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Capítulo 31

Li Hong and Xu Feifei nodded at the same time.

Wang Xiaoxin glanced out the window. Bright sunlight streamed onto the balcony, and the incessant chirping of cicadas created a typical, tranquil summer atmosphere. This reassured her considerably, and she let out a long sigh before beginning to recount what she had heard and seen in her dream:

On the first night, I dreamt that I came to a room, a room I had never been to before; I still remember the room number, 413. The door was open, and Sister Liu was sitting on the bed inside, her hair disheveled, looking terrifying. She gestured for me to sit on the edge of the bed and said to me, "This is where I used to work. I'm going to tell you my story."

I was puzzled and scared, so I asked her why she was looking for me.

"Because you are the only person I can trust right now; everyone else has betrayed me. I want people to know my story, to know that I am not a cruel person."

“Who said you’re a cruel person? You’re a good person,” I said. “I still remember how happy we were together.”

“But that’s only one side of me,” Sister Liu said, slowly pulling at her hair. “I have another side, a side that very few people know about.” As she spoke, she ripped off her hair and then her face, revealing her charred face.

I screamed and ran towards the door, but it closed, and I couldn't get out. At that moment, I didn't know I was dreaming, and I didn't even think about waking up. I just felt that everything around me was so real. I had encountered Sister Liu's ghost, and I was going to die.

But Sister Liu didn't chase after me. Instead, she said from behind, "I don't want to scare you. I just want you to see the real me."

I didn't dare look back at her, but she made me sit back down. I had no choice but to turn around, and saw that she had returned to her original state. I couldn't tell how she had put on the face mask; it didn't look fake at all.

Sister Liu laughed, "How about that? You can't imagine, can you? My other side used to be a spirit hunter."

I didn't know what the spirit hunters she was talking about were, and I didn't dare to speak at all; I felt my whole body trembling. But Sister Liu ignored me and continued talking to herself.

Sister Liu told me that her mother died in childbirth, and her father, a miner, was killed in a mining accident when she was seven. She lived with her elderly grandfather until one night, he walked home from town and inexplicably drowned in a pond. Sister Liu was 14 at the time and an orphan, but she didn't believe her grandfather had drowned due to senility, so she went to the scene to investigate. There she saw a ghost, a two-armed figure, slowly crawling out of the pond. Suddenly, it grabbed her leg and pulled her into the water. She was terrified and couldn't move. Just as she touched the icy water, someone rushed out of the darkness, struck the ghost's hands with a stick, chased it away, and saved Sister Liu.

This man later became her master, taking her all over the country and teaching her how to become an exorcist. However, her master later died in an accident, and Sister Liu began to travel the world alone. She was 21 years old at the time.

By a twist of fate, when Sister Liu was 24, she encountered a spirit hunter while tracking a vengeful ghost. She was awestruck by his magic and joined his organization. At the age of 25, she obtained her own soul bottle and officially became a spirit hunter.

"Do you know what a Spirit Hunter does?" Sister Liu suddenly stopped and asked me. I shook my head blankly.

“Spirit hunters are different from exorcists. They take the initiative instead of passively defending. They use the power of ghosts to subdue them and make them a part of themselves. They walk between the realms of the living and the dead. The most capable spirit hunters can even do things that only ghosts can do, without their physical bodies.” Sister Liu said, a look of rapture on her face. “However, I don’t have that level of skill yet. I can only work hard slowly.”

I nodded, still unsure of what to say.

“When I was 27, I came to Beijing and met some of you friends,” Sister Liu continued. “I felt that I could temporarily give up my nomadic life and settle down.”

It was only after hearing this that I connected her life with mine and started to take a closer look.

"Did you start liking women from that time?" I asked curiously.

“No, I’ve always hated men. Apart from my master and him, every man who sees me wants to possess me, but I can’t stand their dirty bodies touching me,” Sister Liu said through gritted teeth. “I don’t know why, but as soon as I see their eyes, I know what they’re going to do. I have to stay away from them. I only feel safe when I’m with Feifei.”

"Who is he that you're talking about?" I became curious again.

“He’s a man who has helped me a lot,” Sister Liu said, pausing to look at me.

I woke up then, very quickly. It was still dark, and I was covered in sweat. After realizing I'd just had a dream, I finally felt relieved. But things weren't as simple as I'd imagined; my life began to fall into chaos because of this dream.

I got up to take a shower, but while showering, I suddenly noticed a pair of white hands reaching out from under the shower curtain, just like Sister Liu had described in my dream. I was terrified and screamed, and the hands disappeared. I rushed out of the bathroom, turned on all the lights, and hid under the covers. But from the bedroom, I could hear strange noises coming from the living room, like someone drinking water from my cup. I took a sword from the wall and tiptoed to the living room, but found nothing.

