Red satin

Chapter 11

He stood by the cubicle door, panting heavily, cursing inwardly, "Which unscrupulous forensic doctor found so many eyes and dumped them in the toilet without flushing them away?"

In truth, he knew there wouldn't be such an irresponsible forensic doctor, but to comfort himself, he slowly turned sideways and went in again, looking at those eyes. Although his heart trembled, he still gritted his teeth and rinsed them with water.

He pulled the handle, and water gushed out, intensifying the strange smell. This wasn't water; it was blood. Crimson blood gushed out, and the eyes weren't washed away; they were still floating in the toilet, their pupils seemingly smiling as they stared at him.

Lu Ziming sensed something was wrong and immediately turned to leave. But as he left, he discovered that the previously empty cubicles were now filled with people squatting, each with their head bowed. He dared not look any longer, desperately keeping his head down as he walked, finding the aisle completely empty.

He wanted to go downstairs to inform Qin Jin, so he ran to the elevator and was about to press the button when he discovered that blood was flowing from the button. The button blinked, revealing an eye!

No wonder it felt slippery when he pressed the button.

However, Lu Ziming was, after all, an elite member of the criminal investigation team. He quickly drew his gun and ran down the corridor. Only the sound of his own rapid footsteps and heartbeat could be heard in the corridor.

As he turned the corner, he saw a person's back; the person was lying there, clutching their head, as if seriously ill. He gripped his gun and walked over. From the back, he saw it was an old woman; she had probably fallen while going downstairs.

"What’s wrong with you?"

The old woman's face was pressed against the ground, her body convulsing silently. He turned her over to check her injuries. She covered her face with her withered hands, blood slowly seeping from between her fingers. Pulling her hands away, he saw two bloody holes; the old woman's eyes were gone.

Lu Ziming took a step back in fear, but then heard the old woman say in a very desolate voice, "Why did you gouge my eyes just now? Why did you gouge my eyes so hard?"

"I don't."

"In the elevator, you were desperately trying to poke my eyes."

A ghost! Lu Ziming was terrified, but he was already unable to move. The old woman crawled on the ground, moving towards him, asking as she went, "Why did you blind me? Give me back my eyes! Give me back my eyes!"

Lu Ziming retreated, but a chill ran down his spine. When he looked back, he saw countless old women lying on the ground, walls, and rooftops. He was surrounded in the center. These identical old women were bleeding and screaming, "Give me back my eyes! Give me back my eyes!"

As the "things" drew closer, he pulled the trigger. The gunshot alerted everyone on the floor.

Qin Jin and the others were arguing when they heard the gunshot. Hei Bao let out a sharp cry. Qin Jin knew something was wrong and immediately said, "Quick, let's go! Something's happened to Lu Ziming."

Blackie led the way, and the three of them followed the cat and ran uphill quickly. They saw Lu Ziming leaning against the window, still desperately backing away.

Hei Bao screamed, and Lu Ziming was stunned for a moment. Ke Liang had already reached Lu Ziming's side. At the same time, the window shattered, and Lu Ziming fell down with the window. Ke Liang pounced and grabbed one of Lu Ziming's hands.

"Bang!" A loud crash came from the window.

Everything happened so fast that Qin Jin and Tang Shishi were stunned. After they came to their senses, they immediately went forward to pull Ke Liang up. Lu Ziming was already hanging in mid-air outside the window of a building more than ten stories high. Ke Liang's face was flushed. Qin Jin held Ke Liang desperately, while Tang Shishi held Qin Jin. The three of them used all their strength to pull Lu Ziming up.

After being pulled up, all four of them collapsed onto the floor. After a long while, Ke Liang finally spoke: "Police officer, you should lose some weight too!"

Lu Ziming was still in shock, his eyes glazed over. Tang Shishi struggled to her feet and said, "Let's leave here first. It might be dangerous here."

The four of them perked up again and dashed downstairs.

Lu Ziming was now sitting blankly in a corner of the sofa, while the other three people stared at him with sympathy and pity.

The cup he was holding finally stopped shaking. After a long while, he let out a long sigh and said, "How could this happen? I need to see a psychologist. I'm having hallucinations."

The three of them simultaneously threw their slippers, magazines, and newspapers at Lu Ziming, then said in unison, "You're hopeless!"

"Lu Ziming, you were almost killed by a ghost, and you're still saying it was a hallucination." Tang Shishi was starting to believe she had misjudged Lu Ziming and thought he was a highly intelligent person.

"Forget it, let's ignore him and let him see a psychologist!" Qin Jin said.

Everyone agreed and then stood up to leave Lu Ziming.

Lu Ziming followed the others out, and the three of them turned around and made a threatening gesture. Lu Ziming said pitifully, "Okay, I apologize to everyone. Let's investigate the case together!" Everyone cheered.

