Geisterreich

Kapitel 8

I've never been able to fathom Xu Xiaobing's thoughts. We were never the same kind of people to begin with. It was only because we happened to live in the same house and encountered those strange things that we developed a close relationship. Now, those strange things are no longer strange, and I'm about to move out of that house. I guess we'll never have any contact again, right? Thinking about this, I couldn't help but smile wryly—how deep is the fate of two people from different cities meeting and getting to know each other in the same city; how shallow is the fate of two acquaintances who become strangers from then on… As I thought about it, I felt a little sad, and my eyes welled up with tears.

I really want to go home.

I wiped my hands with a tissue, took my phone out of my pocket, and dialed a classmate's number to talk to her—I needed to talk to someone at that moment.

"Hello?" A cheerful voice came from the phone, and my heart warmed: "Hello? This is Jiang Ling."

"Jiang Ling?" the other person exclaimed in surprise, "Where are you?"

Just as I was about to reply, another voice came through the phone: "Okay, okay, I'll be right there..." She was clearly talking to someone else. Soon, she hurriedly said to me, "Jiang Ling, a client has come. I'll call you back later!"

The call was disconnected.

I felt even more frustrated and lost the will to call anyone else. Just as I was about to put my phone back in my pocket, it rang. I looked at the number; it was Li Yuntong calling.

"Hello?"

"Jiang Ling? I'm at Liufang Lake right now, are you coming over?" he said hurriedly. It's the weekend, but everyone seems very busy.

"What are you doing at Liufang Lake?" I asked.

He spoke at length, but I could only hear intermittent sounds and couldn't make out what he was saying. Perhaps it was due to the drizzling weather affecting the cell phone signal. I could only guess and piece together what he was saying: his presence at Liufang Lake was related to the woman we saw in the lake the night before last. Only now did I realize that the lake was called Liufang Lake—what a fitting name… I was a little lost in thought when his voice suddenly became clear: “Come quickly!” These words brought me back to my senses. I hadn't even thought about why I wanted to go, yet I had already agreed.

Why not go? I don't want to be alone right now. I was originally planning to go find Jia Yun, but since Li Yuntong asked me to go to Liufang Lake, I might as well go. Even if there's nothing to do, it would be nice to see the scenery by the lake.

Naturally, it took me ages to ask for directions before I finally found the right bus route. The bus swayed and rattled, and by the time it reached Liufang Lake, it was already 11 a.m. If Li Yuntong hadn't been waiting for me, it wouldn't have been so bad to just sit there and sway along; at least I wouldn't have had to get back to No. 6 Yunsheng Street so quickly.

A misty haze enveloped Liufang Lake, unlike its usual tranquility. Many boats ply the surface, seemingly fishing, though it's not fishing season. What are they doing? I watched the people casting nets with curiosity, searching for Li Yuntong along the shore. He wasn't hard to spot; his tall, slender figure stood out under a willow tree, gazing intently at the center of the lake, lost in thought. The tender green willow branches drooped over his head and face. Seeing me approach, he smiled and greeted me.

"What are you doing?" I pointed to the lake. "Trying to catch fish at this time of year? You're not going to catch baby fish, are you?"

“It’s not fishing, it’s retrieving corpses,” Li Yuntong said helplessly, handing me a piece of paper. It was a white sketch paper with a woman’s face drawn on it. She had long, slightly curly hair, narrow eyes, a slightly large nose, and thin, wide lips. She was staring at the people outside the picture with a look of terror and despair. Her wide-open mouth seemed to be calling for help, which made me feel very uncomfortable.

“This is what I drew,” he said. “It’s the woman I tried to save the night before last, do you remember her?”

Hearing him say that, I looked at the woman more carefully, but I had no recollection of her at all—in fact, I hadn't seen any woman in Liufang Lake the night before last. I told him the truth, and he nodded: "I know, no one saw her except me, but I really saw her sink." He pursed his lips, as if in a cold laugh, or perhaps in self-mockery: "I've been working on this for the past two days, and now they've finally agreed to come and retrieve the body."