I couldn't sleep that night. I regretted telling you that I'd never encountered anything strange, and now I was getting my comeuppance. When the sun rose, I thought it was over, but that was just wishful thinking. It continued for three or four days, and her story grew increasingly bizarre…

2.32 Past Events (Part 2)

As Wang Xiaoxin finished her narration, Li Hong and Xu Feifei both let out a long sigh. They exchanged a glance, unsure of what to say to comfort her. Wang Xiaoxin took a sip of water and, without waiting for their reaction, continued her story.

...Throughout the day, I was still somewhat unsettled. I thought it was all over, and although Sister Liu's words were still echoing in my mind, I didn't dwell on them too much. Everyone has nightmares, and everyone deals with them differently. I guess the sounds I heard and the things I saw last night were because I was too focused on the dream. I thought it would get better with time. Therefore, I didn't consider seeking help; I hoped everything would pass peacefully.

But I just can't concentrate on my work. When I sit in front of the computer, I always feel like there's a pair of eyes watching me. I try to calm myself down and get into my work, but it's too difficult. I find that I can't work for more than 10 minutes.

There was no other way, so I decided to take a day off and not do any work. After having dinner around 7 p.m., I planned to go out for a walk and buy some things at the supermarket.

Before leaving the house, I instinctively peeked through the peephole, and what I saw terrified me. I saw a person dressed entirely in white standing in front of my door, his back to me, his long hair cascading over his shoulders, swaying gently from side to side. Thinking I was seeing things, I blinked hard and looked again, but the person was still there, seemingly aware that I was watching him. He slowly turned around. I thought I would see his face, the face of my neighbor or the water delivery man, but when he turned, his long hair was still down; he had no face at all.

I had never been so frightened before. I screamed and took a few steps back, bumping my foot on the shoe cabinet. It hurt terribly, and I almost fell to the ground. I endured the pain and ran to the balcony, where it seemed only the setting sun could save me. I started crying there.

I didn't know what all this meant. Could it be a hallucination? Or was there really something standing outside my door? I was too scared to go out again, too scared to look through the peephole. I sat on the balcony, trembling all over. By then, it was already dark, and darkness enveloped my small house once more. The whole room seemed veiled in black, and everything was just shadowy and indistinct.

I turned all the lights back on and hid in bed alone. The room was hot, but I didn't dare open the window, enduring the mental torment. But perhaps because I hadn't slept well the night before, I drifted off to sleep again in bed.

This time, I was fully aware that I was dreaming, and I was back in room 413, face to face with Sister Liu again. But this time, I wasn't panicked anymore. I directly and loudly questioned her about what was going on, what she wanted to do, and what she wanted to get from me.

“I just want you to listen,” Sister Liu said slowly, completely unconcerned about my anger. “Once you’ve listened to my story and told it to the person who wants to hear it, I won’t bother you anymore.”

"Did you also do the horrible arm in the bathroom, the strange noises in the living room, and the faceless person at the door?" I asked excitedly, barely able to control my emotions.

“Yes, they are all my friends. They are helping me, otherwise you would have run away, wouldn’t you?” Sister Liu said, laughing. “I was just afraid you wouldn’t take this to heart, so I had them remind you. Okay, I know I’m being a bit domineering, but my friends and I mean no harm, we won’t hurt you.”

“But I don’t want to hear this…” I said, and then I started to cry. I felt like I was about to break down.

“Darling…” Sister Liu came closer, “Don’t cry. You are still alive, you are still breathing, you can still see the sunlight, and you can still touch the flowing water. But what about me? I have lost everything, I have become a lost soul, my world is dark, and only when I come to your dreams do I feel like I was once a human being. I beg you to let me fulfill this wish.”

“But what’s the point of telling me all this?” I heard her pitiful tone and my heart softened. “If I didn’t have the chance, I would never have told anyone and let others think I was a coward.”

"Hahaha~~~" Sister Liu laughed loudly. At this moment, I seemed to find the cheerful, bold and warm-hearted Sister Liu from the past. "Xiaoxin, you're thinking too much. I just want you to be a mouthpiece, because someone really wants to know these things."

"Who is it? Who is so interested in your past? Why don't you just go to him?" I asked quickly.

"I can't tell you too much. What's meant to happen will happen. It's fate!" Sister Liu stared into my eyes and said, "Just like how I'm now entangled with you. It's your destiny—maybe you shouldn't have met me in the first place."

I fell silent. I didn't know if I regretted meeting Sister Liu, nor did I know what the ultimate outcome would be for her clinging to me. Now, standing before me was someone I once liked. To be honest, I was conflicted. If I had even a shred of curiosity, I wouldn't be so conflicted; I would patiently listen to her story. But I was too afraid; I hadn't experienced any of this myself.