They were back at Tang Shishi's house. Although it had only been a few days since they last waited for Shishi to come home, it felt like centuries had passed. Sitting on the sofa, they felt a luxurious sense of happiness. Everyone was thinking, "Oh my god, we're still alive! That's so wonderful!"

Everyone sat together to eat, and Qin Jin, while eating, told Lu Ziming and Tang Shishi everything that had happened in the past few days. The expressions on everyone's faces grew increasingly somber, but even their somber expressions couldn't shake their willpower.

Ke Liang said, "Our family are born ghost hunters. I must catch her and stop her from harming people anymore."

Lu Ziming said, "I am a policeman, and I have to solve this case. No matter if the murderer is human or ghost, I will bring her to justice."

Tang Shishi said, "I have to break the curse, or I will die."

Qin Jin said, "I want to save my friends and myself. I can't lose the people I love by my side."

The four held hands tightly. Their next destination was a small village in western Hunan where they had obtained the red cloth, in order to find a way to break the curse.

Everyone's eyes were drawn to the window. Although it was dark outside, everyone knew that a beautiful SUV was parked there.

Suddenly, Tang Shishi and Lu Ziming both fell under the table, startled.

Suddenly, a handsome man appeared outside the window, winking and blowing kisses at the people inside.

This scene is not funny at all, because the person is floating in mid-air.

Qin Jin and Ke Liang exchanged a wry smile. Ke Liang's grandfather had come again.

In the blink of an eye, he was in front of everyone. He picked up an apple from the table, smelled it, and then said to Qin Jin, "Junior Sister, a day apart feels like three autumns. I have written a poem for you."

Ke Liang exclaimed, "Grandpa!"

Ke Liang's eyes widened in disbelief. Could it be that the handsome grandpa wanted to woo Qin Jin? And Qin Jin was actually going to be his grandmother?!

Tang Shishi and Lu Ziming had already figured it out. From the previous narrative, they knew it was Ke Liang's ghost grandfather, and the two of them crawled out from under the table again.

"Junior sister, you used to love listening to me recite poetry. Do you remember when I recited the poem 'Bright moonlight before my bed' to you? You were so happy then." Grandpa Shuai spends three precious minutes every day saying useless things.

Qin Jin was furious. "I really don't know you, please. There's such a big age difference between us, how could we possibly know each other?"

Grandpa agreed, but then thought about it and said, "If my junior sister has been dead for many years and has been reincarnated, she should be this old by now, so it should be true."

Qin Jin said, "But I don't know anything about my past life. Can you give me some hints?"

The two, one human and one ghost, one male and one female, were sitting around the dining table. One insisted that she was not the junior sister, while the other insisted that she was. The rest of the people lowered their heads, feeling incredulous.

Three minutes passed quickly. Grandpa Shuai seemed heartbroken: "No wonder people say that the saddest thing is to meet again and not recognize each other. It seems you don't remember the past. Well, I'm leaving now. I'll give you a dream of memories, which contains beautiful memories of me and my junior sister. Take a look! See how devoted and handsome I used to be."

After saying that, a wisp of purple smoke rose from his palm, and when the smoke dissipated, he was gone.

Lu Ziming frowned and said, "They really are just like grandfather and grandson."

Tang Shishi laughed as she looked at Ke Liang, who was sweating profusely. Qin Jin stuck out her tongue helplessly. Just then, everyone clearly heard a "Junior Sister" and then fell asleep.

In her hazy state, Qin Jin seemed to see a giant mirror with moving figures reflected in it. As she approached, the reflection gradually became clearer, and she could even hear the figures speaking. She then sat down in front of the mirror, which was as big as a wall. Beside her sat three other people: Lu Ziming, Ke Liang, and Tang Shishi. They sat side-by-side, like watching a blockbuster movie. In her dazed state, she forgot she was dreaming and thought they were enjoying a film, even exchanging smiles.

Chapter Fifteen: The Building (1)

The mirror slowly revealed a street in Jiangnan in March.

It was a season of warbling birds and misty rain when a coffin was carried out of a large house amidst weeping and wailing. Paper money fluttered in the air, adding a somber atmosphere to the beautiful scene. Passersby turned to look and whispered, "That woman is so unlucky. She died at the tender age of sixteen. They say she died of a sudden illness, but how could a woman who never leaves her house suddenly fall ill?"

Some say, "It's said that he's been possessed by a flower ghost."

The words were spoken in a low voice, as if they had been swallowed back down before they could be uttered, but they were overheard by the three people drinking soy milk by the roadside.

The three people were dressed very plainly, like ordinary farmers. An old man seemed to be the father, and there was a man and a woman. The man had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and the woman was as beautiful as a flower. She attracted the attention of many lecherous men on the roadside, but the woman held back her anger. Her small face was flushed red, and in the mist, she looked like a peach blossom covered in moisture, which was breathtakingly beautiful.

Even the burly man opposite them was dazzled and lowered his head, saying, "Junior sister, don't be angry, I'll go and beat them up."

