobile phone charms with the character "兰" and the orchids on computer desktops, don't they all represent the orchid?
Yes, just two weeks ago, Su-lan was working at this very table, doing the same job as Chun-yu.
What a coincidence! Could it be some kind of divine arrangement?
With her doubts lingering, Chunyu still left work on time. As she left the company, she glanced back at Yan Mingliang's room; the door remained tightly shut, like a tomb.
On the subway back to school, Chunyu received a text message from Gao Xuan saying that he had something important to discuss and asked her to wait for him across from the back gate of the school.
Across from the back gate of the school, isn't that the Love of the City restaurant where we had lunch last time? After exiting the subway station, Chunyu walked around for a long time before finally arriving at the restaurant entrance.
Gao Xuan had arrived ahead of time, wearing a black trench coat that made him stand out in the cold wind. He led Chunyu into the restaurant, where they were seated towards the back.
As soon as she sat down, Chunyu got straight to the point: "What's so important?"
"About Mazzolini," Gao Xuan lowered his head and hushed his voice, as if he were telling a secret, "Today I finally found out that secret."
Upon hearing the name Mazzolini, Chunyu immediately tensed up: "Is it about the secret of Mazzolini leaving Shanghai and disappearing for a year?"
"Yes, nobody knows where Mazzolini went that year, what he discovered, or what he brought back a beautiful Chinese woman."
"Stop keeping me in suspense, what is the secret?"
Gao Xuan answered in a particularly deep voice: "He found the ancient ruins in a place called Tiancang Mountain in northwestern Zhejiang. It's a remote place in the continuous Zhejiang-Anhui mountain range. Mazzolini came to the mountain alone and finally found the ruins. However, there was an old man guarding the place and wouldn't let Mazzolini, a foreigner, enter."
"What kind of ruins are they? Do they need to be so mysterious?"
"It is said to be very mysterious, a masterpiece left by a famous painter in ancient China. The name of the ancient painting is very special, called 'The Nineteen Levels of Hell'."
"The Nineteen Levels of Hell?" Chunyu gasped immediately. The dishes on the table were all served, but her last bit of appetite vanished. "Is it the 19th level of hell?"
"I don't know. Right now, I can only speculate that perhaps the final secret of the 19th level of hell is hidden in this ancient Chinese painting."
Chunyu hadn't even touched her chopsticks when she nodded: "So, Mazzolini went through all that trouble to find this ruin in order to discover what the 19th level of hell is?"
“Yes, but before Mazzolini arrived there, someone had already been living in seclusion there for over twenty years.”
"Is that the old man?"
"Yes, it is said that the old man was also a famous painter in the late Qing Dynasty and a descendant of the Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty, so he lived in seclusion in the mountains for the rest of his life."
"Then why didn't he let Mazzolini in? Was it just because he was a foreigner?"
Gao Xuan shrugged noncommittally: "I don't know, there could be many reasons. Besides the fact that Mazzolini is a foreigner, I think the key point is that he doesn't want this secret to be leaked."
"It's probably just the ignorance and stubbornness of the elderly."
Chunyu thought for a moment and said, "So that's why Mazzolini lived in the mountains for a whole year, right?"
“Yes. Mazzolini also studied Chinese painting in Shanghai. In order to see that secret, he asked the old man to teach him Chinese painting. He said that everything he did was for art. So he imitated the hermits of ancient China, built a hut in the deep mountains, and endured all kinds of hardships just to move the old man.”
"Did the old man finally agree to his request?"
"Yes, sincerity can move mountains. The old man finally agreed to take him as his apprentice, but on the condition that he could only see the ancient painting after he had completed his apprenticeship. It took a whole year for Mazzolini to finally get his wish."
Hearing this, Chunyu couldn't wait any longer: "What exactly does that ancient painting look like? And what is the secret of the 19th level of hell?"
"I haven't seen this before; it remains a mystery to us."
"Still a mystery?" Chunyu sighed in disappointment, but then something else occurred to her. "Then what about that beautiful Chinese woman? What's her story?"
"That was a mountain girl Mazzolini met while gathering herbs in the mountains. Perhaps it was a magical encounter like that in the Wizard of Oz. Mazzolini fell deeply in love with this mountain girl and later brought her to Shanghai with him."
Chunyu clicked her tongue and said, "That must be a very unique and beautiful love story, enough to be made into a Hollywood movie."
Gao Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief: "That's all I know. By the way, why haven't you eaten yet?"
“This kind of thing is no problem for me. When I was painting in Europe, I met an Italian painter, and we are very good friends. Last night, I sent him an email. What I just mentioned are the research results of my friend and teacher.”
"I see." Chunyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and under Gao Xuan's "supervision," he finally picked up his chopsticks and ate some food. Suddenly, he nervously raised his head and asked blankly, "Does that ruin still exist?"
"Why are you asking this? It seems like it hasn't been developed yet; it should be preserved in its original state."
"Shall we go there and take a look?"
Gao Xuan clearly hadn't expected her to bring up this idea: "What did you say?"
"Didn't you say there's an ancient painting in those ruins called 'The Nineteen Levels of Hell'? That painting might hold the secret of the 19th level of hell. If we could also see that painting, wouldn't the mystery be solved sooner?"
"My God, this is a crazy idea."
