Die Geheimnisse des Himmels, Staffel 4

Kapitel 8

The journey was almost entirely silent. Facing the impending truth, everyone was naturally tense. Cheng Hai tried desperately to recall Wan Shan's appearance, finally piecing together a vague image. He Qiang was still sleepy, swaying slightly in the car before falling asleep again. Li Zu, on the other hand, was focused intently on driving, his eyes fixed on the smooth road. He wasn't thinking about anything else; once he found Wan Shan, everything would be clear.

Pingzhen, as its name suggests, is an unremarkable town in eastern Guangdong.

Following the address, they parked their car in front of a three-story house on the edge of Pingzhen. It was an old, detached building; the exterior walls had never been painted, and the red bricks had changed color from years of dust and grime. Below the building was a sullen, dirty little restaurant; since there were no customers in the afternoon, the woman sitting inside was dozing off. The actual owners of the building lived on the second and third floors; the staircase was on the left, and the three of them went up from there.

After knocking for a while, he heard the sound of slippers wiping the floor inside. A moment later, the door opened, and through the outer iron gate, Li Zu saw the face of a gaunt woman.

"Auntie," Li Zu couldn't immediately tell the other person's age, so he could only use a vague form of address, "Hello, we are Wan Shan's college classmates. Is he home?"

The face inside stared at them for a while before quietly opening the iron gate and letting the three of them into the house.

The room was dark, the air was not fresh, and there was a musty smell. The wooden furniture scattered all over the room was covered with dust, as if the dust would fly up if you walked on it lightly.

After the three of them sat down, the thin, hunched old woman looked at them for a while and said to them in Mandarin with a heavy Hakka accent, "You haven't been in contact with Wanshan for a long time, have you?"

Having lived in Shenzhen for a long time, Li Zu understood the old lady's words without much difficulty. "Yes, Auntie, we lost contact after graduating from university. It was quite a struggle to find his address before I came to visit him." He then forced a smile.

"Sigh—" The old lady suddenly sighed and wiped her eyes with the back of her withered hand. "You don't know, do you? Wanshan passed away half a year ago."

"Ah—" The three of them opened their eyes wide at the same time. This news was like a thunderbolt, suddenly shocking them.

"He..." Cheng Hai asked urgently, "Wan Shan...how did he die...pass away?"

"I don't know anything about it—" The old lady wiped her eyes again. Although Li Zu couldn't see any tears in the old lady's eyes, he could see the sadness in her cloudy eyes.

The old woman withdrew her gaze from the distance and looked at them, continuing, "This child was obsessed with computers. After graduating, he never looked for a job. Half a year ago, he suddenly locked himself away for two days. When we finally went in after calling him repeatedly, we found him lying dead in bed. The doctors couldn't find the cause, they just said it was a natural death... Tell me, how can someone so young die normally?"

A long silence fell over the room. Suddenly, Cheng Hai suggested, "Auntie, may we go see Wan Shan's room when he was alive?"

The old lady nodded, stood up with difficulty, led them through a small passage, opened a door and said, "This is it, you can go in yourselves."

The three entered the room, where the curtains were tightly drawn and the light was dim. At that moment, the old lady behind them turned on a light in the corner of the door.

The house wasn't big. There was a single bed covered with a floral sheet, and a simple canvas wardrobe at the head of the bed. Across the window was a large desk with a computer on it. The monitor was covered with a white cloth, and on the cloth was a framed photograph of Wan Shan.

Cheng Hai walked over and stared at the familiar face in the photo for a while. Wan Shan actually looked very much like the old lady, with the same pointed face and thin figure. However, Wan Shan's eyes were very bright and, although not large, they were still very striking on his face.

Cheng Hai walked over to the computer, touched the monitor, then winked at Li Zu, who also touched it. Cheng Hai turned and asked, "Auntie, has anyone used this computer recently?"

The old lady shook her head. "It's just me and his father living here. How would we two old men know how to handle this thing? We just kept it because it was Wanshan's treasure when he was alive."

Cheng Hai and Li Zu exchanged another glance. Then Cheng Hai asked, "Auntie, may we open it?"

"Go ahead and do it, you young people can do it if you want, but be careful not to drop it. We'll keep it and let others throw it away when we die," the old lady said, her voice choked with emotion.

Cheng Hai found the power cord and discovered that it had been plugged into the socket all along, so he pressed the start button.

The monitor screen soon switched to the Windows desktop, and the three of them were stunned. On the desktop was a photo that Li Zu knew all too well—a stage photo of Wu Xiaoyuan.

Cheng Hai quickly picked up the mouse and clicked "My Computer." With each click, the computer screen rapidly switched. Soon after, Cheng Hai shut down the computer, and everyone left Wan Shan's room together.

After saying goodbye to the old lady, they went downstairs, got into the car, and Li Zu didn't start the car. They started discussing things inside.

“The old lady doesn’t seem to be lying,” Cheng Hai said first.

“But the monitor you let me touch is indeed a bit hot,” Li Zu said.