The old man shouted, "Dao'er, didn't I tell you not to cause trouble?"

"But they always look at my junior sister."

"Xiaoyue is naturally beautiful and will naturally attract attention. Do you think you can gouge out their eyes?"

After being scolded, the man glared hatefully at the frivolous young men, but remained silent, while the old man kept glancing in the direction the coffin had gone.

The old man suddenly dropped his bowl and ran away, and Xiaoyue and Dao'er chased after him. In the chaos, the woman did not forget to put down some money.

The old man moved with lightning speed, gliding forward like mercury, with the two men chasing after him. Finally, they stopped at a large red gate. Above it was written: Tingyuan (Listening Garden). It turned out to be a theater, a place to listen to and perform operas.

During the Republic of China era, although the world was in chaos, people still enjoyed themselves and went to listen to and perform operas. The more chaotic things were, the more people wanted to have fun. Nobody knew what tomorrow would bring, so the opera houses were exceptionally popular.

A smile appeared on the old man's face, as if to say, "This is the place."

Dao'er asked, "Master, is this the place?"

"Yes, I just saw that woman's spirit fly this way and follow her all the way here. I saw her slip inside. It seems she was a devoted woman who, even as a ghost, did not forget to come here to see her lover."

Back then, every woman had a lover in her heart—a famous actor, whom she was completely infatuated with. After death, one must always fulfill their last wish.

The old man suddenly took out paper talismans, pasted them around the gate, and laughed loudly, saying, "Finally, I've trapped her."

"Master, why do we need to catch that female ghost? She hasn't harmed anyone!"

The girl seemed to feel sorry for him.

"Haha, Xiaoyue, I'm not here to catch that female ghost. Once she gets to this theater, she'll fulfill her wish and go to the Yellow Springs to be reincarnated. We'll go our separate ways and have nothing to do with her. What we're here to catch is the ghost that killed that woman."

Was that woman killed by a ghost?

“If I’m not mistaken, that woman didn’t die suddenly from an illness. Instead, she was watching a play in this theater when she was haunted by a ghost and eventually died from exhaustion. And this harmful ghost is hiding in this theater. Alright, Xiaoyue, you’re already seventeen. It’s time for you to graduate. Look, your senior brother has already graduated. If you don’t catch ghosts on your own soon, the Ke family will no longer be able to take you in. You’ll have to obey and get married, and stop being a celestial master.”

The simple-minded man cried out anxiously, "Father, why are you making my junior sister get married?"

The old man rolled his eyes at him, cursing inwardly, "Idiot, it's all for your sake."

This girl had wandered to his doorstep when she was very young. He took pity on her and, seeing her intelligence, took her in, teaching her some ghost-catching skills. However, the girl was naturally timid and afraid of ghosts. Despite years of training, she hadn't mastered the art. Seeing his son's deep affection for her, he wanted to use this method to force her to give up her skills and marry into the Ke family. But he dared not say it outright, because the girl was very stubborn; if he told her she couldn't catch ghosts, she would throw a tantrum and cause trouble. He had no choice but to let her give up. Sure enough, when the girl heard she had to go alone to catch the ghost in the theater, her face turned pale with fright, and her hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably. She was afraid even of the dark, and although she had caught many ghosts with her master, she was the kind of person who became more afraid of ghosts the more she saw them. Nevertheless, she accepted the talisman her master handed her and silently glanced back at the gloomy theater.

Night fell, and she heard her senior brother and master arguing in the courtyard. Her senior brother was telling her not to go in and was arguing with the master.

“Although my junior sister has studied for many years, she has no practical experience. Sending her like this will hurt her.”

"What do you know? If she can't even catch this kind of flower ghost, what's the point of talking about catching ghosts? She should just get married as soon as possible."

Xiaoyue gritted her teeth slightly. Her competitive nature led her to secretly take the sword and talisman, jump out of the window, and go to the theater to catch ghosts.

She had a good memory and could memorize all the rhymes her master taught her. She recited them as she walked, only to find that the audience had left the theater empty.

She moved with the agility of a swallow, and in one swift motion she entered the garden, though her steps were hurried.

To her surprise, upon entering the garden, she saw a woman sitting in a corner, staring blankly at the stage. A sense of unease crept into her heart; what if the ghost-catching act harmed her? So she quietly approached the woman from behind and said, "Miss, the show's over. Aren't you going home?"

"I'm waiting for Jiang Lang to take the stage."

"Jiang Lang?"

"That's Jiang Anhua, a legendary singer! His rendition of 'Erlang Saves His Mother' is absolutely exquisite. Haven't you heard it?"

The woman, obsessed with opera, actually started humming to herself.

Xiaoyue was secretly alarmed, fearing that she might disturb the ghost and cause trouble.

As she sang, she stood up and said, "You like Jiang Lang too?"

"No, I've never heard of his performances."