Geisterreich - Kapitel 8
So, did I really sleepwalk?
Lu Kang nodded again, still looking at him, "Go wash your face first. I'll let you see everything you did last night, and I have some questions for you."
Wenshan rushed to the bathroom, hastily wiped his face, and came out, urging Lu Kang to hurry up and start.
Lu Kang waved his hand, leading Wenshan into the room. He pressed a few buttons on the receiver, and the monitor flickered before displaying the living room scene, showing Wenshan sleeping in the middle of the sofa. Lu Kang then began to explain the playback to Wenshan, adjusting the playback speed as he did so.
"You started sleepwalking after sleeping for about two hours. Look, you got up at this time, got dressed and went out. Strangely, after going downstairs, you didn't rush to leave. You just kept circling around downstairs for a long time. Look, your head is tilted back."
Wenshan also noticed his own strange behavior and was puzzled.
"I speculate that the force influencing you is searching for direction, or it is using this method to further concentrate your energy and spirit. In short, these are the two explanations I can think of. You see, after going around in circles, you start walking forward like a normal person. I think at this point, either the force has found its direction, or it has stabilized and concentrated your energy and spirit, so it can start doing what it wants to do."
Wenshan nodded vaguely, thinking to himself that it was fortunate that he had coaxed Wang Yu away, otherwise she might have been terrified if she saw him walking around aimlessly downstairs in the middle of the night.
"Later, when you got to the hospital dormitory building, you were looking at the third-floor window you mentioned, right? But what I found strange was that after taking only two steps, you suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked towards a tree. At that time, you were still a bit far from that tree. How did you know there was someone there? I didn't notice until you walked over and I saw the figure." At this point, Lu Kang paused the image on the spot where Wenshan had turned around.
Wenshan frowned and recalled for a moment, then said, "I don't know either. I was doing this against my will, but I remember hearing a loud breathing sound, and then I went over and a face appeared in front of me."
Lu Kang nodded, and said thoughtfully, "It seems that this power is quite unique. It only responds to sights and people that are useful to it. I've been following behind you the whole time, and people and cars have been passing by you from time to time while you're walking. Did you not notice any of that?"
"Yes, every time I just walk through a passageway with nothing in it until I see this building."
“Let’s keep watching. After you walked over, did that person say something to you? Then they quickly stumbled and ran into the building, as if they were very frightened. Do you remember your conversation?”
"I remember he said something like... um... you finally found me, you couldn't hide from me after all. Then another voice above my head said, 'Who did you give it to? Tell me...' Yes, that was just two lines of dialogue, and then the face in front of me disappeared."
"Is that Zhao Fenqiang's face?"
"My memory of this is very vague. I can't see his body, just his face, which looks a bit distorted. I can't recognize him, I have no recollection of him. I think it should be him."
---Magpie Bridge Fairy
Reply [15]: "Okay, let's analyze these two sentences. The first sentence was said by that person. Let's assume he is Zhao Fenqiang. He said that you finally found me, and you still couldn't escape. The two sentences 'couldn't escape' and 'finally found me' show that he really felt guilty and must have done something wrong. But it seems that he didn't know that you were not actually you at the time. He knew that you were a policeman and probably thought that the police had investigated him."
“Is that so?” Wenshan said after thinking for a moment.
"Then, the most important thing is the second sentence. Perhaps it is Feng Xinhua's voice. He doesn't seem to be looking for revenge. He only asked Zhao one question, 'Who did you give it to?' When Zhao heard that it wasn't your voice and saw that you looked strange, he was probably frightened and ran away as fast as he could."
"According to you, what Feng Xinhua can't let go of isn't his wrongful death, but some object that Zhao took, and then Zhao gave it to someone else. Now Feng wants to get it back, otherwise his soul won't dissipate, right?"
"Given the current situation, this is the most likely scenario."
“Then—” Wenshan fell into thought: “If he can’t find his things, he won’t leave me for a day? That means the sooner he finds his things, the sooner he will leave me. But this way of searching is not a solution. He makes me run around every night with no clue. This ghost is not very smart. I wonder if he was just as stupid when he was alive.”
"Hehe, it's not a ghost, just an invisible force from another dimension. Actually, it can only do very limited things, because if it wants to do things in the human dimension, it must rely on a human body. Without a human body, it can't do anything."
"So if I help it find what it wants quickly, wouldn't it be able to leave me?"
"Probably," Lu Kang said, though he wasn't entirely sure.
"What is it looking for?" Wenshan pondered deeply.
“We have two options,” Lu Kang said.
Wenshan quickly moved closer, looking expectantly at Lu Kang as he continued.
"First, let's find out what it's looking for. We can investigate its home before it died; there might be some clues. Second, let's ask Zhao directly."
"Hmm... Your first point is feasible right away. We'll go together in a bit. But I'm afraid we won't get anything out of his family, and they might not even know. As for the second point, I'm worried that Zhao won't tell us. Didn't you just analyze that he felt guilty? I'm afraid he'll see that we don't have any leads and won't tell us."
"Then, we'll have to try the third option."
"There's a third one? Why didn't you say so earlier?" Wenshan scolded.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but this method has a very low success rate and is very unreliable."
"Tell me, what is it?"
“Just ask Feng Xinhua.” Lu Kang glared at Wen Shan, his heart churning with those words. This was exactly what he longed to do, and Wen Shan was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.
You mean—
"Spiritual communication".
eight
After successfully finding Feng Xinhua's address at the hospital, Wenshan and Lu Kang drove there together. When they arrived at the address, Wenshan's eyes widened in surprise, a chill creeping down his spine. Before him stood the dilapidated wooden door, with the four characters "May all your wishes come true" inscribed on it. How familiar, yet how unbelievable.
"It really is here. That Feng Xinhua actually made me travel so far in my dream to this place," Wenshan said bitterly.
Lu Kang stepped forward and knocked on the door, but no one answered for a long time.
“He’s probably not home. Everyone’s at work at this time,” Wenshan said as he approached, his eyes still fixed on this place he had visited many times in his dreams.
"Who are you looking for? Are you looking for Widow Feng?" a voice came from behind.
They turned around and saw a short, plump old woman smiling at them.
"Auntie, is no one home?" Wenshan asked.
The old woman looked at Wenshan's police uniform and said, pretending to be clever, "You're a household registration officer, right? Wasn't Old Feng's household registration cancelled? Widow Feng left the day before yesterday, taking her child back to her hometown in Shandong. It's so pitiful. Old Feng was so young, and he just left like that. This widow and her child have been crying for days. It's good that she went back to her hometown to clear her mind."
Wenshan and Lu Kang exchanged a glance, thanked the old lady, and left.
“This first rule is useless now,” Wenshan said.