Sister Liu must have noticed my fear, because she comforted me, saying, "Really, don't be afraid. We've known each other for over a year, so you should know me to some extent. You're different from those who betrayed me; I won't hurt you."

At that moment, all I could do was nod.

Sister Liu took a deep breath and then continued yesterday's story.

Since Sister Liu became a spirit hunter, she had been diligently cultivating, but perhaps due to insufficient cultivation, she hadn't made much progress. Until one day, while searching for the spirit of a person who had committed suicide by lying on the railway tracks, she encountered him.

"He was also a spirit hunter, tracking this ghost that was trying to find a living person to take its place. When I met him, we almost got into a fight because neither of us knew anything about the other. Later, the misunderstanding was cleared up, and we got to know each other. He had an assistant at the time, and the three of us subdued the ghost together, but he let me absorb his soul."

“I was somewhat attracted to him. Besides the fact that he was more capable than me, what attracted me was his disdainful attitude towards my identity as a woman, as if he didn’t consider me a woman at all. I had never met a man like that before, so I was willing to get close to him, and even became his assistant for a time.” Sister Liu tilted her head back and said as she recalled. “However, he was not a perfect person either. He had a secret past and flaws that were not easily noticed. As I spent more time with him, I gradually came to understand him.”

"Does this person really have that much influence on you?" I asked.

“Perhaps you don’t understand how I felt back then,” Sister Liu said. “At first, I admired him like a primary school student admires their teacher. I thought he was so strong, so perfect. But later, I accidentally learned about his past, and his image in my eyes began to crumble. I even suspected that I would die at his hands. So I started to distance myself from him and eventually left him. I know he misunderstood me, but I didn’t explain at the time.”

"What kind of past has he had that disappointed you so much?" I finally became curious. "You really like him, don't you? Is it his past relationships that disappointed you?"

Sister Liu looked at me in surprise, as if I had seen right through her. Finally, she nodded.

2.33 Past Events (Part 2)

I waited for her to continue, for her to reveal the answer. But she didn't seem in a hurry to tell me what had happened. Looking at her slightly aged face, I had an urge to touch it again. But the thought of the other side hidden behind that fake face made me shudder.

“Strictly speaking, it’s not his past relationships that disappointed me,” Sister Liu said after a moment of silence. “It’s just that his views on relationships are very extreme, which I can’t accept.”

"How is it so extreme?" I asked. "And how did you discover that?"

“That’s roughly what happened,” Sister Liu sighed and said. “When I first met him a month or two ago, we got quite close. The two of us were working together, and we were incredibly efficient, capturing a lot of evil spirits. At the time, he, his assistant surnamed Zheng, and I were all very happy. One night, we went to a small bar for drinks, a little celebration of our initial success. He drank too much that day, and I drank quite a bit too. In my drunken stupor, I started talking about lesbians (lesbian: a term used by people in the sex industry). Because at the time, I… how should I put it, I really felt good about him, so I was a little worried about my relationship with Feifei. After drinking too much, I naturally brought up this topic, also wanting to get his opinion on the matter from the side.”

"What was his reaction?" I asked. Although I didn't care much about what others thought of us, Sister Liu and I were quite different. She always carefully protected our identities and strongly opposed my request to "come out" (coming out means publicly acknowledging one's homosexuality). Perhaps due to the influence of age, environment, and education, we had a significant difference of opinion on this issue.

“He found it very strange when I brought up this topic,” Sister Liu said. “I brought it up as if I suddenly remembered it, so he didn’t care after he found it strange. Instead, he told me something he found funny.”

"I remember he laughed, a really good laugh, and said, 'Why did you suddenly bring up the topic of homosexuals (a Beijing term for gay men)? Don't talk nonsense like that, you little kid.'"

"'How am I a child?' I asked, a little annoyed. 'I'm just curious, have you ever encountered one before?'"

"'I actually have,' he said with a laugh, winking at his assistant beside him. 'That time, he and I dealt with a couple together.'"

"'Pack up?' I was a little surprised. 'Tell me about it.'"

He swirled his glass, took a sip, and said, "It wasn't long ago, just about half a year ago. He and I were chasing a female ghost, and we ended up in a small alley where we saw two people hiding in a corner, hugging and cuddling. We didn't pay much attention at the time, but later we realized they were two men, which disgusted me." He took another sip of beer and said, "I really wanted to kick them a few times, but I held back. Then I thought I'd play a trick on them." At this point, his assistant next to him chuckled.

"'That female ghost was nearby, and we've already subdued her,' he said. 'I thought, you two like to hug and cuddle, so I'll grant your wish.' Then I forced the female ghost to possess one of the lovers. He burst into laughter, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. 'You didn't see their faces, it was absolutely hilarious! The female ghost spoke in her original voice, which terrified the other guy. He definitely didn't expect his lover to actually become a woman. Hahaha! You should have seen their expressions.' He laughed again, as if he regretted not having seen what happened."