"You've been busy with this for the past two days?" I asked, quite surprised. I had known about Li Yuntong's enthusiasm for a long time. When I first joined the company, I was timid and rarely greeted other colleagues. Li Yuntong was the first to introduce himself to me and introduced me to everyone in the company, something I've always been grateful for—but I never expected him to be so enthusiastic, running around for two days straight for a complete stranger who had drowned. He told me that he had visited many departments in those two days, and everyone was skeptical of his story. Their solution was always the same—since Li Yuntong had mentioned that the police had come to rescue someone that night, they naturally called 110 (the police emergency number) to verify this. I could predict the outcome: the police officers admitted that something had happened, but they also confirmed that none of them had seen the woman in the water. Since even so many police officers hadn't seen the woman, it was logically possible to conclude that no such woman had fallen into the water. So, although Li Yuntong had run himself ragged these past two days, he had faced many setbacks and received no shortage of disdain and curses.

“I knew she had fallen into the water, but no one cared because they didn’t know,” Li Yuntong told me, her expression hardening with a stubbornness. “Now that I know, I can’t just ignore it.”

Although various departments ignored the matter, Li Yuntong insisted on getting to the bottom of it. Finally, he thought of his old classmate—the advantage of being a local is having connections everywhere, which makes things easier. Li Yuntong had an old classmate who worked in the Public Security Bureau and wielded some power. He found that person and told him about the incident, but this time he was careful not to mention that the police had previously attempted to retrieve the item. His classmate, believing he knew Li Yuntong's character, had no doubts and immediately sent people to retrieve it.

"We've been searching for half an hour now. Liufang Lake is quite large, and we still haven't found anything," Li Yuntong said. He seemed somewhat worried—if they still couldn't find the body this time, he wouldn't be the only one responsible.

“I really haven’t seen that woman,” I reminded him. “Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

He nodded firmly. "I wasn't mistaken, I even touched her." He sighed in frustration, "Just a little bit more..." His gaze drifted to the portrait in my hand—if he was telling the truth, then the woman's final expression in the portrait was one of terrified terror, and that expression would forever remain. That expression reminded me of Xu Xiaobing—I always find myself thinking of her, not because I miss her, but because I can never fathom her motives. These thoughts are like a suspended stone in my heart, constantly swaying and preventing me from finding peace.

Xu Xiaobing often showed that same fearful expression, but it was completely different from the woman in the portrait in front of her. People are really different.

"I just find it strange that I'm the only one who saw it," Li Yuntong murmured, as if asking me. I didn't know how to answer, so I just shrugged.

"What were you talking about with that man just now?" Li Yuntong suddenly changed the subject. "Where's the piece of paper he gave you? Why did you throw it away?" He winked at me, giving me an ambiguous look.

"What man?" I was baffled.

He laughed and said, "Still keeping it a secret? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Who are you talking about?" I was completely baffled and looked at him with utter confusion.

“Alright, stop pretending,” he continued, smiling, taking a few steps toward the shore and sighing. “Hopefully they can get her out.”

“Don’t worry,” I said, but I couldn’t tell him that I would definitely get her out—if such a woman really existed, of course I could get her out, but… after all, he had drunk a bottle of beer that night.

Boats crisscrossed the lake, trawl nets repeatedly hauling water up, but reaping nothing but trash left by tourists. Li Yuntong's classmate called him, seemingly to ask if he was sure he hadn't misjudged. Li Yuntong repeatedly assured him on the phone that his eyes were fine, but the other person's tone was unfriendly. Although I couldn't hear the words, from the urgent tone, his classmate was clearly beginning to doubt Li Yuntong's story. Li Yuntong's expression grew increasingly grim, and finally he shouted that he had another witness. As I was wondering who that witness was, he handed me his phone. Caught completely off guard, I answered the phone and, without even thinking, instinctively said that a woman had indeed died in the lake. The other person asked if I had seen it with my own eyes. I hesitated for a moment, glanced at Li Yuntong, then at the chaotic boats on the lake, and thinking that things had already come to this point, the boat had arrived, and Li Yuntong had had a tough time, so I said, "I was there that night too." I didn't say directly that I had seen it with my own eyes; it was a small lie. The other person seemed in a hurry and didn't think it through carefully, so they assumed that I had also seen a woman drown in the lake, and then let out a satisfied "hmm."