"Yes, I looked closely, and there was a very even layer of dust on the keyboard and mouse, as if no one had touched them for a long time," Cheng Hai said, frowning.

"Indeed, it's a strange thing." At this moment, Li Zu was actually thinking more about Wu Xiaoyuan's photo on Wan Shan's computer desktop.

He Qiang seemed to see through Li Zu's thoughts and said, "Could it be that he has a crush on Xiao Yuan?"

Her words were a wake-up call for Li Zu and Cheng Hai. Women are indeed more perceptive. Li Zu continued, "He Qiang is right. This Wan Shan is definitely resentful that Xiao Yuan is with us. He deliberately modified our pictures and then sent them to us to harm us."

“But,” Cheng Hai said, “he’s been dead for more than half a year, why are we only receiving the letter now?”

“Maybe it’s because it’s been going around in circles,” He Qiang said.

“No,” Li Zu chimed in, “If he wants to deal with us, he wouldn’t just let the letters circulate aimlessly on the internet. They must have been sent to our mailboxes with a specific purpose.”

“Actually, this won’t be too difficult for him,” Cheng Hai said. “He can design a timed program that runs automatically at the time he sets it, so that even if he dies, the letters will be sent on time.”

"So, he knew when he was going to die?" He Qiang stared at Cheng Hai with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“I think it’s possible. The old lady just said that Wanshan’s death was very strange. Even the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong, so they had to conclude that it was a natural death,” Li Zu said.

"Could it be—" Cheng Hai hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Li Zu looked at Cheng Hai and suddenly realized what he was about to say, "Are you saying that Wan Shan didn't die at all?"

Cheng Hai nodded. "He probably faked his death and then went into hiding."

“But the old lady doesn’t seem to be lying,” Li Zu said.

“Perhaps even the old lady didn’t know. He kept it from everyone, but I don’t know how he managed to do it,” Cheng Hai said.

“This explanation is too unreasonable. It’s impossible for doctors to not be able to detect a fake death after such a long examination,” Li Zu shook his head, indicating his disbelief.

"Besides that, what better explanation do we have?" Cheng Hai asked.

"But why would he do this? He didn't need to do this just because he has a crush on Xiaoyuan." Li Zu still couldn't believe it.

“Maybe he’s not just targeting us? Or maybe he has something more important to do, and we’re just part of his plan.” Cheng Hai stubbornly continued to reason along his own lines. “For example, maybe he joined some religion.”

"Ah—" Li Zu's mouth dropped open when he heard this. The kind of thing Cheng Hai was talking about was not new in movies, but he always thought it was unlikely in reality. Indeed, some cults in movies always had some special magic to lure curious young people to join, and in the end, they all ended in bloodshed and violence.

“Perhaps faking his death is part of his religion,” Cheng Hai said, no longer caring about logic or anything else, and simply letting his imagination run wild.

Li Zu gradually began to be persuaded by Cheng Hai's words. He nodded slightly and waited for Cheng Hai to continue.

"Then he was resurrected somewhere else and began to implement his plan. Since he had been declared dead and was no longer considered a person of this world, he would have more room to carry out his plan and would not be easily suspected," Cheng Hai said in one breath.

"If it were true, how terrifying..." He Qiang interjected in a low voice.

“Yes, the scariest thing is that we have no idea what he’s trying to do.” Li Zu said bitterly.

“Let’s go. I feel creeped out here,” He Qiang said, glancing at the building outside the car window.

"Okay," Li Zu responded, preparing to start the car.

"Wait, we can't just go back like this," Cheng Hai suddenly said.

Li Zu and He Qiang both turned to look at him.

“Let’s go see Wanshan’s cemetery,” Cheng Hai said.

Li Zu paused for a moment, then suddenly understood. "Okay," he said, and they got out of the car together and went back upstairs.

The old lady was surprised by their return. "Did you forget anything?"

“Auntie, no, we thought since we’ve come all this way, we might as well go and pay our respects at Wanshan’s grave. After all, we were classmates,” Li Zu said with a smile.

"Oh, is that so? You're so kind. Alright, it's not far from the back mountain, I'll take you there." The old lady was very touched and quickly went out to lead them there.

Along the way, the old lady kept nagging Li Zu about Wanshan, "This child is eccentric and has never had any friends growing up. I never expected him to make such good friends with you guys in college... It's just that he wasted his college years. He doesn't look for a job and spends all day in front of his precious computer, sometimes going all night without eating or sleeping..."

While responding to the old lady, Li Zu kept a close eye on the uneven road, worried that she might fall. Unexpectedly, the old lady walked faster than him, and several times it was the three young men who tripped. "Young men, you're not familiar with this road, so be careful. I'm used to it, so don't worry about me," the old lady advised.

Sure enough, it wasn't far. After walking for about twenty minutes, they arrived at the foot of a small hill. The old lady stopped, her face neither flushed nor flustered, which amazed Li Zu.

“Look,” the old woman said, shading her eyes with one hand and pointing to the hillside with the other, “that’s the new cemetery, the one where someone is standing.”