After laughing for a while, he continued, "Now's the time to strike. Let's beat that possessed guy to a pulp. I'll teach you a lesson for messing around!"

At this point, Sister Liu glanced at me and explained, "Spirit hunters cannot harm innocent people, so they can only act after being possessed. He strictly adheres to this rule."

I nodded.

"They were laughing and talking, thinking it was the funniest thing that had ever happened to them," Sister Liu said. "Although I had drunk quite a bit at the time, I couldn't feel happy at all when I heard what he said. Yes, those two unlucky guys had nothing to do with me, and I didn't care if they were beaten to death, but now I completely understand his views. He chills my heart. He's a bastard."

Sister Liu fell silent, as if recalling the scene. Hearing her words, I felt a little unconvinced: "Sister Liu, you didn't mention it to him. You can simply pretend you never heard of it..."

“It’s no use,” Sister Liu interrupted me. “It’s like a nail driven into a board; even if it’s pulled out, there’s still a hole left—I’m very disappointed in him. Besides, I don’t want to hide my past from him. If I accept him, I’ll definitely tell him about my past, and I don’t think he’ll accept it no matter what. So I’ve decided to keep my distance from him.”

I sighed. I felt a little sorry for Sister Liu's decision. It's true that what that man did was despicable, but that doesn't mean he won't change his mind after truly understanding Sister Liu. He still doesn't understand our world, doesn't understand that there can be genuine feelings between us—although now these thoughts seem a bit naive.

“Since then, I haven’t let my emotions run wild like before,” Sister Liu said. “I started to focus more of my feelings on you, especially on Feifei and Qingqing. They are so adorable.” She laughed as she spoke. “I’m very happy to be with you.”

************************

Wang Xiaoxin took a sip of water, looked at Li Hong and said, "Can you understand what I'm saying? It might be a bit long-winded, but I feel much better after saying it."

Li Hong and Xu Feifei nodded quickly. Xu Feifei said with a hint of sadness, "So Liu Yun encountered something like this. That man really is a jerk."

Li Hong, however, didn't feel it strongly. She asked with some curiosity, "Do you really... find it unacceptable that person's actions?"

Xu Feifei opened her eyes wide and said, "Of course! Did those two people break the law? Who did they bother? Why did he have the right to tease them? He even hit them. Isn't that despicable? I'm just wondering why Sister Liu didn't react at the time."

Li Hong was somewhat surprised that Xu Feifei, such a childish girl, would say such things. She began to feel that she would never understand their feelings and could never truly communicate with them. However, she now understood why Liu Yun was dissatisfied with Zheng Zhihao (Yang Yunhui), but it hadn't reached the point of hatred yet. Liu Yun and Zheng Zhihao wouldn't turn against each other just because of this one thing.

"Did Liu Yun come to see you again later?" Li Hong asked Wang Xiaoxin. "Did she tell you anything else afterward?"

Wang Xiaoxin nodded.

*****************************

I expressed my regret over Sister Liu's decision, and at the same time, I was very indignant about that man. Sister Liu patted my shoulder and said, "This can't be forced. His opinion is his own business. It's best to just leave him alone."

"That won't do!" I said. "He'll do the same thing again if this happens in the future. You should teach him a lesson!"

“He…” Sister Liu shook her head, “I didn’t want to dwell on this anymore, and I never mentioned it again. Actually, he was quite pitiful.”

“What’s so pitiful about him?” I said, still a little indignant.

“His past is quite tragic,” Sister Liu said. “As I just mentioned, his views on relationships are very extreme. In addition to expressing strong contempt for homosexuality, he also has different views on normal relationships than most people. This is mainly because of his past.”

"What happened to him in the past?" I became curious again.

"You don't know, he was married before, and he even had a child who was less than a year old," Sister Liu said. "But his wife and child both met tragic ends. This was a huge blow to him."

I waited quietly, waiting for Sister Liu to tell her story.

2.34 Past Events (Continued)

“I heard about his past from his assistant,” Sister Liu said slowly. “He wasn’t home that day, and I was chatting with his assistant about it.” As she spoke, she produced a cigarette from somewhere and started smoking. “Want one? Want one?”

I shook my head and didn't dare to smoke.

“He got married when he was 24. His wife was his childhood sweetheart. Their marriage was supposed to be very happy, but when he was 25, he had a child, and then something happened to the child.” Sister Liu exhaled a smoke ring. “When the child was less than a year old, they took the child to his maternal grandparents’ house in a rural area of Changping. That old house was said to be haunted. At that time, he was just an ordinary person and had no sense of precaution. As a result, one stormy night, something happened.”

I listened quietly without interrupting.