After hanging up the phone, I handed my phone to Li Yuntong, who said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, I'm telling the truth," I said. He paused for a moment, then immediately understood and burst into laughter.

I smiled secretly too.

After making that phone call, the previously sluggish boats started moving more diligently. It was already noon, and Li Yuntong and I grabbed a quick bite at a roadside food stall by the lake. We had just finished eating when we heard a burst of cheers coming from the lake. Before I could react, Li Yuntong was already running towards the lake. By the time I realized what had happened, he was already there.

In the middle of the lake, a boat was slowly hauling in a large, heavy black net, its mesh covered with colorful trash. Unlike previous hauls, this net was noticeably taut, clearly indicating that something heavy was caught inside.

Could it be that a corpse has really been retrieved? I looked at Li Yuntong in surprise. He was staring intently at the net, completely oblivious to my gaze.

The net was finally pulled in, revealing a long, narrow object. It was quickly placed on the deck, and the people on the boats crowded around it. Other boats also approached, and people jumped aboard, completely surrounding the object in the net, making it impossible to see clearly from the lake shore. I was getting anxious and jumped up several times to try and get a better look, but Li Yuntong was quite confident. He finally took out a cigarette—his smoking habit was quite unusual. While others used cigarettes to relieve stress, he never smoked when he was tense. In his own words, smoking was a kind of enjoyment, and enjoyment should be done in a relaxed state. Now he started smoking, asking me before lighting it. Seeing that I didn't object, he contentedly brought the lighter to the table and exhaled white smoke.

The people on the boat were talking loudly and incoherently, but we couldn't make out what they were saying. The boat broke through the water and headed towards the shore. Li Yuntong led me around the lakeshore to a small dock where boats could moor. Soon the boat arrived, and several people jumped off. Many policemen remained on board. A plainclothes officer pushed through the crowd to our side and said to Li Yuntong, "Go and see if it's her."

Li Yuntong nodded, looked at me, and said, "You'd better not go look. Stand back and wait."

I nodded and moved a little further away from the shore.

Li Yuntong squatted down in front of the corpse, looked at it for a few minutes, and then stood up. There were many people, and more and more people were walking towards the shore. I could only vaguely see him through the gaps in the crowd. He quickly got off the boat, with the plainclothes officer beside him.

“It’s her,” Li Yuntong said, pointing to the portrait in my hand.

I didn't know what to say—there really was such a woman! So many police officers and I missed her; thankfully, Li Yuntong was there, otherwise who would have known this girl's body was at the bottom of the lake? Her family might be looking for her right now… I looked at the portrait; this woman was facing me with her eternal despair. I felt a pang of fear and quickly handed the drawing to Li Yuntong. He looked at me and laughed: "Scared?"

"No, but I just feel uncomfortable," I said.

"You don't look well," Li Yuntong said, looking at me carefully.

"It's nothing." I touched my face, feeling that I didn't need to be afraid of a dead person.

"You know this is a serious matter, yet you still brought a student along. Aren't you afraid of scaring her?" the plainclothes officer complained, turning his gaze to me. I thought he would offer some words of comfort, but what he said next was even more interesting: "But there's nothing we can do. You'll have to come with us to the station to give a statement."

10

After giving my statement at the police station with Li Yuntong, I asked him to help me look into renting a place, and then we parted ways.

I'm alone again, and I still don't want to go back to No. 6 Yunsheng Street. It's already afternoon; Xu Xiaobing should have gone home by now. I don't know how to face her; I've never encountered anything like this before. When I told Li Yuntong about this, he was very surprised and worried about me. If his wife hadn't suddenly called to say their son had a fever, he was prepared to go back with me and have a good talk with Xu Xiaobing to get to the bottom of this. This gave me some comfort; in this unfamiliar city, I'm not completely alone. At least there's someone who can listen to me.

"Don't be impulsive, call me if anything happens!" he repeatedly told me before I got in the car.