Chunyu continued, "Are you going to wait until the end of the Hell Game? Even if we manage to reach the 19th level of Hell alive, we probably can't predict what will happen next. It's better to know the answer in advance and get out of Hell sooner."
At this moment, Gao Xuan had been thinking for a while with his head down. Finally, he raised his head and slowly replied, "Alright, I promise you—we'll go find that ruin, find that ancient painting, and find the secret of the 19th level of hell."
"That's great!" Chunyu couldn't hide her excitement. "When do we set off?"
"I'll be waiting for you downstairs at your dorm tomorrow morning at eight o'clock. I'll drive you to Tiancang Mountain in northern Zhejiang."
Although her heart was pounding, Chunyu managed to control herself: "Do you know the way?"
“It’s okay, I know that road. It’s not far from Shanghai, and tomorrow is Saturday anyway.” Gao Xuan seemed to have made up his mind. He took a deep breath and said, “Tonight, I’ll go and prepare the travel gear. You don’t need to bring anything, just leave everything to me. I’ve done self-driving camping trips in Europe before.”
Chunyu finally felt reassured and ate a few more bites of food. After all, she was going on a long trip tomorrow, and many unknown dangers awaited her.
After leaving the restaurant, Gao Xuan escorted her all the way to the girls' dormitory. His captivating eyes were fixed on her as he said, "Chunyu, now that we've both entered the Hell Game, perhaps it's our destiny from a past life. Your affairs are my affairs now. Please rest assured, I will protect you."
Perhaps there was a double entendre in those words, but Chunyu was genuinely moved. She lowered her head and said, "Gao Xuan, meeting you in the library that day was probably my greatest stroke of luck."
After saying this, she immediately ran into the dormitory building, with Gao Xuan's instructions still echoing behind her.
Chunyu didn't look back. She ran all the way back to her dormitory, leaned against the door, and kept taking deep breaths.
The wind outside the window picked up, and the sub-zero temperature made the room unbearably cold. She packed her clothes and things for her trip tomorrow and then crawled into bed early.
At midnight, the text message alarm suddenly went off. Actually, Chunyu hadn't fallen asleep at all; she was just waiting for the hellish text message to arrive.
The text message reads as follows:
"You have entered the 15th level of hell. You will choose: 1. The place you most want to go; 2. Your most painful memory; 3. The thing you most want to do."
She couldn't believe she had already entered the "15th level of hell," and that the fatal question, the "19th level of hell," couldn't be far off. But the closer she got to that secret, the more terrified she felt, as if she were taking another step closer to death. No, Chunyu couldn't wait until that day; she could only hope to solve it ahead of time—perhaps tomorrow?
Yes, we're going to that place tomorrow to discover the secrets of "the 19th level of hell".
Without hesitation, Chunyu chose "1. The place you most want to go".
Hell's reply came very quickly—
Where do you want to go? I'll take you there.
Spring Rain took a deep breath and pressed her thumb down with trembling hands—
"Mount Tiancang. The ruins where you, Mazuri, lived in seclusion for a year. There is an ancient painting there called 'The Nineteen Levels of Hell'."
She quickly replied to the text message and then closed her eyes.
Darkness and silence returned to the dormitory. Chunyu asked herself: Will the secret be discovered tomorrow?
Date added: 2005-02-18 12:41:55
Today is Saturday, and the girls' dormitory is unusually quiet.
Chunyu got up very early. She first cleaned herself up, put on a new pair of sneakers, and packed a travel bag. She looked at herself in the mirror. Although she couldn't be called a beauty, she was at least attractive enough to make many boys drool.
At the appointed time, Gao Xuan was already waiting downstairs. He was well-prepared, dressed in sportswear, looking particularly energetic and standing out from the crowd in the cold campus.
Chunyu ran downstairs and nodded slightly to Gao Xuan. As if by unspoken agreement, neither of them spoke first, and they quickly walked towards the parking lot together.
After getting into Gao Xuan's car, he noticed a lot of things on the back seat; Gao Xuan said these were all essentials for a wilderness trip. Before turning the car key, Gao Xuan asked softly, "Chunyu, have you made up your mind? No regrets?"
Sitting in the passenger seat, Chunyu paused for a moment, then resolutely replied, "I have no regrets, let's go!"
"Okay." Gao Xuan turned the car key. "Destination—Tiancang Mountain in northern Zhejiang."
On Saturday morning, the traffic jam was finally gone, and the car quickly drove out of the city and onto the expressway leading to northern Zhejiang.
Buckled in her seatbelt, the Passat sped along, gazing at the rapidly receding winter fields. The winter suburbs were devoid of greenery, filled only with withered branches and a greyish landscape. She glanced at Gao Xuan, who was intently focused on the road ahead, his expression incredibly serious.
Chunyu whispered, "Why does your expression look so serious? Like you're going to your execution."
Gao Xuan chuckled: "Your analogy is inappropriate; it should be called going to hell."
"Go to hell?"
She stuck out her tongue and fell silent, her heart inexplicably racing. In the heated car, the seatbelt making her feel a tightness in her chest, she could only pull her zipper down a little. This was the first time Chunyu had ever traveled alone with a man. Although she always warned herself to be careful, she knew she couldn't resist Gao Xuan's eyes. Now that she was "on the road," her fate was in his hands.