Li Zu looked over and, sure enough, there was a small, crescent-shaped cemetery halfway up the mountain. The surrounding grass was neatly trimmed, as if it were regularly tended. At that moment, a figure stood motionless in front of the cemetery. Judging from the figure, it was male, quite tall, with gray hair, and wearing a Tang suit—a white jacket and black trousers. The person stood quietly, facing the tombstone.

"Why would someone be in front of Wanshan Tomb?" Cheng Hai asked the old lady curiously.

"Oh, that's Wanshan's teacher. He's a nice person and often visits Wanshan's grave. But he has a bit of a strange temper. He's always lived in this town and doesn't have any friends. I never expected that Wanshan would come back and they would become so close. The two strange people often spend time together." The old lady told her story in a gentle and orderly manner, without rushing.

"Then how did you become Wanshan's teacher?" Cheng Hai asked.

The old lady glanced at him and said, "I don't know either. I just heard Wanshan often say that I went to Teacher Gu's house, that is, to that person's house. When I heard him call him that, I thought he had become Teacher Wanshan."

“Let’s go up and take a look,” Li Zu said.

“You all go ahead. My old bones can walk, but I can’t climb mountains because I have rheumatism,” the old lady said.

So they said goodbye to the old lady again, and the three of them climbed up the Wanshan Cemetery together.

Thirteen

The mountain path was even more difficult to walk on, with loose stones constantly slipping on them. The worst off was He Qiang, who was wearing high heels. People used to walking on flat city roads could hardly move an inch here.

Despite the difficulty of the journey, Li Zu's mind was not on the challenging path. He suddenly remembered something, "Cheng Hai, did you find anything on the Wanshan computer?"

"That's why I've been wondering all this time," Cheng Hai said dejectedly. "The computer was spotless, like it was brand new. Even the pre-installed games were completely deleted. That's why I suspected Wan Shan was faking his death. All these signs made me feel like he had planned his death. People who die suddenly or don't want to die wouldn't wipe their data so clean." Poor Cheng Hai was already panting when he finished speaking, because he had an extra task compared to Li Zu: pulling He Qiang.

Although Li Zu still didn't quite believe Cheng Hai's reasoning, he was impressed by his logical explanation. "So, this really does seem like a premeditated scheme?"

Cheng Hai mumbled a response to him while stopping to tug at He Qiang.

They climbed the short mountain path for nearly twenty minutes before finally arriving at Wanshan's grave. The man called Teacher Gu nodded politely when he saw them come up, stepped aside, and stood there without saying a word, simply observing them.

Li Zu and the other two didn't pay much attention to Teacher Gu's presence, but it wasn't appropriate to discuss the previous topic again. The three of them bowed to the tombstone in unison, and then naturally began to look around at the unremarkable cemetery.

Like other ordinary cemeteries, although the construction was somewhat rough, it had everything it should have: an incense burner and candle holder, and the calligraphy on the tombstone was also properly engraved.

My son's tomb in Wanshan, erected by his father for ten thousand years.

Li Zu regretted climbing the mountain. According to his earlier suggestion, he might have found signs that the tomb had been excavated after it was built, but it seems that it hadn't.

Cheng Hai was just as disappointed as Li Zu. He Qiang didn't go over, but turned her face to look down the mountain at the scenery.

Li Zu glanced at the man standing to one side, then said to Cheng Hai, "Let's go. He'll know in the afterlife if we pay our respects."

Cheng Hai nodded and pulled He Qiang to leave. At this moment, the man who had been standing to the side spoke up: "Miss, please wait."

The three of them stopped in surprise upon hearing this and stared at him in unison.

Teacher Gu smiled, took a step closer, and carefully examined He Qiang's face. He Qiang lowered her head somewhat shyly, and Cheng Hai couldn't help but ask, "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

The man looked away, ignoring Cheng Hai's words, and turned to Li Zu for a closer look.

Just as Cheng Hai was about to speak again, Li Zu gestured to him, and he felt that this Teacher Gu might have something to say, so he stood up straight and let him examine him.

After a while, Teacher Gu also withdrew his gaze from scrutinizing Li Zu, took off his glasses, and took out a small cloth from his pocket to wipe the lenses. He still didn't say anything.

Li Zu couldn't wait any longer and said, "You must be Teacher Gu. May I ask what advice you have for us? If not, we still have a long way to go."

“Hehe,” Teacher Gu finally spoke, “Young people are so impatient. It was Wanshan’s mother who told you that my surname is Gu.”

“Yes,” Li Zu answered readily.

"Hehe, that's not important. The important thing is with you guys. Young man, have you encountered anything unusual lately?" When Teacher Gu spoke, his eyes were a little unfocused. His high nose bridge looked unusually out of place on his flat face, like an accessory that had been accidentally installed incorrectly. His lips were very thin, which made him seem very shrewd.

Li Zu's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. "May I ask what unusual thing you are referring to? I don't quite understand."

“Haha,” Teacher Gu chuckled dryly, then looked at He Qiang, “This young lady is going through something unusual, while you, hehe, are already past that.”