"Mmm." I nodded vigorously, feeling like I was about to cry—why should I cry?

Watching Li Yuntong's bus depart, I strolled slowly along the street outside the Public Security Bureau. The street was lined with residential areas, some new, some old, buildings of varying heights, like different musical notes. In front of an old building with blackened walls, a large pile of garbage emitted a strong stench. In stark contrast, several lush peach trees bloomed enchantingly nearby, their pink blossoms seeming to permeate the rain and mist. I stood under the peach trees for a long time, my hair gradually becoming damp.

I whiled away the afternoon aimlessly, my mind wandering to all sorts of things. Now, something else was bothering me. I couldn't figure out Xu Xiaobing's motives, and what puzzled me even more was how she managed to do it. Even if she could put hair in the bathroom, what about the glass of water in my hand? Unless they used drugs… was it really that scary?

Lost in thought, I had no sense of direction. When I came to my senses, I found myself sitting on a bus heading to Yunsheng Street, and I was stunned.

When did I get on the bus?

I shook my head, inwardly mocking myself—it seems that no matter how much I hate what happened at No. 6 Yunsheng Street, as my only place to stay in this city, that place is still the place I have to go. Everyone has a final resting place in their heart, right? When people are desperate, there should still be such a place to accommodate them; that place is most likely our home. I sighed heavily: No. 6 Yunsheng Street is not my home; it's just my only choice out of necessity. My home is in a small city further south. At this time of year, it must be full of peach blossoms. Judging by the date, it seems it's about time to eat eggs for the third day of the third lunar month. This year, I won't be able to eat those eggs boiled with mustard greens and black beans. Sigh.

The bus kept swaying, and I was dozing off in my seat until the loudspeaker announced the stop name, Yunsheng Street, at which point I suddenly got up.

I was back on this street, so deserted, as if time itself flowed slower than elsewhere. The stairwell at No. 6 Yunsheng Street was darker than usual; standing across the road, the darkness seemed to have seeped into the exterior walls, blurring even the building's outline. Just as I was about to cross the street, someone called out to me, "Hey, you!"

The person speaking was right behind me. I instinctively felt that the voice was calling me, so I turned around and saw the person sitting in a wheelchair waving happily at me.

"It's you?" I smiled and walked over. This was the owner of the bookstore I'd met yesterday; he was the one who rented me a copy of "Brothers." He pushed his wheelchair towards me with force, and I quickened my pace: "You live around here?"

He shook his head: "Just passing by."

As usual, I couldn't find a topic to talk about with someone I didn't know well. I felt a little flustered, pursed my lips, and in my panic, I pointed to the dark entrance of No. 6 Yunsheng Street and said, "I live there." As soon as I said it, I regretted it—why did I tell him that? I felt my face turn red again.

"You live there?" His surprised tone made me realize that No. 6 Yunsheng Street seemed to have a special meaning for him.

“I live on the third floor.” I pointed to the window on the third floor, which faced the bathroom. A dim light was on, indicating that Xu Xiaobing had returned, which annoyed me a bit.

"You live with someone else, right?" he asked with a smile. For some reason, a blush, like agate, suddenly appeared on his almost translucent white face.

How did you know?

“Hmm,” he lowered his head shyly, “Your roommate is very pretty.” His face was already so red it was almost burning. I quickly looked away from his face and looked elsewhere, sighing inwardly—Xu Xiaobing is very pretty, but she will probably never like you.

"Girls with long hair are generally more gentle in personality." He suddenly said this, which puzzled me.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

“I guessed, she seemed very gentle,” he said, head down, then quickly added, “Don’t tell her I didn’t mean anything by it…”

"Yeah, don't worry," I said, but I felt strange inside. Xu Xiaobing didn't have long hair... Thinking of this, I suddenly opened my mouth wide and leaned close to him, asking, "A girl with long hair? You mean my roommate?"

"Yes." He looked at me with some confusion, clearly not understanding why my attitude had suddenly become so urgent.

"When did you see her?" I asked, suppressing my excitement.

“She was right behind the window,” he said, looking up at the window. I followed his gaze—it was empty. He sighed in disappointment. “She’s gone.”

"She was here the whole time?"

"Yes, I've been watching her..." His face turned red again. I didn't have time to pay attention to him. I hurriedly said "See you later" and ran across the street as fast as I could.

I've never longed to get back to my rented apartment so much!

Xu Xiaobing and I both have short hair. If there's a woman with long hair in room 302 of No. 6 Yunsheng Street, it must be Meng Ling—she's still here. The bookstore owner just saw her appear at the window a moment ago. Now I rushed straight into the stairwell. The width of the road was negligible at my speed. A few seconds later, I was in the stairwell, instantly plunged into darkness. I couldn't see anything for a moment, but I could hear clearly—silence. The perpetual silence of No. 6 Yunsheng Street now permeated the entire building. This old building, which seemed like it might fall apart at any moment, would creak and groan whenever you walked on any part of it. But now, that sound was absent—Meng Ling was still in the room; she hadn't left room 302! Ignoring the darkness, I stepped onto the stairs, climbing three steps at a time. Looking back, I was quite impressed with my stamina and speed.

Meng Ling, I'm going to catch you! These words filled my entire body. I wanted everything to be revealed, and I wanted to get to the bottom of everything! With that thought in mind, even at that pace and speed, climbing to the third floor became easy. When I got to the door, I stood for a moment, regulated my breathing, and knocked on the door.

No one answered.

I didn't knock a second time—neither Meng Ling nor Xu Xiaobing would open the door for me. Meng Ling needed to remain hidden, and Xu Xiaobing didn't like me relying on her. I knocked that time out of habit; after knocking once, I immediately took out my key and opened the door.

The living room was empty, but a line of damp footprints could be seen leading from the bathroom to Meng Ling's room. A damp fragrance filled the air, indicating that Meng Ling had just taken a shower.

"Meng Ling, I see you, come out!" I shouted.

No one answered, not even a sound. Meng Ling's door was slightly ajar, and the hair I'd tied to the door as a marker was nowhere to be seen. A sliver of light shone from inside. I was about to walk straight over when, after a moment's thought, I don't know what came over me, I forcefully dragged the sofa towards the door. The sofa was large and heavy, and I couldn't budge it for a long time. However, I finally managed to move it. I leaned it against the door, panting heavily, secretly pleased with myself—now, even if Meng Ling really was a ninja, she probably wouldn't be able to escape, right?

After I finished doing that, I went straight to Meng Ling's room and suddenly pushed the door open—the light was on, but there was no one in sight. I searched every corner carefully, but there was still no one there. Meng Ling had hidden herself again.

"She's really good at hiding," I thought to myself as I searched the entire house but didn't see a single person. However, there were some leftover bubbles in the bathtub in the bathroom.

Where could she possibly hide? The door was completely blocked by a heavy sofa, and all the windows were fitted with iron bars. Even a cat would have a hard time climbing out through those dense iron bars, so it was certainly impossible for Meng Ling to do so.

I opened all the doors to the rooms—including Xu Xiaobing's room, which she unusually left unlocked this time—and opened all the cabinet and drawer doors. All the lights were on, and I even thoroughly searched the bedding on the bed. The whole house looked like it had been burgled. I found many small items, but Meng Ling was still nowhere to be found.

I wandered around the room, searching constantly. Several times, I peered out the windows, each framing a different street scene, all of them desolate and gloomy. Even the new green shoots on the trees seemed dulled by this gloom. When I looked out the bathroom window, I saw the bookstore owner, still sitting across the wide street, gazing at the other side as if watching something recede into the distance.

"Hey!" I shouted at him several times before he realized I was calling him and quickly turned around.

"Have you seen my roommate?" I asked loudly—but I didn't know why I asked that. The thought suddenly popped into my head, and even I found it terrifying.

"She went that way, running so fast, what happened?" he asked, pointing in the direction he had been looking.

My heart pounded, and my chest ached. For a moment, it felt like something was gripping my throat, and I couldn't utter a single word. After taking a deep breath, I asked, "Did she run out through the stairwell?"